A Pakistani archbishop painted a harrowing picture of the suffering of Christian families after last year’s riots and stressed the importance of interfaith dialogue in Westminster (29 January).

In the Archdiocese of Tripoli, Lebanon, where Christians now make up only two per cent of the population, the Church is actively promoting interreligious dialogue with Muslims, said the Maronite Archbishop of Tripoli, Mgr Youssef Soueif. During a meeting with a visiting delegation from the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need, he spoke about the challenges the economic situation in the country poses to the archdiocese.

Pope Francis has said that the real treasure of Myanmar is its people. As civil conflict worsens, Aid to the Church in Need supports the repeated calls of the local Catholic Church for peace and justice, not only for Christians but for all citizens in the country.

"Vehicles for God" was the motto of a fundraising campaign initiated by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) three-quarters of a century ago. The aim was to procure motorcycles and cars that would be used to administer pastoral care in remote areas. In this interview, Regina Lynch, Executive President of ACN, talks about the beginnings and development of this special form of aid, which is as relevant today as it was back then.

The Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, suffered 119 attacks against the settled populations by Fulani herdsmen between January and the end of December 2023.

ACN joins the Pope in asking for the immediate and unconditional release of the religious sisters from the Congregation of Saint Anne and for an end to the violence that plagues Haiti.

During a visit to the headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Miguel Angel Nguema Bee of Ebibeyin recounted the moving story of the first catechist to be martyred in Equatorial Guinea, José Si Esono, whom the local Church would like to see beatified. The bishop also spoke about the role played by catechists in the country today.

Three weeks after extremists murdered more than 300 people, burnt down entire villages and destroyed food supplies in coordinated attacks in Nigeria’s Plateau State, none of the perpetrators have been held to account.

Thanks to the generosity of Aid to the Church in Need’s benefactors, a growing Catholic school in Erbil was able to open a new kindergarten to accommodate the increasing number of children.

Nineteen clerics were released and expelled from the country, adding to the dozens of others who have been exiled in the past few years. The restrictions on religious freedom continue in a country where four out of nine dioceses now have bishops living abroad, says Regina Lynch, executive president of Aid to the Church in Need.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) provides health support to elderly religious sisters in northeast Brazil. Despite their age, the sisters remain active in their communities and continue praying for their benefactors.

Thirteen priests and one religious brother were murdered in 2023, though half were killed for reasons apparently unrelated to persecution. Arrests increased, while kidnappings of clergy and religious dropped compared to 2022, but it remains a serious concern, especially in Africa.

Yet another attack by Muslim Fulani bandits against settled communities has left Christians displaced and in despair with the lack of security and government response.

While many Christian families have fled to safer areas, priests and religious stay to minister to those who remain to look after their homes or are too old or frail to relocate, ACN is helping with food packages and medical assistance, as well as access to online education for students in Catholic schools in the area.

Maria Antónia Cabral uses only recycled material to produce traditional Portuguese devotional images which clients buy to give as gifts. All proceeds go to support Christians through Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

Since 1968, the Church has celebrated 1 January, the feast day of Mary, Mother of God, as the “International Day of Peace”. That year, Pope Paul VI called on everybody to unite for this one purpose, expressing the Catholic Church’s wish of “dedicating to thoughts and resolutions of Peace a special observance on the first day of the civil year”.

Regina Lynch, executive president of Aid to the Church in Need, highlights the worrying increase in religious freedom violations around the world but also the positive reaction to ACN campaigns such as Red Wednesday and One Million Children Praying the Rosary.

How a little ray of hope brightened the darkness for a family in Damascus during Christmas

With the world’s eyes on Gaza, few are aware that the Palestinians in the West Bank are also suffering the social and economic effects of the war in the Holy Land. Aid to the Church in Need has been accompanying Christians in the Holy Land since the very beginning of the war.