News Briefing: Church in the World

The Latin American and Caribbean Bishops held a day of prayer on 28 August for victims of earthquakes in Venezuela and Colombia. The Archbishop Zanoni Demettino of Feira Santana, in the Bahia region of Brazil, read aloud the parable of the Good Samaritan during the 44-minute livestreamed service.  

“In the light of a tragedy of this magnitude, the Gospel of the Good Samaritan takes on a special strength – becomes particularly powerful,” he said. “Jesus asks us once more ‘Who will be close to the person on the edge of the road?’ Today, Venezuela and Colombia represent that wounded brother.”  

Oly Silva, coordinator of SEPAC, the secretariat for pastoral ministry to the Afro-American and Caribbean communities, said: “Today the tremor of the earth has summoned us, but the tremor of our hearts of solidarity is stronger.” 

She continued: “Today we come together to recall what our elders taught us by the kitchen fire – that solidarity does not recognise colour – it is neither black nor white. It is human.”  

Inger Bellorain, representing Afro-Venezuelan Catholics, said: “Today, the solidarity of the whole world with our country has been the guarantee that God is present in each and every one of us. Every Venezuelan who suffered, directly or indirectly … today sees the light of hope of Jesus through the solidarity of Latin America”.

The Archdiocese of Mexico will expand a system of “postboxes” in churches where people can anonymously leave information about kidnappings. The Archbishop of Mexico City Cardinal Carlos Aguiar said the “postboxes for peace” initiative pioneered by the archdiocese a few months ago had “started to bear fruit” and will now be expanded to a greater number of parishes.  

The archdiocese provides free instructions on how to set up the boxes in churches and has urged the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum to listen to the families of victims of kidnapping.  

In a statement, the archdiocese said: “Perhaps someone knows something and is afraid to speak out. Perhaps they might know a fact that they think trivial or of little importance. These boxes offer a safe, and anonymous space so that this information can get through and contribute towards searches [for the kidnapped].”

The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) led a meeting on a faith-based response to Drugs and the Criminal Recruitment of Young People in Rome on 25-27 August. 

The initiative emerged from an experience that began in Argentina when Jorge Mario Bergoglio was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The Familia Grande del Hogar de Cristo offered help to young people affected by addiction and accompanied them in their social reintegration. From there, the experience began to spread throughout Latin America and developed a method of accompaniment. 

Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, said recovery did not end when a person stops using drugs. The challenge is to prevent relapse and rebuild the relationships that make it possible to live once again as part of a community.  

“What saves is the family,” she said. When someone is struggling with addiction, their family may regard them as ill, punish them or feel ashamed of them, but accompaniment centres can become a family for those who have lost their own. She said this could also help social integration, rebuilding trust, teaching skills and offering access to employment, which helps “reaffirm a person’s dignity”. 

Fr Carlos Olivero, coordinator of CELAM’s Ecclesial Network of Organised Communities, said that one of the main obstacles to overcome was the idea that addiction is exclusively a matter for specialists. Neuroscientists, psychologists and psychiatrists naturally have a fundamental role to play, he said, but the Church has another role: to be a community, to embrace life and to accompany it.  

“No one is saved alone,” Fr Olivero said. During an audience with those taking part, Pope Leo emphasised that there is “no better protection against drugs than a good family”.

The governing body of the Spanish region of Castile and Leon held a meeting with Archbishop Luis Argüello of Valladolid, the president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, to discuss promoting the canonisation of Queen Isabel the Catholic.  

With her husband, Ferdinand of Aragon, she drove the last Arab monarchs out of southern Spain, a campaign ending with the fall of Granada in 1492. They supported Christopher Columbus’s voyage of discovery to Latin America.

Isabel favoured the evangelisation and protection of the indigenous tribes of Latin America, urging in her will for them to be “well and fairly treated” with the right to compensation if treated otherwise. She died of cancer of the uterus in 1504.  

The cause for the beatification of Isabel opened in 1958 in the Archdiocese of Valladolid and was passed to Rome after the conclusion of its diocesan phase in 1990.

The Pilgrims Office in Santiago de Compostela reported a six per cent increase in the numbers of pilgrims this year. It said more than 363,000 people have received their Compostela or certificate for completing the pilgrimage so far in 2026. Last year, for the first time, more than half a million pilgrims received the Compostela.  

