Delegates of the third Pan-African Catholic Congress on Theology, Society, and Pastoral Life who gathered in Ivory Coast’s city of Abidjan from Aug. 5–10 have called for the support of African missionaries who are experiencing hardships in their missions, especially those set back by immigration challenges. In a statement at the end of the congress, the delegates said divisions such as ethnicity and racism must not stand in the way of missionary discipleship in Africa and even outside the continent.

Noting that self-reliance is an imperative for the Church in Africa, “not as isolation from other local churches but as mature participation in the universal communion of faith,” the delegates said: “This means … supporting African missionaries in the challenging mission in some parts of the world where some African missionaries experience racism and immigration restrictions.”

The delegates acknowledged that the African Church has transitioned to becoming a “Church of the Sheaves,” sharing personnel within the continent, even outside Africa. “We recognize with gratitude how far the African Church has journeyed: transiting from a mission Church receiving the Gospel to a Church of the Sheaves, sharing gifts and sending missionaries to other parts of the world,” they said, adding: “We commit ourselves to deepening this transformation as missionary disciples of the Lord to Africa and the world.”

]They said that synodality, as explored in the Synod on Synodality, is the pathway of the mission of evangelization and called for “overcoming divisions based on ethnicity, status, or ideology.” The call by the congress delegates comes amid mounting frustrations of foreign Catholic priests who have been forced out of South Africa on alleged expiry of their visas.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, more than 3.3 million people in north-eastern Nigeria are currently facing food insecurity. The vast majority are farmers who have been forced to abandon their land due to the ongoing insecurity in the region, and are thus cut off from their primary source of livelihood. Fishermen are also affected.

The Vatican’s Fides news agency has reported that security concerns are preventing herders from accessing grazing areas for their livestock and keeping fishermen from reaching waters such as Lake Chad and major rivers like the Niger and Taraba. Both groups are also suffering due to the activities of armed groups and bandits that continue to wreak havoc across northern Nigeria.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has also raised the alarm. The FAO has warned that during this lean season, that is the months before the harvest, over 30 million Nigerians could be at risk of food insecurity, and the Red Cross has warned that relief efforts alone may not be enough to address the situation.

Food insecurity in Nigeria is a symptom of a deeper, unresolved problem, the organisation says, namely the persistent violence caused by armed groups. Adding to the crisis, the Red Cross says, is the impact of climate change, which is driving internal displacement across the country. Nigeria is experiencing both drought in the north west and flooding in the east, two extremes that are devastating the nation’s agricultural heartlands.

From an organization directly under the Pope’s authority, the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day–established last year by Pope Francis to organize and coordinate the so-called “WCDs”–has now been placed within the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. This decision was made by Pope Leo XIV following an audience granted to the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, on August 6, and was made public in a Rescript.

In the document–released today but dated Saturday, August 9–it is specified that: “This Superior Provision is to be communicated to the two Institutions concerned so they may carry out the transition process.” The new Vatican body was officially announced in a chirograph, a papal handwritten decree, in which Pope Francis entrusted it with the task of overseeing the ecclesial engagement and pastoral organization of the annual event.

It was Pope Francis, on November 20, 2024, who established—via a chirograph—the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day, giving it the mission of overseeing “the ecclesial animation and pastoral organization of World Children’s Day.” This event, inspired by the World Youth Days (WYD), is aimed at bringing together minors from around the globe for a gathering of faith, music, and testimonies. The first edition took place on May 25, 2024, at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, in the presence of Pope Francis, and saw participation from over 50,000 children and adolescents, including many from conflict zones.

Pope Leo spoke on the ceasefire and peace agreement in Ukraine, a resolution of the humanitarian crisis and hunger in Gaza, and the release of Israeli hostages there. These objectives of the Holy See’s “soft diplomacy” for issues that “cannot be resolved through war,” were expressed by Pope Leo XIV on 13 August. He shared this message with journalists upon his arrival in Castel Gandolfo on 13 August where he will spend a second period of a summer break until August 19. While greeting the many people gathered to welcome him at the gates of Villa Barberini – his residence during these days – the Pope responded to questions from media reporters about international current events.

When asked what he expects from the upcoming 15 August summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Leo XIV replied: “We must always seek a ceasefire. The violence, the many deaths, must stop. Let’s see how they can come to an agreement. Because after all this time, what is the purpose of war? We must always seek dialogue, diplo-matic efforts, not violence, not weapons.” 

