Please click links below to read pictorial reports on the assistance given by Aid to the Church in Need, to help youth delegations from poor and oppressed countries, travel to WYD 2008. - Annex WYD 1 (PDF) - Annex WYD 2 (PDF) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click on the individual countries below for more detailed information on the help ACN is giving youth delegations travelling to Sydney for WYD 2008 Wadeye (Northern Territory) - Papua New Guinea - Sudan - Laos - East Timor - Turkey - Turkmenistan - Bosnia-Herzegovina - Cuba - Haiti

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This week's featured project

June 30 , 2008

CHILE: Support for 21 religious sisters in the diocese of Arica

Some of the sisters, in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament

        The diocese of Arica is in northern Chile, on the frontier with Bolivia and Peru. It has a total population of 186,000 souls, of whom around 70% are Catholics. The great majority of these live in the town of Arica itself and there are only a few families living in the widely scattered villages of the surrounding hinterland. The area is characterised by the arid climate of the Atacama Desert and the bareness of the Altiplano -- the high plateau region, which rises to a height of up to 5000 m (16,000 ft). Aymara Indians, the indigenous peoples of the Andean highlands, make up a high proportion of the population here, so that from a cultural point of view the region has more similarities with Peru or Bolivia than with the rest of Chile. There are no copper mines here, and little else in the way of employment opportunities, so that there is widespread poverty. The diocese also suffers from a great shortage of priests, having just 28 to fill the 22 parishes. Hence, the religious sisters, who are also few in numbers, are of immense importance for the pastoral work of the diocese. Bishop Hector Vargas Bastidas has asked the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) for help to support them in their apostolate.
  ACN has promised a $4,500. To help this cause please contact the Sydney office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

Click here for past weeks' featured projects

 

 

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"Persecuted and Forgotten?"

ACN Report on Christians oppressed for their faith 2005/2006

Christianity is the world's most persecuted religion - and in many cases the suffering has dramatically worsened. In spite of growing extremism and intolerance, media coverage is scarce.

Examining 24 countries, such as China, Iraq and Pakistan, Persecuted and Forgotten? Gives a blow-by-blow account of why it is that so many become out casts in their own country.

Drawing on the very latest research and first-hand accounts, the book bears testimony to the heroic struggle of so many people determined to remain true to their Christian faith.

Religious liberty as a fundamental human right is being neglected by world public opinion, above all by politicians and the media. And yet religious liberty is one of the most vital preconditions for democracy. You will find no better summary about your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are persecuted for their faith. Please pray for them.

To read the report please click on the front cover of the book.

To obtain a hard copy of the report please write to our office at Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 (02) 9679-1929 OR order your copy on our On-Line store under the Other Books and Items category . The Report is available for a donation of $4.00

*Australian residents only. Overseas visitors please download the report

Reports for you to read about the work of Aid to the Church in Need