Pakistan’s first sainthood candidate remains a little-known figure
Akash Bashir was just 20 years old when he was killed on March 15, 2015, while preventing a suicide bomber from entering a packed Saint John’s Catholic Church during Sunday Mass. Both Bashir and the bomber were killed when the bomb exploded outside the church.
Despite Bashir’s heroism becoming a subject of widespread discussion, it took time for him to be recognized by the Catholic Church in Pakistan, where Christians make up about 1.37 percent of the 241 million Muslim-majority population and are routinely subjected to extremist violence.
Meanwhile, Salesians celebrating the silver jubilee of the order’s arrival in Pakistan, have made efforts to popularize Bashir, their former pupil, as a hero and role model for younger generations.
On January 31, the congregation launched a book about him on the feast of Saint John Bosco, the founder of the international religious order.
The same day, a large portrait of Bashir was unveiled at the Don Bosco Technical Institute for Boys, in a ceremony attended by his parents and senior Church officials, including Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Germano Penemote. (UCANews)
Amassador nominee: Vatican should “resist” China’s role in picking bishops
Brian Burch, Trump nominee for US ambassador to the Holy See, told the Congressional committee vetting him on April 8 that he wants to work with the Holy See on the issue of bishops’ appointments in China, which currently includes a role for the Chinese government.
“I think it’s important for the Holy See to maintain a posture of pressure, and of applying pressure to the Chinese government around their human rights abuses, particularly their persecution of religious minorities, including Catholics,” Burch said.
If appointed as US ambassador to the Holy See, Burch said he would encourage the Vatican “to resist the idea that a foreign government has any role whatsoever in choosing the leadership of a private religious institution.”
“I kneel only before God,” said priest killed in Myanmar
In front of the gunmen clearly under the influence of drugs or alcohol who ordered him to kneel, Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win, the priest killed February 14 in Myanmar, said: “I kneel only before God.” Then he quietly asked them: “What can I do for you? Is there an issue we can talk about?”
Those were the last words of the 44-year-old priest from the Archdiocese of Mandalay before the armed gang stabbed and hacked him to death.
The news agency of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelisation cites two women who were present at the events and presented the facts to the Ministry of Justice of Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), which operates in exile.
It appears Father Martin tried to defend the two women, who teach at the local informal school and help the clergyman in the parish community. The school is one of the many run by Myanmar’s Catholic Church. The public education system no longer exists due to the war that broke out four years ago. (Asia News)
Bishop Strickland: appointment “raises questions”
Bishop Joseph Strickland, the Texas bishop removed from his diocese of Tytler in November, 2023, wrote an open letter to Pope Francis that was published March 13, calling on the Pope to reconsider his appointment of Cardinal Robert McElroy as head of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC.
He said, in part, “It is with deep concern and a profound sense of duty that I address the appointment of Cardinal Robert McElroy to Washington, D.C., a decision that raises serious moral and pastoral questions.
“The grave scandals of abuse and their cover-up have wounded the Body of Christ, and trust in the hierarchy has been deeply shaken. The faithful have the right to demand accountability, transparency, and leadership rooted in truth and justice.
“The placement of any prelate with a history of failing in these areas – particularly in one of the most influential sees in the country – risks furthering the erosion of trust at a time when the Church desperately needs to heal and to stand firm in her witness to Christ.” (ITV staff)
Theodore McCarrick, disgraced former Cardinal, dies at 94
Theodore Edgar McCarrick, former Metropolitan Archbishop of Washington, D.C., who was dismissed from the clerical state in 2019 for sexual abuse of adults and minors, has died at the age of 94 on April 3, 2025.
McCarrick was a prominent figure in the U.S. Church for many years. Prior to leading the archdiocese of Washington, McCarrick had served as auxiliary bishop of New York, bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey, and archbishop of Newark, New Jersey. In 2018 he was accused of abuse of adults – in particular seminarians – and minors, and was suspended a divinis (a canonical penalty depriving clerics of the right to exercise their ministry), and later that year, he submitted his resignation from the College of Cardinals. Pope Francis obliged the former cardinal to a life of prayer and penance, until the regular canonical process could be completed.
