Kidnapping for ransom has become an industry in Nigeria, and priests are often targeted.   On Sunday, October 27th, a priest was kidnapped at the minor seminary where he worked and was taken by armed bandits into bushes.   Armed gunmen broke into the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary, in the Diocese of Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria, at around 7:00 P.M. and fired shots into the air, causing panic among students and staff, according to a diocesan statement sent to Aid to the ...

ACN supported the construction of a new floor for a kindergarten in Enishke, allowing it to expand its services, receive more children from families in the surrounding villages, including Kurds and Yazidis, and help sow the seeds of peace and fraternity for future generations.  The Enishke village is located in the Diocese of Dohuk, in a mountainous region of Iraqi Kurdistan in northern Iraq.   Christian, Kurdish, and Yazidi families live in the many settlements around Enishke, struggling to survive in ...

The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is organizing activities in more than 20 countries to commemorate Red Wednesday on November 20th. This annual event aims to shed light on the persecution faced by Christians worldwide and the fundamental right to religious freedom.  Throughout Europe, the Americas, and Oceania, approximately 300 ACN events will take place in hundreds of cities. What initially started as a single day of solidarity, during which churches and secular buildings were ...

Confidential sources contacted by ACN speak of a worsening of discrimination against Christian communities in two villages in the Mopti region of Mali. According to information received by the intentional Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), an Islamic extremist group that is active in the region has recently imposed a tax of 25,000 CFA Francs (about 40 dollars) on all Christians over the age of 18 in Douna-Pen, the largest Christian village in eastern Koro, Mopti.   This ...

Unidentified armed men stormed a Catholic seminary in southern Nigeria on Sunday, October 27th, and kidnapped its rector. The terrorists attacked Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in Ivhianokpodi, Edo State and captured Father Thomas Oyode during Benediction and Evening Prayer, according to a statement sent to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Father Peter Egielewa, director of communications for the Auchi Diocese, wrote in the statement that “the vice vector and all the seminarians have been accounted for ...

The bishops of Venezuela recently concluded their 45th Extraordinary Plenary Assembly, during which they discussed issues of crucial importance to the country. Over three days, from October 15-17, they met to pray and reflect on the social, political, and ecclesiastical situation in Venezuela.   In a statement called “The truth shall set you free” (John 8:31), the bishops issued a call to the National Electoral Council to publish details of the results of the elections held on July 28th, as requested ...