Catholic church

Pope Leo XIV challenges Illinois governor over end-of-life legislation

The Illinois bill, which takes effect next September, gives terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less the option to request a medical prescription to end their lives.

|ByREUTERS
Pope Leo XIV addresses the crowd during a meeting with bishpops, priests consacrated persons and personal workers at the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, northeast of the capital Beirut, on December 1, 2025.
President Isaac Herzog meets with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, September 4, 2025.

Israel's Herzog, Pope Leo discuss rise in worldwide antisemitism ahead of Christmas

The pope expressed his pride in Israel’s diverse and thriving Christian communities, who will gather at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem for an annual festive meeting in the coming weeks.

|ByESTHER DAVIS
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai receives a chalice from Pope Leo XIV (R) at a Holy Mass during the pope’s first apostolic journey, in Beirut, on December 2.

Pope Leo decries leaders who invoke religion for violence and nationalism

"It has become increasingly common to drag the language of faith into political battles, to bless nationalism, and to justify violence and armed struggle in the name of religion," said the pope.

|ByREUTERS
A woman sits with a veil on a church pew, with others at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, US, December 4, 2025.

New York Catholic Church agrees to mediation for 1,300 sexual abuse claims

The mediation to settle sexual abuse claims could result in one of the largest payouts ever by the church in the United States.

|ByREUTERS

Catholic students asked to behave 'consistent with their biological sex'

The controversial new policy enforces students using their pronouns assigned at birth and their birth names and forbids same-sex relationships.

AUGUST 24, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
AN EMPTY classroom in an east Jerusalem school, closed in protest at ‘Israeli censorship’ of PA-autorized school textbooks, last year.

US court rules against woman fired by Catholic school over pregnancy

The art teacher was engaged at the time her pregnancy was announced, leading to the school firing her.

AUGUST 17, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Pregnant woman suffers from depression (Illustrative)

Rabbi Eliezer Berland: No one is to go to Stella Maris monastery

Chief Rabbi of the Israel Police arranged a place of prayer for Jews in the area of the monastery.

AUGUST 11, 2023ByYOAV ETIEL/WALLA
Rabbi Eliezer Berland covered with a prayer shawl arrives for a court hearing arrives for a police investigation at a police station in Jerusalem, November 2, 2021.

Huge billboard in Lisbon puts spotlight on clergy abuse as pope arrives

The billboard was put up on the Almirante Reis avenue - one of Lisbon's longest and busiest streets - and reads: "4,800+ children abused by the Catholic Church in Portugal."

AUGUST 2, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis holds the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 8, 2023.

Pope to Portugal for bittersweet 'Catholic Woodstock'

The Vatican said about 330,000 young people have registered for an event in Portugal dubbed "the Catholic Woodstock."

JULY 31, 2023ByREUTERS
People participate in a vigil in support of the 4,815 children that were sexually abused by members of the Portuguese Catholic Church, according to the commission investigating the issue, in Lisbon, Portugal, February 22, 2023.

Israeli scholars delve into Vatican’s Hebrew manuscript collection

A group of over 20 Christian and Jewish clergy and scholars from around the world came together to delve into the treasures of the Vatican's Hebrew manuscript collection.

JULY 25, 2023ByZVIKA KLEIN
St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

Chaldean Catholic leader in Iraq moves to Kurdish region

The overall dispute is symbolic of larger power struggles.

JULY 23, 2023BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako

Pope approves Shanghai bishop as Vatican chides China for lack of consultation

The pope had decided to approve Shen "for the greater good" of the Shanghai diocese and because Shen was an "esteemed pastor."

JULY 15, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis attends the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 29, 2023.

Tough bail conditions set for Ukraine Orthodox cleric

Metropolitan Pavlo had been under house arrest since April on suspicion of inflaming religious hatred and justifying the Russian invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022.

JULY 15, 2023ByREUTERS
Members of the State Security Service of Ukraine read an accusation letter to abbot of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Metropolitan Pavlo of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, accused of being linked to Moscow, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a compound of the monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine April 1, 2023.

Grapevine: Jerusalem’s new cardinal

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

JULY 14, 2023ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives to the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on the eve of the Christmas holiday December 24, 2022.