Fides News - English

AFRICA/KENYA - Fake priest discovered

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 20:17:21 +0200

Nairobi – The Diocese of Lodwar, in Kenya’s Rift Valley, west of Lake Turkana, has warned the faithful about a fake priest who for an extended period allegedly pretended to celebrate Mass and administer the sacraments.
The man presented himself as Fr Jones Bogonko Onchonga, M.C., but is in fact a layman who lives in Kisii, is married and has two children. The diocese's statement was accompanied by two photographs of the alleged fake priest, one of which shows him wearing clerical attire.
A statement dated 16 August and signed by John Mbinda and Fr Joseph Ebenyo, respectively Bishop and Chancellor of the Diocese of Lodwar, states that Onchonga “pretended to administer the sacraments , conducted unauthorized celebrations , usurped ecclesiastical office , and falsified ecclesiastical documents .”
After being questioned by police, Onchonga reportedly confessed to having impersonated a priest for almost two years. He arrived in Lodwar in 2025 carrying documents identifying him as a priest of the Missionaries of Charity .
According to police, Onchonga never attended a Catholic seminary and received no formal formation in philosophy or theology. Instead, he taught himself the liturgy and procedures for celebrating religious services by studying books.
Police reportedly found 17 texts on Church doctrine in his possession, which he used to study various subjects, including Church history and the procedures for celebrating worship and administering the sacraments.
He is now facing charges of identity theft under Article 382 of the Penal Code and, if convicted, could face up to three years in prison.

AFRICA/ZAMBIA - Post-election tensions: High Courts closed as opposition prepares its appeal

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 20:09:46 +0200

Lusaka – Post-election tensions are continuing in Zambia, where today, 24 August, the High Courts, including those in Lusaka, Ndola and other cities, were closed, preventing opposition leader Brian Mundubile from filing a petition challenging President Hakainde Hichilema’s victory in the elections held on 13 August .
According to the official results published by the Independent Electoral Commission, Hichilema won with 2,965,326 votes, representing 60.49% of the 4,902,050 valid votes cast. His main rival, Brian Mundubile, received approximately 1,856,217 votes, or 37.87% of the total .

Opposition-linked social media accounts claim that the various High Court premises were closed following a government directive ordering the closure of “all High Courts until further notice,” allegedly with the specific aim of preventing Mundubile from lodging his appeal. So far, however, these claims have not been fully corroborated by official statements from the judiciary.

Some local media outlets report that the entrance to the Lusaka High Court was cordoned off with yellow tape, as if it were a crime scene, and that the same occurred at the High Court in Ndola.

Under Article 103 of the Zambian Constitution, a petition challenging presidential election results must generally be filed within seven days of the declaration of the results, a deadline that falls around 24–25 August. The Constitutional Court then has a limited period, generally 14 days, to issue a ruling.

Mundubile has publicly rejected the results, alleging irregularities in the counting, transmission and announcement of the results, and has announced that he would lodge an appeal. His team has instructed lawyers and prepared the necessary documentation. Mundubile and his vice-presidential candidate, Makebi Zulu,
Makebi Zulu, have taken refuge at the premises of a United Nations agency in Lusaka, fearing arrest over allegations that they were involved in an alleged insurgency plot .

Meanwhile, the Council of Churches in Zambia and the Independent Churches of Zambia have called for an independent investigation into the death of former Transport Minister and Lunte Party parliamentarian Mutotwe Kafwaya .

Kafwaya, a former minister in the Patriotic Front government who later became associated with opposition figures, was fatally wounded on 14 August during a joint security forces raid on a residence in Kabulonga, Lusaka, linked to Mundubile.

For several days, Kafwaya’s fate remained uncertain until police announced his death on the evening of 19 August. Conflicting accounts of the incident have since emerged.
Police say the politician was killed during a shootout between security forces and an armed group that had barricaded itself inside the residence. Mundubile and his supporters have rejected claims that an armed militia ready to launch an insurrection was present, saying instead that Kafwaya was shot inside a bedroom in the presence of witnesses and calling for an independent investigation.

Cardinal Vesco: in Algeria, Augustine is also a “universal brother”

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 19:56:24 +0200

Rimini – At the Rimini Meeting, the major annual cultural and ecclesial gathering held in the city on Italy’s Adriatic coast, a session devoted to St Augustine brought together scholar Catherine Conybeare, Prior General of the Augustinians, Fr Joseph L. Farrell, and Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers. Entitled “In Augustine’s Footsteps: Truth, restlessness and desire,” the event was held on 21 August.

Just a few months after Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to Algeria, the reflection took on particular significance. The Pope, who describes himself as a “son of St Augustine,” visited Annaba, ancient Hippo, where Augustine served as bishop and died in 430. In the Basilica of St Augustine, he celebrated Mass, highlighting the significance of the pilgrimage to the roots of his spiritual family and to the service of peace and reconciliation, with particular emphasis on the witness of small Christian communities.

“I can say I am his nephew”

Cardinal Vesco first outlined his spiritual connection with the Bishop of Hippo. A Dominican, he recalled that St Dominic was a canon who followed the Rule of St Augustine, which later also became the rule of the Order of Preachers. “If the Holy Father has called himself a ‘son of Augustine,’ I can say that I am his nephew,” he remarked with a smile.
Without presenting himself as an Augustine expert, the Archbishop of Algiers explained how deeply the saint’s figure has affected him since his arrival in Algeria almost 25 years ago. Walking among the ruins of Hippo, he said, makes Augustine more familiar and removes the centuries that separate us from him. From this closeness comes the conviction that Augustine is truly “a man of our time.”

The first aspect in which Cardinal Vesco recognized himself was the young Augustine portrayed in the Confessions: “A brilliant young man seeking social success, simply seeking success,” but one who “sees all his dreams fading away, losing their meaning, becoming useless because, deep down, his thirst was for something else” and “his search was a thirst for truth.”
Indeed, when he felt called to something else, Jean-Paul Vesco was himself a successful lawyer. “The young lawyer I once was,” Vesco recalled, “also seeking ideals and success, likewise came to know the vanity of his pursuit of professional and social achievement. He can easily recognize himself in the young Augustine, whom no human success could satisfy any longer.”

Augustine eventually discovers that this truth is a person, Christ, encountered through a personal relationship. Vesco recalled the famous passage from the Confessions: “Late have I loved you, Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you,” together with Augustine’s admission that he sought God outside himself, while God was already within him.
Former lawyer Jean-Paul Vesco said he recognized himself in this journey. Young people today, he noted, are likewise searching for meaning, truth and vocation, particularly in a world undergoing profound transformations. For this reason, Augustine, despite belonging to a distant age, continues to speak to the men and women of today.

Theologian and pastor

The second aspect highlighted by the Cardinal was Augustine the pastor. A great theologian, but at the same time a bishop fully immersed in the concrete life of his Church, Augustine succeeded in bringing together two dimensions that are difficult to reconcile: theological reflection, which requires study and a certain distance, and pastoral action, which exposes one every day to people’s questions, wounds and needs.
Augustine’s thought, Vesco recalled, was also shaped by his controversies with the major heresies of his time. Yet his reflections on grace, forgiveness and free will were never abstract exercises: they arose from responses to concrete human and ecclesial situations.

In this sense, the Cardinal suggested that Augustine could be regarded as one of the fathers of pastoral theology. His numerous missions, journeys and interventions prompted by the “ecclesiasticae necessitates” show a bishop constantly called away from his own quiet surroundings. Citing studies documenting Augustine’s frequent absences from the small Diocese of Hippo, Vesco joked: “This consoles me a little: too often I am an ‘airport bishop.’”

