Hours before he convened an unprecedented Vatican prayer service for peace in the Middle East, Pope Francis told a crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square that “a church that doesn’t have the capacity to surprise… is a dying church.” By that standard, Francis showed that Catholicism on his watch is alive and kicking by delivering Read more
Mark your calendars: In 2025, Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians may return to Nicaea, the spot in modern-day Turkey where Christianity was literally defined. In 325, early followers of Jesus came together to figure out what it means to be a Christian; the goal was to create theological consensus across all of Christendom. This Read more
There were many striking images during the extraordinary 72 hours that Pope Francis spent in the Middle East. The Pope at the River Jordan, visiting with Syrian refugees, celebrating mass in Bethlehem, praying at the separation wall, uniting with the Ecumenical Patriarch, visiting the Dome of the Rock, leaving a note at the Western Wall, Read more
During the final day of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Pope Francis made an emotional visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. On May 26, the Pope kissed the hands of half a dozen Holocaust survivors and heard their stories of persecution by the Nazis. He left an inscription in the Yad Read more
During his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Pope Francis invited Israeli and Palestinian leaders to join him at the Vatican and together pray for peace. Speaking in Bethlehem, the Pope offered President Shimon Peres and President Mahmoud Abbas “my home in the Vatican as a place for this encounter of prayer”. “Building peace is difficult, Read more
Israel is where you can encounter the physical reality of religion. In one short trip, I prayed at the spot where Jesus was born, stood at the foot of the mountain where he fed the 5,000 and touched the rock into which his cross was planted. To all those atheists who say “Jesus wasn’t even Read more
Pope Francis doesn’t want to use bullet-proof vehicles during his upcoming visit to the Holy Land. Rather, the Pope wants to travel by an ordinary car during his visit from May 24-26. Most heads of state use bullet-proof transport in the Middle East. Fears about security for the pontiff have been rising in Israel amid Read more
Given that the Vatican “gay lobby” story was back in the air this week, it may be hard for some to fathom that anything else is cooking on the church beat. Yet there is real news out there, including this: A new threat has emerged to the Christian community in the Gaza Strip, estimated at just 3,000 Read more
The number of Christians in the Palestinian Territories where Christ was born has halved since 2000, dropping from 2 per cent of the population to 1 per cent — a “social disaster” in the opinion of a researcher. And in Jerusalem there were 27,000 Christians in 1948, but today there are only 5000, according to Read more