Russia

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As talks aimed at ending Russia’s war on Ukraine continued, Pope Leo XIV welcomed the prime minister and pilgrims from Latvia, another nation bordering Russia. “While …

A Russia attack on Ternopil, Ukraine, Nov. 18-19 left at least 25 people dead, among them three children, and over 70 others were injured, 15 of them children.

With the start of the first phase of a peace deal between Israel and Gaza, Pope Leo XIV prayed for a just and lasting peace that respects all people.

Archbishop Gudziak traveled to Ukraine two days after the Aug. 15 summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a delegation of European leaders as he seeks an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Alaska summit has failed to address “fundamental moral and geopolitical questions,” said Ukrainian Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia.

An incoming doctor of the church, a “Pilgrimage of Peace” and more are highlights of this week.

The U.S. House approved Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, USAID closed after six decades, and a religious freedom watchdog issued a report on Russia.

In Russia, one criminal law and one civil law have been used to prosecute “blasphemy” and enforce compliance with President Vladimir Putin’s government.

Russia has rejected the Vatican’s offer to host talks for ending the war in Ukraine, despite international support for the idea.