Displaying items by tag: ACN

Rehman Chishti, former PM’s special envoy for freedom of belief, heard of Action for the Church in Need when it brought Asia Bibi’s husband and daughter to see him. He became more familiar with how ACN aims to make the lives of persecuted people better, and decided to run the London marathon in October on its behalf. However, he slipped a disk, causing serious injury that initially left him barely able to stand. Now he will do the 26 miles walking five kilometres every other day. It is the most he can do due to pain. He said, ‘I will do the walk in segments as I can’t risk injuring myself any more. To me, politics is about fulfilling your commitments. On that basis I am adamant I will do that by walking the duration of the marathon.’

The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is thanking supporters after they increased their giving enabling it to step up its response to the pandemic. Benefactors donated £14 million more last year than in 2019 as the charity rushed out emergency Covid projects amid growing persecution globally. The pandemic dramatically worsened the plight of Christians who found themselves literally, almost overnight, without work, pay or food. ACN's benefactors remain true to the charity with great generosity, for which the charity and those in need are profoundly grateful.

Following the huge explosion in Beirut on 4 August, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is sending an emergency food package worth £226,000 from the UK. The Christian quarter of the city was the worst affected by deaths and damage, so the bishops, the clergy, and the lay faithful asked ACN for assistance. Christian communities, churches and other buildings are going to need a lot of repair. At least ten churches and immeasurable livelihoods were destroyed by the blast. In one second, more damage was done to this area of Beirut than throughout the long years of the civil war. It will have to be built again from the ground up. John Pontifex from ACN said, ‘We call on Jesus to bring healing and to bring a sense of reconciliation because in so many ways this particular explosion has drawn attention to the problems of government and accusations of neglect at the very least. There's a whole sense of healing needed at every level and a chance to rebuild. So literally, the call should be, Lord, help us rebuild, help us recover, help us find a new way to get through this terrible, terrible time.’