St. Joseph Church

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti presides over the Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. Paul’s Shrine in Tabbaleh, Damascus, on Jan. 25, 2025. / Credit: ACI MENA

ACI MENA, Jan 29, 2025 / 12:15 pm (CNA).

On Saturday, Jan. 25, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. Paul’s Shrine in Tabbaleh, Damascus. The occasion marked the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.

In attendance were Patriarch Youssef Absi of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church; apostolic nuncio to Syria Cardinal Mario Zenari; and apostolic vicar of Aleppo and head of the Latin Church in Syria Bishop Hanna Jallouf as well as other bishops, clergy, and a large congregation of believers.

In a brief statement to ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, Gugerotti emphasized that his current visit to Syria is for ecclesiastical purposes only, aiming primarily to assess the conditions of Christians there.

“I am observing the situation and trying to listen to the people here,” Gugerotti remarked. “One day is not enough to fully grasp people’s suffering, but I see life pulsating in Damascus. One sign of this is the bustling markets and crowded streets, which even caused me to arrive late to today’s liturgy. This is a positive indication that there is a desire for life.”

He emphasized that no meetings with government officials are planned during this visit, as his focus remains on engaging with Christian communities and clergy. Political matters are outside the scope of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches.

In his homily, the Vatican envoy conveyed Pope Francis’ love and solidarity with Syria’s Christians, stating: “I am honored to be here as Pope Francis’ representative. His Holiness deeply understands the burdens that you bear within your hearts and has asked me to convey his heartfelt wish that God fills your hearts with genuine and complete peace.”

Reflecting on Damascus’ significance to Christianity, Gugerotti described it as “a beautiful, radiant city that was like a queen during the Roman Empire. Although it now bears the marks of age, it remains a queen. On the very roads you travel daily, a monumental event occurred — Saul, who persecuted Christians relentlessly, fell to the ground here and rose again as Paul, discovering the beauty and mystery of Christ the Lord.”

He added: “Thanks to St. Paul, we gather here today. What could have remained a small Jewish sect opened its doors in Damascus to embrace the entire world. Therefore Paul is rightly called the apostle to the nations. From his story, we learn that Christ’s Church must not be harmed. Anyone who tries to do so will fall and must reckon with their actions. ‘The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ This is our faith and our confidence.”

“We are in the hands of God, full of mercy,” the cardinal continued. “Even the fiercest persecutor can fall and lose his sight. When his eyes are opened again, he will realize that violence, rejection, and oppression of others are a rejection of God himself. When you return home tonight, tell your families that God has triumphed and the Church remains unshaken. No one can wrestle with God and survive. Take a deep breath, cast out all fear and confusion, and, like Apostle Thomas, declare ‘My Lord and my God,’ for this will be your strength in the face of persecution and a blessing for all nations.”

Gugerotti concluded by emphasizing the importance of faith and prayer, saying: “We are a large assembly lifting our hands toward heaven, crying out with confidence: ‘Save your people, the people of Syria, O God.’”

Following the liturgy, attendees visited the historic St. Paul’s Grotto adjacent to the church — a site some scholars believe was where Paul experienced visions during his refuge there — and recited the official prayer for Christian unity.

Gugerotti’s six-day visit, from Jan. 24–29, marks the first time a Vatican envoy has traveled to Syria since the regime change. As part of his special mission from the pope, the cardinal will also meet with Christian leaders and communities across Damascus, Aleppo, and Homs.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Manila, Philippines. / Credit: Kagejuni001, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rome Newsroom, Jan 29, 2025 / 11:45 am (CNA).

U.S.-based abuse watchdog BishopAccountability.org during a Jan. 29 press conference held in Manila, Philippines, identified 82 priests and brothers with ties to the Philippines who have been publicly accused of abusing minors.

The U.S. group’s co-director, Anne Barrett Doyle, launched the online database in the Philippines, the world’s third-largest Catholic country, on Wednesday, urging the country’s bishops to take action against those accused of sex abuse.

“Philippine bishops feel entitled to their silence. They feel entitled to withhold information about sexual violence toward minors. They feel entitled to defend accused priests,” Doyle said at the press conference.

“What we hope to achieve is to raise awareness,” she said. “Secrecy only benefits the perpetrators. Secrecy equals complicity.”

