The Voice of the suffering in Africa

In South Sudan, where walking long distances is usually a sign of distress, an annual pilgrimage for peace is raising questions and changing attitudes. When Pope Francis announced his visit to South Sudan in 2022, young Catholics in the Diocese of Rumbek were naturally excited. “They kept saying they wanted to go and see him,” Sister Orla Treacy, an Irish religious with the Loreto Sisters, tells Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).   In a country like South Sudan, however, ...

This year alone, five priests and two religious sisters have been kidnapped in Nigeria. Besides Father Sylvester Okechukwu, who was murdered, two remain missing, while the other four were released.  A Catholic priest was kidnapped and murdered in the Diocese of Kafanchan, in Nigeria.  Father Sylvester Okechukwu was taken from his residence on the evening of March 4th, according to a statement released by the diocese. He was found murdered in the early hours of March 5th, the same document ...

Over 70 bodies were found in a Protestant church in a village in Lubero, North Kivu, according to local sources contacted by the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).  The killings took place between February 12th and 15th, in a village called Maiba, near Lubero, North Kivu. On February 12th, rebels from an Islamist terrorist group, originally from Uganda, entered the village and took approximately 100 people hostage, ACN’s sources say.   “On February 15th, 70 bodies ...

Although the country now enjoys a fragile peace, there is still insecurity, leading bishops in the Central African Republic to ask the international community not to forget the African nation. The Church, they say, will continue to play its prophetic role.  A unique spirit of dialogue and cooperation between Christian and Muslim leaders set the foundations for peace in the Central African Republic (CAR), following a brutal civil war. In this respect, the CAR stands in stark contrast to nearby ...

Many people were killed in a recent series of attacks in the parish of Tansila, in the Diocese of Nouna. Father Jean-Pierre Keita, a young priest and ACN project partner, lost several members of his family.  At the end of January, several villages in the Burkinabé parish of Tansila, near the border with Mali, once again became the targets of terrorist attacks. This report comes from Father Jean-Pierre Keita, who visited the international headquarters of the Catholic charity Aid to ...

To commemorate World Radio Day on February 13th, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is highlighting its ongoing support for Catholic radio, an essential tool for both spreading information and evangelizing throughout the world. In 2024, the charity committed over $570,000 to 22 radio projects in 19 countries.  Hundreds of Catholic radio stations are operating in the most forgotten places on the planet. Many of them do so thanks to the benefactors of Aid to the Church in Need ...