Expressing solidarity with Ethiopia, Archbishop Ettore Ba-lestrero, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organi-sations in Geneva, highlighted the plight of over 4.4 million interna-lly displaced people and over one million refugees.
At the High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Situa-tion in Ethiopia, taking place in Geneva on 16 April, Archbishop Balestrero spoke on behalf of the Holy See when he said that the meeting was an expression of solidarity with “a Country endur-ing a profound humanitarian cri-sis.” The Archbishop emphasised the urgency and scale of the mission, which he said “compels us to act with solidarity and support.”
He explained that Ethiopia is grappling with the consequences of conflict, disease outbreaks, and the fifth consecutive failed rainy season, resulting in the most se-vere drought conditions in deca-des. “These catastrophic events,” he explained, “have led to increas-ed malnutrition rates, affecting in particular one million children and numerous women.”
Exacerbating the situation in the country are the severe econo-mic difficulties, such as inflation and disrupted trade. In light of these difficulties, the Archbishop noted that “the Ethiopian authori-ties and various international partners have responded with remarkable resolve and commi-tment.” However, he continued, there is still a significant funding shortfall.
Pope Francis has emphasised the severity of the humanitarian crisis and the pressing need for solidarity with the affected popu-lations. Reflecting his deep con-cern, Archbishop Balestrero noted that “the Holy See supports the appeals of the Ethiopian Episcopal Conference for immediate action and humanitarian aid and highly appreciates the convening of this High-level Pledging Event.”
The Catholic Church in Ethio-pia, although a minority, plays a pivotal role in providing and distributing aid to populations affected by food insecurity and victims of other emergencies. Archbishop Balestrero recalled that in 2023, the activities of the local Catholic Churches benefitted nearly 6 million people in nine of the country’s twelve regions, re-gardless of their religious affi-liation. The projects focused mainly on humanitarian aid and food security. “These figures do not include the significant amount of financial support provided by other international Catholic agen-cies.”
Concluding his discourse, Archbishop Ettore Balestrero reiterated that “today, the Holy See is renewing its commitment”. This is not out of obligation, he added, “but rather a profound sense of shared humanity, religious duty and moral obligation”.
“Let us act quickly and provide unwavering support to ensure that we make every effort to bring security, stability, and peace through our collective response to the humanitarian needs of Ethiopia”, he said.

Pope Francis appointed Monsignor Filippo Ciampanelli as Undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Eastern Chur-ches, who until now served as Counsellor of the Nunciature in the Section for Gen-eral Affairs of the Secretariat of State. Monsignor Ciampanelli is one of the individuals who drafted speeches for the Pope and became known worldwide during the last period of the Pope’s illness as he was one of the two persons responsible for reading the speeches on behalf of Francis.
Monsignor Ciampanelli was born on July 30, 1978, in Novara, Italy. He was ordained a priest on June 21, 2003, incardinated in the Diocese of Novara. He obtained a doctorate in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. On July 1, 2009, after attending courses at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He has served in the Pontifical Representations in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus. Since 2015, he has worked in the Section for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State.

