Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.

The Pope has ‘isolated’ breathing crisis in hospital, Vatican says
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our...

Fear and Faith: El Paso church leaders sound the alarm amid ICE crackdown
El Paso, Texas— Six months into President Donald Trump’s second term, sweeping changes to federal immigration policy have escalated deportations, cut millions of dollars in federal funding to nonprofits providing legal aid for immigrants, and...

Cardinal Czerny asks Church to remember seafarers on Sea Sunday
In his message for Sea Sunday, the second Sunday of July, Cardinal Michael Czerny recognizes seafarers as ‘pilgrims of hope’ and calls on Catholics to shine a light on the global economy and its effects on those who work on ships and in ports. By...

Pope Leo praises Pope Francis for redefining synodality as a guiding style that shapes the Church’s identity in Vatican meeting
It was a meaningful afternoon just outside the Vatican walls on June 26, 2025, as Pope Leo XIV met with members of the Synod’s 16th ordinary council. While his visit was brief, it carried a powerful message—one that echoed the heart of his...

Pope Leo XIV appeals for unity within Catholic Church in Holy Year messages to priests
During the Mass in St Peter's Basilica, Leo ordained 32 new priests and recalled his appeal for unity during his installation Mass right after his May 8 election Leo appealed for unity in a triptych of messages to priests who are celebrating a...

Outright launches important reports on LGBTQ rights in every country
Advocacy organization aims to fill the gap left by cancellation of US reporting on LGBTQ rights Image from the Outright International home page. The LGBTIQ advocacy group Outright International is stepping up to fill the void created by President...

Science and the stars a call to the spiritual, says Vatican astrophysicist
PHOENIX | The Vatican Observatory attests that "science is not against God" -- and the nexus of science and spirituality invites humankind to contemplate the Lord's wondrous works, said a Jesuit astrophysicist. Father Pavel Gabor, vice director of...

Religion news 17 June 2025
Grooming gangs report: Casey warns silence on ethnicity fuels harm A report on grooming gangs by Baroness Casey has found that the ethnicity of people involved has been “shied away from” by authorities, for fear of being seen as racist and raising...

New Anti-Catholic Sex-Education Guidelines in Hamburg Are Fruit of German Synodal Way, Say Experts
HAMBURG, Germany — Advocates of Catholic marriage and the family are hoping that Pope Leo XIV intervenes to help parents protect their children in the face of new sex-education guidelines being imposed in a major German diocese that promote the...

Moment Pope Leo is hit on the head by object thrown from a worshipper before another man yanks his arm with the new pontiff left begging for calm at the Vatican
This is the tense moment an object is thrown at Pope Leo XIV from a huge crowd that tries to charge him on World Drugs Day. Swarms of worshippers were pressed against the railing, desperately trying to reach out to the Catholic leader. One...

Struck down, not destroyed: Keeping my faith while covering the Catholic Church
The first time I saw St. Peter’s Basilica, I felt nothing. It was not the reaction I had thought I would have. I was a lifelong Catholic who had once seriously considered becoming a nun, and who now reported on the Vatican for a Jesuit magazine....

‘Humbling honor’: 'The Chosen' actor Jonathan Roumie met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican
Pope Leo XIV and Jonathan Roumie, the actor who portrays Jesus on “The Chosen,” posed for a selfie outside the Vatican this week. After three weeks of filming the crucifixion scenes for the sixth season of the popular show in Italy, Roumie visited...

Vatican plans to further reduce carbon footprint
A slide from the Fabbrica di San Pietro presentation (Vatican Media) St Peter’s Basilica and some of its surrounding buildings are working to reduce their environmental impact by becoming more energy efficient and promoting sustainability. Source:...

As families mourn victims of a massacre in a Damascus church, families, patriarch, blame Syrian government for lack of protection
People attend the funeral of victims of a suicide bombing at the Mar Elias Church on Sunday, in Damascus, Syria, June 24, 2025. The first funeral services for the victims of a jihadi suicide bombing inside a Damascus church were held as Syrian...

Holy Selfie: Jonathan Roumie meets Pope Leo at the Vatican
Jonathan Roumie meets Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican -- and the pope shares their joyful selfie with the world. Fans of the hit series The Chosen were delighted to see that actor Jonathan Roumie -- who portrays Jesus Christ -- met Pope Leo XIV at the...

Catholic World Women’s Observatory changing lives across Africa
Since its launch in 2022, the World Women’s Observatory has made significant strides in empowering vulnerable women across Africa through advocacy, training, and strategic partnerships. By Sarah Pelaji Operated by the World Union of Catholic...

Pope to ROACO: May Eastern Churches bear witness amid pain of conflict
Pope Leo XIV meets with members of the Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches, and encourages Eastern-rite Catholics to bear witness to Christ’s peace amid the destruction wrought by conflict. By Devin Watkins As the Reunion of Aid Agencies for...

Pope Leo XIV picks SA bishop for top Vatican role
Cape Town – Pope Leo XIV has appointed South African Bishop Thulani Victor Mbuyisa CMM of the Kokstad Diocese in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) as a member of the Dicastery for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life, the...

A Congolese Customs Worker Who Resisted Corruption is Beatified By The Vatican
By Nicole Winfield, Justin Kambumba, and Chinedu Asadu Associated Press ROME (AP) — The Vatican on Sunday beatified a Congolese customs worker who was killed for resisting a bribe, giving young people in a place with endemic corruption a new model...

How One American Parish Put the Catechism Online — and Caught the Vatican’s Eye
Recently, the Vatican rolled out a major website redesign for the first time since its launch in the mid-1990s. One thing that caught my eye was that the link to the Catechism of the Catholic Church was moved to the site’s front page. I grinned...