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FIFA World Cup: 14 of the competing nations are marked by religious persecution or discrimination
As 48 countries prepare to battle for the World Cup, religious freedom remains an elusive goal for one in every three nations competing. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, taking place from 11 June to 19 July across the United States, Mexico and Canada, has brought together 48 nations for the largest tournament in the competition’s […]
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“The priority now is to rebuild lives,” says Archbishop of Caracas
Archbishop Raúl Biord of Caracas, Venezuela, says that the Church…
Venezuela: ACN allocates 100,000 euros to support Church response to earthquakes
Priests celebrate Mass in the street as churches become shelters…
ACN funded 5,368 projects in 141 countries during 2025
The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)…
Indian Church calls for National Day of Prayer to protect its charitable work serving the poor
The Church’s vast charitable work in India could be at…
Venezuela: ACN calls for prayers for the Venezuelan people after the devastating earthquakes that have damaged churches and sown fear among the population
The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need…
Crisis deepens in DR Congo as new terrorist front opens in the north
Despite the danger, and the looming threat of famine, missionaries…
Priest who remained with his people despite growing violence killed in the Nuba Mountains
Fr Youhanna Al-Amin died in Kauda, a region of Sudan…
Major Archbishop Shevchuk: “The war in Ukraine has caused many conversions”
During a visit to the headquarters of the Spanish national…
Nigeria: one year after Yelewata massacre, Church continues to demand justice for the victims
During a memorial mass held on the first anniversary of…
List of News
“The priority now is to rebuild lives,” says Archbishop of Caracas
Archbishop Raúl Biord of Caracas, Venezuela, says that the Church is accompanying the victims of the earthquakes while rescue efforts continue. As search and rescue efforts continue, following the devastating...
Venezuela: ACN allocates 100,000 euros to support Church response to earthquakes
Priests celebrate Mass in the street as churches become shelters following deadly earthquakes As rescue teams continue to search for survivors under the rubble following the devastating earthquakes that struck...
ACN funded 5,368 projects in 141 countries during 2025
The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) received €145.8 million in donations and legacies and supported one in every ten priests and one in every eight seminarians...
Indian Church calls for National Day of Prayer to protect its charitable work serving the poor
The Church’s vast charitable work in India could be at risk if law makers tighten the already restrictive law on foreign funding of NGOs. Christians all over India are preparing...
Venezuela: ACN calls for prayers for the Venezuelan people after the devastating earthquakes that have damaged churches and sown fear among the population
The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) calls for prayer for the people of Venezuela, after the two strong earthquakes that have shaken the country, causing...
Crisis deepens in DR Congo as new terrorist front opens in the north
Despite the danger, and the looming threat of famine, missionaries on the ground insist they will not abandon their flocks, since they are “living signs of God’s presence”. Hundreds of...
Priest who remained with his people despite growing violence killed in the Nuba Mountains
Fr Youhanna Al-Amin died in Kauda, a region of Sudan marked by tribal tensions and disputes among armed groups. According to local sources, the killing appears to have been an...
Major Archbishop Shevchuk: “The war in Ukraine has caused many conversions”
During a visit to the headquarters of the Spanish national office of ACN, the primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church spoke of the role of priests as “wounded healers”...
Nigeria: one year after Yelewata massacre, Church continues to demand justice for the victims
During a memorial mass held on the first anniversary of the tragedy, Bishop Anagbe remembered the victims and renewed his call for the displaced to be able to return to...
Bishop Silvano Pedroso: A humble shepherd who was close to the people
ACN mourns the death of Cuba’s first bishop of African descent. Pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) expresses its deepest regret over the death of Bishop Silvano...
Nigeria: Terrorists burned Adama Dutse to the ground. Faith, persistence and help from ACN rebuilt it
The reconstruction of a remote village in Nigeria is a sign that hope can triumph over despair, and violence will not have the final word. On 27 May 2026, the...
FIFA World Cup: 14 of the competing nations are marked by religious persecution or discrimination
As 48 countries prepare to battle for the World Cup, religious freedom remains an elusive goal for one in every three nations competing. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, taking place...