Next year will be a Jacobean or Holy Year in Santiago, with even greater numbers expected. Marcos Gómez, the commissioner for the year, said he was in contact with the Archdiocese of Santiago and the city council regarding improving management of the numbers of pilgrims flowing into the city at any given time.  

He added that he wished to promote to pilgrims the use of routes to Santiago apart from the well-known French Camino, including “the silver route” which begins in the southern city of Seville.  A visit by the Pope to Santiago would mark “a splendid climax” to the Jacobean year, Gómez added.

The French district of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) urged its adherents to visit Lourdes for its annual pilgrimage in October despite the bishop responsible for the shrine banning the group from holding it there following its excommunication. 

The pilgrimage has in the past attracted several thousand devotees who attended SSPX Masses and rituals in the sanctuary’s basilica and at the grotto where Bernadette Soubirous said the Virgin Mary appeared to her in 1858.

The consecration of four new bishops without papal approval in July “has created a new situation in the relations between the SSPX and the Catholic Church”, said Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes. “I cannot authorise the celebration of Mass or the other sacraments, nor even the public prayers of the Society of Saint Pius X, within the sanctuary.” 

This year’s pilgrimage was scheduled for 24-26 October, weeks after Pope Leo XIV is due to visit the sanctuary in southwest France. The SSPX said it recognised the authority of the local bishop but asked adherents to come pray as individuals – which has not been banned – even if the traditionalist society could not publicly operate there.  

“Our Lady does not deserve to be neglected despite the obstacles,” said its French district superior Fr Gonzague Peignot.

The Jesuit European Social Centre, Trócaire and the Catholic rural youth movement of Germany joined more than 200 European and international organisations to call on the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to set out plans for ending Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels.

An open letter from the groups said this dependence carries “significant economic, social and environmental costs”, causing energy price volatility as well as extreme weather. They called for a “clear and credible transition towards affordable, secure and renewable energy” and for public investment to support the transition, strengthen Europe’s resilience and protect workers and vulnerable households.  

“Fossil fuel dependence has repeatedly undermined Europe’s prosperity and constrained its ability to act in the world,” the letter said. “As long as Europe relies on fossil fuels, its citizens remain exposed to price shocks and geopolitical decisions made elsewhere. That exposure is a choice, and Europe can choose differently.”

The Armenian government included the removal of the head of the Armenian Orthodox Church in a new policy programme. The National Assembly approved Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s five-year policy programme for 2026-31 after its publication on 20 August by 63 votes to 24, listing the dismissal of Catholicos Karekin II among its objectives. 

Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party pledged to “ensure the removal of the de facto head of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church” and to “carry out the election of his temporary replacement” through “established procedure”. The plan states that Karekin’s removal is necessary for the “spiritual security of the country” and for neutralising “attempts by external forces to turn the Church into a base for hybrid warfare”.  

During the presentation of the programme, Pashinyan announced an investigation of what he described as a “deep systemic crisis” within the Church. 

The Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church declared at a meeting on 26 August: “We are deeply grieved to witness the unacceptable conduct demonstrated in recent days by the Civil Contract faction in the newly constituted National Assembly.” It maintained that the assembly has no authority to consider internal Church matters and that ecclesial reform “cannot be carried out through external pressure, threats, or similar acts of arbitrariness”. 

Karekin II and six other senior clergy face criminal proceedings related to obstructing the implementation of a court decision. A first pre-trial hearing in Vagharshapat on 7 August was abandoned after Judge Hakob Manukyan recused himself. During the rescheduled hearing on 28 August Judge Serzh Rushanyan declined to proceed over questions about territorial jurisdiction and sent the case to a court in Yerevan.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church called for increased security after a parish church in Ethiopia’s Somali Region was attacked and destroyed last week. Church leaders across the Horn of Africa have warned of increasing violence aimed at Christians amid instability that has displaced thousands of people across the region. 

“In our country where religious equality and freedom is assured, an unexpected and tragic act has been committed,” said a statement from the Church’s Somali Diocese published on 25 August alongside a video showing people vandalising and destroying the building in the regional capital Jigjiga. 

“The information we received from the parish indicates that the church has been demolished,” the diocese said in a statement. “Apart from demolishing the built Medhanialem Mekanno Church, they have arrested the church members.” Church officials reported recurring attacks in different parts of the country which they blamed on poor security measures by the government.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) issued a statement last week condemning the abduction of over 100 Muslim worshippers in the Borgu area of Niger State and the killing of about 47 people in Benue State on 21 August. 

