USA Today, by Natalie Neysa Alund and Michael Loria: More than 150 people are dead and hundreds of people, including dozens of Americans, were missing on Aug. 26 after flash flooding in the Himalayan nation of Nepal, the country’s tourism board reported.

The flash flood took place at about 8:30 a.m. local time in the Bhote Koshi River in the country’s northern Rasuwa district near China’s Tibet border, authorities said.

Horrifying surveillance video circulating online shows people fleeing before the mudslide hits and a deluge crashes down on them. Drone footage also shows flooding devastation along the river as mud and waters engulf riverside communities.

So far, local police have reported 157 deaths connected to the disaster.

Initially, at least 384 travelers, including 291 foreign nationals, had been reported missing, the Nepal Tourism Board posted on social media.

“It was a huge gush of mud coming straight towards us. As it got closer, it kept rising higher and higher. When I saw it enter our home, I tried to grab my wife’s hand and take her to the terrace. But she was swept away by the mud,” Keshav Prasad Baral, a 68-year-old survivor who was being treated at a hospital, told Reuters. “Four or five hours later, a helicopter came to rescue me. My wife is still somewhere beneath the mud. She’s gone.”

Americans missing after flash flood in Nepal

Sunil Sharma, a Nepal tourism board spokesperson, told the Toronto Star the missing foreigners include 47 Americans, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 24 from Canada.

Officials said they were working to confirm the nationalities of hundreds of other tourists who remained missing as well as their “safety status.”

A State Department official said for U.S. citizens in the affected areas to follow instructions provided by local authorities and enroll in the department’s emergency updates program.

“We express our solidarity and are united in prayer for the Nepali people following the devastating floods,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on his official X page. The department “stands ready to support the Government of Nepal with needed humanitarian assistance.”

Many households in Rasuwa and Nuwakot are believed to have lost their homes or suffered significant damage, while damage to bridges and roads is also making it extremely difficult to reach some affected communities, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told USA TODAY in an email.

Nepal Red Cross teams were deploying to affected areas and have begun providing initial assistance, including water, shelter materials, blankets and first aid supplies, the agency said.

“The news of the loss of lives and property caused by the sudden flood in the Bhote Koshi River flowing through Rasuwa and Nuwakot has left me extremely saddened,” Nepal’s President Ram Chandra Paudell said in a statement on X. “I urge everyone to remain vigilant and actively engage in necessary coordination and cooperation in the lower coastal areas.”

Prophetic Link:
“It is on the law of God that the last great struggle of the controversy between Christ and His angels and Satan and his angels will come, and it will be decisive for all the world…. Men in responsible positions will not only ignore and despise the Sabbath themselves, but from the sacred desk will urge upon the people the observance of the first day of the week, pleading tradition and custom in behalf of this man-made institution. They will point to calamities on land and sea—to the storms of wind, the floods, the earthquakes, the destruction by fire—as judgments indicating God’s displeasure because Sunday is not sacredly observed. These calamities will increase more and more, one disaster will follow close upon the heels of another; and those who make void the law of God will point to the few who are keeping the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as the ones who are bringing wrath upon the world. This falsehood is Satan’s device that he may ensnare the unwary.” The Southern Watchman, June 28, 1904 and Christian Service, 155.2

Source References

• ‘Swept away’: Hundreds missing in Nepal after deadly flash floods

CNN: Key developments

• Search for survivors: A frantic search is underway for more than 1,300 people missing after catastrophic flooding swamped a China-Nepal border region Wednesday. Dozens of Americans are among the at least 700 foreigners unaccounted for. President Donald Trump said the US is willing to send “any help” to Nepal.

• Death toll climbs: At least 469 people have been killed in Nepal, authorities said. CNN’s team on the ground has seen destroyed bridges and buried houses. Here’s how you can help.

• Secondary threat: Rain and chilly weather is expected in China’s Gyirong County, where it’s feared a dam created during the initial landslide could breach and cause more flooding.

• What caused it? Scientists are still working to determine exactly what caused the disaster. Video posted on Chinese social media showed where a large portion of glacier broke off a mountain and plunged into the river below.

Prophetic Link:
“The time is at hand when there will be sorrow in the world that no human balm can heal. The Spirit of God is being withdrawn. Disasters by sea and by land follow one another in quick succession. How frequently we hear of earthquakes and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of disorganized, unregulated forces of nature, wholly beyond the control of man; but in them all, God’s purpose may be read. They are among the agencies by which He seeks to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger.” Prophets and Kings, page 277.

Source References

• August 26-27, 2026 — Deadly flash flood hits Nepal-China border region

Reuters, by Marta Fiorin, Christian Levaux, Yves Herman and Kate Abnett: Rain over eastern Belgium on Monday brought some relief to firefighters ‌battling to contain the country’s biggest wildfire on record, which had threatened to reach the German border.

Wildfires have ripped through Europe this summer, with successive heatwaves fuelled by climate change intensifying drought and leaving vegetation tinder-dry.

From France and Spain to Greece, fires have killed more than 20 people, forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and burned 576,000 hectares (2,225 square miles) across Europe this year, data from the European Forest Fire Information System shows – an area twice the size of Luxembourg.

ARMY, FARMERS BATTLE BELGIUM’S BIGGEST FIRE

In Greece, an elderly couple died at the weekend as fires swept through the island of Salamina, where 500 people were evacuated by ferry after wind pushed the flames into residential areas.

Spanish firefighters stabilised a massive wildfire in Andalusia in the south that has burned nearly 40,000 hectares (98,842 acres)since August 6, while a fire in the tourist town of Omis, Croatia, forced 1,000 people to flee.

In Belgium, firefighters aided by rain and lower temperatures early on Monday had contained parts of the blaze in the High Fens, a nature reserve in the east of Belgium which has been burning since Friday – following a heatwave that saw thermometers in parts of Belgium hit 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

“This is the biggest ecological disaster in terms of forest fires, that’s clear, for Belgium,” said Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the administration of the Wallonia region.

“We can’t say that the fire is contained. It flares up all the time,” he told Reuters.

Some 500 firefighters from across Belgium, neighbouring Germany and Luxembourg, as well as farmers, soldiers and reinforcement aircraft from the European Union’s emergency reserve, have been battling the blaze.

