Middle East

Pope at Angelus: Appeal for Middle East, recalls “saints next door”

Pope Francis celebrates Mass and recites the Angelus in Camerino, Italy (Vatican Media) June 16, 2019 After celebrating Holy Mass in Camerino, in the Italian Marches Region, Pope Francis recites the Angelus Prayer, thanking those who helped prepare for his visit, and remembering “the saints next door”. He also appeals for a resolution to [...]

"Urbi et Orbi" Christmas Message and Blessing of Pope Francis

On Christmas Day Pope Francis prays for world peace and gives his "Urbi et Orbi" blessing Pope Francis has appealed for peace and for a world in which children across the globe may be able to hope for a future of justice, security and joy. The Pope's words came on Christmas Day as he addressed the city and the world during his traditional [...]

Pope’s message to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

Pope Francis is encouraging Catholics and Orthodox not only to further theological dialogue between them, but also to promote joint initiatives on issues such as caring for the environment, peaceful coexistence among peoples and the presence of Christians in the Middle East, without waiting for the day of full and visible communion.‎ The Pope, who is on an apostolic visit to Myanmar and [...]

Vatican, Russia agree visa-free diplomatic travel, need for dialogue in Venezuela

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov for talks on Tuesday, during which they discussed issues of international concern and agreed to visa-free diplomatic travel. During the press conference following their talks, the Holy See and the Russian Federation signed an Agreement waiving visa requirements for holders of diplomatic passports. [...]

Letter #19, 2017: After Fatima…

May 15, 2017, Monday "I saw that American leaders wanted to cooperate with Russia.”—The influential Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, the Oxford-educated "Foreign Minister" of the increasingly powerful Russian Orthodox Church, in an interview published today on the website of the Russian Orthodox Moscow Patriarchate. The interview follows Hilarion's four-day trip to Washington D.C. to participate [...]

Letter #15, 2017: Co-Worker of The Truth

May 1, 2017, Monday Reading today, I came across a brief passage from the conversation between Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and German writer Peter Seewald, part of a book which was published in September 2016 as Last Testament. (Here is a link to the book, the passage in question is from pages 240-241.) It is a [...]

Letter #42, 2015: Mortality

October 7, 2015, Wednesday — Mortality "Every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes." —Pope Francis, on Thursday, September 24, in his address to the U.S. Congress during his visit to America; he called for the "global abolition" [...]

The Long Journey of Maryam Ibrahim

The Sudanese woman, spared a death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity, flew into Rome in an Italian government plane. In mid-May the world discovered the case of a Sudanese doctor, Maryam Yahya Ibrahim, who was condemned to death for apostasy. How did this startling sentence come about? Professor Valentina Colombo: The case [...]

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