News Briefing: Church in the World

The Greek Orthodox and Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem began a pastoral visit to Gaza.

The joint visit by Patriarch Theophilus III and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa expressed their responsibility “toward the local churches and toward the whole population of Gaza, where families continue to endure grave humanitarian suffering, fear, loss and uncertainty”, according to a statement issued on Monday. 

“Through prayer, personal encounter and pastoral presence, they seek to offer spiritual strength, comfort and hope in the midst of deep suffering,” it said. They were accompanied by the Grand Hospitaller of the Order of Malta Josef Blotz.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally began a five-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land on 20 June, with visits scheduled for Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem and Birzeit.

Discussions about the reopening of the Greek Orthodox seminary in Halki entered a “new phase” after talks between the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. 

Their meeting in Ankara on 16 June has boosted expectations that the seminary could reopen this autumn. Erdoğan has instructed the president of the Council of Higher Education to continue talks with the Ecumenical Patriarchate after years of stagnation.  

The patriarchate’s main Theological School on the island of Heybeliada off the coast of Istanbul was closed in 1971 by a ruling of the Turkish Constitutional Court, leaving it without a place to train clergy. Discussions about a reopening began in 1991, after the appointment of Bartholomew as patriarch, and have had wide international support.  

Some observers link the recent momentum on the discussions to pressure from US President Donald Trump prior to his attendance at the Nato summit in Ankara in July. Patriarch Bartholomew said that he awaits authorisation from the Turkish authorities to allow the college to resume operations.  

Building renovations are due to be completed in September of this year and Bartholomew confirmed that preparations were underway for a reopening ceremony. No date has yet been set and discussions about the status of the college within the Turkish higher education system are still in progress.

The Bishop of Münster Heiner Wilmer was installed at a Mass in a packed Paulusdom on Sunday afternoon.  

In his first sermon as bishop of the largest German diocese, Wilmer said: “Our time has become restless. We are torn between a deep desire for meaning, for permanence, for eternity – and for a reality that is often lost in the moment.” His message to his new flock was: “Do not be afraid.”  

Ahead of his installation, Wilmer – who is also head of the German bishops’ conference – had undertaken a five-day walking pilgrimage through his new diocese, during which he met students, farmers, soldiers and people with disabilities. The Church, Wilmer said, should be close to the people.  

He thanked the many visitors who had come to the cathedral, speaking in German, English, French, Dutch, Spanish and Polish as well as his native low German: “The Church is beautiful: it is attractive, especially when people come together, believe together, sing together, hope together. The one who gives us this dense experience is God.”

Around 1,000 supporters attended the March for Life in Oslo on 13 June, the first pro-life event in city since 1986. “This time we were allowed to walk in peace,” said Ragnhild Helena Aadland Høen, public affairs officer for the Norwegian Catholic Bishops’ Council, recalling the large and sometimes violent counterprotests that met the previous march. 

The 2026 march was organised by the pro-life organisation Velg Livet. Its director Cecilie Marie Røinås said it was time for a new public witness: “With recent expansions of Norwayʼs abortion laws, it is important that we continue to be a voice for unborn life and not act as if the discussion is over.”  

In her speech on the parliament steps, Ingrid Olina Hovland from the Christian Democratic Party said: “Even in a society with generous welfare benefits, the fundamental question remains: what moral value do we assign to unborn human life, and how should that value be weighed against other interests and rights?”

An independent investigation into the sexual and physical abuse perpetrated between 1950 and 2010 at Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram, a private school run by the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Bétharram in the Pyrenées-Atlantiques, in southwest France, published its report on 20 June.  

It offers 25 recommendations, centred on truth, justice, reparation and prevention. These include creating a citizens’ tribunal and an independent mechanism tasked with monitoring the implementation of the recommendations, along with financially compensating victims for both psychological and physical abuse.  

Beyond the crimes that took place at the school, the report also questions Catholic institutional culture, the abuse of religious authority and the governance mechanisms that enabled decades of silence and concealment. It highlights institutional failure and the “idolisation” of authority figures and calls for preventing the instrumentalisation of religious authority.

The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints promulgated a decree to recognise the martyrdom of 20 Spanish priests killed “in hatred of the faith” at the start of the Spanish Civil War.  

They include Juan Torres Torres, the 25-year-old priest who was the youngest martyr to die during a wave of anti-Catholic persecution in August and September 1936 in the Balearic Islands of Ibiza and Formentera. The oldest priest killed, Fr José Tur Bennassar, was born in 1859. The 20 martyrs represented half the priests then serving Ibiza.  

The previous bishop of Ibiza opened the cause for the martyrs’ beatification in 2008, and their feast is marked in the diocese on 13 September, the day most were killed. The Church has beatified more than 2,200 martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, and canonised 11. 

Some estimates suggest that in the 1930s, 13 bishops, 4,154 priests and seminarians, 2,365 religious and 283 nuns were killed in the persecution in Spain, along with approximately 4,000 laymen.