Augustine’s memory in Algeria

The Cardinal then turned to the elderly Augustine, ill and nearing the end of his life, as Hippo was about to fall into the hands of the Vandals. Walking among the ruins of the so-called “Basilica of Peace,” where the saint may have celebrated the Eucharist and taught, Vesco invited the audience to imagine the elderly bishop confronted with the disappearance of his own world and of an entire civilization.
“What must he have thought at that moment, faced with what seemed to be the annihilation of his entire life?” Vesco asked. “Fifteen centuries later,” he continued, “how beautiful it is to see that his thought continues to nourish theology and generations upon generations of men and women! He could never have imagined that even a Pope would come to pay tribute to him precisely in that basilica!”
This enduring legacy, the Archbishop of Algiers observed, reveals Augustine’s universality: a man deeply rooted in his land, culture and time, yet capable of transcending the boundaries of eras and identities.

This universality is particularly evident in Algeria. Vesco recalled the first International Colloquium on St Augustine, held in Annaba in 2001 under the presidency of Abdelaziz Bouteflika. For many Algerians, Augustine, although a Christian, remains a source of national pride and part of the country’s cultural heritage.
The election of Leo XIV, who presented himself as a “son of St Augustine,” likewise generated an immediate sense of closeness and familiarity in Algeria. “When Pope Leo, shortly after his election, declared himself a ‘son of St Augustine,’ the response in Algeria was immediate,” the Cardinal recalled. “The word quickly spread that the new Pope had family origins in Algeria, perhaps even relatives in Annaba! This sense of family belonging, beyond religious affiliation, says a great deal. Pope Leo was awaited and welcomed in Algeria as a brother, as one of their own.”

“We do not own Augustine”

For Cardinal Vesco, recognizing Augustine’s universality means not “confining” him to his place within Christian thought, while acknowledging that his theological reflection cannot be separated from faith in Christ.
Several Algerian Muslim authors have studied and written about the Bishop of Hippo. According to the archbishop, this reception from a different perspective is a healthy exercise. “We do not own Augustine or his thought,” he said.
The saint’s universality, therefore, does not arise from an abstract or “chemically pure” form of thought, detached from the concreteness of history. On the contrary, it springs from a fully embodied existence, lived in a land and an era marked by profound political, cultural and religious changes.

“Today, more than yesterday,” Vesco concluded, “we need to be able to recognize one another as brothers despite differences of faith and religion.” Augustine “is recognized as a believer worthy of trust, even by those who cannot share his faith. This is why Augustine is fully a man of our time.”
For Vesco, this is where Augustine’s relevance lies today. In a world marked by religious and cultural differences, the saint of Hippo invites believers to remain rooted in their faith without turning it into a possession or closure. The task is to be authentic believers, “nourished by a religious tradition that shapes us, but recognized as men and women worthy of trust even by those who do not share our faith.”
“Citizens of the city of humanity and, at the same time, citizens of the city of God.”

ASIA/PHILIPPINES - After Zamboanga campus shooting, Church communities call for greater attention to young people’s distress

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 23:56:27 +0200

Manila – “The country cannot afford to let another incident of school violence go unnoticed without addressing the challenges faced by its young people.” Cardinal José Advincula, Archbishop of Manila, made the appeal, urging families, schools, Churches and communities to “listen to young people who may be struggling silently with loneliness, anxiety, bullying, academic pressure or family problems.”
The Cardinal was referring to the shooting that took place on 18 August at Ateneo de Zamboanga University, a Jesuit-run educational institution comprising a high school and university in the city of Zamboanga, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. At around 7:50 a.m., in the Junior High School building on the Tumaga campus, a student opened fire on fellow students, killing 15-year-old schoolmate Patrick Dylan Wee. The alleged shooter, identified as Mohammad Mael Jalani, later committed suicide. Two people therefore died, including the attacker, while others were injured or required assistance after fleeing the building in panic.

The attack caused fear and deep distress within the school community. In the following days, students described the difficulty of returning to school after what had happened, while authorities launched investigations into how the weapon was brought onto the campus and the possible causes of the attack. The Zamboanga shooting comes amid growing concern over school safety in the Philippines. It was the second fatal incident of its kind in the country in less than two months, following the 22 June attack at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, where three students were killed and others injured.

“We must not allow this tragedy to go unnoticed without listening carefully to what it tells us about the difficulties faced by our young people,” Cardinal Advincula said. He called for the creation of safe spaces where young people can speak without fear of being judged, seek help without shame and know that they are valued. “The response,” he said, “must go beyond security measures” and include stronger systems of support and accompaniment. “We must listen to them, not only when they speak out loud, but especially when they suffer in silence,” he said.

The pastoral response, therefore, focuses not only on the immediate emergency but also on the conditions of loneliness, anxiety and pressure that can affect adolescents’ lives. “This tragedy must strengthen our shared responsibility to make schools safe places for learning, socialization, care, vigilance and peace,” wrote the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines , an organization representing Catholic schools, colleges and universities across the Philippines. CEAP urged people to show “sensitivity, compassion and restraint”, because “behind every report, photograph or social media post are students, families, teachers and a community in deep mourning and shock.”

Fr Guillrey Anthony Andal, SJ, president of Ateneo de Zamboanga University, expressed his “deep sorrow” to the entire community. He assured full cooperation with the investigating authorities and stressed that the priority is the wellbeing of students, staff and families. The president called for patience and urged people to avoid speculation that could cause further suffering. The University observed 19 August as a day of mourning and prayer across all its campuses, offering pastoral and psychological support.
In an official statement, the Archdiocese of Zamboanga called for a thorough investigation, stating that “the families of the victims deserve truth and justice”. “We pray that the authorities are guided by wisdom, fairness, courage and a sincere commitment to justice,” the statement said. “In this moment of sorrow, we choose prayer over fear, compassion over condemnation, truth over speculation and justice over vengeance.”

In the weeks preceding the shooting, the Ministry of Education had already asked schools throughout the Philippines to prepare for nationwide drills on responding to possible attacks or incidents, amid growing concerns about safety in educational institutions. Schools were instructed to develop, review or update local emergency plans and share approved plans with local government authorities, the Philippine National Police and parent-teacher associations.
Around 50 school-related incidents involving young people and acts of violence have been recorded over the past two months, including bomb threats, shootings and knife attacks. Against this backdrop, Church community leaders are calling for a network of attentive support around adolescents: families, schools and communities are being urged to recognize loneliness, anxiety, bullying and other forms of suffering at an early stage.

A project to establish a university dedicated to Slovakia’s first ambassador to the Holy See takes shape

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 22:54:45 +0200

by Bohumil Petrík

Bratislava – “Wisdom never goes out of fashion. The purpose of the Anton Neuwirth College is to contribute to the good of society by following the wisdom of Christian values. What was wise a thousand years ago is still wise today, as is the case with forgiveness, patience and love.”
Bishop of the Diocese of Žilina, Tomáš Gális said this in his homily at a Mass commemorating Anton Neuwirth, the first post-war ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the Holy See, on the occasion of the 105th anniversary of his birth.

The Mass, held in the church in Bojnice, where Neuwirth is buried, was part of the pilgrimage organized for the 18th time by the College that bears the ambassador’s name. Staff members, friends and some students of the institute took part in the pilgrimage and Mass.

The Catholic-inspired College, founded in 2009 in the village of Ivanka pri Dunaji, near Bratislava, offers one- and two-year programs, primarily for university students. Catholic ethics, philosophy and art are taught there, drawing on the works of major authors, while lectures on current affairs are given by Slovak and international academics and scholars.

