Middle East - Africa News

Professor Mouna Maroun is the first Arab to be elected as the rector of an Israeli university, the University of Haifa. Maroun belongs to the Arab minority in Israel, the Christian minority among Arabs, and the Maronite minority among Christians. She says she is proud of her religious affiliation and wears a golden crucifix around her neck. "My election is an important message that everything is possible in the Israeli academia," she told CNA.

First Arab Christian woman to lead Israel’s University of Haifa

May 4, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

The announcement of Professor Mouna Maroun’s appointment was made amid tensions with Iran and as anti-Israel protests were mounting around... Read more

Father Paul Tatu Mothobi, a member the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata (CSS/ Stigmatines) and former Media and Communications Officer of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), was found dead of gunshot wounds in South Africa, on April 27, 2024.

Priest shot dead in South Africa; Catholic bishops there decry ‘pandemic’ of murder

May 2, 2024

By ACI Africa

Father Paul Tatu Mothobi, CSS, was found dead of gunshot wounds last weekend in South Africa. Read more

A family of religious Jews walks at the beginning of Armenian Quarter Street, the entry point to the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem in April 2024. Behind them stands the complex of the Tower of David Museum.

Orthodox rabbis in Jerusalem call on Jews to stand against spitting at Christians

May 1, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

Several posters and pamphlets appeared in the streets of the Old City calling on the public to avoid harassment toward... Read more

Lara Al-Sayegh, a Catholic from Gaza, collapsed and died of heatstroke as she and her mother tried to leave Gaza and find safe haven in Egypt on April 24, 2024. The 19-year-old lived in northern Gaza and the family had already lost their father and husband after he died at Gaza’s Latin Holy Family Church due to a lack of adequate medical care.

19-year-old Catholic woman dies attempting to flee Gaza with her mother

Apr 30, 2024

By Sanad Sahelia

The tragic death of Lara Al-Sayegh highlights the suffering of Gaza’s dwindling Christian minority. Read more

Palestinians carry empty pots during a demonstration held by the displaced Palestinians gathered in a protest carrying empty pots and pans asking for more relief aid and fuel to reach Gaza strip in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Thursday, April 25, 2024.

World Central Kitchen resumes relief efforts, dedicates operation to slain Catholic worker 

Apr 29, 2024

By Peter Pinedo

“We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding as many people as possible,” said... Read more

Members of the Provincial Episcopal Assembly of Bukavu (ASSEPB).

Democratic Republic of Congo bishops: Amid growth of Church ‘the Congolese state is dead’

Apr 28, 2024

By Jude Atemanke

Catholic bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo have denounced the insecurity and violence... Read more

A view of the modern area of the Catholic cemetery located on the southern hillside of Mount Zion in April 2024. In the background are the buildings of the Arabic neighborhood of Abu Tor.

Franciscans file petition to stop cable cars from passing over Holy Land Catholic cemetery

Apr 27, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

The Jerusalem Development Authority is exploring the opportunity to use the piece of land in the cemetery to place a... Read more

There are now more than 100 priests in the four dioceses of Sierra Leone.

Most priests in Sierra Leone are sons of Muslims, bishop says

Apr 26, 2024

By Walter Sánchez Silva

“Most priests are sons of Muslims. Why? Because of the schools,” explained Bishop Natale Paganelli, who was apostolic administrator in... Read more

A Coptic Orthodox church in Old Cairo, a historic area of the Egyptian capital.

Arsonists burn down homes of Egypt’s beleaguered Christians

Apr 24, 2024

By Martin Barillas

Muslim extremists set on fire several homes of Christians in Minya, a province in southern Egypt, in a continuation of... Read more

Over a year after the earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey in February 2023, restoration of Aleppo's Church of St. George has been completed.

A year after earthquake, Aleppo’s St. George Church rises again

Apr 23, 2024

By Souheil Lawand

The Melkite Greek Catholic community celebrated this week as the Church of St. George reopened its doors after undergoing restoration... Read more

Bishop Tesfasellassie Medhin of the Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat in Ethiopia, which covers the Tigray region.

‘I’m a witness to unspeakable suffering’: Ethiopia bishop wants peace pact implemented

Apr 22, 2024

By Silas Mwale Isenjia

Bishop Tesfasellassie Medhin pleaded for the implementation of the Nov. 2, 2022, peace agreement in Pretoria, South Africa. Read more

Father Marcel Uwineza.

Jesuit priest: Stories of Rwandan women ‘scarred by genocide’ must be told

Apr 20, 2024

By Agnes Aineah

According to Father Marcel Uwineza, telling the stories of the women gives a voice to the women who, he said,... Read more

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Catechist kidnapped and murdered in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Apr 19, 2024

By Walter Sánchez Silva

According to Aid to the Church in Need, catechist Edouard Yougbare was kidnapped Thursday by “terrorists, and his lifeless body... Read more

Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako presides over the dedication ceremony of the altar of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Mosul, Iraq. April 5, 2024.

As new altar is consecrated at destroyed Iraq church, former parishioner recalls ‘wonderful days’

Apr 18, 2024

By Zoe Romanowsky

Georgena Habbaba says her eyes filled with tears to see her childhood parish and school in Mosul, Iraq, reconstructed and... Read more

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Christian leaders in Africa mark 30 years since Rwandan genocide

Apr 17, 2024

By ACI Africa

Members of the Africa Christian Professionals Forum expressed their solidarity with the people of Rwanda as they remember the 800,000... Read more

People gather at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family on Palm Sunday in al-Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on March 24, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.

Catholics in Gaza are burying dead in Muslim cemeteries

Apr 16, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

Muslim cemeteries have opened to receive the bodies of Christians and give them a dignified burial.  Read more

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.

New York’s Cardinal Dolan ‘safe and secure’ after sheltering amid Iranian airstrikes

Apr 15, 2024

By Kate Quiñones

Cardinal Timothy Dolan was visiting Israel in his role as chair of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and was... Read more

Cardinal Robert Sarah addresses members of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) on April 9, 2024.

Cardinal Sarah says contemporary Church is experiencing ‘temptation of atheism’

Apr 15, 2024

By ACI Africa

“We pretend to be Christian believers and men of faith; we celebrate religious rites, but in fact we live as... Read more

Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako (second from left), patriarch of the Chaldean Church, returned to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, after being absent from his patriarchal seat since July 2023. Along with Bishop Thomas Mirm (right), the patriarch made his way to the Patriarchal Palace, where Bishops Shlimon Warduni (not pictured) and Basilios Yaldo (left) welcomed him, joined by priests from Baghdad's archdiocese.

Cardinal Sako returns to Baghdad at invitation of Iraqi prime minister

Apr 15, 2024

By Georgena Habbaba

Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, patriarch of the Chaldean Church, returned to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, after being absent from... Read more

CNA

Kidnapped by ISIS, priest in Iraq recounts story of facing fear with faith

Apr 14, 2024

By Georgena Habbaba

A Syriac Catholic priest in Mosul opens up about his nine-day kidnapping ordeal. Read more