More than 245 million Christians live in a place where they experience high levels of persecution – IDOP.
The victims were Ethiopians migrants attempting to escape poverty in their home country by making their way via Libya to Europe.
“This is life in Gaza. No food. No money. No health care. Living in fear. The situation is reaching crisis level and is close to becoming unliveable.” – Sr Bridget Tighe
"A Middle East without Christians would not be the Middle East."
“It is not true that terrorists carry out attacks to scare tourists: they want to eliminate our smile. They want us all to live in sadness. For this reason reviving our joy is a miracle that only Jesus can do." - Anba Antonios Mina, Coptic Catholic Emeritus of Guizeh
“Christian responses to persecution are almost always nonviolent and, with very few exceptions, do not involve acts of terrorism,” states recent report.
Church of Ireland’s Archbishop Michael Jackson and Pope Francis express solidarity with Egypt’s Coptic Christians after Sunday’s deadly terror attacks.
The two-day visit to Cairo at the end of April is an indication of the growing warmth in relations between the Catholic Church and the Muslim world.
President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales praises “witness and strength” of small Catholic community of 170 people out of a total population of 1.8 million.
As the country prepares to welcome refugees, we are "challenged to engage with the poverty, homelessness sub-standard accommodation that many are living in".
“Once again the ugly consequences of war have caused multitudes of good people to take great risks as they seek refuge in foreign lands.”
Persecution is intensifying, Archbishop Neary warns, with ancient Christian communities driven from their lands through ethnic cleaning.
The resolve of Christians in Egypt has been strengthened by ISIS' murder of 21 Christians in Libya according to Coptic Catholic Bishop Youssef Aboul-Kheir of Sohag.
ISIS-linked militants post video of mass beheadings of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya.
In their Christmas messages, Catholic and Church of Ireland bishops express concern for those living in the "grip of fear".
Coptic Church criticises western media's coverage of violence which has left 600 dead.
