Nicaragua cracks down on church during Holy Week
Catholics turned out in large numbers to celebrate Holy Week in Nicaragua. But the ruling Sandinista regime prohibited public exhibitions of faith -- such as processions and reenactments of the passion of Christ -- as it continued exercising control over religious activities in what’s becoming an increasingly totalitarian country.
Parishioners of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Toronto had to evacuate the building toward the end of their 10 a.m. liturgy March 24, due to a bomb threat apparently made by a woman experiencing mental distress.
After Burkina Faso attacks, pope calls for respect of places of worship
After deadly attacks killed 15 people at a Catholic church and dozens more at a mosque in Burkina Faso, Pope Francis said places of worship must be respected.
Priest, 6 religious brothers, lay teacher kidnapped in Haiti in another wave of violence
As the wave of violence torments gang-decimated Haiti, six male religious, a lay teacher and a priest were kidnapped in two separate incidents Feb. 23 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital.
At least 15 Catholics dead in attack during Mass in Burkina Faso
At least 15 people were killed in an attack by gunmen on Catholics gathered for Sunday Mass in a Burkina Faso village Feb. 25, according to multiple news reports.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an attack on a Roman Catholic church in Istanbul during a Sunday Mass that killed one person.
Convert hunted by Islamists seeks asylum
From radical Islamic extremist determined to convert “infidels” to his faith, to the leader of a Christian organization in Germany, Raza Muhammad’s journey has been fraught with danger at every step of the way.
Database tracks persecution of Christians
Global Christian Relief (GCR) has launched a new searchable violent incidents database (VID) that chronicles all the violent attacks on Christians and people of faith around the world.
Church burnings said to be ‘understandable’
According to the Catholic Civil Rights League’s (CCRL) database, at least 85 Catholic churches have been set ablaze or vandalized since the unproven discovery on May 27, 2021, of 215 suspected unmarked graves near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Nicaraguan regime publishes photos of Bishop Álvarez as US demands release of imprisoned bishop, other clergy
The U.S. Department of State has demanded the release of Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa and other imprisoned Nicaraguan religious leaders following a wave of detentions targeting Catholic clergy over the Christmas season.
Christmas attacks target Nigerian Christians
About 200 Nigerian Christians lost their lives in multi-day attacks that left hundreds more injured and displaced.
Vatican news agency reports 20 missionaries murdered in 2023
In its annual report on Catholic missionaries murdered during the year, the Vatican-based news agency, Fides, noted what many of them had in common was living a normal life in areas where violence had become common.
Exiled Nicaraguan bishop asks world's bishops 'not to abandon us' as wave of priest arrests ends year in dictator-run country
Since Christmas, Nicaraguan police and paramilitaries have detained more than a dozen priests, including an archdiocesan vicar, as the Sandinista regime escalates a campaign of terror against the Catholic Church -- an institution it has struggled to subdue.
Seminarian is burned to death in Nigeria in endless cycle of violence against Christians
In an endless cycle of violence against Christians in Nigeria, seminarian Na’Aman Danlami Stephen of the Diocese of Kafanchan was burned to death on Sept. 7 when a terrorist group called Fulani herdsmen attacked the rectory at St. Raphael Church in Fadan Kamantan.
'We are willing to die for the name of Jesus,' persecuted Christians say as world marks day of awareness for religion-based violence
On the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence based on Religion or Belief, observed on the United Nations' calendar Aug. 22, Pakistan and India are among places of particular concern for Christian rights advocates.