Good News•Local Church

London’s Trafalgar Square to Host Landmark 15th Anniversary Performance of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday

Fifteen years after its debut in the square, the Wintershall Passion play has evolved into more than a theatrical production. For many Londoners, it has become a moment in which one of Christianity’s most enduring narratives reenters the public space of a modern city, reminding audiences that stories of suffering, redemption and hope continue to shape cultural memory even in a secular age

Mar 15, 2026 21:24

Elizabeth Owens

Cardinals and Bishops•Local Church

The (unusual) reshuffling of bishops in Pakistan: a (strange) episcopal exchange orchestrated by Leo XIV

For many Pakistani Catholics, the reshuffle marks the closing of a difficult chapter and the beginning of another whose success will depend less on administrative decisions and more on the ability of the Church’s leaders to rebuild trust among the faithful

Mar 13, 2026 13:10

Elizabeth Owens

Vocations•Young People

Pornography: one of the causes of the decline in vocations, according to expert

Steele’s warnings come against the backdrop of striking statistics about pornography consumption among young people

Mar 12, 2026 22:00

Elizabeth Owens

Holy Land•Persecuted Christians

Jewish settlers attack the only entirely Christian village in the Holy Land once again, according to the Catholic parish priest himself

What is clear is that for villages like Taybeh, the question of survival is no longer abstract policy debate—it is an everyday reality measured in uprooted trees, burned vehicles and the endurance of faith under pressure

Feb 12, 2026 17:06

Elizabeth Owens

Cardinals and Bishops•Justice and Peace

Is it morally acceptable for the military to disobey Trump if he orders an invasion of Greenland? Response from the former president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops

Speaking to the BBC on January 18, the archbishop was blunt. He said he could see no scenario in which a U.S. military action to take control of Greenland—or the territory of any allied nation—would satisfy the classical Catholic criteria for a just war

Jan 21, 2026 18:06

Elizabeth Owens

Holy Land•Justice and Peace•Religious Freedom

The Jewish state of Israel bans Caritas, the charitable arm of the Church (and more than 20 humanitarian organizations), from Gaza

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem issued a formal statement defending Caritas Jerusalem, stressing that it is not a conventional NGO but an ecclesiastical juridical person operating under the authority of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land. Its legal status, the Patriarchate recalls, was explicitly recognized by the State of Israel through bilateral agreements signed with the Holy See in 1993 and 1997

Jan 03, 2026 19:33

Elizabeth Owens

Analysis Opinion•Local Church•Persecuted Christians

American missiles, persecuted Christians, and a country that cannot protect them: why did Trump bomb part of Nigeria?

The airstrikes, carried out in coordination with Abuja, targeted militant camps hidden in dense forest areas of Sokoto State, near the border with Niger

Dec 29, 2025 15:55

Elizabeth Owens

Persecuted Christians

Freedom Before Christmas: Nigeria’s St. Mary’s Abductions End, but the Questions Remain

For the Catholic Church in Nigeria, the episode reopens painful questions about the safety of faith-based institutions and the pastoral care of traumatized communities. Bishops and clergy have repeatedly warned that schools and parishes are increasingly vulnerable, even as they continue to serve populations with few alternatives

Dec 23, 2025 15:30

Elizabeth Owens

Cardinals and Bishops•Pope Leo XIV

These are the three topics the Pope will address with cardinals in his first consistory

The announcement, confirmed on 20 December by the Holy See Press Office, puts an end to weeks of speculation in Vatican circles

Dec 22, 2025 15:15

Elizabeth Owens

Local Church

One in two British plan to attend church at Christmas, according to survey

Strikingly, the emotional impact of Christmas churchgoing appears to be strongest among those who do not identify as Christians

Dec 19, 2025 11:31

Elizabeth Owens

Persecuted Christians

1 Catholic priest and 25 secondary school girls kidnapped in Nigeria

The Archdiocese of Kaduna, shaken but accustomed to issuing such statements, urged the country to unite in prayer for the safe return of all those abducted. But in Nigeria—a nation that has lived with kidnappings for ransom on a massive scale for more than a decade—prayer is only one element of a painfully familiar ritual

Nov 18, 2025 17:48

Elizabeth Owens

Local Church•Pope Leo XIV

Ireland: After 500 years, Pope Leo XIV could solve the problem of Dublin’s lack of a cathedral

St. Mary’s, modestly tucked along Marlborough Street just north of Dublin’s city center, was built in 1825 when the Penal Laws still cast long shadows over Catholic life

Nov 13, 2025 13:43

Elizabeth Owens