Monthly Archives: May 2020

by Anadolu AgencyA general view from the ongoing restoration work at the Mor Kuryakos Monastery, Batman province, Turkey. (AA Photo)Turkey has completed the first phase of restoring a 1,600-year-old monastery in the…

The Chaldean Church adheres to May 14 initiative for the end of the pandemic. A common moment for everyone to “live in peace, security, stability and joy”. The renewed hope for a trip by Francis to Iraq and the meeting with al-Sistani. Muslims are asked to join in prayer in the holy month of Ramadan.…

Charles E. Ramirez The Detroit NewsTroy — A Chaldean-American charity has begun a fundraiser for a Metro Detroit family that lost both parents to COVID-19.Nameer and Nada Ayram…

The Chaldean Church adheres to May 14 initiative for the end of the pandemic. A common moment for everyone to “live in peace, security, stability and joy”. The renewed hope for a trip by Francis to Iraq and the meeting with al-Sistani. Muslims are asked to join in prayer in the holy month of Ramadan.…

(WXYZ) — Metro Detroit parents have lost their battle with COVID-19, dying nearly a month apart and leaving behind three children.A mother of three, Nada Afram Naisan, 46, was laid to rest after complications from COVID-19 on April 20. Less than a month later, on May 11, Nada’s husband Nameer Ayram, who was in the…

A doctor checks the blood pressure of a displaced Iraqi woman in a medical center at a camp in Dahuk.Ari Jalal, Catholic News Service By Michael Swan, Canadian Catholic NewsCanada & World…

CBN NewsJERUSALEM, Israel – Christians in the Middle East have suffered persecution for centuries but in the past number of years, this persecution has increased dramatically.  Stephen Rasche, the Counsel of the Chaldean Archdiocese in Erbil, Iraq,…

CT interviews Stephen Rasche on Erbil’s Catholic presence, the need for Christian unity, and why Christians will “no longer be shy” with the gospel.Jayson CasperImage: Illustration by Mallory Rentsch / Source Images: Courtesy of Chaldean Church…

Andrew Harrod April 24 marked the 105th anniversary of the 1915 Ottoman Empire’s deportation of 200 Armenian intellectuals from the Ottoman capital of Istanbul, an event that is remembered as the start of the Armenian genocide. Fitting reflections for this time come from Sister Hatune Dogan, a Syriac Orthodox Christian nun from…

John Burger |Murat Dilmener was first Syriac Christian to teach at Istanbul medical school.A Christian doctor who was hailed as “the doctor of the poor” after being cleared by Turkish authorities of wrongdoing has died of COVID-19 in Istanbul.…

Displaced Iraqi women and children wearing protective masks are seen in a medical center at a camp in Dahuk March 7, 2020. CNS photo/Ari Jalal, Reuters)  Dale Gavlak Catholic News Service AMMAN, Jordan — Catholic aid agencies helping the displaced in northern Iraq say they are reaching those in need as the COVID-19 situation slowly…

 Pakistan (International Christian Concern) – Human rights activists, lawyers, academics, and other members of civil society in Pakistan have voiced their disapproval of the creation of an ad-hoc commission on religious minorities. These experts claim the commission’s formation through administrative action has rendered it an empty gesture…

Iran (International Christian Concern) – The Iranian government has released a draft bill which would replace the Iranian Bar Association with a group of government-appointed judiciary officials. This new “Supreme Council for the Coordination of Lawyers’ Affairs” has been protested by more than 12,000 Iranian attorneys.…

By Kevin Zeller Jordan (MNN) — Millions of people groups in Jordan and Syria have not heard the Gospel, but more and more are encountering Christ all the time.Nabil Bandak oversees the effort to reach both the North Levantine and South Levantine language clusters, as well as Mesopotamian Arabic. The South Levantine speakers mainly live…

Syria (International Christian Concern) – Human Rights Watch has launched a call for an investigation into a mass grave located in Syria’s al-Hota gorge, a deep natural pit located about 85 kilometers north of Raqqa city. The gorge, once a popular picnic destination, became a location used by ISIS to dispose bodies during their brutal…

 Syria (International Christian Concern) – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has published a report noting how HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a terrorist organization) has clamped down on Christian properties in Idlib. Christian properties are considered as spoils of war, and thus fall under the civilian wing of HTS.…

By Samuel Smith, CP Reporter A member of the Syrian Arab-Kurdish forces places a cross in the rubble ahead of a Christmas celebration at the heavily-damaged Armenian Catholic Church of the Martyrs in the city centre of the eastern Syrian city of Raqa on December 26, 2017 following a mine clarence operation at the site…

Pope Francis has raised two prelates—Cardinals Beniamino Stella and Luis Tagle—to the status of cardinal-bishops. Cardinal Stella is the prefect of the Congregation for Clergy. Cardinal Tagle is the newly appointed prefect of the Congregation for Evangelization. Their elevation to the rank of cardinal-bishop confirms their standing…

The flag of Turkey. Credit: Nico Kaiser via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).MoreCNA Staff, May 1, 2020 / 12:09 pm MT (CNA).- The Turkish foreign ministry on Wednesday rejected Turkey’s inclusion in a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, charging that the report comes from a “biased mindset”.…