The bells of two beautiful churches destroyed (and now restored) after the passage of Islamism in Iraq ring once again

Oct 16, 2025 18:07

The two churches — Mar Toma, Syriac Orthodox, and Al Tahira, Chaldean Catholic — reopened on October 15 after years of painstaking restoration. Photo: L’Oeuvre d’Orient

Local Church•Young People

Northern Ireland’s Youth Spark Unexpected Religious Revival

The survey offers an optimistic counterpoint to the narrative of a faith in decline

Oct 13, 2025 11:15

Elizabeth Owens

Local Church

Bishops in Kenya launch brand of wine for Mass: the existing brand lost its sacred character

The directive, unveiled on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, marks the end of a troubling chapter in which the same wine consecrated at Mass was being casually poured in bars, hotels, and supermarkets across the country

Oct 13, 2025 11:06

Elizabeth Owens

Local Church•Religious Freedom

Washington government will no longer imprison priests who refuse to violate the seal of confession

The backlash was immediate and intense. Washington’s Catholic bishops, joined by Orthodox churches, launched parallel lawsuits in both of the state’s federal districts, arguing that the measure struck at the very heart of religious freedom

Oct 13, 2025 11:04

Tim Daniels

Local Church•Marriage and Family

The state of ecclesiastical marriage in a Catholic European country: Italy

The causes of this cultural shift are complex but unmistakable. Italy, long synonymous with Catholic identity, is becoming increasingly secular, especially in urban centers

Oct 11, 2025 13:23

ZENIT Staff

Dicasteries•Homosexuality•Local Church

Vatican contradicts German bishops: text for blessing same-sex couples was not approved

Bishop Georg Bätzing, head of the DBK, has repeatedly defended the initiative. At the September assembly, he told journalists the document had been produced “in transparent consultation with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith” (DDF), portraying it as a contextual application of the Vatican’s 2023 declaration Fiducia supplicans

Oct 10, 2025 13:05

Joachin Meisner Hertz

The topics the Pope will discuss with all the world’s cardinals in late June have been announced: liturgy is not on the agenda

The agenda itself is revealing. While speculation in some circles had focused on possible discussions concerning liturgical questions or curial reform, the Consistory will instead concentrate on issues that Leo XIV appears to regard as more urgent

Reflections by Leo XIV on certain elements that constitute the sacred liturgy, such as rite, sign, and symbol

The Pope’s General Audience, June 3, 2026, on certain elements that constitute the sacred liturgy, such as rites, signs, and symbols

L	M	X	J	V	S	D
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

The bells of two beautiful churches destroyed (and now restored) after the passage of Islamism in Iraq ring once again

England, Belgium, and Germany: the three “most inclusive” countries for LGBT Catholics, according to a study

Graffiti inside Canterbury Anglican Cathedral (with permission from the gay rector) divides public opinion

Vatican suspends training at major seminary in Congo amid growing division in local Church

These are the 10 bishops who are candidates to lead the Catholic Church in the United States for the next three years

Artistic and religious catastrophe: important Italian monastery (where Carlo Acutis made his first communion) catches fire

One in five Catholics worldwide is African, as is one in three seminarians: the impressive statistics of African Catholicism

Northern Ireland’s Youth Spark Unexpected Religious Revival

Bishops in Kenya launch brand of wine for Mass: the existing brand lost its sacred character

Washington government will no longer imprison priests who refuse to violate the seal of confession

The state of ecclesiastical marriage in a Catholic European country: Italy

Vatican contradicts German bishops: text for blessing same-sex couples was not approved