The Voice of the suffering and persecuted​

He also recalled how 17 years ago, he narrowly escaped death, when young Muslim extremists put a gun to his head: “I felt the cold nozzle of a .45 caliber pistol at the back of my head. Then I heard ‘click.’ Miraculously, the weapon jammed.”

Hooded vandals had dragged out the pews, statues and sacred images into the street, smashing them and setting them on fire. They also sprayed graffiti and abusive slogans on the inside walls of the church as well as on its doors.

"I cannot go anywhere alone, for I might be attacked again, and I cannot worship freely. I have no security or legal protection. Still, I do not want to leave my country. This is my home."

“Seeing people from different ages, different backgrounds, different religions and from all over Lebanon, all united together against this corrupt system—that’s all I needed to regain my hope in the Lebanon I dream of."

"So far we don’t know who killed him, although it appears that ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. What we do know is that Father Hovsep was dressed in his priestly attire and was consequently identifiable as a priest."

ACN hopes that this new initiative will restore hope for Iraq’s remaining Christians—a battered and fragile mere 10 percent of the 1.5 million Christians living in the country prior to 2003, when the US invaded the country. The subsequent civil war saw the religiously motivated murder of at least 1,000 Christians.

In keeping with the promise of Saint Padre Pio—“When one million children pray the rosary, the world will change”—the campaign is intended to strengthen the faith through the power of children’s prayers.

“We appeal to the conscience of Iraqi officials to listen seriously to their people, who are complaining of the current miserable situation, the deterioration of services, and the spread of corruption.”

"What most impresses me is that there are people on the other side of the world who are helping us, people whom we will undoubtedly never meet or get to know. They are helping because we are all one Church, united in love of the Kingdom of God.”

"The only thing we know for certain is that the bombings and above all the massacres committed by Turks against our community are forcing more and more Christians to flee.”