Pastoral Aid

2023 marks the 30th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Albania. On that occasion, he recalled the many priests who suffered under communism and were killed for administering the Sacraments, as well as the unknown number of Catholics who had likewise been imprisoned and murdered because of their faith. At that time, the dictator Enver Hodscha had banned all religion, and in 1967, had even made Albania the world‘s first “atheist state,” something no other state had done, ...

Strengthening families, grounding the young in their faith, providing a Christian education: these are the great priorities of Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Najib Michael Moussa of Mosul and Akre, Iraq, in the cradle of Christianity in the Middle East. Accordingly, he has increased family care and catechetical instruction. One of these projects is the Jesus the King Catechetical Center in the autonomous region of Kurdistan, where many Christian families are now living, including those who fled Mosul when ISIS invaded in ...

The Diocese of Shimoga in southwest India is highly active, despite having just 18,000 Catholics in a total population of over 5.6 million. It has set up various committees to deal with a range of particularly important issues, including the ongoing formation of priests, religious, and laity, so they are equipped to help the people and promote the Gospel. “The Church in Shimoga needs leaders who can help advance the mission of our Redeemer Jesus Christ and extend our networks,” ...

Life is hard in the Apostolic Prelature of Corocoro, located high up in the Andes of Bolivia. People live in widely scattered, often small settlements. Only a handful of the villages or small towns have a population of over 10,000. Close to 80% of the 290,000 people in the prelature live in extreme poverty, and rural exodus is a real problem, as many people move away into the urban centers of the country. Those who depart often only end up ...

The population of Africa is largely young. In Togo, nearly 40 percent of people are under 15 years old. But sadly, many factors lead these young people to crime, substance abuse, pregnancy, and transmissible diseases. Families are impoverished and broken, and they have few economic prospects. Bishop Isaac Gaglo of the Diocese of Aného in Togo is concerned for the young people in his diocese. He would like to provide them with some form of training, so they can make ...