Middle East - Africa News

A pride flag hangs from the Peterborough Cathedral in England in 2019.

Anglicans in Africa reject archbishop of Canterbury for supporting same-sex union blessings

Apr 24, 2023

By Kevin J. Jones

The meeting of global Anglicans voiced no confidence in Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and called on him and the... Read more

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5-year-old beheaded, 33 killed in Nigeria; Christian foundation calls for action

Apr 20, 2023

By Agnes Aineah

A 5-year-old boy was reportedly beheaded when Islamists attacked a village in southern Kaduna State, leaving dozens of people dead. Read more

City of Tripoli, Libya.

Christians arrested in Libya on charges of preaching and apostasy from Islam

Apr 18, 2023

By ACI MENA

Last week Libya’s Internal Security Agency launched a campaign to arrest Libyan citizens and foreigners accused of apostasy from Islam... Read more

Easter Sunday Mass on April 9, 2023, was held for the first time in 10 months at St. Francis Xavier Owo Catholic Parish of Ondo Diocese in Nigeria.

Nigerian Catholic church attacked on Pentecost Sunday last year resumes public worship

Apr 14, 2023

By Jude Atemanke

A parish church in Nigeria that was attacked on Pentecost Sunday last year reopened for Easter Sunday Mass on April... Read more

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Two CRS aid workers killed in Ethiopia

Apr 12, 2023

By Walter Sánchez Silva

Two Catholic Relief Services workers were shot and killed April 9, Easter Sunday, while riding in a CRS vehicle in... Read more

Burned vehicles after Good Friday raid on April 7, 2023, in Ngban, Benue state, Nigeria.

Holy Week attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria leave nearly 100 dead

Apr 10, 2023

By Douglas Burton

The deadly raids were another sign of worsening violence in Nigeria’s Benue state. Read more

Residents of Adunu line up to cast their ballots in Adunu Feb. 25, 2023.

Dozens still captive in Nigeria after deadly raid on Catholic town

Apr 6, 2023

By Douglas Burton

Armed bandits killed one person and kidnapped more than 100 others in a March 14 raid on a predominantly Catholic... Read more

The Vulnerable People Project, a Catholic charity based in the United States, is helping 20 teenage Afghan girls build a new life after an ISIS terrorist attack on Sept. 30, 2022, left them seriously injured and in dire need of medical treatment.

Catholic charity rescues 20 Afghan girls after ISIS attack

Mar 28, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

The Vulnerable People Project, a Catholic charity based in the United States, is helping 20 teenage Afghan girls build a... Read more

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Catholics urged to be generous to Good Friday collection to benefit the Holy Land

Mar 24, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, invited Catholics to a donate as an act of... Read more

A priest surveys the damage caused by ISIS at a Catholic Church in Karamles, Iraq.

Vatican’s ambassador during Iraq war: Under Saddam Hussein ‘the Church was respected’

Mar 21, 2023

By Zelda Caldwell

The papal nuncio in Iraq at the time of the U.S. invasion 20 years ago said Christians in Iraq were... Read more

Young Salesians in Syria.

How the Salesians are helping youth in Syria, a country in its 12th year of civil war

Mar 16, 2023

By Abel Camasca

March 15 marked the 12th year of civil war in Syria, where bombs, poverty, and earthquakes have destroyed the country. Read more

Ruins after a militia attack in Benue state, Nigeria, during the last week of February 2023.

Waves of attacks displace Catholic natives in central Nigeria

Mar 15, 2023

By Douglas Burton

Recent terrorist raids in Benue, a predominantly Catholic state in north-central Nigeria, are getting scant mention in Nigeria news. Read more

Janada Marcus, 22, was forced to flee Boko Haram with her family twice before the terrorists attacked them again, killing her father and kidnapping her.

‘My parishioners shot dead in cold blood’: Priests, lay faithful describe attacks in Nigeria

Mar 8, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Aid to the Church in Need has released firsthand testimonies of Catholic faithful who have survived torture, kidnappings, and massacres. Read more

Archbishop Jacques Mourad, the new Syrian Catholic archbishop of Homs, Syria.

Syrian Catholic monk once kidnapped by ISIS consecrated archbishop

Mar 6, 2023

By Walter Sánchez Silva

Father Jacques Mourad was consecrated as the new archbishop of Homs, Syria. Read more

Map of Nigeria.

Report: Wave of murders after elections in Nigeria forces Catholic diocese staff to evacuate

Mar 3, 2023

By Agnes Aineah

Dozens of people were reportedly killed in attacks on villages in Nigeria’s Benue State Wednesday, a diocesan official said. Read more

A group of people protest the outcome of the 2023 presidential elections and the emergence of the candidate of All Progressives Congress' (APC) Bola Tinubu as the president-elect in Abuja, Nigeria, on March 1, 2023.

Muslim-Muslim ticket proclaimed winner of Nigeria’s presidential election amid protests

Mar 1, 2023

By Douglas Burton

The country’s Catholic bishops, among others, have sharply criticized the Independent Nigerian Election Commission for its handling of the vote... Read more

Bassel Habkouk is reunited with his two children after being trapped for 52 hours after the devastating Feb. 6, 2023, earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Survivor of Turkey earthquake: ‘God protected me and the Virgin Mary did not leave me’

Mar 1, 2023

By Guitta Maroun

Only a few hours after Bassel Habkouk arrived for a visit in Turkey on Feb. 6, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck... Read more

Kids in Tombua, South Sudan

After Pope Francis’ visit, South Sudan relief charity sees renewed interest and prayers

Feb 26, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

For workers at a relief agency that has supplied aid to the people of South Sudan for 25 years, the... Read more

Supporters hold a placard with pictures of the candidate of the Labour Party Peter Obi and running mate Datti Baba-Ahmed during a campaign rally of the party in Lagos, Nigeria, on Feb. 11, 2023.

Nigerians head to the polls to choose a new president — and brace for post-election violence

Feb 23, 2023

By Douglas Burton

Peter Obi, one of three leading candidates, is Catholic and a popular former governor. Read more

Cardinal Peter Ebere Okpaleke, bishop of the southern Nigerian diocese of Ekwulobia, pictured as he took possession of his titular church in Rome on Feb. 5, 2023.

Nigeria’s newest cardinal: Presidential election will ‘either make or break Nigeria’

Feb 23, 2023

By Courtney Mares

With Nigeria’s escalating violence, a lot is at stake in the presidential election this week in Africa’s most populous country,... Read more