Middle East - Africa News

Members of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM).

Bishops in Malawi declare ‘blessings for same-sex unions of any kind are not permitted’

Dec 20, 2023

By ACI Africa

Bishops in Malawi have prohibited the implementation of the Vatican declaration on the blessing of “same-sex couples” and couples in... Read more

John Kirby, coordinator of the National Security Council for Strategic Communications at the White House.

White House raises concerns with Israel about killings at Catholic church in Gaza

Dec 19, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Spokesman John Kirby said the White House is confident that the Israelis “are not making the slaughter, torture, and rape... Read more

Roman Catholic Church of Holy Family in Gaza City.

Nahida and Samar: Mother and daughter killed in attack on Gaza parish

Dec 18, 2023

By Eduardo Berdejo

Vatican News reported Dec. 16 that Samar Anton was killed while she was trying to help her mother, Nahida Anton,... Read more

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaks at the USCCB fall plenary assembly Nov. 14, 2023.

U.S. bishops renew call for peace after Christian women reportedly killed in Gaza Church

Dec 18, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

The U.S. bishops over the weekend renewed their call for peace in the Holy Land amid reports on Saturday that... Read more

Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza at Christmas 2021.

IDF denies responsibility for killing of Palestinian Christians at Gaza church

Dec 18, 2023

By Matthew Santucci

The Israel Defense Forces has denied culpability over the deaths of two Christian Palestinian women who were reportedly killed at... Read more

Father Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, presides over the solemn Mass for the 1st Sunday of Advent, on Sunday, Dec. 2, 2023.

Custos of Holy Land discusses the vocation of Christians in the region today

Dec 17, 2023

By Marinella Bandini

Speaking on Advent, Christmas, hope, and faith, Father Francesco Patton reflected on the meaning of the season for Christians who... Read more

Smoke billows over the northern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment from southern Israel on December 14, 2023 amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Two women killed amid Israeli attack at Holy Family Parish in Gaza, Latin Patriarchate says

Dec 16, 2023

By Daniel Payne

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said two women were targeted by an Israeli sniper on Dec. 16. Read more

Father Léopold Feyen.

Salesian priest stabbed to death in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Dec 15, 2023

By Abel Camasca

The Salesian News Agency reported the murder of Father Léopold Feyen in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of... Read more

The lighting of the first Hanukkah candle during the interfaith event organized by the Kehilat Zion on the first night of Hanukkah on Dec. 7, 2023, in Jerusalem.

PHOTOS: Hanukkah events in Jerusalem focus on finding light, hope, and faith in dark times

Dec 14, 2023

By Marinella Bandini

On Dec. 7 and 12, Hanukkah events in Jerusalem brought together Jews, Christians, and representatives of other faiths to celebrate... Read more

Cardinal Robert Sarah, former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Cardinal Sarah addresses First African Congress on liturgy

Dec 10, 2023

By ACI Africa

Cardinal Robert Sarah recently cautioned against the overuse of cultural elements over Christian ones during liturgical celebrations. Read more

Father Gabriel Romanelli (center), the Latin parish priest of Gaza, is among the celebrants at a Mass to celebrate the feast day of Our Lady, Queen of Palestine and the Holy Land at the shrine dedicated to her at Deir Rafat on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023.

‘These are very hard times’: Pastor of Gaza Catholic church gives update on Christians’ plight

Dec 6, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

“The pope called us daily, to check on us,” said Father Gabriel Romanelli in a recent interview where he discussed... Read more

Nigerian priest Father Kingsley Eze was kidnapped Nov. 30, 2023, traveling to a sick call.

Parish priest in Nigeria abducted while answering sick call

Dec 5, 2023

By Agnes Aineah

Father Kingsley Eze, parish priest of St. Michael’s Umuekebi Catholic Church in Nigeria’s Imo state, was kidnapped Nov. 30 and... Read more

The small procession of Franciscan friars, with the Custos of the Holy Land, arrives in Manger Square, in front of the Basilica of the Nativity, in Bethlehem on Saturday, Dec. 2, the day of the solemn entrance for the beginning of Advent. The Square, typically crowded with local believers and pilgrims, was empty. Dec. 2, 2023.

PHOTOS: Bethlehem welcomes Advent 2023 with quieter procession, still with hope

Dec 4, 2023

By Marinella Bandini

To mark the beginning of Advent, the custos of the Holy Land and the Franciscan friars made their annual procession... Read more

Altar of the Child Jesus and the relic of the manger in the Church of Saint Catherine (Basilica of the Nativity) in Bethlehem.

