By Umar Manzoor Shah

Survivors and child welfare experts have called for sweeping reforms to ensure protection of children in foster care, saying they are among the most vulnerable to human trafficking because of trauma, instability and broken support systems.

They were speaking at a Jul 30 webinar, “Breaking the Cycle: Protecting Foster Youth from Human Trafficking,” organized by the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, a US-based network of Catholic nuns.

Alliance’s program director Christine Commerce said the online meet was intended to equip participants with practical knowledge to recognize exploitation, advocate for stronger protections and support prevention efforts.

Daniela Deas, a survivor of commercial sexual exploitation who now advises the US Department of Justice on trafficking issues, said many misconceptions continue to shape public understanding of trafficking among foster youth.

“The trafficking happens way before children enter foster care,” she said.

“Trafficking is the outcome of unmet needs, exposure to poverty, domestic violence, child abuse and adverse childhood experiences.”

Deas warned that foster care systems must become more “trauma-informed” instead of assuming children will immediately adapt to new environments after removal from abusive homes.

“Prevention and intervention really need to be at the front door,” she said. “From the moment a child is removed from a home and placed into care, they need education, safety and trusted relationships.”

Savannah Parvu, another survivor who was trafficked by her mother before entering foster care, shared a deeply personal account of continued exploitation after she was placed under state protection.

“I continued to be trafficked while I was in foster care,” she said, recalling that some staff members at a residential treatment facility had ties to her traffickers.

“I was where I was supposed to be getting protected, but I continued to be exploited.”

Parvu challenged one of the most common assumptions surrounding foster youth.

“One of the myths is that youth in foster care get trafficked when they run away. Normally, trafficking is happening before that, and oftentimes before they even go into foster care,” she said.

She also described why many children fail to report abuse.

“Adults either didn’t notice, didn’t believe me, or couldn’t protect me. When that becomes your experience, reporting doesn’t feel safe. It feels more risky,” she said.

Lisa Shalhoub, who was born into trafficking and later entered foster care, said systems often mistake trauma responses for delinquent behavior.

“I still hear often that the youth is not being trafficked, that they’re just fast, that they’re making these decisions and they need to be punished,” she said.

“We’re still shaming and blaming the youth within foster care.”

Shalhoub said children frequently face repeated victimization because abuse has become normalized in their lives.

“When you remove the child, people think they’ve been saved,” she said, while adding that traffickers deliberately seek environments where vulnerable children are concentrated.

The speakers also warned social media has become one of the primary tools used by traffickers to identify and groom vulnerable youth.

Deas urged caregivers to pay close attention to children’s online activities, unexplained gifts, sudden behavioral changes, multiple social media accounts and relationships with significantly older individuals.

“A trafficker can sit on a couch and contact hundreds of youths at once,” Shalhoub said, describing how predators exploit online platforms to identify children expressing loneliness, conflict at home or emotional distress.

Expert analysis from St. John’s University in New York reveals foster youth encounter a 157 percent greater risk of sex trafficking. – UCA News

By Terry Priel

Asia was home to a near-record-high 16.9 million forcibly displaced people when the world marked Refugee Week last month.

That was only slightly down from the peak of 17.3 million at the end of 2024, according to a UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report released to coincide with the week (Jun 15 to Jun 21).

One in every 70 people, or 1.4 percent of the world’s entire population, is now forcibly displaced: refugees, Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and asylum seekers, making the current era one of the worst humanitarian crises since World War II.

And another 4.2 million will be forced from their homes by war, political upheaval, natural disasters, and the impact of climate change by the end of next year, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) warned in a report in April.

Myanmar, where a military regime seized power in a coup five years ago and is waging a brutal civil war and an ethnic cleansing pogrom against Rohingya Muslims and other minorities, will see the largest increase after Sudan with more than half a million more forced from their homes by the end of next year.

“The international community is facing a catastrophic failure to protect the world’s most vulnerable,” said council Secretary General Charlotte Slente.

“In 2025, there was a 14 percent surge in violence against civilians. From Sudan to Myanmar, warring parties routinely kill and injure civilians.

“Bombs are dropped on hospitals, schools and the markets that people depend on.”

A year of global ‘action and dialogue’

Refugee Week highlights the plight of displaced people through community-organized arts and cultural events and fundraising drives and personal stories of displaced individuals and families.

In some countries, like Cambodia, where some events included cyber scam victims helped by local parishes, the week ran for two weeks to Jun 26.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention on Jul 28, which will kick off a year of global “action and dialogue.”

The surge in the number of forcibly displaced people, many of them entire families comes as global aid and development funding is slashed, led by what Caritas calls the “killing” of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which had accounted for 40 percent of global aid funding.

That has badly hit major Catholic NGOs helping refugees and IDPs around the world, such as the US-based Catholic Relief Services (CRS) which was the agency’s top NGO partner and Caritas, the Church’s social services arm.

The Trump administration’s aid cuts also wiped out 20 percent of the UNHCR’s budget and a quarter of its staff, forcing the closure of 80 field offices around the world.

At a time when millions more are being forcibly displaced, Caritas warns funding cuts and growing isolationism, apathy and donor fatigue will kill millions.

“Stopping USAID abruptly will kill millions of people and condemn hundreds of millions more to lives of dehumanizing poverty,” Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Alistair Dutton said when the cuts were announced.

“This is an inhumane affront to people’s God-given human dignity that will cause immense suffering. Killing USAID also presents massive challenges for all of us in the global humanitarian community, who will have to completely reassess whom we can continue to serve and how.”

Slashing support for all those groups playing a major role in helping displaced people around the world and the US is not alone in this undermines the entire international aid network.

