Monthly Archives: September 2018

Looming conflict 10km away is nothing new for Mhardeh where life continues and volunteer soldiers are ready to join war’s last major battle On a warm summer evening, the town centre is full of young people (MEE/Katharine Cooper) MHARDEH, Syria – Each night, the streets of the Christian town of Mhardeh teem with life.…

Zanî, a priest from Afrin, leads prayer in the newly-opened Kobani church. (Photo: Kurdistan 24) Syria Kobani Kurdistan Rojava ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Parish leaders opened a new church on Thursday in a city that became an icon for the resistance against the Islamic State (IS) in 2014.…

(MENAFN – Jordan Times) ERBIL, Iraq — Campaigning kicked off on Tuesday for a parliamentary election in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region amid political divisions a year after hopes for independence were dashed. Around 673 candidates from 29 political movements have thrown their hats into the ring…

World News – The number of Christian refugees admitted to the US has reportedly reduced – The number admitted in 2018 dropped from 25,162 the previous year to just 14,289 – Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown and reduction of refugees admitted to the US have been reportedly condemned by religious and immigrant activist groups The…

By Marlo Safi A damaged statue of the Virgin Mary at a church in Qaraqosh, east of Mosul, Iraq, November 2016. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters) The designation of ‘genocide’ would free up the flow of much-needed aid to some of the world’s most persecuted people.…

Persecuted Christians During the World Meeting of Families, Pope Francis listened attentively to the testimony of this Iraqi family. “Today many Christians and others are building new lives in Iraq, often with the help of Christians from around the world. They are building new homes so that families can live…

Election will see hundreds of candidates vie for 111 seats on region’s legislative assembly By Ali Mohamed ERBIL, Iraq The campaigning period for parliamentary elections in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region officially began on Tuesday.…

A student from the Syriac Christian minority shows a textbook in her language AFP/Delil souleiman QAMISHLI, Syria: Kurdish authorities in Syria’s diverse northeast are facing swelling anger from the area’s Syriac Christians after shutting down more than a dozen schools run by the ancient minority.…

Doreen Abi Raad CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan, left, leads a procession Sept. 9 during Mass at the restored Our Lady of the Assumption Syriac Catholic Cathedral in Aleppo. During the inauguration and rededication of the cathedral, Patriarch Younan…

by Doreen Abi Raad posted Tuesday, 11 Sep 2018 Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan, left, leads a procession during Mass at the restored Our Lady of the Assumption Syriac Catholic Cathedral in Aleppo (CNS photo/courtesy Syriac Catholic Patriarchate)…

ISIS seized the Syrian town of Qaryatain earlier this month – a home of thousands of Christians.…

by Rebwar Audish Basa* The relatives of the Chaldean priest massacred by the fundamentalists in 2007 met Francis at the world meeting of families, accompanied by Fr. Rebward Basa. He entrusts the memory of Fr. Ragheed to AsiaNews: “Example of love, forgiveness and…

Christopher White NATIONAL_CORRESPONDENT U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska holds the Arabic symbol used by Islamic State terrorists to identify Christians during a press conference about the plight of Middle Eastern Christians at the Press Club in Washington Sept. 9. Fortenberry said Christians…

Iraqi Christians say they feel insecure, threatened by religious extremism, lawlessness and political instability. Lingering concerns. A displaced family from Nineveh stands outside their shelter at the Virgin Mary Camp in Baghdad. (Oumayma Omar)…

Sep 4th, 2018Syria, ACN, Aid to the Church in Need, Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo Archbishop Hindo By: Murcadha O Flaherty and John Pontifex Source: ACN…

By John Newton PRAYER and action for Christians persecuted for their faith will be central to a leading Catholic charity’s contribution to Adoremus this weekend (7th-9th September). Aid to the Church in Need will call on all those taking part in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Congress to “Go to Mass for someone who can’t”…

Harder a voice for the Assyrians Josh Harder is the advocate for the Assyrian community that Jeff Denham simply is not. Josh listens to, addresses the concerns of, and demonstrates clear knowledge of the issues that are of utmost importance to Assyrians. At the Aug. 21st Assyrian Town Hall…

• Urgent appeal for West to save country’s religious minorities By Murcadha O Flaherty and John Pontifex KURDISH authorities in north-east Syria are determined to drive out Christians from the region, according to a senior Church leader, who says “the West cannot keep silent”.…

By Jordan Grantham, 1 in Christ 2018, featuring the Good News Team. Photo: Ashur Khoshaba A Cairo choir visiting Sydney brought Catholic and Orthodox together for one night of prayer, worship and ecumenism. The Good News Team, a praise and worship choir from Egypt performed at St John the…

By Hiwa Jamal It’s time for a new era in Iraqi politics, one where Iraqis count on each other and not outsiders, says Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako, head of the Chaldean church who was elevated to cardinal by Pope Francis at the Vatican in June. After 15 years of sectarianism, corruption, and accumulation of…