Lebanese cardinal: Christian exodus weakens moderate Islam
The exodus of Christians from the Middle East — due to wars, conflicts, socio-economic crises and persecution — will weaken moderate Islam “which, thanks to the Islamic-Christian conviviality, is so...
View ArticleIraqi nun urges US to do more to help refugees displaced by ISIS
Dominican Sister Diana Momeka from Iraq has urged US congress to do more to help Christians displaced from her country “go back home”. Sister Diana, a Dominican Sister of St Catherine of Siena of...
View ArticleISIS’s ideological idiocy threatens the ancient majesty of Palmyra
The news from Syria continues to be awful. We have been informed by one of their Bishops that the people of Aleppo are losing hope and more recently that ISIS have come close to capturing Palmyra....
View ArticlePapal envoy visits displaced Christians in Iraq
Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, representing Pope Francis, and Cardinal Bechara Rai, the Maronite Catholic patriarch, traveled to Irbil, Iraq, to meet with Christians who had fled from ISIS forces....
View ArticleFrancis condemns terrorist attacks in Tunisia, Kuwait and France
Pope Francis has expressed his solidarity with victims of Friday’s terror attacks in Tunisia, France and Kuwait. In telegrams sent by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, to the governments of...
View ArticleArchbishop of Damascus: 91 churches and 1,400 mosques destroyed in Syria...
The Maronite Archbishop of Damascus, Samir Nassar, has written to Christians in the West asking them to help his country’s 12 million refugees and displaced people. In a letter to Aid to the Church in...
View ArticleHow religious is ISIS?
The failure of catechesis evident in the result of the Irish referendum is a symptom of a wider failure in the Western education system. Religious literacy is at a low ebb. Education in “spirituality”,...
View ArticleBooks blog: Preaching non-violence amid the carnage
I watched Andrzej Wajda’s film, Katyn on DVD the other night – the story of the cold-blooded massacre of thousands of Polish officers by Stalin’s secret police during the last war. I have also been...
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Christians must pull together to face global challenges, says former...
THE former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has said Christians should “pull together” to tackle society’s challenges with more “weight”. He was speaking before his talk at Arundel and...
View ArticleReports: Melkite priest kidnapped in Syria
Fears are growing that a Melkite Greek Catholic priest has been kidnapped in Syria, according to Fides news agency. Fr Antoine Boutros, pastor of a parish in the city of Shahba, and Al-Said Abdun, who...
View ArticleISIS ‘kidnap three African Christians in Libya’
ISIS has kidnapped three African Christians in eastern Libya, the terrorist group has claimed on social media. According to Reuters, ISIS published the passport pictures of the three men, who come from...
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Sense of hopelessness engulfing Iraqi refugees, says priest
When ISIS overran the Iraqi town of Qaraqosh last August, one of the priests there jumped into his car and joined the exodus of Christians on the road east in the hope of reaching the safety of...
View ArticleISIS release 22 Assyrian Christians in Syria
ISIS has released 22 Assyrian Christians in north-eastern Syria, according to the British-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory on Human Rights (SOHR). The 22 mostly elderly people, including 14...
View ArticleFrench churches get increased security before feast of Assumption
Catholic churches in France have been placed under police protection and urged to take extra security measures against possible Islamist attacks before the feast of the Assumption on Sunday. “Every...
View ArticleCoptic Catholics welcome Egypt’s new terrorism laws but warn on personal...
Egypt’s Catholic Church has welcomed tough new anti-terrorism laws, but warned the country’s military-backed government not to violate personal freedoms. “Recent bomb attacks have shown terrorism is a...
View ArticleISIS has just ripped a community’s heart out
When I first moved to Dayr Mar Elian in the summer of 2001 I was slightly disconcerted when the Qurwani, as the people of Qaryatayn are known, kept asking me if I had met Mar Elian yet. Since he is...
View ArticleArchbishop of Damascus: Nine dead and 47 injured in ‘rain of mortars’ in Syria
The Maronite Archbishop of Damascus has spoken about the moment bombs rained down on his neighbourhood – killing nine people and injuring 50. Two churches were the target of “a rain of mortars” on...
View ArticleAfter Brussels attacks, Pope asks Virgin Mary to help ‘convert the hearts of...
In the wake of the terrorist attacks on Brussels, Pope Francis has requested prayers for the conversion of heart of those taken in by fundamentalism. At his Wednesday audience, the Pope said: “To all,...
View ArticleISIS claim responsibility for stabbing of Christian convert in Bangladesh
ISIS have claimed responsibility for the killing of Hussein Ali Sarkar, a Christian stabbed to death yesterday in Bangladesh. According to SITE, a US-based intelligence group, ISIS said they carried...
View Article‘Faith overshadows fear’ amid Boko Haram’s attacks, says bishop
A Nigerian bishop serving a diocese under threat from Boko Haram has said that faith is more important than fear. But he said the terrorist group has wreaked terrible damage in the area. “Fear will...
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