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Bishop murdered in Mozambique
The bishop of Quelimane, Mozambique, died this morning after being shot in the heart in his residence.Born in 1972, Bishop Osório Cîtora Afonso, I.M.C., was ordained to the priesthood in 2002, appointed auxiliary bishop of Maputo (the nation’s capital) in 2023, and became bishop of Quelimane last July, according to the Annuario Pontificio. Prior to being named a bishop, he was an an official in the Dicastery for Evangelization; previously, he earned a licentiate at the Biblicum, worked at seminaries, and held regional leadership positions in his order, the Consolata Missionaries.
The Portuguese bishops’ news agency reported that the murder was “committed with an AKM-type weapon by individuals who climbed the wall of his residence, having vandalized the electrical security ... There are no detainees so far, and the authorities are investigating the case.”
Indian prelate warns against ‘Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ’
Archbishop John Rodrigues of Bombay (Mumbai), India’s largest city, warned in a recent pastoral letter that the “’Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ’ is not in full communion with the Catholic Church under the leadership of the Successor of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIV.”“In an age of confusion and misinformation, we must remain rooted in the authentic teaching, sacramental life, and ecclesial communion of the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Leo XIV,” Archbishop Rodrigues added.
Based in Detroit, the Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ was founded by Karl Rodig, an Austrian priest who was automatically excommunicated in 1999 when he received episcopal consecration from an Old Catholic bishop. The church established a presence near Mumbai in 2021, under the leadership of a former priest of the Archdiocese of Bombay.
Priest arrested in Mozambique bishop killing; Catholics skeptical
Police in Mozambique arrested three people, including an unnamed priest, in the murder of Bishop Osório Cîtora Afonso, I.M.C., of Quelimane.An anonymous source who fears for his safety told The Pillar that “this murder could not have taken place, in this way, without the involvement of somebody at a government level ... The murder of a bishop was very bad press for the government. There may well have been pressure to solve the case quickly, deflecting attention away from the state.”
Allow God’s mercy to renew your hearts, Pope tells participants at world conference on mercy
In a video message to the Sixth World Apostolic Congress on Mercy, Pope Leo XIV said that “it is a source of great joy and true hope when we experience how merciful God is towards each one of...Nigerian priest found guilty of abusing adult women in Texas
A priest of the Diocese of Uyo, Nigeria, who ministered in the United States was convicted in a Texas courtroom of three counts of sexual assault of adult women.Father Anthony Odiong, who was arrested in Florida in 2024 for child pornography, also “fathered at least one child with another woman in Louisiana who had been under his spiritual direction,” according to the prosecution’s DNA evidence.
The case “highlights the Catholic Church’s ongoing challenges in addressing clergy sexual predation of adults in situations where they are vulnerable, particularly in relationships of pastoral care or spiritual guidance, while states such as Texas and Georgia have passed laws to criminalize such acts,” noted Gina Christian of OSV News.
‘Queer voices were strong’ at Katholikentag, group says
New Ways Ministry, which dissents from Catholic teaching on homosexuality, said that “queer voices emerged loud and proud in both their worship and their calls for reform” during Katholikentag (Catholic Day), the biennial German Catholic gathering first held in 1848.During the gathering, which took place in Würzburg from May 13 to 17, “more than 200 people attended a queer worship service,” according to New Ways Ministry. Held inside the Order of Saint Augustine’s church, the service was “prepared by the initiative #OutInChurch, the Augustinian Monastery in Würzburg, the Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ), the Network of Catholic Lesbians, the Ecumenical Working Group on Homosexuality and the Church (HuK), and ‘Queer and Christian in the Diocese of Würzburg.’”
New Ways Ministry was the subject of a notification by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1999) and a statement by the US bishops (2011). Pope Francis, however, praised Sister Jeannine Gramick, co-founder of New Ways Ministry, in a handwritten letter, and subsequently met with Sister Gramick and other leaders of the group.
Leading Italian prelate deplores gruesome murder of migrants
The vice president of the Italian Episcopal Conference deplored the gruesome murder of four migrants from Afghanistan and Pakistan who were working in slave-like conditions in Amendolara, a small...Vandalism of statue of Christ sparks uproar in India’s Mumbai
The Archdiocese of Bombay condemned the vandalism of a statue of Christ in India’s largest city.“The Archdiocese of Bombay wishes to place on record its deep concern and unequivocal condemnation of the recent acts of deliberate vandalism against sacred Christian sites within the city of Mumbai,” said archdiocesan spokesman Father Nigel Barrett. “Targeted attacks on the religious sentiments of an entire community [are] a direct assault on the spirit of peaceful coexistence that has long defined this great city.”
Abducted Nigerian parishioners freed after 3 months in captivity
The chancellor of the Diocese of Kafanchan, Nigeria, announced that all parishioners abducted on February 9 from Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Karku have been released.Father Nathaniel Asuwaye, the parish priest, was released earlier this month.
Christians attacked in India during prayer service
Christians in a remote village in the predominantly Hindu Indian state of Chhattisgarh (map) were assaulted on May 31 during a prayer service.Catholic Connect, a website of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, reported that “between 25 and 30 people were physically assaulted. At least five individuals suffered serious injuries.”
