Pope Francis yes, Church no: survey reveals that the Pope is the most trusted person in Italy

Jan 21, 2025 21:22

Jorge Enrique Mújica

Pope Francis in General Audience Photo: Vatican Media

religious freedom is not only holding steady but growing.

in 2024, 4,476 Christians were killed because of their faith, 4,744 were imprisoned for religious reasons and 7,679 Christian churches and properties were attacked. On average, one in seven Christians is persecuted worldwide, a situation suffered by one in five Christians in Africa and two in five Christians in Asia.

Analysis Opinion•Pope Francis

Pope’s article in The New York Times: There Is Faith in Humor

“Generally, we priests tend to enjoy humor and even have a fair stock of jokes and amusing stories, which we are often quite good at telling, as well as being the object of them”, writes the Pope in the best-known newspaper in the United States

Dec 22, 2024 18:06

ZENIT Staff

Analysis Opinion•Local Church

From Saddam to Assad, the collapse of regimes and the danger of an ‘Iraqisation’ in Syria

In an exclusive sit down with AsiaNews, Prof. Saad Salloum draws a parallel between the overthrow of the Rais in Iraq and the flight of the Syrian dictator. In both cases it took 13 years for their ouster to ‘drain’ the resources around the leader. Baghdad must ‘take tangible measures to ensure the recovery of the new Syria’ starting with the fight against drugs. Limit the role of Turkey and Iran, set up a reconstruction fund.

Dec 19, 2024 11:36

ZENIT Staff

Analysis Opinion•Local Church

Most celebrate Christmas, few know what they celebrate: surprising revelations from a study

While the majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, understanding of its biblical roots is lacking. According to a 2018 Lifeway study, only 22% of U.S. adults believe they could accurately and entirely retell the Nativity story from memory. Another 31% say they could recount it but might miss some details or get others wrong. About 25% could only provide a general summary, while 17% admit they couldn’t recount the story at all.

Dec 19, 2024 11:34

Tim Daniels

Analysis Opinion•Local Church

Study reveals that non-churchgoers would go to Mass at Christmas if invited by someone else

Despite declining attendance, the study offers a silver lining: 56% of those who don’t typically go to church during Christmas said they might consider attending if invited by someone they know

Dec 13, 2024 13:48

Tim Daniels

Analysis Opinion

Aleppo parish priest calls for Constitution ‘for all Syrians exhausted’ by the regime

Leader al-Jawlani spoke from the historic Umayyad mosque. UN Security Council meeting today. The apostolic nuncio calls for the lifting of sanctions, a ‘burden’ that ‘weighs on the poor people’. Fr Karakach’s testimony to AsiaNews: ‘We hope that what happened will unblock the political situation’. Christians ‘citizens who have rights and duties equal to all’.

Dec 10, 2024 15:56

ZENIT Staff

Father Mann first crossed paths with the Trump family in an unexpected way.

Trump new president: a telegram from the pope, an end to gender ideology and a Catholic priest at the ceremony

Trump’s inaugural address reflected his commitment to reshaping the nation’s policies, particularly in the realm of social and cultural issues. Declaring an end to “government-imposed gender ideology,”