Harshly persecuted for her faith, Sofia ended up finding solace in God and the strength to forgive those who drove her from her country and nearly killed her several times. On August 6, 2014, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Christians had to leave everything behind and escape their homeland, as terrorists from the Islamic State overran their villages and towns in the Nineveh Plain. Among them was Sofia, who was just a 12-year-old girl at the time. Gripped with fear ...

In a joint statement, the Latin Catholic and Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Jerusalem call on both parties to end hostilities and allow families on both sides to begin to heal the wounds of war.  Both the Catholic and the Greek Orthodox clergy and religious in Gaza will stay in their respective compounds, to care for all those who wish to remain despite recent evacuation orders, as Israel undertakes a ground offensive to control Gaza City.  In their joint statement, published ...

According to Mozambican Bishop António Juliasse, the Pope’s message is that no wars should be forgotten.  During his Angelus address on Sunday, August 24, Pope Leo expressed his closeness to the people of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique. Pope Francis previously referred to the insurgency in Cabo Delgado on several occasions.   “I express my closeness to the people of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, who have become victims of an unsecure and violent situation that continues to cause death and displacement. In ...

From kindergartens to universities, many students are receiving an education, thanks to ACN-funded programs in crisis-hit countries around the world, where Christian communities are in danger of extinction.  As a new school year begins in many parts of the world, thousands of children in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Syria, Lebanon, and other crisis-hit countries face great obstacles to returning to the classroom. For them, schooling is often made possible by the support of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).   In ...

Every year, ACN helps provide summer camps for close to 100,000 children and young people in need. This year, a group of Portuguese students decided to do their part to help those in Ukraine benefit from this experience.  A group of Portuguese students raised hundreds of dollars to help provide summer camps for Ukrainian children, just by studying hard.   Members of the Darca Club, a students’ organization for extracurricular activities linked to Opus Dei, were awarded about a dollar for ...

Two years after an atrocity described as the worst outbreak of violence against Christians in Pakistan’s 78-year history, the local bishop of the district has said not one of the thousands of suspects has been brought to justice. He and his people are furious.    Bishop Indrias Rehmat said Christians in the Punjab’s Jaranwala district want to “shout and scream” in outrage at the apparent failure to deliver justice following the August 16, 2023, violence, with damage done to 26 churches, ...