(Vatican Radio) An American Catholic priest ministering in Egypt has said Christians there fear for their safety and talk about wanting to leave their homeland in the wake of the Palm Sunday terrorist attacks north of Cairo that killed dozens of people.Ahead of Pope Francis' visit to Egypt, Father Doug May told Vatican Radio that residents in several predominantly Christian villages that he visited this month are anxious about their future.'Tired of feeling vulnerable'Fr May, a priest of the Maryknoll mission movement, said: “It’s the first time that even the successful [Christian villagers] who have fairly nice houses and a decent lifestyle have told me, "If I could leave, I would leave because I am tired of feeling vulnerable in a country that I should call my own because I am being tolerated at best but I am not being accepted as an equal citizen.”Fr May said he hoped Pope Francis’ visit to Cairo would promote solidarity between leaders ...
(Vatican Radio) An American Catholic priest ministering in Egypt has said Christians there fear for their safety and talk about wanting to leave their homeland in the wake of the Palm Sunday terrorist attacks north of Cairo that killed dozens of people.
Ahead of Pope Francis' visit to Egypt, Father Doug May told Vatican Radio that residents in several predominantly Christian villages that he visited this month are anxious about their future.
'Tired of feeling vulnerable'
Fr May, a priest of the Maryknoll mission movement, said: “It’s the first time that even the successful [Christian villagers] who have fairly nice houses and a decent lifestyle have told me, "If I could leave, I would leave because I am tired of feeling vulnerable in a country that I should call my own because I am being tolerated at best but I am not being accepted as an equal citizen.”
Fr May said he hoped Pope Francis’ visit to Cairo would promote solidarity between leaders and people of the different Christian dominations and the majority Muslim community.
Listen to Susy Hodges' interview with Father Doug May about the current fears of Christian communities in Egypt in the lead up to Pope Francis’ visit to the country.
Facade of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons / EEJCCACI Prensa Staff, Apr 27, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).One year after the Spanish newspaper El País published the report "Diary of a Pedophile Priest," which recounted the sexual abuse of minors committed in Bolivia by the deceased Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajas, journalists from ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, went to the South American country to look into the political implications of the case, how the scandal has affected the Church's image in Bolivia, and the response of the civil justice system.Pedrajas, better known as "Padre Pica," arrived in South America in the early 1960s as part of his formation process with the Jesuits. For 10 years he lived in Peru and Ecuador, where he allegedly committed his first abuses while still a seminarian, and in 1971 he settled permanently in Bolivia.There the Society of Jesus appointed him assistant principal of the John XXIII Insti...
The members of the general board of directors of the Regnum Christi Federation, before its first general convention from April 29 to May 4, 2024, in Rome. / Credit: Regnum ChristiACI Prensa Staff, Apr 27, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).The Regnum Christi Federation will hold its first general convention in Rome from April 29 to May 4, the first such assembly since its statutes were approved in 2019 after a long process of listening, purification, and a hopeful look toward its future.The ecclesial movement was shaken to the core by the revelation of numerous cases of sexual abuse and abuses of power primarily involving Father Marcial Maciel, the deceased founder of the Legionaries of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement.The Regnum Christi Federation is comprised of four vocations: the Legionaries of Christ (priests), Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, and lay members.Regnum Christi is now defined as an apostolic body and spiritual family led by ...
Gia Chacón (right), founder of March for the Martyrs, said the plight of the tens of thousands of Christian Armenians pushed out of their homes in the disputed Artsakh or Nagorno-Karabakh region hash been "completely overlooked by the mainstream media." / Credit: EWTN News Nightly / ScreenshotCNA Staff, Apr 27, 2024 / 09:20 am (CNA).Marchers are setting out in the nation's capital on Saturday to call attention to the plight of persecuted Christians throughout the world.Gia Chacón, founder of For the Martyrs and the March for the Martyrs, said the event aims to highlight often "overlooked" victims of persecution. This year's march will focus on the persecution suffered by Armenian Christians as well as those in Nigeria and Iran.In an interview with "EWTN News Nightly" anchor Tracy Sabol, Chacón said she started the initiative to both increase awareness and provide aid for persecuted Christian communities throughout the world.Chacón explained that the decades-long conflict ...