World

Bishop Nicholas Hudson, Chair of the International Affairs Department of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and Moderator of the Holy Land Coordination, has condemned the alarming escalation in settler violence taking place in the West Bank town of Taybeh. On Tuesday, 8 July, priests representing the town's three Christian churches issued a joint statement about the repeated attacks on t... Read More

Ahead of the Jubilee Year celebration of World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly - which this year falls on July 27 - Pope Leo writes that "hope is a constant source of joy, whatever our age", adding, "when that hope has also been tempered by fire over the course of a long life, it proves a source of deep happiness." In his Message for the Day, Pope Leo offers a scriptural meditation on old age... Read More

For the year 2026, the prayers and reflections for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity have been prepared by the Inter-Church Relations Department of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The resources are jointly published by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches (WCC). The final material is sent to WCC member churches and Roman Catholic episcopal conferences. ... Read More

Pope Leo XIV celebrated the first Mass for the Care of Creation, a new formulary of the Roman Missal, today, Wednesday 9 July, at the Laudato Si' Village, in the garden of Castelgandolfo. The Mass was attended by the centre's staff. In remarks at the start of his homily, the Holy Father said the Mass was being celebrated surrounded by beauty in "a kind of 'natural' cathedral." He noted that the l... Read More

Following the latest violent attack by illegal Israeli settlers on the Christian village of Taybeh in the West Bank, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) have sent us this statement: Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) condemns the most recent attack by Israeli settlers on the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh, where on July 7, 2025, settlers deliberately set fire near the town cemetery ... Read More

Irish missionary nun, Sr Mary Lucey, was recently honoured in her absence with the Presidential Insignia for Meritorious Achievement from President Hakainde Hichilema in Zambia. Sr Mary now lives in semi-retirement in Castleisland, Co Kerry after spending 31 years in the Pemba and Kalomo regions of Zambia. Her medal was accepted on her behalf by colleagues, African sister, Sr Sandra and an Irish s... Read More

A 5th century church and an ancient Christian cemetery were badly vandalised by Israeli 'settlers' in the last Christian town in the West Bank yesterday. In a statement today, Tuesday, 8 July, the priests of the churches of Taybeh - Latins, Greek Catholics, and Greek Orthodox - made a clear appeal to the world, expressing deep concern about the increasing and documented attacks by illegal Israeli... Read More

Seafarers and fishers are in the heart of the Church and serve as "pilgrims of hope" and "prophets of peace", the Vatican has said in a message released ahead of Sea Sunday, which will be marked on 13 July this year. In a powerful statement, Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, reaffirmed the Church's deep commitment to those who wor... Read More

On Wednesday, 9 July , 2025, Pope Leo XIV will celebrate the first 'Mass for the Care of Creation', with a new formulary of the Roman Missal, produced by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The Pope will celebrate this private Mass during his holiday with the staff of the 'Borgo Laudato Si' ('Laudato Si V... Read More

Yesterday was the last Angelus in St Peter's Square before Pope Leo left for two weeks of rest in Castel Gandolfo. In his commentary on the Gospel, the Pope said that God placed "a desire for the infinite" in "people's heart, but "few perceive" this. The Church and the world need "loving disciples". After the Angelus, he said that "peace is a desire of all peoples," while "those who govern" should... Read More

The 90th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been marked by interfaith celebrations around the world. Speaking on behalf of the British government, the UK Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, David Smith MP, said in a statement: "The 14th Dalai Lama, based in Dharamshala, India, is the spiritual religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as a Nobel Peace Pri... Read More

Melanie Nazareth has recently returned from Israel and occupied Palestine where she spent two and a half months with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. This is my last letter. I started it when I was in the West Bank before the first Israeli bombing raid on Iran. Since then I have returned to the UK and the West Bank has been under military lockdown. I will begin with ... Read More

The Pakistani Supreme Court's has freed Anwar Kenneth, a mentally ill Catholic man, who spent 23 years on death row after being convicted of committing blasphemy. Three judges overturned the conviction on 25 June after doctors reportedly confirmed his mental illness. The court said an individual with a mental illness cannot be held criminally liable. Kenneth, who is now 72, was arrested in 2001 f... Read More

Melanie Nazareth has recently returned from Israel and occupied Palestine where she spent two and a half months with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. On my final day in the West Bank, we were sitting in a home in one of the refugee camps. The camps were originally set up to house people displaced from their villages by the violence that displaced 750,000 Palestinians... Read More