The database — which collects data from news reports, publicly filed court documents, Church announcements, and other public sources — includes details of Filipino priests accused of sexually abusing minors in the Philippines; Filipino priests who are accused of sexually abusing minors while working in the U.S.; and accused clergy from the U.S., Australia, and Ireland who served part of their priesthood in the Philippines.

Doyle is calling for Philippine prosecutors to investigate Church officials who have failed to report abuses. Associated Press reported none of the 82 clergy members, including seven bishops, listed in the database have been convicted in any civil court. 

Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has established the Office on the Protection of Minors headed by Archbishop Florentino Lavarias.

“Every diocese is now required by Rome to establish its own Office for the Safeguarding of Minors and Vulnerable Adults and should have a point person who can formally receive complaints,” David responded in a Jan. 29 statement.

“Our mandate from Rome is to take the issue of accountability very seriously, especially those related to alleged abuse cases involving priests,” he added. 

The cardinal said individual bishops and religious superiors are responsible for handling complaints of abuse and taking disciplinary action against accused clergy.   

“As a conference of bishops, we merely build a consensus among ourselves about common policies to be adopted. Only Rome, represented by the nuncio, has direct disciplinary authority over individual bishops,” David said.

The Philippines database is the fifth database of accused clergy launched by BishopAccountability.org. The abuse watchdog set up its first database in the U.S. in 2005 and has since created separate databases for Argentina, Chile, and Ireland.

Pope Francis meets with clergy and other pilgrims during his general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025 / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jan 29, 2025 / 09:15 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Wednesday told pilgrims attending his Jan. 29 general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall to imitate St. Joseph — the man who knew how to listen to God in all circumstances of life.

Reflecting on the Gospel of St. Matthew, which retells the account of Jesus Christ’s childhood from “the perspective of Joseph,” the Holy Father said people can learn from the righteous man who was always attentive to the will of God.

“Thus, following the word of God, Joseph acts thoughtfully: He does not let himself be overcome by instinctive feelings and fear of accepting Mary with him but prefers to be guided by divine wisdom,” the pope said.

“This wisdom enables him not to make mistakes and to make himself open and docile to the voice of the Lord, which resounds in him through the channel of the dream,” he continued.

During the Wednesday audience, the pope invited his listeners to ask the Lord for the grace “to listen more than we speak” and “to dream God’s dreams” just like St. Joseph when faced with difficult decisions.

Though St. Joseph’s love was “harshly put to the test” after discovering the pregnancy of Mary, the Holy Father said the great faith of Jesus’ foster father enabled him to turn his prayer into action after listening to the word of God.

“Faced with this revelation, Joseph does not ask for further proof; he trusts in God, he accepts God’s dream of his life and that of his betrothed,” the pope said.

“He thus enters into the grace of one who knows how to live the divine promise with faith, hope, and love,” he added.

At the end of his Jan. 29 catechesis on the theme of “Jesus Christ Our Hope,” the pope said all Christians are called to continually welcome the word of God into their lives “from the moment of baptism.”

Energized by the great enthusiasm shown by several pilgrim groups at the Vatican on Wednesday, including American students from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, the Holy Father made an earnest request for all pilgrims to pray for peace in Palestine, Israel, and Myanmar as well as in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“I also follow what is happening in the capital [of Congo], Kinshasa, hoping that all the violence toward the people will end soon,” he said. “In light of the hope for peace and security, I invite all members of the international community to work hard to bring an end to the conflict.”

Luigina Siniapi’s numerous supernatural gifts, including bilocation and precognition of events and situations, were recognized by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. / Credit: Public domain

ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Vatican has issued a decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Luigina Sinapi, declaring her “venerable.” The Italian woman was a lay mystic who had a vision of Jesus and the Virgin Mary and maintained a friendship with St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Italy, better known as Padre Pio.

Driven by her deep love for Jesus from an early age and claiming to have had visions of Mary, Jesus, and angels, her mother took her, in the mid-1920s, to San Giovanni Rotondo to meet Padre Pio, the saint recognized for bearing the stigmata on his hands, feet, and side. From that time, she maintained a close relationship with him, receiving his guidance and spiritual support throughout her life.

Sinapi was born Sept. 8, 1916, in Itri, Italy, and was baptized eight days later. According to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, at age 15 she felt the call to religious life and entered the Institute of the Pious Society of the Daughters of St. Paul in Rome. However, she had to leave the institute due to serious health problems.

