Pope Francis has given priests in the Nigerian Diocese of Ahiara 30 days to write a letter promising obedience to him and accepting the bishop appointed for their diocese. Priests who do not write the letter will be suspended, according to Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.

The papal text in English was posted on the blog of Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, president of the Nigerian bishops’ confe-rence, and Fides posted it in Italian.

The Vatican press office could not immediately confirm its authenticity, although Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Abuja, who also was present, told the Catholic News Service that they were the remarks of the Pope.

A day earlier, Nigerian Church leaders met Pope Francis to discuss the situation of Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke, who was appointed Bishop of Ahiara by then-Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, but who has been unable to take control of the diocese because of protests, apparently by the majority of priests.

The Vatican issued only a short communiqué on the meeting with the Pope, describing the situation in the diocese as “unacceptable.” The protests were motivated by the fact that Bishop Okpaleke is not a local priest.

“The Holy Father, after a careful evaluation, spoke of the unacceptable situation in Ahiara and reserved the right to take appropriate measures,” the Vatican said. According to the Pope’s remarks posted by Archbishop Kaigama, Pope Francis said, “I think that, in this case, we are not dealing with tribalism, but with an attempted taking of the vineyard of the Lord.” The Pope also referred to “the parable of the murderous tenants” in Matthew 21:33-44.

Francis said he had even considered “suppressing the diocese, but then I thought that the Church is a mother and cannot abandon her many children.”

According to the Vatican, the diocese has close to 423,000 Catholics and 110 diocesan priests.

Thousands of Christians in Tanzania are walking up to 15 kilometres to get to Church – in temperatures that can rise higher than 90° Fahrenheit. Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need Bishop Bernardine Mfumbusa of Kondoa last week, said: “Despite a high temperature range of 20-34°C , some Catholics walk 10-15 kilometres (nine miles) to Holy Mass – this is especially true for a large number of Catholics in the rural dioceses.”

The bishop described the hardships endured by the faithful as they travel to celebrate their Catholic Faith in Tanzania. He said: “The roads permit the use of bicycle but the roads become almost impassable in the rain season – from November to April – without a 4×4 vehicle.”

But despite these obstacles the Church is thriving, the bishop said: “The Church is flourishing and growing… 800 people are attending Holy Mass, the four Masses are full on Sunday.” Christians are travelling to gather together to pray despite the fractured history of religious harmony in Tanzania. Speaking about interfaith dialogue in Tanzania, the bishop said: “Muslims and Christians have live peacefully for many years, now there are elements of tension.”

The death of a Catholic bishop in Cameroon, originally viewed by police as a likely suicide, is now being investigated as a probable murder.

The body of Bishop Jean- Marie Benoit Balla of Bafia was discovered in a river near Yaounde, Cameroon, on June 2. He had been missing for several days.

The bishop’s body was discovered not far from a bridge where his car had been found, with a note saying, “I am in the water.” Police initially believed that this was a suicide note, but as the investigation unfolded, began questioning whether the bishop himself had written the note.

An autopsy showed clear signs of a violent death, and no evidence of death by drowning, according to local media reports.

The 58-year-old bishop was appointed to Bafia by St John Paul II in 2003. The Catholic communities have been attacked more frequently by terrorist organization Boko Haram, which allied itself with the Islamic State in March 2015. The group is notorious for kidnapping and murdering priests and nuns.

On 31 May, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, MSU, Major Archbishop Emeritus of Kyjv-Haliè (Ukraine), spiritual leader of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, from 1996 to 2011, died on May 31st. One of the longest and most important bishops of the “united” Catholic Church of Lviv and Kiev, in the delicate period of post-communism and the modernization of modern Ukraine.

In his telegram of condolence to Husar’s successor, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk Pope Francis emphasized “his tenacious faithfulness to Christ, despite the hardships and persecutions against the Church, as well as his fruitful apostolic activity to promote the organization of Greek Catholic faithful, descendants of families forced to leave western Ukraine, and his efforts to find new ways for dialogue and collaboration with the Orthodox churches.”

Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump spent 30 minutes speaking privately in the library of the Apostolic Palace on May 24, and as the president left, he told the Pope, “I won’t forget what you said.”

