A 1,500-year-old plaque that reads 'Christ, born of Mary' in ancient Greek that once sat above a doorway to ward off evil spirits has been unearthed in northern Israel The phrase was used by Christians to protect themselves against the 'evil eye,' which was an ancient curse from Greek and Roman cultures that would bring... Continue Reading →
Jesuits admit to decades of child sex abuse in Spain
MADRID (AP) — The first comprehensive internal inquiry on sex abuse allegations by a religious order in Spain has identified 81 children and 37 adult victims of 96 Jesuits since the late 1920s, a much higher number than the cases that had so far been publicly known. Associations of victims are welcoming the disclosure, but... Continue Reading →
Known as the ‘Billy Graham of Africa’, Evangelist Stephen Lungu Dies of Complications from coronavirus plague
Stephen Lungu, a well-known evangelist and retired CEO of African Enterprise (AE), died Jan. 18 in Malawi in southeastern Africa from COVID-19 complications. He was 78. The announcement of Lungu's death appeared on the AE website. The statement noted that the evangelist had diabetes for several years and was not able to fight off the... Continue Reading →
Brother of Pakistani Christian Imprisoned on Blasphemy Charges Asks Biden Administration to Intervene
A United States citizen whose brother is facing the possibility of being sentenced to death in Pakistan on trumped-up blasphemy charges is asking the Biden administration to put pressure on Pakistan to release his brother. In three months, 47-year-old Pakistani Christian man Nadeem Samson will go before Pakistan’s Lahore High Court as he petitions against... Continue Reading →
Body of Kidnapped Priest Found in Nigeria With Machete Wounds as His Brother Remains Missing
The body of a Catholic priest was discovered in Nigeria on Saturday, a day after he was kidnapped by armed men. Agenzia Fides, the information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies, reported on Jan. 18 that Fr. John Gbakaan “was allegedly executed with a machete in such a brutal manner that identification was hardly possible.”... Continue Reading →
Christian girl, 12, who was ‘kidnapped, raped and chained up in a cattle pen for five months by Muslim man, 45, who forced her to marry him’, is rescued in Pakistan and taken into care
A 12-year-old Christian girl who was allegedly abducted, raped and forced to marry a man who kept her chained up in a cattle pen in Pakistan has been rescued. The underage girl spent five months bound in the 45-year-old Muslim man's yard where she would work all day clearing animal dung. Police rescued the youngster... Continue Reading →
Axe-Wielding Tribal Animists Attack Christians and Destroy Church Structure During Service
Six Christian families were worshipping in a wood-and-hay structure in eastern India last month when an influential man of wealth wielding an axe led others in and, in coarse language, asked why they had abandoned their tribal religion. Elder Burjo Tadinji of the church in Odisha state’s Chichima village, answered, “We have known the true... Continue Reading →
750 People Reportedly Killed in Attack on Ethiopian Orthodox Church Believed to Hold the Ark of the Covenant
Around 750 people were killed in an attack on an Orthodox church, which is said to contain the Ark of the Covenant described in the Book of Exodus in the Bible, in northern Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region — home to thousands of churches and monasteries — according to reports. Hundreds of people hiding in Maryam... Continue Reading →
Radical Hindu Leader in India Threatens Violence Unless All Churches in Tribal Areas Are Shut Down
According to the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN), a radical Hindu nationalist leader has demanded a district government in India’s Madhya Pradesh state close down all churches built in tribal areas. The radical leader went on to give the government 30 days before he threatened to initiate violence to stop church activities in tribal... Continue Reading →
Egyptian Christians Doing Better Under President al-Sisi, but Continue to Suffer Persecution and Violence from Radical Muslims
Experts on the persecution of Egyptian Christians report that although life under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is better for Christians than past presidents, such as Mohamed Morsi or Hosni Mubarak, believers continue to face persecution and violence at the hands of radical Muslims who evade arrest and prosecution. When mobs of radical Muslims attack Christians,... Continue Reading →