The Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) expressed its “profound pastoral concern for the people of Cuba” who are facing “grave humanitarian hardships” following the U.S. government’s decision to cut off foreign oil supplies to the island.
President Donald Trump asserted that “Cuba’s going to fall” after being asked by Politico on March 5 about the U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iran, which began last weekend, killing the Iranian supreme leader and his top military leaders and triggering an escalation of violence throughout the Middle East.
“We cut off all oil, all money, or we cut off everything coming in from Venezuela, which was the sole source. And they want to make a deal,” Trump said.
These measures have resulted in “acute shortages of fuel and essential supplies causing widespread power cuts, disruptions to hospitals and water systems, and serious threats to food security and basic public services,” the Caribbean bishops said.
On March 4, a blackout left two-thirds of Cuba without electricity. Authorities of the Castro regime, which has ruled the country for 67 years, reported that the “fundamental cause” of the blackout was “the weakness of the electrical system due to the unavailability of fuel” to power backup generators.
These power outages have become increasingly frequent in recent weeks, severely impacting the daily lives of Cubans. The AEC noted that these conditions could “deepen the anguish and suffering among ordinary citizens who have already endured much.”
“While Cuba stands in need of renewal and positive changes, it does not need more pain. Nor should our brothers and sisters on the island feel isolated from us in their suffering, especially when we have been recipients of their own generosity in the past,” the Caribbean bishops said.
“The Church cannot remain silent when dignity is threatened and access to food, health care, and basic necessities becomes increasingly uncertain,” they added. For the AEC, the priority is “families, the elderly, children, and the most vulnerable,” who are the ones “who bear the heaviest burden of circumstances beyond their control.”
The bishops reaffirmed “the fundamental principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence” in responding to human needs, especially those of the most vulnerable, to whom aid must reach “without political manipulations or delays.”
“The care we offer to those who are hurting reflects the works of mercy by which we will be judged,” they stated, also expressing their closeness to all the Cuban people and the local Church.
“Disagreements among nations must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, rather than by coercion or conflict. Humanitarian considerations must never be overshadowed by political or strategic interests,” they stated.
The Caribbean bishops invited all the faithful of the region to join in prayer for the relief of Cuban suffering, for wisdom for political leaders, and for finding “paths to peace, justice, and reconciliation.”
“May solidarity replace indifference and may charity overcome division,” they urged.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
As the Middle East reels under the weight of an increasingly complex war, Lebanese civilians once again find themselves paying the price of a familiar, painful scene. Against this backdrop, the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon issued a statement combining a clear spiritual stance, a bold national demand, and an urgent humanitarian appeal.
The council opened its statement by voicing deep concern over the dangerous escalation of armed conflicts in Lebanon and the wider region, the killing of innocent victims, forced displacement, and worsening humanitarian suffering.
The bishops reaffirmed their full alignment with Pope Leo XIV’s position that “violence is never the right choice,” stressing that peace is not a secondary option but rather “a human duty and a shared responsibility.”
Describing Lebanon as “a land of message and shared coexistence,” the council called on political leaders to keep the country out of regional conflicts and to protect national unity and civil peace. The statement also urged that weapons be restricted to the authority of the state “in a way that safeguards sovereignty, strengthens stability, and keeps Lebanon from gambling with its future.”
The council appealed to the international community and relevant bodies to do everything possible to prevent further escalation and to advance just solutions that protect the rights of the region’s peoples and uphold human dignity. The bishops expressed their conviction that “justice is the sure path to lasting peace.”
The statement also called on believers and all people of goodwill to extend help to those remaining in their villages and to welcome displaced civilians, so that the witness of love may be stronger than the logic of violence, echoing Christ’s words: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
Finally, the patriarchs and bishops urged the faithful to persevere in prayer for peace, asking God to “grant our troubled world a just and lasting peace, lead hearts to reconciliation, and steady the steps of the Lebanese on the paths of fraternity and harmony, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace.”
This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
St. John’s University’s recent decision to cease recognizing faculty labor unions after 56 years has stirred a mix of criticism and support.
A Catholic Vincentian college with campuses in Queens and Manhattan, St. John’s Universityhas about 19,000 students, including 3,000 graduate students, 39% of whom identify as Catholic, according to the university’s enrollment numbers. Tuition is reported to be about $51,000 per year.
