Nigerian schoolchildren freed

AFTER the release of 100 children abducted from a boarding school in north-western Nigeria last month (News, 10 December), the Bishop of Kontagora, the Most Revd Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, confirmed that the remaining captive students and staff of St Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, had been reunited with their families. In a statement published on Christmas Day, Bishop Yohanna said that, out of the initial 315 people reported as unaccounted for, 85 were confirmed to have either escaped or not been abducted.

Cardinal prevented from leaving Venezuela

THE former Archbishop of Caracas, Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo, was prevented from leaving Venezuela for Bogotá, on 10 December, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports. From Bogotá, Cardinal Porras Cardozo had been due to fly to Madrid, and on to Toledo to participate in a ceremony in which he would be appointed Spiritual Protector of the Order of Saint Lazarus in Venezuela. He was accompanied by the Grand Prior of the Order, José Antonio Rodríguez, and his wife. The latter were both permitted to board the plane, but the Cardinal was not.

Primate resists Quebec move on hate legislation

THE Primate of Canada, the Most Revd Shane Parker, has written to the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, and other political leaders to express the Church’s concern about proposed amendments to Bill C-9, the proposed Combatting Hate Act. In a letter published on 19 December, he writes of additional amendments to remove the “in good faith” and “religious text” defence exemptions from part of the Criminal Code. The amendments are being pressed for by the Bloc Québécois, the federal counterpart of the province-level Coalition Avenir Québec. The latter has introduced legislation to restrict public prayer in Quebec (News, 12 September 2025). Archbishop Parker writes that, standing with others, including Jewish organisations, Muslim leaders, other Churches, and various advocacy groups, “We are concerned that simply removing these defense exemptions from the Code will introduce new uncertainty about the legal boundaries of faith education and practice.”