The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines called upon Catholic schools to become “laboratories of synodality.”

“I propose that our Catholic schools become laboratories of synodality—living environments where young people do not merely learn about communion, participation, and mission, but actually experience and practice them,” Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa said in an August 10 address to school superintendents.

“If we truly believe that young people are the ‘now’ of God, then we must not treat them merely as recipients of formation,” he continued. “They must also become participants and co-responsible protagonists in the mission of our schools and of the Church.”

The head of the Chaldean Catholic Church (CNEWA profile) discussed the challenges that Iraqi Christians currently face, from corruption and fears that the Iran-U.S. conflict will spread to lack of employment opportunities that lead young people to emigrate.

In discussing these challenges, Patriarch Paul III Nona also told Vatican News that Iraq is much safer for Christians than it was a decade ago. Security, he said, “is generally good across the country. In the regions historically inhabited by Christians, the security problems of the past are no longer present.”

An Italian journalist who did not name his source (or sources) reported that in 2016, the majority of members of the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith believed that the alleged Marian apparitions in Medjugorje were not of supernatural origin.

David Murgia, who has a show on the occult on the Italian bishops’ TV2000 network, reported that 21 members of the congregation voted that the events were not of supernatural origin; nine voted that the events were of supernatural origin; and three believed that evidence for a decision was insufficient.

In 2024, Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, in its Note About the Spiritual Experience Connected with Medjugorje, granted cautious approval to Medjugorje devotions.

In the aftermath of the Ceuta migrant crisis, the local bishop criticized Moroccan and Spanish officials: the former for their slogans and “malicious promises,” the latter for failing to protect the city.

Bishop Ramón Valdivia Jiménez, auxiliary bishop of Seville and apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Cádiz and Ceuta, wrote on August 8:

On one side of the border were young people with no future who threw themselves into the unknown, driven only by political slogans or malicious promises; adults who took advantage of the chaos to flee criminal charges in their country, perhaps thanks to some premeditated pardon devised for this occasion; and boys and girls who, abandoned by their families, became cannon fodder for predators; on the other, there are people who have felt their personal space violated; families fearful that, whether at night or in broad daylight, these individuals would enter their homes and demand food or a charge for their cell phone batteries; closed businesses, fear in people’s eyes, uncertainty about the possibility that they might reappear; and, above all, the anger stemming from the lack of protection that those in power are supposed to guarantee.

Bishop Valdivia also thanked Our Lady of Africa for her maternal care and called the faithful to a prayer vigil on August 14.

“I believe it is necessary to turn our gaze to God,” he wrote. “When neighboring powers threatened Israel’s frailty, the Patriarchs and Prophets raised their hands and begged for divine mercy. So too, Jesus Christ wept at the destruction of Jerusalem. For this reason, I urge you to hold a Prayer Vigil for Peace, Stability and Justice in Ceuta in all the parishes of the Diocese, as suggested by Pope Leo XIV on the evening of the vigil of the Assumption of Mary.”

The Pontifical Mission Societies’ Fides News Agency highlighted the work of the Missionaries of Mary Queen of Heaven, a Philippine women’s religious institute whose members rescue girls and women from human trafficking and provide employment and rehabilitation programs.

Sister Corazon Salazar founded the community in the Archdiocese of Cebu in 1996 and remains the superior general. Archbishop Alberto Uy of Cebu described the order’s work as a “beautiful and urgently needed apostolate.”

Jordan’s state-run news agency reported that Prime Minister Jafar Hassan chaired the first meeting of the National Committee for the Preparation of the Celebration of the Second Millennium of the Baptism of Jesus Christ in 2030.

Prime Minister Hassan “said commemorating the second millennium of the Baptism of Jesus Christ reflects Jordan’s historical and religious standing and its role as a global destination for Christian pilgrimage, while highlighting the Kingdom’s message of coexistence, respect for others, peace, love and human fraternity,” Petra reported.

In 2025, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, consecrated the Church of the Baptism of Jesus in Jordan, at what is believed to be the site of the Lord’s Baptism, on land donated by King Abdullah II.

The parish priest for Latin-rite Catholics in Taybeh, a Palestinian Christian village in the West Bank, said that residents there face increasing harassment from Israeli settlers, including trespassing and setting fire to land.

Father Bashar Fawadleh told Vatican News that “legal options exist, but they are unfortunately very limited and rarely effective. That is why international presence and pressure are vital right now. We need concrete protection for civilians and genuine political will to bring an end to this violence.”

“I invite every Catholic diocese worldwide to speak out about the situation here, to talk about these Christian brothers and sisters who are living in terror,” he continued. “The birthplace of the Christian community must not vanish into silence.”

Father Fawadleh also appealed to Pope Leo to “intervene for this last Christian village in the West Bank, so that these settler attacks cease and the occupation of our land stops. We simply want to live in peace, with justice and dignity.”

Members of the World Catholic Association for Communication (SIGNIS) elected a new president for a four-year term.

Father Walter Chikwendu Ihejirika, who earned a doctorate at the Pontifical Gregorian University, is professor of Development Communication and Media Studies at the University of Port Harcourt.

The Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, announced two upcoming parish events for “LGBTQ+ individuals, families, and friends.”

Each event includes Mass celebrated by Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, a “dedicated time for listening humbly to the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals, families, and friends,” and a community dinner.

A seminarian and another worshipper who were abducted from a church in Udi, Nigeria, have been released, the Lagos-based Daily Post reported.

The report has not been confirmed by local police.

The seminarian and two other worshippers were abducted on August 2; one of the other worshippers soon escaped. The remaining victims were released on August 9, according to the report.