From forgiveness to uncertainty: the story of a priest in southern Lebanon
Fr Youssef Semaan watches on as the conflict in Lebanon empties his village and threatens decades of coexistence between Christians and Muslims. The war in southern Lebanon is damaging more...
Statement By The President Of Aid to The Church In Need (ACN)
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has received with deep concern the urgent appeal issued by His Excellency Archbishop Georges Iskandar, Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop of Tyre, regarding the...
Nigeria: “At last, killers have been held to account,” says bishop, as Pentecost massacre gunmen found guilty
Bishop Jude Arogundade thanked ACN for its campaign on behalf of survivors, who “will always carry the scars of what happened that day.” The bishop who spearheaded the campaign for...
Pope and African bishops decry murder of Mozambican prelate
Bishop Osório Citora Afonso was a friend and collaborator of ACN, and the foundation has expressed its deep sorrow with his death. Two days after the murder of the bishop...
MOZAMBIQUE: Bishop of Quelimane shot dead at residence
The Bishop Osório Cítora Afonso, of Quelimane, Mozambique, was shot dead in the early hours of this morning, June 6, and his body was found in a corridor of the...
ACN International President Cardinal Kurt Koch: “Today there are more martyrs than in the first centuries of Christianity”
During the annual pilgrimage for persecuted Christians in Einsiedeln, the President of ACN International reflected on contemporary martyrdom, Christian unity and the mission of the charity. Cardinal Kurt Koch, President...
Nigeria: Bishop of Kontagora welcomes arrest of suspects linked to Catholic school kidnapping and calls for justice
"The families will be relieved and happy to hear that those who planned the abduction of their children have been arrested. This is truly good news," says Bishop Bulus Yohanna....
Jihadists are trying to establish a caliphate in northern Mozambique, says bishop
Villagers in Cabo Delgado used to be united despite their religious diversity, but lately religion has become a dividing factor, reports Bishop António Juliasse. The Jihadists who have been waging...
New Chaldean Patriarch tells Iraqi Christians: “Your presence is a mission”
In a message to Paul III Nona, ACN’s executive president recalled the sufferings of the Chaldean faithful in Iraq, who “have been so often called to bear witness to their...
Church has to be about more than feelings, says hurricane-dodging bishop
As secularism grows across the Caribbean and more young people drift away from the Church, Archbishop Gabriel Malzaire of Saint Lucia believes Christians must rediscover a deeper and more resilient...
“Religious persecution in Europe and the Americas has become a trend”
The number of churches attacked or vandalised in Europe and the Americas continues to rise, while Christians often lack the legal instruments to fight back against discrimination and persecution. An...
War brings both hope and despair to Lebanon
Archbishop Hanna Rahme, of Baalbek Deir El-Ahmar, in Lebanon, seeks to keep up evangelisation efforts, welcome refugees, live alongside the Shias and encourage hope in the midst of constant crises...
DRC: When they people hear the church bells, they know there is life in the village
The residents of eastern Bukavu feel abandoned by the international community. But they know that if they flee, the M23, an armed rebel group backed by Rwanda , will take over...
“This is the saddest time for my country.” Head of bishops’ conference asks that Cuba not be forgotten
The Church in Cuba continues to accompany a population marked by fear, deep necessities in all fields of life, and uncertainty. In a conversation with Aid to the Church in...
Christians of Yaroun, southern Lebanon, fear they will never return home
The Christian residents of the south-Lebanese border town of Yaroun are living in fear that they will never be able to return to the land of their ancestors. Fr Charles...
ACN mourns Syrian archbishop who never abandoned his flock
Archbishop Jeanbart believed that had it not been for the care of God the Christians of Syria would have been wiped out during the civil war. It was with sadness...
Remembering Sudan: A responsibility that we must all bear, not just the governments
A missionary warns that the world has forgotten about Sudan, a country currently experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world due to a three-year-long civil war. In an interview...
Muslim solidarity is “sign of hope” in Mozambique, says bishop
The statement comes in the wake of a devastating attack against a landmark Catholic church and compound located in the region of Meza, Cabo Delgado. The Muslim community of Mozambique...