Having burned 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres), the wildfire is Belgium’s ‌biggest on record, far surpassing a blaze in 2011 which burned close to 1,400 hectares. Evacuated residents have not yet been allowed to return home.

The fire has penetrated the nature reserve’s metres-deep peat bogs – meaning it could take months to fully extinguish. Peat fires can smoulder underground, without flames, for long periods.

EUROPE’S FIRE SEASON FAR FROM OVER

Extreme fire risk has become a regular part of European summers in recent years, as hotter, drier weather caused by climate change has combined with other factors – including rural abandonment, which has left land untended and allowed flammable, dry vegetation to build up in forests – to fuel fast-spreading fires.

Fires were also raging on Monday in northeastern Spain, where a firefighter died on Sunday, and in northern Portugal’s Braganca district.

About 90% of wildfires are ignited by human activities, such as campfires or discarded cigarettes. Prosecutors in Belgium have opened an investigation into the cause of the blaze.

German firefighters were also working to contain a fire front 1.5 km (0.9 miles) away from buildings in the evacuated German village of Ruitzhof, close to the Belgian border. A local fire department spokesperson said the situation was “static”.

Europe had already suffered its worst fire season on record last year, with more than a million hectares of land burned. Some countries, including France, have smashed through their annual records this year, with the traditional June-September fire season far from over.

Dozens of people in the village Le Porge, in southwestern France, where hundreds of homes were destroyed by a megafire last month, booed French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu as he visited on Monday. Residents have criticised the government’s response and accused authorities of prioritising richer areas.

Prophetic Link:
“In fires, in floods, in earthquakes, in the fury of the great deep, in calamities by sea and by land, the warning is given that God’s Spirit will not always strive with men.” Last Day Events, 26.2

Source References

• Rain aids fight against Belgium’s biggest wildfire, as blazes rip through Europe

Faith Scout: Church attendance in America has been one of the most studied and debated social metrics of the past decade. Between the COVID-19 shutdowns, a generational shift in religious identity, and the rapid rise of digital worship, the landscape looks dramatically different than it did even five years ago. But the story in 2026 is more nuanced than any single headline can capture. Some churches are emptier than ever. Others are bursting at the seams. And the reasons behind both trends tell us something important about where American faith is headed.

The Big Picture: Where Church Attendance Stands in 2026

Let’s start with the numbers that frame the conversation. According to Gallup’s most recent data, roughly 30-31% of Americans report attending a religious service weekly or nearly weekly. That figure has been essentially flat since 2021, when it dropped from the pre-pandemic baseline of about 34% (itself a decline from 42% in the early 2000s). The Pew Research Center’s 2024 survey found that 58% of Americans identify as Christian, down from 65% in 2019 and 78% in 2007.

But raw percentages mask a more interesting picture. Total weekly church attenders in the United States still number somewhere between 75 and 80 million people on any given Sunday. That’s more than the combined weekly viewership of every NFL game during the regular season. The institution is smaller than it was, yes, but it remains one of the largest organized activities in American life by an enormous margin.

What’s changed is who shows up, where they go, and how they engage. Understanding those shifts matters whether you’re a pastor, a church planter, or someone trying to figure out where to spend your Sunday mornings.

The “Dechurching” Phenomenon: 40 Million Missing

The most talked-about research in recent years comes from Jim Davis and Michael Graham’s 2023 book The Great Dechurching, which drew on a massive survey conducted by Ryan Burge and the Evangelical research team. Their central finding: roughly 40 million Americans who were regular churchgoers have stopped attending over the past 25 years. That represents the largest and fastest religious shift in U.S. history.

Critically, the research distinguishes between different types of “dechurched” people:

– Casually dechurched evangelicals — people who drifted away gradually, often due to life changes like moving, having kids, or shifting work schedules. This is the largest group, and the one most likely to return.
– Casually dechurched mainline Protestants and Catholics — similar drift pattern, but from traditions that were already experiencing decades of decline.
– Intentionally dechurched — people who left because of specific grievances: church politics, perceived hypocrisy, the politicization of faith, abuse scandals, or a genuine change in beliefs. This group is harder to reach and less likely to come back under traditional approaches.

The dechurching data matters because it reframes the conversation. The question isn’t just “why don’t people go to church?” It’s “why did people who used to go to church stop?” Those are very different questions with very different answers — and churches that understand the distinction are the ones growing right now.

Post-COVID Recovery: Uneven and Ongoing

The pandemic didn’t create the attendance decline, but it accelerated it dramatically. In-person attendance dropped by roughly 45-50% during the peak of COVID restrictions in 2020. By late 2021, most churches had reopened, but the return has been slower than almost anyone predicted.

The Barna Group’s longitudinal tracking found that by mid-2023, the average U.S. church had recovered to about 85% of its pre-COVID attendance. By early 2025, that number had inched up to roughly 88-90% for churches that actively worked to re-engage members. But many congregations — particularly smaller ones with fewer than 100 members — never recovered. The National Congregations Study estimates that between 4,000 and 5,000 U.S. churches closed permanently between 2020 and 2025.

The recovery pattern is highly unequal. Churches that invested in quality online streaming, maintained personal contact with members during lockdowns, and adapted their programming bounced back faster. Churches that simply waited for people to come back often found that many never did.

There’s also a frequency shift. Pre-pandemic, a “regular” churchgoer attended about 3.5 times per month. By 2025, that number had dropped to roughly 2.5-2.8 times per month. People who consider themselves active church members are simply showing up less often. This has massive implications for volunteering, giving, and community formation — and it’s one of the hardest trends for church leaders to address.

Gen Z and the Surprising Return to Faith

Here’s where the story gets interesting, and where a lot of the popular narrative about “religion dying” falls apart.

Gen Z (born roughly 1997-2012) was supposed to be the most secular generation in American history. And by some measures, they are: surveys consistently show that Gen Z is more likely than any previous generation to identify as religiously unaffiliated (the “nones”). The American Enterprise Institute’s 2023 survey put that number at around 34% of Gen Z adults.

But here’s the twist: among Gen Z members who do attend church, engagement levels are remarkably high. A 2024 Springtide Research Institute study found that Gen Z churchgoers are more likely to attend a small group, serve as volunteers, and describe their faith as “central to their identity” than Millennials were at the same age. They’re also more likely to choose their church deliberately rather than simply inheriting their parents’ denomination.

