By Israel arrests religious sister’s alleged attacker, Polish influencer honors JPII while raising money for charity, Indonesian cathedral turns 125, and more in this week’s world news roundup.
Israeli authorities have arrested a man suspected in an attack on Tuesday against a French nun in Jerusalem.
“Immediately following the incident, the Israel Police opened an investigation, and the suspect was arrested last night,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in an X post on Wednesday, condemning the attack that has circulated online and extending “sincere sympathies” to the nun who was attacked.
“He remains in custody, underscoring Israel’s firm policy against violence and its determination to bring offenders to justice swiftly,” the post said.
Bishops of England and Wales elect new president
Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster in London will serve as the next president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
“It’s a real privilege to be in this position and I really pray that, with my brother bishops, I’ll be able to serve the Catholic Church in England and Wales,” Moth said in a press release Friday. “We look at the challenges in the world around us and that very often shapes our priorities. But it’s not just about being reactive, it’s about having a real consciousness that the Gospel message is an eternal message, the fact of God’s love for us all. That’s something that’s unchanging, and it’s about bringing that message into the world.”
Moth succeeds Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who has served as president since April 2009.
Polish TikToker surpasses Guinness World Record for charity livestreaming
A 23-year-old Polish TikTok influencer, Patryk “Łatwogang” Garkowski, has landed in the Guinness World Records for the longest charitable livestream, which he ended on Sunday, April 26, at 21:37, the time of Pope John Paul IIʼs death on April 2, 2005.
The nine-day livestream raised over 251 million zlotys (around $63 million) for a children’s cancer charity, according to a report Monday from EWTN News Poland, which noted the symbolic ending of the livestream and was “a moving testimony of unity, solidarity, and hope.”
Kuwait cathedral hosts interchurch prayer for peace
Holy Family Cathedral in Kuwait hosted an interchurch prayer gathering for peace in Kuwait and the wider Middle East, bringing together Church leaders, diplomats, Christian and Muslim worshippers, and members of several national communities, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Wednesday.
Bishop Aldo Berardi, apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia, led the prayer in the presence of Archbishop Eugene Nugent, the apostolic nuncio. In his remarks, Berardi urged those present not merely to speak about peace but to become active peacemakers, choosing dialogue amid division and hope amid despair.
The gathering concluded with representatives of different churches lighting candles and offering prayers in several languages for the safety and peace of Kuwait, known locally as “Dira al-Khair.”
South Sudan bishop mourns 14 killed in plane crash, calls for aviation safety
Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of South Sudan’s Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio has expressed deep sorrow following a tragic April 27 plane crash along the Yei-Juba route in South Sudan, claiming the lives of all 14 people on board.
“We stand in prayer and solidarity with the bereaved families, the government of South Sudan, the aviation company, and the entire nation during this painful moment,” Kussala said according to a report from ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on Tuesday.
“To the families, may God console your hearts and grant eternal rest to the departed. To the nation, may this tragedy renew our commitment to protecting human life,” he said. “We strongly appeal for serious scrutiny, strict safety measures, and accountability to prevent such loss in the future, especially as air travel remains a vital means in our context.”
Egypt moves toward advancing historic Christian personal status law
Egypt is moving closer to approving what could become the first unified personal status law for Christians, after the Council of Ministers approved a draft bill and prepared to send it to Parliament, ACI MENA reported Tuesday.
The measure, decades in the making, reflects Article 3 of Egypt’s constitution, which recognizes the principles of Christian and Jewish religious laws as the main source for their personal status matters.
The draft personal status law for Christians is the result of consensus among six Egyptian churches and would address engagement, marriage, divorce or annulment, custody, visitation, inheritance, and family dispute settlement.
For the Catholic Church in Egypt, spokesman Bishop Hani Nassif Wasef Bakhoum Kiroulos said the Church helped shape the text while preserving its doctrinal autonomy, especially on marriage impediments, annulment, consent, and the form of celebration.
Nigerian archdiocese announces prayers of reparation after chapel vandalized
The Archdiocese of Owerri, Nigeria, has directed a week of prayer in reparation following the desecration of a chapel in the archdiocese by unknown assailants.
The archdiocese announced with “great sadness” in an April 30 statement the desecration of the adoration chapel of St. Mulumba Parish and renewed calls for stricter adherence to Eucharistic norms, ACI Africa reported Thursday.
The statement comes after an unknown assailant broke into the adoration chapel of the parish and stole the monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament. Describing the act as a grave irreverence, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji directed that all parishioners of St. Mulumba Parish observe a week of prayer in reparation.
Hundreds of Catholic schools in England to join ‘academies’
The Archdiocese of Liverpool in England has announced that all of its Catholic schools will be asked to join three Catholic Multi Academy Trusts as part of its plan “A Family in Christ: Our Future Together,” which aims to “secure and enhance” education in the archdiocese.
“The proposal to build the academy framework is a means of protecting our schools for the future to ensure that we can continue to offer excellent Catholic education to the future generations,” Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool said in a statement Thursday.
The archdiocese has a network of nearly 230 schools, according to its website. Schools belonging to religious orders may decide whether to join academies.
“I believe we are better together, working together to serve the mission, having greater support for staff and keeping control of our educational system for the future generations of Catholic children and others,” Sherrington said.
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