Surprise in Belgium: Catholic Church reports increase in adult baptisms. Here are the figures

Feb 20, 2026 12:19

ZENIT Staff

The Catholic Church in Belgium announced that 689 adults are preparing for baptism in 2026, up from 534 in 2025.

Local Church•Pope Leo XIV•Rome

Three Areas Where the Fire of Pastoral Ministry Can Be Rekindled, According to Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV’s address to the clergy of the Diocese of Rome during a meeting in Paul VI Hall

Feb 19, 2026 22:17

ZENIT Staff

Local Church•Religious Freedom

Catholic Church in the US publishes its 2026 annual report on religious freedom in the country

The report summarizes developments on national questions and federal policies affecting religious liberty in the U.S., including the role of religion in American public life, and the challenges and opportunities of the present moment

Feb 19, 2026 17:27

ZENIT Staff

Local Church

Bishops Representing Latin America, Canada, and United States Gather to Pray, Discuss, and Reaffirm Their Unity as One Church

The eleven bishops attending included bishops from the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)

Feb 19, 2026 17:20

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

Holy Land•Justice and Peace

Israel unprecedented expropriation of Palestinian land

The Israeli association that fights against the political use of urban planning in the West Bank to seize land from Palestinians explains the bad faith of the rule that requires proof of ownership in Area C. At stake is 58% of the land in a context where there was no land registry before 1967. Activists and NGOs speak of an ‘unprecedented measure’ since the Six-Day War. Michal Braier: “discriminatory” legal system, ‘systematic’ expropriation to favour settlements.

Feb 19, 2026 16:52

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV Speaks Again About Trump and the War (and It Is Announced That the Pope Will Carry the Cross Throughout the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday)

Referring indirectly to geopolitical developments, including statements by Donald Trump about ending ongoing conflicts, Leo expressed cautious hope that political leaders might be seeking “a way out” of violence

Pope Leo XIV Reverses Another Decision of Pope Francis: World Children’s Day Cancelled in Rome

All initiatives aimed at children’s ministry may be celebrated, at the discretion of the Bishops, at the diocesan or parish level.

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Surprise in Belgium: Catholic Church reports increase in adult baptisms. Here are the figures

Report shows that 2 out of 3 babies killed by abortion in the US owe their deaths to the abortion pill

Canon Law in a Synodal Key: Vatican Launches Eastern Commission to Revisit the CCEO

This is what Pope Leo XIV’s tour of Italy will look like: these are the seven different cities he will visit in four months

Outgoing Chilean president asks Pope to intervene in US blockade of Cuba

At 76 Years Old, This Is Cardinal Dolan’s New “Job”: New York Police Chaplain

Washington responds to the Vatican’s refusal to join Trump’s Peace Board

Three Areas Where the Fire of Pastoral Ministry Can Be Rekindled, According to Pope Leo XIV

Catholic Church in the US publishes its 2026 annual report on religious freedom in the country

Bishops Representing Latin America, Canada, and United States Gather to Pray, Discuss, and Reaffirm Their Unity as One Church

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

Israel unprecedented expropriation of Palestinian land