Several factors are driving Gen Z’s renewed interest in church:

– Mental health and meaning-making. Gen Z reports the highest rates of anxiety, depression, and loneliness of any generation. Research from Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program has consistently shown that religious participation is one of the strongest predictors of mental health and life satisfaction. Some Gen Z members are finding their way to church precisely because they’re looking for answers that social media and therapy alone haven’t provided.
– Digital-to-physical pipeline. Many young adults first encountered faith content through YouTube, TikTok, or podcasts — creators like the Bible Project, Fr. Mike Schmitz’s “Bible in a Year,” and various Reformed theology channels have millions of Gen Z followers. Some of these viewers eventually decide to visit a church in person.
– Counter-cultural appeal. For a generation raised on screens and algorithms, the offline, embodied experience of gathering with real people in a physical space has a certain novelty. Several pastors of growing Gen Z-heavy churches have described this to me as the “analog rebellion.”
– Authenticity demand. Gen Z churchgoers have very low tolerance for performative religion. They want churches that practice what they preach — literally. Churches that are transparent about their finances, honest about struggles, and engaged in tangible community service tend to attract younger members.

The Non-Denominational Surge

One of the clearest structural trends in American Christianity is the dramatic growth of non-denominational churches. According to the National Congregations Study, non-denominational congregations now account for roughly 1 in 5 Protestant churchgoers — up from about 1 in 10 in the early 2000s. In some fast-growing Sun Belt metros, that ratio is closer to 1 in 3.

Why are non-denominational churches growing while most mainline denominations shrink? The research points to several factors:

– Brand flexibility. Non-denominational churches aren’t weighed down by association with a larger institutional brand. When denominations become associated with specific political positions or scandals, individual churches under that umbrella suffer even if they had nothing to do with it. Non-denominational churches avoid this guilt-by-association problem.
– Worship style adaptability. Without denominational worship guidelines, these churches can adapt their music, sermon format, and service structure to match what their specific community wants. This often means contemporary music, casual dress codes, and sermon series structured around practical life topics.
– Entrepreneurial leadership. Many non-denominational churches are led by founding pastors with strong vision and communication skills. For better or worse, these churches often function more like startups than traditional institutions.
– Lower barriers to entry for newcomers. People who are new to church or returning after years away often find non-denominational churches less intimidating. There’s no assumed liturgical knowledge, no denominational jargon, and usually an explicit emphasis on welcoming visitors.

This isn’t to say denominations are disappearing. The Southern Baptist Convention remains the largest Protestant body in the U.S. with about 13 million members. The Catholic Church still claims roughly 70 million American adherents. But the center of gravity is shifting, and non-denominational churches are where much of the new growth is happening.

The Multisite and Megachurch Model

Closely related to the non-denominational surge is the continued growth of multisite churches — single organizations that operate campuses in multiple locations, often with a central teaching pastor whose sermons are broadcast to satellite sites.

The Leadership Network’s most recent multisite research found that over 5,000 U.S. churches now operate at least two campuses, up from roughly 1,500 in 2010. Some of the largest — Life.Church, Church of the Highlands, Elevation Church, Transformation Church — operate 15 to 40+ campuses across multiple states.

The model works for several reasons. It’s more capital-efficient than building new standalone churches. It allows proven teaching and programming to scale. And it gives attendees the experience of a large, well-resourced church while often maintaining a smaller campus feel with 200-500 people per location.

Critics argue that the multisite model creates a celebrity-pastor dependency, reduces local pastoral care, and can feel more like a franchise than a congregation. These are legitimate concerns. The research is mixed: Hartford Institute studies show that multisite campuses generally maintain strong volunteer engagement and giving rates, but pastoral care satisfaction scores tend to be lower at satellite campuses compared to the main campus.

Megachurches (defined as congregations with 2,000+ weekly attendance) now number over 1,750 in the U.S. — a figure that has roughly tripled since 2000. They account for a disproportionate share of total churchgoers. About 10-12% of all weekly church attenders in America go to a megachurch, even though megachurches represent less than 1% of all congregations.

Hybrid and Online Worship: Here to Stay

Before COVID, only about 10% of U.S. churches offered any form of online worship. By the end of 2020, that number was over 90%. In 2026, online and hybrid worship have settled into a permanent feature of the church landscape, though the models vary widely.

The Barna Group’s 2025 State of the Church report categorizes digital church engagement into three tiers:

– Supplement viewers — people who primarily attend in person but occasionally watch online when sick, traveling, or unable to make it on a given Sunday. This is the largest group, accounting for about 35-40% of regular churchgoers.
– Hybrid attenders — people who split their engagement roughly evenly between in-person and online. This group makes up about 10-15% of regular churchgoers and has been growing steadily since 2022.
– Online-only attenders — people who watch church services online but rarely or never attend in person. Estimates range from 15-20 million Americans, many of whom live in rural areas without nearby churches, have physical disabilities that limit mobility, or work schedules (healthcare, hospitality, first responders) that conflict with Sunday morning services.

The debate over whether online church “counts” has mostly given way to a more pragmatic reality: churches that offer high-quality digital options reach more people. Period. The theological and pastoral questions about embodied community remain important, but most church leaders have moved past the binary of “online vs. in-person” and are instead asking how to create meaningful connection points for both.

Some of the most innovative work is happening in midsize churches (200-800 weekly attendance) that use online platforms not just for broadcasting services but for small group facilitation, prayer request management, and weekday devotional content. These churches are finding that online tools can actually increase in-person attendance by keeping people connected during the week.

Geographic Shifts: Sun Belt Growth, Rural Decline

Church attendance patterns closely mirror broader U.S. population trends. Sun Belt metro areas — Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Nashville, Phoenix, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Austin — are seeing significant church growth, driven largely by population influx and church planting. The North American Mission Board (NAMB) reported planting over 600 new churches in 2024, with the majority in Sun Belt and suburban markets.

Meanwhile, rural churches and congregations in population-losing regions of the Midwest, Northeast, and Appalachia continue to struggle. The average rural church in America now has fewer than 60 regular attenders, and many are led by bivocational pastors who work another job during the week.

