JERUSALEM - Christian leaders in the Holy Land expressed deep concern over growing Israeli-Palestinian violence, as the two sides clashed in Jerusalem and Israel launched airstrikes into Gaza, responding to rocket attacks.

VATICAN CITY -- With Holy Week celebrations closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis postponed the traditional Good Friday collection for the Holy Land to September.

VATICAN CITY -- As Advent approached, Pope Francis gave a small fragment of Jesus' crib back to Catholics in the Holy Land.

JERUSALEM -- Two unearthed Byzantine church complexes shed light on the tradition of Christian pilgrimage in the Holy Land.

JERUSALEM (CNA) -- Peace, mutual equality, and respect must be the foundation of progress in Israeli-Palestinian relations, despite continued setbacks, the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land said this week.

When Vincent Cheng closed his eyes as he sang, the walls of the Church of All Nations faded away and he imagined Jesus on His knees praying fervently before the Father hours before His Passion.

Sacred music meets the most sacred place in the world next month as the MOSAIC vocal ensemble and the St. Michael’s Choir School (SMCS) alumni choir embark on their first performance pilgrimage. 

JERUSALEM – Bishops from North America, Europe and South Africa who joined this year's Holy Land Coordination reiterated their solidarity with all of Israel's Christians and called for their equal inclusion in Israeli society.

At Bethlehem University education is not about personal fulfillment. It’s the only way to transform a society that has been locked in conflict with Israel for 70 years, where unemployment runs at nearly one-third of the working age population (32.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2018, according to the World Bank) and a quarter of the population lives on less than $5.50 per day.

VATICAN – The 30,000 members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem fund about 80 percent of the annual budget of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ensuring that Catholic parishes and seminaries, schools and hospitals in Israel, Palestine and Jordan continue to function, said U.S. Cardinal Edwin F. O'Brien.

VATICAN – Warning that violence will never bring peace, Pope Francis urged all sides to do all they can to foster dialogue in the Middle East.

The following is the Easter message from Bishop Lionel Gendron, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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Pope Paul V was a controversial leader in turbulent times. His biography cites a fondness for luxury, penchant for nepotism and persecution of Galileo, but also lauds his completion of St. Peter’s Basilica, contributions to education and the arts, encouragement of New World missionaries and the canonization St. Charles Borromeo.

JERUSALEM – Christian leaders in the Holy Land reopened the Church of the Holy Sepulcher Feb. 28 after the Israeli government set up a negotiating team to resolve a municipal dispute over property taxes.

JERUSALEM – Protesting several recent actions they described as a "systematic campaign ... against the churches and the Christian community in the Holy Land," the heads of Christian churches announced Feb. 25 they were closing of the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for an undisclosed period of time.