Fr Romanelli: Gaza is a ‘cage’ where bombs kill people (and hope). A ceasefire is needed
“Gaza has become a cage, not just an open-air prison, where people are increasingly desperate. This is the tragic reality, which is why today it is even more important to sow, in a realistic way, a little hope so that it may end. Pray and work for peace,” said Fr Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of Gaza’s Holy Family Latin
UN delegation makes surprise visit to Catholic parish in Gaza
A United Nations delegation made a surprise visit on Tuesday to Holy Family Parish, the only Latin-rite Catholic Church in Gaza, which hosts hundreds of people displaced by the war. According to Servizio Informazione Religiosa (SIR), the news agency of the Italian bishops’ conference, representatives from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) visited the parish
The Church remains vibrant despite ongoing crisis
The Church in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley is thriving, despite the ongoing armed conflict and economic instability. Christian families and individuals are offering a powerful witness by looking after those displaced by the war. New religious congregations are also on the rise, helping to keep the Faith alive in Christianity’s heartland in the Middle East. The Beqaa Valley, known as Lebanon’s
UNICEF: Conflicts leave millions of children displaced or killed
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has issued a warning that conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa are causing a child to flee their home every five seconds, with a child killed or injured every 15 minutes.
Settlers continue their attacks and provocations with impunity, says Fr Bashar
Taybeh’s parish priest raises the alarm about the increasing violence by pro-occupation groups, backed by Israeli authorities. For the clergyman, people live "without security or protection". Palestinians are being attacked, driven from their homes, their land seized. The last two extremists arrested in connection with the Kafr Malik raids and the attack on the IDF base have been released.
Pope Leo appoints Bishop Paolo as a member of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Paolo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, as a member of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. “I see this appointment as a sign of special attention to this part of the world, where Christians live within societies deeply shaped by Islam,” said the bishop, following his initial surprise. “In this context, interreligious dialogue is
Appointment of Rev. Fr. Joseph Sweiss as Attaché to the Apostolic Nunciature in Papua New Guinea
Reverend Father, I am pleased to inform you that the Holy Father has appointed you as Attaché to the Nunciature, effective July 1, 2025, assigning you, at the same time, to the Apostolic Nunciature in Papua New Guinea. I have no doubt that you, fully aware of the sense of responsibility entrusted to those called to serve the Holy See, particularly in
A new time of uncertainty and martyrdom: Archbishop Tobji on the present situation of Syrian Christians
Nine days have passed since the massacre of at least 25 Christians who were killed while attending Mass at the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Elias, in Damascus. This massacre will forever be associated with the stigma of martyrdom of Syrian Christians in Syria after the fall of the Assad regime. "After the massacre," Joseph Tobji, the Maronite Archbishop of
Churches in Syria resume liturgies amid heightened security and unease
A week after the deadly attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus, Syria, the churches there have not shut their doors. Divine Liturgies were celebrated on Sunday, June 30 — albeit with significantly lower attendance due to a prevailing atmosphere of fear and anxiety. Father Antonios Raafat Abu Al-Nasr, parish priest of Our Lady of Damascus for the Melkite Greek
The Future of Assyrians in the Middle East and the World
The collapse of the Syrian regime has added yet another chapter to the cycle of deep crises that perpetually plague the Middle East. Yet, these devastations increasingly render ancient peoples, burdened by the weight of historical memory, invisible. Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs), as Albert Camus describes in The Myth of Sisyphus, shoulder the tragic burden of resisting