Vatican & World News 23.03.2026

0:00In the headlines this Monday, March 23rd, Pope Leo meets with the Italian airline responsible for bringing him on his apostolic journeys. The prior of Taze's community reflects on what he considers the biggest danger in the West regarding the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. And the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem cancels this year's Palm Sunday procession due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. In the Vatican, I'm Kelsey Gussi. Ahead of Pope Leo's second international journey on March 28th, he welcomed executives and staff of the Italian national airlines Ita Edweys at the Vatican, they are responsible for bringing the Holy Father on his apostolic journeys. The Pope said airplanes should bring peace and connection, not be used as carriers of death and destruction. Devon Watkins reports.

1:01Just 20 days ahead of his apostolic journey to four African nations, Pope Leo XIV met on Monday with the delegation of executives and staff from Ita Edweys, Italy's national airline and Lufthansa Group. The Pope thanked Ita Edweys and its predecessor Alitalia for its service to the Pope's beginning with Saint Paul VI. He praised his qualified and experienced professionals for creating a serene atmosphere for the Pope, his entourage, and the journalists to fly with him to cover his apostolic journeys. Pope Leo said flights offer an eloquent symbol of the mission of the successive Peter in contemporary society, as he always travels to countries as a messenger of peace. Papalists are not what they always should be, namely bridges of dialogue and counter and fraternity, he said. However, noted the Pope, aircraft have often been used in theaters of war to bring destruction and fear. Vittori di Pace.

2:03Airplanes should always be carriers of peace, never of war, he said. No one should be afraid that threats of death and destruction might come from the sky. After the tragic experiences of the 20th century, aerial bombing should have been banned forever, he said. Instead, they still exist in technological development. Positive in itself is being placed at the service of war. The Pope said this represents regression, not progress. In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV renewed his gratitude to the employees of Eta Airways for their help in his mission to spread the peace of the gospel. In our current scenario, he said, it becomes even more important to trace roots of peace in the skies. I'm Devon Watkins. Russian forces have opened a spring offensive in eastern Ukraine, deploying dozens of tanks and armored vehicles in what Ukraine officials say is a shift from last year's reliance on small infantry units.

3:04Nathan Morley shares the latest. Ukraine's military says its troops are heavily outnumbered along several parts of the front and are depending on drones to disrupt advancing Russian units. Analysts say the scale of the assault marks a change in Russian tactics after months of attempts to infiltrate Ukrainian lines with small groups of soldiers. The escalation comes as President Zelensky warns that the conflict in the Middle East is complicating Ukraine's diplomatic efforts. He said meetings are being postponed because of the crisis involving Iran, adding that Russia is taking advantage of the distraction to intensify attacks in the East. The war now in its fifth year is increasingly shaped by surveillance and strike drones, making resupply of frontline positions difficult in several areas. One focus of Russian operations is the town of Lyman in Donetsk, on the edge of Ukraine's so-called fortress belt, a defensive line protecting the larger city of Slavicansk.

4:09The Institute for the Study of War says there are signs that Russia may expand ground operations towards other key strong points in the belt, including Kamatorsk and Kostya Ningva. The developments come as the U.S. and the Ukrainian delegations met in Miami on Saturday, even as peace talks between Moscow and Kiev remain stalled. For Vatican radio, this is Nathan Morley reporting. Once the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the Tasey community has been providing spiritual and physical aid and solidarity to the people of Ukraine. Brother Matthew the prior of the Tasey community met with Pope Lele XIV this morning and discussed unity, peace, the Middle East, and Ukraine. He then spoke to Vatican radio Spitlana Dukovic about what he considers the biggest danger in the West regarding these two conflicts. I think, for me, the biggest danger in the West today is that we fall into a spirit of indifference. To say these wars are far away, they don't really concern us when, in fact, what's happening

5:14in Ukraine and also what's happening in the Middle East, it can have a direct consequence upon us and not simply because the petrol is getting more expensive or something like this. It's the question about our freedom to exist as nations and our freedom to believe in the faith which has been given to us and those things they're fundamental. And if we fall into an indifference, then very, very quickly these situations will be also on our shoulders as well. So how can we remember those who are struggling for freedom, those who are struggling for the right to exist in the different countries? And I think that can only be done by seeking concrete signs of solidarity, of going and visiting, of managing to maintain contact in one way or another. And I think that would be what I would say to those I know who have friends in Ukraine or in the Middle East, keep in touch with those friends. Yeah, don't forget them. Now is it a bigger challenge than before? I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. There've always been challenges.

6:14But there's a challenge, as I said, not to become indifference and not to become discouraged. When I go to Ukraine, then I see the incredible resilience that's there of people who don't let themselves be discouraged, even though discouragement is there for some. We mustn't hide the incredible suffering that is there, but there's a resilience. And when I was in Zaporizia for Christmas, then I saw that. People who live from their faith, and I spoke about no experiencing for the first time Christmas where the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness wasn't able to overcome it. We need the testimony of the people who are living in these situations. We need to hear their stories. We need to visit the cemeteries to understand really what's going on. That was Brother Matthew Pryor of the Tezy community talking about the danger in the West of becoming indifferent to the suffering of those in war-torn countries. And as the conflict in the Middle East enters its fourth week, the United Nations reports

7:16that several cities, excuse me, sites of cultural significance, have been damaged in Iran, Israel, and Lebanon. Moreover, humanitarian aid struggles to reach those most in need. As Claudia Torres reports, the overall impact of the conflict continues to have far-reaching effects. The war in the Middle East is well into its fourth week, and the humanitarian emergency it has sparked continues to be the focus of international attention, along with the energy crisis caused by attacks on shipping in the state of Hormuz and other oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf region. The Donald Trump abruptly announced that the United States and Iran are discussing ending the war, and that he will hold off on military strikes against Iranian power and energy sites for five days. In southern Lebanon, repeated evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military are still affecting communities, as hostilities escalate south of the Lytani River. Latest data from the UN aid coordination office reports more than 822,000 people have been displaced, including nearly 300,000 children.

