Most of the 80,000 Iraqi Christians forced out of their villages in recent days and weeks have taken refuge around the churches in Ain Kawa, a Christian neighbourhood of Erbil, according to aid officials in Iraq. A member of the Sant’Egidio Community in Iraq reported to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association that Christian churches ...read more

Carl Hétu National Director of CNEWA Canada sharing stories from the Holy Land. Pope Francis touched the hearts of many people during his last trip to the Holy Land. One of them works for CNEWA in the Jerusalem office. Joseph Harzboun’s family is amongst the 5 families invited to have lunch with Pope Francis. Here ...read more

On May 24, Pope Francis will become the 4th pope to visit the Holy Land, 50 years after the visit of Pope Paul VI in 1964. It promises to be a historic visit as our beloved Pope goes to Amman in Jordan and then to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Most of us don’t realize that there ...read more

Pope Benedict XVI arrives to begin his general audience at the Paul VI audience hall today. Just behind the Holy Father is Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa! Archbishop Prendergast is in Rome to take part in an event being organized by the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), the Congregation for Eastern Churches,  and the ...read more

“Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a despot whose shooting and shelling of his own people cannot be defended,” wrote the Catholic Register in an editorial earlier this year, “yet he may be the last line of defence for Syria’s Catholics.” The editorial captures the paradox of a country where, despite an escalating civilian death toll, ...read more

Last month, S+L held two sold-out screenings of Across the Divide, our new documentary that’s got people talking. The most recent screening (sponsored by CNEWA Canada, the Canada-Atlantic Lieutenancy of the EOHSJ and the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth) was held at Halifax’s Empire Cinemas — alongside the summer blockbusters one would expect at such a venue. ...read more

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” These words from this Sunday’s gospel are perhaps among the most consoling ones found ...read more

In nearly six years at S+L, my most challenging film shoot was at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Widely considered the holiest shrine in the world, the church features prominently in the documentary Within Your Gates. Gaining access to film in the edicule—the small structure marking Jesus’ burial tomb—felt like a minor ...read more