Pope Leo XIV renewed his appeal for a ceasefire in the ongoing U.S. and Israel-Iran war in comments to journalists in Castel Gandolfo on the night of March 24, urging leaders to pursue dialogue over military force.
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A historic Bernardine monastery complex and the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in the western Ukraine city of Lviv were hit by aerial drone strikes March 24, just ahead of the observance of Holy Week.
A Vatican diplomat in Geneva issued a call for greater commitment to the defense of the dignity and rights of people with Down syndrome, decrying the current “discriminatory and eugenic practices” related to prenatal screening.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will be beatified on Sept. 24 in St. Louis, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints announced March 25.
When we hear the word “evangelization,” we sometimes imagine grand gestures such as preaching to large crowds, missionary work in distant lands, or public debates about faith. While these certainly have their place in the life of the Church, Jesus’ approach to this concept reminds us that evangelization often begins in something far simpler, something found in ordinary human encounters. Every interaction we have can become an opportunity to draw someone closer to Christ.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said wartime restrictions have forced the cancellation or postponement of key Holy Week observances, urging the faithful to remain united in prayer despite the inability to gather for traditional celebrations.
Pope Leo XIV met with the head of Israel’s Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center at the Vatican March 23.
As the U.S. and Israel-Iran war enters its fourth week, and amid a deep humanitarian crisis throughout the region, Pope Leo XIV appealed during his Sunday Angelus prayer March 22: “Persevere in prayer, so that hostilities may cease and paths of peace may finally open up, based on sincere dialogue and respect for the dignity of every human person.”
Marriage, like every vocation, “can only arise from a personal encounter with Christ,” with the Church offering the “precious tools” of community and witness to foster that experience, said the head of the Vatican’s key office for marriage and family life.
The life of the Christian is a homeward journey, a pilgrimage oriented toward salvation — but there are a lot of obstacles along the path: thorny entanglements with sin, muddied conceptions of the way forward, mounting exhaustion from the journey. Even the most well-intentioned believer can easily get “off course” in the pursuit of holiness, according to Father Arthur Unachukwu.