News

Fifteen Assyrian Children Kidnapped By Kurdish Affiliated Militia in Syria

According to a report on Assyria TV, an internet Assyrian channel based in Stockholm, 15 Assyrian girls and boys have been abduction by members of the Syriac Military Council (MFS). MFS is a militia tied to the Syriac Union Party, which in turn is part of a secretive Assyrian political group known as the Dawronoye, (ܕܲܘܪܵܢܵܝܹܐ), who emerged with the help of the Kurdish PKK party in the late 1980s in southeast Turkey. The Dawronoye are close allies of the PYD, the Kurdish party in control of large parts of northeastern Syria.

Serbian Patriarch and Patriarchs of Antioch Call for Pan-Orthodox Unity

His Holiness Irinej – Patriarch of Serbia met His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church and His Beatitude John X – Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch at the St. Georges Patriarchal Cathedral on 2nd June 2019.

Pope Francis to visit Patriarchate’s Palace and National Cathedral

Pope Francis will pay a visit to Romania on May 31 – June 2, 2019 at the invitation of the President of Romania, the state authorities and the Catholic Church in Romania.

The schedule of the visit to the Romanian Patriarchate includes a meeting with Patriarch Daniel and the members of the Permanent Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church at the Palace of the Patriarchate on Friday, May 31, 2019.

Bulgarian, North Macedonian delegations meet Pope Francis

Pope Francis on Friday received delegations from Bulgaria and North Macedonia, less than 3 weeks after the Holy Father visited the two East Balkan nations, May 5-7. 

In a statement to reporters, the "interim" Director of the Vatican Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, said that Pope first thanked the Bulgarian delegation for the great welcome received during his recent visit to the country.

Spanish Don Bosco Missionary Priest Stabbed to Death in Burkina Faso

A Spanish priest, Father Fernando Fernández, was stabbed to death, and another injured on Friday evening, 17 May in Don Bosco center of Bobo-Dioulasso in the Southwest of Burkina Faso.

During lunch, a former cook who worked in the facility for seven years, hurled the Spanish religious with a knife and killed him. A second priest of Togolese origin was injured in the accident. Fr. Germain Plakoo-Mlapa, director of studies, was immediately transported to the hospital and is out of danger. The killer was immediately arrested by the police.

Attack on Catholic church kills 6 people in Burkina Faso

An attack on a Catholic church in Burkina Faso, potentially linked to extreme Islamist violence in the country, has killed six people.

Al Jazeera reports that a group of between 20 and 30 armed attackers killed a priest and five worshippers on Sunday, in the northeastern town of Dablo. The assailants also burned down the church itself as well as several local buildings, including a medical facility. According to a government spokesperson, they also destroyed businesses that served alcohol.