Since the war began nearly four weeks ago, I have found myself checking headlines hourly. I brace for bad news, but hope for something good.
Middle East
Posted inNews
Jerusalem patriarchate cancels Palm Sunday procession, postpones chrism Mass amid war
Uncertainty surrounds upcoming Holy Week liturgies — central to the Christian faith and typically drawing large gatherings of pilgrims and local worshippers.
Posted inPodcasts
Pope Leo is using every way possible to advocate peace
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerard O’Connell and Colleen Dulle discuss Pope Leo’s consistent statements pushing for peace and an end to armed conflicts worldwide. In the second part of the show, Colleen and Gerry unpack a few brief stories including Pope Leo receiving the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center, his new home in the apostolic palace and the Vatican’s appeals court’s decision for a partial re-trial in the “Trial of the Century.”
Posted inNews
Cardinal Pizzaballa: Using God’s name to justify war is ‘the gravest sin’
Speaking via video link from Jerusalem at a March 15 webinar organized by the International Oasis Foundation, Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, warned against what he described as “pseudo-religious language.”
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo to warring nations in the Middle East: ‘Cease fire!’
In an address to thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square at midday on Sunday, March 15, Pope Leo called for a ceasefire in the war in the Middle East.
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 praises heroic action of priest killed by Israeli tank fire in Lebanon
Pope Leo called Father Pierre al-Rahi, who rushed to help parishioners wounded by Israeli fire, “a true shepherd, who always stayed beside his people, with the love and sacrifice of Jesus the Good Shepherd.”
Posted inNews
Iran’s Cardinal Mathieu evacuated to Rome
Cardinal Dominique Mathieu said he arrived in Rome March 8 “not without regret and sorrow for our brothers and sisters in Iran.”
Posted inNews
Pope Leo expresses ‘deep sorrow’ for Lebanese Maronite Catholic priest killed by Israeli tank fire
Pope Leo XIV expressed his “deep sorrow” for a Lebanese Maronite Catholic priest who was killed in southern Lebanon when an Israeli artillery tank fired on a house March 9.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo calls for a stop to ‘the thunderous sound of bombs’ in the Middle East
Pope Leo XIV again called for a stop to “the thunderous sound of bombs” in Iran and the Middle East, for the guns to “fall silent” and for the opening of “a space for dialogue” to find a way out of this latest conflict in the region.