The statement, signed by the CBCN president Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso of Kaduna declared support for the Muslim community, emphasising that the bishops’ responsibilities extend to every Nigerian. More than 100 people were abducted from a mosque in in Borgu, Niger State, in northwest Nigeria, while the violence in Ukum, Benue State, in the southeast, left at least 47 people dead and 17 others critically wounded. 

“In a national landscape where insecurity is often filtered by politicians and their supporters through a narrow, sectarian lens, the Catholic bishops chose unyielding solidarity with their Muslim compatriots, with all Nigerians and with humanity,” a CBCN report said. “While extending deep sympathies to the bereaved in Benue, the bishops aligned themselves directly with the Muslim community in Niger State, praying for and demanding the immediate, safe release of all abducted worshippers.”  

Bishop Bulus Yohanna of Kontagora, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger State, said that “an attack on any place of worship, irrespective of religion, is an attack on the sanctity of places of worship and a threat to the wider community”.

The National Confederation of Islamic Youth in Guinea-Bissau condemned online abuse targeting the daughter of an imam who made her first profession as a Catholic religious sister last month.

Aicha Settimia Canté, 27, described making her temporary profession in the Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Spirit on 15 August as a moment of “joy, emotion and profound gratitude”, but was subject to hate speech on social media. 

In a statement citing the Quranic teaching that “there is no compulsion in religion”, the confederation said that disagreement over religious choices does not justify attacks on another person’s dignity. “Respecting someone’s choice does not necessarily mean agreeing with it,” it said.

Zambia’s Christian leaders said their Churches would act as facilitators to ensure the safety of politicians following last month’s elections, after opposition politicians fled to United Nations premises for protection. 

Brian Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu took shelter in the offices of a UN agency in the capital Lusaka in the aftermath of President Hakainde Hichilema’s election victory, amid claims by their political party that they were in danger after questioning the result. Opposition leaders said the government had arrested others accused of inciting their supporters to protest. 

A group of eight Church leaders including representatives of Zambia’s Catholic bishops issued a statement emphasising that their role in the post-election environment was “neutral” and that they wanted to allow “due process” in addressing the political crisis.  

“The Church undertakes this role consistent with its biblical and historic ministry of peace-making, reconciliation, justice and the preservation of human dignity,” they said in their 27 August statement. “We appreciate the confidence of the United Nations, the trust extended by the state, and the acceptance by the two opposition leaders for the Church to facilitate this brief but critical transition.”

Pope Leo sent a message of condolence following the deaths of nearly 100 people in a ferry accident on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe.  The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference had issued a statement joining the mourning of “all communities touched by this devastating loss” after a ferry capsized on 10 August. 

Although 77 people were rescued from the water, officials later confirmed 97 deaths amid reports that the boat, with an authorised capacity of 90, was carrying more than 150 people. It was owned by the government’s Rural Infrastructure Development Agency and had been ferrying traders and commuters across Lake Kariba since 1983.

Churches across Asia pledged solidarity with the people of Nepal after devastating floods that claimed hundreds of lives. By Monday the Nepalese authorities had reported more than 900 deaths while 4,200 people were still missing after a glacial lake outburst on 26 August caused a sudden flood in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, in Nepal’s Rasuwa district bordering Tibet.  

Pope Leo sent a telegram the following day, offering condolences for the victims and prayers for those engaged in rescue efforts, and repeated this message in his address after the Angelus on Sunday. “May the concern of everyone help to alleviate the suffering and provide the necessary aid to the people affected,” he said, after the Dicastery for the Service of Charity had sent financial aid to support Caritas Nepal’s relief efforts. 

Fr Silas Bogati, the apostolic administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Nepal, told Agenzia Fides that the Pope’s appeal “has deeply touched and moved” the small Catholic community, which numbers around 10,000 people. 

The Archbishop of Hyderabad Cardinal Anthony Poola, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), said in a message: “We share in your grief and entrust the departed souls to the mercy of God.” The CBCI invited Catholics to remember victims, bereaved families and the people of Nepal during Sunday Mass on 30 August.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh marked its first Education Sunday on 30 August after a week-long campaign aimed at raising funds for schools and colleges across the country. Robert Gomes, a Catholic teacher, told The Tablet that the funds raised “will be spent on the education of the poor” and “give them an opportunity to learn”. The Church in Bangladesh operates around 150 educational institutions. It is seeking to become more self-reliant after the reduction of international funding.

Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatur, participated in an interfaith dialogue at COP17 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, held in the Mongolian capital on 17-28 August.  

The negotiations, on the theme “Restoring Land, Restoring Hope”, covered responses to land degradation, desertification and drought, concluding with a US$1.3 billion pledge for projects to restore damaged land and build resilience to droughts.

The World Council of Churches and World Vision International held a side event on sustainable agriculture, emphasising that “land degradation belongs in the moral column and not only the technical one”.

The Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability in Africa organised a side event on how to scale up faith-led restoration efforts globally, and signed a declaration on land, peace and security, calling on governments to make land governance more equitable and improve funding for restoration.

The declaration said environmental sustainability must urgently be recognised as a “peace and security issue”.

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto visited the Christian-majority island of Flores where 185,000 people remain displaced following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake on 15 August. The quake left 103 people dead and about 1,666 injured across the East Nusa Tenggara province.

Fr Fredy Rante Taruk, executive director of Caritas Indonesia, told Vatican News that the agency was responding to the earthquake disaster “as part of the humanitarian responsibility of the Catholic Church in Indonesia”. Many of those worst affected are still waiting for basic aid.

Local bishops have encouraged parishes to take an active role in the emergency response. Fr Otto Gusti Madung SVD told UCAN that 70 tons of rice had been transported to Palue Island after landslides cut off some residents.

Bishop Siprianus Hormat of Ruteng, one of the six dioceses on Flores, explained in a video message to Aid to the Church in Need that “through the parishes and institutions of the diocese, we immediately provided emergency assistance to the victims”. Local dioceses have also played a role in collecting data on affected victims in coordination with government agencies.

A court in Singapore sentenced a man who stabbed a priest to four years and three months in prison. In 2024, Basnayake Keith Spencer joined a queue to receive Communion at a Mass for children at St Joseph’s Church, Upper Bukit Timah, before stabbing Fr Christopher Lee Kwong Heng in the mouth with a 10cm knife.

Fr Lee was hospitalised for six days and later received speech therapy. He was absent from duty for more than 40 days. Basnayake, who admitted carrying multiple weapons in public without a lawful purpose, was also sentenced to nine strokes of the cane.

Singapore’s deputy public prosecutor Xu Si Jia described Basnayake’s actions as “brazen and wholly unprovoked”, adding that it was a grave violation of public safety and peace that “struck at the heart of the sensibilities of the public”.

She said the attack in front of hundreds of people could have caused mass panic and further injuries. Toxicology tests at the time revealed Basnayake had ingested opiates and other controlled drugs at the time of the attack.

A court in Australia found the former bishop Christopher Saunders guilty of sexually abusing two young Aboriginal men. On 13 August the jury in the Western Australia district court convicted Saunders, 76, of 13 sexual assault charges and acquitted him of six others, while seven further charges had been dropped during the trial due to a lack of evidence. 

Saunders was Bishop of Broome in the northwest Kimberely region from 1996 until 2020, when he submitted his resignation after abuse allegations became public. During the criminal trial, which began on 21 July, prosecutors said he had groomed adolescents with alcohol and cigarettes on diocesan premises.

A bishop and several scholars in the United States came to the defence of Amy-Jill Levine, a biblical scholar who is the first Jewish person appointed as president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America. 

The announcement of Levine’s election to lead the organisation, founded in 1936 to further biblical scholarship and research in related disciplines, prompted hundreds of angry and antisemitic comments online. Her supporters and collaborators were appalled by the backlash. 

“Unfortunately, some neither understand the role of the president nor the nature of a professional society,” said a joint statement by the association’s executive board chair Gregory Sterling and executive director Archie Wright. 

An internationally recognised New Testament expert, Levine is the Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace.  

She is also professor emerita of New Testament and Jewish studies at Vanderbilt University. Bishop Joseph Bambera of Scranton, Pennsylvania – the chairman of the committee overseeing interreligious relations for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops – wrote to Levine to congratulate her.  

“Your election is a fitting celebration of the genuinely interfaith character of biblical scholarship and of the many years of faithful Jewish-Catholic collaboration in the study of Scripture,” Bambera said.

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