Pope

Voices from the Arab press: Pope Leo and the Shi'ites

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.

|ByTHE MEDIA LINE
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 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.

'A just and lasting peace': Pope Leo calls for dialogue after meeting Ukraine's Zelensky

The pope's comments echo Zelensky's frequent demands for a "just" peace as the Ukrainian leader tries to ensure that any agreement to end Russia's war in Ukraine is balanced.

|ByREUTERS
Pope Leo XIV holds a Jubilee audience on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport, at St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican June 14, 2025.

Pope Leo scraps Francis’s Vatican fundraising panel amid budget shift

Pope Leo has dissolved the Vatican's fundraising panel, created in Francis’s final months, and ordered a review of future efforts.

|ByREUTERS
Pope Leo XIV disembarks the papal plane upon arrival at Rafic Hariri International Airport, during his first apostolic journey, in Beirut, Lebanon, November 30, 2025.

Pope Leo XIV lands in Beirut during first Middle East visit

Pope Leo XIV begins a three-day visit to Lebanon, meeting leaders, touring five cities, and honoring victims of the 2020 Beirut port explosion.

|ByREUTERS

Pope sees 'hypocrisy' in those who criticize LGBT blessings

He also stressed that such blessings do not amount to formal Church approval for same-sex unions.

FEBRUARY 7, 2024ByREUTERS
Pope Francis speaks during a meeting with members of Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service (CHARIS) at the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, November 4, 2023

Pope says Africans are 'special case' when it comes to LGBT blessings

Blessings were allowed last month in a document called Fiducia Supplicans (Supplicating Trust), which has caused widespread debate in the Catholic Church.

JANUARY 29, 2024ByREUTERS
Pope Francis leads the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, October 11, 2023.

Pope 'colluding with forces of evil' against Jews, South Africa's chief rabbi says

Defending Israel's right to self-defense, Chief Rabbi of South Africa Dr. Warren Goldstein accused the Pope of "primitive pacifism."

DECEMBER 19, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
(L-R) South African Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein, Pope Francis

Pope Francis deplores Israeli killings of civilians at Gaza church

An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the incident was still under review and had no immediate comment on the pope's words.

DECEMBER 17, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis leads an ecumenical prayer vigil in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, September 30, 2023.

Pope deplores end of Israeli-Hamas truce, calls for new ceasefire

"Many hostages have been freed but many are still in Gaza. We think of them, of their families, who had seen a light, a hope of embracing their loved ones again."

DECEMBER 3, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis leads the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, October 11, 2023.

Pope says conflict between Israel and Hamas has gone beyond war to 'terrorism'

The Pope asked for prayers so that both sides would "not go ahead with passions, which in the end, kill everyone".

NOVEMBER 22, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis leads the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, October 11, 2023.

Pope Francis to meet with Gaza hostages' families

The Vatican has been vocal in calling for the release of all hostages as well as a ceasefire.

NOVEMBER 17, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis speaks during a meeting with members of Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service (CHARIS) at the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, November 4, 2023

Pope Francis urged to intervene in Israeli hostage crisis

The hostages, captured by Hamas on October 7th, 2023, are reported to be in dire conditions, with fears of torture and urgent medical needs.

NOVEMBER 6, 2023ByZVIKA KLEIN
Pope Francis meets with the delegation of the Conference of European Rabbis at the Vatican, November 6, 2023.

In a first, a Jewish organization opens an office at the Vatican

WJC said its “Kishreinu” initiative was a response to Nostra Aetate, the landmark 1965 document that modernized the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church, Judaism and other religions.

OCTOBER 21, 2023ByGABE FRIEDMAN/JTA
World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder gives Pope Francis a a “Kishreinu” (Hebrew for “Our Bond”) document marking influence of the Catholic Church's Nostra Aetate declaration on Catholic-Jewish relations, Oct. 19, 2023.

‘I pray for those families’: Pope Francis calls on Hamas to free Israeli hostages

The death toll in Israel from Hamas' attack has reached 1,300, with more than 3,000 people injured, as hostages remain trapped in Gaza.

OCTOBER 13, 2023ByJACKIE HAJDENBERG/JTA
Pope Francis attends the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 29, 2023.