The World Meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod on Syno-dality will be held April 29–May 2 in Sacrofano, Rome, and will reflect on the theme “How to Be a Synodal Local Church in Mi-ssion.” With a view to the second and last session of the XVI Ordi-nary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will be held at the Vatican next October, the General Secretariat of the Synod has invited a number of parish priests to travel to Rome.
Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín, undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod and coordinator of the initiative, explained that it is “a meeting of listening, prayer, and discern-ment promoted by the General Secretariat of the Synod and the Dicastery for the Clergy, together with the Dicastery for Evangelization and the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches.”
As Bishop Luis Marín explained, the objective will be to “listen to and enhance the synodal experience that they are having in their respective parishes and dioceses” as well as “enable dialogue and the ex-change of experiences and ideas.” Another purpose of the meeting is to “provide materials that will be used in the drafting of the Instrumentum Laboris (working document) for the synod’s second session, together with the summaries of the consultation coordinated by the bishops’ conferences and the results of the theological-canonical study carried out by five working groups formed by the General Secretariat of the Synod.”
The meeting also responds “to the recommendations of the participants in the first session of the Synod of Synodality, held in October 2023, who suggested listening more to the voice of the parish priests.”
The number of participants was determined according to a criterion similar to that used for the election of members of the Synod Assembly by the bishops’ conferences (approximately 200). However, given the requests received from some bishops’ conferences, the number of participants will be greater than 200.
In selecting participants, bishops’ conferences and Eastern Catholic Churches were asked to take into account, as far as possible, those “who have significant experience with the perspective of a synodal Church” as well as “favour a certain variety of pastoral contexts of rural or urban origin or specific sociocultural contexts.”
On the last day of the gathering, May 2, the parish priests will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican and the meeting will end with a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

As the world marked Earth Day on April 22, Pope Francis reiterated his urgent plea for bold action for our common home and for world peace. The international Day was established in 1970 to raise awareness about the critical environmental challenges facing our planet, and to mobilize efforts to address them. The observance provides an opportunity for individuals, communities, organizations, and governments to come together and engage in activities to repair and heal ecosystems, combat climate change, and preserve biodi-versity so as to preserve the planet for future generations.
In a post on his X social media platform (formerly known as Twitter), Pope Francis noted that his generation has bequeathed many monetary riches to later generations, but has done little to protect the planet. He also commented on the link between current environmental problems and the many conflicts raging throughout the world. “Our generation has bequeathed many riches, but we have failed to protect the planet and we are not safeguar-ding peace. We are called to become artisans and caretakers of our common home, the Earth which is “falling into ruin.” #Earth Day
The Pope’s post echoed his words in the 2015 Encyclical Laudato si’ on care of our common home and its call for individuals, communities and governments to care for nature.
Each year, Earth Day has a specific theme to draw global attention on pressing environ-mental issues. Under the banner “Planet vs. Plastics,” this 54th edition is focused on plastic pollution and on the urgent need to reduce its use and production. Beyond its environmental implications, the proliferation of plastics poses a significant threat to human health, akin to the challenges posed by climate change.
Humans produce over 400 million metric tons/ of plastic annually, which is roughly the weight of all human beings on the planet. Only 9% gets recycled, and about 22% of plastic waste worldwide is either not collected, improperly disposed of, or ends up as litter. As plastics degrade into micro plastics, they release toxic chemicals into ecosystems, contaminating oceans (where over 1 million metric tons end up every year), food and water sources, and endangering all forms of life.
This year’s campaign, therefore, prioritizes spreading awareness about these detrimental effects. It calls for increased research into the health implications of plastic exposure and advocates for transparency in sharing findings with the public. The immediate aim of the campaign is to swiftly eliminate single-use plastics by 2030 and to embed this commitment within the United Nations Treaty on Plastic Pollution by 2024, ensuring global cooperation in tackling this pressing issue. The longer-term aim is to obtain 60 per cent reduction in plastic production by 2040 so as to safeguard both human and environment health. To this end the campaign, also emphasizes the importance of investing in innovative technologies and materials to pave the way for a plastic-free world.