Suburban churches remain the healthiest segment overall. They benefit from growing populations, younger demographics, available land for expansion, and the financial resources of suburban households. This is where most multisite expansion is happening, and it’s where new non-denominational church plants are most likely to succeed.

Urban churches tell a split story. Downtown congregations in cities with strong population growth (Nashville, Denver, Raleigh) are often thriving. But urban churches in shrinking or stagnant cities face the same challenges as their rural counterparts, compounded by higher facility costs.

Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Pews

Martin Luther King Jr. famously called 11 a.m. on Sunday “the most segregated hour in America.” While Sunday mornings remain more racially homogeneous than most other public gatherings, the trend is slowly shifting.

Multiracial churches — defined by researchers as congregations where no single racial group makes up more than 80% of the attendees — have grown from about 6% of U.S. congregations in 2000 to roughly 16% in 2024, according to data from the Multiracial Congregations Project at Rice University. Among churches founded after 2010, the share is even higher: about 25%.

Hispanic/Latino church growth is one of the most significant demographic stories in American Christianity. The Pew Research Center found that about 47% of Hispanic Americans attend church at least monthly, and Hispanic evangelical and Pentecostal congregations are among the fastest-growing churches in the country. Many Catholic parishes in the South and West have become majority-Hispanic in the past decade.

Asian American church growth, particularly among Korean, Chinese, and Filipino congregations, continues in metro areas with large Asian American populations. Second-generation Asian American Christians are increasingly moving from ethnic-specific churches to multiethnic congregations, creating interesting dynamics around cultural identity and worship style.

Black church attendance has remained more stable than white church attendance over the past decade, though it’s not immune to the broader dechurching trend. The Black church continues to serve as a center of community life, social services, and political organizing in ways that distinguish it from most white evangelical and mainline congregations.

What Growing Churches Have in Common

Across denominations, geographies, and church sizes, the congregations that are growing in 2026 share several characteristics. These aren’t guarantees — context matters enormously — but the research patterns are clear.

– Strong, consistent teaching. Growing churches invest heavily in sermon quality. This doesn’t mean flashy production values — it means thoughtful, well-prepared messages that connect scripture to real life. The Hartford Institute’s research consistently finds that “quality of preaching” is the #1 factor churchgoers cite when explaining why they chose their church.
– Genuine hospitality (not just a greeting team). There’s a difference between someone handing you a bulletin and someone actually learning your name. Growing churches train their members — not just a volunteer team — to notice and engage newcomers. The follow-up after a first visit matters enormously: a personal text or email within 24 hours is far more effective than a form letter.
– Small groups and relational depth. Sunday morning alone doesn’t build community. Growing churches have robust small group, home group, or life group systems that give people a place to belong, not just attend. Research from the Exponential Network found that churches with over 50% of their congregation in small groups grow at nearly twice the rate of churches without structured small group programs.
– Clear next steps for newcomers. Growing churches don’t leave visitors wondering what to do after their first Sunday. There’s a visible path: attend a service, come to a newcomer event, join a small group, find a place to serve. The simpler and more explicit that path is, the better the retention.
– Active community engagement. Churches that are known in their neighborhoods for tangible good — food pantries, tutoring programs, disaster relief, addiction recovery support — tend to grow faster than churches that are only known for their Sunday services. This is especially true among younger demographics.

Giving and Financial Realities

Church finances tell their own story about engagement trends. The Giving USA Foundation reported that religious giving totaled approximately $145 billion in 2024, making it the largest single category of charitable giving in America. However, adjusted for inflation, religious giving has been essentially flat for a decade while other charitable categories have grown.

Per-capita giving to churches has declined. The average churchgoing household gives about 2.2% of income to their church, down from about 2.5% in 2010 and far below the 3.1% average from the 1970s. Megachurches and larger congregations tend to have higher per-capita giving, likely because they attract more engaged members and have more sophisticated giving platforms (online, mobile, recurring).

Digital giving has been a bright spot. Churches that adopted online and mobile giving platforms saw giving increase by an average of 15-20% compared to churches relying solely on physical offering plates. Recurring automated giving, in particular, smooths out the seasonal fluctuations that have traditionally made church budgeting difficult.

Looking Ahead: What Comes Next

Predicting the future of church attendance is a fool’s errand, but the current data suggests a few likely trajectories:

Continued polarization between growing and declining churches. The “middle” is hollowing out. Small-to-midsize churches that were already struggling before COVID are closing at an accelerated rate. Larger, well-resourced churches are absorbing many of those members. This consolidation is likely to continue.

The “nones” plateau. The percentage of religiously unaffiliated Americans has been growing for two decades, but there are early signs that the growth is decelerating. Some researchers, including Ryan Burge at Eastern Illinois University, have suggested that the “nones” may plateau at around 35-38% of the population — still a massive shift from the single-digit figures of the 1990s, but not the inevitable march toward total secularization that some predicted.

Church planting will remain critical. New churches reach new people. The data on this is unambiguous: church plants are 6-10 times more effective at reaching unchurched people than established churches, according to research from the Exponential Network. Denominations and networks that invest in planting will be better positioned than those that only try to revitalize existing congregations.

Technology will keep evolving. AI-powered tools for sermon preparation, member management, and community engagement are already emerging. Churches that thoughtfully adopt technology — without losing the human connection that makes church meaningful — will have an advantage.

The re-churching opportunity is enormous. Remember those 40 million dechurched Americans? The Great Dechurching research found that a significant majority of them are open to returning under the right circumstances. They didn’t leave because they stopped believing — they left because of a bad experience, a life transition, or simple drift. Churches that learn to re-engage this population compassionately and without judgment have a generational opportunity.

Your Next Step

Whether you’ve been attending church for decades, you’re thinking about going back after a long break, or you’re exploring for the first time, the data makes one thing clear: there are more options and more ways to engage than at any point in American history. The challenge isn’t a shortage of churches — it’s finding the one that actually fits who you are and what you need right now.

Prophetic Link:
“Our young people need to be helped, uplifted, and encouraged… They need good, sanctifying religion more than anything else.” Messages to Young People, p. 287.

