Religion news 16 April 2026
People feel ‘anxious, fearful and uncertain’ in Church in Wales; Arrests after arson attempt on synagogue in north London; Pope calls for peace and justice in Cameroon; Report says China increasing pressure on Christians
People feel ‘anxious, fearful and uncertain’ in Church in Wales; Arrests after arson attempt on synagogue in north London; Pope calls for peace and justice in Cameroon; Report says China increasing pressure on Christians
Trump doubles down on his criticism of the Pope – and turns on Meloni; Pope doubles down on peace – ‘God’s heart with the humble not the arrogant’; International conference on Sudan as aid agencies unite for urgent action; School assembly songs to attract families into church
Outrage over Trump’s blatant image portraying himself as Jesus; Pope is not afraid and will continue to speak out; Twelve aid agencies combine to seek aid for forgotten Sudan; Festival of Vaisakhi marked today
President Trump launches blistering attack on the Pope; Pope Leo: Prayer for peace is ‘bulwark against delusion of omnipotence’; Resounding defeat for Victor Orbán who put Christian nationalism centre stage
Russia declares ceasefire in Ukraine for Orthodox Easter this weekend; Bishop of Salisbury steps back while financial audit takes place; Holy sites re-open in Jerusalem; The ‘Maga-fication of religion in America’
Pope Leo welcomes ceasefire agreement; Christian nationalism and the US war in Iran; Pastor charged with manslaughter after man drowned during baptism; CofE to apologise for its role in historical forced adoption
Trump suspends bombing of Iran – Pope Leo says threat against the entire Iranian people was ‘unacceptable’; World Council of Churches ‘gravely concerned’ at threats against Iran; Wireless festival cancelled after Kanye West denied permission to enter UK; Charity warns pipe organs could disappear in 40 years
Pete Hegseth urges prayer for Iran war victory ‘in the name of Jesus Christ’; US Military bishop: ‘hard to cast this war as sponsored by the Lord’; UK Church leaders use Easter messages to urge end to war; BBC’s Pilgrimage series on route to Holy Island, Lindisfarne
Church leaders unite in their Easter messages, calling for an end to war in the Middle East
Royal Maundy service in Wales for only the second time in 800 years; Easter message from church leaders in Jerusalem: pray for peace; Archbishop Richard Moth: ‘Refugees are in God’s image’