The UNHCR, particularly so because in the 44 UN members that have not signed the convention and some, like China, that have, the UN refugee agency fills in for the government in providing core refugee management services.

The 1951 Convention and the subsequent 1967 Protocol to the Refugee Convention set out a range of legal safeguards, including the right to freedom of movement within the host country; the right to work, education, and housing; access to courts; and protection from being returned to their home country if there is a serious threat to their life or freedom.

Asia struggling with large numbers of refugees

Of the 44 UN states that have not signed, 14 are in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Only four in the region have signed: Afghanistan, Cambodia, the Philippines and Timor-Leste.

Asian countries that refuse to sign, many struggling with large populations of refugees from neighboring countries, say the convention is too Eurocentric and not suited to the geopolitical and socio-economic realities they face.

They have a point: work on the treaty signed in 1951 actually began three decades earlier, in 1921 when the League of Nations, the precursor to the UN, began drafting a document to deal with mass displacement after World War I.

They say its legal requirements undermine their sovereignty and they fear they will be stuck with refugees permanently. Already, tens of thousands have lived for years in their host country.

Church leaders often remind us that Jesus was a refugee.

And Pope Leo XIV, in a Refugee Week message on Jun 21, said:

“I hope that the spirit that inspired the drafting of this important international instrument may also continue to enlighten the consciences of national leaders today.

“No one can turn a blind eye to those who are seeking protection and safety,” he said, adding people everywhere should “welcome those who are victims of persecution so that they may live in peace, with dignity, and look to the future with hope.”

As many around the world celebrate the life-saving achievements of the Refugee Convention and other international safeguards, there is still much more to be done.

The moral and practical challenge we face is doing ever more with ever less in a world of increasing need and desperation. – UCA News

*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.

Vatican News

The Vatican, at Borgo Laudato si’ in the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo, will host the Global Nobel Laureates Assembly on Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear War, bringing together more than 200 of the world’s most authoritative figures and representatives of leading international research institutions in the fields of peace and artificial intelligence, from Jul 14 – 16.

Inspired by Pope Leo XIV’s new Encyclical Magnifica humanitas, dedicated to safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence, the Assembly takes place in a context marked by international conflicts, growing instability and an increasingly complex nuclear landscape. It is part of the Pope Leo’s vision for a “disarmed and disarming peace.”

The meetings will culminate in the drafting of the Rome Declaration for a Disarmed and Disarming Peace in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Nuclear and Autonomous Weapons, New Digital Protocols, and Emerging Models of Digital Development.

The event will conclude on Jul 16 with a solemn session at Rome’s City Hall on the Capitoline Hill.

For three days, 30 Nobel laureates, former heads of state and government, 20 of the world’s leading artificial intelligence experts and innovators — including representatives from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, AARU and Anthropic — together with representatives from 30 of the world’s most prestigious universities and research institutions, will engage in a “Conclave”-style dialogue on the principal challenges facing humanity today.

In particular, they are expected to discuss international security, the governance of emerging technologies, disarmament and the development of an economy oriented towards peace.

At the heart of the discussions will be the search for a new global paradigm capable of combining innovation, responsibility and ethics.

The initiative is promoted by the Nobel Laureates Assembly for the Prevention of Nuclear War, the Nobel Women’s Initiative, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, the Yunus Centre, the Catholic University of America, the University of Chicago Existential Risk Laboratory, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the University of Notre Dame, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and Soka Gakkai International, with the Domus Communis Foundation serving as the General Secretariat.

Representatives from some of the world’s leading universities and research institutions will participate, including Harvard University, Stanford University, Columbia University, Princeton University, the University of California, Berkeley, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, the University of Oxford, the University of Manchester, the Collège de France, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Tsinghua University, Queen’s University, Simon Fraser University, the Australian National University, the University of Antwerp, St Patrick’s Pontifical University, the University of Rome “Tor Vergata,” the Balseiro Institute, the University of Southern California, and the Università Telematica Internazionale UniNettuno.

The Rome Declaration for a Disarmed and Disarming Peace in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Nuclear and Autonomous Weapons, New Digital Protocols, and Emerging Models of Digital Development, will be presented at the conclusion of the Assembly.

The Declaration aims to establish principles and guidelines for the governance of artificial intelligence, promoting a vision of international security founded on cooperation, human dignity, integral human development and peace among peoples. – Vatican News

Vatican News 

The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has issued a clarifying text regarding who is permitted to deliver homilies.

In a letter dated Jun 17, 2026 addressed to the President of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Heiner Wilmer, the Dicastery communicated that it is not possible to grant the indult requested on March 30, 2026. An indult is “a special (and often temporary) favor granted to a physical or moral person by the Apostolic See (or the local ordinary) which confers faculties contrary to or beyond the prescriptions of the law.”

The German Bishops had requested “to permit, in exceptional circumstances, a duly commissioned lay member of the faithful to preach in place of the homily during the celebration of the Eucharist.”

While the Dicastery expressed appreciation for the pastoral concerns that inspired the request, it reaffirmed that the current discipline cannot be dispensed from by means of an indult, since the reservation of the homily to a priest or deacon is not a merely disciplinary norm but derives from the very nature of the liturgy.

In the text, the Dicastery reiterated that the homily, which forms an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word, is intrinsically linked to the proclamation of the Gospel and constitutes an exercise of the munus docendi entrusted to ordained ministers through the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

It added that the proclamation of the Word within the liturgical celebration is inseparable from the mission received sacramentally and from the unity that binds together Word and Sacrament in the Eucharistic celebration.

