Church leaders have denounced new violent attacks on the last all-Christian town in the West Bank.  Extremist settlers entered the Palestinian town of Taybeh, to the east of Ramallah, on July 28, torching cars and spraying hostile graffiti.  The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches put out a statement on July 29, expressing their “profound concern” over what they say are recurring incidents. They said, “Several vehicles were set ablaze, and hateful graffiti was sprayed – an unambiguous act of intimidation ...

More than 600 young people in the Holy Land have been able to experience a week of fun and freedom, thanks to the local Church and the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). This year, because of the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran, the opportunity to get away from the difficulties of their daily lives was even more important.   Every year, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem organizes summer camps in Palestine and Israel for ...

A gift to young pilgrims: The sacrament of confession as a way to conversion.  The Circus Maximus in Rome will be hosting one of the greatest catechetical initiatives of the Holy Year on August 1, during the Youth Jubilee, with the distribution of 10,000 free copies of a special edition of the “YOUCAT Confession” book. This initiative, organized by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need, in cooperation with the YOUCAT Foundation and the Dicastery for Evangelization, is ...

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has received a new and moving testimony from Gaza, following the July 17 attack on the Catholic Church of the Holy Family, which left three people dead and more than ten wounded. Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the local Catholic community, sent a message directly to the pontifical foundation, expressing his gratitude, but also his pain and unshakeable faith in the midst of the tragedy. “Here we are, after these terrible ...

At least 40 people, including many children, were killed in a massacre in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the early hours of Sunday, July 27. The attack took place in the east of the country, in the location of Komanda, Ituri. According to information gathered by pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the victims were killed by militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a terrorist group that has pledged loyalty to the Islamic State ...

The situation in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda, where fighting between different ethnic and religious communities has caused widespread bloodshed and suffering, remains dire. The attacks also affect Christian communities in the area.   Sources close to the charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) say that despite the serious risk, the Capuchin church of Jesus the King in the city of Suwayda has now become a shelter for some 250 people – between 60 and 70 families from ...