ACN representative in Lebanon expresses mixture of exasperation and hope in midst of humanitarian crisis The day before Israel began a new military campaign in Lebanon, many people there were expressing relief that the country had not been dragged into the Mideast conflict. But then Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel, to retaliate for the US-Israel military operation in Iran. And Israel renewed its campaign against Hezbollah strongholds. Now, said Marielle Boutros, Project Coordinator ...

The Christian community has refused the official account that Marqas Masih committed suicide, and claim instead that he was murdered. Two men have been arrested. Church leaders are demanding justice after a Christian laborer in Pakistan was found hanged at a farm outbuilding, amid growing suspicions that he was tortured to death. The body of Catholic man Marqas Masih, 22, was reportedly discovered at the farm outside the city of Sargodha, in Punjab. Marqas Masih‘s family say the farm owner ...

Since the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East at the end of February 2026, the southern border of Lebanon has again become a war zone. In this context of increased violence, Fr. Maroun Youssef Ghafari, the Maronite parish priest of Alma Sha’b, on the border with Israel, has decided to stay with his community despite the danger. His determination has already been put to the test in a dramatic way, when his brother Sami Ghafari, 70, was killed ...

The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) calls for prayers for Fr. Pierre El Rai, a Maronite priest from the Maronite Diocese of Tyre and a project partner of the foundation in southern Lebanon, who was killed amid the current escalation of violence in the region. According to information received by ACN, the priest was helping people affected by a bombardment in a nearby area when another attack occurred. The exact circumstances of his death are still ...

The return of war to the Middle East has reopened old wounds, and many Christians are again contemplating leaving the region. A drone strike last Wednesday, March 4, damaged Church-owned buildings in Ankawa, the Christian-majority district of Erbil in northern Iraq, raising fears among local Christians about their future in the region amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. “When war erupts in the Middle East, we face another erosion, fast or slow. Do we stay? Do our children have ...

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom details worrying trends in Nigeria, Middle East, Indian subcontinent, and even in the West. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the independent, nonpartisan panel that advises the U.S. government, is recommending the redesignation of 13 “Countries of Particular Concern and designating five additional countries be added to that list. The nations now on the list of CPCs are Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and ...