The letter also emphasised the importance of promoting the ongoing formation of ordained ministers so that the homilly may fully express its pastoral and spiritual effectiveness.

Finally, the Dicastery recalled that the Church’s current discipline already provides for numerous forms of proclaiming the Word and preaching that may be entrusted to lay members of the faithful outside the homily and outside the celebration of the Eucharist, in accordance with canon law and the proper nature of these different forms of proclaiming the Gospel. – Vatican News

By Jacobus E. Lato

Monika Yuni’s happy married life lasted only two years before she discovered her husband was having an affair with another woman.

“I married him in 2008 after finishing college studies. I was 23, and he was six years older. We dreamed of a good married life, but it was short-lived,” Yuni, 41, told UCA News.

After the marriage, Yuni stayed back in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city, and her husband moved to the Island of Kalimantan, more than 500 kilometers away.

“Soon, I discovered he was living with his mistress. I was devastated,” she recalled.

Moreover, he racked up a debt of about US$66,000 but was unable to pay it back. He was sick with diabetes and heart problems, so Yuni paid back the debt.

Then, she filed a marriage annulment case in the Church, which was completed in 2012.

It took months for her to overcome the shock and trauma from the broken marriage. She visited the local parish priest and received counselling for psychological healing.

Yuni is a high school student counsellor and a part-time teacher at a college in Surabaya. She lives alone and spends her spare time engaging with pastoral work in the local parish Church.

She did not remarry and forgave her unfaithful husband.

“I don’t hate him. I even promised to care for him in his old age because I believe his mistress might leave him, and he would return to me. I see it as a test of my sincerity,” she added.

Maria Sumiati (name changed), 76, a Catholic, severed ties with her husband, a retired military officer, in 2000.

They married in 1979 and had two sons before they parted ways through marriage annulment.

Their marriage hit hard rocks after her husband was appointed to a municipal post in Surabaya after his retirement.

“He was in love with his secretary. It was like a slap in my face,” Sumiati recalled.

She made a last-ditch attempt to build a life around her two children, who graduated from a military academy.

But her worst nightmare came during the violent pro-democracy rallies against military dictator Suharto in 1998. Both sons, young soldiers, were killed during the violence.

“I felt like I was dying. There was nowhere to complain. Prayer and advice from two priests strengthened me,” she told UCA News.

Sumiati was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2002, but she survived after a quick surgery. She credits the miraculous recovery to “God’s help.”

Sumiati took up teaching in a Catholic school and rose to the rank of principal. She did not remarry and has lived with her siblings in Surabaya.

A rising trend

The stories of Yuni and Sumiati are increasingly common in many parts of Indonesia.

The rising trend is straining the Catholic Church’s pastoral service for couples in unhappy marriages as well as clogging up marriage tribunals with an increasing number of cases seeking marriage dissolution, say Church officials.

“Many Catholic couples live an instant lifestyle; they quickly give up or ignore their partners when hopes and dreams go unmet. They no longer see marriage as a process of growing together in unity with their partner and with God,” Father Antonius Padua Dwi Joko, a marriage counsellor, told UCA News.

The priest has been overseeing marriage issues in the Surabaya Diocese since 2003, and since 2016, has been involved with the diocesan marriage tribunal.

He says rising marital problems reflect societal changes in Indonesia.

“People struggle with self-control. Globalized technology creates a different kind of person than those raised in traditional societies. Life has become relentless competition,” he said.

Pressure of fast-paced modern life takes a toll on married life.

“Emotional wounds and unresolved trauma are carried into the household and damage married life. Many couples are easily angered. Workload and fatigue are used as excuses. At home, partners become easy targets, and commitment is reduced to a transactional calculation of profit and loss instead of mutual sacrifice,” said the priest who teaches Philosophy at Widya Mandala Catholic University in Surabaya.

In Surabaya, Catholic marital problems have risen since 2003.

Until 2003, the marriage tribunal used to receive two to three cases per year. By 2016, the number reached 30-40, and the figure is now 50-60 cases, Father Joko noted, admitting that it is a conservative estimate as couples often resort to divorce instead of separation.

Father Amandus Rahadat of the Timika Diocese in Central Papua echoed similar concerns, noting that societal and technological changes are affecting marriages even in remote areas.

“Marriage issues in rural areas are as complex as in cities. Many who divorce leave the Church for years and do not report their cases to the tribunal,” said Father Rahadat, the sole judge of the Timika diocesan tribunal.

Father Stefanus Cahyono, 57, parish priest of St Mary’s Church in Ponorogo of Surabaya Diocese, says couples with marital problems often do not come to consult and seek advice.

“No couples with marital problems consult their problems with me,” he said, noting that heavy workloads and busy schedules, working from morning until evening make it difficult for troubled couples to see their parish priest.

Official government data shows divorce figures in Indonesia have fluctuated in recent years.

In 2022, a total of 516,334 divorce cases were recorded, according to the state-run Central Statistics Agency. The figure fell to 463,654 cases in 2023. The figures were 399,921 and 438,168 in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

The agency report shows that 75-80 percent of divorce petitions were filed by women who cited marital conflict and economic hardship as major drivers.

Inability to find God’s grace in marriage

While economic stress often precipitates divorce, Father Joko argued that financial problems are rarely the root cause.

“Economic issues often expose deeper psychological pressures. Many young couples cannot analyze situations, assess problems, or make informed, objective choices beyond surface appearances,” he said.

The problem lies in the lack of spirituality, the priest noted.

“Many Catholic families do not put faith and prayer at the center of their lives,” he says.

“They don’t realize that bringing problems to prayer allows grace to work and transform them. Many families no longer base daily life on prayer. They seldom pray the family Rosary, and when they do, it is often only in private,” he said.

