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Amoris Laetitia meeting, October 9: prelates discuss young people and the discovery of the vocation to marriage
On October 9—the second full day of the weeklong extraordinary Vatican meeting devoted to Amoris Laetitia—the presidents of the world’s episcopal conferences and the heads of the...Holy See calls for international cooperation to combat transnational organized crime
A Vatican diplomat emphasized the importance of international cooperation in combating organized crime.Addressing a conference of the Organization of American States (OAS), Msgr. Juan Antonio Cruz Serrano, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the OAS, also emphasized the importance of “placing the human person at the center of security strategies” and “investing in prevention and protection,” according to Vatican News.
In its report, Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, inaccurately referred to Msgr. Cruz as an archbishop. According to the Annuario Pontificio, the priest was named a monsignor in 2017 but has not been appointed a bishop.
Vatican newspaper: Haiti’s postponed elections are ‘symbol of a broken promise’
The Vatican newspaper published a front-page article lamenting the postponement of Haiti’s elections amid mounting gang violence. “Haiti is a country balanced on the edge of an abyss,...Nigerian police rescue abducted priest
Police in Benue State, Nigeria, rescued Father John Inalegwu Otache from captivity.The priest was abducted on October 13. Police also rescued seven other recent kidnapping victims and arrested two suspects.
Another priest is kidnapped amid Nigeria’s security crisis
The Diocese of Otukpo, Nigeria, appealed for prayers for Father John Inalegwu Otache after he was abducted on October 13.Father Otache is the second priest kidnapped from his parish. The first, Father Anthony Adikwu, was abducted in June 2023 and rescued days later.
Over 200 Nigerian priests have been kidnapped since 2015.
Update (10/20/26): Nigerian police have rescued Father Otache.
Brother of slain Catholic official urges West to act against persecution in Pakistan
Peter Bhatti, the brother of the Servant of God Shahbaz Bhatti (1968-2011), said that “neither the U.K. nor any other Western government is doing enough for the persecuted Christians of Pakistan.”Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs, was assassinated by members of the Taliban. His brother said earlier this week that “the West needs to promote interfaith harmony in Pakistan so everyone can live together. Unless the West talks seriously with the Pakistani government that won’t happen.”
Venezuela’s bishops call for free elections
Citing “polarization, a lack of institutional integrity, and restrictions on democratic guarantees,” the bishops of Venezuela called for “free and transparent elections, with an impartial National Electoral Council (CNE) and an independent Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), so that due process is guaranteed, disqualifications are brought to an end, and the political rights of all citizens are respected.”Delcy Rodríguez, Nicolás Maduro’s vice president, has been the nation’s acting president since U.S. forces removed Maduro from office in January. The bishops welcomed “greater freedom of expression for the mass media” since January, even as they said that “many actions still need to be taken to restore citizens’ rights.”
