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April 2015

April 17, 2015

Journey to Jordan: meet the mayor of Amman, in the “land of the sunrise of faith”

If you were looking for a figure representing the diversity and religious harmony of Jordan,...

April 16, 2015

Journey to Jordan: witnessing a Melkite wedding

After leaving Petra this morning, bound for The Dead Sea, we stopped at a Greek...

April 15, 2015

Journey to Jordan: I’d walk a mile for a camel

Well, here we are in scenic Petra, Jordan. We arrived last night at the Mövenpick...

April 13, 2015

Go ahead, eat with your fingers—and four other things to know about dining in Jordan

One of the more intriguing parts of this adventure in Jordan has been discovering an...

April 12, 2015

Journey to Jordan: Easter with the Melkites

After spending a half hour or so at the local Roman Catholic church, we hopped...

April 11, 2015

Journey to Jordan: Waking up to the Muslim call to prayer—and walking ancient streets

After yesterday's long plane ride, I slept fitfully but somewhere around 5 a.m. found myself...

April 10, 2015

Hello from Jordan!

So I arrived in Amman around 4 p.m. My memory is hazy, but I think...

April 07, 2015

Hang on: The Deacon’s Bench is hitting the road

No sooner have I survived Easter—say, is that candle wax in my hair?—and here I...

April 07, 2015

Hang on: The Deacon’s Bench is hitting the road

No sooner have I survived Easter—say, is that candle wax in my hair?—and here I...

April 07, 2015

Has the world “looked the other way” while Christians are killed?

View image | gettyimages.com From The Washington Post: The atmosphere in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s...

March 2015

March 23, 2015

Must-see video: “60 Minutes” report on persecuted Christians of Iraq

In a word: excellent. And heartbreaking. Just watch.

March 07, 2015

Out of the ashes: new Catholic university rises in Iraqi Kurdistan as “tangible sign of help”

Some inspiring news, via Zenit: The first courses of Catholic University in Erbil, the capital of...

March 02, 2015

Bishop calls for month of prayer for persecuted Christians

The following letter was issued by Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence this morning: Dear Brothers...

March 01, 2015

The lives they lived: meet the Coptic martyrs of ISIS

Sophia Jones from the Huffington Post has interviewed the families of some of the 21...

February 2015

February 28, 2015

Charity is raising money for children of 21 Coptic martyrs

Details from The Catholic Herald: Egyptian charity Coptic Orphans has launched a crowdsourcing fund to support the...

February 18, 2015

Brother of martyred Copts: “They were a badge of honor to Christianity”

From Christian Today: The brother of two of the 21 Coptic Christians murdered in Libya...

February 18, 2015

Cardinal Wuerl makes plea for persecuted Christians at Ash Wednesday Mass

From The Catholic Standard: Making an impassioned plea at the end of his Feb. 18...

February 17, 2015

VIDEO: Pope offers Mass for slain Copts

From Vatican Radio: Pope Francis offered Mass Tuesday morning for the repose of the souls...

January 2015

January 05, 2015

Is this the site of Christ’s trial?

Jesús en casa de Anás by José de Madrazo Agudo (1803) via Wikipedia From The...

December 2014

December 24, 2014

Lest we forget: Christmas in the “Caliphate” of Iraq—UPDATED

From Al Arabiya News: After a year of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria...

December 23, 2014

Pope writes Christmas letter to persecuted Christians of the Middle East

From Vatican Radio: Pope Francis has written a pre-Christmas letter to the Christians of the...

December 12, 2014

Hello, Long Island

If you're in the neighborhood this weekend: I'll be visiting Curé of Ars Catholic Church in...

December 01, 2014

In Iraq, “Christianity is bleeding”

The latest on the ground, from CNEWA's blog One-to-One and Dominican Sister Maria Hanna: After...

November 2014

November 23, 2014

Report: ISIS terrorist seen on video was once a “devout Catholic”

From The Independent: The disturbing face of French “jihadism” has been revealed by a statistical...

November 21, 2014

After 100 days, “dire situations” for Christians in Iraq

A new report from CNEWA's blog One-to-One: After 100 days away from their homes, churches,...

November 12, 2014

Inside Iraq: “I cry every day. I pray and I am fasting. I am simply hoping…”

The Autumn edition of ONE, the magazine of CNEWA, is now online, and the centerpiece...

October 2014

October 26, 2014

New York Times: James Foley converted to Islam soon after his capture—UPDATED

Numerous reports at the time of his death cited his Catholic faith. But a report...

October 20, 2014

“We cannot resign ourselves to thinking about the Middle East without Christians”

Pope Francis delivered that comment this morning. From Vatican Radio: Pope Francis convened a...

October 10, 2014

Finding light in darkness: love and endurance in an Iraqi refugee camp

A sister helps Ghanaem Yadago, who is blind, find his way to his room at...

October 09, 2014

UPDATE: Kidnapped priest released

From The Catholic Herald: A Catholic priest kidnapped by Islamists in Syria has been released,...