Catholic News

Four Nigerian men have been sentenced to death by a court after being found guilty of carrying out the Pentecost massacre, an attack on St. Francis Xavier Parish in the city of Owo, Nigeria, on June 5, 2022, that left at least 40 people dead.

On that day, the men entered the church during Pentecost Sunday Mass, opening fire on Catholic worshippers and detonating explosive devices. Several children were among the fatalities, and another 100 people were injured.

The parish remained closed for months for repairs and for survivors to receive treatment. It reopened its doors in April 2023.

Church reaction to the verdict

As the fifth anniversary of the tragedy was observed on Friday, the local bishop, Jude Arogundade, expressed his sorrow over the pain left in the wake of the massacre and reacted to the court ruling, stating that "people will say at least justice was done, some level of justice was done."

"But at the same time, it doesn't bring back the lives of 41 people that were brutally murdered on that day. So my reaction is, well, we have a law in this country. The law may have taken its course, but we are left to continue to nurse the wounds of those who are scarred by that attack," he told the Nigerian newspaper The Guardian.

"But after that, the law of the land still take its course. And that, we don't have anything to say apart from we are a country, and the country is guided by its constitutions and laws, and it has to be upheld," the bishop noted.

In 2018, Pope Francis authorized a modification to No. 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding the death penalty, declaring the application of this punishment to be "inadmissible" in any case and calling for its abolition worldwide.

Furthermore, Pope Leo reaffirmed this teaching in April, noting that "only when a society safeguards the sanctity of human life can it flourish and prosper."

Further details on the verdict

Those convicted are Idris Abdul Malik Omeiza, 25; Al Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdul Malik, 26; and Abdul Haleem Idris, 25. Additionally, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, the fifth defendant, was acquitted due to a lack of evidence against him.

According to the Spanish news agency EFE, these individuals were also sentenced to death for their membership in the terrorist group Al-Shabaab and on charges including conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, kidnapping, hostage-taking, and homicide.

Judge Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, the country's capital, stated that "the prosecution has successfully proven, beyond reasonable doubt, the nine charges against the first, second, third, and fourth defendants."

In practice, executions are rare in Nigeria because they require the approval of state governors, many of whom prefer to withhold it. The last execution took place in 2016. By 2023, the number of prisoners on death row in the country exceeded 3,000.

Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the governor of Ondo state where the town of Owo is located, stated that "the court has done the right thing" and described the ruling as "a victory for our state and justice for the victims and their families."

The defense lawyer for the convicted men stated that they would appeal the court's verdict. Throughout the trial as reported by the BBC, the men claimed to have been subjected to mistreatment by the authorities.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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A French-American priest is being hailed as a hero after springing into action just outside St. Joseph Shrine in Detroit this week.

Rev. Canon Jean-Baptiste Commins was in the shrine parking lot Monday night when he heard a loud crash and the squealing of tires just down the road. He ran to the street just in time to see a man running away from the scene toward him, wearing only one shoe. Then he heard a voice cry out, "Stop him!" And that's when Commins followed his first impulse — flying into action — in full cassock.

Speaking with Detroit's local Fox affiliate, Commins said he grabbed the suspect and "put him down." The young man was resisting quite a bit, so the French priest said he had to "unfortunately give him a couple punches and hurt my hand a little bit," leaving the priest with some cuts and a possible fracture.

The priest said he was uncertain if the suspect had a weapon, so he wanted to make sure "there was no threat." Another parishioner helped the priest hold the man down until officers were on the scene.

"As soon as I had the police officers take care of this gentleman, I rushed back to the lady [in the struck vehicle] and made sure she just didn't need the anointing of the sick or blessing," Commins said. "I was there too with the medics; she was not very responsive, but her eyes were twitching a little bit."

The 18-year-old suspect was allegedly driving a stolen car when officers pursued him. He sped when they tried to "initiate a traffic stop," Fox News Detroit reported. During the chase, the car rammed into another vehicle, where the woman sustained minor injuries.

