Tuesday, August 11, 2026

U.S. shift away from prioritizing international religious freedom

Spanish bishop calls for a vigil for peace, justice, and stability in Ceuta after immigration crisis

In a letter addressed to the priests, religious, and faithful of Ceuta, Bishop Ramón Valdivia invited the faithful to pray on the eve of the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary.

Report warns of U.S. shift away from prioritizing international religious freedom

A report warns that the U.S. has shifted away from a focus on international religious freedom. Alternatively, the State Department says Trump has made the U.S. “a global leader” on the issue.

Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France seeks donations as it prepares for Pope Leo’s visit

Most of the upgrades will remain at the shrine for the long-term benefit of pilgrims, so any donations are viewed as an investment in Lourdes’ future.

7 things to know about St. Clare of Assisi, the patron saint of television

The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Clare of Assisi on Aug. 11.

Why I turned my board room into a dojo

Why I turned my board room into a dojo

By Erica Liu

Seven campus ministry leaders reflect on young people and activism

The Ignatian Solidarity Network continues the Jesuit legacy of social justice

By Jim Sweeney

What anti-equity policies mean for higher education, particularly HBCUs

By Ira Murray

The little-noticed Supreme Court case that could impact where people pray

After aid cuts, U.S. announces $2 billion for Christian groups*
Christianity Today: The Trump administration named World Vision to lead a new Christian consortium that will support HIV treatment and disaster relief.

Cary pastor in ICE custody received little medication before stroke, daughter says*
The News & Observer: She posted a video to her social media July 31 alleging her father, a 55-year-old Cary pastor, had been denied food, water and his stroke medication for weeks before the stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body.

‘We garden on our knees’: Kew Theology & Gardening project explores faith, nature and climate
Religion News Service: In a corner of west London, an Anglican church is using its proximity to one of the most famous botanical gardens in the world, Kew Gardens, as a reason for a new venture linking theology and nature.

The little-noticed Supreme Court case that could impact where people pray
CNN: For a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court that almost always sides with religious interests, the appeal is primed to expand the power of churches, synagogues and other religious entities to challenge zoning laws that restrict their access to residential neighborhoods.

Meditation, hunt-a-monk games and 2 hours of silence: Welcome to Buddhist summer camp
Religion News Service: While Christian and Jewish summer camps have flourished for more than a century, Buddhist camps remain rare, leaving a handful — like Dharma Camp — to come up with their own traditions.

Monday, August 10, 2026

Amish Teens Stay in a Scottish Castle

May 14, 2026

Simple Amish teenagers are welcomed into one of Scotland's grandest estates, facing fox hunting, polo matches, and lavish wealth that challenges everything they believe in. Five Amish teenagers from the American Midwest travel to Great Britain to experience life outside their community. They spend time with British families of different social backgrounds, discovering how their hosts navigate faith, education, and social norms while comparing these experiences to their own deeply held traditions and upbringing.

This Syrian Town Still Speaks JESUS' Language

Mar 27, 2026

Huge thanks to our friends Mary & Rami, who helped us tremendously while traveling through Syria. If you'd like to support them, or if you're planning your own trip to Syria and need guidance, check out their website: syrianguides.com In the last episode, we left Baghdad and continued further west, crossing into Syria. Over the past 12 years, Syria has frequently been in the news, mostly because of war, political unrest, and more recently, the fall of Assad. Now, one year after the new government has taken over, we want to explore this historic country and see what the situation is really like on the ground. Syria is incredibly diverse, and in this video, we travel across the country from Damascus to Aleppo. Along the way, we visit one of the oldest Christian villages in the world — Maaloula — where Aramaic, the language of Jesus, is still spoken today. We then continue to Homs in central Syria, one of the most heavily destroyed cities in the country, make a brief stop in Idlib, often considered Syria's most conservative city, and finally reach Aleppo, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and, together with Damascus, a key stop along the ancient Silk Road.

The Biggest Questions About God & Science

Aug 7, 2026

This is the complete conversation—a deep dive into science, faith, reason, meaning, and the evidence for God. What happens when you follow the evidence wherever it leads? In this wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Kevin Klar sits down with Dr. Stephen Meyer to explore some of the biggest questions at the intersection of science, philosophy, Christianity, and the search for truth. Dr. Meyer discusses the evidence for intelligent design, the information contained in DNA, the remarkable fine-tuning of the universe, the multiverse, and whether explanations based on blind, unguided forces can adequately account for the world we observe. They also explore the philosophical questions underneath the science: Does something have to be eternal? If so, is the ultimate reality mind or matter? What does the cosmological argument tell us about the origin of the universe? And does the evidence actually point toward a Creator? Dr. Meyer also shares his personal journey to Christianity, including the existential crisis and search for meaning that led him to investigate philosophy, science, and the evidence for God. Along the way, they discuss evolution, Fred Hoyle's famous observations about the universe, Thomas Nagel's admission about the philosophical assumptions that can influence how we interpret evidence, the "God of the gaps" objection, and why the logic behind the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provides an interesting analogy for intelligent design.

