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Belgium: Vangheluwe dismissed from clerical state for abuse

Roger Vangheluwe, the 87-year-old former bishop of Bruges, has been dismissed from the clerical state after being found guilty of abuse of a minor. Pope Francis approved the sentence following a re-examination of the case in light of "serious new elements" reported to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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Several killed in Russian missile attack on Ukraine

Ukrainian officials say Russia's military has launched missile attacks on the capital, Kyiv, for the first time in 44 days, injuring 10 people, including a child, while in the north, at least five people died in a separate Russian air raid. The attacks came as Ukraine struck areas inside Russia to push back an ongoing Russian invasion of the country. Amid the clashes, thousands of children are being evacuated from border regions.

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MetaSaint: Catholic priest launches outreach on Roblox gaming platform

MetaSaint, a new Catholic game, launches on the Roblox gaming platform on Holy Thursday and seeks to bring the Gospel to 'Generation Alpha' and the platform's 70 million daily users.

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Cameroon: Bishops of Yaounde Ecclesiastical Province discuss Church and the digital world.

The first ordinary annual session of the Bishops' Conference of the Ecclesiastical Province of Yaounde in Cameroon, was held recently. "The Church and the digital world: issues and challenges for evangelization," was the theme of the plenary. The assembly took place at the Pastoral Centre of Saint Joseph in the town of Kribi, a beach resort and sea port in Southwestern Cameroon.

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Pope urges the church to see the face of Christ in migrants

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church can draw closer to Jesus by accompanying migrants in their pursuit of a better life, Pope Francis said.

In the faces of migrants, the church "discovers the face of Christ," he wrote, and like St. Veronica who offered a cloth to wipe Jesus' face during his passion, the church "brings relief and hope on the 'Way of the Cross' of migration."

The pope wrote his comments in a letter March 21 to participants at a meeting between bishops, church officials and migrants in Lajas Blancas, Panama, near the Darién Gap jungle crossed by thousands of migrants each day. The meeting took place during a three-day conference organized by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development for bishops from Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama to discuss accompanying migrants.

Migrant brothers and sisters "represent the suffering flesh of Christ" since they are "forced to leave their land, to face the risks and tribulations of a hard road without finding another way out," Pope Francis wrote in his message to the group.

Bishops and other members of the church who support migrants "are the face of a mother church that walks with her sons and daughters," he wrote.

Pope Francis at his weekly general audience
Pope Francis makes brief remarks at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican March 20, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Pope Francis urged the migrants to "never forget about your human dignity," and encouraged them to "not be afraid to look others in the eye, because you are not discarded, but you form part of the human family and the family of God's children."

"I also am the son of migrants who left in search of a better future," the pope told them, referencing his upbringing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as the child of Italian immigrants. "There were times when they were left with nothing, even starving, with their hands empty but their hearts full of hope."

The meeting of church officials and migrants took place outside of the Darién Gap jungle that straddles the Panama-Colombia border. Record numbers of migrants have risked their lives to cross the Darién Gap in recent months, subjected to rampant extortion, physical abuse and sexual violence by criminal gangs. More than 500,000 people crossed the gap in 2023, according to data published by the Panamanian government.

In a message to the bishops a day earlier, Pope Francis had written that the church's pastors must break free from indifference in addressing the crisis of forced migration across the Americas and that every migrant challenges Christians to embrace a spirit of hospitality.

 

Pope Francis meets with President Vella of Malta

Pope Francis holds a private audience with Maltese President George Vella, who gifts the Pope six computers for the Mother of Mercy Clinic that serves the poor in St. Peter’s Square.

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Parish priest in Gaza: ‘We have endured relentless Calvary for months'

Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza, speaks of the “extremely grave” situation in the Gaza Strip, likening the situation of Christians in the Strip to Christ on Calvary.

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Pope to Brazil's Social Week: 'May we see Jesus' face in the poor'

Pope Francis sends letter of encouragement to participants in the 6th Edition of Brazil's Social Week, which began Wednesday in Brasília, organized by the Brazilian Bishops' Conference, and seeks to build "a more just society where universal fraternity and social friendship are lived."

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'With millions of Syrians displaced in country, it's urgent to facilitate their return home'

In an interview with Vatican News, Daniel Solymári, the Director of Foreign Affairs of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, discusses the ongoing unrest in Syria, and insists that with 6 to 7 million internally displaced people still living within the country, "one of the most important tasks is to help them create the possibility for a realistic chance to return home."

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Tanzania: Each church a community, every community a family

As our correspondent continues visiting the Church in Tanzania, she explores how local Catholics share their hearts with their communities, especially at Sunday Mass, and make up a Church founded on the family.

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