Middle East - Africa News

President Recep Erdogan in 2020 converted the former Byzantine church, the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.

How difficult is it to be a Christian in Turkey? What you need to know

Jan 29, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

Terrorists stormed a Catholic church during Mass on Sunday in Istanbul, Turkey, killing one person by shooting him in the... Read more

Turkish police stand guard outside the scene of an armed attack at a Catholic church in Istanbul, Turkey, on Jan. 28, 2024.

Islamic State claims responsibility for attack on Catholic church in Istanbul

Jan 29, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Two suspects described as members of the Islamic State group have been arrested following the shooting at Santa Maria Church... Read more

Students of the Studienjahr during a lesson at Beit Josef, the headquarters of the program, within the compound of the Benedictine Abbey of the Dormition in Jerusalem. The Studienjahr program (launched in 1973) is an annual program of ecumenical studies. It brings together every year about 20 German-speaking theology students from all Christians denominations. January 2024.

Abbey in the Holy Land brings Christian students from different denominations together

Jan 26, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

For 50 years, the Benedictine Dormition Abbey, which stands on Mount Zion, has hosted German-speaking students for an ecumenical theology... Read more

Seminarians at Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Nigeria's Kaduna state where four students were kidnapped and one, Michael Nnadi, was killed in 2020.

Nigerian Christians are being martyred — here’s how it’s affecting seminary formation

Jan 26, 2024

By Agnes Aineah

There is an emerging spirituality in Nigerian seminaries and monasteries that many may find difficult to grasp: the spirituality of... Read more

Security forces guard St. John’s Catholic Church in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan, in 2019.

Pakistan ends mandatory Islamic studies for non-Muslim students

Jan 26, 2024

By Tyler Arnold

Pakistan is ending its mandatory study of Islam for non-Muslim children in first through 12th grade and implementing a new... Read more

Father Rafiq Khoury at the beginning of the 2024 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity shows the first three volumes of the "ecumenical catechism" that was adopted in 2000 by public schools of the Palestinian Authority as a textbook for Christian education.

‘Ecumenical catechism’ for public schools in Holy Land a sign of Christian unity

Jan 24, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

As the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began, Father Rafiq Khoury shared the story of the Christian textbook being... Read more

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