World Religions News

ROME (AP) — The Vatican appeals tribunal declared a mistrial Tuesday in the Holy See’s big “trial of the century,” a stunning blow to both Pope Francis’ legacy and Vatican prosecutors who had put a cardinal and several other people on trial over alleged financial crimes.

In a 16-page ruling, the appeals court ruled that Francis and Vatican prosecutors both made procedural errors that nullified the original indictment against Cardinal Angelo Becciu and the others and required a new trial. The court set a June 22 as the date for the new trial to begin.

Defense lawyers said such a ruling was enormously significant if not historic, since it amounted to a Vatican court declaring that an act of the pope had no effect.

The ruling was a win for the defense and a huge setback to Vatican prosecutors, who have been scrambling to salvage their case. The prosecution and 2023 convictions against Becciu and others had been held up by the Vatican and late pope as evidence of his willingness to crack down on financial misconduct in the Holy See.

A case that began with a London investment and grew

Becciu’s lawyers said the ruling showed they were right in arguing that the defense was put at an unfair disadvantage from the start.

“It shows that from the first moment, we were right to raise the violation of the right to defense and to request that the law be respected to have a fair trial,” Becciu’s lawyers Fabio Viglione and Maria Concetta Marzo said in a statement.

The case had as its main focus the Vatican’s investment of 350 million euros ($413 million) in a London property. Prosecutors alleged brokers and Vatican monsignors fleeced the Holy See of tens of millions of euros in fees and commissions to acquire the property, and then extorted the Holy See for 15 million euros ($16.5 million) to cede control of it.

The original investigation spawned two main tangents involving Becciu, once a leading Vatican cardinal and future papal contender. He was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to 5½ years in prison. The tribunal convicted eight other defendants of embezzlement, abuse of office, fraud and other charges and imposed tens of millions of euros (dollars) in restitution to the Holy See.

All defendants maintained their innocence and appealed after a two-year trial that opened a pandora’s box of unwanted revelations about papal ransom payments to Islamic militants, Vatican vendettas, espionage and other dirty laundry of the Holy See.

During the initial trial, Becciu’s lawyers in particular had complained that prosecutors hadn’t turned over all the evidence to the defense, violating their right to a fair trial. Prosecutors had redacted some documents, withheld the cellphone records of a key prosecution witness and redacted texts among the players, arguing that such omissions were necessary to protect the secrecy of other investigations.

Defense lawyers also alleged that four secret decrees Francis signed giving prosecutors wide-ranging powers to investigate violated the defendants’ right to a fair trial. They only learned about the decrees just before the trial began, since the decrees were never published.

The appeals court sides with the defense

The appeals court agreed with both defense arguments.

In the ruling, the appeals court ruled that one of Francis’ decrees — which allowed prosecutors to proceed without a preliminary judge overseeing their work — amounted to a law, and that Francis’ failure to publish it made it ineffective. The court also decreed that Vatican prosecutors’ failure to turn over to the defense all their evidence nullified their original indictment.

The finding against Francis’ decree could have wide-ranging implications for any new trial, since it throws into question prosecutors’ actions derived from the powers Francis granted them. Chief among them was the June 2020 arrest of broker Gianluigi Torzi, who was held in the Vatican barracks for 10 days of questioning without charge or a judge’s warrant, and had his cellphones and laptop seized.

Defense lawyers were pleased by the ruling.

“The historic decision by the Court of Appeals—which, for the first time in Vatican history, ruled that a papal rescript was invalid and void due to failure to publish it—in our view results in the complete nullity of the entire investigation and trial,” attorneys Massimo Bassi and Cataldo Intrieri, who represent former Vatican official Fabrizio Tirabassi, said in a statement.

“We are confident that we will be able to reach a swift conclusion to the trial with a largely acquittal verdict.”

The tribunal, headed by Archbishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo, ordered prosecutors to deposit all the documentation, “in their original form,” by April 30. It gave the defense until June 15 to prepare their motions before the June 22 start of the new trial.

It was the second major blow to prosecutors since the appeals phase opened last year.

In January, the Vatican’s highest Court of Cassation upheld the lower court’s decision to throw out the prosecutor’s appeal of the first trial entirely because prosecutor Alessandro Diddi committed an embarrassing rookie procedural error.

