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Yesterday, Wednesday 8 April, the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire in the war, mediated by Pakistan. But it was later announced that this pause in the war did not apply to Lebanon. Within a few hours it became clear that Israel's onslaught on Lebanon was continuing unabated. The escalation of Israeli airstrikes has resulted in significant casualties and destruction, creating a... Read More

Until recently, nations gave lip service to international laws that classified certain actions during conflict - attacking hospitals and essential civilian infrastructure like power generation and desalination plants - as illegal. Such attacks might only be lawful if the military advantage gained outweighed the loss of civilian life. The problem arose - vexing politicians, military leaders and hum... Read More

After nearly 14 years of dedicated service directing the work of Jesuit Missions for the British Province, Paul Chitnis has decided it is time to step down. He has guided JM through significant development in its mission at home and abroad. We are immensely grateful to Paul for his long years of service in this role, both the times in the office, connecting with our works in Britain and the visits... Read More

Fr Toby Lees OP gave this homily during the Easter Vigil Mass at St Dominic's Priory - The Rosary Shrine, London NW5. In late 1944, a Japanese soldier named Hiroo Onoda was sent to a small island in the Philippines. His mission was to destroy the Lubang airfield and a harbour pier. He failed, and as enemy forces took control, he and his fellow troops retreated into the jungle. The war was soon ove... Read More

Gospel of 9 April 2026 Luke 24:35-48 At that time: The disciples told what had happened on the road, and how Jesus was known to them in the breaking of the bread. As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, 'Peace to you!' But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts... Read More

The Via Lucis Devotion, also known as the Way of the Light, focuses on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the events following it. It serves as a counterpart to the more widely known Via Crucis or Stations of the Cross, which meditates on Jesus' Passion and Crucifixion. Produced by the Salesian community in Battersea, this beautiful set of videos focussing on 14 Resurrection stations, with scrip... Read More

Fr Toni Elias, a Lebanese Maronite parish priest at the church of St George in Rmeish - the last village in the south of the country on the border with Israel gave an interview with Vatican Media after the news of the the ceasefire between US/Israel and Iran was announced. Although the two week truce does not extend to Lebanon, Fr Elias said: "We do not give up - on the contrary, we trust in the L... Read More

Pope Leo has welcomed today's news of a ceasefire in the Middle East and asks that all parties engage in prolonged dialogue to reach an end to the conflict. He also invites men and women of goodwill across the world to join him in prayer for peace on Saturday 11 April. At the conclusion of his General Audience on Wednesday, 8 April, Pope Leo turned his thoughts to the weeks of tension that have be... Read More

The South African Council of Churches has submitted an amicus curiae brief to the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, calling for stronger recognition of states' obligations under the African Charter in addressing the climate crisis and the financing of fossil fuels. The submission, filed on 30 March, responds to a request for an advisory opinion initiated by the Pan African Lawyers Union.... Read More

At the beginning of Holy Week, Bishop John Michael Botean of the Romanian Catholic Diocese of St George in Canton, Ohio, released a pastoral letter denouncing the Iran war. In the letter Bishop Botean says: "I must declare for your sake that this war is unjust, killing in it is murder, and any willing participation in it is complicity in murder." "the United States launched an attack on the people... Read More

Jeremy Fowler lived for eleven years in Iraqi Kurdistan and is now based in Oxford, working on a biography of Roger Cumberland, an American Presbyterian missionary in the region who was killed in Duhok in 1938. The Kurdish people live in the largely autonomous Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq and within the borders of Turkey, Iran and Syria. The region of 'Greater Kurdistan' is actually the setti... Read More

Gospel of 8 April 2026 Luke 24:13-35 On the first day of the week, two of the disciples of Jesus were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognising him. And he said... Read More

Pope Leo XIV renewed his appeal for peace in a brief statement on Tuesday evening to a group of journalists waiting for him outside Villa Barberini, the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo. Against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war against Iran and the US President's threat to destroy "the whole Iranian civilisation" on tonight if Tehran does not comply with a deadline set by the White House to re... Read More

The President of the US Bishops' Conference (USCCB) has appealed to President Trump to avoid going through with his threat to "destroy the whole Iranian civilization" if Tehran does not agree to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. "I call on President Trump to step back from the precipice of war and negotiate a just settlement for the sake of peace and before more lives are lost," said Archbishop Paul ... Read More