Emmanuel Macron is the second French President to win re-election. For political scientist Alexandre Del Valle, it was the support of the media and big business that counted. Le Pen's failed electoral campaign, which was over "normalised", also took its toll, as did the decisive contribution of the extreme left-wing voters who had voted for Mélenchon in the first round. And the Islamic vote counted, too. But what if Le Pen had won? "It would have been considerably more complicated for her to govern than it was for Trump"

In view of the decisive vote on 24 April, the Association of Catholic Families of France compared the two presidential candidates. Le Pen's ideas only come close to the non-negotiable principles in a few cases, but on the whole (from her No to euthanasia and cannabis to her Yes to educational freedom) they are more reassuring than Macron's.

The Northern Ireland Assembly is up for renewal on May 5, but the two main nationalist parties, Sinn Féin and SDLP, have already turned their backs on Catholics: they not only support abortion and gay marriage, but are in favor of a law that promotes state schools  penalising Catholic schools. Yet, the number of those electing not to vote is on the  increase.

Catholics too are fascinated by the opposing ideal motivations of the war in Ukraine: Western values of freedom against Russian totalitarianism, or the struggle of a Russian Christian leader against the New World Order. But it is neither; the reality is much more down to earth...

Biden has made too many inappropriate affirmations regarding Putin for them to be attributed exclusively to his lack of diplomacy: it seems their objective is to purposely irritate Moscow, distancing the moment of possible negotiations and therefore risking the acceleration of a potential conflict which threatens to involve Europe. Once again, the divergence of interests which separates the USA from Europe is emerging, together with the revelation of the mediocrity of the EU governing class, apparently willing to permit itself to be placed under outside management.

While Russian military operations in Ukraine are proceeding, Mariupol is about to fall, and pressure is high across the east of the country, the flow of gas to Europe is steady and orders are even increasing. The EU countries are engaged in economic warfare against Russian aggression, but they continue to buy gas from Moscow and expose themselves to economic reprisals.

The announcement of the consecration of Russia and Ukraine is news of historical importance, linked both to the apparitions in Ukraine in 1914 and 1987 and to the request made by Our Lady at Fatima. It is also the affirmation of God's power over nations and the whole world, which finally puts God back at the centre of the world's life. But we must not forget that in Fatima Our Lady also asked for penance and reparation, because war is the consequence of our sins.

“They are bombing primarily Mariupol with diabolical force, because it is a Marian city and the devil is trying to destroy it.” One of the two Pauline Fathers, now displaced, told Vatican Radio: “Our escape was miraculous. But we will return to rebuild.”

British historian Tim Stanley and columnist for The Telegraph explains to the Daily Compass why the idea of a post-Soviet Russia being a Christian bulwark against a secularised West has never been true: "Putin tried to restore Russia as it was around 1900". But at the same time it is wrong to think that Ukraine is fighting in the name of democracy: "The truth is they are fighting for their homes, their land and their families."

The war in Ukraine did not break out on 24 February 2022, but on 20 February 2014. First the annexation of Crimea, then the uprising of pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass caused a conflict which has cost thousands of casualties and almost two million refugees. A review of these eight years is essential to understand the reason for the current fighting.

The greatest risk to religious freedom in Ukraine is faced above all by the communities in the republics of Lugansk and Donetsk, recently recognised by the Russian Federation. In Crimea, before the Russian occupation, there were 50 religious organisations operating on the peninsula, while by 2019 their number had already dropped to nine. The Daily Compass interviews Alessandro Monteduro, director of the Italian section of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)

With the invasion of Ukraine, Putin's Russia has crossed a border that leads it towards a total break with the West, and forces it to be fatally sucked into a Eurasian axis with China from which it has everything to lose in the long run, since it can only play the role of vassal. It is the end of a long season in which the country, after the adjustment following the end of the USSR, has tried to find a balance between inclusion in the globalised economy and maintaining its status as an imperial power, albeit on a smaller scale than in the past.