Middle East - Africa News

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.

Cardinal explains how African rejection of Fiducia Supplicans was handled

Jan 22, 2024

By Walter Sánchez Silva

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo recently recounted how the rejection of the blessing of homosexual couples was handled in Africa and at... Read more

At Beirut 2024, patriarchs, bishops, and priests gathered for an ecumenical musical event the weekend of Jan. 20-21, 2024.

Ecumenical musical event in Beirut kicks off Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Jan 22, 2024

By ACI MENA

In the heart of Lebanon’s capital, Christian leaders gathered with a 400-person ecumenical choir to lift their voices in prayer. Read more

Margaret and Dominic Attah with Lord Alton and other parliamentarians on # RedWednesday 2023.

British Catholic politician demands justice for Christians killed in Nigeria at Christmas

Jan 22, 2024

By ACI Africa

Lord Alton of Liverpool called on the U.K. government to urgently address persecution in Nigeria, starting with last year’s Christmas... Read more

The apostolic nuncio to Jordan, Bishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, speaks during an interview with CNA at the headquarters of the apostolic nunciature in Amman on Jan. 11, 2024.

Nuncio highlights Jordan’s unique role in Holy Land Church today

Jan 21, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

Bishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, who became the first resident nuncio to Jordan one year ago, says the Church there... Read more

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St. Anthony of the Desert, a father of monasticism and co-patron of animals

Jan 17, 2024

By ACI Prensa

The feast of St. Anthony of the Desert, also known as St. Anthony Abbot, the father of Christian monks and... Read more

Worshipers in front of the Latin church dedicated to the Baptism of Jesus, in the locality known as "Bethany beyond the Jordan," at the exit of the Mass of the feast of Baptism, on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024.

Thousands gather at Jordan River with patriarch to mark baptism of Jesus

Jan 13, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

For 24 years, the Catholic community in the region has made a pilgrimage, gathering around its patriarch, to celebrate the... Read more

People attend a rally for the release of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the U.N. headquarters on Jan. 12, 2024, in New York City.

Hostages taken in Hamas terror attack approach 100th day in captivity

Jan 12, 2024

By Daniel Payne

Over 100 hostages of the conflict are still estimated to be held in Gaza, with advocates and global groups drawing... Read more

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).

African bishops: ‘No blessing for homosexual couples in the African Churches’

Jan 11, 2024

By Peter Pinedo

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, wrote the bishops’ statement issued Jan.... Read more

The Dominican Church of Our Lady of the Hour, one of the most emblematic in Mosul, northern Iraq, has been completely restored after the destruction carried out by Islamic State terrorists 10 years ago.

Church destroyed by ISIS in Iraq completely restored 10 years later

Jan 11, 2024

By Diego López Marina

The Dominican Church of Our Lady of the Hour in Mosul, Iraq, has been completely restored after the destruction carried... Read more

Eight children received their first Communion at Holy Family Church on Jan. 7, 2024, in northern Gaza.

Walking in faith: Eight children receive first Communion in northern Gaza 

Jan 11, 2024

By Zoe Romanowsky

This past weekend, children at Holy Family Parish in northern Gaza received first holy Communion in the midst of war... Read more

A man checks a destroyed building on Jan. 8, 2024, after an Israeli air raid in the village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

Lebanese bishops call for cease-fire in Israel-Hamas war 

Jan 10, 2024

By Joe Bukuras

The bishops also denounced a group aligned with the country’s Islamist militant terror organization Hezbollah for calling for an investigation... Read more

The private garden of the Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem seen from above. The property is close to the Cows’ Garden and it is one of those threatened by the lease deal between the Armenian Patriarchate and the real estate company Xana Gardens.

Land dispute in Jerusalem threatens Armenian Christians, nonviolent group says

Jan 10, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

In the last two months, members of the Armenian community have suffered attacks due to an ongoing conflict regarding a... Read more

Catholic Archbishop Matthew Ishaya Audu of Jos marches alongside evangelical leader Rev. Dr. Gideon Para-Mallam in front of the Plateau state governor's office building in Jos, Nigeria, Jan. 8, 2024.

Thousands of Christians in Nigeria rally to demand action after Christmas massacres

Jan 9, 2024

By Peter Pinedo

The protesters called for “urgent humanitarian relief material response by the state and federal government.” Read more

Cardinal Robert Sarah speaks with students and faculty at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas on May 25, 2023.

Cardinal Sarah speaks out against clergy blessing same-sex unions

Jan 8, 2024

By Kate Quiñones

“The freedom we must offer to people living in homosexual unions lies in the truth of the word of God,”... Read more

Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Cardinal Filoni warns that Christians in the Holy Land are feeling the dearth of pilgrims

Jan 8, 2024

By Eduardo Berdejo

The grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, concluded on Jan. 3 a five-day... Read more

Three Franciscan friars portray the Magi in Bethlehem on the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2024. After the Second Vespers of the Epiphany, they descended in the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where they brought their gifts to the places of Jesus' manifestation.

The Magi reach Bethlehem, finding smaller crowd of faithful amid ongoing war

Jan 7, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

The Magi made their appearance for the recitation of the Second Vespers of the Epiphany, marking the conclusion of the... Read more

Gaza-based journalist Akram Al Satarri spoke with “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol from Khan Yunis about the state of the southern area of the Gaza Strip, Jan. 3, 2024.

Gaza journalist says escalation of war is ‘inevitable’ 

Jan 4, 2024

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

Gaza-based journalist Akram Al Satarri spoke with “EWTN News Nightly” about the state of the southern area of the Gaza... Read more

A man walks through the rubble of destroyed buildings following strikes on the the town of Naqura in southern Lebanon close to the border with northern Israel on Jan. 4, 2024. Four Hezbollah fighters were killed overnight in southern Lebanon, the Iran-backed movement announced on Jan. 4, in what Lebanese state media said were Israeli strikes on the border town of Naqura.

Hezbollah-aligned group accuses Lebanese Catholic bishops of treason

Jan 4, 2024

By Joe Bukuras

The two bishops were said to have attended a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog that is held annually by... Read more

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, spoke about the "courage" and the "madness" of working for peace during his homily during the  Mass of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God, on Jan. 1, 2024, in the Pro-Cathedral of the Latin Patriarchate, in Jerusalem.

The Church in the Holy Land rings in the new year with pleas for peace

Jan 1, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa challenged Christians of the Holy Land to “make a difference.” Read more

Father Patrick Desbois leads Yahad-In Unum, an organization created to the locate the sites of mass graves of Jewish victims of WWII Nazi mobile killing units.

French priest and Holocaust expert counters attempts to exploit Jesus for anti-Israel agenda

Dec 28, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Father Patrick Desbois said in an interview this week that “if he had been born today, Jesus would be a... Read more