World

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land has warned in an interview that the rise of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government has made life worse for Christians in the birthplace of Christianity.

Although his voice was slightly raspy after his recent recovery from a respiratory infection, Francis seemed in good spirits and warmly greeted the cheering crowd.

Even since the end of Soviet occupation, oppressed people see Lithuania's Hill of Crosses as a reminder of the subversive power of the cross. Jesus showed that might doesn’t make right, and that’s very good news — unless you’re the empire.

The fighting, coming as Muslims mark the holiday month of Ramadan and Jews prepare to begin the Passover festival on Wednesday evening, raised fears of a wider conflagration.

Ukraine's top security agency said Metropolitan Pavel, the abbott of a famed Orthodox monastery, was suspected of justifying Russian aggression, a criminal offense. It was the latest move in a bitter dispute over .

"I thank you for your participation and prayers, that in the last days you intensified,'' the pontiff told the crowd in St. Peter's Square, a reference to the many wishes he received for a quick recovery during his hospitalization.

The Vatican on Thursday responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery,” the theories backed by 15th-century “papal bulls” that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property laws today. 

The Vatican clarified that it was not COVID-19 but it would ‘require several days of appropriate medical treatment at the hospital.’

Lebanon was set to switch clocks forward for daylight saving time early on Sunday, but on Thursday the Lebanese government suddenly announced it would delay the move due to Ramadan — then reversed that decision Monday morning.

This issue of A Public Witness scopes out the recent controversies in Russia and Ukraine about conscientious objectors before considering what lessons we might learn to see more clearly despite the fog of war.