People who joined the Catholic Church in the United States this year wanted to grow in goodness and virtue, desired a deeper understanding of truth and sought a greater sense of inner peace, according to a report released on 18 June by the Archdiocese of Chicago. 

Church officials said they developed the survey to understand what is driving a recent surge in conversions and how the church should respond. “While this study represents an early effort to understand this growing interest in the Catholic Church, the findings already provide insights,” said the authors wrote of “Why Are So Many People Becoming Catholic? 20 US Catholic Dioceses Collaborate to Study Emerging Interest in the Catholic Church”. 

The report is based on a survey conducted from 22 February to 31 May of 2,127 US residents who participated in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) in 2026. The project began as a local effort within the Archdiocese of Chicago, but expanded amid interest from 19 other dioceses. The report includes more than a dozen insights, as well as related recommendations for parishes and dioceses that include reducing barriers and offering continued formation after OCIA.

The Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, and a local pregnancy centre challenged a state non-discrimination law that they argue would compel them to hire employees who do not share their pro-life mission. 

“We must have the freedom to follow and express our convictions without government interference,” said Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield in a statement announcing a legal filing in a federal appeals court on 2 June. 

“Our employees represent the diocese and are expected to uphold our standards of conduct to ensure they align with the doctrine and moral teaching of the Catholic Church,” Paprocki said. “However, under the state law, we cannot hire or retain employees based on our deeply held religious beliefs on pro-life teachings without being subject to disciplinary action.” 

Starting in January 2025, the Illinois Human Rights Act incorporated “reproductive health decisions” among the existing categories of unlawful discrimination, which include race, colour and religion, among others.

The bishops of Colombia said Pope Leo had urged their compatriots to follow “the path of reconciliation, fraternity and concord” ahead of the presidential elections on Sunday, where the right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella claimed victory.  

In a message issued after meeting the Pope last week, the bishops said: “We urged all Colombians to trust ourselves, to recognise the value and dignity of every single Colombian and to show the goodness all of us are capable of, remembering that building the country we dream of is possible, above and beyond the problems that affect us and the differences that separate us.”  

They continued: “We welcome the cry rising from every corner of our geographical [terrain] supplicating for an end to injustice, violence, hatred and death. We can work together for the common good, for a reconciled, fraternal country at peace that all of us may inhabit and enjoy, ourselves and the younger generations.” 

On Sunday, an early vote count indicated that De la Espriella, a lawyer backed by US President Trump and nicknamed El Tigre (“The Tiger”) had won 49.66 per cent of the vote share, beating his left-wing opponent the senator and philosopher Ivan Cepeda, who appeared to have secured 48.70 per cent of the vote.  

A social media post from Colombia’s current president Gustavo Petro urged Colombians to remain “tranquil”, saying the country’s judges would declare the electoral victor after due scrutiny and counting of the votes.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ (CBCP) endorsed an anti-corruption rally organised by an interreligious council in response to the country’s biggest political crisis in decades. The rally, planned for 28 June, is called the White Ribbon March to symbolise that the fight against corruption knows no political colours.  

Corruption controversies have hounded both President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Vice President Sara Duterte, former allies who are now political rivals. Previous Church-led protests have been accused of partiality, allegedly keeping silent on Marcos while criticising Duterte. 

The president of the CBCP, the Archbishop of Lipa Gilbert Garcera, described the White Ribbon March as a “a faith-based and non-partisan call for truth, accountability, justice and righteousness in public life”. In a statement on 22 June, Archbishop Garcera said: “Those who, guided by their conscience and local circumstances, wish to participate in this peaceful gathering may do so prayerfully and respectfully.” 

The White Ribbon March was convened by the Interreligious Leaders’ Council for National Transformation, a group composed of various religious groups and led by the Bishop of Kidapawan Jose Colin Bagaforo. 

Evangelical Bishop Efraim Tendero explained that while the country’s constitution mandates the separation of Church and state, “we cannot separate the state from God”. He said: “We want righteousness to continue to reign.”

Pope Leo warned Filipino couples against individualism in a message marking 45 years since the foundation of Couples for Christ (CFC), one of the Philippines’ most influential lay organisations. 

The Pope’s message was read during a Mass on 20 June at a stadium packed with over 25,000 CFC members and guests. “In a world driven by individualism and a desire for instant gratification, it is becoming increasingly difficult to make the lifelong commitment that is essential for holy matrimony,” the Pope told CFC. 

He prayed that Filipino couples “will also unite themselves ever more closely to Our Lord”, so that the grace of the sacrament of marriage “may continually perfect the natural love of the spouses and strengthen their unity”. 

He continued: “In this way, by giving of oneself and receiving the other in the intimate and sacrificial love of married life, married couples will become joyful witnesses to the selfless and life-giving love of the Trinity, which leads to the true fulfilment of the human heart.” 

Founded in 1981, the CFC is known for speaking out on pro-life issues and opposing the legalisation of divorce in the Philippines, the only other country aside from the Vatican that prohibits divorce.

Church agencies working with Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar appealed for international support as they approached nine years since their exile from Myanmar. 