“Do not be afraid, just believe”: First interview with new Chaldean Patriarch Amel Shamon Nona
In 2015, the then Archbishop of Mosul left for Australia after his entire flock was exiled following the rise of the Islamic State. One decade later, he returns to Iraq,...
Islamists reduce historic church to rubble in northern Mozambique
The attack on the parish of St Louis de Montfort did not inflict any casualties on the missionaries but generated widespread panic among the Christian population. A historic church in...
South Sudan: The bishop who brought his diocese back to life
When Bishop Stephen Nyodho was appointed for the Diocese of Malakal everything had been destroyed. No buildings, no services, and no flock. With courage and leading by example, he began...
Ukraine: Nuncio warns of growing fatigue and spiritual needs amid war
Archbishop Kulbokas describes the reality of the front line and the role of priests accompanying soldiers. The Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, has described the situation in the...
Holy Land increasingly emptied of Christians: “We dream of reaching even 5%, but we are far from that”
In an address to representatives of Aid to the Church in Need, Benedictine Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel offered a stark and personal account of the fragile and rapidly shrinking Christian presence...
Statement on desecration of Christian statue in Lebanon
ACN calls on all to pray for the Christian communities in Lebanon, and for all those involved in regional conflicts to uphold and respect religious freedom and respect. Aid to...
Equatorial Guinea’s spiritual preparation for historic Papal trip
The local Church hopes that there will be a “before and an after” this visit, which comes over four decades after the last. The Church in Equatorial Guinea is in...
The Bishops of Angola hope that the Pope’s visit will boost Angolan youth and heal the wounds of the past
Peace is more than the absence of war, say Angolan bishops as Pope Leo visits Pope Leo will visit Angola on 18 April, as part of a trip to Africa...
Algeria: Visit of Pope Leo XIV bolsters mission of small, vibrant Church and dialogue with Islam
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Algeria yesterday, 13 April, for a historic visit that shines a spotlight on the small but vibrant local Church and the role of dialogue between...
Bishop Dassi on the Pope’s Visit: “The Church in Cameroon is vibrant, but the Anglophone conflict remains an open wound”
As Pope Leo XIV prepares to visit Cameroon on 15 and 16 April, pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) interviewed Bishop Emmanuel Dassi, of Bafia Diocese, who...
Aid worker says people feel “dehumanised” as Lebanon buckles under bombings
Among the priorities is the reopening of schools and paying teacher’s salaries, as these play a crucial role in spreading Christian values in the region. People are feeling “scared, angry...
Angola. “We cannot host the ‘Messenger of Peace’ with our hearts full of hate”
As the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to hear the Gospel prepares to receive a visit from Pope Leo XIV, the Church makes a renewed appeal for reconciliation in Angola....
Christian Villages in South Lebanon: Security Alert
Faced with the pending withdrawal of the Lebanese Army from the south of the country, Christians who are attached to their land have expressed their concern with the future. Four...
Middle East: Holy Week begins under the sign of the cross
ACN expresses concern over Palm Sunday restrictions in Jerusalem, Syria and Gaza, and conveys its support for Christians in the Holy Land. The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church...
Paschal hope among the ruins in Gaza
Holy Week has begun against a backdrop of persistent war and shortages in the Catholic compound in Gaza. Despite everything, the community intends to celebrate Easter to the full, sustained...
Nigeria: “Holy Week for us is not history, it is reality. My people are living an exodus”
The bishop of Wukari tells ACN about the suffering of his people and says that the federal government of Nigeria must do more to stop violence. The Diocese of Wukari,...
Jerusalem: Christian schools under threat
On 10 March 2026, the Israeli Ministry of Education announced that no work permits will be issued for the 2026-2027 academic year to Palestinian teachers residing in the occupied West...
Lebanon. “This is not a just war; it is a defeat for us all”
Bishop Jules Boutros, from Lebanon, tells ACN that even though the Israeli attacks are supposedly against Hezbollah, they are affecting all Lebanese. As Israel continues to attack several sites in...