Pope Francis met on 6 April with members of the Italian Red Cross (ICR), as they celebrate the 160th anniversary of its foundation in 1864. Addressing some 6,000 ICR volunteers and workers in the Paul VI Audience Hall, Pope Francis warmly thanked them for the humanitarian aid they continue to provide to those suffering war and other disasters across the world.
“Your commitment,” he noted, “inspired by the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, volunteerism, unity and universality, is also a visible sign that fraternity is possible.” In thanking the Italian Red Cross for this ”irreplaceable service”, not only in conflict zones and in areas affected by natural disasters, but also in favour of migrants and the most vulnerable, the Pope encouraged them “to continue in this great work of charity, especially for children, the most vulnerable to the ravages of war.
Pope Francis went on to note that the slogan chosen for the anniversary celebrations – “Everywhere for anyone” – is particularly fitting for the humanitarian organization, as it typically describes its style, and its being there where needed.
“Everywhere”, he remarked, implies that “no context can be said to be free from suffering,” that we must “globalize solidarity” and also that we need “rules that guarantee human rights in every place, practices that nourish the culture of encounter and people capable of looking at the world with a broad perspective.” The word “anyone”, on the other hand, reminds us that “every person has their dignity and deserves our attention”, and that “we cannot look the other way or discard them because of their conditions, their disability, their origin or their social status.”

Three chapters offer the foundations for the fourth, which is dedicated to “some grave vio-lations of human dignity.” That’s the structure of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s new Declaration Dignitas infinita, which commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Universal De-claration of Human Rights and reaffirms “the indispensable nature of the dignity of the human person in Christian anthropology.”
The main novelty of the document, which is the fruit of five years’ work, is the inclusion of a number of key themes from the recent papal magisterium that accompany the bioethical ones. In the ‘non-exhaustive’ list that is offered, abortion, euthanasia and surrogate mo-therhood are listed as violations of human dignity alongside war, poverty and human trafficking.
The new text thus contributes to overcoming the dichotomy that exists between those who focus exclusively on beginning-and-end-of-life issues, while forgetting so many other attacks against human dignity and, conversely, those who focus only on defending the poor and migrants while forgetting that life must be defended from conception to its natural conclusion.

The Catholic Church has responded to the publication of “The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill” by Liam McArthur MSP. Bishop John Keenan, the Bishop of Paisley has described it as the introduction of “a dangerous idea that a citizen can lose their value and worth.” Bishop Keenan adds; “Assisted suicide sends a message that there are situations when suicide is an appropriate response to one’s individual circumstances, worries, anxieties. It normalises suicide and accepts that some people are beyond hope.”

The 2024 Pontifical Yearbook and the 2022 Statistical Yearbook of the Church, edited by the Central Statistical Office of the Church, published by the Vatican Printing Press.
The Pontifical Yearbook offers information regarding the life of the Catholic Church worldwide for the period ranging from De-cember 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023.
The number of Catholics worldwide increased by 14 million in 2022, according to the Vatican’s 2022 Statistical Yearbook of the Church released earlier this month and highlighted in a report by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.
The figures from 2021 to 2022 – the most recent years where numbers are available – marked a decrease in the number of priests and seminarians.
While vocations to the priest-hood and religious life have de-creased overall, the Church shows signs of growth in some parts of the world – most notably Africa and Asia.
The number of baptized Catholics has increased by about 1% – 14 million – rising from 1.376 billion in 2021 to 1.390 billion in 2022. As in previous years, the Catholic Church in Africa continues to grow. Africa had the highest increase in Ca-tholics at 3%, while the Americas recorded a 0.9% increase and Asia a 0.6% increase. The number of Catholics in Europe remained steady at about 286 million from 2021 to 2022.
The number of priests con-tinued the downward trend that began in 2012. Globally, the number of priests decreased by 142 from 2021 to 2022, going from 407,872 to 407,730. But the number of prie-sts continues to grow in Africa and Asia, while vocations in other continents plateau or decline. The number of priests in Africa and Asia increased by 3.2% and 1.6%, respectively, while the number remained steady in the Americas. Oceania saw a 1.5% decrease in priests, while Europe had a 1.7% decrease.
There are also fewer semi-narians worldwide. According to the Vatican numbers, there were 1.3% fewer men preparing for priesthood in 2022 than in 2021. This decrease is most marked in Europe, where there has been a noted vocations crisis since 2008. The number of seminarians decreased by 6% from 2021 to 2022. The number of seminarians also decreased in the Americas by 3.2% and in Asia by 1.2%. But Africa saw a 2.1% increase in the number of seminarians, while Oceania had a notable 1.3% increase.
Africa had the highest number of seminarians in 2022, at almost 35,000 men, while Oceania (which makes up only 0.6% of the world’s population) had the least, at almost 1,000. Asia and the Americas had roughly 30,000 and 27,000 seminarians, respectively, while Europe, which makes up almost 10% of the world’s population, had only 14,461 seminarians.
The number of professed religious men — not including priests — decreased by 360, from 49,774 in 2021 to 49,414 in 2022. Asia and the Americas were the only regions where religious vocations for men increased, with the most substantial increase in Asia.
While there are more religious women than priests by almost 50%, the number of religious women is also declining. According to the most recent data from 2021 to 2022, their numbers have declined by 1.6% — meaning almost 10,000 fewer religious sisters worldwide. This decline is most prevalent in Oceania, Europe, and North America, where the number of women religious decreased by 3.6%, 3.5%, and 3% respectively. South and Central America also saw a slight decrease of more than 2,000 religious women.
But Africa had the largest increase in religious women at 1.7%, increasing by more than 1,000 vocations. Southeast Asia’s numbers also reflected a small increase of 0.1% — almost 200 more religious women.