As soon as he knew the woman was safe, Commins went back to normal priestly life. "Had to do my prayers as usual and have dinner with the community," he said, adding: "Just another day in the D."

Commins serves within the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, which celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass. He received his high-school education in one of the institute's prestigious schools near Paris prior to joining the seminary in Florence, Italy.

Commins currently serves as the pastor at St. Joseph Shrine in Detroit and as an honorary board member for Regina Caeli Academy, a pre-K-to-grade-12 classical home school hybrid with more than 25 centers across the nation.

The priest was aboard the "Good News Cruise" earlier this year, offering the Traditional Latin Mass to those onboard the cruise. Other clerical participants in that cruise included Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Father Mike Schmitz, and Father Leo Patalinghug.

This story was first published by The National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by and updated by EWTN News.

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In just a few days, Pope Leo XIV will land in Barcelona for the second leg of a historic trip to Spain, scheduled for June 6–12.

Bishop Xabier Gómez of Sant Feliu de Llobregat, which lies west of Barcelona, has been in his own words "blessed" to be designated to accompany the Holy Father during his visit to the inmates of Brians 1 prison and the Virgin of Montserrat Shrine, both located within the diocese he has led since 2024.

Speaking with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, the prelate highlighted the pontiff's "clarity, authenticity, and ability to communicate," and underscored the importance of paying attention to both his words and his gestures during this apostolic visit, trusting that "they will serve as an impetus and invite us to deepen our conversion into being missionaries, because our priority as a Church is to proclaim Jesus Christ."

'The Church's path is mercy'

One of the most anticipated moments of the Holy Father's visit to Barcelona is his stop at the correctional facility in the Diocese of Sant Feliu, which houses the largest prison population in Catalonia.

"It's a highly anticipated visit," he noted, "one that has brought great joy to the hearts of the parishioners and believers within the prison who make up, as I put it, a parish within the correctional facilities."

Since the pontiff's visit was confirmed, the diocese has worked tirelessly and "with great enthusiasm" with the prison pastoral care team. Their efforts have encompassed the spiritual preparation of the inmates, the welcoming song for the pope, and the testimonies to be shared by several women regarding "how faith is being for them a powerful light and hope amid the hardships and environment of the prison."

"The fact that he would want to come and meet the inmates already says a lot. It signals that the Church's path is mercy, that the Church's name is mercy," Gómez noted.

The family as a pastoral priority

Regarding the long-awaited visit to the Basilica of the Sagrada Família (Holy Family) where the pope will bless the Tower of Jesus that crowns the basilica, Gómez noted that the cross atop the tower will rise "like a beacon," illuminating not only Catalonia but also the Mediterranean.

For the prelate, Sagrada Família calls to mind not only the Holy Family of Nazareth to whom the church is dedicated but also the need to accompany and care for families. He further emphasized that the Church "seeks to be a family within the human family, a sacrament and sign of salvation."

In this regard, he reminds us that the family as a domestic Church also constitutes a pastoral priority and a subject of special attention for the pilgrim Church in Spain and throughout the world.

A missionary impetus for Spain

The bishop said the pope "is keenly aware of the social and ecclesial reality in Spain; he is very well informed, he knows it and knows us very well, he loves and appreciates us, and he comes to confirm us in faith and in hope." Above all, he emphasized that his visit will confirm the "missionary impetus that the Church in Spain wants to take center stage."

Regarding the "religious awakening in Spain," he noted there is also an awakening within other religions and that this phenomenon should be approached with prudence as a reality that "sociology will gradually be able to confirm."

"This is not solely a Catholic phenomenon. There is a generation of young people who have or are demonstrating an interest; they are asking questions, an interest in religious and spiritual matters and many of them, thank God, find a welcome and a response within the Catholic Church," he said. He said he hopes these young people will find, within the Catholic Church, the experience of friendship with Jesus Christ.

'The Church is mercy and communion'

The bishop of Sant Feliu emphasized that "the Church is mercy and communion," two dimensions to which Pope Leo XIV constantly alludes.