The priest suggests a change in the Catholic marriage preparation process to present “sacramental demands and lifelong commitment as an expression of faith and offering to God.”

He believes a collaboration among parish priests, counsellors, psychologists, and extended families to create a support network can help couples with life’s pressures and social change.

Psychologist Edy Suhardono welcomes such an approach.

Measures such as improved emotional literacy in schools, better access to mental health services, and economic empowerment programs to strengthen family stability are essential for a better married life.

“Without a strong social and economic foundation, pastoral development alone is not enough,” Edy told UCA News. – UCA News

By Jean D’Cunha

Asian bishops are taking serious steps to address ecological and climate issues after the Central Committee of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences, the principal body implementing the decisions of the plenary assembly endorsed an action plan to localize the outcomes of COP 30 in Asia.

On Mar 5, the Central Committee, which includes the federation president, Archbishop Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão of Goa, and the executive secretaries of its nine specialized offices, endorsed the plan outlined in a joint statement prepared by the federation’s two offices: the Climate Change Desk of the Office of Human Development and the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

The plan aligns with the 50-year-old federation’s mission framework, which emphasizes a triple dialogue with the poor and with diverse cultures and religions and has now expanded to include a dialogue with creation, prophetically centering environmental and climate justice.

Defending the environment and all living and climate-affected people, as exemplified by localizing post-COP 30 outcomes, is deemed both an existential enterprise and a practice of faith.

It is also the direct offshoot of a four-member official FABC delegation that participated in COP 30, together with numerous men and women from civil society, and of the strong advocacy of the Churches of the Global South, of which FABC was a critical part.

The 30th Global Conference of Parties (COP 30) represented a significant intersection between high-level climate policy deliberations and Catholic social teaching, specifically the principles of Pope Francis’ environmental documents, Laudato Si’ and Laudato Deum.

With the Vatican leading by example as the first state to commit to carbon neutrality by 2030, and the ambitious advocacy of the Churches of the Global South, including the FABC, the Church served as a moral arbiter in favor of true ecological stewardship, pushing back against fossil fuel production/expansion, deforestation, the “financialization of nature” and “green capitalism,” and resistance of wealthy nations to pay their ecological debt.

The summit achieved several milestones that provide a foundation for future Asian advocacy, including financial commitments to mobilize $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 for developing nations and activating the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF); the adoption of a Plan of Action on Women’s Empowerment that integrates the priorities of diverse groups of women into climate risk governance and recognizes the leadership of women of indigenous, rural, and  Afro descent; the Just Transition Mechanism to protect workers during the shift away from fossil fuels, and the establishment of 59 Belém Adaptation indicators to track national progress in climate safety, and ensure accountability.

While we have what it largely takes to contain the planetary crises, COP 30 exposed a tragic lack of political will. Shortfalls included the Ambition Gap, the Fossil Fuel and Halt Deforestation deadlock. Current global commitments still put the planet on a trajectory toward 2°C of warming, failing the 1.5°C Paris Agreement threshold.

Negotiations failed to reach a binding agreement on a fossil fuel “phase-out,” settling instead for the ambiguous language of “transitioning away,” while also failing to secure firm targets for halting deforestation.

The Asian bishops’ federation will leverage its moral heft in partnership with the universal church, global and regional actors, to ensure the “COP of Implementation” yields results on the ground.

This includes supporting the Brazil Presidency’s efforts to end deforestation and ensure a just transition away from fossil fuels, as well as the Government of Colombia and the Netherlands-led efforts on legal and socio-economic action on fossil fuel phase-out.

The following actions constitute the Church’s strategic response to localize climate justice:

1. Data-driven insights: Generation and dissemination of disaggregated data (by sex, age, and vulnerability) to ensure that climate strategies are informed by the specific priorities of diverse, affected communities rather than broad assumptions.
2. Inventory of good practices: Multimedia documentation of environmental successes and workable practices to gauge impact, use in awareness-raising, and for customized expansion and scale-up
3. People-centered policy advocacy: Integrating evidence-based findings, including those on women and girls, into the design and implementation of national and regional climate and related sectoral strategies and Church policies at all levels, supported by targets, clear indicators, and dedicated budgets.
4. Comprehensive capacity building of church leaders, parishioners, decision-makers, and grassroots practitioners on people-centered, woman-responsive climate policy design and the practical implementation of women/girl-responsive strategies.
5. Inclusive leadership and participation of vulnerable groups, particularly women, in climate decision-making, both in secular and church-related climate governance.
6. Scaling the Eco-Education: Eco Ambassadors’ training program across Asia, rooted in people-centered, interfaith, political-economy, and application-oriented approaches.
7. Independent Monitoring with partners through national and regional mechanisms to monitor the “people-centeredness” and ambition of national climate strategies, which inform evidence-based advocacy.
8. Bold advocacy in partnership with global, regional, and national actors to pressure governments to adopt ambitious roadmaps to: phase out fossil fuels; end exploitative mining, deforestation, the financialization of nature, and green capitalism; ensure that wealthy nations pay their “ecological debt” and protect vulnerable climate-affected people, including women and girls.
9. Financing and debt justice that focuses on the adaptation and loss and damage funds (LDFs) to ensure grants that are non-debt generating; that a LDF quantifies and pays for “non-economic losses” – much of which affect women, and that these funds are earmarked and provide direct, simplified access for vulnerable climate-affected people.
10. Ecumenical and liturgical celebration wherein the “Season of Creation” will be used as a bridge for interfaith cooperation. A significant liturgical goal is to have September 1st (World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation) elevated to an official Liturgical Feast of Creation within the Church calendar. – UCA News

* Dr. Jean D’Cunha is a gender expert with a continuing body of work on women’s labor migration, gender, climate change, and conflict. She worked with UN Women in senior management and technical roles worldwide and retired as Senior Global Advisor on International Migration and Decent Work. She advises the FABC/CBCI on climate issues. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.

