More than 3,300 people have been killed in the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kasai region since last October, the Catholic Church says.

The figure, reported by Reuters, is from Church sources in the country.

The deaths are the result of clashes between the army and a rebel group, but civilians have also been caught up in the violence.

The UN has reported on the discovery of more than 20 mass graves but has put the death toll so far at about 400.

The UN human rights chief, Prince Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, said investigators in Kasai province had identified dozens of mass graves along with harrowing evidence of people being shot, burned or hacked to death.

Atrocities were being carried out by the security forces and a government-backed militia, known as the Bana Mura, which was set up to help fight a rival group known as the Kamuina Nsapu, Prince Zeid said.

Bishop Joseph Absi was elected on June 21 the new Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the National News Agency reported. Absi was elected one month after Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Melkite Greek Patriarch of Antioch Gregory III Lahham, 82 years.

The Melkite Greek Catholic Synod has been convening at the Patriarchate’s summer seat in Aley. Absi was born on June 20, 1946 in Damascus, Syria. He obtained the Lebanese nationality. In 1973, he was ordained priest and became Chaplain of the Missionary Society of Saint Paul.

On 22 June 2001, he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Tarsus of Greek Melkites and Curial Bishop and Aux. Bishop in the Melkite Patriarchate.

Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch Gregory III Laham, BS, was his conse-crator and the co-consecrators were Archbishop Jean Mansour, SMSP, titular archbishop of Apamea in Syria dei Greco-Melkiti and Abp Joseph Kallas, SMSP, Archeparch of Beirut and Jbeil, on Sept. 2, 2001.

The leader of a Brazilian traditionalist movement that was praised in the past two pontificates has resigned, and a video has subsequently emerged of the leader relaying bizarre claims by one of his priests regarding Pope Francis. Mgr João Scognamiglio Clá Dias, the founder and now ex-leader of the Heralds of the Gospel, can be seen in the video saying that the devil had told the Heralds priest that Francis was “my man”. Satan said Francis is “stupid” and does “everything I want”, Clá Dias says.

But speaking to The Tablet, Fr Angel Veiga, a Rome-based leader of the order, said the video has been “taken out of context”, and what was said in it does not equate to the position of the Heralds. They were simply relaying Satan’s message.

“It’s the Devil, no? The Devil is the father of lies,” Fr Veiga explained, adding that the video showed “a private, intimate conversation bet-ween our founder [Clá Dias] and various priests.”

The video, first reported by respected Vatican journa-list Andrea Tornielli, shows around 60 priests listening to Mgr Clá Dias relaying what the priest said to him. The things had been said – the priest believed by the devil – when the priest was carrying out an exorcism.

The Heralds of the Gospel were founded in 1998 and received pontifical approval in 2001 under John Paul II, making them the first private association of faithful to receive Vatican approval in the third millennium — an achievement which the group is keen to underline.

They are made up of 200 priests, 2,820 consecrated members and are present in 78 countries. Under Benedict XVI, two other societies grew out of the Heralds.

Although not widely known outside Brazil and some circles in Rome, the Heralds’ religious dress — a Medieval-looking dark brown tunic with a long, Gothic looking cross in the middle — has given them visibility in the Church. However, on 2 June, their leader Mgr. Clá Dias unexpectedly resigned and reports emerged of a Vatican investigation into the group.

One in six young people is practicing Christians, new figures show, as research suggests thousands convert after visiting church buildings. The figures show that more than one in five (21%) people between the ages of 11 and 18 describe themselves as active followers of Jesus, and 13% say they are practising Christians who attend church.

The study, commissioned by Christian youth organisation Hope Revolution Partnership and carried out by ComRes – a research consulatncy, suggested that levels of Christianity were much higher among young people than previously thought. Research carried out by church statistician Dr Peter Brierley in 2006 suggested church attendance among teenagers was less than half of this, with 6 percent of 11-14 year-olds and 5 percent of 15-18 year-olds attending church.

Around 13% of teenagers said that they decided to become a Christian after a visit to a church or cathedral, according to the figures.

The influence of a church building was more significant than attending a youth group, going to a wedding, or speaking to other Christians about their faith. But another study recently released by Christian group Youth for Christ showed similar results, suggesting that a surprisingly high number of young people still describe themselves as Christian.

The study suggests that new methods invested in by the Church, such as youth groups and courses such as Youth Alpha, are less effective than prayer or visiting a church building in attracting children to the church.

