For the second straight year, Christmas celebrations will be somber and muted: no giant Christmas tree in Manger Square, no raucous scout marching bands, no public lights twinkling, and very few public decorations or displays.
The Pew Research Center’s annual report on government restrictions on religion highlights that governmental attacks on religion and social hostility toward religion usually ‘go hand in hand.’
Homes were set ablaze, claiming the lives of two children, ages 2 and 4, of the overseer of a United Methodist school and nursery. Another 10 church members were reported injured.
The small Christian community has begun to fracture under pressure from forces they say threaten them and the multifaith character of the Old City.
A letter with more than 200 signatories, organized by Churches for Middle East Peace in the United States and Embrace the Middle East in the United Kingdom, was provided to A Public Witness ahead of its formal release today.
Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of Islamist insurgents.
Travis Timmerman of Urbana, Missouri, said he had gone to Syria on a Christian pilgrimage and was not ill-treated while in Palestine Branch, a notorious detention facility operated by Syrian intelligence.
The pope’s appeal was made for the World Day of Peace, coinciding with the launch of the 2025 Jubilee year.
The pro-Palestinian creche is intended to point out the disconnect between the idealized Bethlehem of most representations and the reality in present-day Gaza and the West Bank.
Notre Dame’s journey from ruin to resurrection was defined by extraordinary craftsmanship, nearly $1 billion in global donations, and a collective, unyielding determination to rebuild.