In February 2019, the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced that McCarrick had been removed from the clerical state, declaring he had been found guilty of the crime of solicitation in the sacrament of Confession and violations of the Sixth Commandment with minors and adults, with the aggravating circumstance of abuse of power. (Vatican News)
Ivory Coast Cardinal: stand against pressure, corruption
Ivorian Cardinal Ignace Bessi of Abidjan urged Catholic journalists in Ivory Coast to uphold ethical responsibility and promote truth in media as the country enters a crucial election year while also stressing the need for integrity and peace ahead of the presidential vote.
“Resist any attempt at corruption and pressure, and flee from anything that could undermine your ethical duty to the nation,” Cardinal Bessi told some 30 journalists attending a special Jubilee 2025 event organized by the Abidjan Archdiocese on February 1. “With the October 2025 presidential election fast approaching,” he said, “journalists and media professionals must uphold values of integrity and decency.”
The cardinal stressed the importance of promoting peace during this sensitive period and urged them to “rekindle hope for the Ivorian nation” through prayer and fasting, ensuring a peaceful election. (LaCroix)
Pope to Knights of Malta: Jesus accompanies you on path of generosity
China’s Public Security Bureau arrested the underground bishop of Wenzhou (Zhejiang), Monsignor Peter Shao Zhumin, on March 7 after he refused to pay a fine for celebrating Mass on December 27 before 200 people. Last week he wrote to the faithful asking them to attend Mass more often and pray the rosary for Pope Francis’s health.
The authorities claim that the religious service was “illegal” and a “serious crime” in violation of Article 71 of the Religious Affairs Regulations. For this reason, they imposed a fine of 200,000 yuan (US$ 26,500), which Bishop Shao challenged, insisting that the Church’s activities do not violate the law.
As a result, the prelate was arrested for his own “safety”, the Public Security Bureau (PSB) claimed. His whereabouts are unknown and it is unclear how long he will be held. Among his flock, people are concerned about his safety and health. (Asia News)
The Rupnik Case
A mosaic by Fr. Marko Rupnik, accused abuser
Since the October 27, 2023, papal lifting of the statute of limitations in the case of Father Marko Rupnik, the Slovenian ex-Jesuit who has been accused of spiritual and sexual abuse by at least 20 women, developments have been ongoing. On March 9, three alleged victims shared testimonies of their interactions with Father Rupnik on a prime-time Italian television program, and when reporters tried to speak with Father Rupnik, he refused. Yet, at the same time, the retired bishop of the Diocese of Koper, where Father Rupnik was incardinated in August 2023, told OSV News that the priest “continues his work all over the world.”
When asked about the status of Father Rupnik’s case in December 2024, two years after allegations against Father Rupnik became public, Irish Archbishop John Kennedy, who serves as secretary of the disciplinary section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that “the case is still progressing and, as such, I find that I cannot comment.” (CatholicReview)
Nigerian Diocese pays tribute to murdered priest
The Diocese of Kafanchan in Nigeria is paying tribute to Father Sylvester Okechukwu, a diocesan priest who was murdered on Ash Wednesday, March 5.
According to the information provided by the Diocese of Kafanchan, Okechukwu was kidnapped from his residence about 9:15 p.m. on March 4.
After being taken by his abductors, the 45-year-old priest was killed in the early hours of Ash Wednesday.
“It is yet to be determined why he was killed,” said Father Jacob Shanet, chancellor of the Kafanchan Diocese.
Shanet added: “Father Sylvester was a dedicated servant of God who worked selflessly in the vineyard of the Lord, spreading the message of peace, love, and hope.”
A parishioner, speaking on condition of anonymity, described Father Okechukwu as a compassionate and dedicated servant of God, saying, “He was a father to us all, always there to pray with us and guide us through hard times. Who could do this to such a peaceful man?” (CatholicWorldReport)
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