Pastoral Aid

As in other parts of the world, the children of Egypt look forward to the summer. In particular, there are 290 young people from the …

Christians make up a tiny and widely scattered minority in northern Burkina Faso, where 95 percent of the population is Muslim. Since 2015, the region …

There are 80 different ethnic groups in Ethiopia, with widely differing cultures and languages. Some 58% of the country’s 100 million people are Orthodox Christians …

In Pakistan, Christians and other minority groups find it nearly impossible to advance economically, mostly having to work as street sweepers, day laborers, or domestic …

The Holy Cross Parish is located in the village of Dhadim, in a remote and underdeveloped region of southern Ethiopia. Its people are members of …

The image of Mary in Berdychiv’s Carmelite Monastery and Church is a shrine for Ukraine’s Catholics. The monastery and its attached church were originally built in 1630 by the family of a Polish nobleman, who also donated the image of Mary. Since then, it has drawn large numbers of Catholic faithful, who lay their cares and concerns at the feet of the Mother of God. One of the shrine’s most significant moments was its crowning by the local bishop in 1998, with a crown blessed by Pope John Paul II.

Catholics are a minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina – barely 14%, and declining. During the Bosnian war, from 1992 to 1995, half the Catholic population was expelled or forced to emigrate. Even today many Catholics are leaving the country because they can see little future for themselves, owing to the discrimination they face in seeking employment, in the schools and in social life.

For 20 years now, the Dominican Sisters in Docordò, Colombia, have been trying to help young people. Through educational work and intensive personal accompaniment, they try to keep young people from falling into the clutches of the armed gangs, who are very prevalent and active in the region. Many of these young people are suffering and exploited, often lacking love and hope in their lives.