By Herald Malaysia

Meeting with the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

The second day of the ad limina visit began in the stillness of dawn at the chapel of the Domus Romana Sacerdotalis, where the bishops gathered for the Eucharistic celebration before the day’s official engagements unfolded. The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Bernard Paul, with Fr Robert Leong serving as concelebrant. After breakfast, the delegation prepared for its first meeting of the day.

A short walk through the Vatican brought the group to the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The building stands just along the pathway leading towards St Peter’s Square, where streams of pilgrims and tourists from across the globe gather daily in awe of the heart of the Catholic Church.

Amid the bustling crowd, the bishops moved quietly in their black clerical attire and Roman collars, almost blending into the rhythm of Vatican life. There was something quietly striking about the scene — shepherds from Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei walking side by side through one of the world’s most recognisable public spaces, largely unnoticed by the throngs around them.

The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments plays a central role in safeguarding and promoting the sacred liturgy of the Church in accordance with the renewal called for by the Second Vatican Council. Its work includes ensuring that liturgical norms are faithfully observed throughout the universal Church, overseeing the revision and publication of liturgical texts, and granting recognition to legitimate adaptations suited to local cultures as approved by Episcopal Conferences. The Dicastery also oversees particular liturgical calendars, as well as the Propers of Masses and the Liturgy of the Hours used in various regions around the world.

Awaiting the delegation at the Dicastery was its Prefect, Cardinal Arthur Roche, who warmly welcomed the bishops and personally chaired the meeting together with the Dicastery’s Secretary, Monsignor Vittorio Francesco Viola.

Representing the Episcopal Conference on liturgical matters was Cardinal William Goh, Archbishop of Singapore and the bishop overseeing liturgy for the Conference. In his presentation, he offered the Dicastery an overview of the liturgical life of the Church across Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei — reflecting on the richness, challenges and pastoral realities shaping worship in the three nations.

The discussion unfolded in a spirit of openness and fraternity, touching on the diverse cultural expressions of worship within the region while reaffirming the Church’s commitment to preserving the sacredness and integrity of the liturgy.

As the hour-long meeting drew to a close, Cardinal William presented Cardinal Roche with a commemorative plaque on behalf of the Episcopal Conference to mark the ad limina visit. The encounter concluded with a group photograph — a simple yet meaningful moment capturing the communion shared between the bishops of the region and the Dicastery entrusted with safeguarding the Church’s liturgical life.

Meeting with the Dicastery for the Clergy

The delegation’s second meeting for the day required only a brief 100-metre walk across the vast expanse of St Peter’s Square to another Vatican building housing the Dicastery for the Clergy. Though the distance was short, the significance of the meeting weighed heavily upon the bishops, for the Dicastery oversees matters central to the life and future of the Church’s ordained ministry.

The Dicastery for the Clergy is responsible for all matters concerning diocesan priests and deacons, while also assisting bishops in the pastoral care and formation of their clergy. Its responsibilities include overseeing seminaries, ensuring that priestly formation is carried out in accordance with Canon Law, and fostering vocations to the priesthood throughout the universal Church.

Welcoming the delegation was Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, the Korean prelate appointed Prefect in 2021 — notably the first Korean to head a department within the Roman Curia. The meeting reflected not only the universal nature of the Church, but also the growing voice and contribution of Asian Catholics within its leadership structures.

Representing the Episcopal Conference on matters concerning seminary formation was Bishop Richard Ng, who presented the regional realities faced by the Church in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. His discourse touched candidly on the acute shortage of priests, the advancing age of many clergy members, the declining number of priestly vocations, and the pastoral challenges posed by the steadily growing Catholic population across the region.

As Cardinal Lazzaro was not fluent in English, the discussion unfolded primarily in Italian, with simultaneous translation assisting the delegation throughout the exchange. Despite the language barrier, the atmosphere remained warm and attentive, reflecting the shared concerns and hopes of shepherds seeking to strengthen the future of the priesthood.

From the outset, the bishops had been reminded that the ad limina apostolorum visit was not merely ceremonial, but very much a working pilgrimage. The sheer scale of the Roman Curia itself underscored this reality. With 16 Dicasteries, the Secretariat of State, tribunals, pontifical commissions and various Vatican offices, it would have been impossible to visit every department within a single week.

Even so, the schedule remained demanding. Over the course of the visit, the delegation was slated to meet representatives from 12 Dicasteries, the Secretariat of State, a Tribunal, a Pontifical Commission and the Secretariat of the Synod — a packed itinerary requiring careful coordination, long hours and constant movement between meetings.

Following a brief lunch break, the bishops once again made their way through the Vatican corridors and courtyards towards their third appointment of the day — already their seventh formal meeting since the start of the ad limina pilgrimage.

Meeting with the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life

Although the offices of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life were located only some 2.6 kilometres from the domus, the journey through Rome’s famously narrow streets and relentless traffic stretched into nearly half an hour. It was yet another reminder that in Rome, distances are often measured not merely in kilometres, but in patience.

Upon arrival, the bishops’ delegation was warmly received by Dr Gleison De Paula Souza, who represented the Prefect, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, who was away at the time. Joining him were the Dicastery’s Under-Secretaries, Dr Linda Ghisoni and Dr Gabriella Gambino, who participated actively in the exchange with the bishops.

