Bishop Tesfasellassie Medhin of the Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat in Ethiopia has appealed to the international community to urgently intervene and halt the planned execution of 200 Ethiopian nationals reportedly facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
“The cry of the poor and the marginalized must reach the ears of the international community. We cannot remain silent while the lives of so many hang in the balance,” Medhin said in a report Tuesday, according to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa.
Medhin called for immediate diplomatic engagement with Saudi authorities and urged the promotion of alternatives to capital punishment that uphold human dignity and the possibility of rehabilitation. Medhin’s appeal comes as more than 200 Ethiopian youths detained in Saudi Arabia have been handed mass death sentences over alleged drug-related offenses.
Christian Finnish parliamentarian announces next move in legal battle
Päivi Räsänen, a parliamentarian convicted by the Finnish Supreme Court of hate speech in March, will appeal her case to the European Court of Human Rights.
“The failure of the Finnish Supreme Court to uphold freedom of speech has set a dangerous precedent in my country and across Europe,” Räsänen said in a May 7 press release from her legal team Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, which is representing her free of cost. “I make my appeal in the hope that the European Court of Human Rights will recognize that peacefully expressing one’s beliefs is never a crime and ensure that this basic freedom is protected for all,” she said.
Räsänen’s appeal comes after a nearly seven-year legal battle in which she was unanimously acquitted by two lower courts in Finland before the latest Supreme Court ruling acquitted her of charges relating to a 2019 Bible tweet but convicted her of “making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group,” under a section of a Finnish criminal code titled “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Catholics arrested in India after confronting mob of Hindu protesters
Police arrested four Catholics in the western Indian state of Rajasthan on charges including illegal conversion, rioting, and attempted murder after they confronted a Hindu nationalist mob that stormed a local parish celebrating Mass.
“It is very unfortunate that our people have been accused of serious criminal offenses and arrested for opposing right-wing Hindu activists’ illegal acts,” Father Arvind Amliyar, a parish priest, said following their arrests, according to a UCA report on Monday.
Amliyar said the Hindu nationalist mob entered the building during Communion and started filming with their phones and “alleging religious conversion activity.” He also said the mob accused them of killing a cow for a “community feast.” When parishioners stepped in to stop the mob, one of the activists threatened them with a knife before the parishioners overpowered him and took it away. When the police arrived, four Catholics were arrested and authorities rejected attempts to file complaints against the mob, “saying a case was already registered,” according to the priest.
Australian Pontifical Mission Societies’ ‘World Mission Rosary’ initiative returns
The Pontifical Mission Societies of Australia is once more calling for participation in its “World Mission Rosary” during the month of May.
The World Mission Rosary, founded by the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen in 1951, is a global prayer initiative in which each of the five decades is a different color representing each of the five continents. Prayers will be led online Monday through Friday throughout the whole month.
“By representing each continent with its five decades of colors, the World Mission Rosary is a beautiful reminder of the mission we all live each day on our personal journey,” Catholic Mission said in a May 1 statement to Fides News Agency. “By praying together, we hope this initiative will help us pause and reflect on the missionary commitment that the Church, and each one of us, has carried out and continues to carry out every day for those most in need.”
South Korean Catholic hospital adopts ethics code for AI
The Catholic Medical Center (CMC) of the Catholic University of Korea in Seoul debuted the country’s first Medical Artificial Intelligence Ethics Code.
The code, which offers guidelines centered on human dignity and the common good for the use of artificial intelligence (AI), was announced during its May 7 Ethical AI Transformation Symposium, UCA News reported May 8.
Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick of Seoul emphasized during remarks at the symposium on the new code that “medicine lies not merely in the transmission of knowledge but in a human relationship in which one life recognizes and respects another,” according to the report.
Sacred symbolism behind head coverings of Eastern patriarchs
ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, has published a feature tracing the long and symbolic evolution of the head coverings worn by patriarchs and bishops of the Church of the East, especially within the Chaldean tradition.
Drawing on the testimony of Chaldean Archbishop Habib Hormiz, the story follows the development from early silk and colored coverings, known in some sources as the “biron,” to the black “shash” or “shushta,” which became associated with wisdom. The piece connects these traditions to Mesopotamian culture, biblical priestly garments, monastic influence, and later Catholic history, including the consecration of Yohannan Sulaqa in 1553.
Hormiz also explains that union with Rome did not erase the Eastern tradition, though the zucchetto entered Chaldean episcopal use only later, while the modern shushta gradually became a ready-made black cylindrical cap.
Cambodian Catholics celebrate new church, priest, and deacon
A new parish, the Church of St. Joseph the Worker, was consecrated for Catholics in the Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh in Cambodia on Saturday.
The celebration of the new parish was presided over by Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh. “In opening these doors today, we experience immense joy: the joy of a completed church, the joy of having a sacred place worthy of praising the Lord,” the bishop said, according to a report from Fides News Agency on Monday. “It is the joy of our people, the people of God in Cambodia, who have been able to build a beautiful church in the city of Phnom Penh to celebrate, praise, and give thanks to the Lord.”
European bishops issue reflection on mental health
Catholic bishops in Europe published a reflection paper titled “Mental Health in Europe — A Call for Care” detailing a Catholic approach to mental health “rooted in human dignity, solidarity, and integral care.”
The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) said in a press release on Thursday that the publication of the document comes “at a time when Europe is facing a complex and interconnected set of mental health challenges” and that it hopes to highlight “the need for a holistic approach that places the human person at the center.”
COMECE said the document “aims to provide EU policymakers, healthcare professionals, and civil society actors with ethical reflections and practical orientations capable of supporting mental well-being across Europe.”