Caritas increases aid as refugees flood out of Syria

Sep 9, 2012 - 04:40 pm .- Caritas Internationalis is ramping up its efforts to help the growing number of Syrian families who have fled the conflict in their homeland.

Iraqi archbishop: make Christian survival focus of papal meeting

Sep 7, 2012 - 04:01 am .- Iraqi Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk has asked the Catholic patriarchs and bishops of the Middle East to speak with Pope Benedict XVI about their fears that the survival of Christianity in the region is at risk.

Pope calls on lay Africans to evangelize their continent

Sep 7, 2012 - 02:30 am .- Pope Benedict XVI has called upon lay Catholics to evangelize Africa, the “continent of hope.”

Exiled Jesuit priest still hopeful for Syria's future

Sep 6, 2012 - 01:12 pm .- The Italian Jesuit who was exiled from Syria after criticizing President Bashar al-Assad says he is still hopeful for the country’s future despite its descent into war.

Vandals hit Catholic monastery in Holy Land with fire and graffiti

Sep 5, 2012 - 03:44 pm .- Vandals set fire to the door of the Latroun Monastery near Jerusalem on the morning of Sept. 4 and spray painted the walls with blasphemous phrases in Hebrew.

Imam allegedly faked evidence in Pakistan blasphemy case

Sep 5, 2012 - 02:07 am .- Several witnesses have charged that a Muslim cleric fabricated evidence against a Down syndrome Christian girl accused of violating Pakistan’s strict blasphemy law.

Thousands of Christians trapped in Syrian village

Aug 25, 2012 - 04:38 pm .- Syrian rebel forces have trapped over 12,000 Greek Catholics in a village near the Lebanese border, causing shortages of food, medicine and other urgent supplies.

Pope to proceed with Lebanon trip despite Syria violence

Aug 23, 2012 - 02:17 am .- As fighting in neighboring Syria rages on, Pope Benedict XVI has confirmed that he will proceed with his trip to Lebanon as planned.

Mentally impaired child arrested under Pakistan's anti-blasphemy law

Aug 21, 2012 - 03:59 am .- A young girl who suffers from Down's Syndrome has been arrested in Pakistan for allegedly burning a page from the Quran and could face the death penalty.

Maronite patriarch warns Syrian conflict could spread to Lebanon

Aug 19, 2012 - 05:04 pm .- Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai of Antioch, the head of the Maronite Catholic Church, has warned that the armed conflict in Syria is affecting neighboring Lebanon and could trigger a major conflict in the country.

Catholic vicariate moves from Kuwait to Bahrain

Aug 14, 2012 - 01:56 am .- The Catholic Church’s Vicariate of Northern Arabia will move its headquarters from Kuwait to Bahrain, saying the country’s location is more accessible for meetings.

Church leaders urge Egyptian troops to rescue Sinai hostages

Aug 10, 2012 - 12:07 am .- “Dramatic changes” in the Sinai peninsula region offer Egypt's government a chance to rescue trafficking and torture victims, an assembly of Middle Eastern Catholic leaders said Aug. 9.

Christian community in Nigeria rocked by new wave of attacks

Aug 7, 2012 - 05:32 pm .- Nigerian Christians are losing patience after an Aug. 6 attack on a church service in a central region of the country that killed twenty-five Christians.

Syrian Christians begin traditional fast amid continuing violence

Aug 3, 2012 - 05:06 pm .- The head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church encouraged Syria's Eastern Catholics to offer prayers for peace during their church's traditional August 1–14 fasting period in honor of the Virgin Mary.

Islamists attack Christians, Iraqi refugees in Damascus

Jul 23, 2012 - 04:50 pm .- The Syrian rebels’ attack on Damascus has allowed radical Islamist groups to attack Iraqi refugees, Christians allegedly loyal to the Syrian government and other civilians.

Syrian archbishop laments continued violence

Jul 19, 2012 - 12:06 am .- Maronite Archbishop Samir Nassar of Damascus spoke out against the violent conflict between government and rebel forces in Syria, drawing particular attention to the plight of refugees.

Gold coins from the Crusades found in Israel

Jul 16, 2012 - 04:08 pm .- Israeli archeologists have found more than one hundred gold coins from the time of the Crusades, when conflict arose between Muslims and Christians over control of the Holy Land.

Franciscans in Syria call for dialogue not weapons

Jul 14, 2012 - 05:28 pm .- The Franciscans in Syria are calling upon foreign powers to stop sending arms to the country after reports that over 200 civilians have been massacred in the village of Tremseh, potentially the bloodiest single incident of the Syrian conflict so far.

Interim leader of Egyptian Catholic Copts is hopeful after election

Jul 13, 2012 - 02:16 am .- Coptic Catholic Bishop Kyrillos William has said he is optimistic about the future of Egypt following the country’s presidential election.

Nigerian archbishop hopes for definitive end to violence

Jul 9, 2012 - 08:25 pm .- Archbishop Ignatius A. Kaigama is concerned over the seemingly endless violence against Christians that claimed at least 58 lives this past weekend and hundreds of others in recent weeks.