In 2020, the Anton Neuwirth College opened the Citadela primary school. In September, a secondary school bearing Anton Neuwirth’s name will also open in Bratislava, following the same educational approach.
The College has recently embarked on a more ambitious project: work is beginning on the construction of a “campus” intended to house the country’s first ‘grassroots’ university, building on the academic teaching already provided to resident university students. The primary and secondary schools are also expected to be relocated to the campus.
At present, most classes are held at the manor house in Ivanka, which belongs to the Jesuits. The College’s programs are financed mainly through individual donations and contributions from students.
In autumn 2025, the cornerstone of the future campus was blessed by Pope Leo XIV during a general audience at the Vatican.
“This pilgrimage is also an invitation to the entire ecclesial community, so that everyone may be encouraged to follow Neuwirth’s example, who urged people to ‘heal evil with good’,” College founder and rector Martin Luterán said after the Mass on 20 August.
Together with the ambassador, the pilgrims also commemorated his daughter, Anna Záborská, who died on 20 August 2025. Like her father, she was a doctor and spent many years as a member of the Slovak Parliament in Bratislava and the European Parliament in Brussels.

A third person commemorated during the pilgrimage was Michal Považan, a historian and teacher at the College who died two years ago.
Anton Neuwirth was a doctor who, under the Czechoslovak regime, was accused of being a “Vatican agent”. Following the collapse of the regime, he entered politics and diplomacy, becoming the first ambassador of the newly established Slovak Republic to the Holy See. He wrote a book entitled Healing Evil with Love. Some people associated with the College would like to establish whether the conditions exist for opening a cause for his canonization.

A “security pact” against drug traffickers authorizes U.S. military operations in Colombia

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 13:52:07 +0200

by Cosimo Graziani

Bogotá – Although it has been in office for only a few days, Colombia’s new presidential administration, led by Abelardo de la Espriella, has already made a decisive shift in the country’s foreign policy. On 12 August, Foreign Minister Edoardo Mora signed an agreement with the United States allowing the North American country to carry out military operations in Colombia. The agreement is justified by the two countries’ stated intention to combat drug trafficking, a priority at the heart of the policy platforms of both administrations. Representing the United States at the signing of the “Pact” was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who also announced that Colombia will join the “Shield of the Americas,” an initiative involving seventeen other countries and officially aimed at combating terrorism and drug trafficking in North and South America. “This is the beginning of a new chapter in defense cooperation between the United States and Colombia,” Hegseth said.

As mentioned, the Colombian government’s move is in line with de la Espriella’s campaign promises. He had pledged to fight drug trafficking in the country without “seeking a compromise,” as his predecessor, Gustavo Petro, had said.
The new government’s decision immediately became part of the domestic political debate. Figures close to the former president have accused de la Espriella of seeking to undermine the country’s sovereignty in favor of the United States. The issue therefore promises to be controversial, with institutional challenges also expected. According to the opposition, citing the Constitution, the prerogative to authorize the transit of foreign troops through Colombian territory does not belong to the presidential administration, but to the Senate.

Relations between the two countries are now being reshaped around the urgency of addressing a shared problem: cocaine. Colombia is the world’s largest producer, while the United States is its largest consumer. U.S. President Donald Trump has targeted drug cartels and criminal groups since the first weeks of his second administration. The campaign against drug traffickers – or “narcoterrorism,” as it is more commonly described – has been at the heart of the U.S. effort to remove Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
While in Maduro’s case “narcoterrorism” was invoked as a justification for removing a regime hostile to the United States, in Colombia the campaign against drug trafficking may have somewhat stronger grounds. According to United Nations sources, cocaine production has increased exponentially in recent years, leaving Colombia firmly in first place worldwide. Under Gustavo Petro’s presidency, there was an unrelenting fight against cocaine trafficking, but the increase in production and in the number of armed groups using the drug trade to finance their activities rendered law-enforcement efforts ineffective.
The connection between armed groups and drug trafficking is a real issue in Colombia. The United States, therefore, with the backing of de la Espriella’s government, knows it has greater room for maneuver for future military operations in the country. It cannot therefore be ruled out that such operations could be carried out in the very near future.

Leone XIV at the Rimini Meeting: Jesus keeps his treasure in earthen vessels

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 23:45:57 +0200

Rimini – “The Church does not engage in proselytism. Instead, she grows by ‘attraction’.” Pope Leo XIV invoked this expression of Benedict XVI, repeatedly echoed by Pope Francis, to suggest that the apostolic mission entrusted by Christ to his Church is entirely entrusted to the attraction of Christ himself – on his continuing to draw the freedom and hearts of men and women throughout history.

He made the point in a speech delivered today at the Rimini Exhibition Centre during his participation in the 47th edition of the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples, the traditional end-of-August gathering held in the Romagna city and organized by members of the Communion and Liberation movement. Father Luigi Giussani, the Lombard priest who founded the movement, had already published a book in 1999 entitled “The Attraction of Jesus.”

The “realism of mercy” in an age of rearmament

The Pope referred to the title of the 2026 edition of the Meeting, taken from the final verse of Dante’s Divine Comedy: “That Love which moves the sun and the other stars.” That love, Leo XIV recalled, “has lost neither its vigor nor its intensity”, even though it often works in silence, far from the clamour generated by the violence and conflicts tearing the world apart.

The Meeting, the Pope recalled, was not established to become “a sort of enclave”. Rather, it has become “a crossroads for the Church and for society: an encounter that gives rise to further encounters and inspires new paths”.

In a world marked by conflicts, divisions and fears, Leo XIV highlighted the prophetic significance contained, almost half a century ago, in the event’s very name: *Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples*. Echoing St John Paul II, he stressed the importance of words such as “Meeting”, “Meeting of Friendship” and “Friendship Among Peoples”, that take on a particular meaning in these often dramatic hours in the history of the world.

Peace, he said, “is fostered and spread by people who love to encounter one another and are not afraid to engage with one another”. The Pope then pointed to the concept of “social friendship”, proposed by Pope Francis in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, as “thepublic, dynamic and concrete expression of fraternity”.

Using words that clearly resonate with the wars troubling the world today, the Bishop of Rome recalled that “evil is not overcome by evil”. “Today, Catholic culture must counter the false realism that rearms minds, words and nations, with the realism of mercy which recognizes that there can be no enemies, and that everyone, even those who oppose us, is a brother or sister to be looked in the eye and encountered in truth,” he said. “Sin exists, of course,” he continued, “but stronger still is the redeeming love of Christ. That love commits us to purifying our thoughts, interests, habits, associations, plans and investments — indeed, every aspect of our lives – from all that the culture of power has tainted.”

The Pope therefore urged people to free “our lives from suspicion, culture from arrogance, education from ideology, work from the idolatry of profit, and technology and finance from the business of death” and to “disarm” technological development whenever it becomes invasive and destructive.

A treasure in earthen vessels

In his speech, the Pope quoted Father Giussani on several occasions, recalling the passion with which the Ambrosian priest rejoiced throughout his life at young people encountering Christ. “Let your Movement, your groups, your communities,” the Successor of Peter urged, addressing in particular the many young people in the audience and among the volunteers who animate the Meeting, “be a springboard from which you can dive into the whole of reality.”

The Pope also reminded them that “in love there is never coercion or indoctrination, nor manipulation, deception or recruitment. Love exists only in freedom, in genuine encounter and in the generous gift of self.”

In this context, the Pope presented mission as witness and attraction, reiterating that “truth can be encountered only in freedom”. Leo XIV repeated the formula already dear to his predecessors: “The Church does not engage in proselytism. Instead, she grows by ‘attraction’.” This dynamic does not ignore but embraces the fragility of Christ’s witnesses. “We must admit,” the Pope said, “that we carry this treasure ‘in earthen vessels’.” Yet “it is the Lord who always raises us up, both as individuals and as communities.”

