Bashar Matti Warda reflects on founding, growth, and future of institution born amid ISIS invasion. On December 8, 2015, in a city in northern Iraq, 11 students began taking classes in a new university, born amid terror, war, and fear – and one of the most dramatic persecutions of Christians to be seen in modern times. The name of the new institution was The Catholic University in Erbil (CUE). Its initial enrollment of 11 doesn’t sound like much, but for ...

In the summer of 2014, Yohana Yaqoob Abdeesh Al-Zeebaree was a 12-year-old boy when his world turned upside down. From his home in Duhok, a city in northern Iraq, he recalls the whispers spreading across neighborhoods: ISIS was moving closer. “There was this huge scare,” said Al-Zeebaree, a Chaldean Catholic who is now 23. “I remember the night when they said ISIS got close to the northern cities, like Erbil and Duhok. Everyone was watching the news, and we got ...

A yearly campaign of Aid to the Church in Need, added to the Holy Father’s appeal to pray the Rosary for Peace, reinforces the importance of seeking the Blessed Mother’s intercession. October is traditionally the month of the Rosary, and this year, it takes on a special significance with Pope Leo XIV’s call to pray daily for peace. On October 11, as part of the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality, the Pope will lead the Rosary in St. Peter’s Square.  Aid ...

In Guerrero, one of the most violent states in Mexico, faith is the last refuge for a people who live under the weight of organized crime. Bishop José de Jesus González of the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa carries out his pastoral mission with a commitment that has put him, quite literally, in the line of fire. Bishop Gonzalez arrived in his diocese three years ago, following 12 years in the Prelature of Nayar, where he had already been exposed to serious ...

Aid to the Church in Need echoes Pope Leo’s call for peace. The Gaza Strip is currently going through one of the darkest periods of its recent history. Last week, a United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide against the population of Gaza, denouncing crimes against humanity in the conflict which has been ongoing for almost two years. Deeply moved, Pope Leo XIV has once again raised his voice to call on the international community ...

International Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) expresses its deep concern for and solidarity with the families of the victims of a brutal attack carried out on September 8-9 in Ntoyo, in the parish of Saint Joseph of Manguredjipa, in the province of North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The attack has been attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). According to local sources close to the charity, the massacre left at least 64 dead, ...