One in five said reading the Bible had been important, 17% said going to a religious school had had an impact and 14% said a spiritual experience was behind their Christianity.

A Christian preschool in Sweden has banned children from saying grace at mealtimes, talking about the Bible, or saying “Amen.” The decision to forbid children at the school in Umea to engage in religious practices was reached after a school inspection. The municipality’s supervisors in charge of education noted that the Christian activities violate Sweden’s educational policies, Swedish National Broadcaster STV reported.

Sweden’s Education Act prohibits schools from having confessional elements during school time and says children should be able to opt-out of religious practices.

Inspectors believed the preschool, run by the Salvation Army, didn’t give children a choice as to whether they wanted to participate in elements of the day such as saying grace before a meal.

Pope Francis told his public audience on June 28 that “the proclamation of the Kingdom of God always involves opposition,” and “the confession of faith always takes place in a climate of hostility.” Reflecting on the words of Jesus, “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves,” the Holy Father remarked that in a sinful world the message of the Gospel will always encounter resistance. He reminded his audience that the term “martyr” refers to a witness to the Gospel. Martyrs endure through opposition, he said, and “whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

One key sign of authentic Christian witness is poverty of spirit, the Pope said; the Christian who proclaims the Gospel is detached from any worldly power and left to rely solely upon God. The Pope cautioned that while Christians are called to be prudent and “even at times cunning,” they must never stoop to the use of violence or other immoral means. “To overcome evil, one cannot share the methods of evil,” he said.

Pope Francis has instructed a Vatican commission to draft a new doctrine for excommunicating Catholics convicted of corruption or mafia-related crimes.

More than 50 prosecutors, bishops, United Nations representatives and victims of organized crime came together for a Vatican conference this week to hammer out the Church’s new legal doctrine concerning “the question of excommunication for corruption and mafia association.”

“Our effort is to create a mentality, a culture of justice, that fights corruption and promotes the common good,” said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s retired ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, who was one of the conference participants.

While Pope Francis has bluntly called for the excommunication of mobsters before, it is the first time mafia and corruption crimes are being considered together – not worthy of pardon because they are habitual criminal ways of life, as opposed to a single act of sin.

Within the mafia clans of Italy, but also inside the narcos culture of the Mexican and Colombian cartels, pseudo-religious rituals rich with Catholic imagery and references are an integral part of the cultural tradition.

Pope Francis railed against the mafia’s “adoration of evil and contempt for common good” in a high-profile visit to the region plagued by the brutal ‘Ndrangheta mafia organisation in 2014, declaring mobsters automatically excommunicated. Nonetheless, his remarks have failed to halt the “padrino” system of naming children after mobster godfathers or detours of religious processions in front of the homes of known mob bosses as a sign of honour.

Excommunication, which bans Catholics from participating in the sacraments or communion, is one of the most several penalties within the church. It has been used in the past to isolate a number of religious sects, such as the ultra conservative followers of French archbishop Marcel-Francois Lefebvre.

Cardinals living in Rome should inform Pope Francis when they leave the city and provide him with their address when they are abroad, a leaked letter reveals.

The request is revealed in a letter sent by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, who informs the prelates that it is a “noble tradition” for them to keep both the Pope and the Holy See’s Secretariat of State up to date with their movements.

“Pope Francis has recently requested of the Dean of the Cardinalatial College to fraternally remind each single Cardinal the opportunity of keeping that practice, even more so in the case of an extended absence from Rome,” read the letter dated 31 May but revealed today by Francis Rocca of the Wall Street Journal.

Those living in Rome are in charge of Vatican departments, but many are frequent travellers who fly around the world giving talks and attending major Church summits.

Throughout his papacy, Francis has sought to govern the Church collegially with his fellow cardinals, and to that end set up a cardinal-advisory body – the C9 – which is meeting in Rome.

One of those often on the road is Cardinal Raymond Burke, who is threatening to formally correct Francis for watering down teaching on giving communion to divorced and remarried Catholics.

Sources close to the cardinal say he always tries to accept invitations to speak abroad. In March while speaking in Springfield, Virginia, the cardinal used the opportunity to restate that he will “simply have to correct the situation” regarding allowing the remarried to receive the sacraments.

Last year, another cardinal seen at odds with Francis’ papacy used a trip to London to call for priests to face east when saying Mass. Cardinal Robert Sarah, who is in charge of the Vatican’s liturgy department, was later publicly rebuked by the Pope.