A new report shows more countries saw spikes in religious hostility by individuals and groups in 2023, the last year for which data is available — with the rise attributable in part to harassment of religious minorities and the ongoing impact of the Israel-Hamas war.
Amid the ravages of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the human heart finds its home in God and in communion with others, said two Catholic clergy from Ukraine’s embattled east.
Dominican Sister María Lucía Caram Padilla was awarded the Order of Princess Olga, III class, by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for her efforts in providing humanitarian aid and support since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Russian forces have destroyed another Ukrainian Greek Catholic church, while a priest at a separate parish is hastening to remove sacred items ahead of an expected Russian attack.
A July 8 attack by Russia on a children’s hospital and other civilian targets throughout Ukraine is “a sin that cries out to heaven for revenge,” said the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Ukraine’s struggle against Russian aggression is “about genocide and the survival of an ethnic nation” — something the West does not realize, states an Ukrainian Catholic archbishop. “This is not about politics, but survival.”
Shortly after urging people to pray the rosary for peace and entrusting the people of Ukraine to Mary’s care, Pope Francis met briefly with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, director of external relations for the Russian Orthodox Church
Pope Francis will take his 41st foreign trip to visit Hungary’s capital, Budapest, April 28-30.