New Holy Land virtual Advent pilgrimage hopes to fill ‘holy sites with peace’

Dec 2, 2023

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

With the Israel-Hamas war, pilgrims can’t get to many holy sites this Advent and Christmas, so the Magdala Tourist Center... Read more

Brother Godwin Eze.

‘I am prepared to die a martyr’: Freed Nigerian monk recounts kidnapping, murder of brother monk

Nov 30, 2023

By Agnes Aineah

Brother Peter Olarewaju recounts the horrific kidnapping and torture he and other monks suffered, including the murder of a brother... Read more

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MAP: Are Holy Land pilgrimage sites threatened by the Israel-Hamas war?  

Nov 30, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

Amid the uncertainty of war, what is the outlook for the Holy Land’s many precious sites? CNA spoke to Father... Read more

Father Hans-Joachim Lohre, a German priest who was reportedly kidnapped in November 2022 in Mali, was freed Nov. 26, 2023.

German missionary priest released a year after being abducted in Mali

Nov 27, 2023

By Silas Mwale Isenjia

Father Hans-Joachim Lohre, a member of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa who was reportedly kidnapped in Bamako, Mali,... Read more

The road leading from checkpoint 300, one of the main entrances to Bethlehem, to the city is completely deserted. Since Oct. 7, when the war broke out, the gate has been closed. Nov. 18, 2023.

PHOTOS: Christmas celebrations canceled in Bethlehem in the midst of war

Nov 26, 2023

By Marinella Bandini

The patriarchs and leaders of the Churches in Jerusalem have urged the faithful to focus on the spiritual meaning of... Read more

Weekday Mass is celebrated in the Church of Sts. Simeon and Anne in Jerusalem, where the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community (keilla) gathers together.

‘A battle inside us’: Hebrew Catholics in the Holy Land wrestle with challenges of war

Nov 19, 2023

By Marinella Bandini

The Israel-Hamas war has brought challenges to Hebrew Catholics in Israel, but the diverse and vibrant community holds on to... Read more

A woman sits with a child by drying laundry outside a classroom at a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov. 14, 2023, where internally displaced Palestinians have taken refuge amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Catholic Relief Services calls for ‘immediate cessation of violence’ in Gaza to allow aid

Nov 16, 2023

By Daniel Payne

CRS is supporting four churches in Gaza where “they are running out of food, running out of water, and are... Read more

Latest news

Cardinal Kevin Farrell celebrates Mass for the World Meeting of Families 2022 on June 25, 2022.

Pope Francis assigns U.S. cardinal to carry out ‘urgent’ overhaul of Vatican pension fund

“In Jesus there is no contradiction between truth and charity,” notes professor Marta Rodríguez Díaz, who teaches in the philosophy department of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum.

Gender: The problem isn’t the term but the anthropology behind it, Catholic expert says

“We think of these stories of saints that have withstood all this persecution as belonging to the Middle Ages,” said Bill McGurn, godfather of Jimmy Lai. “It’s going on right now, and we can see it.”

Jimmy Lai’s godfather assesses trial: ‘He’s a real champion of freedom’

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Wyoming governor pledges to appeal after judge blocks state pro-life laws

Alessandro Allori, “The Presentation of Mary,” 1598.

What do we know about the presentation of Mary?

Archbishop Philip Anyolo of the Nairobi Archdiocese in Kenya.

Nairobi archbishop declines Kenyan president’s donations to Catholic parish

Jimmy Lai’s wife, Teresa (left), and retired Chinese Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun arrive at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts to attend Hong Kong activist publisher Lai’s national security trial in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024.

Jimmy Lai takes the stand in yearslong Hong Kong national security trial

Senior fellow at the National Catholic Bioethics Center Joseph Meaney speaks to “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024.

Vietnam, with one of the highest abortion rates, leads UN initiative on premature births

Pope Francis greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on Nov. 20, 2024, at the Vatican.

Pope Francis reads Ukrainian student’s moving testimony of faith at general audience

Before the wooden coffin is closed, Pope Benedict XVI’s personal secretary Archbishop Georg Gänswein and Monsignor Diego Giovanni Ravelli, the Vatican’s lead master of ceremonies for papal liturgies, place a white veil over the late pope’s face. The action on Jan. 4, 2023, is part of the funeral rites for popes.

Vatican simplifies funeral rite for popes

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Nov 21
Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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