The apostolic administrator of Nepal’s apostolic vicariate praised the ideals of youth protestors in the South Asian nation.

“We talked about the importance of chastity, how it heals and strengthens and restores the person,” Father Brian Gannon, the apostolate’s executive director, said in an interview with EWTN News. “The Pope was obviously very encouraging.”

The Pontiff “talked about freedom, about what real freedom is—not the unbridled freedom that the world offers, but rather mastering our passions and being in complete surrender to the will of God,” Father Gannon continued.

“All the members of Courage throughout the whole world will see that the Pope extended an audience and listened and is very, very supportive of everything that Courage is doing,” the priest added.

Pope Leo XIV today appointed Bishop James Golka of Colorado Springs as the archbishop of Denver.

Pope Leo XIV has issued “Life in Abundance,” a letter on the value of sport, on the occasion of the 25th Winter Olympic Games and 14th Paralympic Games.

Pope Leo XIV called for a global end to human trafficking in his message for the 12th World Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking.

Pope Leo XIV reflected at length on Christian formation in an address to the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

On February 8, the memorial of St. Josephine Bakhita (c. 1869-1947), the Church commemorates the 12th World Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking. Pope Leo XIV’s message for the day, dated January 29 and released on February 6, is entitled “Peace begins with dignity: a global call to end human trafficking.”

Cardinal Anthony Poola of Hyderabad has been elected president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), the conference announced today.

Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, said recently that “alongside professional mental health care and support, spiritual assistance has the potential to provide a profound sense of belonging, a vital sense of purpose and a compelling narrative of hope, amidst the difficulties of life.”

“When young people realize that they are not accidental by-products of the universe but are created in the image and likeness of God and loved and willed by Him, life acquires meaning, even amidst pain and suffering,” the prelate added.

Such attacks are an “assault on the peace and spiritual fabric of our country,” the bishops said after an armed robber’s violent January 27 attack on a priest.

Sierra Leone, a West African nation of 9.3 million (map), is 67% Muslim, 19% ethnic religionist, and 11% Christian.