The Pope’s visit to the exhibition on St Augustine, displayed in the pavilions hosting the Meeting, provided a significant prologue to the speech he delivered before the vast crowd. In his address, the Pope reiterated that grace – as the great Bishop of Hippo had already taught – attracts and moves human freedom without manipulating it. In the Pope’s words, the Christian proposal does not build an identity-based enclosure, but generates encounter and hope at the heart of history.

In the concluding part of his speech, the Pope called for the unity of the “community” through which Christ has reached and draws his disciples to himself.

Leo XIV then linked unity, synodality and mission. “We have rediscovered the synodal and missionary dimension of being the Church, which calls us, first and foremost, to learn to listen to one another,” he said, inviting people to listen to the Word of God, to other members of the Church and to those who seek the truth even though they do not belong to the ecclesial community. “Synodality is not the name of a process, but the very nature of a people who, through friendship and encounter with others, come to recognize that they belong to God alone.”

ASIA/TURKMENISTAN - Resignation and appointment of the Superior of the Mission sui iuris of Turkmenistan

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 13:42:22 +0200

Vatican City – The Holy Father Leo XIV has accepted the resignation from the pastoral governance of the Mission sui iuris of Turkmenistan presented by the Rev. Fr. Andrzej Madej, O.M.I.

The Holy Father Leo XIV has appointed the Rev. Fr. Paweł Janusz Kubiak, O.M.I., as Superior of the Mission sui iuris of Turkmenistan. He has until now served as Superior of the house and Bursar of the Mission sui iuris of Turkmenistan.

The Rev. Fr. Paweł Janusz Kubiak, O.M.I., was born on 8 February 1974 in Turek, Poland. He began his formation as an Oblate on 7 September 1994 and completed his novitiate at Święty Krzyż on 8 September 1995. He made his perpetual vows on 8 September 1999 and was ordained a priest on 23 June 2001 in Obra, Poland.

He received his first obedience at the Delegation of the Polish Province in Ukraine and Russia, where he remained until his departure for Turkmenistan in 2023. Since 1 September 2023, he has served as Superior of the house and Bursar of the Mission sui iuris of Turkmenistan.

ASIA/INDIA - “Justice Sunday”: Catholic community defends the poor and calls for safeguards over law on foreign funding

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 23:31:49 +0200

New Delhi – “Justice begins with us” – drawn from Isaiah 1:17 – is at the heart of “Justice Sunday”, which the Catholic Church in India will celebrate on August 23 as a time for reflection, prayer, raising awareness, and an appeal to the authorities and civil society to promote social justice. The first “Justice Sunday” was celebrated on August 20, 1989. Since then, the Bishops’ Conference of India Office for Justice, Peace and Development has worked to prepare a meaningful observance of the day.
On the occasion of Justice Sunday, Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore, chairman of the CBCI Office for Justice, Peace and Development, issued a statement stressing that “true worship of God is inseparable from the daily practice of justice”. The statement, sent to Fides, urges every disciple of Christ to move beyond “outward piety” and become a concrete instrument of social equity. “God calls us not only to avoid evil,” he says, “but to actively seek justice, protect the vulnerable and uphold the dignity of every person. Justice is rooted in the very nature of God and reaches its fullness in Jesus Christ, who proclaimed good news to the poor, welcomed the excluded and restored dignity to those who had been forgotten.” Machado’s message echoes the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

Cardinal Anthony Poola, President of the CBCI, has also called on the authorities to uphold the constitutional principles of justice, equality and secularism in the country. The Cardinal expressed concern over the growing number of incidents of violence and intimidation against Christian communities across India. The observance also comes amid a climate of political tension. Just ahead of Justice Sunday, the Indian bishops rejected allegations surrounding the debate over the Foreign Contribution Amendment Bill, 2026 , which regulates and places restrictions on foreign funding received by Indian NGOs and social and religious organizations. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, on March 25, 2026, and was referred on August 12 to a joint parliamentary committee following strong criticism from the opposition, civil society and several religious organizations.

The Indian bishops have reiterated that the proposed provisions could affect the Church’s humanitarian, educational and healthcare activities serving the poorest and most marginalized, and have publicly called for the bill to be withdrawn or revised . Among the provisions under criticism are those concerning property and assets acquired through foreign contributions, which could be taken away from NGOs and placed under the management of a designated authority if their FCRA registration were revoked or not renewed. On July 10, the CBCI submitted a memorandum to Home Minister Amit Shah, highlighting concerns over the FCRA, along with issues including religious freedom, the rights of Christian Dalits belonging to the ‘Scheduled Castes’ and the humanitarian crisis in Manipur.

Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash, speaking to the Indian Catholic media ahead of Justice Sunday, urged the faithful to recover a “prophetic voice” in society. He recalled India’s “open wounds” of injustice: the caste system, which disproportionately affects the poorest and most vulnerable; “crony capitalism”, which marginalizes the poor; and widespread corruption at the highest levels. The Jesuit also pointed to targeted violence against religious minorities, including Muslims, Christians and Sikhs; the denial of legitimate rights to Dalits who have embraced Christianity or Islam; the dispossession of indigenous and tribal peoples of their land and resources; the exploitation of small farmers, casual workers and migrant laborers; the denial of women’s rights; and the blatant violation of “environmental justice”.
In this context, Prakash notes, “the Indian Church is called to stand publicly alongside the victims of injustice”. Referring to the 1971 Synod of Bishops on “Justice in the World”, he states: “Faced with the present situation of the world, marked by the grave sin of injustice, we recognize both our responsibility and our inability to overcome it by our own strength alone. This situation urges us to listen with humility and open hearts to the word of God, which shows us new paths of action for justice in the world.” For the Catholic Church in India, Justice Sunday is therefore not merely a day of prayer and awareness, but a call to concrete responsibility in the face of inequality, discrimination and violations of human dignity.

AFRICA/ZAMBIA - Church-backed parallel vote count confirms Hichilema’s victory, but irregularities and tensions remain

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 16:26:12 +0200

Lusaka – President Hakainde Hichilema has won the August 13 elections with more than 50% of the vote. This was stated by the Christian Churches Monitoring Group , which conducted a parallel vote count alongside the official tally carried out by the Electoral Commission of Zambia. The CCMG, however, recorded irregularities in 30 constituencies.

The CCMG is an independent, non-partisan Zambian civil society organization that monitors electoral processes with the aim of promoting transparency, accountability and credible democratic elections.

It is a consortium founded in 2014 by the Council of Churches in Zambia , the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia , the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflections and the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops , through Caritas Zambia.

On election day, the CCMG deployed 1,500 stationary observers at a nationally representative sample of polling stations, covering every province, district and constituency.

In its report, the CCMG observed that, “although isolated problems occurred on polling day, the overall procedures for setup, voting and counting were followed and the process was transparent.”

According to the CCMG, voter turnout stood at 53.5%, a significant decline from the 70.6% recorded in 2021. President Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development received approximately 56% of the vote , while the main opposition candidate, Brian Mundubile, secured approximately 42.3% .

The verification of electoral processes and results carried out by the CCMG to ensure transparency “clearly shows that President Hichilema received the highest number of presidential votes, surpassing the 50% threshold, but also demonstrates that, in 30 constituencies, votes were added, artificially increasing turnout and compromising the integrity of the process.”

“These observations deserve further analysis, particularly in light of the implications for the allocation of seats under the proportional system. It is important to emphasize, however, that the discrepancies identified do not alter the overall outcome of the presidential election,” said a statement by the organization backed by the country’s main Christian denominations. The CCMG concluded by calling for greater transparency from the Electoral Commission in the publication of election results.

Meanwhile, post-election tensions remain high. Mundubile, who has rejected President Hichilema’s victory, has been summoned by police for questioning, along with his vice-presidential candidate, Makebi Zulu.