8:17This ongoing conflict in the region is disrupting supply chains around the world, severely, and is driving up the cost of basic goods, deepening vulnerability worldwide, the head of the UN emergency operations office warned on Monday. Almost a month into the conflict, the impact extends far beyond the Middle East region, with soaring oil, fuel, and gas prices shaking the global economy. The UN also reported that humanitarian operations are under pressure, too, amid closures of airspace, shipping routes and key crossings, all hindering access to essential supplies, including medicines. Attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage for global energy trade threatened to cause additional price increases and delays. Countries in Africa and Asia are likely to bear the brunt, as disruptions in energy and fertilizer markets put food security at risk. I'm Claudia Torres. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem canceled this year's Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. Cardinal Pietratista Pizzabala, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, announced this and other changes

9:20to Holy Week celebrations in a statement released on March 23rd. Isabella de Carvalho tells us more. Cardinal Pizzabala announced that the traditional Palm Sunday procession will be replaced by a moment of prayer in Jerusalem at a location yet to be determined. He also explained that the chrysum mass of Holy Thursday, usually held in the basilic of the Holy Sepulchre, has been postponed to a later date, as soon as the situation allows, and possibly within the Easter season. In the statement, the Cardinal highlighted that the situation is constantly evolving, making it impossible to provide definitive indications for the Holy Week celebrations. He explained that the Patriarchate is organizing itself one day at a time. However, he noted that the Patriarchate's churches remain open and perish priests and clergy will do their best to encourage prayer and the participation of the faithful in Easter celebrations. The harshness of this time of war, which affects us all, he emphasized, to day bears the added burden of not being able to celebrate Easter together and with dignity. This is a wound that adds to the many others inflicted by the conflict he wrote, adding that we must not allow ourselves to be discouraged.

10:20The way may not gather as we would like, let us not give up prayer. He invited people to make up for these restrictions with moments of prayer in families and religious communities. In particular, he invited everyone to unite and prayer on Saturday, March 28th, by reciting the rosary to ask for peace and serenity, especially for those suffering because of the conflict. We will do so with humble hearts, certain that our prayer, even while we are physically distant, is capable of drawing upon the strength of God's love, which unites us in a spirit of hope and trust the Cardinal insisted. We desire peace to first and foremost for our troubled hearts, only prayer can give it to the Cardinal wrote. Easter, which we celebrate in the name of Christ's Passion, death and resurrection, reminds us that no darkness, not even that of war, can have the last word. The Cardinal concluded, I'm Isabella de Carvalho. Only three people born in the United States of America have officially been canonized as saints in the Catholic Church, but there are currently at least 100 causes of canonization open for U.S. poor men and women. One of the newest additions to that list is Servant of God, Sister Anela Zervas.

11:23Fatik and Radio spoke to the Diascim postulator for her cause about her influence on young people today, that is with Amanda Zervas. She spoke about her cause and her evangelization 100 years after her death. Her short life really shows how ordinary life can become quite extraordinary when it's completely given to God. She's such a beautiful example for young people today because she shows us how to live our identity as sons and daughters of God and as faithful children of the Church. So her life was filled with joy, kindness, prayer and a love for God, but people especially remembered her for her remarkable kindness. One sister, I love this, even said that she had the sweetest smile she'd ever seen, and that she was always thinking of others. And I think this can remind young people and really all of us, all of us, was seeing today that holiness, which means aligning our wills with God's will, when you get down to it happens in our little choices, our everyday acts that make up our lives. She also had a wonderful sense of humor, even when she was in pain, which is quite rare

12:26because if you think about who we're suffering in our day to day, we don't often find it to be quite humorous. She once gave witness to a sister who told her that she would get through suffering one day and be happy again. So the sister was telling her, she'll be happy again one day once the suffering is passed. But Sister Nella responded, I'm happy right now. We can have peace and joy even amid our trials because God is faithful and she really, really believed that. Also for our young people, Sister Nella used her gifts really quite generously. She was musical. She played the organ and taught music and would offer these talents in service to God and and in others. But above all, I would say she loved Jesus so deeply. She visited him in the taternacle as often as she could and called him her truest and surest friend. I'd have to say personally, that's been really convicting for me. That is a safe place that's where her intimacy grew with Jesus. It's Bishop Cousin, the Bishop of the Diocese of Crookston, who's overseeing the cause,

13:30which he presented his address to the U.S. Bishop during his consultation phase. We're opening up the cause, spoke about how important her witness is when it comes to Eucharistic adoration, especially because so many young people discover their vocation dance. And that's all the time we have for today. Many thanks go to the dedicated Lucoro Cien Studio and of course a special thanks to all of you for joining us. Join us again tomorrow for more. In the Vatican, I'm Kelsey Gussi.