ACN Ireland | Latest News

The ACN Journal provides the latest news about Aid to the Church in Need and our work protecting the rights of Christians and supporting the suering and persecuted Church.

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DRC: Bishop calls on authorities to end the torment of the Congolese people

25/06/2024, Author: Sina Hartert.

After new massacres in North-Kivu, Mgr Sikuli Paluku, Bishop of Butembo-Beni, in a message sent to ACN, denounces the atrocities committed by the ADF since the beginning of June 2024. The bishop insists that there cannot be a separation between faith and the defence of human dignity.

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143.7 million euro in donations to help Christians in need in 138 countries during 2023

25/06/2024, Author: Maria Lozano.

ACN’s accounts for 2023 once again reflect the generosity of the foundation’s benefactors from all over the world to help suffering Christians and the Church in Need. Ukraine, Syria and Lebanon were the countries that received the most aid in 2023, while Africa was the continent which received the most support.

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Archbishop in southern Lebanon: “We find ourselves in a state of war!”

ACN and the local Church are calling for prayer so that peace may be restored to the region. Daily rocket fire in southern Lebanon is plunging the inhabitants into deeper poverty than they were already suffering as a result of the terrible financial crisis in 2019. The Church is standing with the people, providing practical help for their needs and providing a moving witness of courage.

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Democratic Republic of Congo 30 years of wartime evangelisation

The Rwandan genocide of 1994 is known worldwide, but what is less well known is that it resulted in the neighbouring eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo being shaken by successive wars and crises. Over the course of these three decades, the Congolese church, with the help of ACN, has brought hope to a sorely tried population.

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A “gap” of inhumanity: Latin American bishop cries out over Darién crisis

The Archbishop of Panama spoke to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) about his experience in the region of the Darién Gap, one of the most inhospitable migratory routes in Latin America. Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa highlighted the urgent need for attention and action in the face of the terrible conditions that thousands of migrants face while attempting this perilous crossing.

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Another Nigerian priest abducted

Father Gabriel is the sixth priest to be kidnapped in Nigeria this year alone. The other five were all released unharmed. Unknown assailants kidnapped a Catholic priest from his parish in Kaduna State, north-west Nigeria, on Sunday, 9 June.

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Sudanese Christians grow closer to God

06/06/2024, Author: Filipe d’Avillez

Father Jacob Thelekkadan decided to remain in Sudan during the civil war to support the Salesian religious sisters in Dar Mariam to provide shelter and basic aid to the displaced. Despite the bombings and extreme shortages, they maintain an atmosphere of faith and serenity thanks to the Eucharist and daily prayer, gifting hope in the midst of the conflict.

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Pakistan International community must act to stop abuse of blasphemy law – bishop

04/06/2024, Author: John Pontifex

A leading Catholic bishop has made an impassioned plea calling on world powers to come together and demand that the Pakistan authorities act to protect the lives of persecuted minority faith groups under increasing threat from flagrant misuse of the country’s notorious blasphemy laws.

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Prison ministry in Ecuador: Freeing souls through Christ’s mercy

04/06/2024 Author: Lucía Ballester

The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) supports a prison ministry programme for priests and lay volunteer missionaries in the Archdiocese of Guayaquil, Ecuador, to care for and accompany both prisoners and their families, offering hope in the environment of insecurity that has taken over the country in recent months.

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Colombia: A benefactor deep in the jungle

The Apostolic Vicariate of Mitú in Colombia covers 54,000 square kilometres, making it larger than Belgium, the Netherlands, or Switzerland. The pastoral work carried out is mostly missionary in nature. Mitú is also where a lone ACN benefactor tries to live out his faith as an example of the community that helps sustain the Church.

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Burundi: “ACN trained me and accompanied my mission like a mother”

04/06/2024 Author: Maria Lozano

We bring you the testimony of Sister Joséphine Toyi from Burundi. Born into a context of political crisis, with the help of ACN, she was able to study and became one of the first Burundian religious to obtain a Doctorate in Theology.

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Appeals for prayers following devastating landslide in Papua New Guinea

04/06/2024 Author: Maria Lozano

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has received urgent and distressing reports from its local partners in Wabag Diocese, Papua New Guinea, concerning the landslide that occurred in the early hours of Friday, 24 May 2024. This tragic event has had a devastating impact on some communities of the diocese.

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Priest threatened with death in Mexico I feel like a war chaplain

29/05/2024

Mexicans go to the polls on 2 June, in a context of unchecked violence, including a total of 45 attacks against politicians during the current electoral process, with 30 candidates murdered. In the midst of this war-like situation, the Catholic Church sees itself accosted by both government agents and criminal gangs as it tries to mediate peace processes and protect its faithful.

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ACN stands in solidarity with victims of tragic flooding in Brazil

The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need is in close contact with its local partners in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, the areas worst affected by the floods, and is committed to helping with recovery efforts.

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Christian family in Pakistan attacked by angry mob

A Christian was brutally beaten after a false accusation of burning pages of the Quran. A mob of fanatics destroyed their house and business. The victim is in hospital, in critical condition.

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Father Gabriel Romanelli returns to Gaza to provide spiritual and material support in the midst of war

Despite the devastating humanitarian crisis, Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Holy Family parish in Gaza, has made the courageous decision to return to Gaza and stand by his community. Regardless of the dangers and challenges that lie ahead, Father Gabriel is determined to provide spiritual, moral, and material assistance to those in need, whatever their religious affiliation.

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