And when asked if he is concerned about the possibility of the population of Gaza being deported, the Pope said: “Very much (con-cerned). The humanitarian crisis must be resolved. We cannot go on like this. We know the violence of terrorism, and we honour the many who have died, as well as the hostages – they must be freed. But we must also think of the many who are dying of hunger.”
Finally, when asked what the Holy See is doing to stop these and other conflicts, the Pope responded: “The Holy See cannot stop them… but we are working, let’s say, on ‘soft diplomacy,’ always inviting, encouraging the pursuit of nonviolence through dialogue and seeking solutions – because these problems cannot be solved by war.”

Pope Leo will announce reforms to the Roman Curia in the autumn, Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols has predicted, saying that one of the reasons the Pope was elected was that he knew the Church’s administration from the inside. And according to the Cardinal, discussions among cardinals at the time of the Pope’s election in May focused on the continuing problems of the Curia.
Cardinal Nichols made his remarks after giving the St George’s House annual lecture in St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Addressing an invited audience, which included the Princess Royal, he talked about the need for hope, the place of religion in a secular society, and encouraging signs of young people’s growing interest in the Catholic faith – what he called “a response to the spiritual side of our human nature”.
Cardinal Nichols, who was one of the 133 cardinal electors who chose Cardinal Robert Prevost to be the next Pope, said that the General Congregations held with both the cardinal electors and the cardinals too old to vote, highlighted the qualities they believed the next Pope needed – and Prevost clearly had them all.
They believed that the successor to the throne of Peter needed to evangelise – and Prevost was a member of a missionary order; he needs intellectual ability – and Prevost was a scholar; that he needed to be aware of the world’s needs – and Prevost as leader of his own Augustinian order twice had travelled the world; that he was a pastoral leader – he had been bishop of a poor diocese; and he had curial experience – he had been prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops from 2023.
“I do think nobody else had all that experience”, he told the audience, “So that is why the voting [in the conclave] did not take long,” referring to Pope Leo being elected on the second day of the conclave and reaching the two thirds majority required for election on the fourth ballot. “A lot our discussion was about addressing the Curia”.

Miroslaw M, aged 60, who is being held in custody pending trial, pleaded guilty to the brutal mur-der of the 68-year-old homeless man, identified as Anatol Cz, following an argument over the victim’s housing and care. Accor-ding to the Radom district prose-cutor’s office, the priest and the victim had previously signed a donation agreement transferring a property to the clergyman who had agreed to provide lifelong assistance and care for the home-less man.
In the evening of 24 July, M. struck his victim with an axe and doused him with petrol, setting him ablaze while he was still alive. A cyclist discovered the body in the village of Lasopole in the central Mazowieckie province in east-central Poland and alerted the police who identified the suspect through the licence plate numbers of a car seen leaving the scene without lights, leading them to the parish rectory. Authorities plan to upgrade the charges to murder with exceptional cruelty, a classification used in Polish law for murderers who subject their victims to addition unnecessary suffering. If convicted, the priest faces life imprisonment.
The Catholic Church in Poland is in a state of shock. In a statement addressing the crime released on 25 July, Archbishop Galbas said the archdiocese would co-operate fully with law enforce-ment and initiate all necessary canonical procedures: “I have no words of comfort for you today, let alone any explanation or justification … I am devastated and crushed by the news that one of my priests has brutally murder-ed a man – a poor and homeless man. As bishop of the Church in Warsaw, I feel morally responsi-ble for everything that happens in this Church, both the good and the bad. Also for this terrible crime. I apologise to you.”
He asked the faithful to pray for the soul of the deceased and his victims and for priests in the diocese to “undertake personal penance and prayer of reparation, starting today”.
He added: “The blood of our murdered brother cries out to God. Let us beg God for forgiveness and beg forgiveness from people. I myself beg for it.”

