Missionaries of the World

His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed Rev. Fr. Basil Bhuriya, SVD, parish priest and member of the Provincial Council of the Fathers of The Society of Divine Word, as Bishop of the Diocese of Jhabua, in Madhya Pradesh, India. Bishop Devprasad Ganawa SVD, the former Bishop of Jabua, after his appointment and transfer to the Diocese of Udaipur on December 21, 2012, has also been functioning as the Apostolic Administrator of Jhabua Diocese to date. This provision was made public in Rome on Saturday, July 18, 2015, at noon local time.

To strengthen the work of churches in achieving gender justice, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) has launched the Gender and Faith Network. The network is a movement of faith leaders in Zimbabwe committed to build a church that understands the cause of gender justice and supports local communities with deeper insight and sensitivity. The network reiterates the need for church leaders to be agents of social transformation.

Pope Francis on Sunday July 12, 2015 wrapped up his journey to Latin America by celebrating an open-air Mass at Nu Guazu outside Asuncion on the final day of his visit to Paraguay. In his homily at the Mass which was attended by hundreds of thousands of faithful including many from his native Argentina, the Pope stressed the importance of welcoming others, showing hospitality and warned about the evil of isolation which he said eats away at our life and makes us closed in on ourselves.

Unidentified persons entered into the St Thomas Catholic Church at Taherpur, in Nadia District of West Bengal on Thursday night, July 09, 2015 and vandalised the church. The holiest item inside, the tabernacle, wrenched free from its moorings and thrown in the driveway outside. Father Satish Makal, who is in charge of the church but was away from Taherpur last night, said, "This is religious harassment. The most valuable item in the church was removed. It is very painful." He also recalled that a church had been attacked and a nun raped at Ranaghat, also in Nadia district, in March.