Source References

• Church Attendance Trends in 2026: What the Data Shows

AP News, by Angela Charlton: The new leader of Iran’s top security body is threatening neighbors against joining new U.S. efforts to squeeze Tehran’s economy. Egypt is trying to revive Iran-U.S. negotiations. And Iraq and Iran say Tehran has helped some ships carrying Iraqi oil to transit the Strait of Hormuz. France and Saudi Arabia are expected to discuss plans to bypass the waterway.

Meanwhile, Israel has carried out strikes in Syria and in Gaza.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Saturday. Full coverage can be found here.

Iran’s new top security adviser issues threats

The hard-line new leader of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council threatened Tehran’s neighbors against joining the new U.S. effort to hurt Iran’s economy, and accused the United States of increasing global nuclear insecurity with months of war.

“If (Trump) wants to do something, we will retaliate in a seismic manner,” he said in an interview with the state broadcaster that aired Saturday.

Mohsen Rezaei was named this month as part of senior appointments widely seen as hardening Tehran’s political and military stance. His interview with IRIB is his most extensive public statement since then.

Rezaei said Iran would target oil-shipping routes out of the Persian Gulf — alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz — if neighbors join what he described as the economic war against Iran. Those neighbors would be considered enemies and “we will target their interests,” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump in the past week has vowed to increase Iran’s pain by imposing an “unprecedented” level of economic warfare and isolation. Iran has lived under sanctions for years.

Rezaei said discussions with Oman, located on the other side of the strait, over management of it were ongoing, and said fees would be imposed. Iran asserted control over what was seen as an international waterway shortly after the U.S. and Israel attacked on Feb. 28.

Rezaei also vowed to make changes to Iran’s diplomacy and bring new capabilities to what he called the next war. He warned the U.S. against sending more military personnel to the region, and said the U.S. had increased nuclear insecurity because countries see that participating in international monitoring efforts, as Iran has done, is no protection against attack.

Egypt tries to revive US-Iran negotiations

The top diplomats for Egypt and Iran discussed efforts to bring Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table to settle the war, Egypt’s foreign ministry said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty also discussed the Iranian-Omani talks, the ministry said.

Araghchi briefed Egypt’s foreign minister about “Iran’s view of ongoing developments, the course of negotiations and their challenges,” the ministry said, without elaborating. Araghchi confirmed the call. Separately, Araghchi said he had a call with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Iran and Iraq say some Iraqi oil is facilitated through the strait

The governments of Iraq and Iran said Tehran has helped some ships carrying Iraqi oil to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil, natural gas and other supplies, but there were few details.

“There is facilitation for some ships carrying Iraqi oil in the Strait of Hormuz,” Iraqi President Nizar Amidi said in comments published Saturday by the state-run news agency, adding that Iraq doesn’t have a national carrier for transporting oil.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said a number of Iraqi oil tankers have been permitted to transit. It was not clear how many or what Iran might have received in return.

Syria says an Israeli drone strikes inside a village

An Israeli drone strike on a vehicle wounded one person on Saturday in the southwestern Syrian village of Beit Jin, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA. Syria’s foreign ministry said several civilians were injured and called the strike a flagrant violation of the country’s sovereignty.

The Israeli military said it targeted a “terrorist who advanced terror attacks in final stages of preparation,” without elaborating. It wasn’t immediately clear if it was the same strike.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes around Syria after the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in late 2024, mainly destroying army assets to keep them out of the hands of his successors.

Messages differ on the Golan Heights

In an interview on Friday with Mario Nawfal, a Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur, U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack said Israel “still” occupies the Golan Heights in violation of U.N. resolutions.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Saturday in a statement called Barrack’s remarks “full of inaccuracies and positions that contradict Trump’s own position.”

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981. The U.N. considers the territory occupied Syrian land. But in March 2019, Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, reversing decades of U.S. policy.

French president and Saudi crown prince will meet

French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are expected to discuss plans to develop alternatives routes to the Strait of Hormuz during the Saudi leader’s two-day visit to Paris that starts on Sunday, according to officials in the presidency who weren’t authorized to be publicly named.

Proposals include increasing trade through Omani ports outside of the Persian Gulf, expanding or doubling pipelines in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, and developing new rail links, the officials said.

France and Saudi Arabia have formed a task force on energy and logistics connections between the Middle East and Europe that is scheduled to meet at the ministerial level Monday. The officials said the work would focus on identifying the most strategic projects, securing financing and establishing roles for French companies.

An Israeli strike in Gaza kills 1 Palestinian

An Israeli strike on the backyard of a house in central Gaza killed one Palestinian and wounded another Saturday, according to health officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital.

Israel’s military said it targeted Sharif al-Hasanat, a Hamas commander who “advanced terror attacks and took part in efforts to restore Hamas’ underground infrastructure.” Days earlier, a U.S. negotiator reportedly asked Israel to draw down attacks while seeking to make progress on the ceasefire.

Prophetic Link:
“There are wars, and rumors of wars. The nations are angry, and the time of the dead has come, that they should be judged. Events are changing to bring about the day of God which hasteth greatly. Only a moment of time, as it were, yet remains.” Christian Service, p. 56.

Source References

• Iran security chief threatens neighbors against economic measures, and other Mideast developments

Scripps News: Days of storms and flooding in Indiana left at least six people dead as floodwaters peaked in Indianapolis’ White River and rains were expected to ease in the state capital region and other parts of the state Sunday.

A 4-year-old boy, two men and three women were among those who had died since the storms began Aug. 11, said Liz Woods, a spokesperson for the state Department of Homeland Security.

Officials in Jennings County, in the southern end of the state, said the boy was killed Tuesday when a tree crashed through his bedroom during strong winds.

“This is obviously unexpected,” Jennings County Deputy Chief Cody Low told the local ABC affiliate. “There’s nothing we can say that is going to make it any better. We’re going to push through this as a community.”

The other victims included a 19-year-old man whose body was recovered Saturday. Officials in Delaware County, located east of Indianapolis, said Matthew Morey had jumped off a bridge into the rushing waters of the Mississinewa River with friends three days earlier.

Family and friends gathered earlier in the week at the bridge to remember the recent high school graduate, who was headed to Purdue University, and warn of the dangers of swollen rivers.