From Monday, July 28, to August 3, 2025, the Youth Jubilee will be celebrated, the most anti-cipated and attended Jubilee event of the Holy Year 2025, with the arrival in Rome of hundreds of thousands of young people from 246 countries. Specifically, appro-ximately one million pilgrims are expected to attend the Prayer Vigil with Pope Leo XIV at Tor Ver-gata, Rome, on Saturday, August 2. This number will increase with the Holy Mass on Sunday, August 3, at 9:00 AM, presided over by the Holy Father at Tor Vergata, Rome.
Approximately 370 parishes, 400 schools, and 40 extra-curri-cular spaces, including Civil Pro-tection Centres, municipal sports centres, and gymnasiums, have been set up to welcome the young pilgrims. Fiera Roma [Rome Fair] will host 25,000 young people and offer its facilities to ensure a safe and comfortable stay. Thanks to the operational support of the National Department of Civil Protection, the facilities will be-come a true “city within a city,” with medical facilities and ser-vices available 24 hours a day. This organizational structure demonstrates the collective commitment to offering young pilgrims not only a place to sleep, but also a true community experi-ence, lived in complete safety.

As Ukraine continues to grapple with the ongoing conse-quences of war more than three years after the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, a delegation from Caritas Europa, led by its President, Msgr Michael Landau, visited the country to express solidarity, assess current needs, and renew support for the local Caritas network. The visit included stops in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv, where representatives from 14 countries met with national and local Caritas offices and visited ongoing humanitarian projects.
In an interview with Vatican News, Tetiana Stawnychy, Presi-dent of Caritas Ukraine and Vice-President of Caritas Europa, described the mission as a moment of encounter, encouragement, and planning. “It was a solidarity visit together with many of our partners from all over Europe,” she said. “This encounter between the local and national Caritas in Ukraine and our partners from abroad has brought us a great deal of energy and encouragement.”
The timing of the visit was significant. “There was a rather large-scale attack the day before the meetings,” Stawnychy recall-ed. “Even during our meetings, there was an air alarm, so we moved into a shelter area and continued the work of exchange and scenario planning.”
During the visit, Caritas Europa representatives had the opportunity to observe the work of local teams providing shelter, psychosocial assistance, support for displaced persons, and services for children and elderly evacuees. According to Caritas Europa’s official statement, these encount-ers revealed not only the scale of suffering but also the resilience of communities and the essential role of local humanitarian actors.

“Thanks be to God more people weren’t harmed,” said Father Gabriel Romanelli in an exclusive interview with EWTN on July 24 in the wake of the July 17 bombing of his parish, Holy Family Church in Gaza, which left three dead and 15 wounded, including himself.
“It was a shocking experience,” Romanelli told “EWTN Noticias” in the Spanish-language inter-view, noting that while the parish grounds were struck toward the beginning of the war in December 2023, last week’s attack marked the first time the church itself was hit. The front of the church was hit in a strike that Israeli officials have said was an accident. “That iconic cross you’ve seen – it’s about 2 meters [6.5 feet] tall – was heavily damaged,” the priest said of the crucifix fixed atop the church structure. “Shrapnel flew in all directions,” he recounted.
“The area is quite small, and while we hear bombings daily and metal fragments often fall, there hadn’t been such a severe incident since the war began,” Romanelli continued, adding: “The recent strike has left a deep mark.”
Romanelli sustained an injury to his leg during the strike, which he shared is healing despite “a minor infection.” Of the others injured, Romanelli revealed only two are now no longer in life-threatening condition: one who suffered a punctured leg and another who sustained internal organ damage.

“May the blood of these martyrs become a seed of peace, reconciliation, fraternity, and love for the Congolese people,” the Pope writes in his message following a brutal attack on a Catholic Church in Komanda town in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nearly 40 people were killed Sunday in eastern Congo’s Ituri province when rebels stormed a Catholic church during a vigil and opened fire on worshippers. At least 38 people, including women and children, were confirmed dead in the church, while another five were killed in a nearby village. In a telegram addressed to Archbishop Mugalu, President of the Congolese Bishops’ Conference on the Pope’s behalf, Cardinal Pietro Parolin says, “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV learned with dismay and deep sorrow of the attack perpetrated against the Parish of Blessed Anuarite in Komanda, which caused the death of several faithful gathered for worship.” This tragedy, he continues, “calls us even more urgently to work for the integral human development of the martyred population of that region.”
According to Congolese authorities, the attacks in Komanda town in the conflict-battered region were carried out by the Allied Democratic Force, a rebel group backed by the Islamic State that has mostly targeted villagers in eastern Congo and across the border in Uganda.