Pope Francis: “Last Tuesday’s catastrophe calls everyone, beginning with the Lebanese people, to work together for the common good of this beloved country.”
Middle East
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Caritas Lebanon director: Beirut is devastated but we will rebuild our city
Many Beirut buildings simply crumbled; others are compromised beyond repair. Those that can be saved no longer have windows or doors, residents continue to occupy them to protect what possessions they have left.
Posted inFaith, News
Lebanon’s Catholic leaders are asking for help. Here’s where you can donate.
Explosions in Beirut left more than 130 people dead and more than 300,000 homeless.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis calls for prayer and aid for Lebanon after deadly explosion
“Let us pray for the victims, for their families; and let us pray for Lebanon so that it might face this extremely tragic and painful moment and, with the help of the international community, overcome the grave crisis they are experiencing.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Catholic aid groups: Massive explosion in Beirut compounds Lebanon’s dire situation
At least 50 people were killed and 2,700 injured. Catholic and other humanitarian agencies warn it could push the country into an even bigger catastrophe.
Posted inFaith, News
Seven years later, still no trace of Jesuit priest kidnapped in Syria
“My appeal is not to forget about Syria,” said Immacolata Dall’Oglio, sister of the Rev. Paolo Dall’Oglio, who went missing in Syria on July 29, 2013.
Posted inFaith, News
Christians mark a ‘day of mourning’ as Hagia Sophia opens for Muslim prayers
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined hundreds of worshipers Friday for the first Muslim prayers in 86 years inside Hagia Sophia.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Turkey’s President Erdogan officially reconverts Hagia Sophia into a mosque
The Unesco World Heritage site in Istanbul, founded as a Christian church in the 6th century, transformed into a mosque in the 15th century and then into a museum in 1934, will reopen as a mosque on July 24 with Friday prayers.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
‘Parish priest on loan to the missions’ ends nine years as CNEWA president
Msgr. John E. Kozar, having completed nine years of service as head of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, is retiring from his post and reflects on his time as CNEWA head and on what he plans to do next.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Christian leaders: Israeli occupation of Palestine is cause of conflict
“It is time to act in order to extinguish the destructive fires raging in the Holy Land…. Only a just peace will put end to hatred, to oppression and the suffering of so many.”