Leo XIV, Trump, and the moral legitimacy of war in the Middle East: diplomacy as the Vatican’s only “weapon”

Mar 12, 2026 19:45

At the conclusion of the general audience on March 11, Pope Leo XIV addressed the growing turmoil in the Middle East Photo: Vatican Media

Analysis Opinion•Marriage and Family•Pro Life

Surprising study shows birth projections for 2026: only 8 out of every 100 babies will be born on three continents combined

If a culture does not reproduce itself biologically, can it expect to endure institutionally? Modernity has achieved unprecedented material progress, yet its most advanced societies are those least inclined to bring forth new life

Mar 04, 2026 09:08

Tim Daniels

Analysis Opinion•Local Church•Young People

Beyond emotion: Spanish bishops publish a critique of the emotionalism of spiritual retreats

The note offers a careful critique of what contemporary philosophers have termed emotivism. In postmodern culture, the bishops observe, the “I feel, therefore I am” mentality often replaces the classical primacy of reason. Emotions, detached from truth and moral good, become sovereign

Mar 03, 2026 08:31

Jorge Enrique Mújica

Analysis Opinion•Local Church•Pope Leo XIV

One in three Mexican bishops will be replaced by Pope Leo XIV between 2026 and 2027

The generational shift is also visible in the provenance of current appointments. As of the beginning of 2026, 52.5 percent of Mexico’s bishops and archbishops were appointed by Pope Francis, 27.6 percent by Benedict XVI, 17.2 percent by John Paul II, and just 2.6 percent by Leo XIV himself. That last figure is set to rise sharply

Feb 28, 2026 20:31

ZENIT Staff

Analysis Opinion•Local Church

Trumps and Americans of faith: New Data Reveal a Subtle but Significant Cooling Among Religious Voters in Trump’s Second Term

The religious landscape after one year of Trump’s renewed presidency is neither static nor revolutionary. It reflects continuity under strain: enduring alignments tempered by incremental shifts in confidence, particularly on questions of ethics

Feb 12, 2026 17:29

Tim Daniels

Analysis Opinion•Ecumenism

Russia Calls Patriarch Bartholomew “Antichrist in a Cassock”

Russian Intelligence now presents itself as the ultimate arbiter of orthodoxy and theology

Feb 12, 2026 16:32

ZENIT Staff

Leo XIV, Trump, and the moral legitimacy of war in the Middle East: diplomacy as the Vatican’s only “weapon”

What is the cost of war for Israel and the Middle East?

Four Years of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: An Analysis from the Church

The Holy See and Iran in the New World Disorder: an analysis by Antonio Spadaro

Vatican questions “preventive” war in Iran as Leo XIV intensifies diplomatic calls for peace

This is how Catholicism declined in Latin America during Pope Francis’ pontificate

The Middle East, the spread of war, and the position of the Pope and the Catholic Church

Surprising study shows birth projections for 2026: only 8 out of every 100 babies will be born on three continents combined

Beyond emotion: Spanish bishops publish a critique of the emotionalism of spiritual retreats

One in three Mexican bishops will be replaced by Pope Leo XIV between 2026 and 2027

Trumps and Americans of faith: New Data Reveal a Subtle but Significant Cooling Among Religious Voters in Trump’s Second Term

Russia Calls Patriarch Bartholomew “Antichrist in a Cassock”