Humanitarian organisa-tions working in Sudan and its neighbouring countries are sounding the alarm that Sudan is on the verge of famine, urg-ing all actors to immediately scale-up efforts to avoid the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. The appeal comes ahead of a humanitarian conference to be hosted in Paris on 15 April by France, the European Union and Germany to help resolve what the UN considers to be “one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history, with potential to trigger the world’s largest hunger emergency.”
The food crisis is a direct consequence of the conflict that broke out on April 15 last year between the two rival generals, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan at the head of the Sudanese regular army (SAF), and Mohamed Dagalo “Hemedti” leading the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Despite General Dagalo announcing his commitment to a ceasefire early in January this year, and a recent United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities, the fighting shows no sign of abating.
Children and women are disproportionately and severely affected by the hunger and malnutrition emergency. Already nearly 4 million children under 5 years old are acutely malnourished. Women and girls are eating less and less nutritious foods than men and boys. Approximately 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women face acute malnutrition. As the food security situation worsens women also face sexual violence, including rape, said Sofia Sprechmann Sineiro, Secretary-General of CARE International.
With over 70% of health facilities shut down in conflict areas dropping child-vaccination coverage, limited access to services and looming disease outbreaks compound the threats faced by these highly vulnerable groups.
Furthermore the conflict has serioulsy affected Sudan’s education system: 19 million Sudanese children are out of school, said Eatizaz Yousif, Sudan Country Director of the International Red Cross (IRC)

In a press release published on 8 April by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC), the bishops present the 32-page document, which they say is a means “of furthering the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s ongoing commitment to the safety of children and vulnerable people”.
The Document, entitled “Integrity in Our Common Mission” was approved by the bishops at their plenary meeting in November 2023 and replaces earlier codes such as Integrity in Ministry for clergy and Religious, and Integrity in the Service of the Church for Church lay workers, and brings these into a single presentation, as requested by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse. It reflects the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards and aims to “ assist in the formation and induction of clergy and lay pastoral leaders to reflect integrity in all aspects of their lives”.
In their press release, the Australian bishops write that “any person performing pastoral work at the request of, or under the ultimate supervision of, a diocesan bishop must comply with the national code of conduct. Depending on the circumstances, they may also be subject to specific statutory, contractual or other obligations”.
Bishop Greg Bennet, chair of the Bishops Commission for Professional Standards and Safeguarding, emphasized this further by stressing that the Church has zero tolerance for abuse. “Integrity in Our Common Mission is a vital resource for renewing our commitment to the safety of children and vulnerable people,” he said, adding that “its principles have been developed to guide, form, strengthen and affirm those behaviours which are expected of all engaged in the ministries of the Church.”