The killing by security forces of former Transport Minister and prominent Lunde Party figure Mutotwe Kafwaya has also been reported. His fate had remained uncertain for several days .

Kafwaya was killed on August 14 during a shootout at Mundubile’s residence in Lusaka. Police only announced his death on the evening of August 19, after Kafwaya’s wife had filed a report with the authorities seeking information about her husband’s whereabouts.

ASIA/PHILIPPINES - "A truly missionary Church does not impose political choices, but it helps the faithful discern wisely"

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 16:14:15 +0200

Tacloban City – Mission is also expressed in the Church’s capacity to accompany people in the concrete questions that shape their lives, including their participation in public affairs. This was the perspective proposed by Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines , during the 70th national assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies-Philippines, held in Tacloban City.

With the next presidential election in the Philippines expected in 2028, the Archbishop called on Church communities to help the faithful form their consciences and take part responsibly in the democratic process. He did not present this task as a political intervention by the Church, but as one dimension of evangelization: a missionary community, he said, remains close to people and helps them read the realities of life in the light of faith, truth and human dignity. “A truly missionary Church does not impose political choices, but it helps the faithful discern wisely, participate responsibly, and promote the common good with a heart shaped by the Gospel,” Archbishop Garcera said.

In this approach, voter formation is linked to a missionary Church that is not enclosed within its own structures, routines or internal concerns. The Archbishop urged parishes to develop an outward-looking pastoral style, attentive above all to the poor, young people, marginalised persons and those who have gradually moved away from ecclesial life. For him, evangelization requires presence, listening and accompaniment wherever people experience their daily social, professional and family responsibilities. “Mission begins wherever we live, work, study, and serve,” he said, underlining that the Church’s missionary task belongs to every baptized person, not only to specialised agencies or missionaries sent abroad.

The address was delivered before the national assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies-Philippines, an occasion that also allowed the CBCP president to encourage reflection on concrete ways in which the generosity and vitality of Filipino Catholic communities could support evangelization beyond national borders. Pointing to the contribution made by Catholics in South Korea and Japan, despite their comparatively smaller communities, he invited the faithful in the Philippines to deepen their commitment to missionary cooperation, as related on the CBCP website.

For Archbishop Garcera, this missionary renewal is also inseparable from the implementation of the Synod on Synodality. He described synodality as a lived ecclesial practice rather than a further institutional programme: a way of listening, discerning and walking together. The task facing Philippine dioceses, he said, is now to give practical expression to the Synod’s orientations. “The work of the Synod did not end with the publication of its Final Document,” he said. “The question before us is no longer simply, ‘What is synodality?’ but rather, ‘How shall we live it?’”

ASIA/INDONESIA - Young people from Ruteng Catholic University at the service of the population of Flores, affected by the earthquake

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 16:05:33 +0200

Ruteng – “The young people of St Paul Catholic University in Ruteng have been tirelessly serving the community in the aftermath of the earthquake in Flores. Their voluntary commitment, dedication and spirit of solidarity are truly commendable and instill deep hope in all of us. By rolling up their sleeves and joining together in works of charity, these young people are showing the path towards recovery”: this is what Father Agustinus Mandfred Habur, Rector of St Paul Catholic University in Ruteng told Fides. “The university students,” he said, “are providing free healthcare assistance at Reo parish, in the Diocese of Ruteng, and have set up an emergency center in cooperation with the diocesan Caritas and local authorities.”

“The 7.7 magnitude earthquake,” the rector recounted, “which struck the island of Flores on August 15 has left a deep wound in our community. The Manggarai region, where St Paul Catholic University in Ruteng is located, was also severely affected: buildings were damaged, roads were blocked by landslides, families were forced to leave their homes, and the population is still living in fear of numerous aftershocks. For us, this is not merely a natural disaster: it is a trial affecting individuals, families, students, lecturers and the entire community.”
“In a situation like this,” he continued, “the University could not simply close its doors and wait for teaching activities to resume. We established a University Emergency Coordination Center and temporarily suspended academic activities, allowing lecturers and staff to work from home. At the same time, we invited the university community, beginning with the students, to volunteer and collaborate with the authorities, healthcare institutions, the Church and humanitarian organizations to address the most urgent needs.”

The University, Fr Habur explained, has made its expertise and facilities available to support the affected population. “We are coordinating assistance activities, the collection and distribution of aid, and accompanying communities as they plan the next stages of the emergency. In response to a request from the authorities to use the University’s sports field as the site of a field hospital, we are making this space available to the population in a spirit of full cooperation, while at the same time seeking to ensure safety and the continuity of university life.”

Fr Agustinus Mandfred Habur noted: “In this difficult time, we feel particularly strongly that a Catholic university must be a place where knowledge becomes service and where faith is translated into concrete solidarity. Our response to the earthquake therefore stems from the conviction that no one should have to face this ordeal alone.” He concluded: “As a university community, we want to stand alongside those who are suffering, cooperate with everyone and contribute not only to rebuilding structures, but also to rebuilding hope. We entrust this mission to God’s Providence and to the prayers of the universal Church, confident that, together, we can transform this tragedy into an opportunity for fraternity, resilience and renewed hope.”

The charitable commitment of the Catholic University of Ruteng is part of the wider response of the Catholic Church, carried out primarily through Caritas Indonesia, which has launched an official emergency program to assist the population of Flores. The program is operating across the island through the local Church’s operational centers in the four dioceses that comprise Flores: the Archdiocese of Ende and the dioceses of Maumere, Ruteng and Labuan Bajo.

ASIA/MONGOLIA - Farewell to Father Robert Goessens, pioneer of the Catholic mission in Mongolia

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 13:37:18 +0200

Ulaanbaatar – Father Robert Goessens, a Belgian missionary of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary , died in Japan on August 15 at the age of 97. A key figure in the early development of the contemporary Catholic presence in Mongolia, he was part of the first group of three CICM missionaries to arrive in Ulaanbaatar in July 1992, at a time when the country was emerging from several decades of communist rule. Together with Father Wenceslao Padilla, a Filipino missionary who became the first Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, and Father Gilbert Sales, Father Goessens was entrusted with establishing the mission. They arrived on July 10, on the eve of the national holiday of Naadam, the three missionaries faced an entirely new task: learning the Mongolian language, meeting a population that knew little or nothing about Catholicism, and patiently laying the foundations of an ecclesial community.

Before arriving in Ulaanbaatar, Father Goessens had already made a profound mark on the pastoral and social landscape of Japan’s Kansai region. He arrived in Japan on October 2, 1955, shortly after his priestly ordination, and carried out his ministry there for nearly four decades, particularly in the Diocese of Osaka and in the parish of Sakai. Alongside his parish ministry, he distinguished himself through pioneering work in social services and child welfare. Among other initiatives, he founded the Junshinkai social welfare organization , under whose auspices several kindergartens and childcare centers were established. His concern for the most vulnerable and for children, combined with a profound respect for local cultures, became a distinctive feature of his ministry.

Born in Belgium in 1928, Father Goessens already had extensive missionary experience in Japan, where he had lived and ministered for 37 years before leaving for Mongolia. His knowledge of Asia and pastoral experience were placed at the service of the new mission entrusted to the “Scheutists,” as CICM members are commonly known. The congregation was founded in Scheut, near Brussels, by Father Théophile Verbist.

In the early days, the missionaries lived in a hotel before moving into an apartment. They celebrated Mass for foreign Catholics living in the capital and offered English classes. They also welcomed Mongolians who wanted to understand their presence and way of life. “None of us knew how to proceed. So we had not worked out any plan before arriving, because we wanted to look around,” he told the APIC news agency in 2001.
This presence quickly translated into social initiatives, particularly for the benefit of street children. With the support of the Mongolian authorities, the Catholic mission helped establish a shelter capable of accommodating around one hundred children, while also developing educational activities and language courses. The initiative subsequently expanded and, in particular, helped pave the way for the arrival of other missionaries from different religious congregations.