On the same day as the Cassation ruling, Diddi also dropped months of objections and abruptly resigned from the case, rather than face the possibility that the Cassation court would order him removed.

At issue was Diddi’s role in a now-infamous set of WhatsApp chats that threw the credibility of the entire trial into question. The chats documented a yearslong, behind-the-scenes effort to target Becciu and suggested questionable conduct by Vatican police, Vatican prosecutors and Francis himself.

Leo speaks about justice, unity and credibility

Tuesday’s decision was issued just days after Pope Leo XIV opened the Vatican’s judicial year. Leo, a canon lawyer, met Saturday with the judges and prosecutors who oversee the judicial apparatus of the Vatican City State, which follows its own peculiar legal code that is inspired by a century-old Italian code and the church’s in-house canon law.

In his remarks, Leo spoke of justice as a means of fostering unity in the church, insisting that it be aimed at searching for truth and paired with charity. He also spoke about justice as a means of fostering credibility within an institution, remarks interpreted by some as a reference to how the Becciu trial had in some ways damaged the Holy See’s reputation because of its many anomalies.

“The observance of procedural safeguards, the impartiality of the judge, the effectiveness of the right of defence and the reasonable duration of proceedings are not merely technical instruments of the judicial process,” Leo said. “They constitute the conditions through which the exercise of the judicial function acquires particular authority and contributes to institutional stability.”

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

ROME (AP) — The Vatican released on Monday details of Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming four-nation Africa tour, suggesting Christian-Muslim relations, comforting victims of violence and encouraging the Catholic community in former European colonies will be key themes.

The April 13-23 trip begins in Algeria, which has never before welcomed a pope. It includes a visit to the Great Mosque in Algiers as well as a meeting with Leo’s fellow Augustinians in the place most associated with St. Augustine of Hippo, the 5th-century inspiration for their religious order.

Leo will preside over a peace meeting in northwest Cameroon, visit an important Marian shrine in Angola and pray at a memorial to victims of a 2021 blast in Equatorial Guinea that killed more than 100 people and was blamed on negligence.

All the while, he’ll meet with local bishops, celebrate Masses for the faithful and have private talks with the four nations’ leaders, two of whom have been in power for decades.

Here’s a look at some of the key stops in each of the countries.

The pope will tour a mosque and meet Catholic faithful in Algeria

Leo has a busy first day in Algiers, meeting with government authorities, touring the mosque and meeting with the local Catholic community.

He’ll later visit Annaba, far to the east on the Algerian coast, formerly known as Hippo, where St. Augustine lived and died in 430, one of the theological and devotional giants of early Christianity. Leo will meet with a community of Augustinian sisters and priests, and tour an archaeological site.

The pope will also celebrate Mass in the capital’s basilica named after St. Augustine.

Leo is set to lead a ‘peace meeting’ in Cameroon

Leo’s next stop is in Cameroon, where Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2009. He will visit the capital, Yaoundé, the country’s economic hub, Douala, and Bamenda, a major city in the North-West region.

Cameroon’s western regions have been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion in 2017 with the stated goal of breaking away from the French-speaking majority and establishing an independent English-speaking state. The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced over 600,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group, a think tank.

One of the highlights of Leo’s visit will be a “peace meeting” that the pope will lead in Bamenda on April 16. No details of who might participate were immediately announced.

The country is also plagued by fighting involving Boko Haram militants in the north, as the Islamic extremist group’s insurgency in neighboring Nigeria has spilled over into Cameroon.

The pope’s visit has sparked concerns among some Cameroonians that it could be instrumentalized by the country’s leader following a disputed presidential election.

Cameroonian Jesuit priest and opposition activist Ludovic Lado expressed his concerns to Leo in an open letter, warning that the visit could be “interpreted as an implicit form of endorsement of a discredited and illegitimate government.”

The country’s 92-year-old President Paul Biya, already in power for 42 years, was declared the winner of October’s presidential election, securing another seven-year term. But his main challenger, former government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary, has continued to maintain that he is the legitimate winner.

A large Catholic community awaits Leo in Agola

The pope’s trip to Angola will take him to a former Portuguese colony in southern Africa that is overwhelmingly Christian. Catholicism is the largest faith group in the Portuguese-speaking nation of around 38 million people because of the former colonial ruler’s influence.

Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975, though it immediately slipped into a long and bloody civil war that didn’t end until 2002.

The pope will visit the capital, Luanda, the town of Muxima, and the city of Saurimo.

At Muxima, the pope will see the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima, a Marian shrine inside the Church of Our Lady of Muxima that has become one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in Angola.

The church was first built around the end of the 16th century by the Portuguese after they established a fortress at Muxima. It became a key point in the Portuguese trans-Atlantic human trade as a place where enslaved people were baptized before they were sent on ships to the Americas.

The pope will visit three dioceses in Equatorial Guinea

Leo’s final stop is in Equatorial Guinea, which has one of the largest proportions of Catholic populations in Africa, with roughly 70% of its 1.9 million citizens Catholic. A vestige of its Spanish colonialism, the Catholic Church has remained a dominant and influential institution in the Central African country.

While officially a secular state, the Catholic Mass is part of state ceremonies, including Independence Day celebrations.

Leo’s visit to the country, the second after Pope St. John Paul II’s 1982 tour, will have him traverse three of the country’s five dioceses in Malabo, the state capital, Bata, and Mongomo.

In Bata, Leo will meet with prison inmates and will also pray at the memorial to victims of a 2021 blast at a military barracks that killed more than 100 people. The explosions were blamed on the negligent handling of dynamite in a barracks close to residential areas.

Equatorial Guinea has long been ruled by Africa’s longest-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been in power since 1982 and has been accused of running an autocratic regime.

Catholics in Equatorial Guinea experienced intense persecution under the rule of former President Francisco Macías Nguema, who closed down churches in 1975 and officially banned the Catholic Church in 1978. Nguema wanted to eliminate colonial influences. The decree was repealed when Teodoro came to power in a coup.

Despite the country’s economy being powered by oil and gas wealth, at least 57% of its entire population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.

___

Associated Press reporters Ope Adetayo in Lagos, Nigeria, Mark Banchereau in Dakar, Senegal, and Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa contributed to this report.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — The war in the Middle East raged on multiple fronts Monday, as the U.S. and Israel pummeled military targets in Iran’s capital, Israel stepped up bombardments of Iran-backed militants in Lebanon and Iran retaliated with a drone strike that temporarily closed Dubai’s airport, a crucial hub for travelers.

Fears of a global energy crisis continued, even as a small number of ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally travels.

Iranian strikes on commercial ships in and around the strait — and even just the threat of attacks — have slowed shipping to a trickle, dramatically increasing oil prices and pressuring Washington to do something to ease the pain for consumers and the global economy.

Brent crude, the international standard, remained over $100 a barrel. U.S. President Donald Trump said he had demanded that roughly a half-dozen countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. But his appeals brought no immediate commitments.

Speaking of the strait, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said: “From our perspective it is open” — just not for the United States, Israel and its allies. On social media, Araghchi also rejected as “delusional” claims that Iran was looking for a negotiated end to the war, saying it was seeking neither “truce nor talks.”

Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran more than two weeks ago, Tehran has regularly fired drones and missiles at Israel, American bases in the region and Gulf Arab countries’ energy infrastructure.

Strikes continued early Tuesday, with the Israeli military reporting a salvo of Iranian missiles as sirens sounded south of the Sea of Galilee. No injuries were reported.

Israel hits Beirut, launches new attacks on Tehran

Massive explosions were heard in Beirut Monday as Israel launched new attacks on the Lebanese capital, saying it was striking infrastructure related to the Iran-linked Hezbollah militia. Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel after U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran began Feb. 28.

The Israeli army has issued evacuation orders for many neighborhoods in Beirut as well as southern Lebanon.

Israel’s strikes have displaced more than 1 million Lebanese — or roughly 20% of the population, — according to the Lebanese government, which says some 850 people have been killed. Some Israeli troops have pushed into southern Lebanon, and there are fears Israel is preparing a large-scale invasion.

In southern Lebanon, seven people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to authorities and news reports Monday.

Explosions also sounded in Tehran and outlying areas soon after Israel’s military announced it had launched new strikes on Iran’s capital.

A Tehran resident said while driving he witnessed an airstrike turn a police station to dust and heavily damage shops and cars. The man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from the government, said it “felt like the end of the world.”

