“I hope that the administration will provide security to the Garo Indigenous of this village and that the villagers will maintain good relations with each other so that peace can prevail in the future,” said Father Simon Hacha, vicar general of the Diocese of Mymensingh.

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, M.Sp.S., announced on August 14 that Foster was found guilty of the canonical crime of schism (Canon 751), which entails automatic excommunication (Canon 1364). Archbishop García-Siller wrote:

Mr. Foster has chosen to reject the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church by his words and actions. He has publicly referred to Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV as “usurpers”. ln publishing messages allegedly received from God, Jesus, and the Blessed Mother by a member of the Mission of Divine Mercy, for which John Mary Foster serves as the de facto leader, he has repeatedly and consistently claimed that Pope Leo XIV “is also a usurper and not a true pope“.

Despite being offered countless opportunities to repent and to cease his schismatic actions and teachings, Mr. Foster has chosen the path of disobedience. I have prohibited him from publicly celebrating Mass, yet he continues to do so. When he does, he intentionally omits the name of Pope Leo XIV, as he did with Pope Francis, from the Eucharistic Prayer. In doing so, he publicly manifests his separation with the Church and the successor of Saint Peter.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced on August 3:

On May 4, 2026, Las Cruces Police Department officers responded to a reported shooting at St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church ... Officers found five bullet holes in the church’s front glass entrance and recovered five .380 caliber shell casings. Surveillance footage showed a black sedan arriving at the church, after which a man exited the driver’s side and fired multiple rounds at the entrance before leaving the scene.

President Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in a 2021 coup d’état, made his comments amid what the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom describes as “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”

Last month, the military regime bombed the village where Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, S.D.B., of Yangon was born. Eleven Media, which operates amid severe press restrictions, reported:

Cardinal Charles Bo, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar, expressed his joy and pride at the opportunity to meet with the President and his recognition of his efforts to fulfill his duties as a state despite the challenges.

He also expressed his gratitude for the land provided for the construction of a Catholic church in Naypyidaw and wished the President and all the people of Myanmar peace and prosperity.

Päivi Räsänen, a member of Parliament since 1995 and the nation’s former interior minister (2011-2015), was convicted by the nation’s Supreme Court in a 3-2 decision, along with Juhana Pohjola, a bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland.

“My case stands to determine whether the fundamental rights of religious freedom and free speech are still protected in Finland and across Europe, and whether these societies are still willing to stand up for the rights of all—even those they disagree with,” said Räsänen.