BEIRUT -- Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai warned that the Christian presence in the Middle East is shrinking and church leaders "are called to face the winds that blow in our homelands."

VATICAN CITY -- Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, met with the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors to the Vatican to express concern that "possible unilateral actions" on their part would further jeopardize peace in the region.

In the wake of rising tensions in the Middle East which have seen the assassination of Iran’s top general and the downing of a civilian airliner, Canada can expect an escalation of refugee applications, say representative of aid agencies familiar with the region.

CAIRO -- Amid deadly protests in Iraq, a people's uprising in Lebanon and continued suffering in Syria, Catholic leaders of the Middle East called upon officials of their homelands to "ensure safety, peace and tranquility and stability for their citizens."

On July 7, 2018, in Bari, Italy, at an important ecumenical gathering of all Christian leaders from the Middle East, Pope Francis made a jarring reference to a Middle East without Christians. 

WASHINGTON -- In a room full of religious leaders, politicians and other supporters of protecting Christians threatened in the Middle East, Sam Brownback, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, urged more prayer and action to continue supporting persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

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.

The Christian crisis in the Middle East will continue to absorb much of the time and money raised by the Catholic Near East Welfare Association in Canada, CNEWA-Canada executive director Carl Hetu told The Catholic Register.

Separate terrorist attacks in the past five months have killed 80 people as they worshipped in New Zealand mosques, an American synagogue and a Philippines cathedral. These are just three among hundreds of attacks on worshippers over the past decade. 

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT – The clerical sex abuse of women religious is a problem in the Church and more must be done about it, said Pope Francis.

ABU DHABI, United Arab – Becoming the first Pope to ever celebrate Mass in the predominantly Muslim nation of United Arab Emirates, Pope Francis urged a crowd of more than 100,000 to be meek, peaceful and express their Christian identity by loving others.