As 48 countries prepare to battle for the World Cup, religious freedom remains an elusive goal for one in every three nations competing. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, taking place from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, has brought together 48 nations for the largest tournament in the competition’s history. As millions of fans around the world follow the month-long event, another global reality deserves attention: millions of people living in 14 of the ...

Fr. Youssef Semaan looks on as the conflict in Lebanon empties his village and threatens decades of coexistence between Christians and Muslims. The war in southern Lebanon is damaging more than just infrastructure, as it causes profound changes to the social relations and human fabric of communities where Christians and Muslims live side by side, says Fr. Youssef Semaan, a Maronite parish priest. Fr. Youssef serves in Kfour, a village in the district of Nabatieh, where Christians and Muslims have ...

The Israeli military on Tuesday attacked the Lebanese port city of Tyre, in a continuing attempt to disarm the threat from the militant group Hezbollah. Tyre is home to one of the largest of Lebanon’s historic Christian communities. The military action killed at least eight people and injured dozens. Last week, Israel said Hezbollah operatives were active inside the Christian neighborhood and called on residents “to demand the removal of the organization’s operatives from your areas.” Regina Lynch, President of ...

Bishop Jude Arogundade thanked ACN for its campaign on behalf of survivors, who “will always carry the scars of what happened that day.” The bishop who spearheaded the campaign for justice following one of the worst atrocities against Christians in Nigeria has given a heartfelt response to the news that four gunmen have been found guilty in a court of law. Armed men carried out a killing spree during Pentecost Sunday Mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, ...

Bishop Osório Citora Afonso was a friend and collaborator of ACN, and the foundation has expressed its deep sorrow in response to his death. Two days after the death of the Bishop of Quelimane in Mozambique, reactions continue to pour in, though an investigation has yet to discover suspects or possible motives. On Sunday, the Vatican press office released a statement from Pope Leo XIV, currently visiting Spain, which states that he “learned with deep sorrow of the grave act ...

Bishop Osório Citora Afonso, I.M.C., of Quelimane, Mozambique, was shot dead in the early hours of Saturday, June 6, and his body was found in a corridor of the episcopal residence. In an initial official statement sent to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the President of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique said that the prelate was found “lifeless and in strange circumstances that have yet to be clarified,” and appealed for “the serenity of faith and fraternal solidarity” ...