VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Celebrating the birth of Jesus, the prince of peace, should mean making a commitment to opposing all war, to cherishing human life, feeding the hungry and speaking up for those who have no voice, Pope Francis said. "To
(OSV News) — Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of Vatican Dicastery for the Service of Charity, landed in Israel on Dec. 22, starting a “journey of closeness” as papal envoy to the Holy Land during a difficult wartime Christmas season. “We landed at
ROME (OSV News) -- Following the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem's denouncement of a series of attacks on Christians in Gaza by Israeli forces Dec. 16, including the killing of a mother and daughter at a Catholic parish, Pope Francis and numerous bishops
JERUSALEM (OSV News) -- The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem denounced a series of attacks on Christians in Gaza by Israeli forces, including the killing of a mother and daughter at a Catholic parish. In a Dec. 16 statement, the patriarchate said that
As in all too many Christmases past, sobriety blankets the city of Bethlehem, where Christ's birth is jubilantly celebrated each year. The joyous preparations that typically mark the approach of the feast of the Nativity have taken on a different hue. The
Latin patriarch: The time has come for political leaders to make good on statehood slogans as war rages
JERUSALEM (OSV News) -- The war between Israel and Hamas may finally force a diplomatic solution to the long intractable tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians in the Holy Land, said the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, 58, who
VALLETTA — In a solemn ceremony held at St. John’s Co-Cathedral, Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta, presided over the annual investiture of knights and dames of the Lieutenancy of Malta of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
Pope Francis appealed for perseverance in praying for peace, especially in the Holy Land where the conflict is no longer "warfare," but has become "terrorism."
"Please, let's move toward peace. Pray for peace," the pope said. "May the Lord help us to not
Christmas in Bethlehem and the Holy Land this year will be one of solemnity, prayer and fasting as the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem called upon the faithful to forgo any "unnecessarily festive activities" during the Christmas season this
It was only six days after he left the Holy Land when Father Jean-Jacques Pérennès learned about the deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. For the French Dominican, who until Oct. 1 has been a director of the legendary