University president Father Brian Shanley, OP, announced in a Feb. 19 email to faculty that the university would no longer recognize its two unions, the St. John’s University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (SJU-AAUP) and the Faculty Association — both formed in 1970.
An estimated 200 faculty and students gathered to protest the decision in February.
University spokesman Brian Browne said the decision was made to ensure the university is “sustainable” going forward.
“Withdrawing recognition from the faculty union was not something we did lightly, but it is necessary to be able to advance our organizational mission,” Browne said. “This will allow St. John’s the flexibility required to innovate while continuing to support our faculty and, most importantly, deliver on our promise to our students.”
“As the landscape of higher education undergoes a profound transformation, our commitment to providing an exceptional and sustainable educational experience consistent with our mission requires us to be agile and innovative,“ Browne said.
Sophia Bell, who has assumed the leadership role after Fred Cocozzelli stepped down as president of the St. John’s chapter of the AAUP, called the decision “a disastrous mistake.”
“[Father Brian Shanley] is violating New York state law and ignoring decades of St. John’s institutional practice and centuries of Catholic social teaching around respect for labor and workers,” Bell said of the university president.
“His shortsighted mistake is deeply destabilizing to our university and will harm St. John’s students, faculty, families, and community,” Bell continued. “He needs to return to the table now and repair the harm he has caused to our university and everyone whose lives it touches.”
As religious institutions, Catholic colleges are independent from the federal labor board, meaning that federal legal requirements requiring unions do not apply. In 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) “held that it has no jurisdiction over the faculty at religious institutions of higher education.” The university declined to comment on the legal aspect but referred EWTN News to the 2020 decision.
Barbara Mistick, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), said she supports the university exercising its religious exemption.
“NAICU has for many years supported and advanced the rights of private, religious institutions to be exempt from rules governing the formation of faculty unions,” Mistick said in a statement shared with EWTN News.
“The rights of faith-based institutions like St. John’s University to exercise their religious exemption has been repeatedly affirmed by multiple NLRB and court decisions,” Mistick added. “NAICU will continue to support its religious members in exercising this exemption.”
The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), of which St. John’s University is a member, voiced support for the religious exemption in a statement shared with EWTN News.
“While ACCU does not take a position on unionization, the association respects the university’s choice, as a private, Catholic institution, to invoke its religious exemption, knowing St. John’s has made significant efforts to resolve internal differences collaboratively and in good faith,” the statement read.
Catholic social teaching
In the Catholic Church’s most famous teaching on the dignity of the worker, Rerum Novarum — an encyclical by Pope Leo XIII from May 1891 — the pope advocated for the importance of “workingmen’s unions.”
“Such unions should be suited to the requirements of this our age — an age of wider education, of different habits, and of far more numerous requirements in daily life,” the encyclical reads.
Responding to claims that the university violated Catholic social teaching with this decision, St. John’s University spokesperson Browne said the decision was for “the common good.”
“Catholic social teaching calls us to advance the common good for our entire community, which requires balancing the needs of all,” Browne said. “As a Vincentian institution, our primary responsibility is to our students.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the common good “concerns the life of all” and “calls for prudence from each, and even more from those who exercise the office of authority” (CCC, 1906).
“Catholic teaching asks every group to align its focus with the common good,” Browne continued. “This decision allows for a more direct and collaborative partnership with our faculty, ensuring we can adapt and innovate together to secure the long-term health of the university and deliver the best possible outcomes for our students, which is the ultimate expression of our mission."
Browne also added that the decision “is not about reducing faculty compensation or benefits or changing the faculty tenure process” and noted that the administration is “moving forward with the wage increases and health insurance premium relief outlined in our last, best, and final offer.”
“At St. John’s, we believe the best way to support our faculty is to ensure St. John’s is a thriving, sustainable, and innovative institution for the long term,” Browne said. “Our primary goal remains to protect and enhance the value of a St. John’s education and to build a sustainable, mission-driven university that remains faithful to its Catholic values.”
When asked about Catholic social teaching, Christopher Denny, president of the Faculty Association and a theology professor at St. John’s University, urged the administration to set an example.
“Presidents and provosts at Roman Catholic institutions should honor the teaching of the Church’s magisterium by supporting the rights of faculty and staff when they choose to unionize and to bargain collectively,” Denny told EWTN News.
“Students at Catholic universities learn about Catholic social teaching not only through classroom instruction; college students also learn about Catholic social teaching by watching the example set by university administrators,” Denny continued.