"I believe that the fact that the Church deepens its identity as communion in diversity, that the Church delves deeper into catholicity, and is also capable of broadening this concept of catholicity to embrace universality and difference within harmony, and is capable of maintaining harmony amid diversity, is a message that is sorely needed for civil, cultural, and political society in Spain," he added.

The bishop pointed out that the message of the Gospel is a message of peace, reconciliation, and fraternity. "In the Gospel, we do not find that others are adversaries or enemies."

"Others are brothers, they are our brothers. We pray to a Father who is the Father of all. The kingdom of God [is] that kingdom of fraternity, justice, and love, the kingdom we serve in the Church, and of which Pope Leo XIV will surely speak to us," Gómez said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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An independent, civilian-led fact-finding body has been launched in the Philippines to uncover new evidence and details about the killings carried out during former President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war.

Cardinal Pablo Virgilio S. David, former president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines and bishop of Kalookan, serves as adviser to the Philippine Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was launched on May 27.

The commission is chaired by Raul Pangalangan, a former International Criminal Court (ICC) judge. Other members are Dr. Raquel Fortun, a forensic pathologist; Al Fuertes, an expert in trauma and psychosocial support; Father Daniel Franklin E. Pilario, a Vincentian priest and theologian; and Carlos Conde, an independent human rights researcher.

"The truth must be protected for the families who have carried these stories for years, not just as a record," said David, a fierce critic of the Duterte drug war. "The Truth Commission exists so these stories can be heard, verified, preserved, and acted upon."

The commission does not intend to replace courts or determine criminal liability against persons linked to anti-drug operations and related abuses.

"The court looks for criminal liability; the Truth Commission seeks a deeper truth," David said.

"The commission recognizes that the violence did not start in 2016, but the scale, persistence, and targeted killings in the last few years have left thousands of families still seeking truth, justice, and healing," the commission said in a statement.

The commission's framework safeguards its integrity, independence, and mission — especially regarding truth-seeking, due process, survivor protection, confidentiality, public trust, and institutional independence.

The team is to ensure that the testimonies of victims, survivors, and families are heard, validated, and kept.

"This commission is not about supplanting courts or apportioning guilt. It is about creating a credible truth record that can inform accountability, healing, reform, and the prevention of future violence," said Pangalangan, a respected Philippine lawyer.

More than accountability

Conde, a human rights activist, said the commission is not just about accountability but also the healing of drug war victims, as the civilian and civil society-led Philippine Truth Commission is tasked to establish a credible public record of the brutal drug war in the Philippines.

When asked how the commission's findings would affect Duterte's case in the ICC, he told EWTN News that the commission's work is different from the ICC's and should not affect Duterte's trial.

"However, if the ICC determines that our findings are helpful for their purposes, we won't object to them using them," he said. "On another level, we hope that the commission's work will bolster the ICC investigation's credibility, particularly among Filipinos who still continue to argue that the ICC does not have the authority to investigate the drug war."

Meanwhile, Amnesty International Philippines said it commends the launch of the Truth Commission, saying the initiative would uncover the truth behind the thousands of killings.

"We also recognize and trust the integrity, credibility, and expertise of the individuals leading and guiding this initiative. Their lifelong work on human rights, accountability, forensic investigation, psychosocial support, democratic governance, and public service gives hope that this process will genuinely center victims and survivors," Amnesty International Philippines said.

The case at The Hague

Human rights groups estimate that the drug war under Duterte, 81, killed some 30,000 drug suspects and suspected addicts and traffickers, largely poor people.

Duterte was arrested and sent to The Hague in March 2025 and is being held in the ICC's detention center.

The ICC has charged him with three counts of crimes against humanity, particularly the killing of at least 76 people and the attempted murder of two others during his 22 years as mayor of Davao City and then as president (2016–2022).

His trial is set to begin Nov. 30.

The Truth Commission offers a much-needed ray of hope for truth-telling, accountability, and justice-seeking, Charlito Manlupig, chairperson of Kusog Mindanaw, a civil society organization, told EWTN News.

