Pope prays for persecuted Christians The prayer intention of Pope Francis for March 2017 is “that persecuted Christians may be supported by the prayers and material help of the whole Church”. In a monthly reflection on the papal prayer intention, the Apostleship of Prayer notes that Pope Francis has asked for special prayers for persecuted…
Restoration work on the tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre will be completed in time for the celebration of Easter Sunday, April 16, it has been announced. Following nine months of refurbishment on the Edicule sitting atop the central site of the Christian world, the National Technical University of Athens, which…
Leading Muslim groups and figures in Egypt have denounced the targeting of Christians by so-called Islamic State (ISIS). As Christians continue to flee the Sinai region after seven murders of community members, leaders of religious and political authorities have issued statements in support of their Christian countrymen and critical of the militants. Among them is…
The Catholic bishops of South Sudan have stressed that they are not taking sides in the conflict currently affecting the nation and causing a growing famine. While continuing to denounce violence on all sides which has now reached depraved extremes, the bishops have been at pains to stress that they are “not against the government”…
The bishop whose diocese includes the parish in Medjugorje has reiterated his belief that no apparitions have ever taken place at the site. In the wake of news that Pope Francis has appointed a special delegate to examine the pastoral situation at the famed Bosnia-Herzegovina site, Bishop Ratko Peri of Mostar-Duvno issued a message on…
Christians are fleeing the Sinai region of Egypt following the latest murders targeting the community, and just days after so-called Islamic State (ISIS) called for the slaughter of all Christians there. According to reports from the region, following a February 19 video which appeared online to call on supporters of ISIS to target Christians in…
Catholic parishes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been attacked and looted in a serious escalation of violence in the country. According to reports, militants in the central Kasai province, who have been fighting the military since August, have increased their attacks on civilian communities, bringing accusations of serious human rights abuses. “Violence…
Archaeologists in the Holy Land have announced plans to excavate a previously untouched site associated with the story of the Ark of the Covenant. According to the Times of Israel, researchers have at last turned their attention to Kiryat Ye’arim, the location of a biblical town dating to the story of King David and mentioned…
Catholic bishops from the United States and Mexico have spoken forcefully against the climate of fear for migrants and others which has arisen in America since the inauguration of President Donald Trump. In separate gatherings, prelates made statements to denounce “the exclusion and marginalisation” which threaten to divide families and punish the most vulnerable. In…
The condition of a Christian community in any given nation of the Middle East is “an indicator of security and stability” a leading Russian prelate has told ambassadors drawn from the Arab world. In an address to a gathering of 11 diplomats in Moscow, Metropolitan Hilarion chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church…