The situation for Christians in Syria varies from city to city, according to local sources, and Christians have greeted with cautious optimism the transitional government’s guarantees to respect religious freedom.  Christian leaders in Syria have expressed their willingness to work with the provisional government, following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, to build a new country based on equal rights.   According to local sources contacted by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Christians are committed to playing a ...

With 54 years of service in a rural parish in the Diocese of Guaranda in Ecuador, Salesian Father Antonio Polo has changed the region through pastoral and spiritual labor – but also, with the help of the local population, through business ventures such as the development of Salinerito Cheese. When Father Antonio Polo arrived in Salinas, Ecuador from his native Italy, over five decades ago, he was not only struck by the beauty of the landscape, but also by the difficult ...

Due to massive destruction in the Bekaa Valley and in southern Lebanon, ACN’s emergency relief projects are very significant for the country.  “With the appointment of a new president, hope returned to Lebanon,” reports Marielle Boutros, project coordinator for the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in Lebanon. “The war was hell for us. Every Christian here has thought about leaving the country. Many people are still struggling with great difficulties, and the situation is anything ...

A series of attacks on Christian communities in December, including on Christmas Day, left dozens dead, according to recent reports from ACN’s local Church sources. Dozens of Christians were killed in attacks in and around Christmas time in Nigeria, especially in Benue State. News of these attacks only recently came to the attention of the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), after the foundation received reports from local Church partners, highlighting the lack of coverage of ...

2025 could be a difficult year for Catholic schools in Mali. According to ACN’s Malian project partners, state subsidies will cease from the beginning of the 2025-2026 academic year, which plunges theses schools into an uncertain future. Mali is increasingly suffering from the influence of fundamentalism, and most actors and partners in its Catholic education system emphasize the important role that Catholic schools play in development and interreligious dialogue, and hence the preservation of peace in Mali. “We really need ...

Of all the current war zones in the world, Sudan is among the least likely to heed Pope Francis’s repeated calls for peace in the world, as both sides show no signs of wanting to end hostilities, and the Christian presence in the country is minuscule. In this article, ACN shares the story of a bishop who bravely continues to lead his flock in the city of El-Obeid and finds hope in the Blessed Sacrament. The bishop spoke of this ...