Vatican says no to Trump and declines to join the “Board of Peace”

Opus Dei before the Pope: what was said about the new statutes and some controversies in Argentina

ZENIT Staff

In addition, they discussed the situation of vocations in the Church and, particularly, the contrast between the situation in Africa and in Europe.

110 Conversions to Catholicism at a Single University: Which One Is It and Where Is It Located?

Rafael Manuel Tovar

The trend in the country was highlighted in a New York Post article of November 16, 2025, with data on young people converting to the Catholic Church: «Young people are converting to Catholicism en masse.» Matthew McDonald, writing for the National Catholic Register, spoke of «dioceses» with Masses that «report increases of 30%, 40%, 50%, and even more than 70%.»

Health for all: a speech by Leo XIV on health and human life

ZENIT Staff

Address of the Pope to participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life

Digital, cultural, conservation, and even interactive: these are the projects launched to mark the 400th anniversary of St. Peter’s Basilica

ZENIT Staff

The IV Centenary of the Dedication represents an opportunity to remember and look to the future: relaunch of the «Digital Mission of the outgoing Basilica»; Eni’s cutting-edge technologies and skills at the service of pilgrims and visitors to get to know, experience and interact with the Vatican Basilica

Number of Dutch Catholics on the Rise: Dutch Episcopal Conference Releases Data

ZENIT Staff

The number of new members of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands increased significantly in 2024. Compared to 2023, the total number of adults who joined, with or without Baptism, increased by almost 40%.

USA: Judge orders that migrants detained by ICE be allowed to receive ashes on Wednesday, 2026

ZENIT Staff

He has ordered both sides to confer not only about Ash Wednesday but also about ongoing ministry at Broadview, including whether clergy may pray inside and outside the facility and interact directly with detainees

Notre Dame “Catholic” University against (at least) nine American bishops (including the president of the Episcopal Conference)

ZENIT Staff

As the most prominent Catholic university in the United States, its decisions reverberate nationally and internationally. When bishops speak in unusually unified tones — at least nine within days — the signal is unmistakable: they perceive not a routine hiring matter, but a test of identity

Chinese government announces ban on online and AI content that discourages marriage or having children

ZENIT Staff

By including “fear of marriage” and “childbirth anxiety” among prohibited themes, the latest campaign highlights how demographic policy has migrated into the realm of content control

ACI Prensa and Catholic News Agency will disappear: they will be merged into the new EWTN News

ZENIT Staff

The strategic shift reflects a maturation of EWTN’s news enterprise. What began as parallel regional operations reporting from the United States, Peru, the Vatican, Kenya, Brazil, Germany, Italy and Iraq is now being streamlined into a coordinated global newsroom

The progressive Anglican Church decides not to bless same-sex couples (for now)

Elizabeth Owens

«Bishop» of London Sarah Mullally told the Synod, as reported by The Telegraph, that the Living in Love and Faith process has wounded both individuals and the institution itself. The debates, she said, have touched core theological convictions and the Church’s sense of identity

Vatican says no to Trump and declines to join the “Board of Peace”

Valentina di Giorgio

In declining to join the Board of Peace while reaffirming the centrality of the United Nations, the Vatican signals a preference for established multilateral frameworks over newly configured coalitions. Whether that strategy will prove effective in a world where consensus is increasingly elusive remains an open question

Puerto Rico’s pro-life governor redefines the concept of “human being” in criminal law, opening a new phase in the abortion debate

ZENIT Staff

Puerto Rico has inserted the question of unborn personhood more deeply into its legal code. In doing so, it has not only amended a statute but intensified a debate that extends well beyond the island’s shores

Most Protestant churchgoers confess sins weekly

A high-profile conservative Southern Baptist becomes Catholic
Baptist News Global: Jerry Johnson first came to public attention in 1990 when as a 25-year-old pastor he was elected a trustee of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and promptly accused seminary President Roy Honeycutt of not believing the Bible.

Jesse Jackson in three photos*
The Washington Post: Three images document Jackson’s journey and his role in expanding the Constitution’s promise of freedom and opportunity.

Most Protestant churchgoers confess sins weekly
Religion Unplugged: For many, confession is a regular part of their faith.

The Lord’s PT
ARC: Greek Orthodoxy is booming among young service members, and the military’s six chaplains are navigating the surge.

Holy See will not join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza, Cardinal Parolin says
National Catholic Reporter: The Holy See “will not participate” in President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” for Gaza, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, citing “points that leave us somewhat perplexed.”