The dicastery states that in November 1931, after the death of her parents, she was taken in by an aunt in Rome. To cover the costs of her stay, she began working as a domestic servant and later found employment at a post office and then at the Central Statistical Office.

Years later, Sinapi fell ill with cancer and was on the verge of death. However, on Aug. 15, 1935, the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, she received the anointing of the sick and had a vision of Jesus and Mary, who miraculously healed her. From then on, she decided to live offering her sufferings for the evils of the world and for the salvation of priests and all souls.

During the Second World War she took refuge in her hometown and, upon returning to Rome, she lived in precarious conditions due to the hardships of the postwar period. From 1956 to 1970 she worked at the National Institute of Geophysics as secretary to the Venerable Servant of God Enrico Medi.

“She combined her work with an intense life of prayer, animated by a profound interior spirituality and characterized by various sufferings, accompanied by numerous mystical gifts,” the website of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints states.

By then, Sinapi was a Third Order Franciscan and, in 1954, she obtained dispensation to also enter the Third Order of the Children of Mary, to which her spiritual director belonged.

The Vatican website explains that at that time, Sinapi maintained a deep spiritual bond with St. Pio of Pietrelcina and enjoyed the trust of Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII. In 1937, after a revelation from the Virgin at Tre Fontane in Rome, she predicted his election to the pontificate.

“She spent the last period of her life at home offering hospitality, listening, offering advice and spiritual consolation to all who came to her. She died of gastric cancer on April 17, 1978, with a well-attested reputation for holiness and [supernatural] signs,” the publication adds.

Supernatural gifts and acts of charity

The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints explains that Sinapi’s existential journey “was accompanied by numerous supernatural gifts such as precognition of events and situations, bilocation, discernment of spirits and, above all, mystical union with the Lord Jesus, lived in an atmosphere of modesty, humility, and service.”

In this context, many people, including priests, bishops, politicians, and parishioners, approached her seeking spiritual consolation. She helped many priests not only with prayer but also with material aid.

In addition to these supernatural manifestations, “she knew how to carry with extreme naturalness this burden of involuntary exceptionality, of love for God and for others, demonstrating, in the practice of virtues and in the capacity for sacrifice, total obedience to the Church and its representatives,” the Vatican website notes.

Devotions and spirituality

She had a deep devotion to saints such as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Gemma Galgani, and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Her spirituality, centered on the Eucharist and Mary, led her to help those in need, even in the midst of her own poverty.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

null / Credit: L.A. Faille/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jan 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

It’s something most Catholics have probably heard at Mass at some point: An announcement that “gluten-free” or “low-gluten” hosts are available either during Communion or directly afterward so that Catholics with gluten sensitivities can participate in the Blessed Sacrament with minimal discomfort. 

But how are low-gluten hosts manufactured? 

The Church’s canon law is strict: The “most holy Eucharistic sacrifice” can be offered only with unleavened bread made “only [from] wheat,” meaning gluten-free flours are not permitted. 

Canon law dictates that Communion can be distributed “under the form of wine alone in a case of necessity,” but many parishes have opted for the low-gluten option for Catholics who need it. 

Though the practice may seem recent, it has actually been an active question for Church leaders for more than three decades. 

In August 1994, the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith’s prefect, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — the future Pope Benedict XVI — issued the directive “Norms for Use of Low-Gluten Bread” in which the prelate noted that while altar bread “quibus glutinum ablatum est,” or “with the gluten removed,” was invalid for the sacrament, “low-gluten hosts” would be considered “valid matter.”

The bread in question must contain “the amount of gluten sufficient to obtain the confection of bread” and must not contain any “foreign materials” other than wheat and water.

Further, the process for making the hosts must not “alter the nature of the substance of the bread,” Ratzinger directed. The cardinal issued these directives to bishops worldwide in a 1995 letter.

So how are low-gluten hosts made?

The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Clyde, Missouri, are among the numerous abbeys and monastic communities in the U.S. that produce altar bread. They are also known for developing and marketing a low-gluten host.

Sister Ruth Starman, the head of altar bread production at the abbey, told CNA via email that their abbey produces low-gluten hosts “by combining two different wheat starches that have had most of the gluten removed.” The starches are removed via a special milling process.

