September in review: updates on stories Faith & World Brief followed this month

This roll-up gathers confirmed developments, as of Sept. 30, on stories FWB reported in September. Each item gives its own sources. It leaves out claims that rest on a single source or that we could not confirm.

Jerusalem: arrest in pepper-spray case. Israel Police arrested a 22-year-old man from Ganei Modi'in, near Jerusalem, on Sept. 27. He is suspected of pepper-spraying a 9-year-old Armenian Christian boy who was riding his bicycle near the Mamilla area on Yom Kippur. Haaretz and The Times of Israel reported the arrest. Haaretz said police had earlier said they closed the case after exhausting all leads. As of Sept. 30, FWB found no report of charges. (Updates: jerusalem-police-reopen-armenian-boy-pepper-spray-case-sep2026)

Kyiv: second historic church damaged. The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Kyiv's Podil district belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Its rector, Archpriest Valeriy Kravets, said it was damaged in a Russian attack late on Sept. 27. The Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU) reported his account on Sept. 28, and The New Voice of Ukraine (NV) on Sept. 29. Windows were blown out, and walls, wall paintings, icons and furnishings were damaged. The church was built between 1811 and 1841, and RISU notes that the writer Mikhail Bulgakov was baptized there. Neither report mentions injuries at the church. FWB found no new information on the two churches in its Sept. 26 brief. (Updates: ukraine-kyiv-priorka-vylkove-churches-damaged-sep2026)

Plateau State, Nigeria: no suspects named in Kassa killings. Gunmen killed three community vigilantes in Kassa, in the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area (LGA), early on Sept. 25. As of Sept. 30, no police or government source had named suspects, stated a motive or announced arrests. According to The Punch, the state government said security agencies were "taking steps to apprehend the perpetrators." (Updates: plateau-pastor-samuel-nandi-killed-barkin-ladi-sep2026)

Blessed Fulton J. Sheen: two milestones. Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria spoke after a Sept. 26 thanksgiving Mass at St. Mary's Church in El Paso, Illinois, where Sheen was baptized in 1895. He said St. Mary's will merge with St. John Parish in nearby Benson, OSV News reported. The new parish will be named for Blessed Fulton J. Sheen on Dec. 9, the first observance of his feast day. On Thursday, Oct. 1, the Archdiocese of New York will receive a first-class relic of Sheen at St. Patrick's Cathedral. It will be received at 2 p.m. ET, veneration follows until about 5 p.m., and then comes Mass, the archdiocese's Good Newsroom said. The relic will then be placed at the cathedral's Altar of the Holy Face. (Updates: fulton-sheen-beatification-st-louis-sep24-2026)

Durupınar formation, Türkiye: lab results still pending. Prof. Cenker Atila of Sivas Cumhuriyet University directs the research project. He said in a Sept. 27 statement that soil analysis is still under way and that the team has not reached a conclusive result. Referans Türk reported that about 1,000 soil samples from about 150 points were sent to Ankara for analysis. FWB found no published laboratory or radiocarbon results as of Sept. 30. (Updates: durupinar-noah-ark-lab-pending-walkback-september-2026)

Jarosław, Poland: suspect held until Dec. 23. On Sept. 26, a district court in Jarosław ordered Ihor M., 31, held in pre-trial detention until Dec. 23, 2026, Rzeczpospolita and Nasz Dziennik reported, citing prosecutor Bożena Harasz-Wołoszyn and the Polish Press Agency (PAP). He is suspected in the Sept. 24 knife attack at the Benedictine Sisters' abbey. He is to be held in a medical facility with a high-security ward. Prosecutors have drawn up charges of murder, attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm. They have not yet been able to present the charges to him because psychiatrists diagnosed an acute psychotic disorder. Prosecutors said the motive is not known. FWB found no further developments through Sept. 30. (Updates: poland-jaroslaw-benedictine-abbey-knife-attack-sep2026)

Armenia: ruling due Oct. 30 in the Catholicos case. Judge Serzh Rushanyan of the Armavir Regional Court of First Instance is due on Oct. 30 to rule on defense motions to end the criminal prosecution of Catholicos Karekin II and six bishops, PAN.am and Shoghakat TV reported. The defense filed the motions at a hearing on Sept. 17–18. FWB found no hearings since then. (Updates: armenia-karekin-ii-bishops-dismissal-motion-sep18)

No change. Zion Church, China: The eight detained church workers remain in custody in Beihai. No trial date has been announced (Fortify Rights, Sept. 21). Baptist Press (BP) reported on Sept. 29 that there was no indication whether religious freedom came up at the U.S.–China summit that ended Sept. 25, and that the White House's summit overview did not mention it. (Updates: zion-8-beihai-detention-conditions-sep2026; china-senators-letter-trump-xi-zion-light-of-zion-sep2026)