3+ min ago (964+ words) Pope Leo XIV wrapped up his visit to Turkey on Sunday before heading to Lebanon, where he hoped to bring a message of hope to its long-suffering people and bolster a crucial Christian community in the Middle East. Leo had two key appointments in Istanbul before flying to Beirut: a prayer at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral and a divine liturgy with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, whose invitation to commemorate an important Christian anniversary was the impetus for Leo's visit. On the second leg of his maiden papal trip, Leo was visiting Lebanon at a precarious moment for the small Mediterranean country after years of successive crises. He is fulfilling a promise of Pope Francis, who had wanted to visit for years but was unable to as his health worsened. Francis often quoted St. John…...

3+ min ago (942+ words) Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I sign a joint declaration at the Ecumenical Patriarchate, during Pope's first apostolic journey, in Istanbul, Turkey, November 29, 2025. (Dilara Senkaya/Pool Via AP) Leo had two key appointments in Istanbul before flying to Beirut: a prayer at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral and a divine liturgy with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, whose invitation to commemorate an important Christian anniversary was the impetus for Leo's visit. On the second leg of his maiden papal trip, Leo was visiting Lebanon at a precarious moment for the small Mediterranean country after years of successive crises. He is fulfilling a promise of Pope Francis, who had wanted to visit for years but was unable to as his health worsened. Francis often quoted St. John Paul II, who in 1989 said Lebanon was more…...

7+ min ago (26+ words) Many Americans may have lost faith in organized religion, but according to recent data, they still love the Good Book. As of September, Bible sales were......

14+ min ago (732+ words) These moments mark the beginning of a quiet revolution " one that Pope Leo XIV, elected on May 8, shows every intention of continuing. Female priests may still be a distant prospect, but women's leadership in Vatican governance is now a structural reality, not an experiment. To understand Pope Leo's papacy, one must first acknowledge the monumental groundwork laid by Pope Francis. His 12-year pontificate represented the most significant expansion of women's roles in the Church's central administration in modern history. Spiritus Domini(2021), which formally allowed women to serve as lectors and acolytes in Canon Law. The creation of thelay ministry of Catechist, amplifying women's authority in evangelization and teaching. Voting rights for womenat the Synod of Bishops for the first time in Church history. Two commissions studying the question of women in the diaconate, keeping discernment alive even without doctrinal change....

19+ min ago (108+ words) [A billboard depicting Pope Leo XIV, ahead of his planned visit to Lebanon, at the main airport road in Beirut, Lebanon November 21, 2025. (photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)]Pope Leo's 3-day visit to Lebanon comes as the country faces escalating Hezbollah'Israel tensions. His trip includes appeals for peace, key meetings, and a prayer at the Beirut port blast site. Pope Leo XIV arrives in tense Lebanon, urging peace amid Hezbollah-Israel strains Pope Leo's 3-day visit to Lebanon comes as the country faces escalating Hezbollah'Israel tensions. His trip includes appeals for peace, key meetings, and a prayer at the Beirut port blast site....

27+ min ago (510+ words) A patriarchal and synodal Divine Liturgy is being celebrated today, Sunday, on the feast of Saint Andrew the First-Called, founder of the Church of Constantinople, presided over by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and concelebrated by Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria. Attending the Divine Liturgy for the Throne Feast of the Ecumenical Patriarchate are the Pope of Rome, hierarchs of both Churches, representatives of other Christian communities, diplomats, and other officials. The Greek government is represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Loverdos. At the conclusion of the service, the two primates will bless the faithful from the balcony of the Patriarchal House. At midday, Pope Leo XIV, after attending a luncheon with the Ecumenical Patriarch, will depart by air from Constantinople for Beirut, where he will continue the second stage of his apostolic journey. On Saturday, at the Phanar, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and…...

43+ min ago (566+ words) After the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, Saint Andrew went to the Eastern lands preaching the Word of God. He went through Asia Minor, Thrace, Macedonia, he reached the River Danube, went along the coast of the Black Sea, through Crimea, the Black Sea region and along the River Dniepr he climbed to the place where the city of Kiev now stands. He stopped overnight on the hills of Kiev. Rising in the morning, he said to those disciples that were with him: "See these hills? Upon these hills shall shine forth the beneficence of God, and there will be a great city here, and God shall raise up many churches." Saint Andrew the First-Called accepted the decision of the prefect with joy and with prayer to the Lord, and went willingly to the place of execution....

1+ hour ago (657+ words) I was wondering yesterday how God created this world in six days. I was wondering because I have not yet been able to even go beyond the second day of my primary school. And what a world he created! Perhaps he was a Jew because only Jews have circulated the idea. Hindus don't believe in a God, they believe in many gods. Hindus are not theistic in the Western sense. They are pagans; but they are not pagans as Christians want to use the word. Pagan is a valuable word, it should not be allowed to be misused by the Christians, Jews and Mohammedans. These three religions are all basically Jewish; whatsoever they say, their foundations were laid down long before Jesus was born, and Mohammed was heard of. They are all Judaic. Of course the God you have heard…...

1+ hour, 6+ min ago (752+ words) Inside Pope Leo's tour of Lebanon's important Christian sites Gaza death toll tops 70,000 as Israel continues bombing Ayoub Khan urges fellow independents to rejoin UK's 'Your Party' As MAGA turns on Zionism, Israel First right stokes Islamophobia How Yalla! Let's Talk became the Arab diaspora's leading podcast Inside Amir: A quiet portrait of leaving Iran Lebanese are preparing to welcome Pope Leo XIV on Sunday for what many are calling a historic moment for the country. After years of overlapping crises, many hope the visit will offer a measure of comfort to a nation still recovering from the 2020 Beirut blast and living under the threat'of renewed war as Israeli attacks continue along the border. The three-day trip is expected to be one of the most significant papal visits to Lebanon in decades, with stops at some of the country's most…...

1+ hour, 24+ min ago (754+ words) The black-clad priest yanked on the white rope. At once the bells began to clang. The evening mass was beginning at the Monastery of Mar Maroun, or Saint Maroun, in the town of Annaya, high in the Lebanese mountains. This monastery overlooking the Mediterranean will be one of the stops on Pope Leo XIV's three-day visit to Lebanon, beginning Sunday. The congregation on this cool late November evening was modest in number but their voices rang out as they sang hymns " including one in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language Jesus is believed to have spoken. Christianity in Lebanon is almost as old as Christianity itself. Yet the community, with roots so deep in this land, increasingly feels its grip slipping. In recent decades many Christians have left, for the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, Australia and elsewhere....