Encyclical Letter

Fratelli Tutti on Fraternity and Social Friendship

El Consejo Pontificio para la Promoción de la Unidad de los Cristianos publicó una guía para animar y ayudar a los obispos católicos a cumplir con sus responsabilidades ecuménicas.

The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity publishes a guidebook to encourage and assist Catholic Bishops in fulfilling their ecumenical responsibilities.

Queridos amados,

"Gracia y paz en abundancia para ustedes" (1 Pedro 1, 2).

Me gustaría dirigirles esta carta con ocasión de la visita del Papa Francisco a Irak debido a su importancia nacional y eclesiástica:

Dear Beloved,

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance” (1 Peter: 1).

I would like to address this letter to you on the occasion of Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq due to its national and ecclesiastical significance

The Apostolic Penitentiary issues a Decree granting plenary indulgences for the year of St. Joseph proclaimed by Pope Francis on Tuesday. The special year will last from 8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021.

JERUSALEM - On Friday, December 4, 2020, a religious Jew started a fire inside the Basilica of All Nations (Agony) at Gethsemane in Jerusalem, causing damage to a number of pews.

"I want to assure my prayers for Nigeria, where blood has unfortunately been spilled once more in a terrorist attack." Pope Francis gave that assurance in remarks at the end of the Wednesday General Audience. He was referring to a massacre which took place on Saturday in the village of Zabarmari, in Borno State.

In a 23 November letter to Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca urged the protection of religious and cultural monuments the Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh region.

In the evening of Tuesday, 3 November 2020, reports indicate that Tigray regional special force attacked the northern command base of the Ethiopia Federal army. As a result, Ethiopia Federal military was deployed to restore law and order. The conflict has erupted and is ongoing and even escalating to affect Eritrea.

The protracted humanitarian crisis in Iraq remains one of the largest and most volatile in the world. The COVID-19 outbreak hit a country already facing a humanitarian crisis, further deepening vulnerabilities and disrupting on-going efforts to deliver aid to the most vulnerable people in acute need of humanitarian assistance.

Rome Newsroom, Nov 17, 2020 / 02:00 pm MT (CNA).- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe published data Monday documenting more than 500 hate crimes against Christians in Europe in 2019.

In October the Custody of the Holy Land officially took possession of the Church of St. John the Baptist, located in the area of Qasr Al-Yahud on the banks of the Jordan River, by Israeli authorities: the monastery was closed during the war of 1967 when the entire area became a minefield and was turned into a fenced military zone.

These are days of widespread concern for the wider Middle East region. In particular, what befell Armenians a century ago has shown itself once again in our lifetime.

Pope Francis is inviting leaders of other faiths to work together “with the gentle strength of faith to end all conflicts.” His appeal comes as part of his discourse at an International Meeting for Peace, held in Rome and organized by the Community of Saint Egidio, entitled “No one is saved alone. Peace and Fraternity.” Pope Francis set the tone of his speech on Tuesday by recalling the historic Assisi Meeting desired by Saint Pope John Paul II on 27 October 1986, in which for the first time in Church history the Pope invited leaders of other religions to join him in prayer for peace for the human family.

The apostolic nuncio to Syria met with diplomats accredited to the Vatican Thursday to inform them that an estimated 11 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance. Cardinal Mario Zenari, apostolic nuncio to Syria since 2008, said that, after nearly 10 years of war, the Syrian people had now been hit with a “poverty bomb” amid the coronavirus pandemic. Zenari explained that “many Syrians have lost hope,” while lamenting that Syria seemed to have disappeared off the “media radar.” A statement from the Holy See press office Oct. 15 said that the cardinal met with members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See in the Vatican’s New Synod Hall to “rekindle attention toward the situation in Syria.”

His Excellency Arbchishop Atallah Hanna, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia calls on to contribute in the “Hadinat Al Hayat” (i.e Life’s nurtures) campaign, in order to support the Saint George University Hospital (Al Roum) Beirut, so that it can resume its normal work and receive patients in all its departments.

We meet today, here at the Al-Hawash University, knowing well what the name of Al-Hawash carries in terms of a long lasting heritage and honor, in order to inaugurate this university hospital, named after Dr. Farzat Ayoub. We gather here to affirm first and foremost that we come from the heart of this land, from its womb, and we continuously look forward primarily to whatever is good and beneficial for its human. We meet, carrying in each one of us the hardship of this world, the cross of the East, and the suffering of its humanity. Despite all this, we are laying cornerstones, building universities, hospitals, and institutions, and sacrificially offering our blood and heart in order to present to our future generations a better future.

Beirut appeal of the Armenian Catholicosate Of Cilicia

The devastating blast of 4 August 2020 at the Beirut port put Lebanon once more on the front pages of the global media. The citizens are outraged but count on the support of the international community. Coming on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic and the mishandling of the economy by the country’s corrupt leadership, this tragedy has compounded the suffering of the people.

of Al Hasaka, Syria by armed groups affiliated with the Turkish occupation

His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary General

Your Excellency, dear Secretary General, we write to you with deep concern about the current humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place in Hassakeh – northeast Syria. Over one million Syrians are denied their basic human rights, namely their right to live. For more than 10 days, armed factions supported by the Turkish occupation have deliberately cut off water from the population thus subjecting them, especially children, elderly and vulnerable people, to thirst and critical health conditions. This comes at a time when the spread of COVID19 virus is taking its toll on the entire country.