Delaware County officials also said they recovered the body of Stephanie Sallee and her dog in a cornfield on Saturday, not far from her car. They believe the 58-year-old had been driving on a flooded road when the vehicle was swept away. In a statement shared with local news outlets, her family remembered her as a compassionate and loving person who adored her grandchildren and other young relatives.

In Indianapolis, flooding from the White River peaked early Sunday morning, with high water levels expected to hold for a few hours before beginning to recede, according to the city Department of Public Works.

The agency said it would reopen the city’s floodgates Sunday and that emergency shelters remained open after hundreds of homes along the river and its canals were evacuated. First responders used boats to rescue people stranded by rapidly rising floodwaters.

Recovery efforts, meanwhile, started in earnest as northern parts of the state began drying out.

“I must admit it is a good morning,” Christine Altman, president of the Hamilton County board of commissioners, said during a Sunday briefing. “It’s not raining, and the water is receding.”

She said the county, located just north of Indianapolis, escaped without any loss of life, though officials were assessing whether a significant bridge damaged in the flooding could be repaired or if it needed to be completely replaced.

Heavy rain and flash flooding were still possible across portions of the central part of the state throughout the day, the National Weather Service warned.

The weather service urged residents to check river and weather forecasts and “stay out of dangerous, fast moving waters” as heavy rain has led to significant flooding along most rivers and creeks across central Indiana. Roads and bridges across the state have also been seriously damaged or washed out entirely by the powerful rushing waters.

Nearly 130,000 utility customers statewide remained without power by midday Sunday, down from a peak of around 300,000, according to Woods and the online utility tracker PowerOutage.us.

Heavy rains have hammered Indiana over the past week, causing rivers to crest and setting new records.

The White River crested at more than 24 feet (7.32 meters) in the communities of Anderson and Noblesville, surpassing records set in 1913.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said the flooding was the worst the capital city has seen in more than 30 years.

Gov. Mike Braun’s office said more than 350 evacuations and scores of rescue and welfare checks have occurred elsewhere in the state, including at a senior mobile home community north of Indianapolis.

President Donald Trump on Saturday approved Braun’s request for federal disaster assistance to help with flooding response and recovery efforts.

The drenching rains and destructive flooding were among the impacts of severe storms that have wreaked havoc across the Midwest and beyond in recent days.

Tornadoes, heavy rains and flash flooding brought serious damage to communities from Illinois to western Pennsylvania.

Prophetic Link:
“The restraining Spirit of God is even now being withdrawn from the world. Hurricanes, storms, tempests, fire and flood, disasters by sea and land, follow each other in quick succession. Science seeks to explain all these. The signs thickening around us, telling of the near approach of the Son of God, are attributed to any other than the true cause. Men cannot discern the sentinel angels restraining the four winds that they shall not blow until the servants of God are sealed; but when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture.” Testimonies to the Church, Vol 6, page 408.1.

Source References

• At least 6 people have died from days of storms and record-setting flooding in Indiana

AP News, by Ty Oneil and Dorany Pineda: Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States, has plummeted to its lowest water level since it was filled some 90 years ago, another sign of the crisis plaguing the Colorado River system.

Water levels at the reservoir, which straddles the Arizona-Nevada border outside Las Vegas, hit 1,040.4 feet (317.1 meters) above sea level on Friday, according to federal data. That’s just below the record set on July 28, 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

“It’s extremely significant and extremely concerning. You have three-quarters of the population of the Colorado River Basin, some 30 million people, who are directly impacted by risks to Lake Mead,” said J.B. Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California and a board member of the Imperial Irrigation District, the largest user of the river’s water.

Hamby said it is vital for states that use Colorado River water to reduce water use.

Drought and dry conditions have stretched along the length of the Colorado and are particularly intense at its source in the Rocky Mountains.

Melting snow provides important water for the river. This past winter, however, saw the worst snowpack on record for the Colorado River Basin, adding more stress on farmers, industry, wildlife and hydropower producers, as well as the 40 million people across seven U.S. states, tribal nations and Mexico who rely on the waterway.

Years of overuse combined with drought and rising temperatures have been depleting Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country’s second-largest reservoir. Both are the lowest they have been in nearly seven decades.

To protect the strained system’s ability to produce hydropower, federal officials said Thursday that they will not release cool Lake Powell water from Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona to protect a threatened native fish, the humpback chub, whose habitat is between the reservoirs.

Federal officials recently announced a short-term proposal to stave off a crisis in the beleaguered waterway, after states that rely on it — California, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah — failed to reach an agreement on how to share the dwindling resource in the long term.

The federal proposal called for the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada to take less water. The Bureau of Reclamation, which released the plan, said it was flexible: Deeper cuts could happen in drier times, while states would have more time to collectively agree on how to manage the scarce resources.

Severe drought in 2022 on Lake Mead, which is held back by Hoover Dam, exposed human remains and forced water officials in Las Vegas to pump water from deeper within the reservoir to continue to supply water to millions of people.

Levels at Lake Powell have dropped so much that it has become difficult to descend far enough to reach the water. Boat ramps have had to move, shut down or be built anew.

Lake Mead and Lake Powell are not alone. Of the 54 Western reservoirs tracked by the Bureau of Reclamation, nine recently recorded their lowest levels in the last three decades.

Federal officials do not believe the record will stay where it is. According to modeling done in July, Lake Mead is forecast to continue dropping through much of the rest of the year.

Prophetic Link:
“We are amid the perils of the last days, and trying times are before us. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken, that those things that cannot be shaken may remain. Drought, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, casualties by sea and land, will multiply. Life will be unsafe anywhere, only as the life is hid with Christ in God. Now, while the angels are holding the four winds, is our opportunity to seek the Lord most earnestly.” Letters and Manuscripts, Volume 8 (1893), Letter 113, par. 19

Source References

• Lake Mead hits historic low water level as Colorado River struggles

NY Post, by Allie Yang: The US is seeing surging numbers of a virus that can cause life-threatening swelling in and around the brain and spinal cord.

And cases will continue to climb, as August has historically been the month where most cases appear.

This summer, the country saw the earliest start of the West Nile virus season — and the most cases in early summer since 2004.

On average over the last 22 years, only about 10 cases are reported by the end of June. This year, the CDC counted 48.

Cases have shot up since then. As of Wednesday, total cases in the US reached 143. As much as 69% of them had an infection that spread to their nervous system.

