Vatican Cardinal Mauro Piacenza has sent a message of encouragement to confessors. A priest in the Philippines has been shot dead by gunmen on motorbikes. Italian missionary Fr Maurizio Pallù has returned to Nigeria less than two months after being kidnapped there. Youths “with shaved heads and black clothes” have disrupted an ecumenical service in France. EWTN host Fr Andrew Apostoli has “entered into the final stages of a battle with cancer”. Simcha Fisher asks if Catholic publishing is sexist. And Pope Francis has urged youngsters to study Latin (Fr Anthony Ruff). Follow me on Twitter @lukecoppen for updates throughout the day.