Study Group 9: “Debacle” or Fruit of Vatican II?

Written by Patric Peters

Nearly three months have passed since the publication of the synod’s final report from Study Group 9, titled “Theological Criteria and Synodal Methodologies for Shared Discernment of Emerging Doctrinal, Pastoral, and Ethical Issues.”[1] Though receiving much press due to its discussion of homosexuality, the document in fact proposes something more fundamental to the Church’s life: “a change of paradigm in the way the Church addresses the most difficult doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical questions.”[2]

Reactions were hot. For Crisis, the paradigm shift marks an “End of Catholic Moral Doctrine.”[3] The National Catholic Register called the document a “scandalous debacle,” arguing that it challenges the “essential dogmatic and hierarchical character” of the Church.[4] While such responses express a not uncommon critique of Rome (“the study groups, after all, were a creation of Francis”),[5] the document has perplexed more than the usual critics. Even if a welcome surprise for many, the document seems to have come out of left field — a left field from Rome!

When German Catholics and Protestants share a church

After Charlottesville, a historian asks: Did America miss the point?
Religion News Service: Antisemitism has been here before, argues James Loeffler, a historian of modern Jewish history, in a new book. But public understanding of it has not necessarily grown.

A new bipartisan bill in Congress would create protest-free buffer zones around houses of worship
Religion News Service: The bipartisan bill is intended to prevent protests. It follows a rowdy demonstration outside a Manhattan synagogue last year.

When German Catholics and Protestants share a church
DW: Each year, dozens of churches are decommissioned, demolished or repurposed in Germany. But there is a new, unique development.

A Democrat sounds the alarm on Christian Nationalism in Congress*
The New York Times: Representative Jared Huffman of California, the only self-declared “humanist” in Congress, writes in a new book that the separation of church and state is in grave danger.

The idea of ‘sin’ can cause shame and trauma. But what if it’s used as a cue to act?
The Guardian: Instead of “being” or “doing” the wrong thing, a more useful understanding of sin may be of “missing the mark” — a sense of not quite right-ness.

Study shows society’s religious norms can affect children’s anxiety

The study, which looked at data over three decades, reports that a country’s religious values may serve as “a protective factor” against anxiety issues in children and adolescents.

Denver healing could move a nun jailed by communists toward sainthood

The postulator of Blessed Zdenka Schelingová’s cause has delivered the dossier on an alleged Denver healing to the archbishop of Bratislava, advancing her path toward canonization.

Nigerian bishop in Muslim-majority region says being ‘creative minority’ is key to diocese’s mission

At the SIGNIS World Congress, Bishop Gerald Mamman Musa said the young Katsina Diocese in northwestern Nigeria will focus on “transforming society” rather than on the challenges Christians face there.

Pope Leo XIV: Stop vicious cycle of violence in Sudan and Ukraine

The pontiff also appealed for peace in the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia during his Aug. 9 Angelus address.

The Vatican Discloses Its Financial Statements for 2026

Day-by-Day Itinerary of Pope Leo XIV’s Visit to France, with Stops in Paris, Lourdes, and Metz

ZENIT Staff

On Friday, August 7, the Holy See released the initial details of Pope Leo XIV’s Apostolic Journey to France, scheduled for September 25-28, 2026.

Leo XIV, the Shrine of Lourdes, and Rupnik’s mosaics: a papal visit as new evidence emerges against the former Jesuit

Covadonga Asturias

The decision is especially significant because Rupnik’s work is not confined to one church. His mosaics became extraordinarily influential in Catholic visual culture during the first decades of the 21st century. They can be found in major churches and shrines in France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United States, as well as in prominent Vatican settings

The Vatican Discloses Its Financial Statements for 2026: Here Are the Numbers—and the Challenges Ahead

Jorge Enrique Mújica

According to the information provided to ZENIT by APSA, around €30 million in trading gains were generated in 2024, compared with less than €500,000 in 2025. The sharp fall therefore says as much about the extraordinary nature of 2024 as it does about the underlying performance of the following year.