What does West Nile virus do to the body?

An estimated 80% of people with the virus won’t see symptoms or don’t have severe enough symptoms to go to a doctor.

Most people who do get symptoms get a sudden fever and may experience fatigue, headache, muscle aches, joint pain, a skin rash, vomiting or diarrhea.

About 1% of people experience neuroinvasive disease, or an infection that reaches the nervous system. This requires immediate hospitalization.

The virus could cause meningitis, or swelling of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord. People with meningitis get a sudden high fever, headache, stiff neck, and are sensitive to light. They might also be confused or struggle to stay awake and be nauseous or vomit.

People with similar symptoms might have a more severe condition — encephalitis, or swelling of the brain itself. Someone with encephalitis might also be agitated or get hallucinations, experience movement changes like twitching and tremors, and have trouble balancing.

Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) might happen at the same time as meningitis or encephalitis. AFM affects the spinal cord, causing sudden muscle weakness in the arms or legs, loss of reflexes, facial drooping, and in severe cases, respiratory failure. This condition mainly affects young children.

People who catch West Nile virus are more likely to develop serious neuroinvasive disease if they’re older or are immunocompromised.

Which states are the virus in? When will West Nile virus season be over?

Twenty three states are reporting virus activity — the highest spread in a decade, the CDC said.

Arizona has the most cases, at 71. In Texas, 18 cases have been reported while California has 11.

Washington, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and Pennsylvania have all reported less than five cases this year.

New York currently hasn’t reported any cases in humans. That said, mosquitos infected with the virus have been found across New York state and in NYC. As of July 25, the virus been detected in nearly twice as many Big Apple mosquito samples this summer compared to last year.

West Nile Virus starts to climb in May and peaks in August, which has historically spiked to triple the cases in July. It starts to decrease in September, but remains high until November.

Prophetic Link:
“I saw that God had children who do not see and keep the Sabbath. They have not rejected the light upon it. And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully. [See page 85.] This enraged the churches and nominal Adventists, [See also Appendix.] as they could not refute the Sabbath truth. And at this time God’s chosen all saw clearly that we had the truth, and they came out and endured the persecution with us. I saw the sword, famine, pestilence, and great confusion in the land. The wicked thought that we had brought the judgments upon them, and they rose up and took counsel to rid the earth of us, thinking that then the evil would be stayed.” Early Writings, 33.2

Source References

• Brain-swelling disease carried by mosquitos is surging — with highest numbers so far in 22 years

Economic Times: Luxury is no longer determined by inheritance; it is defined by accomplishment. Mumbai’s high-end residential landscape is experiencing a fundamental shift. The modern luxury consumer is not someone born into privilege, but someone who has earned it. These are leaders, founders, wealth creators, innovators and decision-makers, individuals who value quiet confidence over ostentation, rare experiences over excess and enduring quality over fleeting trends.

For this refined audience, a home is more than a lifestyle choice. It is a personal statement; a reflection of perseverance, intellect and milestones that shaped their journey. Their address must echo the same principles that led them to success: strategy, precision, privacy, and proximity to influence.

Against this backdrop of an evolving luxury mindset, Raymond Realty introduces “The Gold Collar Life” to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). This announcement marks the brand’s next ultra-luxury residential venture in Mumbai’s most influential district, and a defining milestone in its luxury portfolio, the most strategically significant launch to date.

The Gold Collar Life aligns seamlessly with an audience that values power, precision, institutional prestige, and global connectivity. BKC offers unmatched advantages: proximity to Fortune 500 companies, international consulates, and world-class lifestyle destinations, such as Jio World Drive and Jio World Plaza, supported by transformative infrastructure, including the upcoming Bullet Train Terminal, Metro Line 3, and the Coastal Road network. With residences still priced nearly 30% below Bandra West, the district offers a rare pre-convergence opportunity, further elevated by the upcoming Bombay High Court complex, which brings long-term institutional and social permanence. For those shaping India’s economic future, BKC is not just an address; it is Mumbai’s most powerful residential identity.

Raymond Realty’s ultra-luxury philosophy represents the highest expression of design intelligence, precision planning and lifestyle innovation. Conceived through the personal design principles of Chairman and Managing Director Gautam Singhania, the category is founded on a definitive belief: true luxury is earned, not inherited.

Expanding the footprint: Wadala, the next address

As Raymond Realty prepares to introduce The Gold Collar Life to BKC with its upcoming ultra-luxury residential development, the brand is concurrently gearing up for its next strategic expansion: a landmark luxury development in Wadala. Poised to become Mumbai’s third Central Business District (CBD), Wadala is being reshaped by major infrastructure investments, including Metro Lines 4 & 11, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, and the Eastern Freeway. The micro-market is rapidly emerging as a hub of connectivity, investment and long-term appreciation.

Prophetic Link:
“I saw that the powers of earth are now being shaken and that events come in order. War, and rumors of war, sword, famine, and pestilence are first to shake the powers of earth, then the voice of God will shake the sun, moon, and stars, and this earth also. I saw that the shaking of the powers in Europe is not, as some teach, the shaking of the powers of heaven, but it is the shaking of the angry nations.” Early Writings 41.2

Source References

• The Gold Collar Life arrives in BKC: Raymond Realty brings a new ultra-luxury benchmark to Mumbai

Vatican News, by Andrea Tornielli: Even when he speaks about war and peace, migration or how to remain human in the age of artificial intelligence, the Successor of Peter remains, above all, a spiritual leader. The fact that the Bishop of Rome, by virtue of the Lateran Pacts of 1929 that resolved the “Roman Question,” is also the sovereign of the world’s smallest state—less than half a square kilometer in the heart of the Italian capital—does not mean that he acts or speaks as a politician when addressing issues concerning the affairs of humanity.

Pope Paul VI explained this well in his address on October 4, 1965, to the United Nations General Assembly: “This gathering,” he said, “as you are all well aware, has a twofold nature: it is marked at one and the same time by simplicity and by greatness. By simplicity because the one who is speaking to you is a man like yourselves. He is your brother, and even one of the least among you who represent sovereign States, since he possesses—if you choose to consider us from this point of view—only a tiny and practically symbolic temporal sovereignty: the minimum needed in order to be free to exercise his spiritual mission and to assure those who deal with him that he is independent of any sovereignty of this world.” The Pope, on a visit to the United States, immediately added, speaking about himself: “He has no temporal power, no ambition to enter into competition with you. As a matter of fact, we have nothing to ask, no question to raise; at most a desire to formulate, a permission to seek: that of being allowed to serve you in the area of our competence, with disinterestedness, humility and love.”

