The Voice of the suffering in Africa

In only a decade, Burkina Faso has become an epicenter of terrorist violence, with over 40 percent of the country’s land outside of government control. And in this situation, the Catholic Church provides material and spiritual support. Two Burkinabe priests from a diocese hard hit by extremists shared their experiences with ACN.   “The situation is dire,” said Father Bertin Namboho and Father Jean-Pierre Keita, the bursar of the Diocese of Nouna and parish priest of the village of Tansila, respectively. ...

Priests from Burkina Faso testify to the suffering in their communities after the massacre of hundreds.  Extremist groups controlling about 40 percent of Burkina Faso are now as dangerous as Boko Haram was in Nigeria, according to Father Bertin Namboho, bursar of the Nouna Diocese in western Burkina Faso.  Speaking with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Father Namboho said that people in the diocese “live in constant terror.”  Since May, terrorists have killed up to 240 ...

Islamic terrorists killed 26 people in a church, many of them Christian.  Local sources have told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) about a recent terrorist attack in Burkina Faso. The incident took place in the village of Sanaba, in the Diocese of Nouna, on August 25th, when a large group of insurgents surrounded the community and took all men over the age of 12 who were Christian, followers of traditional religions, or people they considered opponents of Jihadist ...

Bishop António Juliasse of Pemba, in northern Mozambique, visited communities that were attacked by Islamic terrorists and thanked ACN for its support of the country’s Church. Mozambique has suffered under insurgents since 2017. “As pastor of the diocese, I feel great pain for not being able to visit all the Christians, due to a lack of security,” said the Bishop of Pemba. “But when local Christian leaders told me that it was possible to reach some regions, I departed immediately. ...

The Bishop of Kaya in Burkina Faso calls for a day of mourning and for three days of prayer for the victims.  On August 24th, the town of Barsalogho in Burkina Faso was the target of a terrorist attack that killed more than 150 people, including 22 Christians, according to local sources in contact with the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). This was the third attack this month and one of the bloodiest in the ...

Plagued by gangs that plunder, kidnap, and terrorize, Haiti fights for its survival every day. In the midst of this violence, the Church remains a beacon of hope for the country, says Father Baudelarie Martial, a Haitian priest from the Congregation of the Holy Cross, who visited ACN’s international headquarters.  Gangs control about 80 percent of the capital and the main roads. What is the situation in Port-au-Prince in terms of security?  The situation in Port-au-Prince is unacceptable, intolerable, and ...