More details were not immediately available with information coming out of Iran severely limited by internet outages, round-the-clock airstrikes and tight restrictions on journalists.

More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.

Israel has carried out some 7,600 strikes on Iran, knocking out 85% of its air defenses and 70% of Iran’s missile launchers, military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said.

In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.

Trump seeks allies’ help to police the Strait of Hormuz

The virtual shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz is unnerving the world economy, driving up energy and fertilizer prices, threatening food shortages in poor countries, destabilizing fragile states and complicating efforts by central banks to drive down prices for consumers.

On Monday, Trump said “numerous countries” have told him “they’re on the way” to help police the Strait of Hormuz. But he also suggested some countries’ reluctance showed a lack of reciprocity in defense agreements with the United States.

Europeans have been critical of the U.S. and Israel for failing to provide clarity on their objectives in the war.

“The level of enthusiasm matters to me,” Trump said. He didn’t specify the countries, but has previously appealed to China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain.

Brent crude fell to $100.21 per barrel Monday, but remained up roughly 40% since the war began.

Officials have been scrambling to ease prices. Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said its 32 member countries still have additional reserves of 1.4 billion barrels on top of the record 400 million they agreed to release last week to address supply constraints.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, said in a video posted on X that American forces are zeroing in on Iran’s threats to freighters carrying oil and natural gas.

Ahead of a meeting in Brussels, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc’s foreign ministers would discuss possibly extending a naval mission that protects ships in the Red Sea to the Strait of Hormuz, without giving any details.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters in Brussels that his country favors strengthening anti-piracy and defensive missions in the Red Sea, but said he didn’t believe in expanding their role in the Strait of Hormuz.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, which is not an EU member, told reporters that Britain and allies were working on a plan to reopen the strait. Starmer said Britain might deploy mine-hunting U.K. drones already in the region, but insisted it “will not be drawn into the wider war.”

Japan and Australia both said Monday they had not been asked to help protect the strait and had no current plans to do so.

Iran hits Dubai airport, shrapnel falls in Jerusalem’s Old City

A drone hit a fuel tank early Monday near Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international passenger traffic, causing a large fire. No injuries were reported, but the airport suspended all flights for several hours.

A person was killed in the capital of the United Arab Emirates when an Iranian missile hit a vehicle, the Abu Dhabi media office said. Authorities said drone strikes Monday caused fires at two UAE oil facilities, in Abu Dhabi and Fujairah.

In Israel, an intercepted Iranian missile attack sprayed shrapnel through Jerusalem’s Old City, hitting the rooftop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, just meters (yards) from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built on what is revered by many Christians as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

Shrapnel also fell near the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, and within the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, the third-holiest site in Islam. Missile strikes on Jerusalem have been rare in the past.

___

This story has been updated to correct that the death toll in Iran is from the Iranian Red Crescent, not the Red Cross.

___

Keaten reported from Geneva. Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok, Will Weissert from aboard Air Force One, Michelle Price in Washington; Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Sam McNeil in Brussels, Jill Lawless in London, Ben Finley in Washington, Giada Zampano in Rome, and Adam Schreck in Bangkok, contributed to this report.

“Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” ~Louise L. Hay

There it was—glaringly obvious on the page. An embarrassing typo stared back at me from the backside of a brochure I’d received from the printer. A brochure I wrote, laid out, and yes, gave the final sign-off to produce.

My stomach tightened as tears welled up in my eyes.

“You idiot,” I screamed silently at myself.

In an instant, flashes of similar mistakes I’d made over the course of a long career in communications rushed in, piling …

WASHINGTON — Members of the Family Federation and supporters will gather outside the Japanese Embassy in Washington, DC on Thursday, March 19 at 12:00 PM to call attention to what organizers describe as a serious and historic moment for religious freedom in Japan.

Participants say the Japanese government has dissolved the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, resulting in the closure of 400 churches and offices across the country. Congregations that had existed for decades were forced to shut their doors, and thousands of members were asked to leave sanctuaries where they had prayed, gathered, and raised their families in faith.

“For our brothers and sisters in Japan, this moment has brought deep sorrow and uncertainty,” organizers said. “Communities that have served quietly and sacrificially for decades are now facing the sudden loss of their churches and places of worship.”

