International
North Korea leads the organization’s annual World Watch List for the 20th straight year.
Open Doors’ 2021 watch list highlights impact of COVID-19 on religious persecution worldwide
by: Emily McFarlan Miller Jan. 13, 2021 (RNS) — The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a number of existing problems: political divides, inequities, conspiracy theories. It also has exposed religious persecutionRead More
“The gift is completely free, unearned by any of us, pure grace.”
Pope Francis: “Tonight (Christmas eve) cannot be explained in any other way: it is purely grace.”
Pope Francis: Nativity of the Lord – Midnight Mass 24.12.2020“ Pope Francis 24.12.20 Midnight Mass, Vatican Basilica Solemnity of the Nativity of the LordIsaiah 9: 1-6, TitusRead More
The pandemic's repercussions on life dominated Francis' reflections on the past year.
Pope on Christmas: Vaccines for all; needy, vulnerable first
by: Paul O’Donnell (Frances D’Emilio) VATICAN CITY, Dec. 25, 2020 (AP) — Pope Francis made a Christmas Day plea for authorities to make COVID-19 vaccines available to all, insisting thatRead More
Galli’s journey to Catholicism is notable, in part because of the nation’s political climate.
Mark Galli, former Christianity Today editor and Trump critic, to be confirmed a Catholic
by: Yonat Shimron CHICAGO, Sept. 10, 2020 (RNS) — On Sunday (Sept. 13), Mark Galli will stand before Bishop Richard Pates in the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet,Read More
Open Doors USA ranks China 23 on the 2020 World Watch List...
Report: In China ‘there is no longer a safe place to be a Christian’
by Diana Chandler SILVER SPRING, Md. , July 23, 2020 (BP) — China persecutes Christians to gain leverage in future diplomatic relations with the U.S., a Christian seeking U.S. asylumRead More
In any case, mainstream Islamic scholars believe that, according to the Quran, that the first direction of ritual Islamic prayers (Salat) was Jerusalem.
Hesham Shehab: Jerusalem Day: Religious Symbols and Mass Mobilization
This Friday, May 22, 2020, Arabs and Muslims celebrate International Jerusalem Day. Since it will undoubtedly include anti-Israeli demonstrations and religious-political propaganda, it is important to dispel some myths aboutRead More
A personal journey...
Hesham Shehab: The ‘Switzerland of the Middle East’ was destroyed 45 years ago today… What Should Americans Learn?
Hesham Shehab CHICAGO, April 13, 2020 — On April 13, 1975, Lebanon was plunged into a civil war that destroyed the “Switzerland of the Middle East” forever. I lost myRead More
In Rome, the Via Crucis procession usually takes place late in the evening on Good Friday in the shadow of the Colosseum.
Pope Francis shines a light on prisoners during Good Friday’s unusual Via Crucis
by: Claire Giangravé VATICAN CITY, April 10, 2020 (RNS) – It’s common knowledge that things don’t change quickly in the Vatican. But that was before the coronavirus. In Rome, theRead More