The Voice of the suffering in Middle East

ACN is committed to helping rebuild the homes and lives of the Christian community in Syria. Violence in Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, has subsided following the withdrawal of forces from the Kurdish-led coalition, which were occupying two neighborhoods in defiance of government forces. Although neither of the parties of the conflict had any issue with the Christian community, many Christians lost their homes and belongings in the fighting, according to Marielle Boutros, who heads the Aid to the Church ...

Civilians are once again the main victims as the Kurdish-led SDF and forces loyal to the government in Damascus, Syria try to take control of the country’s second most important city. The Church has opened the doors of its buildings to displaced families. Christians in Aleppo, Syria are calling for prayers from the international community as violence returns to the city. Government forces and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led coalition based in northeast Syria, have been ...

As Christmas approaches, the priest of the only Catholic parish in Gaza, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, tells Aid to the Church in Need that his community is attempting to keep the “flame of hope” alive, and thanks benefactors for the material and spiritual support they provide to the Holy Land. “Our situation is better than a month and a half ago, when the ceasefire began, but this does not mean that things are well. They remain very serious, very delicate,” says ...

The Catholic parish in Gaza prepares for Christmas during an unstable ceasefire. From the heart of the devastated city, the pastor describes a disastrous sanitary situation and a daily routine marked by a scarcity of means for rebuilding. Christmas is drawing near in the land of Christ’s birth, but preparations are taking place in an atmosphere of disquiet. “The world should know that there are over 2 million people here who have nothing and need everything,” warns Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, ...

Lebanon is still recovering from years of conflict and economic turmoil. The Pope’s visit is a sign that the local Church is not forgotten and highlights the country’s unique role in the region. Pope Leo XIV began his first foreign apostolic journey today, November 27, touching down in the capital of Turkey, with plans to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. While Leo’s visits to the key sites of Iznik (Nicaea) and Istanbul highlight ecumenical and ...

With unemployment disproportionately affecting the Christian community, and as a gesture during the Jubilee of Hope, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (LPJ) decided to cancel student debt in all its schools. Even though Christians are the smallest of the three major faith groups present in the Holy Land, after Jews and Muslims, the Catholic Church runs the largest network of schools in the region. More crucially, though, Catholic schools are unique in the composition of their student bodies and in ...