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religious freedom

The flag of Nigeria on a military uniform. Bumble Dee/Shutterstock.

U.S. Government Accused of Overlooking Religious Violations in Nigeria

Jan 11, 2024

An international Christian legal advocacy organization, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International has accused the United States of America Government of turning a blind eye to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria after the West African nation was omitted from the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list of worst religious freedom offenders.

Credit: ACN

Researchers Foresee “mass exodus” of Young Nigerian Christians: This is Why

Jun 28, 2023

The passivity of Nigerian authorities amid systematic religious-based attacks have left many young Christians in Nigeria disillusioned and many may leave the West African country, a recent report by the Catholic Pontifical and Charity Foundation, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, has shown.

Religious freedom index in Africa. Credit: Courtesy of Aid to the Church in Need-US

New Report on Christian Persecution Paints Grim Picture of Africa

Jun 25, 2023

Out of the 28 countries where Christians are most persecuted in the world, 13 are African, the Religious Freedom Report 2023 shows, painting a grim picture of religious freedom on the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent.

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Abandoned at the Border: Priest Tells How he was Expelled from Nicaragua During Holy Week

Apr 11, 2023

Father Donaciano Alarcón, a Claretian missionary expelled from Nicaragua by the dictatorship, described how the authorities leveled unfounded accusations against him, took him to the border with Honduras, and abandoned him to his fate.

Image credit: James (Unsplash)

Ortega Dictatorship Expels a Another Religious Congregation from Nicaragua

Sep 22, 2022

The dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has expelled the Religious Sisters of the Cross, thus continuing its attacks against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua.

Bishop Jude Arogundade in Washington, D.C., on June 30, 2022 outside the Belmont House, where he attended a breakfast social with U.S. congressmen and religious freedom advocates. Shannon Mullen/CNA

Nigerian Catholic Bishop Calls Church Massacre "my own September 11th"

Jul 6, 2022

Bishop Jude Arogundade wants the world to know that a genocide against Christians is happening in Nigeria.

Missionaries of Charity. Credit: Willuconquer (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Missionaries of Charity among Nongovernmental Entities Ordered to Shut Down in Nicaragua

Jun 30, 2022

The order to shut down the sisters and 100 other nongovernmental organizations was requested by a Sandinista legislator in a June 22 letter.

Map of Nigeria. Shutterstock

Catholic Parish in Kaduna, Nigeria, Hard Hit in Last Sunday Attack

Jun 21, 2022

“We lost three of our parishioners, and 36 people were kidnapped, the majority of whom were Catholics,” a Nigerian pastor says.

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun departs the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, Nov. 18, 2014. Bohumil Petrik/CNA.

Cardinal Zen Appears in Court in Hong Kong, Enters Plea of Not Guilty Alongside Co-accused

May 24, 2022

The date set for Cardinal Zen’s trial is Sept. 19.

The entrance to Christ the King Major Seminary in Fayit, Fadan Kagoma, Nigeria, whence three seminarians were abducted Oct. 11, 2021. Courtesy photo.

Victims of Persecution in Nigeria Must be Listened to, Expert Says, Bishops Decry Violence

Jan 29, 2022

Victims of persecution in Nigeria must be listened to, an expert on the persecution of Christians told students at the Franciscan University of Steubenville on Friday. 

Nurse Mary Onuoha holds the cross on her necklace. Christian Concern.

Nigerian-born Catholic Nurse Unfairly Dismissed Over Cross Necklace, UK Tribunal Rules

Jan 7, 2022

The verdict was hailed as a ‘landmark ruling.’

Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza of the Diocese of Yola, pictured in 2015. Ogalaemmauel/CC BY-SA 4.0

Christian Persecution in Nigeria “more intense now than ever”: Catholic Bishop

Dec 16, 2021

A Nigerian Catholic bishop has challenged the United States Secretary of State to justify his decision to remove Nigeria from a persecution watchlist, saying that he has witnessed firsthand the brutal ongoing persecution against Christians in Africa’s most populous nation. 

The flag of Nigeria on a military uniform. Bumble Dee/Shutterstock.

Legal Group Joins Outcry over Removal of Nigeria from Religious Freedom Watch List

Nov 23, 2021

An international legal group has joined the outcry over the U.S. State Department’s decision to remove Nigeria from this year’s watchlist of countries with the most egregious violations of religious freedom. 

A pictorial representation of the African countries experiencing violations of religious freedom. Credit: Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International

Multiple African Countries Experiencing Violations of Religious Freedom: Report

Apr 20, 2021

The Religious Freedom in the World Report (RFR) 2021 has listed several countries in Africa among those experiencing “the most intense” violations of religious freedom.

Recent Declaration on Religious Freedom in Sudan Opportunity for Freedoms: Archbishop

Oct 30, 2020

The signing of the International Religious Freedom Round Table Declaration aimed at promoting peace and freedom of worship among all Sudanese communities provides an opportunity “for more religious freedom,” the Archbishop of Sudan’s Khartoum Archdiocese said.

Flag of Nigeria on soldiers arm. Credit: Bumble Dee/Shutterstock

Islamic Militants Kidnap Hundreds in Raid on Nigerian Town

Aug 20, 2020

Militants with the Islamic State West Africa Province attacked the town of Kukawa in northeastern Nigeria on Tuesday, abducting hundreds of people.

Catholic church, in the city of Akure, the largest city in Ondo State, Nigeria. Via Shutterstock

Send Special Envoy to Protect Nigerian Christians, Says Former Congressman

Jun 27, 2020

The United States should send a special envoy to Nigeria to help coordinate the protection of the Christian population and prevent further destabilization in the area, said former Rep. Frank Wolf on Thursday, June 25.

Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria. Credit: Jordi C/Shutterstock

Christian Pastor and Pregnant Wife Killed in Nigeria

Jun 9, 2020

A Christian pastor and his pregnant wife were killed on their farm in northeastern Nigeria last week, the latest victims in a series of abductions and killings of Christians in the country.

Pope Francis and UN Secretary General António Guterres in the Vatican Apostolic Palace Dec. 20, 2019. Credit: credit: EWTN-CNA/Evandro Inetti/Vatican Pool

Pope Francis and UN Secretary General record video urging religious freedom, climate protection

Dec 20, 2019

Pope Francis and the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres recorded a video message together at the Vatican Friday in which the two leaders urge the importance of religious freedom, human dignity, and environmental protection.

Pope Francis greets Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria, who as prefect of the CDF, leads the International Theological Commission. Credit: Vatican Media.

Pope Francis: Synodality is what the Lord expects of the Church

Nov 29, 2019

Pope Francis told the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s theological commission Friday that synodality will be key for the Church in the future.