Amy Balog, Author at ZENIT - English

Articles By Amy Balog

100 years since China’s consecration to Our Lady

Despite governmental constraints and surveillance, thousands of pilgrims are expected to flock to Sheshan Basilica, 22 miles outside of Shanghai to celebrate the event.

May 23, 2024 17:26

Amy Balog

Local Church•Persecuted Christians

Nigeria: fourth priest abducted in five months

In 2023, Nigeria topped the list of countries with cases of abducted priests and religious with 28 incidents in total, including three Sisters.

May 20, 2024 16:28

Amy Balog

Justice and Peace•Local Church

Mozambique: mass exodus after fresh insurgent attacks

Armed insurgent groups linked to Daesh (ISIS) targeted a town and two villages in Cabo Delgado Province, northern Mozambique, causing hundreds of residents to flee

May 15, 2024 17:31

Amy Balog

Persecuted Christians•Testimonies

Gunmen attack Catholic school in Nigeria: priest saves students

Father Emmanuel Ogwuche, principal at Father Angus Frazer Memorial High School in Makurdi, promptly switched off all the lights in the building after hearing gunshots outside, preventing the terrorists from finding their way inside the school.

May 10, 2024 02:49

Amy Balog

Good News•Local Church

Burundi: Bishops denounce political murders and human rights violations

Burundi – a small country in Africa with a population of around 13 million – has been shaken by a security crisis stemming from political turmoil going back to the early 1990s

May 04, 2024 01:09

Amy Balog

Good News•Local Church

Syria: Christian families return to homes rebuilt after the uprising

Darayya became the centre of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s government in 2012, resulting in heavy fighting and prompting the majority of its 300,000 inhabitants to flee. By the time the government negotiated a ceasefire with rebel groups in 2016, 90 percent of the city had been destroyed, with many churches in the area vandalised and icons stolen.

May 04, 2024 00:57

Amy Balog

Local Church•Persecuted Christians

Burkina Faso: Catholic catechist kidnapped and subsequently murdered

The lifeless body of Edouard Yougbare was discovered at the Saatenga parish on the morning of Friday, April 19th, according to local reports received by the Catholic organization Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

Apr 23, 2024 21:18

Amy Balog

Causes of Saints•Local Church

Call to beatify 171 Sri Lankan martyrs on anniversary of church bombing

On Easter Sunday 2019, nine suicide bombers murdered a total of 264 people and injured more than 500 at six different locations – three churches and three luxury hotels.

Apr 23, 2024 20:39

Amy Balog

Local Church

Congolese bishops: ‘Our country is not for sale’

The statement also called on the international community to “understand once and for all that the DR Congo is neither for sale nor to be lawlessly exploited” – referencing Pope Francis’s message in early 2023 telling multinational companies to take their “hands off” the DRC and Africa.

Apr 23, 2024 20:35

Amy Balog

Persecuted Christians

India: attacks against Christians on the rise

The lives of Christians are under threat in 19 states in India, with the upcoming general elections raising further concerns about religious intolerance, according to a fresh report.

Apr 04, 2024 02:07

Amy Balog

Local Church•Religious Freedom

Catholic seminary in Haiti looted and vandalized

The gunmen destroyed or stole anything they could find at the Minor Seminary of Saint-Martial – run by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (the Spiritans) – after overpowering the guards.

Apr 04, 2024 02:00

Amy Balog

Holy Land•Testimonies

Don’t treat Holy Land crisis «as if it were a game,» Catholic abbot urges from Jerusalem

The abbot explained: “I am neither pro-Israel nor pro-Palestine. I am pro-human being. This is my theological position.”

Apr 04, 2024 01:58

Amy Balog

Pope’s article in The New York Times: There Is Faith in Humor

“Generally, we priests tend to enjoy humor and even have a fair stock of jokes and amusing stories, which we are often quite good at telling, as well as being the object of them”, writes the Pope in the best-known newspaper in the United States

the Vatican formally launches his cause for beatification and canonization

The process of beatification of King Baudouin of Belgium officially begins: Vatican and Pope give their approval

In a statement released by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, it was confirmed that the process officially began on December 17, 2024, with the establishment of a historical commission. This panel, comprising leading experts in Belgian history and archival research, is tasked with gathering and evaluating documentation related to King Baudouin’s life and deeds.