President Donald Trump has repeatedly encouraged more religion in the public square. But according to a new Gallup Poll, there’s been no significant change in the importance of religion to Americans and church attendance continues to decline.
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First synod final reports published: on digital culture and seminary formation
The first report contains recommendations on navigating the Church’s presence in digital spaces; the second focuses on guidelines for the formation of future priests and includes a call for more women to play a role.
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Lebanese archbishop: Innocents are ‘paying the price’ of Middle East war
As the scourge of war spreads across the Middle East, including Lebanon, the ones paying the ultimate price are the innocent men, women and children who want to live in peace, said Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop Georges Iskandar of Tyre.
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Results of Iran war ‘may be worse’ than Iraq, Catholic law professor says
Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor at Notre Dame Law School who specializes in international law and conflict resolution, argues that “February 28, 2026, will forever mark the day that the United States began a war on Iran that will be compared with the disastrous March 2003 invasion of Iraq.”
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Michelangelo’s ‘Last Judgment’ gets cleanup as tide of visitors to Sistine Chapel grows
A thin, white film caused by decades of rising visitor numbers has dulled the dramatic contrasts of Michelangelo’s ‘Last Judgment’ in the Sistine Chapel.
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Sorrow, shock for Catholics in Middle East as US and Israel strike Iran amid negotiations
Bishop Aldo Berardi, apostolic vicar of northern Arabia, issued a Feb. 28 statement on Facebook, urging the faithful “to remain calm, united in prayer, and attentive to the safety of everyone.”
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U.S. bishops support lawsuit against Trump’s attempt to limit birthright citizenship
The U.S. bishops and a Catholic immigration advocacy group were among those who offered their support to a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship.
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US cardinals and pope’s ambassador decry mass deportations in Minnesota
“I’m very proud, personally, to see our church, you know, be on the side of those who suffer,” Cardinal Pierre said, adding that Pope Leo XIV agreed with the U.S. bishops’ support of migrants.
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Highlights from Pope Leo’s hand-picked preacher for Curia’s Lenten retreat
“It is tempting to think we must keep up with the world’s fashions. It is, I’d say, a dubious procedure. The Church, a slow-moving body, will always run the risk of looking and sounding last-season,” Bishop Varden told the pope and cardinals.
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Pope Leo XIV pens book introduction: Peace is a gift—and a responsibility
“Our heart is the most important battlefield,” Pope Leo writes. “It is there that we must learn the bloodless but necessary victory over the impulses of death and the tendencies toward domination: only peaceful hearts can build a world of peace.”