“In his encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI wrote: ‘The repeated calls issued within the Church’s social doctrine, beginning with Rerum Novarum, for the promotion of workers’ associations that can defend their rights must therefore be honored today even more than in the past,’” Denny said.
“At an audience this past fall with labor leaders from Chicago, Pope Leo XIV told them to advocate for human dignity, and said to them, ‘By doing so, you are putting into practice the call of my beloved predecessor, Pope Francis, who urged every union to be reborn each day at the peripheries,’” he continued.
“At a time when higher education in the U.S. is dependent upon the labor of hundreds of thousands of underpaid adjunct faculty who have been pushed to the peripheries of their own schools, it is imperative that Catholic institutions model the ethical behavior they want to see present in our larger society,” Denny said.
He added: “Catholic universities must not simply talk about the Church’s social teaching. They must put it into practice every day in their educational communities.”
After a three-year legal battle, Maltese singer Matthew Grech, accused of publicly sharing how he abandoned a homosexual lifestyle after his conversion to Christianity, was finally acquitted on Wednesday, March 4.
The trial against the 36-year-old singer, a former contestant on “X Factor Malta,” began in April 2022 following an interview on the program “PMnews Malta” in which he spoke about his faith journey and how he left homosexuality behind, in a context that also addressed the topic of conversion therapy.
The singer expressed his disagreement with the term “conversion therapy” and stated that the deeper he went into his Christian faith, the more he understood that homosexuality “is not an identity as we make it nowadays.”
If someone “has sexual relations with a person of the same sex, they commit the homosexual act in God’s eyes, and that is a sin. Just like every other sin, one can repent from it and ask God for forgiveness and ask him for strength to overcome,” Grech stated in the interview, as reported by Christian Concern.
In 2016, Malta became the first country in Europe to ban practices aimed at changing sexual orientation. Following the broadcast of the program, LGBT activists sued Grech and the two presenters, Mario Camilleri and Rita Bonnici, initiating the first trial with international repercussions in an attempt to undermine the rights to freedom of religion and of the press.
After the 17th court hearing, the final verdict was reached: The three defendants — who had faced five months in prison — were acquitted by the judge, who considered the interview a personal expression of faith and not a platform for advertising so-called conversion therapies.
Speaking about the transformative power of Christ is not a crime
After the ruling, Grech thanked God on his Facebook profile “because justice has prevailed.” He maintained that he was never guilty of anything, “except speaking openly about my own life, about my spiritual journey to becoming a Christian, and the profound difference and freedom that my faith has made in every aspect of who I am.”
“Today’s decision is not just a personal vindication, it is a reaffirmation of a fundamental principle: speaking about one’s lived experience, including the transforming power of Christ, is not a crime. That this should happen in Malta with the support of the wider European political network should be a warning to the world,” he argued.
Grech also expressed his disagreement with legislation banning conversion therapies in his country, which he believes is being used as “a weapon against freedom of speech."
Following his experience, he urged the European Commission of the EU and the Maltese government to repeal the law, in which he said LGBT ideology is enshrined, and which is “being used against Christians to silence any alternative views to the dominant view on sexuality and gender.”
The singer, who belongs to an evangelical church and volunteers with gay Christians who wish to live according to their faith, has used social media for years as a means of evangelization, reminding people that the Bible says that homosexuals have been saved, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus.
“This is the good news. This is the Gospel. It offers hope, change, and transformation. As Christians, we will always defend this, no matter the cost,” stated Grech, who recently shared the news of his engagement to his girlfriend, Hollie.
Catholic teaching on homosexuality
The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” and therefore gravely contrary to the moral law.
However, the Catechism of the Catholic Church distinguishes between homosexual inclination, which is not a sin in itself, and the acts themselves, which are considered morally reprehensible.
The Church exhorts people with homosexual attraction to live chastely and says that they “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Cardinal Joseph Zen, a prominent supporter of the Traditional Latin Mass, has urged the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to avoid schism by listening to Pope Leo XIV’s explanations of the Second Vatican Council.
In a comment posted to X in Italian on Friday, the 94-year-old Chinese prelate weighed in on the ongoing discussions between the Holy See and the society, which has said it will consecrate bishops without papal approval.
Zen’s comment follows those of Cardinals Gerhard Müller and Robert Sarah, who criticized the society for moving forward with its plan to consecrate bishops in defiance of the Vatican.
