FAITH AND RESILIENCE AMID NEPAL UNREST – The Witnessing to Faith of Father Silas Bogati

In statements to the Fides news agency, Catholic Father Silas Bogati speaks of his experience in the recent unrest that rocked Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital. Apostolic Administrator of the Vicariate of Nepal since January 2025, Silas Bogati found himself in the middle of the protests because, as soon as he landed at Kathmandu airport after a pastoral trip, due to a lack of transportation, he had to walk to his residence, crossing a city teeming with protesters demanding the removal of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, who would eventually resign. In the process, due to police action, 19 people died and more than 300 were injured. The government imposed a curfew, but given the persistent mobilization, the police resorted to repressive measures, and violence erupted. The protesters then set fire to vehicles in the streets and the homes of prominent politicians.

DEVASTATING FLOODS IN PAKISTAN – Caritas Pakistan Provides Aid to Those Suffering from Floods

None of Pakistan’s provinces has been spared by the heavy rains and flooding of recent months. It’s safe to say that today, with the entire country flooded, there are approximately four million displaced people in extremely precarious situations. Furthermore, the damage to families and the country’s economy is severe: for example, the floods devastated the province of Punjab, Pakistan’s agricultural heartland, destroying more than 60% of its rice, sugarcane, and cotton crops. More than 900 people lost their lives, thousands are in emergency shelters, and many others have permanently lost their homes and are in urgent need of some form of support, however basic. As always, in situations like this, the elderly, children, and the sick are the most vulnerable. The suffering is daily and widespread. Entire families have been living underwater for several weeks, “now facing the risk of disease and epidemics”. 

LONG LIVE CHRIST THE KING – The 51 Claretian Martyrs of Barbastro

Friday, 22 August: Pope Leo XIV called for a day of prayer and fasting today, for peace and justice in the Holy Land, Ukraine, and other regions. In Portugal, the news spread from person to person or circulated on social media because the mainstream media did not notice it. Conclusion: we must learn to organise ways of communication and freedom that outdo the pedagogical fury of those who want to impose their views on us.

5TH TALITHA KUM ASIA CONFERENCE – Strengthening Collaboration Against Human Trafficking

In a joint initiative with the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), Talitha Kum – a global network committed to the fight against human trafficking – held the 5th Talitha Kum Asia Conference in Jakarta from August 26 to 30. Under the theme “Compassion in Action: Ending Human Trafficking,” the event was attended by delegates from religious congregations and civil society organizations, international partners, and several young leaders. Sixty representatives from 16 Asian countries attended the event, aiming to “strengthen solidarity, share the most effective practices on the ground, and deepen regional 

Fighting Human Trafficking – Caritas Vietnam Sets an Example

Regarding human trafficking, which is increasing in a complex and exponential way in Vietnam (and throughout the world), with social media playing a key role in this particular situation – a “fertile ground” where criminals exploit different ways to attract and defraud potential victims – Sister Teresa Pham Ninh Khanh Hau, of the Caritas Diocese of Hung Hoa, north of Ho Chi Minh City, convened a meeting of over a hundred teenagers to share essential knowledge with them, aiming to raise awareness and “help them remain vigilant against human trafficking.”

Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki – New Bell Rings for Peace

In the year marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world is closer than ever to a new nuclear holocaust. If it happens, it will be infinitely more deadly than the tragedy that brought us 1945. The scene of devastated buildings, disintegrated living beings, and people killed in seconds—the result of an energy so devastating that their shadows remain imprinted on the walls or asphalt of the two martyred Japanese cities to this day—will be replicated across the planet. And, in the end, no one will be left to tell the tale.

Border Conflict Between Thailand and Cambodia – Local Catholic Community Concerned

Military clashes that recently erupted again on the Cambodia-Thailand border, with the use of powerful military vehicles and fighter jets—a factor creating a very tense situation—have rekindled long-standing fears among Catholic communities in the region. “We have woken up to the nightmare of a possible war,” Jesuit Father Enrique Figaredo, Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, a Cambodian province bordering Thailand, told the Fides news agency.