Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:
Syrian Christians face ‘insecurity’ 1 year after political change
On the one-year anniversary of the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s Christians find themselves outside the scope of systematic persecution but still living in profound fragility, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, ACI MENA, reported.
While freedom of worship remains protected and some positive signs have emerged — such as the end of mandatory military service, restoration of Christian properties, and limited political representation — the overall environment remains unstable.
Christians continue to face insecurity marked by killings, kidnappings, and vandalism along with several major incidents including attacks on churches in Sweida and the bombing of St. Elias Church in Damascus.
Economic hardship persists despite the easing of Western sanctions, driving ongoing emigration and rising fears of continued demographic decline.
VP of Haitian bishops’ conference calls for ‘new moral leadership’
Haitian Bishops’ Conference Vice President Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau-Miragoâne is calling for “new moral leadership” in the country plagued by violence and instability.
Haitians are afflicted by “wounds of poverty, gang violence, insecurity, and the fragility of institutions that should be rebuilt,” the bishop said in an interview with Vatican News.
Dumas is currently living in the U.S. while recovering from wounds he incurred during an explosion in Port-au-Prince in February 2024.
Asian bishops gather in Hong Kong to discuss pastoral impact of AI
Asian bishops gathered in Hong Kong for the Bishops’ Meet 2025 to discuss the pastoral impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) and its use within the Church.
The Dec. 11–12 meeting kicked off with an opening Mass celebrated by Cardinal Stephen Chow, SJ, bishop of Hong Kong, who encouraged bishops and communications leaders to embrace AI, stating: “I think AI is not from the devil. AI comes from God, who helps us,” according to Vatican News.
Chow urged participants in the conference, organized by the Office of Social Communications of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, to discern AI with hope and moral clarity.
“Otherwise, how can we call ourselves Catholic media?” he said. “When we put our hope in the Lord, we must first honor him, not funding agents or ideologies. We need to discern God’s will for our mission in this shifting context.”
Philippines bishop speaks out against societal breakdown and human rights violations
Caritas Philippines President Bishop Gerardo Alminaza is sounding the alarm over increased societal breakdown and human rights violations in the Philippines.
“Human rights violations and shrinking civic space in the Philippines are converging into one moral emergency,” he said, according to a local report, noting that “defending life, dissent, environmental stewardship, and democratic participation is becoming increasingly dangerous.”
He continued: “As [the] Church, we affirm that human rights and civic space are sacred: We cannot preach peace and justice while ignoring the silencing of communities, the killings of organizers, the disappearances of activists, or the harassment of journalists.”
New Catholic church to be built in growing Australian diocese
The Diocese of Parramatta in Western Sydney has announced that it will build a new Catholic church and precinct in the heart of the rapidly-growing city of Blacktown, where a $2 million development called the Blacktown Quarter is also taking place.
In a Dec. 8 pastoral letter announcing the decision, Bishop Vincent Long, OFM Conv, revealed the diocese purchased land within the Blacktown Quarter, “with a view to creating a Catholic presence.”
It will include a new church called Mary Queen of the Family Parish situated in the heart of the Blacktown shopping precinct that will consolidate two preexisting parishes. “Being in the center of civic life is a providential opportunity for evangelization, mission, and service,” Long said.
Christian group in India joins protest against designation of major religions as tribal
The United Christian Forum of Dima Hasao in India has joined a tribal students’ group in protesting against the provincial government in the northeast state of Assam for designating six dominant religions as having ethnic tribal status.
Rev. D.C. Haia Darnei, president of the forum, said the decision would “certainly prove a setback for genuine tribal people, including those who are Christians,” according to a UCA News report.
“We are with the tribal students’ organization and other tribal groups as their demand is genuine, and we want betterment of the real tribal people in the state,” he said. According to the report, Christians make up about 3.74% of the state’s 31 million people, while tribal groups make up roughly 20%.
Pauline Sisters in Nairobi launch children’s literary event to foster love of reading
Members of the Pious Society of the Daughters of St. Paul (FSP/Pauline Sisters) in Africa are organizing their first-ever children’s literary event as they seek to nurture knowledge and foster a love for reading among children, ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, reported.
In an interview with ACI Africa ahead of the event scheduled to take place on Dec. 13 at the Daughters of St. Paul premises in Westlands, Nairobi, the directress of Paulines Publications Africa, Sister Praxides Nafula, said: “We are including all children because we aim to nurture knowledge and a love for reading.”
“We want the pages of the book to come alive, as if the book is talking to the children,” she said.
The event will cater to children from underprivileged communities throughout the Archdiocese of Nairobi, with some refugee children from Tanzania expected to attend.