The Voice of the suffering in Middle East

ACN continues to help Christian communities survive in Israel and Palestine, supporting projects developed by the local Church to overcome the difficulties resulting from the war.  With the outbreak of the war on October 7th, the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) stepped up its support for Christian communities in the Holy Land. Currently, ACN directly supports 602 families through the provision of food coupons; 128 families with the payment of expenses, including utilities; and 122 individuals ...

Despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Father Gabriel Romanelli is working to create a sense of normalcy through education. The parish priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City has made it a priority to ensure that children in the community continue to receive “remedial” schooling.  It has been more than ten months since the start of the war in Gaza. The few Christians who remain in the territory are exhausted and traumatized.   “The situation is bad, very bad, in all ...

The Holy Land’s Christians have suffered a “disturbing rise” in attacks, including spitting, physical harassment, damage to property and cemeteries, and the disruption of services.  The findings are part of a report by the Jerusalem-based Rossing Center, called “Attacks on Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem,” which examined the increase in hostilities toward Churches and their members in 2023.  Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Hana Bendcowsky from the Rossing Center categorized the problems faced by ...

As war rages on in the Gaza Strip, Christians in the West Bank and Jerusalem find themselves in an increasingly desperate situation. Reinhard Backes, the Middle East Project Consultant for international pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), reports on a trip to the Holy Land in July 2024, during which he and an ACN delegation met the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and many other local Christians.  ACN is standing with people in the Holy ...

His Beatitude Ibrahim Sidrak, the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, heads the small Coptic Catholic Church, which has about 300,000 members. In an interview with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), he shared his thoughts about his country, which has become a refuge for many Christians.   How do you explain that, unlike in many other Near East countries, we have not seen a mass migration of Christians from Egypt?  Historically, we have a large Christian community ...

A decrease in the influence of Islamist extremism in Egypt has made it possible for Christians to rebuild damaged churches and even consider building new ones.   The Egyptian government has lifted restrictions on the construction of churches, allowing the Coptic Catholic community to begin restoring St. George’s Cathedral in Luxor – destroyed by a fire in 2016 – and make plans to build more places of worship in the country, according to Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Sidrak of Alexandria.   Patriarch ...