Staff Reporter

"Pope Francis," reads the midday, Wednesday, update from the Press Office of the Holy See, "is touched by the many messages and the affection received in these days, and expresses his gratitude for the closeness and prayer."

"Despite the Vatican-China agreement on Bishop appointments," the USCIRF report says, "Chinese authorities continued to harass, detain, and torture underground Catholic bishops—such as Cui Tai and Huang Jintong—who refuse to join the state-backed Catholic association."

Myanmar's Catholic bishops have renewed pleas for dialogue in the midst of ongoing unrest. They also reflected on the promise that November elections had inspired, before a military coup d’état earlier this month disrupted national life and sent the country spiralling into crisis.

A statement on the website of the Crookston diocese says that Pope Francis has "asked for, and has now accepted" Bishop Hoeppner's resignation "after an extensive investigation."

The Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy See, Pietro Parolin, made his statements in an interview published on Thursday by the official Vatican News portal.

"Archbishop Eamon Martin explained the deep concerns already expressed with regard to the criminalising of leading, and gathering for, public worship at this time in Ireland despite the consistent support from the Churches for public health messaging since the beginning of the pandemic."

Cardinal Archbishop of Yangon Charles Bo has called on the Myanmar military to release Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials detained on 1st February as part of their "shocking" coup