Some parishes in northern Mozambique can encompass hundreds of communities, and priests and religious cannot reach them all. Catechists are often on the front lines of the Church in the most difficult regions and circumstances. Around 300 families live in difficult conditions in the Ressettlement Camp of Ntele, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. They have fled from the violence that plagues parts of the province, which has suffered from a Jihadist insurgency for over eight years, and are affected by the trauma ...

Securing the release of the remaining 165 students and staff remains the top priority of the local church, Bishop Bulus Yohanna told ACN. One hundred of the 265 students and staff members abducted on November 21 from St. Mary’s School, Papiri, have been released after more than two weeks in the hands of their captors. Following their release on December 9, the hostages — 99 students and one teacher— were taken to the city of Minna, capital of the state ...

During a risky trip to Cabo Delgado, home to ruthless jihadist violence, Cardinal Parolin thanked Aid to the Church in Need for its work. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, recently concluded a trip to Cabo Delgado, an insurgency-ridden region in Mozambique, where he met with the local Christian community in a show of solidarity from the Vatican and Pope Leo XIV. Although Mozambique is mostly Christian, Cabo Delgado, in the northeast of the country, is majority Muslim. ...

The Federal Government of Nigeria has secured the release of 100 children who had been kidnapped from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State. The release was formally confirmed to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) by the Bishop of the Diocese of Kontagora, Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, who said, “It is true. So far, 100 children have been released. We thank God for everything.” The children were among more than ...

“Evil will never win,” said Nigeria’s National Security Advisor, during a visit to the bishop of Kontagora, where over 300 children were kidnapped in late November. Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna of the Diocese of Kontagora spoke about the pain of his community during a December 1 meeting with Nigeria’s National Security Advisor, Nuhu Ribadu, following the mass kidnapping of over 300 children and staff of a Catholic school on November 21. About 50 of the students managed to escape, but ...

Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN) presented the main findings of the Religious Freedom in the World Report (RFR) at the European Parliament December 3, as part of the yearly European Prayer Breakfast. The “Human Dignity” event was hosted by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Bert-Jan Ruissen (Netherlands, European Conservatives and Reformists) and Davor Stier (Croatia, European Popular Party), both of whom are committed to the defense of fundamental rights and religious freedom in the European political ...