The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life carries one of the broadest pastoral mandates within the Roman Curia. Its work touches nearly every stage of human life — from childhood to old age — encompassing the pastoral care of families, youth, lay faithful, and the promotion and protection of human life itself. At its heart lies the mission of encouraging lay Catholics to recognise and live out their vocation both within the Church and in society.

Chaired by Dr Gleison and his team, the meeting quickly moved into a thoughtful discussion on the realities faced by families and young people in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

Speaking on behalf of the Episcopal Conference was Archbishop John Wong, who oversees the Episcopal Regional Commission for Family, Laity and Life. In his presentation, he affirmed that despite the many social changes taking place, the family continues to remain the bedrock of the Church within the region.

At the same time, he acknowledged the growing challenges confronting family life today. Archbishop John reflected on how rapid socio-economic development, urbanisation, demanding work schedules, competitive lifestyles and the influence of digital and global culture have gradually shifted society away from traditional extended family systems towards smaller nuclear households. These realities, he noted, have significantly reshaped family relationships, faith practices and community life.

Responding to the presentation, Dr Gleison remarked that such challenges were by no means unique to Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, but reflected a broader global phenomenon affecting families worldwide. Nevertheless, he commended the bishops for the many pastoral initiatives undertaken in reaching out to young people and families across the region.

Particularly encouraging for the Dicastery was the sharing by Archbishop Simon Poh, who oversees youth and campus ministry for the Episcopal Conference. He spoke of an increasing desire among young people for moments of silence, contemplation and deeper spiritual meaning within their faith journey and liturgical life — a reflection that resonated strongly with the Dicastery officials.

Amid conversations about digital culture, modern pressures and changing family structures, the longing of young people for stillness and spiritual depth emerged as a quiet but hopeful sign for the future of the Church.

Meeting with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development

The final meeting of the day — and the eighth formal engagement since the start of the ad limina visit — brought the bishops’ delegation to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Though the long day had already stretched across numerous Vatican offices and discussions, the atmosphere remained attentive and engaged, particularly because this was a Dicastery with which the Episcopal Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei already shared a meaningful connection.

That relationship had been strengthened earlier in January 2025 through the visit of Alwin Macalalad to the Episcopal Conference. His visit not only fostered closer collaboration, but also opened clearer channels of communication between the local Church and the Vatican office entrusted with some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian and social concerns.

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development carries one of the broadest and most socially engaged mandates within the Roman Curia. Its mission centres on promoting the dignity of every human person created by God, while addressing issues relating to human rights, justice, peace, healthcare, migration, labour, economic systems and humanitarian crises. It also plays a key role in advocating care for creation and safeguarding the earth as humanity’s “common home” — themes that have become increasingly urgent in the life of the universal Church.

Welcoming the delegation was Cardinal Michael Czerny, together with Secretary Sr Alessandra Smerilli and Under-Secretaries Fr. Fabio Baggio and Monsignor Jozef Barlaš.

In his opening remarks, Cardinal Czerny welcomed the bishops warmly before presenting a short video introducing the Dicastery’s mission and some of its work across various parts of the world. The presentation offered a glimpse into the Church’s global response to poverty, displacement, ecological concerns and humanitarian suffering — realities that transcend borders and cultures.

Speaking on behalf of the Episcopal Conference was Bishop Bernard Paul, who oversees Integral Human Development, Caritas Malaysia, and the regional commission for Migrants and Itinerants. In his discourse, Bishop Bernard outlined the many initiatives undertaken by Caritas Malaysia in serving vulnerable communities, migrants and those affected by hardship, while also candidly sharing the pastoral and logistical challenges faced on the ground.

The exchange reflected a common concern shared by both the local and universal Church — that the Gospel must continue to be lived not only in words and worship, but also through concrete acts of justice, compassion and human solidarity.

As evening settled over Rome and the final meeting of the day concluded, the bishops finally laid aside their packed schedules and formal discussions for a few precious hours of rest. After a long day that had taken them through multiple Dicasteries, countless conversations, presentations and exchanges, the delegation made its way to a Chinese restaurant for a well-deserved dinner.

The atmosphere was noticeably lighter. The intensity of meetings and official engagements gradually gave way to laughter, casual conversations and shared reflections over warm dishes and familiar flavours from closer to home. Amid the clatter of plates and the hum of evening diners, the bishops found a rare moment to simply unwind — no speeches, no presentations, no schedules to race against.

For a brief time, the demanding pace of the ad limina visit paused around a dinner table in Rome, where fraternity, friendship and simple fellowship quietly nourished weary shepherds at the end of a very full day.

– Herald Malaysia

By Herald Malaysia

As the bishops of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei began their ad limina apostolorum visit to Rome from May 18–23, 2026, social media quickly came alive with messages of encouragement, well wishes and prayers from the faithful across the region. Many of the bishops shared that they were deeply moved to know that parishioners, religious communities and clergy were spiritually accompanying them on this important pilgrimage to the heart of the universal Church.

In many parishes, special intentions have been included in the Prayer of the Faithful, while prayer gatherings and Eucharistic celebrations continue to invoke God’s blessings for a safe journey, fruitful encounters and Spirit-led discernment during the ad limina visit.

As HERALD brings readers a rare inside glimpse into this significant ecclesial journey — sharing updates, reflections and moments from behind the scenes of the bishops’ pilgrimage in Rome — we warmly encourage all the People of God to continue keeping these shepherds of the Church in prayer. May their meetings, reflections and communion with the Holy Father and the various dicasteries bear abundant fruit for the Church in our region.