The work of the first CICM missionaries was characterized by a rejection of proselytism and a desire to build respectful relationships with Mongolian society, its religious traditions and its authorities, following the “come and see” approach. This attitude enabled the Catholic Church to grow slowly but peacefully. In 2012, Father Goessens returned to Mongolia to take part in celebrations marking the twentieth anniversary of the resumption of the Catholic presence in the country and to reunite with the people with whom he had shared the founding years of the mission. That trip was his last visit to Mongolia.

In a message of condolence, the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar paid tribute to a man it described as one of the first missionaries to help lay the foundations of the Catholic Church in Mongolia. The statement recalled his faithful service alongside his confreres and his commitment to sowing “faith, hope, compassion and love” among the Mongolian people. His CICM confreres in Japan celebrated Father Robert Goessens’ funeral Mass on August 18, giving thanks for his life and ministry. The Catholic Church in Mongolia expressed its condolences to his family, confreres and all those who worked with him, entrusting his soul to the mercy of God. “May the seeds of faith he planted in Mongolia, the love of Christ he shared and the hope to which he bore witness continue to bear fruit in the life of the Catholic Church in Mongolia,” the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar said.

AMERICA/ECUADOR - Three days of national mourning for the death of the intelligence chief in helicopter crash in Kenya

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 13:21:42 +0200

Quito – Ecuador has declared three days of national mourning to commemorate the country’s intelligence chief, Michele Sensi-Contugi, who died along with his wife, Stephany Hollihan, and five other people in a helicopter crash in Kenya.

The helicopter, carrying six passengers and a pilot, crashed yesterday, August 19, in Samburu County. The victims – in addition to the two Ecuadorian nationals, the Kenyan pilot and four US citizens – were on a sightseeing flight from the Loisaba Conservancy towards the Ewaso Nyiro area when the aircraft crashed for reasons that remain unknown near Mount Ololokwe.

Ecuadorian authorities have provided no details about the reason for Sensi-Contugi’s presence in Kenya or the circumstances of his trip.

Sensi-Contugi, 44, was one of President Daniel Noboa’s closest aides and a personal friend and had headed the National Intelligence Center since January 2024. The Ecuadorian president, who is currently visiting China, ordered security measures to be put in place for the children of the late intelligence chief.

The president justified the decision by citing the sensitive and strategic nature of Sensi-Contugi’s responsibilities and the risks inherent in his position. The decree recalls that, in June 2026, military authorities had already been tasked with assessing the need to provide protection for the senior official, his wife and family members.

Sensi-Contugi was actively involved in combating drug-trafficking organizations that, in recent years, have turned Ecuador into one of the world’s major hubs for cocaine trafficking.

In recent months, under his leadership, around a dozen criminal gang leaders were arrested and networks linked to money laundering were uncovered. Through the work of the CNI, the number of criminal organizations identified by Ecuadorian authorities rose from 22 in January 2024 to 47 today.

As director of the CNI, Sensi-Contugi also established close ties with intelligence agencies in several countries, including the United States, Great Britain and Spain. He also maintained particularly close relations with Italy, whose ambassador to Quito was a key supporter in drafting the anti-mafia legislation currently being debated in Parliament.

Born in Italy on August 12, 1982, to an Italian father and an Ecuadorian mother, Michele Sensi-Contugi held dual Italian and Ecuadorian citizenship. He subsequently built his professional career in Ecuador, initially in the private sector and later in public administration. As an entrepreneur, he invested in companies operating in several sectors, including rubber and plastics manufacturing, clothing and biotechnology.

The circumstances of the crash remain to be established, and above all it must be determined whether the tragedy was indeed an accident or whether other factors need to be considered. In the absence of official information, however, it is currently impossible to formulate any hypothesis. The Kenyan press has nevertheless recalled that the country has recorded several fatal helicopter crashes in recent years, including the 2024 accident that killed Kenya’s Chief of Defence Forces, General Francis Ogolla.

Kenyan authorities will now have to establish the cause of the helicopter crash and clarify the circumstances surrounding the flight. This will be a particularly sensitive investigation given Sensi-Contugi’s position and the nature of the activities in which he was involved.

AFRICA/NIGERIA - Ungushi: The ambiguous face of violence in Northern Nigeria

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 13:04:42 +0200

Abuja – The attack on the village of Ungushi illustrates the complexity of the violence suffered by Nigerian communities. The targeted community is predominantly Muslim, and the local imam was among the victims. The attackers belong to a recently formed group that operates in the grey area between banditry, organized crime and jihadism.

On the evening of Sunday, August 16, an armed group attacked the village of Ungushi, in the Kebbe Local Government Area of Sokoto State, northwestern Nigeria, killing at least 32 people, according to the updated death toll released by local authorities. Among the victims was Imam Aliyu, leader of the Ungushi Izala Jumu'at Mosque, along with farmers, traders and other residents of the predominantly Muslim community.

The massacre was preceded two days earlier, on August 14, by an attack carried out by a gang of armed men in several areas of Kebbe. The assailants – it remains unclear whether they were the same group that later massacred residents of Ungushi – arrived on motorcycles, attacking residents, looting shops and destroying property.

Military authorities have attributed the Ungushi attack to Lakurawa. Often described as an insurgent or terrorist organization, Lakurawa appears instead to operate in the complex overlap between organized banditry and religious militancy, using Islamist rhetoric to legitimize its violence.

The group emerged in the border region between Nigeria and Niger, initially presenting itself as an armed protection force for communities living in areas subjected to repeated attacks by criminal gangs and where residents felt abandoned by the state.

Over time, however, Lakurawa evolved into an armed group accused of extorting money from communities, imposing its authority over villages and attacking civilians and security personnel, while also justifying its actions on religious grounds.

Lakurawa has thus come to occupy the undefined space between banditry, organized crime and jihadism that characterizes several areas of northwestern Nigeria.

According to some analysts, Lakurawa has also recently established contacts with jihadist groups active in neighboring Sahel states, particularly the Islamic State Sahel Province. This development, however, has not so far been confirmed by reliable sources.

It is significant that Lakurawa operates in predominantly Muslim areas and that its victims are mostly Muslims. The group has attacked mosques, killed worshippers and Islamic religious leaders, while at the same time invoking Islamic religious terminology and presenting itself as a movement inspired by an Islamist ideology.

The security crisis affecting large parts of Nigeria therefore has multiple dimensions and cannot be reduced to its religious aspect alone. The problem is that, over the years, the federal government and the governments of the Federation’s 36 states have failed to adopt a national security strategy capable of addressing and resolving the multiple crises affecting a significant portion of the Nigerian population, regardless of religious affiliation.

ASIA/MONGOLIA - Caritas director Sister Sandra Garay: “Desertification threatens the lives of rural communities”

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:45:35 +0200

Ulaanbaatar – “Desertification in Mongolia is visible to the naked eye,” Sister Sandra Garay, an Argentine nun, Consolata missionary, in Mongolia since 2004 and is currently executive director of Caritas Mongolia, told Fides on the occasion of COP17, the UN Conference on Desertification, being held in Ulaanbaatar from August 17 to 28. “When I travel outside the capital, I increasingly notice the signs of a changing landscape. There is less and less grass, water sources are disappearing, and the land is becoming increasingly arid. Herders speak of harsh winters and increasingly dry summers,” she said.
For Sister Garay, in Mongolia “climate change, desertification and biodiversity loss are closely interconnected.” The progressive degradation of pastureland is compounded by drought and extreme weather events, as well as by the pressure exerted by human activities on the land. An environmental crisis is rapidly becoming a social crisis, particularly for families whose livelihoods depend on pastoralism.

