Pope Leo XIV spoke about the need to end the wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine in phone conversations with the presidents of Israel and Ukraine on this Good Friday morning, April 3.
Israel Palestine
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Israel to allow church leaders to celebrate Holy Week, Easter at holy sites, Latin patriarchate says
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said an agreement has been reached with Israeli authorities to allow Holy Week and Easter celebrations to take place at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher after they were initially barred from celebrating Palm Sunday.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Palm Sunday: Cardinal Pizzaballa blocked by Israeli police from Holy Sepulchre as Pope Leo denounces war in Rome
For the first time in centuries, the Christian leaders in Jerusalem, including Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, were prevented by Israeli police from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass.
Posted inShort Take
Bombing civilians in Iran to spare soldiers violates moral and international law
The principle of sparing civilian lives is a cornerstone of international law. And the hatred caused by the killing of noncombatants jeopardizes long-term peace.
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
Archbishop Warda on Iran war: A refuge for Christians in Iraq is now under threat
A painful irony today is that Erbil—once a refuge for displaced Christian families—has become one of the Iraqi cities most frequently exposed to missile and drone attacks as war between U.S.-Israel and Iran continues.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo urges a halt to ‘spiral of violence’ across Iran and Middle East
Pope Leo prayed that “diplomacy may regain its role and promote the good of the peoples who yearn for a peaceful coexistence founded on justice.”
Posted inDispatches
Q&A: Why did the Vatican pass on Trump’s Board of Peace?
As Cardinal Secretary of State Parolin said, the Holy See insists on the importance of participation by the United Nations in Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
Why did the Vatican decline to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza?
Declining to join the Board of Peace, Vatican officials might point out that true peace can only be achieved through justice and reconciliation, avoiding the peace of the graveyard. How else to describe Gaza these days?
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Vatican will not join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza, Cardinal Parolin says
The Holy See “will not participate” in President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” for Gaza, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said Feb. 17, citing “points that leave us somewhat perplexed.”
Posted inShort Take
The flaws of Christian Zionism
Using biblical texts formulated millennia ago to justify the dispossession of the Palestinian people today is problematic for many reasons.