Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) was the founder of the Indochina Communist Party and the president of North Vietnam. The cathedral is located in the former South Vietnam, conquered by North Vietnam in 1975. Venerable Nguyễn Văn Thuận (1928-2002), the coadjutor archbishop of South Vietnam’s capital, was then imprisoned by the Communist regime for 13 years.

At Phú Cường Cathedral, “Father Anton Hà Văn Minh said that the teachings of Jesus Christ and the ideology of Hồ Chí Minh shared similarities in their humanistic values and aspirations toward freedom,” UCA News reported. “Within hours, clips of the interview spread across Vietnamese Catholic social media, triggering an intense backlash.”

Unions representing employees there announced a hunger strike earlier this month, with four non-negotiable demands: “guarantee of quality care for all patients who see the hospital as a national point of reference; protection of the rights and future of hundreds of workers and their families, defense of the original mission of the House for the Relief of Suffering; [and] enhancement of the historical and social heritage of the territory.”

“We bring a gift in the form of a sacrificial animal as a sign of brotherhood and support for Muslim families,” Bishop Regus said. The mosque’s imam, in turn, said that “the bishop’s presence strengthens us as Muslims preparing for the sacrifice, and at the same time affirms our togetherness with Catholic families who have long lived in harmony here.”

UCA News reported that “from the national capital Jakarta to Christian strongholds in eastern Indonesia, Catholic individuals and Church-based groups donated cows and goats” for sacrifice. Jakarta Cathedral, for example, gave sacrificial animals to Istiqlal Mosque.

Located in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, a nation of 283.6 million (map), is the world’s fourth most populous; it is also the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. The nation is 78% Muslim, 13% Christian, 2% new religionist, and 2% ethnic religionist.

The conference, which began this morning, will conclude on May 30 with a papal audience.

Pope Leo XIV received Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain on May 27, ten days before the Pontiff’s apostolic journey to Spain begins.

“We are therefore invited to weave and consolidate between us relations of love, of respect, of solidarity, of truth, of justice, and to work together in unity so that peace reigns in all of Niger,” said Archbishop Djalwana Laurent Lompo of Niamey, who spoke on behalf of the nation’s bishops.

Located in West Africa, the nation of 27.3 million (map) is over 95% Muslim and 4% ethnic religionist. An Islamist insurgency began there in 2015.

At the conclusion of his May 27 general audience, Pope Leo XIV asked Polish pilgrims to work to protect life from conception to natural death.

Father Nathaniel Asuwaye, the parish priest, was released earlier this month.

Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski asked Pope Leo XIV to pray publicly for victims of human rights abuses in Belarus.