Vatican & World News 29.03.2026

0:00In the headlines this Palm Sunday March 29th, Pope Leo at the Palm Sunday Mass says Jesus does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war. The Holy Father recalls how many Middle Eastern Christians suffer with Christ during Holy Week. And Israeli please stop the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the Vatican, I'm Debra Kessel, I'm Alubav. Beginning in the Vatican, Pope Leo the 14th, less than 24 hours from his whirlwind one-day avisolic journey to the Principality of Monaco that took place yesterday Saturday, celebrated Palm Sunday Mass in the Vatican. Devin Watkins has the story. On Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, Pope Leo the 14th celebrated Mass for the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.

1:01He reflected on Jesus' revelation of himself as the King of Peace, even as violence loomed around him. As Jesus walked the way of the cross, he said, we walk with him and contemplate his passion, which he bore for the sake of humanity as a gift of love. Lui che rimane fermo nella mittezza. He remained steadfast in meekness while others are stirring up violence at the Pope. He offers himself to embrace humanity even as others raise swords and clubs. Jesus he added came to bring life and light to the world even as darkness and death was about to engulf him. Pope Leo pointed out that Jesus desired to bring the world to the Father's arms and to tear down every barrier that keeps us from God and our neighbor. Being King of Peace several times, the Pope highlighted Jesus' actions in his passion that bear witness to his desire to bring peace. As he was crucified and put to death, Jesus did not arm or defend himself, but allowed himself to be led like a lamb to the slaughter.

2:01Ammanifestato, el volto mitte di dio. He revealed the gentle face of God who always rejects violence, he said. Rather than saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, embracing every crossborn in every time and place throughout human history. Pope Leo XIV went on to recall the prophet Isaiah's words, even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. Jesus is the King of Peace who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war, said the Pope. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them. He lamented the many wounds of the human family in our world today as people cry out to God with the painful groans of all those who are oppressed by violence and are victims of war. Christ King of Peace concluded Pope Leo cries out again from his cross. God is love, have mercy, lay down your weapons.

3:01Remember he said that you are brothers and sisters. I'm Devon Watkins. And before the Pope's Angela's address, he made a strong appeal. He remembered Christians in the Middle East, those who are suffering. And also today, Israeli police stopped the Latin patriarch from entering the church of the Holy Sepulchrena, joined press release, the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem and the coasters of the Holy Land report they were blocked from entering the church by the Israeli police, calling it a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure. That is Jones has the story. At the conclusion of the Palms and the Mass in St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV made the observation that precisely as the church contemplates the mystery of the Lord's passion, we cannot forget those who today truly share in his suffering. We are more than ever with the Christian priestess of the Middle East. The Pope drew the church's attention to the plight of Christians in the Middle East, saying their trial calls upon the conscience of all.

4:04And at the beginning of Holy Week, we are closer than ever in prayer to the Christians of the Middle East to suffer the consequences of a terrible conflict. And in many cases cannot fully live the rights of these Holy Days. He noted that the Pope invited the faithful to join him in raising their supplication to the Prince of Peace, that he may sustain peoples wounded by war and open concrete paths of reconciliation and peace. Meanwhile, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the custody of the Holy Land have released a joint statement stating that on the morning of Palm Sunday, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierre Batista Bicevalla, together with the custodians of the Holy Land, Franciscan Father Francesco Lleopo, the official guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, were both prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem as they made their way to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass. Released on Sunday, the statement said both Church leaders were stocked and root by Israeli

5:05police, while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act, and were forced to turn back. The statement noted that for the first time in centuries, the heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It described the event as a grave precedent, and disregarding the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, looked to Jerusalem. The statement said the Patriarch and the custodians of the Holy Land have acted with full responsibility since the start of the war, complying with all restrictions requiring that public gatherings be canceled, attendance prohibited, and arrangements be made to broadcast the celebrations to hundreds of millions of faithful worldwide, who, during these days of Easter, turned their eyes to Jerusalem and to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, preventing the entry of Cardinal Pizabala and Father Yehidbaugh who hold the highest ecclesiastical responsibility for

6:07the Catholic Church and Holy Places. The statement noted constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure. The joint statement further underscored that this hasty and fundamentally flawed decision stated by improper considerations represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the status quo. The Patriarch and custodians both expressed their profound sorrow to the Christian faithful in the Holy Land and around the world that prayer on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar has thus been prevented. And finally, popular before leading the recitation of the mid-day Andros prayer, entrusted to the Lord, seafarers, who are victims of war, saying he prays for the deceased, the wounded, and their families. He said, Earth, sky, and sea are created for life and for peace.