“When we began our mission in Cox’s Bazar at the end of 2017, we believed that the Rohingya refugees … would soon be able to return home. However, that hope has not yet become a reality,” said Fr Jerry Raymond Gomes SJ, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) project director in Bangladesh. 

“Let us remember our refugee brothers and sisters,” he said ahead of World Refugee Day on 20 June. “Let us work together to build a future where everyone can live in peace and security.” 

Pope Leo urged “everyone to welcome those who are victims of persecution so that they may live in peace, with dignity, and look to the future with hope” in a statement at the Angelus on Sunday marking World Refugee Day.

South African bishops urged young people to vote in November’s local government elections amid a breakdown of public utilities, high unemployment and rising economic hardships. Recent elections have been marked by youth apathy despite calls for young people to exercise their democratic rights. 

“When you go and register to vote and go and vote for this country’s new government, you will not only be making use of your legitimate right,” said Bishop Siphiwo Vanqa of Queenstown in an address commemorating the 1976 student protests that left scores of young people dead. 

“You will be acknowledging the blood, sweat, and tears of the many heroes and heroines, dead and alive, who lived, dreamed, suffered and died for your right to be able to vote in free and democratic South Africa.”

Malawi must invest more in water and sanitation for children, a bishop demanded, as public services suffer from cuts to international aid. Lack of access to clean water affects millions of children in Malawi and constantly threatens the outbreak of disease. 

“A child who lacks access to safe water is exposed to preventable diseases. A child who learns in a school without adequate sanitation facilities is denied a conducive learning environment,” said Bishop Vincent Mwakhwawa, an auxiliary in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe who serves as chair of the National Children’s Commission of Malawi. 

“We must ensure that access to water, sanitation and hygiene is not determined by where a child lives, their gender or their socio-economic circumstances,” Bishop Mwakhwawa said, urging government and development partners to widen access to clean water.

Bishops in Burundi called for financial compensation for catechists supporting the Church’s growth. According to international aid agencies, Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, and catechists usually work as unpaid volunteers. 

“Given the current economic situation marked by the devaluation of the currency and the rise in the prices of essential goods, there is an urgent need to increase this remuneration [of catechists] beyond the level of the last adjustment made in 2021,” the bishops’ conference said in a statement on 19 June issued after their plenary assembly. 

Burundi faces high levels of unemployment, the bishops said, and last year they proposed the establishment of projects that would ensure the local Church’s self-sufficiency to support both priests and other pastoral workers. The Burundi Office of Employment and Workforce says women are worst affected by economic hardships.

A Church agency in the Democratic Republic of Congo called for an end to violent public speeches which increase political tensions.  SIGNIS, an international Catholic communication body, raised concerns last week that Congolese outlets were being used to sow division and violence.  

“Traditional media and digital platforms, which should be spaces for information, education and democratic exchange, are increasingly becoming places where verbal violence takes precedence over the debate of ideas,” it said in a statement on 18 June.  

“Can a republic be built on insults?” it asked, warning that the complexity of national politics combined with fighting between government forces and militias in the east of the country have led to persistent violence. 

“Can national unity be founded on the humiliation of those who think differently? Can democracy be promoted by encouraging discourse that divides, stigmatises and pits citizens against one another?” the SIGNIS statement continued. It said that “no society can sustainably build peace, national cohesion and development by making insults a common mode of expression”.

The leader of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) in Nigeria urged Muslim voters in the to evaluate their choices carefully ahead of the coming elections, arguing that the outcome would determine the future political balance in the country. 

Referencing the August 2026 off-cycle governorship election in Osun State, in southwest Nigeria, the Professor Ishaq Akintola urged Muslims to be vigilant ahead of the next governorship election, warning them not to allow Governor Ademola Adeleke to “mock them a second time”. He issued the warning on Saturday, alleging that the governor’s administration had politically marginalised Muslims in the state despite expectations of inclusiveness during the 2022 election.

Akintola said the forthcoming election presented another opportunity for voters to reassess the governor’s leadership, accusing him of failing to demonstrate equitable representation in his cabinet and governance structure. He alleged that Muslims in the state were sidelined in political appointments, arguing that the composition of the state executive council showed imbalance. 

“We recall how he marginalised the Muslims of Osun State while deceiving them that he is one of them … with his club-dancing theatrics,” Akintola said. He also referenced MURIC’s statement of 10 July 2023, in which the group criticised the allocation of commissioners in the state executive council, alleging that 17 positions were given to Christians compared to seven Muslims. 

Akintola also accused the governor of engaging in what he described as “political theatrics”, including appearances at religious events, which he said raised concerns about identity and trust. He also criticised the governor’s leadership style, claiming it lacked transparency and consistency and had been characterised by controversy.

The Pathways to Freedom Africa Network (PFAN) brought together bishops, government officials, United Nations agencies and trafficking survivors for its inaugural summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja last month. The two-day summit, on the theme “Inclusive Strategies for Ending Human Trafficking: Reaching the Most Marginalised”, saw participants adopt an “action agenda” developing initiatives across Africa to combat trafficking. More than 20 per cent of participants at the PFAN summit were people with disabilities.

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