Late last year, retired Bishop Pedro Casaldaliga was forced to leave his home in Sao Felix do Araguaia because of his work against squatters who had invaded indigenous land in Mato Grosso state. Bishop Casaldaliga, 85, known for his defense of the Xavante indigenous group, was whisked away by members of CIMI, the Brazilian bishops’ Indigenous Missionary Council, to a safe house for an undetermined period.Bishop Erwin Krautler of Xingu, CIMI president, has been under police protection since 2007, when he was put on a hit list for his work with landless peasants and the indigenous communities.

A Chinese priest who recently arrived in the Philippines said that, this year, he did not make his usual May trek up Sheshan hill outside Shanghai, where thousands of pilgrims offer special prayers to Mary, Help of Christians. Speaking to Catholic News Service on the condition of anonymity, the priest said that, until he left China, Shanghai priests — who currently have no bishop — were still discussing how to proceed with the month’s largest pilgrimage, May 24. Shanghai Bishop Jin Luxian died April 27; his Vatican-approved successor, Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin, is under house arrest.

Christians are called to welcome and cooperate with the good accomplished by members of other religions or no religion at all, promoting a culture of dialogue and peace, Pope Francis said.

On a Saturday night in a small community on the outskirts of Sao Jose dos Campos, parishioners flock around the entrance of a church in the Parish of St. Lucia, waiting for Father Vitor Mendes to arrive. Father Mendes is one of the two priests who take care of parishioners in the parish’s five churches.

Selfishness only brings sadness and bitterness, while stepping outside of oneself to evangelize is the ultimate “pick me up” and source of joy, Pope Francis said.

Even after the initial death toll was cut by more than half, the human and material devastation of a string of tornadoes that buffeted areas of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City May 19-20 was incalculable. “Our first concern is for the victims who have lost their lives or loved ones and suffered injury or loss of property,” said a May 21 statement by Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City.

Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, predicted “the end of abortion in our lifetime” in a recent talk he gave in Madison sponsored by Wisconsin Right to Life. The trial of abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell in Philadelphia exposed the grisly truths about the abortion industry, the priest said.

Addressing a U.N. General Assembly meeting to develop a global plan to address human trafficking May 13-14, Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said that unless the “dark reality of consumerism” is addressed, the exploitation of people for sex and labor will continue.

Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta has a special briefcase he uses exclusively to carry documentation for a project that would completely revise an entire section of the Catholic Church’s basic law. The black case contains a 40-page draft text for a new “Book VI: Sanctions in the Church” section of the Code of Canon Law, as well as the 800-page synthesis of recommended amendments and objections to the proposed changes.

Pope Francis said the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which cares for the church in mission territories, has been teaching him about the nuts and bolts reality of the universal Catholic Church.