Despite the continuing difficulties, Christmas in Gaza this year is filled with faith, hope and resilience, a Latin Patriarchate official said following a three-day pastoral visit.
"There is a different spirit. In other visits usually the first thing people say is if they
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had a 50-minute private meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican Nov. 4.
The Vatican statement did not say what the pope and the Palestinian leader spoke about, but focused on Abbas' conversation with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary
Syriac Catholic bishops, meeting in Lebanon for the first time since 2019 because of the pandemic, called on governments in the Middle East to work "to stop wars and renounce the logic of sectarianism and racism."
In a statement at the conclusion of
The pilgrimage of the icon of the Holy Family of Divine Will of Unity and Peace has begun. The icon, written by Melkite Father Samir Rouhana of St. Elias Parish near Haifa, Israel, will be in Lebanon for a month.
The icon of
The thirst for peace in the Middle East can only be satiated by God and his Word, which heals all forms of division, Pope Francis said.
In a June 27 letter addressed to the Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East, the pope said
A day that started with heavy hearts visiting homes damaged in May violence between Hamas and Israel ended in a celebration of faith, love and family June 16 as Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, conducted a flurry of religious ceremonies
Pope Francis named Archbishop Adolfo Yllana to be apostolic nuncio to Israel and to Cyprus and apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine.
The Vatican announced June 3 the transfer of the 73-year-old native of the Philippines, who had been nuncio to Australia since
The injury and death of so many innocent people, especially children, caused by escalating violence between Israel and the Gaza Strip is "terrible and unacceptable," putting the area at risk of sinking into "a spiral of death and destruction," Pope Francis said.
The
The chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace called on Israelis and Palestinians to end the violence in Jerusalem and Gaza that has claimed dozens of lives and left hundreds of people injured.
"The maiming and killing of one's
OSV chaplain Msgr. Owen Campion looks at the recent violence in the Holy Land and offers important historical context as to what each side is fighting for. He writes: “Differences are deep. Feelings of anger, bitterness, despair, prejudice and fear abound. At