“We use the same type of baker as regular Communion hosts,” she said. “The mixing process is a little harder because the wheat starch makes a more gelatinous batter or ‘sticky’ batter than regular flour does.”

The Clyde abbey was the first U.S. producer of altar breads approved by the Vatican to make low-gluten hosts. The sisters previously told CNA that it took over 10 years of experimentation for the sisters to develop the right recipe.

“We were done with an experiment for the day and kind of had a little batter left on the spoon, so we flicked it onto the waffle iron and forgot about it and went and washed dishes,” Sister Jane Heschmeyer, who works in the altar bread department, said in an interview.

“We opened [the waffle iron] up and there was a lacy-looking edible thing. So we ate it right away and forgot how we got there, but the Holy Spirit helped us get back to that.”

Starman told CNA that the nuns have been making the hosts since 2004. “We still get new patrons every month,” she said.

Asked about the history of the practice, the nun told CNA that low-gluten hosts “were not produced before [modern times] as far as I know.”

“I don’t know if gluten sensitivity would have even been ‘known’ in past days,” she noted. “It could have existed but I don’t know if it would have been specifically diagnosed.”

After developing their recipe for low-gluten hosts, the sisters had them tested in a lab for their gluten content and also asked several volunteers with celiac disease to eat the hosts and report any adverse effects.

The scientists found that the hosts contained just .001% gluten, low enough to be safe for most people with celiac disease while still satisfying the norms for Communion.

Immigrants at Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley humanitarian respite center in McAllen, Texas. / Credit: Vic Hinterlang/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jan 28, 2025 / 19:52 pm (CNA).

The president of Catholic Charities USA has urged the Trump administration to “rethink” its pause on federal funding for executive departments, noting the “millions of Americans who rely on this life-giving support.”

In a two-page memo on Monday the Office of Management and Budget directed all federal agencies “to the extent permissible under applicable law … temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance” that could conflict with President Donald Trump’s policies as outlined in his recent executive orders.

The memo specified that funding for programs “including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal” would be paused.

Though the memo put the pause into effect on Jan. 28 at 5 p.m., a federal judge in the District of Columbia temporarily blocked the order on Tuesday. 

In response to news of the freeze on federal grants, Catholic Charities USA President and CEO Kerry Alys Robinson released a statement calling attention to the work the organization does for those in need. 

“For more than a century, the Catholic Charities network has worked with the government to care for poor and vulnerable people in every community in the U.S., and we continue to be eager to work with government to care for our neighbors in need,” Robinson said. “We strongly urge the administration to rethink this decision.”

Robinson pointed to the effect that a federal freeze could have on those who rely on Catholic Charities. 

“The millions of Americans who rely on this life-giving support will suffer due to the unprecedented effort to freeze federal aid supporting these programs,” Robinson said. “The people who will lose access to crucial care are our neighbors and family members. They live in every corner of the country and represent all races, religions, and political affiliations.” 

Catholic Charities has operated in the U.S. for more than a century. It is currently made up of 168 diocesan Catholic Charities agencies serving millions of people each year. It works to provide affordable housing, food and nutrition, and disaster relief as well as supporting health, workforce development, and immigration services.

In addition to government contracts, Catholic Charities receives contributions from everyday Catholics, charitable foundations, and other sources of private philanthropy, among other sources.

“Last year, 92% of the services provided by the 168 independent Catholic Charities agencies around the country covered basic needs — access to food, housing, health care, and other necessities — for families and individuals struggling to get by,” Robinson said.

“These vital services include food pantries for those who can’t afford groceries, child care programs for low-income families, meal deliveries for homebound seniors, job training resources for veterans, temporary and permanent housing, mental health services, and much more.” 

Trump administration officials said that programs providing individual assistance to Americans — such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, student loans, and food stamps — would not be affected. 

What the exact effect will be on Catholic Charities and other charitable organizations is still unclear. 

At a White House press conference on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was  asked if the president intended “to permanently cut off funding to NGOs that are bringing illegal foreign nationals to the country, such as Catholic Charities.”

Leavitt responded: “I am actually quite certain that the president signed an executive order that did just that, and I can point you to that.”

Last year, the country’s bishops rejected claims that Catholic nonprofit organizations such as Catholic Charities are complicit in harboring migrants who illegally cross the Texas border.