It is true that, to guarantee the absolute freedom of the Vicar of Christ, it was established nearly a century ago that there would be a tiny patch of land where the Bishop of Rome and Shepherd of the Universal Church would also be sovereign—and thus head of state. But this was, and remains, an arrangement designed to recognize precisely this need for independence from any other state, and not an affirmation of a dual mission. Any glorification or exaggeration of the Pope’s role as head of state, any emphasis on the importance of this role, is therefore misleading because it comes at the expense of his one true mission as universal Shepherd. A Shepherd who speaks to Catholics, Christians, believers, and all people of good will with the sole intent of proclaiming the Gospel—his message of love, brotherhood, and “unarmed and disarming” peace.

This was aptly emphasized by the then-Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, in his address at the Campidoglio on October 10, 1962, on the eve of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. In that speech, the future Pope, speaking of the end of the Church’s temporal power with the fall of the Papal States in 1870, said: “It was then that the papacy resumed with unusual vigor its functions as teacher of life and witness to the Gospel, thus rising to such heights in the spiritual governance of the Church and in its moral influence on the world as never before.”

When he calls for human life to be respected and protected at every stage of its existence, when he speaks of peace with the good of all peoples in mind and calls for an end to the mad arms race—even going beyond the concept of a “just war”—when he calls for dialogue and negotiation by invoking the Magisterium of Social Doctrine, when he calls for migrants to be regarded as people to be welcomed, without ever forgetting their human dignity; when he reminds us that the poor are at the heart of the Gospel and that we must build more just and equitable societies; when he defends the right to religious freedom; when he emphasizes the importance of caring for Creation so that we may pass it on to our children and grandchildren—the Successor of Peter is not speaking as a head of state. He is simply proclaiming the Gospel.

Prophetic Link:
“Rome is aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured.” Great Controversy, p. 581

Source References

• The Pope always speaks as a Shepherd

CBS News, by Lilia Luciano and Lucia I Suarez Sang: Hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico’s capital and surrounding communities woke up without running water as a massive rationing measure took effect Friday. It comes amid a severe drought on top of shortages due to infrastructure issues on the island.

“It’s brutal,” San Juan resident Gloriany Baba told CBS News in Spanish. “It’s unbelievable to live through this today.”

Residents were seen filling up jugs and buckets with water ahead of the rationing, which affects more than 180,000 customer accounts — meaning households and businesses — in San Juan and six other municipalities. Customers were divided into two groups that will alternate not having water for at least 48 hours at a time.

Government officials have not said when the rationing will end and have warned the outages could be extended to 72 hours at a time.

In San Juan, July was the driest month in more than 120 years and the second hottest on record. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, about 36% of Puerto Rico is facing a severe drought, and another 32% is in a moderate drought.

“It’s not going to take one tropical system. It’s going to take many tropical systems and the winter precipitation for us to get out of this drought crisis,” said Ada Monzon, the chief meteorologist at local station WAPA-TV.

The drought has put even more pressure on a water system already strained by decades of underinvestment, deferred maintenance and aging infrastructure.

Puerto Rico’s water authority says roughly 65% of the water it produces is lost or goes unbilled, much of it through leaks and aging pipes.

The island’s governor, Jenniffer González, has acknowledged years of neglect, but blamed the current problem on the weather.

Communities in San Juan have documented at least 118 days in 2026 with repeated water outages before the rationing measures began. Service has been intermittent and has shut off for full days and multiple days at a time. Residents have also complained about very low pressure.

Low-income Puerto Ricans are spending money on bottled water, and the elderly are relying on neighbors and family to carry water to them.

Puerto Rico previously implemented rationing measures in 2020 and in 2015, when some 400,000 utility customers received water only every third day.

Prophetic Link:
“And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.” 1 Kings 18:5

Source References

• Hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico wake up with no running water as rationing begins: “It’s brutal”

Pope Leo, the first US pontiff, has expressed “great love” for his home country and its core principles of freedom, opportunity and welcoming immigrants, but qualified that he just “happens to be American”.

In an interview with the US broadcaster NBC on the sidelines of a prayer event in Castel Gandolfo, the papal retreat near Rome, Leo, who has condemned the immigration policies of Donald Trump’s administration, spoke about his own family history in describing his relationship with the US.

He said his grandparents were immigrants while on his mother’s side, “we have people who were both slaves and slave owners”.

When asked how important being American was to him, Leo said: “I think of myself more as the pope who happens to be American. Not to belittle what it means to be an American.

“I have great love for America but I understand my mission as having a very important dimension, which is precisely being pastor of a universal church and having a voice and an opportunity to speak to people throughout the world.”

Asked what he loved about the US, he replied: “So many things. In a sense, speaking about principles, what America stands for, the sense of freedom, the sense of opportunity, the sense of having invited for generations people from around the world to be part of America.”

Having grown up in the US, Leo, who spent two decades as a missionary in Peru, said he continued to hold the principles “that have been a part of being American for so many years”.

Since being elected pontiff in May last year, Leo, 70, has repeatedly spoken up for migrants and called Trump’s immigration policies “inhuman”.

Relations with the Trump administration worsened further after the pontiff strongly condemned the US-Israeli war against Iran.

In his first key address to the US on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, he praised the country’s history of ⁠welcoming migrants while urging Americans to live up to the ideals put forward in the ⁠declaration, in what was seen as another rebuke to Trump.

The pontiff marked 4 July with a brief visit to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, one of the main entry points to Europe for people making the perilous sea crossing from north Africa in search of refuge.

Leo is yet to take up Trump’s invitation to the White House, made by the vice-president, JD Vance, during a meeting at the Vatican the day after his inaugural papal mass. Leo told NBC that no trip had been planned, but he hoped to visit the US soon.

Prophetic Link:
“And the power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” Revelation 13:7

Source References

• Pope Leo calls himself pontiff who ‘happens to be American’