Israeli police prevent a Mass from being celebrated at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and bar Cardinal Pizzaballa from entering

Mar 29, 2026 19:23

ZENIT Staff

Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem Photo: Getty Images

Holy Land•Persecuted Christians•Testimonies

This was the funeral of the Lebanese Catholic priest who died in Israeli army bombings

On March 10, the Maronite Catholic community buried Father Pierre El Raii, the parish priest of St. George Church in Qlayaa, who died a day earlier after being wounded during an Israeli artillery strike while attempting to assist injured parishioners

Mar 12, 2026 21:09

ZENIT Staff

Holy Land•Justice and Peace•Persecuted Christians•Vatican Diplomacy

Lebanon requests diplomatic mediation from the Vatican to prevent Israel from attacking or displacing Catholic communities in the south of the country

The Vatican response was cautious but attentive. Gallagher reportedly assured the Lebanese minister that the Holy See is maintaining diplomatic contacts aimed at halting the escalation and preventing further displacement of civilians

Mar 11, 2026 17:46

ZENIT Staff

Holy Land•Justice and Peace•Persecuted Christians

Israeli Jewish army causes death of Catholic priest in Lebanon and displaces thousands of Catholics from southern Lebanon

Qlayaa is a predominantly Maronite Christian town of about 8,000 residents in southern Lebanon. Like several other villages in the region, it had received evacuation warnings from the Israeli military as fighting intensified between Israel and the Shiite militia Hezbollah.

Mar 11, 2026 17:36

ZENIT Staff

Persecuted Christians

Uganda: Muslim man stabs his son to death for converting to Christianity

Juma, a father of four children aged 12, 10, 7, and 3, had converted to Christianity along with his wife, Nangobi Mariati, drawing ire from his family.

Feb 21, 2026 09:58

ZENIT Staff

Local Church•Persecuted Christians

Exile as Policy: Nicaragua Expels Another Priest as Pressure on the Catholic Church Intensifies

With 309 religious already displaced and over a thousand documented acts of hostility, the pattern is no longer episodic. It has become structural

Feb 19, 2026 17:12

Enrique Villegas

Here Is How the Morning of the First Day of the Pope’s Consistory with Cardinals Unfolded. Everything You Need to Know: Topics Discussed, Debates, Contributions, and Initial Proposals

All groups emphasized the need for the Church to present itself as a Mother — a welcoming place (including through the restructuring of parishes) capable of acknowledging its own errors and transforming suffering into an opportunity for growth.

3 Criteria for Discernment in a Consistory Based on the Common Good of the Church: Leo XIV’s Guidelines to the Cardinals

The Pope’s Homily on the Occasion of the Opening Mass of the Extraordinary Consistory with the Cardinals

Israeli police prevent a Mass from being celebrated at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and bar Cardinal Pizzaballa from entering

Finland’s Supreme Court Split Ruling: Acquits MP on Bible Tweet, Convicts Her over 20-Year-Old Church Brochure

Church authorities in the Holy Land denounce the seizure and encroachment on Christian properties by Jewish settlers

Pakistan: Demand for justice after Catholic man found hanged

34 anti-Christian hate crimes in Europe in February 2026 alone

The last historic Christian village in the Holy Land, threatened with annexation by the Jewish state of Israel

Nicaraguan dictatorship bans priestly and diaconal ordinations in four dioceses across the country

This was the funeral of the Lebanese Catholic priest who died in Israeli army bombings

Lebanon requests diplomatic mediation from the Vatican to prevent Israel from attacking or displacing Catholic communities in the south of the country

Israeli Jewish army causes death of Catholic priest in Lebanon and displaces thousands of Catholics from southern Lebanon

Uganda: Muslim man stabs his son to death for converting to Christianity

Exile as Policy: Nicaragua Expels Another Priest as Pressure on the Catholic Church Intensifies