Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan, Philippines, spoke out against government corruption during a June 28 rally at the People Power Monument in Manila.
“We cannot remain silent while funds meant for the poor are being stolen. We cannot remain silent while the people’s treasury is being turned into the personal wealth of a few. We cannot remain silent while corruption continues to destroy the future of our children,” Bagaforo said at the White Ribbon March on Sunday, according to Licas News.
The chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ Commission on Interreligious Dialogue further condemned corruption as “a grave sin of theft and betrayal of the people.”
Bagaforo’s remarks come in the wake of a corruption scandal last year involving infrastructure projects worth an estimated $2 billion.
Catholic anti-trafficking leaders meet in Thailand
The sixth international Talitha Kum Leadership Training Course conference drew 30 Catholic anti-trafficking leaders from 23 countries to the Sam Phran District in Thailand this past week.
During the seven-day conference, Talitha Kum Thailand delivered a presentation on education as a form of protection against human trafficking, according to a Licas News report on Monday.
Sister Marie-Agnes Suwanna Buasap, SPC, who was present at the first training course in Rome, announced a K–12 curriculum and textbook series called “Don’t Touch Me” aimed at raising vigilance among students and teachers to prevent trafficking cases.
“Preventing human trafficking begins in the classroom, from the heart of the teacher, and from the community of love and safety that the school provides,” said Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand.
Australian bishops call on Catholics to pray for work on the sea
The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called on Catholics to pray for mariners ahead of Sea Sunday on July 12.
“Sea Sunday is a time when we reflect on the lives and the work of all the seafarers of our world,” Father Tony Cox, SSC, the national director of Stella Maris Australia, said in a press release Wednesday. Cox described mariners as living on the margins of society, recalling how they were unable to set foot on dry land for over a year and a half during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he said, they must face the war-torn Strait of Hormuz.
“One visiting seafarer said to me: ‘People do not see us and because of our invisibility they think we are not human. They do not see what we do and forget that we too have needs,’” Cox said.
Cambodia school takes name of Buddhist and Catholic leaders
A Buddhist primary school for monks in southern Cambodia has adopted the names of Buddhist and Catholic religious leaders in a display of unity between the faith communities.
The “Chomroen Olivier” school was inaugurated June 25 and combines the names of Venerable Nget Chomroeun, the Buddhist abbot of Ang Montrey Pagoda, and Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, MEP, apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh, according to a report from Fides News Agency.
Schmitthaeusler hailed the school as “a beautiful, concrete, and living sign of collaboration between the pagoda and the Catholic Church.”
Maronite, Armenian Catholic leaders meet with Pope Leo
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rai and Armenian Catholic Patriarch Raphael Bedros XXI Minassian shared updates about the faithful in their respective countries with Pope Leo XIV during a meeting Tuesday.
Al-Rai told Leo a new phase of dialogue for peace began after the pope’s trip to Cedar, and they emphasized the need for continued dialogue and national unity at a fragile moment for Lebanon, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported.
Minassian and Leo discussed the witness of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the current state of the Armenian Catholic Church.
Irish government proposes abortion leave after removing reflection period
The Republic of Ireland’s government is considering proposals to provide paid leave for women who lose a baby before 23 weeks, including those who have an abortion.
The news comes after the Irish government voted to remove the three-day wait period for pregnant women considering an abortion of their unborn baby.
Eilís Mulroy of the Pro-life Campaign said that the government had its priorities in the wrong order. “After the way they voted recently to abolish the three-day reflection period prior to an abortion, senior members of government like Micheál Martin and Simon Harris are now, in effect, saying to women: ‘We recognize the grief and trauma you might experience after an abortion, so we believe youʼre entitled to five days’ leave. However, we voted to abolish the three-day reflection period before an abortion despite the fact that it could potentially safeguard you from finding yourself in that awful situation in the first place,’” he said, adding: “The position these politicians are adopting makes absolutely no sense.”
Priest who developed video evangelization program named bishop of Arundel and Brighton
Father Stephen Wang has been appointed as the new Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, England, replacing Archbishop Richard Moth, who was recently appointed as the archbishop of Westminster.
Wang described the appointment as “a huge surprise,” adding: “I’m grateful to Pope Leo for calling me and putting his trust in me, and to Archbishop Moth for his care for the diocese over these years.”
The bishop-elect has spent the last five years as rector of the Venerable English College, one of two English and Welsh seminaries in Rome, training men for the priesthood.
Wang, whose appointment has been widely welcomed, is renowned for having developed “Sycamore,” a video-based Catholic evangelization program that explores the Catholic faith through short films and guided discussion. Designed to make the faith more accessible, “Sycamore” is now widely used by Catholic parishes, schools, and university chaplaincies across the world.
German bishops welcome apostolic nuncio from Kenya
Members of the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) have welcomed the former apostolic nuncio to Kenya, Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, pledging their collaboration in the Vatican diplomat’s new apostolic mission.
“We are delighted by your arrival in our country and wish you God’s abundant blessings for your new task,” GCBC Vice President Bishop Michael Gerber of the Diocese of Fulda said, according to a report from ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on Tuesday.
Pope Leo XIV transferred van Megen, who served as the apostolic nuncio in Kenya for seven years, on April 9 to Germany after Archbishop Nikola Eterović resigned upon reaching the canonical age limit.
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