As Pope Francis prepares to embark on his fourth trip to Asia in the seventh year of his pontificate, he is delivering in a big way on the promise he made shortly after his election that he would make Asia a key focus of his papacy.

When he appointed Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle as head of Catholic aid agency Caritas Internationalis, the cardinal revealed that the Pope had told him he wanted an Asian in the position because “the future of the Church is in Asia.”

Director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan Fr. Dr. Rif'at Bader has stressed that the media outlets are invited nowadays to create atmospheres reflecting further cordiality, optimism, dialogue, and positivity. He also called for adopting a media code of ethics in order to quench the conflagration caused by “the discourse of the wolf” being reverberated on these outlets, and replacing it by the “discourse of St. Francis’’ which states, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”

“Maybe what you’re looking for in all these other things, maybe you’ll find it in Jesus Christ.”

These words pierced my heart like a sword as I sat before the beloved priest who delivered this message with intensity and invitation.

I knew he was right, and God used that one simple sentence to convict me of my deepest desires and reveal my call to become the bride of Christ as a religious sister. Authentic love changed the course of my life and continues to do so to this very day.

The Major Penitentiary encourages all the faithful to make good use of the sacraments during the feasts of All Saints and All Souls this weekend, both for ourselves and for those who “can no longer do it for themselves, but who can receive of our charity”.

Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, on Tuesday, released a letter to all the faithful on the occasion of the Solemnity of All Saints and the Commemoration of the faithful departed.

Palestine’s Christian population is dwindling at an alarming rate. The world’s most ancient Christian community is moving elsewhere. And the reason for this is Israel.

Christian leaders from Palestine and South Africa sounded the alarm at a conference in Johannesburg on October 15. Their gathering was titled: “The Holy Land: A Palestinian Christian Perspective”.

One major issue that highlighted itself at the meetings is the rapidly declining number of Palestinian Christians in Palestine.

When the country’s official unemployment rate is 19 per cent, and much higher among the educated youth, with nearly half of them planning on leaving the country, it becomes really hard for any well-balanced person with a little bit of touch with reality and people’s economic marginalization to understand or accept from a national interest perspective why an enormous national economic treasure, such as the baptism site, is not utilized enough to realize its enormous economic potential. It must be important to a great number of the 2.5 billion Christians living in the world!

Although often happening under the radar of the world media, a new report says persecution against Christians is getting worse in many parts of Asia, calling it a “regional hot spot.”

"The 2019 Persecuted and Forgotten" report from Aid to the Church in Need is warning that an “unholy trinity” of threats is facing Christians on the world’s most populous continent: Authoritarian regimes, extremism, and popularist nationalism.

On the surface of things, there’s no mystery how one ought to receive Communion: Stand up, file out of the pew, wait your turn in line, eat the Host, and head back to the pew. But beneath these mechanics of receiving, the mystery of the Eucharist requires much, much more. At the very least, how we receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ affects our potential sanctity. At worst, how we receive may cost us our lives, as St.

The Turkish invasion of northern Syria in the wake of President Donald Trump’s troop withdrawal from the region could put to the test Trump’s stated commitment to global freedom of worship for religious minorities.

The fighting between the Turks and Kurds has raised fears for the safety of Syrian Christians, Yazidis and other minority faiths at the hands of Turkish forces.

Pope Francis released a message for World Food Day, promoted October 16, 2019, by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

In his message, addressed to FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, cites the theme of the day – “Our Actions Are Our Future. Healthy Diets for a #ZeroHunger World” – as showing the important connection between food and nutrition.