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 ...

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, ...

On the second day of his first international voyage, Pope Leo XIV singled out Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) as an example of uniting faith and charity. In an address during a prayer meeting of bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons and pastoral workers at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul, Pope Leo said on November 28 that the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the ecumenical council that produced the Nicene Creed, is an occasion ...

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 ...