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'.....May you always find a home here, at Christ the King....'

Browsing News Entries

Browsing News Entries

Kenya: Sisters confront human trafficking in the digital age

Though perpetrators try to keep it hidden, human trafficking violates human dignity and cuts across borders, cultures, the vulnerable, poverty-stricken communities, and the desperate. Yet, it is much closer than we think, inhabiting our phones and social media as a promise of opportunity popping on screen. Religious sisters with Talitha Kum Kenya are tenaciously building a network with both local presence and global impact.

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Pope Leo XIV: Learn hospitality from St. Joseph and Holy Family

Pope Leo XIV calls on communities to look to the Holy Family of Nazareth to rediscover their calling to welcome others and learn to walk the path of service, as he addressed participants in the "Cathedra of Hospitality."

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Cardinal Zuppi on Ukraine: ‘A peace imposed only by weapons is false'

Cardinal Zuppi celebrates Mass at the Basilica of Saint Francis for peace in Ukraine and the world. Organized by the Ukrainian Embassy to the Holy See, the celebration coincides with the exhibition of the relics of Saint Francis and the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion.

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War returns to Lebanon

Since the full-scale war resumed on 2 March, around 600 people have been killed, and more than 700,000 have fled their homes and communities in Lebanon.

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Church's unity comes from faith in Christ and from love, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) --The Catholic Church is made up of diverse people who are united by their faith in Christ and are called to welcome all of humanity, Pope Leo XIV said during his weekly general audience.

“Its unifying principle is not a language, a culture, an ethnicity, but faith in Christ,” he said in St. Peter's Square March 11.

Continuing his series of reflections on the Second Vatican Council, the pope focused on the Dogmatic Constitution "Lumen Gentium," which describes the Church as the “People of God.”

The Church is the assembly of “all those who in faith look upon Jesus,” he said, united not by nationality or culture but by their shared faith in Christ.

Pope Leo said this understanding is rooted in the Bible, pointing to God's covenant with Abraham and the people of Israel, which prepared the way for the new covenant established through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The pope said love is the law that governs relationships within the Church, as believers receive and experience it through Jesus. Through Christ, believers from every nation are united in faith, he said. The Church is the people of God who “draw their existence from the body of Christ and who are themselves the body of Christ.”

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Pope Leo XIV smiles as he greets a child dressed as the pope from the popemobile while riding around St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican before his weekly general audience March 11, 2026. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Rather than turning inward, the pope said, the Church must remain open to everyone.

“Unified in Christ, Lord and Savior of every man and woman, the Church can never turn inwards on herself, but is open to everyone and is for everyone,” he said.

In a world marked by conflict and division, Pope Leo added, the diversity of the Church is a sign of hope.

“It is a great sign of hope -- especially in our times, marked by so many conflicts and wars -- to know that the Church is a people in which women and men of different nationalities, languages and cultures live together in faith,” he said.

Before greeting Italian-speakers, the pope said he was close to the Lebanese people "in this moment of grave trial," following the death of Father Pierre El-Rahi. The Maronite priest was killed in an Israeli bombing of southern Lebanon March 9. The pope said his funeral was to be held March 11 in Al-Qlayaa, a Christian village. 

"In Arabic, ‘Adrachi’ means shepherd. Father Pierre was a true shepherd who always remained close to his people with the love and sacrifice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd," he said in Italian. "As soon as he heard that some parishioners had been wounded in a bombing, without hesitation, he ran to help them."

Before the audience, Pope Leo met privately with Cardinal Dominique J. Mathieu, Archbishop of Tehran and Isfahan, Iran. The Belgian cardinal, who is a member of the Franciscans, arrived in Rome March 8 after being evacuated along with every member of the Italian Embassy, where he is based. 

During the general audience, Pope Leo asked for prayers of peace in Iran and throughout the Middle East, above all for the many civilian victims and innocent children. 

"May our prayer be a comfort to those who suffer and a seed of hope for the future," he said.

'Called Twice': An exhibit in Paris on 19 Martyrs of Algeria

An exhibition in Paris curated by the Vatican Publishing House and the Oasis Foundation traces the story of the nineteen religious men and women killed during the Algerian civil war.

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Ghana: Church offers inclusivity and communion for Deaf community

The Church in Ghana has set up the St. Martin Deaf Ministry in Accra to offer inclusivity and communion and avoid isolation from the Church's liturgical life.

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Pontifical Academy for Life launches “Scientists for peace” appeal

The Pontifical Academy for Life launches an international appeal to all scientists, researchers, and academics to enact concrete actions to promote peace across the world.

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Pope mourns priest killed in Lebanon, prays for peace in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV mourns the late Lebanese priest, Fr. Pierre El-Rahi, who was killed amid the conflict in the Middle East, expressing his closeness to the Lebanese people and inviting Christians to pray for the many innocent victims of war.

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Lebanese Foreign Minister requests Holy See’s help for Christians in South

As southern Lebanon faces renewed conflict and upheaval, the country's Foreign Minister requests assistance from the Holy See to “preserve the Christian presence” near the border with Israel.

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