News from outside of Canada.
March 6, 2026
The Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon issued a statement in which they called "for an immediate halt to the spiral of violence" currently taking place in the Middle East.
Catholic bishops in Sudan and South Sudan have expressed distress at the brutal killing of nearly 178 people in northern South Sudan on March 2.
Legendary football coach Lou Holtz died March 4 in Orlando, Florida, at the age of 89, surrounded by his family. Holtz is best remembered for his 11 seasons in South Bend, where he revitalized the Notre Dame football program.
March 5, 2026
The Vatican secretary of state appealed for peace and diplomacy on the fifth day of the U.S. and Israel-Iran war, warning that recognition of any country's right to wage "preventive war" according to their own criteria would risk the world "being set ablaze."
The Catholic community in northern Iraq has been shaken by the attack of an explosive drone hitting the Chaldean Catholic complex in Ankawa, outside of Irbil.
Nigeria is facing "a terrifying crisis of religious violence," the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its 2026 annual report, released March 4.
March 3, 2026
As the scourge of war spreads across the Middle East, including Lebanon, the ones paying the ultimate price are the innocent men, women and children who want to live in peace, said Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop Georges Iskandar of Tyre.
March 2, 2026
As the United States and Israel continued their campaign against Iran, bishops and Christian leaders appeal for peace before the conflict escalates any further.
Pope Leo XIV issued a fervent appeal for return of diplomacy in "these dramatic hours" in the Middle East and Iran, condemning use of weapons that cause "destruction, pain, and death."
The leader of the U.S. Catholic bishops has echoed Pope Leo XIV's call for deescalation and dialogue in the Middle East, following the joint attacks on Iran launched Feb. 28 by the U.S. and Israel.