“Pope Leo is one who listens! He understands and will make his children understand that certain things perpetrated in the name of the so-called ‘spirit of the council,’ but contrary to the Church’s tradition, are not of the council,” the cardinal wrote.
He noted that even traditionalists are divided over the SSPX consecrations. “A schism must be avoided at all costs, because it will cause serious and lasting damage to the Church; but on the other hand, we must also respect a major problem of conscience: ‘How can we force someone to follow teachings that clearly deny the holy tradition of the Church?’” Zen said.
Zen also accused the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, of wanting “to dismantle the Church’s traditions.”
“The SSPX has been sent to dialogue with the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, but is there any hope to be gained from this dialogue?” he said.
He also compared the discussions between the SSPX and the DDF to the biblical story of Joseph and his brothers. He identified the SSPX as Joseph, Fernández as Joseph’s brothers, and Pope Leo XIV as Reuben, who saved Joseph from his brothers.
The SSPX — which exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass — published a statement in February defending its decision to consecrate bishops and the breakdown in discussions with the Vatican. Under canon law, a bishop who consecrates another bishop without a papal mandate incurs automatic excommunication along with the one who was consecrated.
Zen slammed synodality at the consistory of cardinals in January. He is also an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the 2018 Vatican-China deal.
On the 10th anniversary of the martyrdom of four Missionaries of Charity and members of the laity in Yemen, Bishop Paolo Martinelli, apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia, presided over Mass on March 4 at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
In his homily, Martinelli highlighted the sisters’ courage and their offering of their lives as martyrs and witnesses to the love of Christ, who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” He said their example showed love of neighbor through serving “the poorest of the poor” in the Yemeni city of Aden, “which is part of our apostolic vicariate.”
Martinelli noted that this commemoration comes as the Gulf and the wider Middle East are living through a difficult period. He said the sisters’ witness can be read as “a source of hope that surpasses any human hope,” and he urged the faithful to pray “so that we do not grow weary of witnessing to the Gospel, especially in these times of trial we live today… so that through the intercession of the holy martyrs we may receive the gift of peace and reconciliation in our region and in the whole world.”
He described the anniversary not as a remembrance of defeat but as a celebration of victory, like Christ, whose death “may appear to be a defeat of good or a failure of his mission, but in truth is a triumphant fulfillment.” He also pointed to the Church’s history of those who respond to evil with good and confront hatred with forgiveness, following the example of Christ, who forgave those who crucified him.”
The faithful attend Mass on March 4, 2026, at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Abu Dhabi where the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia commemorated the 10th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Missionaries of Charity along with members of the laity. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia
Martyrs of our time
Martinelli recalled Pope Francis’ description of the sisters as “martyrs of our time” and the pope’s reflections on Christian and Muslim lay victims, and on how the “witness of blood” can unite people of different religions.
Four sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, founded by St. Teresa of Calcutta, were killed in Aden on March 4, 2016, after armed men stormed the nursing home the sisters operated.
The attack left Sister Marguerite, 44; Sister Reginette, 31; Sister Judith, 41; and Sister Anselm, 59, dead. Father Tom Uzhunnalil, a Salesian priest, was kidnapped and later released in September 2017. Twelve lay co-workers of different nationalities and religions were also killed in the same attack.
The Missionaries of Charity have been present in Yemen since 1973, responding to an invitation from the government of North Yemen at the time. They opened the nursing home in Aden and have run it since 1992. The sisters continue their presence in the country to this day, serving as a humble yet powerful sign of hope.
This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated for and adapted by EWTN News English.
Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of March is for disarmament and peace.
In a video released on X, the Holy Father posed a question to the faithful: “Would you imagine what a world without wars would be like? A world without the terror of approaching explosions? Without rocket alarms shattering the silence of the night?”
“Please join me in prayer this month for disarmament and peace,” he said.
In the full video shared on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention.
Here is the pope’s full prayer:
Lord of Life,
you shaped every human being in your image and likeness.
We believe you created us for communion, not for war,
for fraternity, not for destruction.
You who greeted your disciples saying, “Peace be with you,”
grant us the gift of your peace
and the strength to make it a reality in history.
Today we lift up our prayer for peace in the world,
asking that nations renounce weapons
and choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy.
Disarm our hearts of hatred, resentment, and indifference,
so we may become instruments of reconciliation.
Help us understand that true security
does not come from control fueled by fear,
but from trust, justice, and solidarity among peoples.