Flight into Rome

In line with standard travel safety procedures, the ad limina delegation of 10 bishops — comprising two cardinals, three archbishops, four bishops and one diocesan administrator — departed for Rome in three separate groups on different flights, with plans for all to arrive at their Domus accommodation by the evening of Sunday, May 17.

The Sabah contingent was the first to arrive, landing safely just past midnight on Saturday without incident. Another group travelling via Singapore experienced a slight flight delay, while the delegation departing from Kuala Lumpur arrived in Rome about an hour behind schedule and had to endure a lengthy one-and-a-half-hour queue at passport control at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport.

Despite the travel fatigue and delays, spirits remained high as the bishops finally gathered together at their accommodation, warmly greeting one another after journeys from across the region.

In keeping with true Catholic faith, the bishops celebrated their first day together with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Sunday evening at the Domus’ chapel. Bishop Julius Gitom of Sandakan was the main celebrant, assisted by Bishop Richard Ng of Miri.

After the Eucharistic celebration, the ad limina delegation gathered for their first formal meal together at a nearby restaurant, joined by Archbishop Emeritus John Ha, Fr Lazarus Swinie and Fr Andrew Khoo.

The dinner was more than simply a meal after a long journey. Amid warm conversation, shared laughter and the joy of reunion, the evening offered the bishops and accompanying clergy an opportunity to unwind, reconnect and strengthen the bonds of fraternity before the official engagements of the ad limina visit began in earnest.

Day 1. Meetings, meetings, meetings

The day began prayerfully with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist at the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran — the oldest of the four major papal basilicas and the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome, often referred to as the “Mother Church” of the Catholic world. Transportation for the delegation was graciously arranged by the L’Opera Della Chiesa (The Work of the Church) community, with Fr John Martin and his companion generously providing two seven-seater vehicles to ferry the bishops through the bustling streets of Rome.

After a quick breakfast back at the Domus, the delegation set out for the first of sixteen scheduled meetings with the dicasteries and pontifical offices of the Roman Curia — a central aspect of the ad limina pilgrimage. Their opening engagement was with the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the Vatican office responsible for overseeing the processes of beatification and canonisation.

The dicastery guides bishops through the intricate procedures involved in investigating causes for sainthood, ensuring that each process is conducted rigorously and according to Church norms before being presented to the Roman Pontiff for consideration.

Among the matters discussed was the Diocese of Penang’s preliminary efforts to advance the cause of Ms Sybil Kathigasu, the wartime heroine and nurse who died on June 12, 1948. The diocese is currently compiling documentation and historical material relating to her life and witness, marking an important early step in exploring her possible cause for sainthood.

The delegation’s second meeting of the day brought them to the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Vatican office responsible for matters concerning religious congregations, institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life.

The dicastery is headed by Sr Simona Brambilla of the Consolata Missionaries, who made history as the first woman to lead a department of the Roman Curia — a significant milestone in the evolving life of the Church.

The dicastery’s mission is to promote, encourage and oversee the living of the evangelical counsels — poverty, chastity and obedience — within the recognised forms of consecrated life. It also evaluates and regulates emerging forms of consecrated communities and their formation processes.

Among the key concerns raised during the meeting was the growing challenge of declining vocations to religious and consecrated life across Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, coupled with the increasing age of many religious serving in the region. The bishops also shared about the positive and collaborative relationship between the episcopal conference and the Conference of Religious Major Superiors (CRMS), highlighting the spirit of mutual support and communion that continues to strengthen the Church’s mission in the region.

After a short lunch break, the delegation resumed its schedule with the third meeting of the day at the Dicastery for Communication — the Vatican office tasked with overseeing the vast communications network of the Apostolic See.

The dicastery plays a central role in coordinating and unifying the Holy See’s communication efforts, ensuring that the Church’s evangelising mission continues to respond effectively to an ever-changing media landscape shaped by new technologies, digital culture and evolving forms of communication.

Under its umbrella are some of the Vatican’s most recognisable media platforms and services, including Vatican News, the Vatican Television Centre, Vatican Radio, the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican Publishing House, L’Osservatore Romano, and the former Pontifical Council for Social Communications, among others.

One particularly striking aspect shared during the meeting was the dicastery’s remarkable linguistic reach. Through its various media platforms, the Vatican communicates with the universal Church in 57 languages — a powerful reflection of the Catholic Church’s global mission to proclaim the Gospel across cultures, nations and peoples.

The meeting began with a brief six-to-eight-minute video presentation by the Dicastery for Communication, offering the delegation an overview of its mission, global outreach and the wide range of communication services it provides to the universal Church

During the dialogue session that followed, Cardinal Sebastian Francis, who also serves as president of the Episcopal Regional Commission for Social Communications, highlighted several pressing challenges facing the Church in the region. Among the concerns raised were the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, issues surrounding data protection and privacy, as well as the growing spread of fake news and misinformation in the digital age.

Responding to these concerns, Paolo Ruffini echoed the recent message of Pope Leo XIV that artificial intelligence must remain at the service of humanity, and never the other way around. He encouraged the Church not merely to engage AI at a functional or technical level, but to challenge its use by bringing a distinctly human, ethical and Gospel-centred dimension to communication.

He stressed that the mission of Church communication is not simply about efficiency or technology, but about making a meaningful difference — preserving human dignity, authentic voices and genuine encounter in an increasingly digital world.

As evening descended on the first day of the ad limina program, the delegation concluded its schedule with a meeting at the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue — the Vatican office dedicated to fostering respectful and meaningful relations with followers of non-Christian religions.

