Vatican News continues with its series on the history, mission, objectives and operating costs of the Vatican offices assisting the Pope in his pastoral ministry. We feature here the Congregation for Oriental Churches with an interview of the Prefect, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri.

The Vatican City State Governorate releases a statement explaining a recent decree on the need to vaccinate employees who work in public-facing jobs, saying the directive seeks to strike a balance between protecting the community and an individual’s freedom of choice.

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issues a note to bishops and episcopal conferences on the celebration of Holy Week 2021 with worship and health safety in mind.

The social distancing measures also planned in Egypt to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic did not prevent celebrating, even if in a sober and limited way, the 6th anniversary of the massacre of 20 Copts in Libya in the company of their Ghanaian workmates from jihadist terrorists linked to the so-called "Islamic State" in February 2015.

ROME – With less than three weeks to go until Pope Francis’ first international trip in 18 months, rockets were fired Monday at the airport and civilian areas of Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan and a city he’s scheduled to visit during his March 5-8 outing to Iraq.

The attacks represent the latest challenge to what was already an outing fraught with complexities.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass on Ash Wednesday in St. Peter’s Basilica, and urges Christians to experience Lent as a return journey toward the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

and addresses by The Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Koch, Fiona Bruce MP, The Bishop of Truro, and a panel of distinguished guests

‘Contemporary Martyrs Day’ is marked annually by The Coptic Orthodox Church to commemorate the anniversary of the 21 Libya Martyrs who were murdered by Isis on 15 February 2015 in Libya. It has also been established to commemorate members of the Coptic Orthodox Church who have lost their lives in contemporary history as a result of religious persecution.

When will justice, peace, and respect for common living prevail so that all people can join hands in the process of the development of their societies as well as in creating a better future for the generations to come?

The vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in the Vatican which began on Wednesday continues with both Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI receiving their first doses of the vaccine.

In his message for Lent 2021, Pope Francis calls on the faithful to “renew our faith, draw from the living waters of hope, and receive with open hearts the love of God.”

For the Auxiliary Bishop of Baghdad, the visit to Najaf will be “one of the highlights” of the apostolic journey to Iraq. The Shi‘a leader “is not a politician, but a man of faith” who works for human fraternity. The new coronavirus pandemic will prevent the usual crowds, but Christians and others are waiting for the pontiff “with joy and hope”.

TAYBEH, Palestine - On Sunday, January 31, 2021, the Governor of Ramallah and al-Bireh Dr. Laila Ghannam announced a one-week lockdown in Taybeh after the discovery of cases of the new UK strain of COVID-19 in the village. Among those affected are the workers and residents of Beit Afram Elderly Home, a centre administered by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Statement of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East on COVID-19 Vaccines

Considering the spread of Covid-19 pandemic which afflicts the world and its people today, and subsequent to the production of its vaccines, the Antiochian Orthodox Church, after consultation between His Beatitude and the Antiochian Hierarchs, would like to clarify the following to her faithful:
1. In the Pastoral Letter issued in 2019, the Church reaffirmed “the sanctity of life and the necessity of respecting it alongside her openness to scientific advancement.”

We are the Church of the Paschal Mystery:

A history of Martyrs and Monks

Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako

Next Sunday, February 14, 2021 (practically Monday, the 15th) begins the period of the great fast in our Chaldean Church. This fasting is an occasion for each of us to rediscover the space of inner freedom in our daily life so that we can move freely, despite our preoccupations and upheavals with the coronavirus pandemic.

Pope Francis highlights the plight of thousands of unaccompanied minors whom he says are particularly vulnerable, asking authorities to show special attention to their needs. He also looks to the International Day of Prayer and Reflection Against Human Trafficking on Monday.

All Christians are invited to participate in an online Prayer Marathon on Monday, 8 February, marking the 7th International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking.

The marathon has been organized by the International Committee of the World Day, coordinated by Talitha Kum, the network of consecrated life against trafficking in persons of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG).

The Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan celebrated on Thursday, February 4, through the Visual Communication Technology, the World Interfaith Harmony Week, (February 1-7) under the title, "Harmony and Brotherhood" and the International Day of Human Fraternity (February 4).

We extend our apostolic benediction, benevolent prayers and greetings to our brethren, His Beatitude Mor Baselius Thomas I, Catholicos of India, and their Eminences the Metropolitans; our spiritual children: Very Reverend Corepiscopoi, Reverend priests, monks, nuns and deacons and the entire blessed Syriac Orthodox people throughout the world. May the divine providence embrace them through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and St. Peter, Chief of the Apostles, St. Jacob of Serugh, and the rest of the Martyrs and Saints. Amen.

The UN Secretary-General has called for more commitment towards promoting cultural and religious tolerance, in a message to mark the first celebration of the International Day of Human Fraternity, observed on Thursday.

“Around the world, deep-seated discrimination, acts of intolerance and hate crimes persist against people simply because of their religion or belief, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation”, he said in a video broadcast during a commemorative event, held online.

Your Beatitude,

On this occasion of your official visit as the newly appointed Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, we welcome you not as a stranger, but as an old trusted friend. The news that His Holiness Pope Francis had appointed you as Latin Patriarch was widely welcomed both by your community and by all who are committed to the well-being of the Christian presence in the Holy Land.