Aid to the Church in Need says Israeli authorities blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza and West Bank
Amid the regional conflict spreading across the Middle East, Israeli authorities have ceased emergency aid shipments from entering the Gaza Strip, according to Aid to the Church in Need.
Citing George Akroush, director of the Development Office of the Latin Patriarchate, the organization reported Monday that “the dire situation of communities in Gaza and the West Bank is being compounded by the state’s decision to block aid.”
Since March 7, Akroush said all humanitarian shipments have been blocked, including crucial medical supplies. “We are trying our best to help the only Christian hospital there, which is very close to the Catholic compound, but all the channels that the Latin Patriarchate used to communicate with the authorities were closed,” Akroush said.
England bishop appointed to lead 3 dioceses
Bishop Marcus Stock of Leeds, England, will oversee three dioceses after Pope Leo XIV appointed him as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Middlesbrough and Hallam.
Stock, who is now responsible for the dioceses of Leeds, Hallam, and Middlesbrough, said he was “very humbled” by the new appointment. He gave thanks to God for “the ministry that Bishop Ralph Heskett has given so devotedly” for 12 years.
Syria granted new apostolic nuncio
The Vatican’s appointment of Archbishop Luigi Roberto Cona as apostolic nuncio to Syria comes at a delicate moment as the country navigates a new and uncertain phase, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Friday.
Cona is expected to remain in El Salvador for several more weeks or months before taking up his post in Damascus, with a farewell Mass scheduled for May 10 marking the close of his service there.
Born in Sicily in 1965, Cona brings more than two decades of diplomatic experience, having served in postings across Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East before his recent role in El Salvador. There, he became known for initiatives that combined humanitarian outreach with long-term development, including programs supporting marginalized youth, improving access to clean water, and promoting prisoner rehabilitation through the arts.
Restored crosses returned to rightful place atop Vietnam cathedral
Two crosses removed from the twin towers of Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon, Vietnam, were reinstalled Thursday after being freshly gilded.
The long-anticipated installation occurred on the solemnity of St. Joseph on Thursday, according to a LiCAS News report. Archbishop Marek Zalewski, the resident papal representative in Vietnam, said the return of the crosses represented “a sign of faith placed in the heart of the city, directing people toward the mystery of the cross of Christ.”
According to the report, the crosses are about 12 feet high and weigh about 880 pounds.
Amazonian Church elects new president at synodality conference
The Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon chose a new leader, Cardinal Leonardo Steiner, OFM, of the Archdiocese of Manaus, Brazil, at its sixth General Assembly March 16–19, during which it also renewed its commitment to synodality.
Steiner told Vatican News on Friday that the election came in order “to give continuity to that dream of Pope Francis to go to the Churches of the Amazonia and to be an ecclesial Church.”
He said the conference reflected on its mission and the social, cultural, ecological, and ecclesial situation of the Amazon region.
Irish bishop says women diaconate issue ‘firmly closed’
Bishop Alan McGuckian of Down and Connor in Ireland has said he believes the door is “firmly closed” to a female diaconate in the Catholic Church but that his fellow Jesuit, Pope Francis, wanted to hear all voices on the subject.
The bishop told journalist Martin O’Brien in an interview at the St. Patrick Centre: “Francis had this vision, and it was a good one, and I admire him for it, that the followers of Christ have to be different. He called us into this process where everybody could speak and everybody would be listened to.”
When asked if women would see themselves as second-class citizens of the Catholic Church, McGuckian pointed to his memory of his own parents, saying: “My mother was not a second-class citizen in the Catholic Church. Never. And I never thought she was. And she never thought she was.”
Ethiopian bishops show solidarity after flooding in southern parts of country
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia conveyed its “deep sadness” following deadly floods in the Gamo Zone of southern Ethiopia that has killed 125 people.
The bishops mourned those killed in the natural disaster as well as the suffering of families who were forced to evacuate their homes, according to Vatican News. The bishops also called for “immediate humanitarian assistance to those affected,” the report said, noting that the Catholic Church in Ethiopia “has mobilized rapid support through the Apostolic Vicariate of Soddo.”
Patrick J. Passmore and Andy Drozdziak contributed to this report.