7:08Finally, he urged the Church to pray for all migrants who have died at sea, in particular for those who've lost their lives and recent days off the coast of the Greek island of Crete. Baghdad is Jones. After hearing those events in the Holy Land, we're going to stay in the Middle East and Nathan Morley is going to share with us the latest on the war in Iran and what is happening in the region. If anything, the situation in the Middle East is looking more dangerous than ever. Muhammad Baga Galabaf's comments follow the US announcement that around three and a half thousand personnel have arrived in the region on the warship USS Tripoli. The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, although it's not clear whether Donald Trump will approve them. That's according to an article in the Washington Post. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that the US could achieve its goals in Iran without any ground troops. Meanwhile, strikes continue right across the Middle East with Israel saying its targeted

8:13temporary command centres in Iran. The human rights activist news agency Hanna says that as of 1700 Eastern time, that's 2100 hours GMT on the 28th of March, it had recorded at least 701 attacks across Iran. It said this is among the highest number of attacks recorded in a single day since the war broke out a month ago. Major infrastructure meanwhile across Gulf countries continues to be under attack. Emirates Global Aluminium says its main plant in Abu Dhabi has been significantly damaged. Yemen's Houthi rebels launched missile strikes towards Israel on Saturday. The Iran-backed group says there will be more attacks in the coming days. The crisis and its impact are continuing to spread. Egypt has ordered shops, restaurants and shopping centres to close at 9 o'clock in the evening, in an effort to conserve energy because of the war. The measures introduced by the Egyptian government also include dimming street lights and roadside

9:17advertising. Elsewhere in Lebanon, UN teams have worn civilians are enduring intensified Israeli strikes with little warning about impending attacks. The development comes as the Israeli military continues to target locations linked to Hezbollah militants who began firing rockets at Israel soon after Israeli and U.S. bombing began in Iran. The UN Refugee Agency's representative in Lebanon is Carolina Lindholm Billing. The second strike that was close to several collective shelters hosting this place, there was no warning, it was a direct target. As far as I'm aware, there have been no sites designated as safe where civilians have been advised to go to. As it stands, figures show that more than one million people have now fled their homes in Lebanon in the last few weeks alone. Also working in Lebanon, the UN agency UN Women is reporting that the trauma faced by

10:20families forced to flee their homes at night without knowing where to go means many people are losing their livelihoods and everything that is familiar. For Vatican Radio, this is Nathan Morley reporting. This weekend on Saturday, Pope Leo made a whirlwind one day at the Salt Lake Journey to Monaco. The Pope encouraged the small European nation to place its material prosperity at the service of humanity, law and justice. In the cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at the heart of the Principality, the Pope gathered with the Catholic Unity of Monaco for the celebration of midday prayer, and he offered there a reflection centered on Christ as our advocate before the Father. Following the encounter with the Catholic community, the Pope made the short journey in the Pope Mobile to the Church of St. Davota, the microstate's patron saint. The last item on his hectic morning schedule was a meeting with some of Monaco's young people. After lunch and a brief rest, Pope Leo wrapped up his visit celebrating Mass, he said in

11:23his homily that he called on members of the Church Monaco to be peacemakers and to bring happiness to others through their faith. Pope Leo also focused on the wars and conflicts plating the world and said, we are to not grow accustomed to the clamor of weapons and images and that every life cut short wounds the body of Christ. Be sure to go to our Vatican News website and YouTube to watch again Pope Leo's Apostolic Journey and go to our website for articles and full texts. And also from the Vatican, new data has been prepared by the Central Office of Church Statistics and the data in the Anuadio Pondafito reveal several developments in the life of the Catholic Church worldwide for 2025. It speaks about the presence of Catholics in the world and over the past two years the number of baptized Catholics worldwide has remained stable at approximately 17.8% reflecting

12:27growth roughly aligned with the rate of global population increase. The contribution of different continents to the overall figure varies, Europe remains the least dynamic continent yet Africa shows a remarkable increase with growth nearly five times that of Asia and above the continent's demographic growth. The number of Catholics in Africa rose from just over 281 million in 2023 to over 288 million in 2024. These differing trends reinforce the increasing weight of the African Church with a share of global Catholics rising from 19.9% to 20.3% while Europe shared a client slightly. Also in the Americas, Catholics continue to represent a significant proportion namely a 47.7% of the global total. The proportion of Catholics remains stable in Asia and Oceania at 11% and 0.9% of the global total respectively.

13:28And be sure to look at those documents that are now available in bookshelves, the Anuario, if you have the opportunity. And that brings us to the end of this edition of Vatican and World News. Please vote who are a website for these and other stories also our social media. Many thanks to Lucaroci and the studio in the Vatican this Palm Sunday. I'm Debra Castelana Lupov.