On Sunday 9th June at least 19 people died in another jihadist attack. “Several dozen armed men carried out an attack on the district of Arbinda, shooting several people dead,” said a local official who wished to remain anonymous.  

According to the official, the attack took place when a group of assailants opened fire on locals on Sunday morning. Before the attack three vehicles had been stopped and burnt and a driver killed.

Burkina Faso had been known for peaceful coexistence between different religious and ethnic groups. But in 2014 a revolution ended the 27-year rule of President Blaise Compaoré. The power vacuum was quickly filled by extremist groups, exploiting ethnic fault-lines and fanning ethnic strife.

An Open Doors worker said, “There are many factors contributing to the violence in Burkina Faso, including political, economic, tribal and religious reasons. Many Burkinabe youths have been radicalized by the teaching of Islamist preachers and leaders of extremist groups.”

The government has declared a state of emergency in seven of the country’s administrative regions, but many say these government measures are accompanied by brutality. According to Human Rights Watch, security forces have killed three times as many people as armed Islamist groups in the northern Sahel region. This has given rise to ‘self-defence’ militias and has…

Exactly two months after a fire engulfed the landmark Gothic building in Paris, the service was celebrated by Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit on Saturday in a chapel behind the choir, a place confirmed by construction experts as safe.

French Culture Minister Franck Riester said this week that the cathedral remains in a “fragile” state, especially its vaulted ceiling, which is still at risk of collapsing.

For security reasons, only about 30 people – mainly priests, canons and church employees – were admitted inside the cathedral for the service.

Mr Aupetit and others wore construction worker’s helmets. Some of the workers rebuilding the church were also invited.

Today for the first time since the April 15th fires that devastated the Cathedral, the Archbishop of Paris, Mgr Michel Aupetit, offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, on the Feast of the Dedication of the Cathedral. pic.twitter.com/zEzggdjymP

— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) June 15, 2019

Other worshippers could watch the Mass live on a Catholic TV station.

Footage showed some burnt wood still in the church but a famous statue of the Virgin and Child appeared intact behind wooden construction planks.

The annual Dedication Mass commemorated the cathedral’s consecration as a place of worship.

“This cathedral is a place of worship, it is its very own and unique…

Thanks to a 1,006-year-old Roman Catholic charity, British Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in partnership with The Nehemiah Project in South London has created new opportunities for men recovering their life from addiction.

The Nehemiah Project was founded in 1996. It provides a place to live and support for men with a history of addiction.

Most are re-entering society after a prison sentence. The charity has opened a new home in Croydon, on 13^th June. It is the first new premises in 18-years, and it has been made possible with the support of the British Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

The Order is one of the oldest institutions of western civilisation. It is a lay religious order which works around the world with a large number of medical, social and humanitarian projects. It is active in 120 countries, and it has permanent observer status at the UN.

 “It’s an unexpected partnership,” admits Nehemiah’s Chief Executive, Dr John Patience. “We were recommended to the Order by Mons. Roger Reader who is a Catholic priest and a prison chaplain whose vision was to see men supported beyond prison. He’d seen what we were achieving and commended us to them.”

The Sovereign Order of Malta are committed to ‘upholding human dignity and caring for people in need.’ A key current focus is on prisoners and former…