RefugeeNet Story Fest '26

St. Luke's Episcopal ChurchSan Diego, CA

Saturday, Mar 21 from 4 pm to 7 pm PDT

 

Our annual fundraiser, reimagined to deepen your encounter with the people, cultures, food, song, and dance of those whom we serve!

We're so excited to share that we've reimagined our annual fundraiser in order to deepen your encounter with the people, cultures, food, song, and dance of those whom we serve. We will be centering the stories of the families we've helped to resettle over the past year, inviting them to share what the first twelve months of life in San Diego has been like. It will be an unforgettable night!

We hope you'll join us in celebrating the resilience of the human spirit together.

4-6pm in the Courtyard + Fergusson Hall:

Food & Drinks, Story Circles, Global Crafts, Silent Auction and more!

*Chidcare available

6-7pm in the Sanctuary:

Gathering of Celebration with musical performances, story telling and an invitation to support the RefugeeNet community.

*Childcare available

 

Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader who ran for presidency, dies at 84

‘I am somebody!’: Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader who ran for presidency, dies at 84
Religion News Service: “I don’t think Jesse Jackson saw his political life as something different from his call from God as a preacher,” said the Rev. Valerie Bridgeman.
Politico: Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist and presidential candidate, dies at 84

How the university replaced the church as the home of liberal morality*
The New Yorker: As progressive Americans have become more secular, the academy has become their primary moral training ground. The results have not been good.

A binge and a prayer: Italian monks told to avoid Netflix and social media
The Guardian: A prior of an hermitage says digital technologies are designed to be addictive and present a “challenge for monastic life.”

Gaza’s Nasser Hospital condemns MSF decision to suspend most services
The Associated Press: The rare public friction between two well-known health care providers in Gaza came as the Palestinian death toll since the current ceasefire surpassed 600. At least 11 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the last 24 hours, hospitals said.

‘Adopt a Statue’ program for Milan’s iconic Duomo restores centuries-old marbles
The Associated Press: The program recruits donors — either companies or individuals — to fund restoration of a statue under a loan agreement that allows it to occasionally be displayed outside the Duomo.

What the history of bread making teaches us about rest, curiosity and joy

 

God meets us in the dust BY KHRISTI LAUREN ADAMS Ash Wednesday invites connection for individuals and institutions BY RHONDA MAWHOOD LEE

This Ash Wednesday, mourning scours our hearts BY TIMOTHY ADKINS-JONES

On Ash Wednesday, we remember our fragility once again BY ISAAC VILLEGAS

Resource guide for Lent

This guide from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship includes art, music, devotions, liturgies, books, sermons and other resources to help you plan worship for Lent.

How do religious leaders evaluate information?

Q&A with Karl Stutzman and Ruth Szpunar

A new study examines how clergy find and evaluate the information they need and how they help congregants navigate today’s information landscape.

Grief comes in many forms

By Peggy Haymes

We have the right to grieve the loss of anything connected to our hearts. Church can be a place where those losses are recognized, writes a minister and therapist.

The value of levity in the local church

By Andy Stanton-Henry

Play helps us understand God and open new paths for ministry, says a pastor.

The limits of hope and the promise of joy

By William H. Lamar IV

In an excerpt from his new book, “Ancestors: Those Who Bless Us, Curse Us and Hold Us,” an AME pastor writes about the church as inherently political and why we cannot wait on God for change.

What the history of bread making teaches us about rest, curiosity and joy

By Kendall Vanderslice

A writer who teaches bread baking as a spiritual practice reflects on human touch, innovation and lessons from Genesis.

Through partnership, prayer and perseverance, a small, suburban congregation responds to the community’s need for affordable housing

By Daliah Singer

It took 16 years for Brigit’s Village, a 40-unit, intergenerational apartment complex in northern Colorado, to come to fruition.

43 Catholic Democrats pledge migrant solidarity, invoke Leo XIV, Francis

43 Catholic Democrats pledge migrant solidarity, invoke Leo XIV, Francis Catholic U.S. House Democrats cited Church teaching in defense of the dignity of migrants as Trump administration officials defend immigration enforcement. Bishop Barron lauds U.S. secretary of state’s speech to Munich Security Conference Marco Rubio’s speech elicited a standing ovation and widespread accolades, including from the bishop of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota. Pope Leo XIV eliminates committee created by Francis for World Children’s Day Pope Leo XIV has eliminated the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day, transferring the committee’s functions to the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life. Apostolic vicariate in Rome dedicates its day of arts to Gaza The humanitarian situation in Gaza was the focus of a day of the arts at the Lateran Apostolic Palace on Feb. 14, drawing attention to the ongoing suffering of residents in the Gaza Strip.

