For the patriarch, Holy Week culminating in the Easter celebration offers a fresh hope to breathe new life into prayer and reflection, reconciliation and dialogue.
Middle East
Posted inFaith, News
Vatican welcomes three new Syrian refugee families
The Vatican welcomed the refugee families after an appeal made by Pope Francis on every parish, religious community, monastery and shrine in Europe to take in a family of refugees.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Pope Francis urges protection for civilians as U.S. reviews airstrike deaths in Mosul
Pope Francis joined a chorus of humanitarian relief and human rights critics who urged the United States to do more to avoid noncombatant deaths.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Pope Francis: Protecting Iraqi civilians is non-negotiable
Francis greeted an interfaith group of Iraqis in St. Peter’s Square and issued a special appeal for peace in Iraq at the end of his general audience.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Master of wars: U.S. arms sales lead a world of conflict
The United States dominates an annual global weapons export market that has topped $100 billion.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Pope Francis set to visit Egypt, paving the way for increased interfaith dialogue
The invitation came amid increasingly closer relations between the Vatican and al-Azhar University, which is considered the most authoritative theological-academic institution of Sunni Islam.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
An “invisible” Catholic organization celebrates 90 years of humanitarian work
Msgr. John E. Kozar, secretary of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, said the agency maintains a low profile because it works through and with the local church.
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Don’t close doors to refugees, church leaders say
The answer to the refugee crisis is continued assistance “not to close the gates of the countries where people are knocking for survival,” Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi said.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Meet the Jesuit priest serving Catholics and Muslims in war-torn Syria
“We find God in every act of mercy we do unto others.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Egyptian Christians victims of increasing violence from ISIS
“They’re thirsty for the blood of any Christian,” Wafaa Fawzy said.