This story was updated Jan. 29, 2025, with updated information about contributions to Catholic Charities.

Pardoned by President Trump and released from jail just hours before, Joan Andrews Bell (center) arrived at the March for Life rally with her husband, Chris, and son Emiliano Bell. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 28, 2025 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

The chairman of the bishops’ pro-life committee commended President Donald Trump for his executive order to end Biden administration policies that used taxpayer dollars to fund abortions worldwide.

Bishop Daniel Thomas of the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, also applauded a memorandum issued by the White House on Friday to reinstate the Mexico City policy to prevent the U.S. from funding foreign organizations that support or perform abortions.

“I am grateful for the strengthening of policies that protect us from being compelled to participate in a culture of death and that help us to restore a culture of life at home and abroad,” Thomas said in a press release issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Sunday. 

Trump signed an executive order rescinding two of former president Biden’s executive orders that, the White House said, violated the Hyde Amendment’s ban on the use of taxpayer funds for abortion.

The new order limits the enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. On Thursday, Trump issued pardons for 23 pro-life activists imprisoned under the FACE Act, including several elderly people and a young mother.

“Pro-life Americans have a right to pray in public, to counsel women who are considering abortion, and to peacefully protest. We welcome support for men and women who are exercising these rights to witness to a culture of life and, at the same time, we absolutely reject resorting to force or violence,” Thomas said.

The executive order also cancels a Biden order that “recategorized abortion as ‘health care’ in order to provide taxpayer funding for elective abortions,” the White House said.

Thomas reflected on the new orders and the United States’ announcement that it will join the Geneva Consensus Declaration, a document focused on promoting women’s health, protecting life, and strengthening the family.

“It is important and encouraging to see the United States again taking the leadership in affirming the right to life and fundamental place of the family on the global stage where many pressures can be arrayed against these values,” Thomas said.

null / Credit: maxim ibragimov|Shutterstock.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 28, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

Republican members of Congress have introduced a bill to protect parental rights “to direct the upbringing, education, and health care of their children.” 

Introduced by U.S. Sens. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina; James Lankford, R-Oklahoma; and Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, the Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act seeks to prevent government intervention in parental decisions.

“Parents have a fundamental right to control the upbringing of their child, whether it’s in the classroom or at home,” Scott stated in a press release after the bill was introduced last Thursday. 

“Yet, far too often,” he continued, “parents are being pushed out of their child’s lives, and kids are paying the price. I will always fight to put parents back in the driver’s seat and ensure they remain the lead decision-maker in their child’s life.”

If enacted, the bill would “affirm that parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, and health care of their children,” block the federal government from interfering substantially with this “right,” and allow parents to seek legal action for violations of the bill in legal or administrative proceedings at both state and federal levels. 

The bill makes an exception for instances where a parental action or decision “would result in physical injury to the child or that would end life.”

“Parents deserve to raise their children without the looming threat of government infringement,” Foxx said in the release. “The Families Rights and Responsibilities Act will shield parental rights while instituting a necessary, fundamental check against the government whenever it decides to enforce policies that fail to extend due deference to parental decision-making.”

The release also notes that the bill would allow parents to seek legal recourse if schools fail to inform them of their child’s “social transition” to another gender, as the Biden administration’s proposed Title IX regulations would have allowed.

Biden’s Title IX reinterpretation was blocked by a federal court in Kentucky earlier this month.

Had the rule been upheld, it would have expanded Title IX “sex” discrimination protections to include a ban on “gender identity” discrimination, even though the phrase “gender identity” does not appear anywhere in the 1972 law.

The bill is co-sponsored by Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyoming; Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota; as well as Reps. Randy Weber, R-Texas; John Rose, R-Tennessee; Mary Miller, R-Illinois; Gus Bilirakis, R-Florida; Clay Higgins, R-Louisiana; Brett Guthrie, R-Kentucky; Brad Finstad, R-Minnesota; Barry Loudermilk, R-Georgia; Rich McCormick, R-Georgia; and Mike Haridopolos, R-Florida.

Supporters of a religious group march during a rally in support of Khalid Khan, who killed a man accused of blasphemy, in Peshawar on July 31, 2020. / Credit: Abdul Majeed/AFP via Getty Images

ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 28, 2025 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

A Pakistani court has sentenced four young men to death for allegedly posting blasphemous content against Islam on social media, a prosecuting attorney said Jan. 27. The condemned men, who are Muslim, are between 20 and 32 years old and are from Punjab province.

