Russia’s “foreign agents” register currently contains over 1,200 individuals and more than 1,500 projects, organisations and titles of various initiatives. Some have managed to have their names removed by striking deals with the authorities to save their businesses and reputations. But there are also those who find themselves on the list without even knowing why.
In his homily in St Peter's Square, the pope spoke of “Jesus, King of Peace," who "always rejects violence”. “In his wounds, we see the hurts of so many women and men today,” especially the “victims of war." In the Angelus, the pontiff expressed closeness to the “Christians of the Middle East” who, “in many cases, are unable to observe fully the liturgies” during Holy Week. “Let us also pray for all the migrants who have died at sea,” he said.
A source in China reinterprets for AsiaNews the suffering of the Catholic communities of the People's Republic in light of the words of the Prophet Isaiah heard in the liturgies of this period, from the deep wound caused today by the increasingly rigid ban on educating minors in the faith to the certainty that “God is with us, and we move forward.”
Israeli police in Jerusalem carried out a wanton act of intimidation against the cardinal and the custos of the Holy Land, who were prevented from privately entering the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass this morning. The Patriarchate protested the lack of respect for “the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem.” Prayers will be held this afternoon at the Dominus Flevit.
Leo XIV travelled to the world's second-smallest state on his first trip outside of Italy in 2026. He called for the 'gift of smallness' to serve justice and peace, reminding the rich city-state that great wealth has an intrinsic need to be redistributed. He encouraged the local Church to advocate for the “forgotten and marginalized.” To young people, he said love “gives stability to life,” urging them “not [to] be afraid to give everything”.
The Allahabad High Court orders Father Pereira to stand trial for calling Jesus's religion "the only true religion" in a church sermon. The court cited India's secularism to argue that such a claim denigrates other faiths. This is a paradoxical development in a state like Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu fundamentalist stronghold.