Lord, enlighten the leaders of the nations,
so they may have the courage to abandon projects of death,
halt the arms race,
and place the lives of the most vulnerable at the center.
May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity.
Holy Spirit,
make us faithful and creative builders of daily peace:
in our hearts, our families,
our communities, and our cities.
May every kind word, every gesture of reconciliation,
and every choice for dialogue be seeds of a new world.
Amen.
“Pray with the Pope” is accessible on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and its digital platforms.
The U.S. and Israel launched joint military strikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran last weekend, prompting the regime to retaliate with drone and missile attacks on Israel, American bases and assets, Gulf state airports and energy infrastructure, and other targets.
As both sides continue to exchange firepower, Catholic theologians who spoke with EWTN News are cautioning President Donald Trump to maintain moral clarity in his decisions and conduct by complying with the long-standing Catholic tradition of just war doctrine.
“[Following just war doctrine is] not just important, but imperative,” said Joseph Capizzi, dean and ordinary professor of moral theology and ethics at The Catholic University of America.
“Governments must consider these principles of just war because they are first and better understood as principles of good governance, or statecraft,” he said.
For a war to be justified, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it must be waged to fight against a grave evil, the damage caused by waging the war cannot be graver than the evil it is meant to eliminate, there must be a serious prospect of success, and all alternatives to war must have already been tried.
Taylor Patrick O’Neill, theology professor at Thomas Aquinas College, told EWTN News that every condition must be present for a war to be just. He said a war is sinful “if you fail to meet a single one of those criteria.”
Just cause and last resort
Trump’s justification is based on claims that the regime is seeking a nuclear weapon through its uranium enrichment program.
Last year in June, Trump ordered the bombing of Iran’s Fordow Uranium Enrichment Plant and asserted at the time that Iran was “a few weeks away from having a nuclear weapon.” Officials gave conflicting reports about the success of the strike and how far back it set Iran’s nuclear program, ranging from months to years.
Trump’s claims appeared to conflict with testimony three months earlier from Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, who said the intelligence community assessment is that “Iran is not building a nuclear weapon” and that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had not even authorized a nuclear weapons program.
Trump revived discussions with Iran in January 2026 with the same allegations and demanded Iran enter a deal in which it would end or reduce uranium enrichment and scale back its ballistic missiles program.
In a Feb. 27 interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi — a mediator for the negotiations — said Iran agreed to many concessions. The country agreed to reduce uranium enrichment and reduce its stockpile to a level at which Iran could “never, ever have [the] nuclear material that will create a bomb” and it would submit to inspections.
Al Busaidi said he believed “the peace deal is within our reach,” but less than a day later, Trump launched Operation Epic Fury, which began the military attacks on Iran. Trump said on March 3: “It was my opinion that they were going to attack first.”
O’Neill told EWTN News that for a war to be justified, it needs just cause and a right intention, meaning that a war is not justified by a just cause if “really your intention for going into war is something else.”
He said Catholics have a right to “question whether or not just cause is present” and “question whether or not right intention is present.” He said there would need to be an “imminent” threat, such as if there is “some weapon or [if] some type of military action is currently being planned and will be executed.”
O’Neill said it’s often difficult for the general public to know whether the cause is legitimate or whether it truly is the last resort: “We don’t know what options have been tried previously.” He said there could be information unavailable to the public that’s “part of the moral calculus.”
Capizzi said that when considering whether military action truly was the last resort, it should be “measured in terms of the gravity of the threat” and the impact of failing “to decrease or end that threat.”
He said a more severe gravity of a threat could accelerate the timeline toward “a just use of force.”
Proportionate force and an end goal
Trump addressed the nation on March 2 to thank the U.S. military for killing Iranian military leadership and to promise an escalation in strikes.
He said the mission could last four to five weeks but did not say who would control the country when the mission is complete. Previously, he said he may work with new leadership within the regime but also urged Iranians to revolt and take control over the country.
To determine whether the damage caused by the war will be graver than the evil it is meant to alleviate, Capizzi said the goal must be “peace … measured by justice and order and tied to actual, achievable political outcomes.” He said “merely to decapitate the head of a regime is not a sufficient political outcome, as it creates political disorder that is very difficult to control.”
O’Neill said there “should have to be some kind of plan and a real expectation that this plan is going to be successful” to make the determination. He said the criteria for just war cannot be met if “it’s not very clear what the goal is.”