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Juan Vicente Boo, the Vatican correspondent for the Spanish newspaper ABC for 23 years, says the current pontiff is, among the popes of the last five centuries, the one who "knows Spain best," as it is a country he visited on nearly 50 occasions before becoming pope.

The first of his trips to Spain dates back to July 1982. Robert Prevost was 26 years old at the time and had been a priest for just over a month and a half. Together with several companions from St. Monica International College run by the Augustinians in Rome, he embarked on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in a van, a journey not without its adventures. They ended up sleeping in tents and enjoying the Spanish landscape and cuisine.

"It was a holy year, and he traveled as a pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela with four other Augustinians in a van. They spent a month and a half traveling, taking the opportunity to visit Ávila and see the sites associated with St. Teresa. In Galicia, after gaining the jubilee indulgence, they traveled on to Pontevedra, Vigo, Ourense, and Lugo. And then they headed south to Madrid," Boo told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

That very same year — months later, in October — Spain would receive a visit from St. John Paul II. Since then, Father Robert Prevost has cultivated his relationship with Spain, to the point of having visited at least 34 cities.

"His knowledge of Spain is quite extensive and not merely because of what he has witnessed firsthand, but because during his time as a missionary in Peru, first in Chulucanas and later in Trujillo, and subsequently as a bishop in Chiclayo, he saw directly what the Spanish had built in terms of culture and evangelization," explained the veteran correspondent, who just published the book "Leo XIV: The Pope of the New Era" (Espasa Publishing, currently available only in Spanish).

Boo described the pope's personality, which entirely shapes his style of governance, through what he terms "the triads": the convergence of three cultures, three educational backgrounds, and three dimensions related to his life experiences.

"He has the best of three cultures: the American culture of Chicago and the Midwest, the most humane, serene, and European in the United States; the Latin American culture of Peru, which expands the heart especially if you're serving people with problems, as was the case for Father Robert there in the different stages of service during 22 years; and the best of Roman culture, because he came to the Italian capital as a student in canon law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas and lived at the Augustinian General House near the Vatican.

Added to those cultural roots are three distinct educational backgrounds: a degree in mathematics from Villanova University, a background in theology from the Chicago Theological Union, and legal training, specifically a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, the Angelicum.

The third triad is his life journey: a strong missionary spirit, extensive experience as an international traveler, and a profound understanding of the inner workings of the Holy See. "For 12 years, as prior general of the Augustinians, he resided directly across from the Vatican and was a firsthand witness to its inner life. Subsequently, Pope Francis progressively appointed him to various bodies of the Curia, until he eventually served in as many as nine dicasteries including the Commission for Vatican City State, a level of involvement rarely seen in the career of a single prelate," Boo noted.

Visits to Spain during his time as prior of the Augustinians

From 2001 to 2013, during his time as prior general, Prevost traveled across Spain from north to south. Visits taking place from 2002 to 2011, in addition to later trips, are documented. These journeys took him from Navarre to Andalusia (north to south), with stops in cities such as Barcelona, ??Valencia, Madrid, and Valladolid.

"My impression is that he knows Spain much better than the vast majority of Spaniards, because he has visited more than 30 cities, whereas many Spaniards haven't even visited half that number," Boo explained.

Many of these journeys were undertaken for pastoral, educational, and community visits for the Order of St. Augustine. In 2002, he visited Oropesa in Toledo province for the canonization of Alonso de Orozco, as well as the city of Talavera de la Reina and León, the city where the centenary of the Augustinian school was being celebrated. From then on, Valladolid became one of his bases of operations; he stayed at the Royal Seminary of the Philippine Augustinians and traveled from there to monasteries such as the one in Madrigal de las Altas Torres in Ávila province.

In 2003 he traveled to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where he stayed in the Augustinian community in the town of Puerto de la Cruz. That same year he also visited the Sant Roc neighborhood in the town of Badalona, ??one of the most disadvantaged areas of metro Barcelona, to which he would later return. In 2011 he also made a private visit to the Montserrat monastery.

