Church officials in South Korea have asked for research and education plans as Catholics in the country experience a drop in priestly ordinations amid decreasing birth rate and religiosity.
The number of newly ordained priests dropped to 87 in 2023 from 131 in 2011, a decrease of 35%, according to the Statistics of the Catholic Church in Korea.
This year, the Jeonju Diocese had no priestly ordination as there was no candidate. The number of priests ordained in the diocese had dropped from six in 2011 to two in 2021.
The Diocese of Daejeon ordained three new priests this year, compared to 19 in 2011 and five in 2016, the data shows.
Although some dioceses saw a slight increase in priestly ordinations, the overall trend shows a decline.
“Research and education plans for vocational development must be established at the parish level, and efforts such as strengthening the vocational manual and increasing the role of the vocational division of the parish must be followed,” said Father John Chrysostom Lee Sang-yong, director of vocations in the Diocese of Suwon.

Asian Bishops and diocesan delegates gathered in Thailand have been urged to be “more attentive to the voices within the Church” as they begin discernment and discussions in the third phase of the synodal process for Asia. “Be more attentive to the voices within the Church, especially to those voices which agitate and also to the ones that ‘do not speak,’” said Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Secretariat of the Synod in his opening address, a Feb. 24 press statement said.
He reminded the delegates that they were all “learners in Synodality” and stressed that “the success of the process depended on the active participation of the people of God and the pastors [who are also members of the People of God].”
Cardinal Grech also reminded the delegates that synodality is not about pitting the pastors against the faithful, but maintaining them in “constant relation, allowing both to fulfill their own roles and responsibilities.”
The delegates from the Asian dioceses have gathered at the Baan Phu Waan (The Sower’s House) Pastoral Training Centre of the Bangkok Archdiocese for the continental-level phase of the Synod on Synodality being held Feb. 24-26.
The synod has representatives from 17 Conferences of Bishops and two Synods of Bishops, representing 29 countries with more than 80 delegates.

The Damien Social Development Institute managed by Sacred Hearts Fathers in the Odisha capital of Bhubaneswar has held a blood donation camp to help the poor.
“Conducting voluntary blood donation camps on regular basis will increase the stock of blood units in blood banks which will save the lives of poor patients who have no access or means to avail blood in times of emergency,” said Sacred Hearts Father Alexis Nayak, the main organizer of the February 5 camp at Gopabandhu Smruti Sansad in the city.
The camp was organized in partnership with the Odisha unit of the International Human Rights Protection Council (IHRPC). As many as 37 persons volunteered to donate blood.
Father Nayak, who directs the Damien Social Development Institute, said the rich can afford their medical needs, but the poor neither have ways nor means for their lives to be saved.

Archbishop Emeritus Bernard Moras taken over as the apostolic administrator of Mysore diocese after its bishop was “asked to go for leave” by the Vatican.
According to a press release by the Public Relations Officer of the diocese, Archbishop Moras took charge January 7 at a ceremony held at St. Philomena’s Cathedral on in Mysore, a major city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
Bishop Kannikadass Antony William of Mysore, who is facing several allegations, including sexual assaults, has gone on a “medical leave” until he is proved innocent.
Archbishop Felix Machado, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCIsays the Dicastery for Evangelization has decided that Bishop William takes a “period of absence from the ministry.”

Talents are God-given gifts, and nurturing them is a divine job, says Apostolic Carmel Sister Maria Gracia, who was among hundreds of Catholic women religious of different congregations preparing students for the latest version of India’s annual interschool cultural festival, which began in 1956.
More than 14,000 students between the ages of 13 and 18 took part in the 61st Kerala Kalolsavam (Kerala Cultural Festi-val) held January 3-7 in Kozhikode, a major town in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala.
The festival, the first after a two-year break because of the COVID-19 pandemic, had 239 events held on 24 stages. It not only showcases the students’ cultural talents, but helps preserve and promote some dying art forms, including three exclusive to Kerala Christians.
The Catholic Church manages nearly 3,000 schools in Kerala. Many are under the management of women religious, who play key roles in promoting students’ talents.  ”We were excited when our district lifted the gold cup in the festival. We are proud of our students who fared well in the competitions. In my 22 years of experience of preparing students for the event, I feel gratified when our students perform well in the cultural competitions in addition to bringing good results in exams. As teachers and guides, we try hard to bring out their best potential. Our school, St. Joseph’s Anglo-Indian School in Kozhikode, won all the events it participated in.”
“Catholic sisters prepare the students for all these events from the school level, spending several hours on these extracurricular activities. We serve students irrespective of their religious, social or cultural differences and help them foster a culture of harmonious living. Promoting talents among children boosts their self-esteem, confidence and a spirit of teamwork.”

The global glow of the 2022 Christmas celebration – with its candles and shining trees, colorful Santas and flying reindeer, gifts and cakes – has faded. However, time cannot diminish the core message of Christmas: Human life is precious. Christmas is the most life-affirming “birthday party” human history has ever witnessed. The birth of Jesus — the Lord of life — in the simple Bethlehem stable brought new life to the world and gave a new direction to human history.

Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu as a member of the newly-established Dicastery for Culture and Education. “This symbolized the pope’s trust not only in the archbishop but in every Filipino,” Cebu Archdiocese said in a statement while announcing the appointment on Feb. 12.

Two bishops were appointed and one retired on February 4 in the Indian Catholic Church.
Pope Francis appointed Father Wilbert Marwein as the bishop of Nongstoin, a diocese in the northern Indian state of Meghalaya, and Father James Shekhar as the bishop of Buxar diocese in Bihar.
The Pope on the same day accepted the resignation Bishop Devadass Ambrose Mariadoss of Thanjavur diocese in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Archbishop Emeritus Ignatius Paul Pinto of Bangalore, a renowned liturgist who found a middle path to solve the language controversy in the archdiocese, died February 8. He was 98.

A four-century-old chapel in western India dating back to the Portuguese colonial era faces a threat of demolition as the administration aims to acquire land to turn it into a football stadium, local Catholics say.
Catholic leaders say the chapel of Our Lady Of Remedies in Daman faces threat due to a controversial beautification drive planned by Praful Patel, the administrator and a leader of the pro-Hindu Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
Daman and Diu is a federally ruled territory that comes directly under the administrative control of the BJP-led government in New Delhi.
Territory’s administrator Patel neither confirmed nor denied the move to demolish the chapel to expand the football field.
“No, I have no idea, you ask the local authorities,” he told.
But local Catholics said the administration was firm about the demolition plan.