Pastoral Aid

Almost 70 percent of the approximately 22 million people in Sri Lanka are Buddhist, while Catholics number somewhere around 1.45 million – and roughly half of them live in the Archdiocese of Colombo. This number includes about 150,000 young people.  Like young people everywhere in the world, these youngsters are also fascinated by social media and artificial intelligence. And so this is increasingly becoming a topic that the Church has to and wants to engage with, since it involves many ...

The Diocese of Gikongoro lies in southern Rwanda. It includes 20 parishes with about a quarter of a million Catholic faithful. Although the name of the diocese is not exactly familiar to most people abroad, nonetheless, many Catholics around the world have heard of the Marian shrine of Kibeho, which is located within the diocese. Our Lady is honored here under the title of “Nyina wa Jambo,” or “Mother of the Word.” The shrine was formally recognized by the Catholic ...

Ever since 2019, Lebanon has been going through one of the gravest economic crises in recent history. Such is the collapse that somewhere between half and three-quarters of the population is now living below the poverty line, with even the middle classes suffering extensive poverty. This situation is a result of a combination of factors – structural corruption, political paralysis, a massive financial crisis, successive military conflicts, and the permanently overhanging danger of war in the region. On top of ...

The Diocese of Juína lies in the heart of the Amazon region and covers a vast territory of nearly 48,000 square miles. Yet it has just 14 parishes, which include a total of 380 local communities. Sadly, experience has shown that many young people have drifted away from the Church. This fact has prompted Bishop Neri José Tondello to sit down together with the youth leaders in the diocese and consider how best to rekindle the enthusiasm of as many ...

Whereas in the early days of the war, the emphasis was on direct material support for refugee families, who desperately needed to be housed, fed, and given medical care, it is now increasingly shifting to the need for psychological and spiritual support for the many people who have suffered deep emotional trauma as a result of the frightful things they have experienced. About 80 percent of the Ukrainian people have suffered some form of trauma, according to Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.  Often, it is the priests who are the first and sometimes ...

For over five years now, Lebanon has been going through a profound crisis. Many people have become impoverished and are experiencing feelings of anger, helplessness, and despair. Many families are suffering great tensions, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has only brought them greater fears. People are leaving the country whenever they can, and sadly, the suicide rate has also increased. Mother Maguy Adabashy, the general superior of the Missionary Sisters of the Most Blessed Sacrament, has written ...

The Archdiocese of Dhaka in Bangladesh serves a population of just 85,000 Catholics. As in all the country, Catholics make up only a tiny minority, less than one percent. Over 90 percent of the country’s population is Muslim, and most of the Christians belong to ethnic minorities, who are already on the margins of society.   The faithful turn to the Church in all their needs. One problem is that the people in many regions have very little formal education. The ...

The parish of Our Lady of the Rosary is based in Manica, Mozambique, in the Diocese of Chimoio. It covers an extensive rural area, within a radius of 43 miles, and includes 74 villages and hamlets, 58 of which have their own chapel. In the remaining villages, the Catholic faithful gather under large trees, or they have to travel to the nearest village with a chapel.   The Franciscans have been working in this area for over a hundred years. At present, ...

Almost 90 percent of the 170 million people in Bangladesh are Muslim. Christians account for just a tiny minority of well under one percent and generally belong to disadvantaged ethnic minorities.   Such is the case in the Diocese of Rajshahi, in northern Bangladesh. There are over 20.4 million people here, 71,000 of whom are Catholic. Most of them are poor, with very few educational opportunities, and forced to toil as day laborers or small traders, or scrape a living from ...

Violence is on the rise in Latin America. In Ecuador, the number of killings increased by more than 80 percent between 2021 and 2022.   And in the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil, which has close to three million inhabitants, the rate of violent crime is particularly high, mostly affecting young men between the ages of 15 and 27. They are recruited by criminal gangs, often when they are already in prison. If they can see no alternative life, they ...