A brave chaplain honoured
OPELOUSAS (SE): Father Joseph Lafleur, a chaplain in the United States of America (US) military forces during World War II has been posthumously honoured with the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart.
 
On October 17, in the church where he celebrated his first Mass in 1938, the medals were presented to descendants of his relatives.
 

 
Communion overdose
ABUJA (SE): Nigeria has experienced a rash of kidnappings of priests recently, but on October 15 Father Timothy Nwanja escaped after his captors found the altar wine and fell into a drunken sleep.
 

 
Fifty years of Catholic-Methodist dialogue
VATICAN (AsiaNews): A half a century of formal Methodist-Catholic dialogue was celebrated on October 19 when Pope Francis met with leaders of the World Methodist Council at the Vatican as a sign of the desire of the two Churches to end the rupture that has seen siblings separated for so long.
 

 
Rethink rescinding Deferred Action programme pope says
Rome (CNS): Politicians who call themselves pro-life must be pro-family and not enact policies that divide families and rob young people of a future, Pope Francis said when asked about the decision of United States of America (US) president, Donald Trump, to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme.

 
Mother fears her 10-year-old fighting in Marawi 
ILIGAN (UCAN): A mother whose three year-old child was abducted in 2010 from their home in Manila begged military officials on August 27 to rescue children from fighting for the Maute Group in Mindanao.
 

Peace keepers with blind eyes
BANGUI (SE): The leading Muslim cleric in the Central African Republic has backed up a  charge by Bishop Juan-José Aguirre Muñoz that United Nations (UN) peacekeeping troops turned a blind eye to the massacre of civilians by Islamist Séléka militants.
 
The bishop claims that Séléka forces massacred 50 civilians in the village of Gambo on August 4 and 5, because UN troops chose not to disarm them.
 

 
Prosecuted for saving lives
ROME (SE): Father Mussie Zerai, from Eritrea, has been charged in Italy with promoting illegal immigration. He denies the charge.
 

 
Priest stabbed on altar now brain dead
MEXICO CITY (SE): Father José Miguel Machorro, who was stabbed at the end of Mass in Mexico City cathedral on May 15, is now considered to be brain dead.