Bishop Who Disappeared Under the Nicaraguan Dictatorship Reappears on Camera, but Questions Mount

Aug 14, 2026 13:14

ZENIT Staff

Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata has appeared alive in a nine-minute video released by media close to Nicaragua’s government.

Persecuted Christians

Fulani Extremists Kill 25 Christians After Nigerian Army Ignores Early Warnings

Among those killed was the village’s leader. The local said the Fulani planned to kill their leader, occupy the land for grazing, and establish an Islamic caliphate in the region.

Jul 21, 2026 16:27

ZENIT Staff

Local Church•Persecuted Christians

Nicaragua: A Missing Bishop, a Report on Persecution of the Church, and a Dictator Who Announces There Will Be No More Elections

His disappearance comes as a newly published Global Persecution Index by International Christian Concern portrays Nicaragua as one of the countries where conditions for Christians have deteriorated most significantly.

Jul 21, 2026 16:01

Enrique Villegas

Persecuted Christians

Indian Government Orders an Audit of Christian Properties

This sweeping review has heightened concerns among Christian communities. Representatives of Christians have linked the timing of the audit to a broader climate of intimidation, like disruptions at prayer meetings by right-wing groups, hate speeches, etc., which are on the rise in Maharashtra

Jul 20, 2026 15:45

ZENIT Staff

Homosexuality•Persecuted Christians

Gay man arrested for threatening to kill nuns and children at a Catholic school “just for fun”

According to investigators, the threatening message appeared on the school’s Facebook page on June 26 under the name «Bobby McGee.» Its language left little room for ambiguity, announcing plans to attack the Catholic school and murder members of the governor’s family «for fun.»

Jul 20, 2026 15:37

ZENIT Staff

Persecuted Christians•Religious Freedom

The United Kingdom bars a Finnish lawmaker from entering the country after she posted a biblical quote opposing gender ideology

Her electronic travel authorisation, initially approved, was revoked shortly after Finland’s Supreme Court confirmed a conviction against her for “insulting a group” in a decades‑old pamphlet on marriage and sexuality

Jul 18, 2026 08:46

Elizabeth Owens

Lebanon Turns to the Pope: Lebanese President Visits Leo XIV Amid the Israeli Siege

On Thursday, August 20, Pope Leo XIV received Aoun at the Apostolic Palace for a private meeting lasting around half an hour. The Lebanese president then held talks with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations

Sovereign Order of the Temple of Christ Association

Pope Leo XIV Sued in Spanish Courts: The Case of the “Templars” Seeking Ecclesiastical Rehabilitation… and Money

At the center of the case is the suppression of the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. The modern organization presents itself as its heir and argues that Pope Clement V’s decision in 1312 was illegitimate, maintaining that the suppression took place under political pressure from King Philip IV of France.

Bishop Who Disappeared Under the Nicaraguan Dictatorship Reappears on Camera, but Questions Mount

Israel Declares the Only Entirely Christian City in the Holy Land a “Closed Military Zone”

Islamic Extremists Kill 30 Christians in Nigerian Village

Christian Couple Thrown into a Brick Kiln: Muslim Court Frees Them 12 Years Later

UN Weighs In on Case of Catholic Bishop Who Disappeared Under the Nicaraguan Dictatorship

Franciscans Ask Marco Rubio for Help in the Face of Persecution by Jewish Settlers Affecting Christians (and Others) in the Holy Land

The Christian Presence in the Holy Land Is Being Squeezed from Every Direction

Fulani Extremists Kill 25 Christians After Nigerian Army Ignores Early Warnings

Nicaragua: A Missing Bishop, a Report on Persecution of the Church, and a Dictator Who Announces There Will Be No More Elections

Indian Government Orders an Audit of Christian Properties

Gay man arrested for threatening to kill nuns and children at a Catholic school “just for fun”

The United Kingdom bars a Finnish lawmaker from entering the country after she posted a biblical quote opposing gender ideology