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Persecuted Christians
Nine Missionaries in Africa among 20 Killed in 2023: Vatican Report
Twenty Catholic missionaries were murdered in 2023, according to a new Dec. 30 report issued by the Vatican’s Fides News Agency.
Here’s where Christians continued to face persecution in 2023
Christians have been persecuted by adversarial groups since the time of the apostles, and in varied parts of the world Christians continue to face existential threats.
Nearly 200 Killed in Christmas Weekend Attacks on Nigerian Christians, Leaders Urge Action
Catholic leaders and others demand government action as victims are buried in mass graves.
There are Now 4 Shrines Dedicated to Mary, Mother of Persecuted Christians
On the eve of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a leading advocate for the persecuted Church said that awareness of religious persecution in the Western world is growing, thanks to the emergence of four new shrines dedicated to persecuted Christians in the last five years.
Advocates for Nigerian Persecuted Christians Fault US Report Depicting Fulani as Victims
Advocates for persecuted Christians in Nigeria are criticizing a new report prepared by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that they say ignores the many documented atrocities perpetrated against Christians by the Fulani ethnic group in Nigeria and instead paints the Fulani as persecuted victims.
"My parishioners shot dead in cold blood": Priests, Lay Faithful Describe Attacks in Niger
“Oh, what sorrow to have watched three of my parishioners shot dead in cold blood, right before my eyes — and I couldn’t do anything,” Nigerian parish priest Father Bako Francis Awesuh, 37, shared in a new Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) report published Friday.
Pope Francis: Jesus is "the unsurpassed model of evangelization"
Pope Francis invited Christians on Wednesday to pray for the grace to have a “pastoral heart” like Jesus that “suffers and takes risks” out of love for others.
Nigerian Musician Files Lawsuit with Supreme Court Challenging Blasphemy Conviction
A Nigerian musician is taking a case to the country’s Supreme Court challenging a death sentence he was given in 2020 for “blasphemy,” a case his lawyers hope will overturn the harsh blasphemy laws that have plagued the country’s Christians and other religious minorities for years.
Nigerian Catholic Bishop Backs Petition Demanding Justice for Persecuted Christians
A Nigerian Catholic Bishop has, in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, expressed his backing for a petition requesting that the United Kingdom (UK) government "call on their Nigerian counterparts to bring to justice those responsible for genocidal attacks” in the West African nation.
Pastor and more than 80 others Kidnapped in Attacks on Two Nigerian Churches
Armed men kidnapped more than 80 Christians last week in attacks on two separate churches in north-central and northwest Nigeria, reported Morning Star News.
Catholic Parish in Nigeria Struggling to Feed Thousands Uprooted by Violent Attacks
From May 1 to June 30, 70 unarmed persons across Benue State in north-central Nigeria were killed in attacks by Fulani herdsmen, a Catholic bishop says.
At Least 65 Christians Killed in Nigeria’s Benue State in Last Two Months: Catholic Bishop
The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi in Nigeria has decried the increase in the number of Christians killed in Nigeria’s Benue State where he says at least 65 followers of Christ have lost their lives “over the past two months” following targeted attacks.
Nigerian Catholic Bishop Calls Church Massacre "my own September 11th"
Bishop Jude Arogundade wants the world to know that a genocide against Christians is happening in Nigeria.
"A lot of material damage” Following Attack on Minor Seminary in Burkina Faso
Saint Kisito de Bougui, a minor seminary in Burkina Faso, was attacked the night of February 10-11, the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need, ACN, announced Friday, February 11.
Victims of Persecution in Nigeria Must be Listened to, Expert Says, Bishops Decry Violence
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.
"We all weep for these victims": Nigerian Cardinal Responds after Gunmen Kill 200 People
Cardinal Onaiyekan said: ‘They attack farmers’ fields, kill farmers and no one says anything.’
Nigeria’s Church Leaders Condemn Sunday Killing, Abduction of Christians in Kaduna Region
Church leaders in Nigeria’s Kaduna region have condemned the Sunday killing and abduction of Christians of a local church, saying the incident is an expression of the “sorry state of the security situation in the country and in particular, Kaduna State.”
"Terrorism and death never have the last word": Pope Francis in the Nineveh Plains
Pope Francis entrusted the rebuilding of Christian communities in the Nineveh Plains to the protection of the Virgin Mary at a cathedral that was once desecrated and burned by the Islamic State.
Pope Francis Praises Coptic Orthodox Martyrs as "saints of all Christians"
Pope Francis has praised the courageous witness of the 21 Coptic Orthodox Christians killed by ISIS in 2015, calling them “saints of all Christians.”
We Have a Lot to Learn this Lent from Persecuted Christians, Advocate Says at Vatican
In approaching the penitential practices of Lent, Catholics can learn a lot from persecuted Christian communities, an advocate for Aid to the Church in Need said at the Vatican on Friday.
