Noting that 2026 is the Year of Saint Francis, Bishop Antonio Suetta recalled St. Francis of Assisi’s desire to evangelize the sultan of Egypt in 1219, as well as St. Francis’s instructions on the evangelization of Muslims in his 1221 rule.

“Hospitality and collaboration are, in themselves, two ways of bearing practical witness to true faith in Jesus,” Bishop Suetta wrote. “Muslims arriving in Western countries are often bewildered by the secularization of society, as they tend—mistakenly, to be sure, yet understandably—to equate public immorality with the Christian faith. Only when they come into contact with Christians who live consistently with their faith do they realize that secularization is a corruption of Christianity; thus, they begin to discover the true face of Jesus and to perceive—often without even consciously thinking about it—the depth of God’s love.”

Such acts “must always be accompanied by our spiritual identity, speaking of Jesus Christ not through imposition, but with love,” the prelate continued, adding:

To neglect the proclamation of Jesus Christ would be to disregard His saving Cross and His universal mediation. Ultimately, it would be to betray our mission as the baptized.

If we see someone struggling to climb out of a river, yet being swept away by the current—and we happen to have a rope to assist them—it would be an act of grave negligence not to throw that rope, simply thinking that perhaps they might manage to get out on their own, and thus feel “freer”: for the rope is their liberation!

How many Muslims living among Christians will turn to them on the Day of Judgment and ask: “Why did you not throw me the rope? Why did you not make the truth known to me?” Thus, one understands the urgency of the mission that led Saint Paul to exclaim: “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16).

In a rescript dated March 25 and released on May 28, Pope Leo XIV granted the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life the authority to permit bishops to dismiss major superiors of autonomous monasteries from their religious communities.

Surrounded by Italy, the nation of 35,000 (map) is 91% Catholic.

The agreement provides for the construction of an agrivoltaic plant in Santa Maria di Galeria, the Vatican territory just outside of Rome where Vatican Radio is located.

Pope Leo XIV encouraged the bishops of Italy to sow the Gospel tirelessly and look upon the harvest with the gaze of Christ, rather than “lament the hardened ground.”

Pope Leo XIV said that evangelization “must remain the fundamental motivation behind every action of the universal Church and of local communities” and warned against “watering down the content” of the faith “or softening the demands.”

Ghana’s government stated that the apology “reinforces the growing global understanding that confronting historical injustices demands truth-telling and moral responsibility as essential foundations for justice and reconciliation,” the BBC reported.

The statement came two months after the United Nations adopted a declaration on slavery backed by Ghana’s foreign minister. At the time, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the new apostolic nuncio to the United States, criticized the declaration for its “partial narrative, which, regrettably, does not serve the cause of truth,” adding that “as early as 1435, Pope Eugene IV condemned the enslavement of the inhabitants of the Canary Islands and excommunicated those who refused to free them.”

Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) was the founder of the Indochina Communist Party and the president of North Vietnam. The cathedral is located in the former South Vietnam, conquered by North Vietnam in 1975. Venerable Nguyễn Văn Thuận (1928-2002), the coadjutor archbishop of South Vietnam’s capital, was then imprisoned by the Communist regime for 13 years.

At Phú Cường Cathedral, “Father Anton Hà Văn Minh said that the teachings of Jesus Christ and the ideology of Hồ Chí Minh shared similarities in their humanistic values and aspirations toward freedom,” UCA News reported. “Within hours, clips of the interview spread across Vietnamese Catholic social media, triggering an intense backlash.”

Unions representing employees there announced a hunger strike earlier this month, with four non-negotiable demands: “guarantee of quality care for all patients who see the hospital as a national point of reference; protection of the rights and future of hundreds of workers and their families, defense of the original mission of the House for the Relief of Suffering; [and] enhancement of the historical and social heritage of the territory.”

“We bring a gift in the form of a sacrificial animal as a sign of brotherhood and support for Muslim families,” Bishop Regus said. The mosque’s imam, in turn, said that “the bishop’s presence strengthens us as Muslims preparing for the sacrifice, and at the same time affirms our togetherness with Catholic families who have long lived in harmony here.”

UCA News reported that “from the national capital Jakarta to Christian strongholds in eastern Indonesia, Catholic individuals and Church-based groups donated cows and goats” for sacrifice. Jakarta Cathedral, for example, gave sacrificial animals to Istiqlal Mosque.

Located in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, a nation of 283.6 million (map), is the world’s fourth most populous; it is also the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. The nation is 78% Muslim, 13% Christian, 2% new religionist, and 2% ethnic religionist.