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Pope Francis has asked the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to produce an annual report on what the Catholic Church is doing around the world to prevent the abuse of minors and vulnerable adults. In an audience at the Vatican on April 29, the pope called on the commission to produce the annual audit to promote “transparency and accountability.” Father Andrew Small, the secretary of the commission, responded positively to the pope’s request for the report at a press conference following the papal audience. The commission’s report will not deal with specific cases, but will provide details on the status of safeguarding policies and procedures, according to Small. This will include how effectively guidelines are being implemented.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251094/pope-francis-asks-for-annual-report-on-church-s-efforts-to-prevent-abuse
A Catholic doctor has been providing medical care to some 1 million people in the Nuba mountains, a contested region between Sudan and South Sudan. After the military staged a coup in Sudan six months ago, the country remains in political and economic turmoil. Its neighbor, South Sudan, faces severe food shortages and a rise in violence. Doctor Tom Catena, who works as a lay missionary and medical director of the Mother of Mercy Hospital, says that people from outside the region are now traveling to the rural hospital for care. The doctor discussed how many of their patients who come from the north are Muslims who have never had exposure to Christianity.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251086/this-catholic-doctor-provides-care-for-1-million-people-in-sudan-south-sudan
The European Court of Human Rights ruled this week that Swiss authorities were wrong to reject a Pakistani Christian convert’s asylum claim. The court in Strasbourg, France, said on April 26 that the expulsion of the applicant, identified only as M A M, to Pakistan would violate the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to life and prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. M A M is a Pakistani national who converted from Islam to Christianity after he arrived in Switzerland in 2015. His asylum application was rejected in 2018. The court said that Swiss officials should have examined his request, which was based on his conversion, in greater detail and taken into account the overall situation of Christian converts in Pakistan as well as the applicant’s specific circumstances.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251092/european-court-sides-with-pakistani-christian-convert
Today the Church celebrates Saint Catherine of Siena, a third-order Dominican, peacemaker, and counselor to the Pope. She singlehandedly ended the Avignon exile of the popes in the 14th century. She is the co-patron of Italy and of Europe.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-catherine-of-siena-451