Pope Leo XIV on Saturday named a veteran Vatican diplomat as his new ambassador to the United States to manage one of the Holy See’s most important bilateral relationships at a crucial time, with ties strained over the Trump administration’s war in Iran and immigration crackdown.
The bones of St. Francis of Assisi, the medieval friar who inspired Pope Francis and generations of Christians before him, are going on public display for the first time, giving his hilltop Umbrian hometown yet another reason to welcome pilgrims.
The European Court of Human Rights has formally taken up 20 cases challenging Turkey’s designation of foreign Christians as national security threats, with a legal advocacy group warning that “peaceful worship and participation in church life are not threats to national security.”
House Republicans, led by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Riley Moore (R-WV), introduced a bill on Monday calling for the State Department to offer comprehensive reports on American actions to protect Christians persecuted by a host jihadist terror threats in Nigeria, as well as efforts to convince the Nigerian government to take the threat seriously.
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said on Tuesday that a small number of American military officers have been deployed to Nigeria to assist with counter-terrorism efforts.
Christian persecution watchdog Open Doors released the 2026 edition of their World Watch List on Wednesday, highlighting the most dangerous countries on Earth to practice Christianity.
The Washington Post’s editorial board is praising President Donald Trump’s recent deadly strikes on Islamic State terrorists in Nigeria.
World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder warned Wednesday that surging antisemitism in the West amounts to a “full-scale assault on the truth, on democracy, and on the safety of the Jewish people,” urging Jews and their Christian allies to confront it on campuses, in classrooms, and across social media.
On December 8, 2024, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was known – and wanted – internationally as “Abu Mohammed al-Jolani,” the leader of the jihadist terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The Catholic Diocese of Zaria in Nigeria’s Kaduna state said on Wednesday that a priest named Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Ezema was kidnapped from his church Tuesday night.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday declared a station of national emergency over a string of brutal attacks and kidnappings, including mass abductions of school children.
Syrian security forces used gunfire on Tuesday to disperse feuding groups of protesters in Latakia, a coastal town in the area dominated by the once-influential, but now persecuted, Alawite religious minority.
Rap megastar Nicki Minaj praised President Donald Trump for “prioritizing” the issue of the persecution and slaughter of Christians in Nigeria, and thanked him for his “leadership on the global stage” in calling for action on this issue.
President Donald Trump was unequivocal on Monday in his faith that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, an al-Qaeda affiliated terror chief formerly known as “Abu Mohammed al-Jolani,” is the leader to transition the country out of civil war.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said on Tuesday that he regarded President Donald Trump’s expression of concern for oppressed Christians as a “threat,” and that confronting violent extremists will make Nigeria “come out stronger.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning expressed support for the government of Nigeria on Tuesday, and claimed President Donald Trump was only interested in the slaughter of Christians as an “excuse” to interfere in Nigerian politics.
Nigerian military officials met to plan a response to President Donald Trump’s threat of military action against Islamist terrorists.
South Africa apologized to the UN’s Francesca Albanese after it allowed American Christians to serve her with legal papers in a defamation case.
An American missionary, tentatively identified by Christian groups as 50-year-old Kevin Rideout, was kidnapped from Niger’s capital city of Niamey by three unidentified gunmen on Tuesday.
The Chinese Communist government launched its biggest crackdown on Christians in years over the weekend, detaining dozens of pastors from “house churches,” including Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, the founder of one of China’s biggest evangelical churches.
Archbishop Ignatius Aphrem, the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, told the Kurdish outlet Rudaw in an interview published Wednesday that the president of Syria, former al-Qaeda offshoot terror leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, personally promised that he would respect the rights of Christians.
The Israel Allies Foundation (IAF) on Sunday released its 2025 list of the Top 50 Christian Allies of Israel, led by Pastor Paula White-Cain and honoring the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, recognizing influential Christian figures who have “stood with Israel during these critical times,” with IAF President Josh Reinstein calling their support “a testament to the enduring bond between the Christian and Jewish communities.”
Christians in the Syrian provinces of Hama and Homs called a general strike, blocked roads, set fire to a security checkpoint, and marched to demand justice after two of their number were murdered and a third was injured by masked gunmen wearing the uniforms of the General Security Service, the national police force of the central government controlled by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Nigerian Christians say their communities are under siege by Islamist “bandits” who are planning nothing less than genocide.
Residents of Wadi al-Nasara, Syria, a region whose name translates to the “Valley of the Christians,” have denounced insufficient support from the newly installed Islamist government amid a wave of punishing forest fires that some local officials have blamed on “suspected arson.”
The plight of Sudan’s two million Christians has become extremely dire as the brutal civil war between former junta partners Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo grinds on.
Pope Leo XIV marked his 70th birthday on Sunday by thanking God, his parents and all those who prayed for him.
Two pro-Israel Christian groups are suing United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories [sic] Francesca Albanese for defamation, after she accused them of complicity in “genocide.”
Christianity is experiencing a revival among young people in Britain, with the number of 18-24 year olds believing in God increasing by nearly 200 per cent since 2021.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Breitbart News on Tuesday that Christians who deny the Biblical basis for supporting Israel have been “indoctrinated” at universities or “come out of weak churches.”
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) has established a $1.3 million legal defense fund to help Christians against growing persecution in Europe. The Graham family is urging Christians around the world to speak out against assaults on their religious freedom.
I have had lengthy discussions with Christian friends who support Israel, answering tough questions and sharing insights.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee clarified Tuesday that no damage was done to a church in the Palestinian Christian town of Taybeh, despite earlier reports — though he still condemned violence against the town.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee applauded the Israeli government on Monday for expediting the visa applications of American evangelical organizations, which had been caught up in bureaucratic confusion.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation in South Africa, devoted to the legacy of the legendary post-apartheid leader, has offered grants to groups that vow to combat Christian Zionism, calling it a force for “genocide.”
Mike Huckabee’s criticism on the issue of Palestinian Christians is the kind only a true friend can offer.
Israeli Prime Minsiter Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Friday with Pope Leo XIV amid tensions with Christian communities over various different issues that have arisen in Israel in recent weeks.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has been arguing with Israeli authorities about delays in the granting of tourist visas to some evangelical groups, threatening to say Israel no longer welcomes Christians.
The escalating violence between Arab Muslims and Druze in southern Syria has become a make-or-break test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa – and for the heavy bet President Donald Trump placed on him by lifting sanctions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) expressed regret Thursday after a shell fragment fired during combat in Gaza hit a Catholic Church, killing 3 and wounding ten.