Catholic priest who was abducted in Cameroon appointed auxiliary bishop Father John Berinyuy Tatah was among six Catholic priests abducted in Cameroon’s Bamenda Archdiocese last year and later released.

Stephen Colbert hosts Texas State Rep. James Talarico

 

Feb 16, 2026 #Colbert #Comedy #JamesTalarico

Stephen Colbert hosts Texas State Rep. James Talarico for an online-exclusive interview that touches on the issues raised in Talarico's campaign for the Democratic nomination for Senate including the separation of church and state, the dangers of consolidated corporate-owned media, and the fabricated culture wars pushed by Republicans in states like Texas. If you're curious why this interview with James Talarico was an online-exclusive, click here to watch Stephen Colbert explain:    • Why CBS Didn't Broadcast Stephen Colbert's...  .

Mass Abductions, Empty Villages and a New U.S. Military Footprint in Nigeria

The leader of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the largest church in communion with Rome, is received by the Pope

ZENIT Staff

One of the most concrete moments of the audience came when the archbishop presented updated lists of prisoners of war and missing persons. These names, he explained, were gathered directly from families—an act that transforms abstract geopolitics into a ledger of human anguish

Mass Abductions, Empty Villages and a New U.S. Military Footprint in Nigeria

ZENIT Staff

Nigeria’s security emergency is often described in abstract terms: insurgency, extremism, instability. In Kadarko, it is experienced as a village 98 percent deserted and a list of names that grows longer with each passing week

Epstein’s documents, Pope Francis, and what they say about the Vatican

ZENIT Staff

Taken together, the correspondence portrays the Vatican as more than a spiritual authority in the eyes of Epstein and his associates. It appears as a pressure point in global politics: influential in debates over migration, environmental stewardship, populism and relations with China

Milei formally invites the Pope to visit Argentina: he sends his foreign minister to the Vatican to deliver a letter by hand to Leo XIV

Valentina di Giorgio

While no dates have been confirmed, high-level officials in Buenos Aires privately estimate the probability of a visit at 70 percent or higher, with the final quarter of the year emerging as the most plausible window

Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion. This is what Pope Leo XIV’s first message for Lent 2026 says

ZENIT Staff

Message from Pope Leo XIV for Lent 2026

The deputy director of the Vatican Press Office resigns. Pope Leo XIV appoints a Croatian nun as her replacement

ZENIT Staff

With this appointment, Sister Krapić becomes the third woman to hold the position of deputy director of the Holy See Press Office. The first was Spanish journalist Paloma García Ovejero, followed by Murray. Both predecessors eventually stepped down from the role.

Pope Leo XIV Suppresses Body Created by Pope Francis: The Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day

ZENIT Staff

In a Chirograph, the Pope notes that he shares Pope Francis’s request «that the Church pay attention to children also by instituting a Day dedicated to them,» which implies that World Children’s Day will continue to be celebrated.

Cuban bishops cancel special visit to the Pope: there is no gasoline in the country, not even for airplanes

ZENIT Staff

When the visit is eventually rescheduled, it will likely carry an added layer of gravity. The reports the bishops bring to Rome will speak not only of parish life and vocations but also of blackouts, migration and the search for dialogue in a climate of scarcity

The Lefebvrians’ meeting with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, as told by themselves

ZENIT Staff

We now offer the statement issued by the General House of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X on the same day

The number of students studying theology in Germany plummets: only Cardinal Woelki’s Cologne diocese sees growth

ZENIT Staff

Hartl argues that the distribution of enrollment losses may reflect more than demographic shrinkage or a generalized crisis of vocations. In his view, prospective theology students today are motivated by a desire to deepen and articulate their

This is how the inauguration of the new Catholic Archbishop of Westminster went

ZENIT Staff

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, then greeted Archbishop Moth on behalf of the co-presidents of Churches Together in England, offering a word of welcome

Another Woman Appointed to the Dicastery for Bishops. Leo XIV Confirms Other Members

ZENIT Staff

She is Sister Simona Brambilla, M.C., Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

Questions about liturgy: The Baptist’s “Heavenly Birth”

ZENIT Staff

Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and sacramental theology at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum university.

What is true justice in love? Pope Leo XIV answers

ZENIT Staff

Address on the occasion of the Angelus prayer on Sunday, February 15, 2026