The atmosphere at the beginning was formal and a bit stiff. However, the mood lightened when Pope Francis met the first lady, Melania Trump, and asked if she fed her husband “potica,” a traditional cake in Slovenia, her homeland. There were smiles all around. Pope Francis gave Trump a split medallion held together by an olive tree, which his interpreter told Trump is “a symbol of peace.” Speaking in Spanish, the Pope told Trump, “I am giving you this because I hope you may be this olive tree to make peace.”

The president responded, “We can use peace.”

Pope Francis also gave the president a copy of his message for World Peace Day 2017 and told him, “I signed it personally for you.” In addition, he gave Trump copies of three of his documents: “The Joy of the Gospel”; “Amoris Laetitia,” on the family; and “Laudato Si,’” on the environment.

Knowing that Pope Francis frequently has quoted the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Trump presented Pope Francis with a large gift box containing five of the slain civil rights leader’s books, including a signed copy of “The Strength to Love.”

“I think you will enjoy them,” Trump told the Pope. “I hope you do.”

After meeting the Pope, Trump went downstairs to meet Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister. He was accompanied by Rex Tillerson, U.S. secretary of state, and H.R. McMaster, his national security adviser. The meeting lasted 50 minutes.

“It is hoped that there may be serene collaboration between the state and the Catholic Church in the United States, engaged in service to the people in the fields of health care, education and assistance to immigrants,” the Vatican said.

The discussions also included “an exchange of views” on international affairs and on “the promotion of peace in the world through political negotiation and interreligious dialogue, with particular reference to the situation in the Middle East and the protection of Christian communities.”

United States First Lady Melania Trump is a practising Catholic, her spokeswoman has confirmed.

Following speculation over Mrs Trump’s faith during her visit to the Vatican on May 24th, her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham confirmed to Daily Mail.com that the First Lady is indeed Catholic.

Mrs Trump placed flowers at the feet of a statue of the Virgin Mary and spent time praying at the Bambino Gesù Hospital during her visit. She also presented Pope Francis with rosary beads for the Pontiff to bless.

It is unclear when Melania Trump became Catholic. She was raised in a Communist-supporting family in Slovenia and was not baptised as a child. She married Donald Trump, a life-long Pres-byterian, in 2005 at an Episcopal church in Palm Beach, Florida.

Despite her husband being inaugurated US president in January, she is not due to move into the White House until the summer. When she does, she will be the first Catholic to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue since President John F Kennedy and his wife Jackie in the early 1960s.

Gunmen attacked a group of Coptic Christians travelling to a monastery in central Egypt, killing 28 people and wounding 24, with many children among the victims, Health Ministry officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan. It followed a series of church bombings claimed by Islamic State in a campaign of violence against the Copts.

Islamic State supporters reposted videos from earlier this year urging violence against the Copts in Egypt. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians that killed 29.

Eyewitnesses said masked men opened fire after stopping the Christians, who were in a bus and other vehicles. Local TV channels showed a bus apparently raked by gunfire and smeared with blood.

Clothes and shoes could be seen lying in and around the bus, while the bodies of some of the victims lay in the sand nearby, covered with black sheets.

The attack, which Egypt’s Muslim leaders condemned, happened 15 km (10 miles) from the monastery, a security official on the scene told Reuters. Ambulance workers, monks and Muslim clerics were also present but declined to speak.

Police armed with assault rifles formed a security perimeter and officials from the public prosecutor’s office were gathering evidence and fingerprints. Heavily armed special forces arrived later wearing face masks and body armour.

After malware hacked as many as 200,000 computers throughout the world, the Russians have an idea: Blessing the computers with holy water.

The most recent attacks have been through a form of ransomware called “Wanna-Cry,” which is malicious software that locks up a person’s data and demands, either through a pop-up window or e-mail, that a ransom be paid or else the data will be destroyed.

The cyber attacks have largely targeted hospitals, academic institutions and large businesses like blue chip companies or movie theatres in more than 150 countries throughout the world, including in China, Japan, India and the U.K.

Russia was among one of the worst-hit countries in the attack. Part of their solution? Invite Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church to bless computers and servers with holy water. Aside from prayer and holy water, tech experts recommend avoiding cyberattacks by keeping computer software up to date, installing anti-virus software, and avoiding suspicious e-mails or pop-ups.