In 2004 he traveled to Most Holy Trinity Monastery in Aldaz in Navarra province, and the Augustinian school in Calahorra in La Rioja province. Years later, in 2015, he returned to Pamplona as bishop of Chiclayo.

His visits continued in 2005 with stays in Zaragoza and Valencia, where he visited the Basilica of the Virgin of the Forsaken and the cathedral. Two years later, in 2007, he toured the Balearic Islands and several Andalusian cities: Seville, Huelva, Cádiz, and Málaga, maintaining a particularly strong presence within the educational and community spheres of his order.

Finally, in 2010, he returned to Madrid for the 50th anniversary of St. Augustine School, an institution with which he maintained a close relationship, and in 2011, he returned to the capital for World Youth Day.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) International Justice and Peace Committee released a statement reiterating the Holy Father's call in Magnifica Humanitas to limit the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in war.

"In the age of artificial intelligence, the Church's teaching on human dignity, pursuit of justice, and comprehensive social doctrine offers a path forward that transcends the logic of zero-sum escalation," the bishops wrote in the statement.

The bishops said: "Pope Leo offers a new framework for an approach to how we must limit the use of technology in war."

The pope insists that even in the age of AI the world must preserve strict limits on the use of force, keeping lethal decisions under accountable human authority with a clear chain of responsibility, never delegating killing to automated systems, and working together as a global community to build a shared framework that restrains the arms race and protects civilians and essential infrastructure, the bishops said.

'Human control' must remain present

The bishops urged that "judgments over life and death, the gravest of human challenges, must remain bound to our living consciences."

In the age of AI, "by removing human agency, our ability to wage war has become more inhumane in its most fundamental sense," the bishops wrote.

As the use of AI technologies in war increases, there is an "immense harm and loss of human life these weapons present," they said.

The bishops specifically noted that lethal autonomous weapons systems are "a grave development of military technology," which use AI to "identify, locate, and kill people or destroy infrastructure targets without human operational intervention."

Unlike drones that are remotely controlled by humans, "autonomous 'killer bots' are preprogrammed with algorithms that search according to target profiles, and can, theoretically, make battlefield decisions independently from human control," they said.

The bishops noted that use of AI technologies with the hope of "minimizing the risk to military personnel is a laudable goal." But, employing them with no human agency "can create the illusion of lessening the cost of war, and thus reducing the conflict threshold."

By creating the illusion that war is "less costly," the bishops said it will make decisions to go to war "easier."

"All people, soldiers, civilians, and leaders alike are harmed by a reality in which our actions are inherently less human, less connected to the embodiment of our human dignity that God himself 'knit' together," the bishops said.

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Thomas More Society attorneys released guidelines and recommendations to assist school districts that are working "to uphold parental rights."

The guidelines follow recent school choice cases by the U.S. Supreme Court, Mahmoud v. Taylor and Mirabelli v. Bonta, which "clarify the scope of parental rights in American schools," according to the Catholic law firm.

In the 2025 Mahmoud decision, the Supreme Court struck down a public school board's policy refusing to provide parental notice and an opt-out when LGBT books were being taught.

In the 2026 Mirabelli case, the court ruled that plaintiffs were likely to succeed on claims that California's gender-transition secrecy policies violated their constitutional rights, allowing an injunction to take effect for those parents while the case continues.

There "are simple steps any school district can take to remain or become compliant with these new Supreme Court cases" and using them "will also help minimize the risk of costly litigation," the firm reported.

The guidelines urge districts to "immediately and expressly adopt a parental notice and opt-out policy," which provides prominent and regular notice that will reach all parents.

The firm said the required notice should inform parents of their constitutional rights to opt their children out of any instruction, electronic applications, materials, or activities that "burden their families' religious or other closely held beliefs."

The districts should also assign a district employee to be in charge of implementing opt-outs and require all school employees to proactively notify parents of any information that affects or reflects their children's health, including mental health, under the guidelines.

