Church groups have joined rescue operations across central Vietnam after torrential rains and floods since Oct. 22 killed at least ten people and forced thousands from their homes, officials said. The Agriculture and Environment Ministry said about 100,000 houses in Hue and Da Nang were inundated, with floodwaters reaching up to four meters in some areas.

More than 150 landslides were reported and 2,200 hectares of crops were damaged across the region.

As emergency teams battled rising waters, Catholic aid workers mobilized quickly. Father Philippe Hoang Linh, deputy director of Caritas in the Hue Archdiocese, said church volunteers used boats to deliver food and drinking water to hundreds stranded in flooded homes. “We have to use boats to navigate narrow alleys to deliver food and drinking water — a gesture of humanity that rekindles hope amid hardship,” he said. Many church facilities, including the Hue Archbishop’s House and Pastoral Centre, were flooded, while parishes on higher ground opened their doors to shelter displaced families. In Quy Lai Parish, priests and laypeople distributed noodles and drinking water. “We’re trying to help people survive this difficult time. Many have lost all their food and belongings,” said Father John Baptist Pham Xu. Residents said floodwaters rose rapidly after hydropower plants released water from swollen reservoirs. “The water reached chest level inside our house, and electricity has been out since Oct. 27,” said Peter Nguyen, a Hue resident and father of two. “Much of our furniture was swept away.”

The Vatican announced on 15 October that Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Ignatius Wu Jianlin as auxiliary bishop of Shanghai on Aug. 11, with his episcopal ordination taking place under the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China. Father Wu Jianlin’s consecration at St. Ignatius Cathedral marks a further development in the complex relationship between Beijing and the Vatican.

Chinese authorities had previously announced Wu’s “election” by an assembly of priests and laypeople on April 28, during the sede vacante period following the death of Pope Francis.

The Vatican Bollettino, published on 15 October, revealed that the Holy Father approved Wu’s candidacy on Aug. 11.

While his appointment was not previously made public, the announcement suggests the move was made in accordance with the Vatican-China agreement. At the time of Wu’s election, observers expressed concern that Beijing was exploiting the papal interregnum to assert control over episcopal appointments. Vatican statement confirms the new appointment was approved by Pope Leo XIV. Bishop Wu, 55, was born on Jan. 27, 1970, and studied philosophy and theology at Sheshan Seminary in Shanghai from 1991 to 1996. He was ordained a priest in 1997, and served in a number of roles as cleric. 

South Korean Catholics joined a memorial program including Mass in the national capital Seoul ahead of the third anniversary of the Halloween stampede tragedy that claimed 159 lives, mostly young people. The event at Seoul’s Itaewon Square drew about 400 people, mostly Catholics, including family members of the victims, on Oct. 27.

The memorial was organized by the Catholic Priests’ Association for Justice, and the mass was presided over by Father Andrew Choi Jae-cheol, parish priest of St. Mark’s Church. During the program, participants laid flowers and lit 159 candles in memory of 159 victims who died in the stampede on Oct. 29, 2022, reportedly due to a crush caused by overcrowding in Itaewon district, a popular hangout site.

Names of all the victims were called out one by one as a mark of tribute to their memories. Father Choi termed the tragedy a “social disaster” and prayed for the souls lost and their families. He urged the authorities to “reveal the truth, ensure a thorough investigation, bring those responsible to justice, and help us build a safe nation where such a tragedy never happens again.” Father Leo Ha Chun-soo, who delivered the homily at the Mass, said that precious lives have been lost because “the state failed to fulfill its role.” 

Teresa Kim Nam-hee, mother of a victim, Gabriella Shin Ae-jin, said she has been appalled by the apathy of some people and the negligence of the government in ensuring justice for the victims. She alleged that some people played music on high-volume speakers to disrupt the memorial mass, which revealed “how cruel people can be.” “At the time, when uncontrollable anger and resentment threatened to consume me, I was able to endure that day because there were priests and nuns who kept the line in order and celebrated the mass with me without wavering,” she added. She hoped that the pain and suffering of the Itaewon tragedy would end “when our society empathizes with each other’s pain, holds hands, and puts life first.” Rose Lee Jeong-mi, who joined the memorial, said that the tragedy is a wake-up call to build a country safe for the next generations to live. “I will remember the pain of the bereaved families who carry painful memories and pray that I can share in their pain,” she added.

President Donald Trump on Sunday co-signed a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, alongside leaders from Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim joined Trump for the signing ceremony, which formalized a deal aimed at preventing further conflict along the disputed border between Thailand and Cambodia.

The agreement builds on a truce brokered in July, when Trump threatened to impose higher tariffs on both countries unless they ended five days of border fighting that left dozens dead and displaced hundreds of thousands. Under the first phase of the deal, Thailand will release 18 Cambodian soldiers and begin removing heavy weapons and landmines from the border region. Malaysian troops will be deployed to monitor the area and help prevent renewed hostilities.

The 500-mile  frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been a source of tension for decades, stemming from a vaguely defined French colonial-era treaty signed in 1907. The latest flare-up centered on territory near the Laotian border and a region that includes several 1,000-year-old temples from the Angkor Empire.

A conference highlighting the Church’s mission to protect minors and vulnerable persons has taken place in the Philippines, marking an important step in strengthening safeguarding efforts in the country. It was the first national conference of its kind in the Southeast Asian island nation – a country that stands as a stronghold of the Catholic Church in the region. Experts from across the Philippines and neighbouring Southeast Asian nations took part. More than 300 delegates – including bishops, religious superiors, members of religious orders, and lay experts – gathered for four days in Angeles City, Pampanga Province, under the theme “Our Mission of Safeguarding: A Journey of Hope and Compassion.” The event was jointly organised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM), the Conference of Major Superiors of the Philippines (CMSP), and the Manila-based Catholic Safeguarding Institute (CSI).

Coleen Rae Ramirez-Panahon is the Director for Safeguarding Research and Reflection at the Catholic Safeguarding Institute (CSI) in the Philippines. She told Vatican Radio that the country’s first national safeguarding conference brought new visibility to the idea that safeguarding is a mission shared by all. “In the past, the issue might have remained in the shadows and been seen as the responsibility of only a few,” the Philippine expert explained. “Now, the most immediate step we can take is to share what we’ve gained from the conference – above all, the conversion and commitment of our wider communities to safeguarding. We must bring everyone on board and open up the conversation, so that fears and apprehensions begin to fade. It’s equally important to get to know the vulnerable people in our midst, to understand their situations, their barriers, and their hopes. Only then can we shape the protective measures that pastors must adopt in their own parishes.”