The Voice of the suffering in Middle East

The situation in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda, where fighting between different ethnic and religious communities has caused widespread bloodshed and suffering, remains dire. The attacks also affect Christian communities in the area.   Sources close to the charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) say that despite the serious risk, the Capuchin church of Jesus the King in the city of Suwayda has now become a shelter for some 250 people – between 60 and 70 families from ...

The Church of the Holy Family, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, was hit last Thursday, July 17, in an attack that left its community mired in pain and uncertainty. A shell, according to initial reports, fired from an Israeli tank, killed three people and wounded 15 more, including the parish priest, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, an Argentine missionary of the Institute of the Incarnate Word.  “They have been and continue to be very hard days,” Fr. Gabriel begins ...

The Catholic parish of the Holy Family in Gaza was severely damaged today in what is thought to have been an Israeli military strike. According to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, three people died and several were injured, some seriously. In addition, the parish priest, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, sustained a light injury to his leg. The church suffered major structural damage, and the Christian community in Gaza remains in shock as the ongoing conflict continues to devastate the region. Witnesses ...

The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need received alarming reports of a series of attacks targeting Christian communities in different regions of Syria, highlighting the fragility of security and the growing fear among the faithful. Suwayda: Dozens of Homes Burned and Families Displaced A serious incident has been reported in the village of Al-Sura, in the Suwayda region of southern Syria. According to several local sources linked to ACN, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of St. Michael in ...

Radical Jewish settlers have been attacking the Christian town of Taybeh with increasing violence, while the Israeli military and police ignore requests for help.  The leaders of the main Christian Churches in the Holy Land are questioning the complicity of the Israeli authorities in the face of escalating attacks on the West Bank city of Taybeh by radical Jewish settlers.  Taybeh is the last fully Christian town in the Holy Land. Over the past weeks, groups of radical Jewish settlers ...

The Church in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley is thriving, despite the ongoing armed conflict and economic instability. Christian families and individuals are offering a powerful witness by looking after those displaced by the war. New religious congregations are also on the rise, helping to keep the Faith alive in Christianity’s heartland in the Middle East. The Beqaa Valley, known as Lebanon’s breadbasket, has been hit hard by regional tensions. While Hezbollah strongholds in Shia-majority areas have been heavily targeted, Christian villages ...