The firm also suggested that districts "immediately and expressly repeal or revoke" any policies that require or permit school employees "to conceal or forgo" sharing information about children's health with their parents.

They should also repeal any policies that "facilitate a child's social gender transition," including those in "respect to bathroom and locker room access" and "sex-segregated extracurricular activities …. without the consent of the child's parent," the firm said.

Christendom College launches free course on how to restore Catholic education

Christendom College launched a free online course on how "to restore the great tradition of Catholic education."

The course, "Education at the Crossroads," explores what the college calls "the crisis in modern education" throughout its seven lessons.

Students will "trace the progressive revolution — from pragmatism to modern ideological shifts — that reshaped our schools," the college reported. "By exploring the prophetic warnings of the Church and the wisdom of great traditional thinkers, you will rediscover a spiritual vision of learning as a pilgrimage toward God."

The course is taught by Christendom College professor Jon Kirwan, who serves as director of the Institute for Advanced Studies, director of the Center for Educational Philosophy and Leadership, and an associate professor of theology.

The course will discuss how "we can rebuild education in America for our children and generations to come," Kirwan said in a video announcing the course.

Students will "uncover why classrooms stopped forming souls and started managing outcomes," he said. They will "discover the Catholic answer — education ordered to goodness, truth, and beauty, with teaching understood as a vocation rather than a technique."

The first two lessons of Kirwan's course are currently available, and the remaining five will be released weekly through July 2.

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary launches master's healthcare program integrating bioethics

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary's School of Theological Studies (STS) launched a master of arts in Catholic healthcare ministry in collaboration with the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC).

The program is intended to integrate both bioethics and pastoral care, offering "the most up-to-date bioethics information conveyed to its students," STS reported on its website.

The fully online degree also meets graduate education requirements for board certification as a Catholic chaplain through the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. The program hopes to aid the "great need for Catholic healthcare professionals" and to create "well-formed" chaplains.

Students will complete the 36-credit program with 27 credits through STS and nine through the NCBC. The coursework will focus on human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation.

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A Catholic diocese and a pregnancy center in Illinois are asking a federal appeals court to strike down a state law that they say would force them to hire workers who disagree with their religious and pro-life missions.

The Diocese of Springfield in March 2025 had filed suit against the state alongside the Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford. Both parties had argued that the Illinois Human Rights Act "dictates how religious employers must speak and act about employees' voluntary reproductive decisions like abortion, contraception, and sterilization."

That law "prohibits employers from disciplining or refusing to hire employees" regarding their decisions about abortion and further "requires employers to grant employee accommodations" regarding abortion, the lawsuit said.

A district court dismissed the lawsuit in March of this year, claiming the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue. On June 3 the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing both the diocese and the pregnancy center, said it had filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit over the dispute.

The district court had ruled that the alleged religious liberty violations were "speculative," according to the filing; the appeals brief called the court's conclusion "erroneous."

"The ministries currently engage in constitutionally protected conduct that the [the state law] arguably proscribes, and the State has repeatedly refused to disavow enforcement," the filing says.

The suit argues that the dispute "would be no different if a pro-life state government was forcing abortion clinics to hire pro-life employees and speak pro-life messages." In either case, "the First Amendment doesn't allow [it]."

Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki said in the Alliance Defending Freedom press release that the diocese "proclaims, teaches, and encourages Catholics to live out all the teachings of the Church, including the dignity and value of human life."

"Our employees represent the diocese and are expected to uphold our standards of conduct to ensure they align with the doctrine and moral teaching of the Catholic Church," the bishop said.

Under the Illinois law "we cannot hire or retain employees based on our deeply held religious beliefs on pro-life teachings without being subject to disciplinary action," the bishop continued, adding: "We must have the freedom to follow and express our convictions without government interference."

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Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, will lead a meeting in Sanremo on Oct. 9 dedicated to the theme "Interreligious Dialogue Today in the Social and Cultural Context of Our Diocese."