The demonstration in Washington will serve as a peaceful appeal for the protection of religious liberty and the dignity of people of the members of the Family Federation. Organizers say members of the global faith community are standing in solidarity with those in Japan who cannot publicly gather in the same way.

“For decades, Japanese members have supported missions around the world, traveling to distant nations, raising families in faith, and investing their lives for the sake of humanity,” organizers said. “Now they are facing hardship, and the global family stands with them.”

The rally comes at a significant moment as Japanese leadership visits Washington this week. Participants say they hope their peaceful demonstration will raise awareness and encourage dialogue about the protection of religious freedom.

Organizers expect approximately 500 participants, including members of the Family Federation and supporters of religious liberty.

“This gathering is not about anger or confrontation,” organizers said. “It is about standing with our family and reminding the world that religious freedom matters.”

Members in Japan are currently unable to gather publicly in the same way due to the closure of their churches. Supporters in the United States say they are using their freedom to speak out respectfully on behalf of those affected.

The event will include speakers and participants holding signs calling for help for their family of faith in Japan.

Event Details

WHAT: Help! Protest for Family Federation Japan
WHEN: Thursday, March 19, 2026, 12:00 PM
WHERE: Japanese Embassy, 2520 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008

Members of the public who wish to attend can register and receive updates here.

Media Contact:
Ron Lucas
Irving Street Rep
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

###

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RNS or Religion News Foundation.

Faith Matters Network founder Rev. Jen Bailey to headline annual symposium

MINNEAPOLIS —Augsburg University will offer its fourth annual Interfaith Symposium at noon on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, featuring Rev. Jen Bailey. The Interfaith Symposium is an annual invitation to students and community members to learn about religious, spiritual, and worldview diversity and connect with exceptional interfaith leaders. 

Bailey’s keynote address, “Healing the Earth, Healing Ourselves,” will draw on her work as an ordained minister, public theologian, and national leader in the multifaith movement for justice. 

“Jen Bailey is the right voice for our times,” said Professor Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri Endowed Chair and executive director of Interfaith at Augsburg. “She not only believes in building a better world for all, she embodies it in her ministry, professional work, and personal life.”

Bailey’s career has been anchored in service to community and a commitment to justice. She is the founder of Faith Matters Network, a Womanist-led organization equipping community organizers, faith leaders, and activists with resources for connection, spiritual sustainability, and accompaniment, and a co-founder of The People’s Supper, an initiative that brings people together across lines of difference to engage constructively on issues affecting their communities. Currently, Bailey serves as executive director of the Dan and Margaret Maddox Fund, a Nashville-based philanthropic foundation investing in the leadership of young people and the vitality of the natural environment. An ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, she has been named an Ashoka Fellow, an Aspen Ideas Scholar, an On Being Fellow, and a Truman Scholar.

Following the keynote address, a luncheon and panel discussion will take place at 1:00 p.m., featuring conversation with Anne Doepner, senior director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the Minnesota Vikings; Monica Ibarra, previously of Mayo Clinic; and an Augsburg student leader. 

Event Details and Registration

Keynote Address with Rev. Jen Bailey
March 25, 2026—12:00 p.m.
Sateren Auditorium, Anderson Music Hall
715 22nd Ave. S., Minneapolis
Cost: Free (advance registration required)

Luncheon and Panel Discussion with Anne Doepner and Monica Ibarra
March 25, 2026—1:00 p.m.
Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center
625 22nd Ave. S., Minneapolis
Cost: $20 for community members, free with Augsburg ID (advance registration required)

Learn more and register here.

About Interfaith at Augsburg
Situated in a neighborhood home to numerous immigrant communities and with an increasingly diverse student body, Augsburg University is uniquely positioned to facilitate building bridges in a polarized world. Augsburg’s commitment to interfaith engagement is central to its mission, identified as a key outcome of its strategic plan, and rooted in its Lutheran theological heritage. Through interfaith education and intentional opportunities to strengthen interreligious communication, understanding, and relationships, Augsburg’s Interfaith Institute advances peacebuilding on campus, in the community, and beyond. Learn more at augsburg.edu/interfaith.

Contact:
Rachel Farris
Augsburg University
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

###

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RNS or Religion News Foundation.