“There would have to be some sort of plan and that plan would have to be based off of intelligence [assessments] and very credible information as far as what happens to Iran after these strikes,” he said.
O’Neill said the moral calculation would also have to consider the results of prior interventions in the Middle East, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya.
He said if previous plans “failed to be brought to fruition … then of course you’d have to look at that in any regime changes going forward” when trying to meet the just war criteria of success being likely and for Iran’s situation being better when the mission is complete.
Iran’s death toll is at least 1,230, according to Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs and reported by state-run media. The deaths include Khamenei and dozens of military and government officials as well as civilians. More than 160 civilians were killed by a strike that hit a girls’ elementary school in Minab, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
The war with Iran has opened a new chapter of violence for Lebanon, leaving the country once more in the familiar chaos, hardship, and uncertainty that accompanies every conflict.
For many Christians, the frustration runs deeper. For decades, they have lived with the reality of Hezbollah’s armed dominance, politically opposing and contesting, with limited impact, the “Axis of Resistance” doctrine led by an Islamist Iranian-backed militia.
Today, the consequences of Hezbollah’s military adventures and its entanglement in regional wars are unfolding once again, and Lebanon’s Christians must bear the cost as well.
For Christian villages in the south, the injustice is even starker. They opposed this path, yet geography has placed them directly in the line of fire. As evacuation orders sweep across southern Lebanon, residents are being told to leave their homes. However, despite the danger and the injustice of paying the price for a war they did not want, many have chosen their own kind of “resistance’’ — remaining where they are.
The Lebanese town of Alma al shaab. | Credit: Nabil Farah
Alma al-Shaab rings the bells of resilience
In the town of Alma al-Shaab, residents refused to leave their homes. They gathered in the square of Our Lady’s Church and rang the church bells. Videos circulating on social media showed villagers sending a clear message: They intend to remain in their village.
Charbel Sayyah, a law graduate and native of this southern Christian town, explained that Alma al-Shaab occupies a highly sensitive position along the border. “It has a strategic position for both Israelis and Hezbollah,” he said, noting that Hezbollah had attempted several times to acquire land in the village through affiliated associations, efforts residents opposed.
In a post on X, Sayyah wrote: “I am from Alma al-Shaab, from the beloved south that has nothing to do with the Iranians or their militias. I call on the president of the republic and the prime minister to declare my town, Alma al-Shaab, a zone free of any security or military activity by Hezbollah. I also call on the Lebanese army to intervene and protect the area from any attack. And if it cannot do so directly, then it should provide the people of the town with what they need to stand firm and defend themselves.”
Speaking to ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, Sayyah also stressed the need for diplomatic efforts to make clear that these villages have no connection to any military activity.
“If you do not want to provide direct protection, at least give us what allows us to stand firm, support, supplies, ammunition, any form of assistance. How are we supposed to face this?” he said.
Charbel Sayah. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Charbel Sayah
Sayyah also emphasized that taking up arms is the last thing residents want. “We do not want weapons, and most people here do not even know how to use them. But we cannot be left like this… We will not accept for someone [Hezbollah] to launch rockets from our land, or for an Israeli soldier to provoke us, like when the Star of David was drawn on the Church of Our Lady. We cannot relive the same story every time. This is our town, and we want to remain in it.”
Sayyah also recalled the previous round of conflict in 2024, when Alma al-Shaab suffered significant damage. “The church was about half destroyed. Our family home was also damaged,” he said. “We never wanted the war in the first place. Yet we were forced to leave because of the crossfire. After the ceasefire, some residents began returning. But this time, despite the war, we do not intend to leave,” Sayyah said.
In Rmeish, church bells warn of danger
Christian Hajj, a native of the border town of Rmeish, told ACI MENA that his family has no intention of leaving. “They did not leave the village in any of the previous wars,” he said of his relatives. “They built their home from scratch. My grandmother’s house dates back to the 1960s.”
He explained that the main concern for his family and many residents is the possibility of an Israeli ground incursion, given that Rmeish sits directly on the border. However, he noted that the town itself was not harmed during last year’s hostilities.
Hajj also stressed that Rmeish has never allowed Hezbollah members to position themselves in the town. Addressing concerns that party members could infiltrate the village this time, he said the geography makes such movements difficult. “We are literally at the borders,” he explained. “We are surrounded by Israel on one side and by other villages on the other, which means the entrances are known.”