The dicastery works to ensure that dialogue with people of other faith traditions is carried out in a spirit of listening, mutual esteem and sincere respect. Through such encounters, it seeks to promote peace, freedom, social justice, care for creation, and the safeguarding of spiritual and moral values for the good of humanity.

During the meeting, Archbishop Julian Leow, who serves as the bishop-president for interreligious dialogue within the episcopal conference, presented an overview of the interfaith landscape in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. He shared updates on various initiatives and collaborations taking place in the region, highlighting the importance of dialogue and harmonious coexistence within the multicultural and multireligious fabric of society.

Responding to the presentation, Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad commended the episcopal conference for its ongoing efforts and commitment to interreligious engagement. He also offered reflections and encouragement, inviting the bishops to continue building bridges of understanding and fraternity in a world increasingly marked by division and tension.

Meeting with the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue Prefect Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, Secretary Mons. Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku K, and Fr Markus Solo, a member of the Dicastery. – Herald Malaysia

By Devin Watkins

The Catholic Church marked the 60th World Day of Social Communications on Sunday, May 17.

Speaking at the Regina Caeli prayer, Pope Leo XIV recalled the World Day and encouraged everyone to promote forms of communication that always respect the truth of the human person.

He pointed to the vast advances in technology in recent years regarding communication, and called for technological innovation to be directed toward the good of humanity.

“I encourage everyone to commit themselves to promoting forms of communication that are always respectful of the truth of the human person, toward which every technological innovation should be directed,” he said.

Pope’s message for 60th World Communications Day

Pope Leo XIV released his Message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications on Jan 24, focused on the theme: “Preserving Human Voices and Faces.”

In his message, the Pope said faces and voices are sacred, since God created human beings in His image and likeness.

“Each of us possesses an irreplaceable and inimitable vocation, which originates from our own lived experience and becomes manifest through interaction with others,” he said.

However, he said, new digital technologies threaten our uniqueness by simulating voices, faces, and emotions.

“By simulating human voices and faces, wisdom and knowledge, consciousness and responsibility, empathy and friendship,” he said, “the systems known as artificial intelligence not only interfere with information ecosystems, but also encroach upon the deepest level of communication, that of human relationships.”

The real threat to humanity is our willingness to offload our ability to listen and think critically to AI and social-media algorithms, said the Pope in his message.

“We are thus robbed of the opportunity to encounter others, who are always different from ourselves, and with whom we can and must learn to relate,” he said. “Without embracing others, there can be no relationships or friendships.”

In response, Pope Leo XIV encouraged people to embrace responsibility, cooperation, and education in our interactions with AI and one another.

“The digital revolution requires digital literacy, along with humanistic and cultural education,” he said, “to understand how algorithms shape our perception of reality, how AI biases work, what mechanisms determine the presence of certain content in our feeds, what the economic principles and models of the AI economy are and how they might change.”

“We need faces and voices to speak for people again,” concluded Pope Leo’s message. “We need to cherish the gift of communication as the deepest truth of humanity, to which all technological innovation should also be oriented.” – Vatican News

By AFP, Geneva

Last year was the deadliest on record for Rohingya refugees fleeing by sea, with deaths continuing to soar in 2026, the UN said on Apr 17, after hundreds were lost in a shipwreck earlier this month.

“In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal,” the United Nations refugee agency’s spokesman Babar Baloch told a press briefing in Geneva.

That marks “the deadliest year on record” for the region, according to data from UNHCR, he said.

Baloch highlighted that out of the more than 6,500 Rohingya who had attempted perilous sea crossings last year, “one in seven (were) reported missing or dead.”

That, he said, was “the highest mortality rate worldwide of any major route for refugee and migrant sea journeys.”

The Rohingya mainly leave from huge camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, where more than a million refugees forced to flee across the border from war-torn Myanmar’s Rakhine state live in squalid conditions.

Rakhine state has been the scene of fierce fighting between the military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic minority rebel group.

The Rohingya undertake perilous sea journeys every year in search of better living conditions, traveling aboard rickety boats often operated by trafficking networks.

‘Unmarked graveyard for thousands’

Baloch roughly estimated that “nearly 200,000 Rohingya refugees … have taken these dangerous sea journeys since 2012.”

And, he estimated, “more than 5,000 Rohingya refugees have lost their lives during these dangerous sea journeys over a decade.”

“This makes, sadly, the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal an unmarked graveyard for thousands of desperate Rohingya refugees in recent years.”

Baloch pointed out that most Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh wanted to return to Myanmar “once conditions allow for a voluntary, dignified and safe return.”

But he stressed that “ongoing conflict, persecution and the absence of citizenship prospects leave them with little hope.”

Limited humanitarian aid in Bangladesh, “compounded by insecurity in the camps and limited access to education and livelihoods,” pushes refugees towards dangerous journeys, he explained.

In recent years, more than half of those attempting such crossings have been women and children, according to UNHCR data.

This year, Baloch said, “with more than 2,800 Rohingya undertaking dangerous sea journeys between January and Apr 13.”

His comments came days after news emerged that a boat carrying about 280 Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi migrants had capsized in the Andaman Sea.

The boat, which left the southern Bangladeshi port of Teknaf on Apr 4 and was on its way to Malaysia, sank due to heavy winds, rough seas and overcrowding, according to the United Nations.

Bangladeshi authorities said nine people had been rescued, while Baloch said an estimated 250 people are missing.

“UNHCR is providing counselling and referrals for medical and psychosocial support to Rohingya survivors,” he said.

The UN refugee agency said it was calling on states to “address the root causes of displacement, expand safe and legal pathways, and strengthen regional cooperation to save lives and combat smuggling and trafficking.” – UCA News