Middle East

Pope Leo XIV appealed for restraint and renewed the church’s calls for nuclear disarmament and peaceful dialogue.

As Israel continued its airstrikes on nuclear sites in Iran, and Iran launched drones to retaliate, Pope Leo XIV welcomed Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the Vatican.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican’s top diplomat met with papal representatives to various Middle Eastern countries to discuss possible avenues toward peace in the region and the state of …

(OSV News) — With a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon barely holding, as both sides accuse each other of violations, hopes for even a fragile peace seem impossible for those …

(OSV News) — A Christmas tree was reportedly set ablaze in a Christian-majority town in Syria, prompting protests in the war-torn nation just two weeks after the ouster of former President …

JERUSALEM (OSV News) — “You have become the light of our Church in the entire world,” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told Gaza Christians Dec. 22 during a pre-Christmas visit aiming to …

(OSV News) — An uneasy calm hangs over Aleppo, Christian leaders report, following the recent lightning takeover of Syria’s second-largest city by Islamist rebels driving out forces of Syrian President …

(OSV News) — The head of a Catholic humanitarian agency in Lebanon told OSV News the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire appears to be intact, as he and his team vow to assist …

(OSV News) — Since Hamas’ attack on Israel Oct. 7, 2023, and the immediate start of the Israel-Hamas war, Pope Francis has provided daily spiritual solace to Gaza Strip’s only …

(OSV News) — Iraqi Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil said tensions between himself and Cardinal Louis Sako, the Baghdad-based Chaldean Catholic patriarch, were the result of a misunderstanding and denied …