Men from the town have volunteered to organize watch rotations, he said, in coordination with the local church, whose bells are rung if any suspicious movement is detected. He added that what effectively functions as the town’s local police consists of off-duty Lebanese army soldiers from the village who help monitor the area.
Hajj also noted that the village is largely self-sufficient, though residents still depend on food supplies coming from nearby cities.
Christian El Hajj. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Christian El Hajj
Ein Ebel stands its ground
In Ein Ebel, another Christian village in the south, the same choice has been made: to stay.
A woman from the town, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, told ACI MENA that the presence of residents acts as a form of protection. “We want to protect the town through our presence and make sure that Hezbollah does not enter it or use it,” she said.
She explained that young men from the town are stationed at the entrances, though she remains concerned because the border is not limited to official entry points.
Despite reports circulating that the Lebanese army had withdrawn from Ein Ebel, she said the army remains present in the town. She also stressed that residents intend to stay in their homes even in the event of an Israeli ground incursion.
She recounted that a man suspected of being a Hezbollah member entered the village the previous day asking for shelter and appeared to have just come from a clash: His clothes were dirty and he showed visible signs of combat. Residents immediately contacted the municipal police, who escorted him out of the town.
“So far, he is the only one who has tried to enter, or at least the only one we know about,” she said.
A message to the Vatican and the world: ‘We will not leave’
The apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, was recently informed by a delegation representing residents of southern Christian towns Rmeish, Ein Ebel, Debel, and Alma al-Shaab that the inhabitants had made a final decision: They will not leave their land or their homes, regardless of the circumstances.
Members of the delegation reaffirmed their commitment to the Lebanese state, the Lebanese army, the Internal Security Forces, and the United Nations peacekeeping mission UNIFIL while rejecting displacement. They stressed that their towns do not host Hezbollah or any other armed presence that could serve as a pretext for attacks against them.
The delegation also asked the Vatican’s diplomatic channels to raise the issue in Washington and European capitals, seeking guarantees that residents of these border towns would not be targeted by military operations or pressured to leave their homes, something they say is out of the question.
Speaking on behalf of residents, Father Najib Al-Ameel, the parish priest of Rmeish, said: “We remain steadfast in our town. This is the position of most people in Rmeish, Ein Ebel, and Debel. We will not wander displaced on the roads; our homes are safer.”
Caught between the fear of Hezbollah’s exploitation of their villages and the threat of Israeli invasion, these communities face dangers they neither chose nor control. What sustains them is faith, love for their land, and a stubborn determination to stay.
This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Speaking at a conference in Geneva on March 3, Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations since 2023, decried the fact that Christians are the most persecuted community in the world.
His address was titled “Standing with Persecuted Christians: Defending the Faith and Christian Values.”
Balestrero, who is also the Holy See’s representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), stated that during 2025 “almost 5,000 faithful were killed for their faith,” the equivalent of 13 people a day.
“Almost 400 million Christians worldwide face persecution or violence, making them the most persecuted religious community in the world,” the prelate told Vatican News.
Balestrero stated that the victims “are martyrs in the etymological sense of the term,” because they are witnesses “to their creed who embody values that challenge the logic of power.”
From the perspective of international law, the Italian prelate emphasized that Christians are also victims of “outrageous human rights violations” and insisted that their witness should not distract from the responsibility of states, whose duty it is to provide protection.
“It is the state’s duty to protect freedom of religion or belief, which includes preventing third parties from violating this right. This protection has to safeguard believers who are targeted, before, during, and after an attack,” he stated.
The problem of impunity
Balestrero drew attention to the issue of impunity for those who take the lives of Christians, which he referred to as “one of the most serious issues in the global landscape of religious persecution.”
After expressing his concern for the millions of persecuted Christians, he noted that this “scourge” to which they are subjected “affects countries across the world” and continents, including Europe. In this context, he cited the recent report on hate crimes by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, which recorded more than 760 hate crimes against Christians in Europe in 2024 alone.
Beyond the crimes, the Holy See’s representative in Geneva denounced other forms of persecution that are “more subtle and often silent forms of persecution,” such as gradual marginalization or exclusion from social and professional life “even in traditionally Christian lands.”
He also specified that this persecution takes the form of more discreet restrictions and limitations, “through which legal norms and administrative practices restrict or, in fact, nullify the legally recognized rights of the predominantly Christian population, even in some parts of Europe.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