The event is part of a broader diocesan initiative launched by Bishop Antonio Suetta, who published a pastoral letter on Pentecost Sunday outlining guidelines for charity, dialogue, and the proclamation of God's love to Muslims "who live in our territory," according to the diocesan website.

The pastoral letter, titled "No One Has Greater Love Than This," takes its inspiration from two significant anniversaries: the special Year of St. Francis, proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV for the 800th anniversary of the saint's death, and the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council declaration Nostra Aetate.

In the document, Suetta emphasizes esteem, welcome, and missionary courage. He recalls the example of St. Francis of Assisi and his historic 1219 encounter with the sultan of Egypt, presenting evangelization first as a witness offered through deeds and the coherence of Christian life, and only afterward through words.

The letter also stresses dialogue and collaboration, beginning from the teaching of Nostra Aetate and the recognition that Christians and Muslims are creatures of the one God. This shared foundation, the bishop writes, calls believers to work together in defense of human dignity and moral values in an increasingly secularized society.

At the same time, Suetta underlines what he describes as the Christian duty of proclamation. Charity and welcome, he writes, must never lead Christians to conceal their spiritual identity. To share the joy of the Gospel and to make known the true face of Jesus Christ — who for Christians is "the way, the truth, and the life" and the revelation of God who is love — is presented in the letter as the highest act of charity Christians can offer.

The pastoral initiative includes concrete proposals, such as specific formation programs and opportunities for encounter promoted by the diocesan Office for Catechetical Pastoral Ministry in collaboration with Caritas.

"Welcoming others with selfless charity, bearing witness to a coherent Christian life, and proclaiming the love of God in Jesus Christ with freedom and sincere respect are the human means that the Lord asks of us in order to evangelize," the letter states.

The events will take place during the Church's missionary month of October. In addition to the Oct. 9 meeting in Sanremo with Cardinal Koovakad, the diocese will hold a missionary vigil on Oct. 17 at the Oratory of the Immaculate in Piazza San Siro.

The presence of the prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue is seen as a sign of support from the Holy See for the diocesan initiative.

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In late February, Pope Leo XIV thanked Father Bruno Kant of the Diocese of Fulda in Germany for his "many years of faithful and devoted priestly service." Kant, the oldest priest in the world at 110 years of age, passed away on the night of Friday, May 29. He had been a priest since 1950.

In an article published on his diocese's website, Bishop Michael Gerber of Fulda recalled that "just a few months ago" he had "the privilege of conveying Pope Leo XIV's blessing to Father Bruno Kant on the occasion of his 110th birthday."

"My encounter with him left a deep impression on me. Even at his advanced age, he radiated the humility, kindness, and spiritual depth that characterized his entire priestly life. The Diocese of Fulda remembers his work and service with great gratitude," he added.

Father Guido Pasanow of the parish in Eichenzell-Löschenrod, where Kant lived until his death, said that with the priest's death, the parish "loses a person who was fundamental to it for many years."

"Even after retiring from active ministry, he remained a confidant, pastor, and spiritual guide deeply cherished by many parishioners. We are grateful for all that he contributed to our community," he added.

As reported by the Catholic news outlet katholisch in November 2025, Kant, born near Danzig in what is now Poland, had aspired to become a priest since the age of 9. He was able to begin his theological studies, but the Nazi regime thwarted his plans by conscripting him for forced labor and making him a soldier.

Kant spent four years as a prisoner of war in Russia before reuniting with his family, who had fled to the West.

He was finally ordained a priest in 1950. After decades of priestly service, he considerably curtailed his activities. He stopped driving at the age of 102, according to a report published on katholisch.de in November.

"Over the last few years, he has refrained from celebrating holy Mass with the congregation on Wednesday evenings. However, he continued visiting the sick for as long as he was able. Now, that is no longer possible for him."

On that occasion, Kant said: "I expect to die every day. I am not far from it." In his final years, he spent his days solving Sudokus, watching television, reading newspapers, and, of course, praying.

"Praying keeps me young," he said.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by ACI Prensa/EWTN News English.

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