With the benefit of hindsight, it is easy to see that the pope was far more clear-eyed than the politicians who opted for war in Iraq and the Catholic thinkers who helped provide the war’s putative justification.
Middle East
Posted inInterviews
Cardinal Parolin on Iran war: ‘The force of law has been replaced by the law of force’
“Justice has given way to force; the force of law has been replaced by the law of force, with the conviction that peace can arise only after the enemy has been annihilated.”
Posted inNews
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.
Posted inNews
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.”
Posted inNews
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.”
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.
Posted inDispatches
Armenian-American Christians say proposed U.S. bill would reward Azerbaijan for ethnic cleansing
A new bill seeking to lift restrictions on Azerbaijan has provoked resistance from Armenian community.
Posted inDispatches
In Beirut, viral ‘D.J.-priest’ almost blocked from performing by hardline Christians
The Rev. Guilherme Peixoto, the “D.J. Priest” or “Padre Guilherme,” is globally popular on the techno and house music scene but a lawsuit almost kept him from spinning records in Beirut.
Posted inNews
Christmas—and hope—return to Bethlehem after two somber years
Christmas here is not escapism. It is defiance.
Posted inPodcasts
Inside Pope Leo’s first foreign trip
Fresh off of Pope Leo XIV’s first international trip, Senior Vatican Correspondent Gerard O’Connell joins host Colleen Dulle to unpack Pope Leo’s messages of unity and peace in Turkey and Lebanon.