The situation is alarming. According to the UNCCD , Mongolia, with an area of about 1.56 million square kilometers, is among the countries most severely affected by land degradation and desertification, which affect nearly 77% of its territory. Pastureland accounts for around 70% of the country’s territory and forms the basis of pastoral livelihoods for about one-third of the population. The causes are multiple, Sister Garay explains: “Drought and climate change are compounded by factors linked to human activities, such as overgrazing, deforestation and unsustainable land use.”
Extreme weather events are also leaving an increasingly visible mark. The UNCCD reports that in Mongolia the annual number of days marked by sand and dust storms has more than tripled compared with the 1960s, while droughts have become more frequent. Among the most dramatic emergencies is the “dzud,” a climatic phenomenon typical of Mongolia that combines extremely harsh winter conditions with limited access to pasture and fodder, resulting in the death of large numbers of livestock.
According to the FAO, around 7.9 million animals died during the 2023–2024 dzud, equivalent to 12.3% of the country’s total livestock population.

“For herding families whose livelihoods depend on livestock, losing their animals often means losing everything and falling into poverty,” observes the Consolata missionary. “That is why the fight against desertification is a fight to protect the livelihoods and the very lives of rural communities,” she adds. The response, according to the missionary, must combine environmental protection with support for local populations. “On the one hand,” she says, “there is an urgent need for more sustainable pasture management, protecting springs and wells and promoting more efficient use of water resources. Reforestation can also help protect the soil. At the same time, rural families can be supported in diversifying their sources of income, so that they are not devastated by the dzud when it strikes their lives.” This approach brings together environmental protection, food security and the dignity of rural communities. It is no coincidence that COP17, hosted by Mongolia in 2026, the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, is also focusing on rangeland restoration and the well-being of pastoral communities.

It is in this context that the experience of Caritas Mongolia comes into play. The organization has long been involved in environmental protection, sustainable agriculture and strengthening livelihoods among local communities. In the past, Garay explains, “Caritas implemented agricultural initiatives involving the construction of passive solar greenhouses and training for communities in alternative, organic and sustainable farming methods. The aim was to promote food production suited to Mongolia’s harsh climate, while encouraging more responsible use of water and soil.” In addition, “we support herding communities in developing sustainable sources of income that complement traditional livestock farming, in order to reduce their vulnerability to environmental degradation and the effects of climate change,” she adds.

Today, the organization is carrying out a pilot project in Mongolia to test the technique of “half-moons,” water-harvesting and land-restoration systems used in arid regions. “We intend to assess whether this methodology,” Sister Garay explains, “can help combat desertification, restore degraded pastureland and natural habitats, increase soil moisture and promote the regeneration of vegetation.”
“Caring for the land means caring for people,” Sister Garay says, summing up Caritas Mongolia’s approach in a country where the land is directly tied to the survival of local communities. “Combating desertification,” she concludes, “means defending not only the environment, but also the future of thousands of families.”

AFRICA/MADAGASCAR - Appointment of Auxiliary Bishop of Toamasina

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:42:02 +0200

Vatican City - The Holy Father has appointed the Rev. Fr. Mariusz Kasperski, O.M.I., until now Superior of the Community of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Toamasina and Parish Priest of Saint Eugène de Mazenod in Tsarahonenana, as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Toamasina , assigning him the titular See of Burca.

H.E. Msgr. Mariusz Kasperski, O.M.I., was born on 15 August 1963 in Wolsztyn, in the Archdiocese of Poznań . He completed his studies in Philosophy and Theology at the Major Seminary of the Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Obra, Poland. He took perpetual vows on 8 September 1991.

He was ordained a priest on 21 June 1993 in Obra.

After his priestly ordination, he served as Parochial Vicar of Saint Stanislaus Kostka in Lubliniec, Poland .

In 1995, he was sent as a missionary to Madagascar, where he held the following positions: missionary en brousse in Ambinanindrano, in the Diocese of Ambositra ; Parish Priest of Saint John the Baptist in Analakininina, in the Archdiocese of Toamasina ; Director of the O.M.I. Pre-Novitiate ; Member of the Council of the O.M.I. Delegation in Madagascar ; Parish Priest and Superior of the Community of Antananarivo in Soavimbahoaka ; Parish Priest of Saint John Paul II in Tsimahavaobe, Diocese of Morondava ; Superior of the O.M.I. Delegation in Madagascar ; Superior of the O.M.I. Community in Toamasina and Parish Priest of Saint Eugène de Mazenod in Tsarahonenana, Toamasina .

POPE IN FRANCE/II - Behind the figures: the fragmented and “indecipherable” expectations that will greet Leo XIV

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:38:41 +0200

by Marie-Lucile Kubacki

Paris – An exceptional mobilization is taking shape ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France.
Tickets for the events scheduled during the papal visit have been snapped up. The 80,000 places available for the vigil at the Stade de France were allocated in less than an hour, while more than 200,000 people registered within the first few hours after registration opened for the Mass.
The enthusiasm has prompted numerous comments in both the Catholic and mainstream press. “As if he were Beyoncé: why young Catholics are waiting for Leo XIV like a superstar,” Le Parisien headlined. “A beautiful sign for the Church in France,” commented Bishop Étienne Guillet of Saint-Denis, for Fides.

There is a very French paradox here. The figures, when properly examined, reflect the complexity and contradictions — both real and apparent — of a secularized France in which the Catholic Church is still capable of mobilizing large crowds.

Figures to be handled with caution

Only 1.8% of the population in France attends Mass every week , while just 5% do so with some regularity. Among baptized Catholics in France, only 6% declare themselves as believers and practicing Catholics. In 2021, the proportion of people who said they believed in God fell below the 50% threshold in France .
Less than a quarter of young French people in this age group identify as Catholic. Among them, more than one-third never pray . Twenty-eight percent of baptized people now consider themselves “non-Catholic,” while 40% do not intend to have their children baptized, compared with 25% in 2012 .

The collapse in religious practice could be compounded by the decline in vocations, prompting historian Guillaume Cuchet to argue that what is taking place is no longer so much a matter of individual abandonment as of disengagement among the second and third generations, marking a rupture in the family transmission of faith .

At the same time, almost one French person in two — more than 32 million people — “feels connected to Catholicism” . Fifty-seven percent of the population continues to engage in devotional practices outside an institutional framework, such as lighting candles in churches; 44% visit shrines or pilgrimage sites; 39% pray to God, the Virgin Mary or the saints; and 23% leave prayer intentions in designated books .
Moreover, since spring 2021, against the backdrop of a decades-long decline in infant baptisms, there has been an unexpected increase in requests for baptism among young adults.

The reality that “flies under the radar”

Looking at these statistics leads to several conclusions rich in teachings for mission.
The first is that French Catholicism is moving from a culturally dominant model toward a reality fragmented into small communities — a “Catholic archipelago,” in the words of sociologist Yann Raison du Cleuziou.
In an interview, the scholar, who studies the transformations of French Catholicism, observed: “Popular religiosity is maintained and flies under the radar because it does not fit into the usual categories used in surveys to describe Catholicism.”
He added: “In parishes, one can observe a revival of devotions that were considered popular in the 1960s, especially devotion to the saints, the Virgin Mary and the Sacred Heart.” He explained that this movement was being driven by two independent trends: the growth of practicing Catholics as a result of the minority status experienced by Catholicism, particularly among those with more traditional religious sensibilities; and the renewal of Catholicism’s popular base through migration.
“Catholics who have arrived from overseas or Africa, or even from Central or Mediterranean Europe,” he explained, “are reviving devotions that had been falling into disuse” .

