News

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  21 May 2026
  AMERICA/COLOMBIA - Bishops' appeal to priests: impartiality and prudence during election time Bogotá (Fides News Agency) – In line with the initiatives already launched to promote responsible voting in the run-up to the presidential elections scheduled for May 31, 2026 (see Fides, 16/5/2026), the Colombian Epi ...
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  21 May 2026
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Violence in Papua, Catholics attacked in a church; over 100,000 civilians internally displaced Timika (Fides News Agency) – “The recent drone attack on a Catholic church in Intan Jaya has claimed civilian lives and severely traumatized the local population. As Friars Minor of the Justice and Peace Commission, ...
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  21 May 2026
  AFRICA/SOUTH AFRICA - Catholic bishops denounce the increase in violence against migrants Cape Town (Fides News Agency) – In light of the “escalating violence and tensions” against foreign migrants in various regions of South Africa, the South African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) issued a strong ...
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  21 May 2026
  Artificial intelligence as a weapon of war: "We are killing people using metadata" by Luca Mainoldi Rome (Fides News Agency) – On the occasion of the publication of Pope Leo XIV's Encyclical on artificial intelligence (AI) on May 25, the question of AI's use in warfare is also a key topic. AI ...
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  21 May 2026
  EUROPE/ITALY - May 25: Celebration of the Camillian Martyrs of Charity and the devotion of the healthcare today Rome (Fides News Agency) – More than 300 witnesses sacrificed their lives in service to the sick, the wounded, and the forgotten, often amidst wars, epidemics, and disasters. “Their legacy is not just a memory we pre ...
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  20 May 2026
  ASIA/MYANMAR - Radio Veritas Asia, a voice of hope among refugees of the civil conflict Banmaw (Fides News Agency) – In remote areas, among refugees who have fled towns and villages due to the conflict, in communities scarred by the wounds of civil war and insecurity, one voice continues to offer hope and ...
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  20 May 2026
  Pastoral Letter from the Bishop of Laghouat after the Pope's visit: Christians in Algeria, a "grain of incense" in the "school of the desert" Laghouat (Fides News Agency) – A month ago, Pope Leo XIV made a historic visit to Algerian soil. He encountered a people of deep faith and celebrated Mass in the Basilica of St. Augustine in Annaba. Prior to this, he h ...
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  20 May 2026
  AFRICA/NIGERIA - Concern for the abduction of teachers, students, and children in schools in in Oyo State Abuja (Fides News Agency) – “Let us pray for the release of the hostages kidnapped from the schools in Ogbomoso,” appealed Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo of Oyo State in southwestern Nigeria, bordering Benin, to ...
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  20 May 2026
  "Like clay in the hand of the potter". Work on the "Positio" in the Cause for Canonization of Father Emiliano Tardif begins by Javier Trapero Madrid (Fides News Agency) – Father Emiliano Tardif (1928-1999), a Canadian priest of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) and a well-known preacher of the Catholic Chari ...
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  20 May 2026
  ASIA/SRI LANKA - Dengue alert: prevention committees in parishes Colombo (Fides News Agency) - Since the beginning of 2026, nearly 28,000 cases of dengue have been recorded in Sri Lanka, with 15 deaths. The epidemic is being exacerbated by the approaching monsoon rains, which encourag ...
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  19 May 2026
  Father Costa: The Church in Mongolia is also a ‘laboratory’ of synodality and inculturation Ulaanbaatar (Fides News Agency) - At the heart of a numerically small (less than 0.1% of the country’s population) yet surprisingly creative Church, the “pastoral week” recently held by the Apostolic Prefecture of ...
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  19 May 2026
  ASIA/INDIA - Hostage crisis in Manipur: Christian religious leaders mediate for release and peace Imphal (Fides News Agency) - A delegation of Christian religious leaders from Manipur and other northeastern Indian states is attempting to mediate the ethnic conflict in Manipur. This conflict, which erupted between the ...
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  19 May 2026
  Slovakia celebrates the memory of Veronika Racková, the nun and doctor killed 10 years ago in South Sudan by Bohumil Petrík Bánov (Fides News Agency) – “I cannot leave the people of Sudan because I love them”: This is what Sister Veronika Racková, doctor and missionary, said about herself before South Sudanese ...
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  19 May 2026
  AFRICA/UGANDA - Ebola: Uganda's Day of the Martyrs postponed Kampala (Fides News Agency) – Uganda has postponed the annual Martyrs' Day commemorations, set for 3 June, due to Ebola concerns in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which has also spread to neighboring Uganda. Pr ...
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  19 May 2026
  EUROPE/SPAIN - Diocesan Missionary Day of Madrid: “The Lord continues to call” Madrid (Fides News Agency) – “Heartfelt thanks” is the motto chosen for the celebration of Diocesan Missionary Day in the Archdiocese of Madrid, which was just celebrated on Sunday, May 17, the Solemnity of the Asc ...