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Since Israel's latest onslaught on the country, most of the villages in Southern Lebanon have been displaced. People are fleeing en masse and overwhelming the streets of Beirut. But residents of one ancient Christian village in southern Lebanon are refusing to leave. The caption posted with this video link which is being shared widely says: "The residents of the southern town of Alma al-Shaab gath... Read More

On the second day of their Spring General Meeting, the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference in Maynooth, published the following statement calling for peace in the Middle East: Yet again, the people of the Middle East are experiencing an unjust war with the loss of innocent lives. War is utterly destructive. In an era of change and readjustment of geopolitical balances and cultural paradigms, wa... Read More

Eighty years after the Korean peninsula was divided by war, an exhibition of drawings by children on both sides of the divide is on show in Quaker central offices, London. Born out of more than two decades of exchange between North and South Korean children, the Drawing Hope art exhibit will be on display in Friends House, London, (opposite Euston Station) until 3 April 2026. The exhibit, open d... Read More

Serious concerns about the future of religious broadcasting at the BBC were raised at an online briefing attended by stakeholders yesterday. The broadcaster Roger Bolton lamented the BBC's failure to champion religious, and indeed public service, broadcasting and explain why it was so crucial. He described a 'catastrophe' that had taken place over the past 15 years. He acknowledged a cut in the li... Read More

A recently-discovered asteroid (635483) has been named after St Casimir, Lithuania's patron saint, whose feast is celebrated today. The asteroid was discovered by Dr Kazimieras Černis of Vilnius University, together with Latvian astronomer Dr Ilgmārs Eglītis in 2013 at the Baldone Astronomical Observatory in Latvia. Dr Černis said: "We discovered the asteroid in 2013 at the Baldone Astronomica... Read More

Gospel of 4 March 2026 Matthew 20:17-28 At that time: As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 'See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be rai... Read More

Catholics in Fundraising (CiF) has expressed concern following the Chancellor's 2026 Spring Statement, warning that the economic outlook risks placing further strain on churches, charities and the communities they serve. With UK growth forecast at just one per cent, CiF notes that this already lacklustre outlook does not fully reflect the scale of current global shocks, including the impact of the... Read More

Community Peacemaker Teams say in a statement today: On Saturday morning, the two governments launched Operation Epic Fury, attacking Tehran and multiple Iranian cities. Israel described the attack as "pre-emptive", yet the opening strikes reportedly killed over one hundred children at a school, and took place as negotiations between Iran and the USA were making substantial progress. According to... Read More

Quakers in Britain have called on the UK government to focus on building a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East. The call comes after the news that British military bases will be used to bomb Iran as part of 'defensive' operations to attack missile facilities. Quakers warn that military action will not make Britain or its allies safer. It will escalate the conflict, deepen regional instab... Read More

Christian Aid has appealed for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East to protect civilian life, and called for international humanitarian law to be upheld across the region. Thousands have been displaced in Lebanon. Israel has closed the borders to Gaza preventing food, medicines and aid workers from entering, and desperately ill patients from leaving. Illegal settlers are terrorising community... Read More

Nearly 30,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon as air strikes hit the country's capital. A wave of overnight missiles hit Beirut last night, shattering the fragile ceasefire with Israel that had held in recent months. According to local staff of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in Lebanon, more than ten airstrikes struck the city's southern suburbs at around 2.30am local time, forcing thousa... Read More

Two Year 12 students from Coventry - Ellie Wood and Mahmoud Jalloh - made an extraordinary journey from the West Midlands to the heart of British democracy on 24 February. They travelled by train to London to speak inside the Houses of Parliament at the national 'Show the Love' climate event, organised by The Climate Coalition. Invited by the Columban Missionaries based in Solihull, long-standing ... Read More

As we pass the fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine, Olga Braga's award-winning wartime domestic tragedy Donbas provides a fascinating and searing response. As you enter the diminutive Theatre 503 above the Latchmere Pub, you are confronted by a claustrophobic scene. Two pro-Russian snipers are hunkered down in a tumbledown dwelling. One, Dmitry (Philippe Spall) is a surly veteran of the Sovi... Read More

Gospel of 3 March 2026 Matthew 23:1-12 At that time: Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practise. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finge... Read More