Another phenomenon extensively analyzed by Guillaume Cuchet is the growth of the “SBNR” — “spiritual but not religious” people. These are individuals who no longer identify with the institutional framework of traditional religions — churches, dogmas and communal rites — but who, particularly among younger generations, maintain or develop personal spiritual quests, beliefs or practices “à la carte,” which may draw on elements rooted in Christianity.
This can be seen in popular productions such as Avatar, which combines elements of shamanism with biblical themes.
“The growth of ‘nones’ introduces an extraordinary unknown into our religious and philosophical history,” Cuchet writes. “Broadly speaking, three dominant profiles can be distinguished: 1. ‘Secular nones,’ generally atheists or agnostics, whose numbers are growing; 2. ‘Liminal’ or ‘transitional nones,’ who are moving between two affiliations and for whom this position is only temporary; 3. ‘Religious’ or ‘spiritual nones,’ who are believers but not tied to a particular creed or religious institution.”
He concludes: “Depending on which subtype dominates tomorrow, we may find ourselves with very different spiritual worlds” .

The siren calls of identity and neo-idealism

This is why the concepts of “minority” and “de-Christianization” must be handled with caution, otherwise, they risk becoming trees that obscure the forest and distort the missionary perspective.
As Yann Raison du Cleuziou analyzes in an article on newly baptized adults, attachment to rites of passage, festivals, votive shrines and architectural heritage — such as village churches, not to mention the 2019 Notre-Dame de Paris fire, which sparked a wave of national emotion — expresses a connection to collective memory and local history, as well as a search for transcendence and social bonds, for “common goods,” in the face of individualism and the instability of the present.
At times, however, this attachment takes on an “identity” dimension, when heritage is politicized to define an immutable national essence and identify “enemies.” This is a temptation insofar as some practicing Catholics are marked by a sense of decline or by the perception of Catholicism as a “minority.”

Yet both the “identity” question and “spiritual purism” — which seeks to isolate faith from any cultural context — are two sides of the same process of secularization, the researcher argues.
“Are Catholics who oppose the Gospel alone to the historical Christian heritage not perhaps giving in to the ‘historical monophysitism’ denounced by Pope Francis in his letter on history?” he asks.
He describes “a spirituality that exalts the uniqueness of the Christian Incarnation to such an extent that it ends up de-incarnating it into an inaccessible, ‘angelic’ ideal, with no other possible temporal way forward than a form of prophetism before which society is always guilty.” “This purism leaves politics to the self-proclaimed realists and can encourage the marginalization of the Gospel, which comes to be seen as an elitist idealism.”
He concludes: “A certain identity-based cynicism may be the reverse side of spiritual purism. Two radically opposed forms, yet paradoxically united in their opposition between faith and culture. The phantom of cultural purity and that of spiritual purity share the same obsession with mixing and, therefore, with history.”
This places the relationship between faith, religion and culture at the heart of the Church’s missionary urgency.
“Without sustained work on this blind spot,” Raison du Cleuziou argues, “spiritual protests will remain without any real grasp on the trends they need to combat.”

Analysis, the unexpected and the expectations of hearts

The crowd that will come to cheer the Pope will be the fruit of this history of French Catholicism, shaped in its recent form by the paradoxes of secularization.
It is a situation that is at once highly complex and remarkably simple: the children of the “eldest daughter of the Church,” as John Paul II called France, are today, as yesterday, waiting for a word that will awaken in them the desire “to make something great of their lives” and lead them to lift their gaze toward the horizon.

AFRICA/ZAMBIA - Hichilema’s victory challenged as doubts grow over election

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:13:56 +0200

Lusaka – Brian Mundubile, the main challenger to President Hakainde Hichilema in the 2026 presidential election, has rejected the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s declaration of Hichilema’s victory following the vote held on August 13 .
The candidate of the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity said yesterday, August 18, that his party had “documented irregularities relating to the security, transportation and handling of ballot papers, as well as alleged discrepancies between votes recorded at polling stations and figures subsequently announced.”
Mundubile and his vice-presidential candidate, Makebi Zulu, have taken refuge at the headquarters of a United Nations agency in Lusaka, fearing arrest on allegations that they were involved in an alleged insurrection plot .
An analysis by The Africa Report has found that in several constituencies, significantly more votes were cast in the presidential election than in the parliamentary election, which took place at exactly the same time. In the most extreme cases, the discrepancy is substantial.
“This matters because such discrepancies are a well-known red flag for electoral manipulation. Our preliminary analysis suggests that hundreds of thousands of votes attributed to President Hakainde Hichilema require explanation,” the Paris-based publication reported.
The election, preceded by weeks of tensions, was held peacefully on August 13. The following day, however, the Independent Electoral Commission temporarily suspended the vote count, citing the theft of already-marked ballot papers and acts of violence against its officials, without providing further details.
The suspension was initially expected to last up to 24 hours. It was lifted later the same day following protests by the opposition and civil society. Confidence in the electoral process had already been undermined, however, as the Catholic bishops themselves emphasized in a statement issued on August 15 . In their statement, the bishops also raised the issue of people who had been arrested but whose whereabouts remained unknown.
Among them is former parliamentarian Mutotwe Kafwaya, whose fate Mundubile has asked the government to clarify. The Zambia Human Rights Commission has also appealed to police for information about the former lawmaker’s whereabouts, after he was reportedly injured during an army and police raid on Mundubile’s residence in Kabulonga on August 14.

ASIA/INDONESIA - Father Galvani: “Amid the fear, we want the people of Flores to know that they are not alone”

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:07:06 +0200

Maumere – Only five days have passed since the powerful earthquake that struck Flores on the morning of Saturday, August 15, with a magnitude of 7.7 .

“The earth continues to shake: there have been more than 1,500 aftershocks, and people are still afraid to return to their homes. The provisional death toll, according to the relevant authorities, speaks of at least 68, with more than 200 people injured and over 4,500 homes damaged, while around 19,000 people have been displaced across different parts of the island.”
Father Luigi Galvani, a Camillian missionary who was in Flores on the day of the earthquake, provided Fides with an update.

“In Maumere, many families, especially the poorest, are afraid to return to their homes and are sleeping outdoors or under makeshift tents, bringing with them children, elderly people and those who are particularly vulnerable,” the missionary continued. He has since returned to Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara Province, located on the island of Timor, where he has been living for more than a year at the San Camillo Social Center. The center provides accommodation for students, with 43 rooms, and hosts seminars, English courses and meetings. It is also promoting a monthly nutrition program for 150 families in need, 60 of them from a village for people who are blind.

“The most urgent needs include drinking water, food, blankets, tents, medicines and medical assistance. The parishes have become places of welcome and hope. Although several churches have been damaged, the parishes have become centers of shelter, solidarity and listening, especially for families who have lost their homes or who are still unable to return to them.”

“The network of the Catholic Church in Indonesia and our Diocese of Maumere have mobilized to gather information on the damage and coordinate aid in the worst-affected communities,” Father Luigi stressed.
“We were deeply saddened by the news of the death of a seminarian from the St. Petrus Interdiocesan Major Seminary in Ritapiret, who died yesterday at Maumere Hospital from severe injuries sustained during the earthquake. When the earthquake struck, he panicked and jumped from a third-floor window of the seminary. It is a tragedy that has left profound sorrow in the seminary, in the religious communities and throughout the local Church.”

Pope John Paul II visited this important seminary in 1989 and spent a night there. For this reason, the hill of Ritapiret is sometimes informally referred to as “the Vatican of a night.”

“At this time, our Camillian presence is focused above all on the most vulnerable families, the elderly, the sick and people with disabilities, who in an emergency are always at greatest risk of being forgotten. Amid the fear, we want the people of Flores to know that they are not alone.”