Pro Life

US: 5th Circuit temporarily halts Biden-era abortion-by-mail scheme

When the Biden administration removed the safeguard of in-person dispensing for the abortion drug mifepristone, it intentionally opened the door for out-of-state pro-abortion activists and doctors to mail streams of high-risk abortion drugs into pro-life states. Louisiana, which has chosen to protect the lives of unborn babies, and Rosalie Markezich, a Louisiana woman coerced into taking abortion drugs that her boyfriend obtained via mail from a doctor in California, are suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for unlawfully approving this reckless mail-order abortion-drug scheme.

May 07, 2026 17:16

ZENIT Staff

Priests•Rome•Vocations

Three Bits of Advice from the Pope for Newly Ordained Priests: Leo XIV’s Words to a Group of Legionaries of Christ

After the catechesis imparted at the General Audience, the Holy Father approached the group of newly ordained priests from the Legionaries of Christ to take a group photo. Responding to their request for advice, the Pontiff said the following

May 07, 2026 12:54

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV

In Praise of Books and Reading: Three Brief Reflections by Leo XIV on Printed Works

The Pope’s Address to the Staff of the Editorial Offices of the Vatican Publishing House

May 07, 2026 12:51

ZENIT Staff

General Audience•Pope Leo XIV

What does it mean that the Church is a “sacrament of salvation”? Pope Leo XIV answers

The Pope’s General Audience, May 6, 2026, on the eschatological dimension of the Church

May 07, 2026 12:31

ZENIT Staff

Holy Land•Justice and Peace•Persecuted Christians•Virgin Mary

A cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary: the controversial act of an Israeli soldier in Lebanon

For many Christians in the region, the cumulative effect of these incidents is generating growing anxiety about their already precarious future in the Middle East

May 07, 2026 12:19

ZENIT Staff

Controversies

The Vatican’s London Trial Nears a Breaking Point as Legal Setbacks Threaten Financial and Institutional Disaster

Yet after six years of investigations, arrests, trials, leaked documents, and relentless international scrutiny, the possibility now exists that none of the ten defendants originally prosecuted may ever face enforceable criminal consequences through the Vatican judicial system

May 07, 2026 12:12

ZENIT Staff

Local Church

Twenty days before his ordination as bishop, he says no. The reason? “Personal shortcomings,” claims the honest priest

The announcement reverberated across the Philippines, where such refusals are highly unusual in public view. Although priests sometimes decline episcopal appointments privately before they are officially announced, it is exceedingly rare for a bishop-elect to step away after preparations for ordination have already advanced so visibly

May 06, 2026 10:43

ZENIT Staff

Local Church•Testimonies

She was baptized at age 98, with her 77-year-old son serving as her godfather: the touching story of a long-awaited baptism

For those who witnessed her baptism during the Easter Vigil, the moment was not merely remarkable because she was 98 years old. It was remarkable because, after nearly a century of life, she still believed there was one more important step left to take

May 06, 2026 10:29

ZENIT Staff

Euthanasia•Priests

A Catholic priest goes to the doctor and is prescribed euthanasia twice: here’s how that unpleasant experience unfolded

For the priest, sharing his story is not merely an act of denunciation but also a warning

May 06, 2026 10:12

ZENIT Staff

Good News•Pope Leo XIV•Priests

Here’s how Pope Leo XIV’s surprise video call to Lebanese priests in a war zone went

The encounter lasted only a few minutes, yet those present described it as deeply moving. For clergy ministering among bombed streets, damaged homes, and communities exhausted by months of violence, the brief conversation carried a significance far greater than its duration.

May 06, 2026 10:02

ZENIT Staff

Local Church

Data on the generous participation of Chinese Catholic Communities in the 2026 national Collection

The collection is promoted by Jinde Charities, an organization that has been coordinating charitable works supported by Catholic communities in mainland China for 30 years, and which in 2026 celebrated this initiative for the ninth consecutive year.

May 05, 2026 20:25

ZENIT Staff

Local Church

How many Catholics are there in South Korea? The Church releases its impressive statistics (and challenges)

More revealing than total membership is the age profile of the faithful. Nearly one in three Korean Catholics—28.9 percent—is now aged 65 or older, making the elderly the largest demographic group within the Church

May 05, 2026 20:18

ZENIT Staff