A member of the Voice of the Victims of Blasphemy Business Group, a support group formed by families affected by the alleged blasphemy charges, requesting anonymity told UCA News that “three of them are from Lahore, while one is from Bahawalpur. They were trapped in the same pattern of being lured into social media groups where controversial content was shared. They were also tricked into saving the blasphemous content on their phones and sharing it with others.”

“Their parents are worried and are at a loss about what to do. Their lawyer was hopeful of the acquittal, but the judges were not ready to listen to our pleas. Everything looks preplanned,” he added.

A lawyer, Nasir William, a member of the advocacy group Center for Social Justice (CSJ), expressed concern about the growing persecution of Christians and alleged cases of blasphemy in Pakistan, which have risen sharply in recent times.

“Activists are slowly holding press conferences urging government authorities to intervene and provide long-overdue redress to these victims. The National Assembly Standing Committee will discuss this issue in a session on Jan. 27 evening. At least these victims have a right to appeal in a higher court,” William said.

Figures from CSJ show that last year 343 people were charged with blasphemy, including 19 Christians, five of whom were women.

In Pakistan, blasphemy against Islam and its founder is considered a serious crime punishable by life imprisonment or death. Some critics point out that, in many cases, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are manipulated for private monetary or personal gain.

In addition, groups dedicated to reporting young people who share “blasphemous material” on social media have proliferated. At the end of 2024, Shagufta Kiran, a Christian and mother of four children, was sentenced to death for allegedly spreading blasphemous messages through the WhatsApp messaging service.

In the midst of the hostile environment for Christians in Pakistan, the figure of Akash Bashir stands out, a young Salesian who sacrificed his life in 2015 to prevent a terrorist attack at his church and who is today considered — by Muslims and Christians — as a symbol of unity in the country.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Orthodox Archbishop Anastasios Yannoulatos of Albania, 95, died on Jan. 25, 2025 in Greece due to a recent illness. He led the Albanian Orthodox church for nearly 33 years. / Credit: Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rome Newsroom, Jan 28, 2025 / 14:25 pm (CNA).

Orthodox Archbishop Anastasios Yannoulatos of Albania, 95, died on Jan. 25 in Greece due to a recent illness. He led the Albanian Orthodox Church for nearly 33 years.  

Under his leadership, after the fall of communism, more than 400 parishes were reopened and several new churches were built to support the faith and piety of Albania’s Orthodox communities in the predominantly Muslim nation.

Born on Nov. 4, 1929, in Piraeus, Greece, Anastasios was ordained a priest in the Church of Greece in 1964 after completing his studies in theology and the history of religions.

After working as a missionary in several African countries — including Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania — for more than a decade, Anastasios returned to Greece and was elevated to bishop of Androusa in 1972. From 1981 to 1991, he served as acting archbishop of the Holy Archbishopric of Irinopolis in Africa.

Sent to Albania in 1991 to rebuild the Orthodox Church soon after the fall of communism in the country on Dec. 11, 1990, Anastasios was appointed primate of Albania in August 1992.

In addition to reopening more than 400 parishes, Anastasios ordained approximately 155 new priests to revitalize the Orthodox Church in Albania and erected several educational and charitable institutions in the country.

Following news of the prelate’s death, Catholic Bishop Gjergj Meta of Rrëshen, Albania, praised the late Anastasios in a letter addressed to the Holy Synod of the Albanian Orthodox Church.

“The contribution of His Beatitude [Anastasios] will remain in the history of our country as that of a missionary of the Gospel immediately after the fall of communism, but also as that of a good father and pastor who rebuilt the Orthodox Church of Albania with his wisdom, perseverance, and vision,” Meta wrote.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Greek Orthodox Church leaders, and the World Council of Churches also expressed their condolences.

Respected for his impactful leadership beyond the Orthodox sphere, Anastasios was recognized as a champion of peace and interreligious dialogue within Albania and with other Christian churches worldwide.

In 2000, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and, in 2006, he was appointed president of the World Council of Churches as well as honorary president of the World Conference of Religions for Peace.

In April 2018, he hosted Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in Albania and called for “an immediate end to Russia’s fratricidal war against Ukraine,” La Croix International reported.