The Voice of the suffering in Africa

Burkina Faso is celebrating 125 years of evangelization in a country currently marred by violence and terrorism. The African nation, which holds first place in the world terrorism ranking, suffers from severe security issues, constant attacks against civilian populations, and entire regions that can only be reached by helicopter.   Despite this situation, the Church in Burkina Faso is joyfully celebrating the arrival of the first members of the Society of Missionaries of Africa, known as the White Fathers, due to ...

A project supported by ACN aims to train 150 priests to be “agents of reconciliation, healing, social transformation, and national cohesion.”  Father Peter Konteh was in bed, asleep, when he first heard the explosions. Jumping to his feet, he called out to the other priest in the house to get up and run. “The rebels are coming from the east!” he said. “We must escape.”  “I was shouting terribly, but the other priest turned to me and told me to ...

Nigeria now accounts for over 80 percent of all incidents involving the murder, kidnapping, or unjust arrest of Catholic priests and religious in 2025.  Two more Catholic priests were kidnapped over the weekend in Nigeria, adding to what has been a terrible first quarter of the year in terms of security for religious in the African country.   According to statements sent to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Father Stephen Echezona was abducted on Saturday in ...

A missionary sister who works in the Diocese of Pemba, which has been racked by terrorism, as well as by a recent cyclone, thanks Aid to the Church in Need for the help it provides civilians.  Seven years ago, Sister Aparecida Queiroz from the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus arrived in the Diocese of Pemba, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, just as an Islamist insurgency was starting to terrorize the province.   Since then, she has seen the insurgency grow in violence ...

The murder of seminarian Andrew Peter follows the recent killing of Father Sylvester Okechukwu. In the first three months of 2025, Nigeria has had three times more kidnappings of clergy and religious than in the same period of 2024.   The Nigerian Church is reeling from the news of the murder of a young seminarian, Andrew Peter, at the hands of kidnappers, according to a statement sent to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) by the Diocese of Auchi. The ...

A plea for government in northern Nigeria to re-think the sudden and unprecedented closure of schools during Ramadan is coming from a bishop concerned for the hundreds of thousands of children affected.  Bishop Gerald Mamman Musa of Katsina said it came as “a complete surprise” when governors in his state, as well as Kano, Kebbi, and Bauchi, announced that all schools – both private and public – would close for the month-long Islamic season of fasting and spiritual growth. Speaking ...