Latest information on religion, church, politics that revolves around us
Bishop Lucius Hre Kung of Hakha says the faith of Catholics in Chin State, Myanmar, remains resilient after airstrikes by the Burmese army destroyed the Church of Christ the King in Falam earlier this year.
Stay or go? Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem—and throughout the West Bank—face this dilemma. Shahinda Nassar shares the pain she feels when her 16-year-old daughter presses her to leave Bethlehem, as well as the obligation she feels to stay and maintain the Christian presence.
At the Rimini Meeting, writers Colum McCann, Javier Cercas, and Dr. Paolo Ruffini share their thoughts on the power of stories to unite people and build communion where division seems to prevail.
On the sidelines of the Rimini meeting, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople laments the war in Ukraine, calling it “a fratricidal war—a scandal for the Christian world, and especially for the Orthodox Church.”
South Sudan’s Catholic Bishop of Yei Diocese, Bishop Alex Lodiong Sakor Eyobo, has emphasised that there is no alternative to dialogue and sitting together at the round table to resolve the country’s political differences.
The Director of Integral Human Development for Caritas Internationalis explains that the organization’s statement used strong words to call for an end to violence and promote the protection of human rights both in the region and around the world.
Families of hostages held by Hamas stage protests in Israel, demanding government action to secure their release and bring about a ceasefire in Gaza.
Sister Veronica lived in a French lay order and was later sent to Sweden. In Rögle, she has met people who are not Catholic, but who nevertheless visit the Dominican sisters’ convent to find themselves and silence.
Following the Israeli government’s approved plan to take control of Gaza, the Greek Orthodox and Latin Patriarchates of Jerusalem call for an end to the war, stressing “there has been enough destruction” and highlighting the need for "families on all sides—who have suffered for far too long” to be able to start healing.
Pope Leo XIV releases the theme for the 2026 World Day of Peace, “Peace be with you all: Towards an ‘unarmed and disarming’ peace,” as the Vatican Publishing House produces a book entitled “And Let There Be Peace.”
Pope Leo XIV holds a private audience with Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders and of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, speaking in Naples at the opening of the 75th National Liturgical Week, expresses his deep concern over the Israeli bombing of Gaza, saying it makes "no sense" and warning of the worsening humanitarian crisis.