Syria

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with additional reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- A Catholic priest has been publicly beheaded by suspected Islamic militants in northern Syria after accusations of collaborating with President Bashar Assad's government, BosNewsLife established Tuesday, July 2.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos DAMASCUS/BEIRUT (BosNewsLife)-- Syrian Christian leaders and aid workers warned the West on Wednesday, August 28, that a planned military action against their country's government "would be disastrous" with "unintended consequences" for the already endangered Christian community.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Devoted Christians in Hungary and the Middle East stood up against Nazism or Islamic extremism this week, while others worshiped Christ behind bars, between bomb explosions and in bitter cold conditions.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist TOKYO, JAPAN (BosNewsLife Columns)-- A forthcoming film from famed director Martin Scorsese is set  to confront the movie-going public with the persecution of Christians. It's “Silence,” based on the celebrated 1966 historical novel by Japanese Christian writer Shusaku Endo, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- One of the modern-day saints of the Middle East is Father Douglas Bazi, a Chaldean priest who endured nine days of captivity and torture after being kidnapped by the al-Qaida terror group. During my Skype interview with him last year, I was startled at how surprisingly cheerful and relaxed he appeared when recalling his harrowing experiences.

By BosNewsLife Americas Service WASHINGTON, USA (BosNewsLife)-- Most Americans agree with the presidential candidates of both parties in calling Islamic State group atrocities against Christians in the Middle East "genocide," according to a poll by the Catholic Knights of Columbus (KofC) order and the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee and Martin O'Malley have all called the situation genocide.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service AMMAN, JORDAN (BosNewsLife)-- Preparations were underway in Jordan's capital Amman for "the first ever Christmas meal for Christian refugee children from Iraq and Syria" who have been "mostly ignored by Islamic charities," organizers said.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos CAIRO/BRUSSELS (BosNewsLife)-- The European Parliament (EP) has condemned violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt, after at least 25 were killed and more than 300 wounded by security forces in Cairo during a peaceful protest earlier this month, a key legislator told BosNewsLife Friday, October 28.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BosNewsLife)-- Suspected Islamic gunmen shot dead at least 11 people, mostly Christians, in central Syria on Saturday, August 17, in what local residents and activists said was the latest in a series of attacks on the country's Christian minority.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife DAMASCUS/VIENNA (BosNewsLife)-- Hundreds of Syrian Christians have been killed and several Christians kidnapped as fighting rages between government forces and rebels, an aid group working in the region told BosNewsLife Thursday, February 16.