News in the Middle East | New Outlook

The Holy See Press Office announces that Pope Francis will undertake an Apostolic Journey to Bahrain at the beginning of November.

Demonstrations are continuing in Iran over the death of a young Iranian woman while in police custody. Mahsa Amini died after being arrested by Iran’s so-called “morality police” for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly.

The Substitute of the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Peña Parra, visits East Timor and, in the capital of Dili, inaugurates the new nunciature. He also speaks at a local Catholic University about the importance of the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, signed in Abu Dhabi in 2019.

In London, prayers now rise up to God from the shrine of Mary, Mother of Persecuted Christians, and also from Lebanon, where the shrine's icon originated.

Pope Francis' representative to Lebanon, who is preparing to go to a new assignment as nuncio to Mexico, said he would cherish the four years he has spent in the land of the cedars.

Deadly clashes in Basra and Baghdad in Iraq, have left several people dead after an influential Shia cleric announced his withdrawal from Iraqi politics.

Pope Francis Wednesday offered prayers for the victims of violent political protests in Iraq that have left over 20 people dead, saying dialogue and fraternity are the only way to resolve the country’s current difficulties.

A biblical play is performed by young people, in collaboration with the St James Vicariate for Hebrew Speaking Catholics in Israel, to highlight the challenges faced by 1600 children who have no legal status in Israel.

A huge blast at a packed mosque in Kabul on Wednesday killed more than twenty people and injured dozens more. The apparent bomb attack occurred during evening prayers.

According to news reports, at least 5,000 Coptic Christians were preparing for the morning liturgy Aug. 14 at the Martyr Abu Sefein Church in Imbaba, a suburban area of the city, when the fire started. The deaths resulted from an ensuing stampede and smoke inhalation.

A fire ripped through a packed Coptic Orthodox church during morning services in Egypt’s capital on Sunday, quickly filling it with thick black smoke and killing 41 worshippers, including at least 15 children.

While life in the Eternal City is still fairly quiet, with many locals off to the beach to escape sweltering temperatures during the month of August, there is plenty happening in other parts of the world.

A new report by the charity Save the Children reveals that since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan a year ago, children are suffering with girls more likely to go hungry and feel isolated.

As Lebanon marks the second anniversary of a devastating explosion in Beirut’s port, observers say little progress has been made on an explanation and many citizens are angry at the lack of answers.

For the poor in Lebanon whose lives are clouded in misery, even a fresh coat of paint can brighten bleak living conditions.

Demonstrators stormed Iraqi’s parliament and high-security Green Zone over the weekend, prompting one of the country’s top Catholic prelates to condemn sectarianism and call for dialogue, lest the situation worsen.

Lebanese Maronite Archbishop Moussa El-Hage’s unexpected detainment earlier this week and his summons to court have made waves throughout the country’s Christian community and stoked fears that fresh political tensions will further destabilize Lebanon’s complex religious balancing act ahead of upcoming presidential elections.

Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore in Pakistan is urging the international community to do more to address kidnapping, forced conversion and sexual victimisation of young people from Christian and other religious minorities in Pakistan.

More than 30 international aid agencies, including Catholics and other Christian groups, warn of a humanitarian catastrophe should the U.N. Security Council fail to renew a resolution by July 10 allowing the cross-border delivery of lifesaving assistance to northwest Syria.