Catholic News

• Vatican 'foreign minister,' in India, lauds pioneer Syro-Malankara prelate (CWN)
  The Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations lauded the example of Venerable Geevarghese Ivanios (1882-1953), a former Malankara Orthodox Syrian bishop whose reception into the Catholic Church in 1930 led to the formation of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.
• Poland asks Vatican to rebuke bishops for anti-immigrant statements (Notes from Poland)
  Poland’s ambassador to the Holy See, Adam Kwiatkowski, has asked the Vatican to rebuke two bishops for making “harmful and misleading” comments about the Polish government’s attitude toward immigrants. Bishop Wieslaw Mering, the retired leader of the Wlocławek diocese, had charged that “our borders are threatened from both the west and the east,” while the government is “ruled by political gangsters.” Bishop Antoni Diugosz, a retired auxiliary of Czestochowa, said that “the Islamization of Europe has been progressing through mass immigration.” The Polish foreign ministry said that the two retired bishops were “slandering the government” and “indicating clear support for nationalist groups.”
• European Parliament calls for protection of Syria's Christians, other religious minorities (Alliance Defending Freedom)
  In a 625-7 vote, with 10 abstentions, the European Parliament has passed a resolution on the urgent need to protect religious minorities in Syria, following the recent terrorist attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus. Earlier versions of the resolution garnered less support; these versions included provisions calling for an EU Syrian reconstruction fund and condemning potential American disengagement from the Middle East. With these provisions removed, the resolution garnered almost unanimous support.
• Organization assesses religious liberty by state; Florida ranks #1 (First Liberty Institute)
  In its newly released Religious Liberty in the States Index, the First Liberty Institute found that Florida, Montana, and Illinois afford the greatest legal protection for the free exercise of religion. West Virginia ranks #50.
• Dig for children's remains begins at Irish home for unwed mothers (New York Times)
  “Excavators broke ground on Monday [July 14] in western Ireland to search for the bodies of hundreds of babies and young children, some of them discarded in septic tanks, who died at a home for unwed mothers that was managed by Catholic nuns from 1925 to 1961,” The New York Times reported. Following the 2021 publication of an Irish government report, the Sisters of Bon Secours offered an apology: Our Sisters ran St Mary’s Mother and Baby Home in Tuam from 1925 to 1961. We did not live up to our Christianity when running the Home. We failed to respect the inherent dignity of the women and children who came to the Home. We failed to offer them the compassion that they so badly needed. We were part of the system in which they suffered hardship, loneliness and terrible hurt. We acknowledge in particular that infants and children who died at the Home were buried in a disrespectful and unacceptable way. For all that, we are deeply sorry.
• Miami's Archbishop Wenski: Congress must fix immigration legislation (Miami archdiocese)
  Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami has called upon the US Congress to take action to repair an immigration system which, he said, is thoroughly broken. “It’s time for Congress to do something,” the archbishop said, reasoning that if the current policies of the Trump administration are consistent with the law, then the law must be changed. “What makes it cruel right now is the arbitrariness of this push to deport people who have already made a stake here—people who have put in sweat and effort to stay,” the archbishop said.
• Notre-Dame Cathedral welcomes more than 6 million visitors since reopening (CNA)
  In the six months since its December reopening following a devastating fire, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris attracted 6,015,000 visitors. “Taking into account these numbers represent only a half a year, they are on track to exceed the 8.7 million visitors to the famous Louvre Museum all last year, the 8.7 million recorded at Versailles, and the 6.3 million people who went up the iconic Eiffel Tower,” CNA reported.
• 'Every human life is sacred,' Vatican diplomat says during UN forum on health care (Holy See Mission)
  Addressing a UN forum on health care, a Vatican diplomat called for “special attention to be paid to the most vulnerable members of the human family, including the unborn, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, migrants and those living in conflict-affected areas.” Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, spoke of “the fundamental truth that every human life is sacred and worthy of care from conception to natural death.” “Therefore, any approach that undermines human dignity or denies care based on perceived utility or cost must be rejected,” he continued. “Instead, there must be a commitment to health and wellbeing by protecting and serving those most at risk of being forgotten.”
• Vietnamese prelate welcomes nation's abolition of death penalty for 8 crimes (Vatican News (Italian))
  Bishop Joseph Nguyen Dec Cuong of Thanh Hóa, president of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, has issued a statement welcoming the nation’s abolition of the death penalty for eight crimes. “The decision marks an encouraging step forward in legal awareness, in line with the spirit of international treaties,” as well as progress toward “a modern constitutional state, in which life is protected, human dignity is respected, and opportunities for rehabilitation are open,” the prelate said. He added that the Church “consistently supports the right to life as a fundamental and inviolable human right” and considers the death penalty inadmissible, “because it attacks the inviolability and dignity of the person.” The Southeast Asian Communist nation of 105.8 million (map) is 48% Buddhist and 10% Christian, with 12% adhering to ethnic religions.
• Pope sends food aid to stricken Ukrainian communities (Vatican News)
  Pope Leo XIV has rushed food aid to the people of two Ukrainian communities—the town of Staryl Saltiv and the city of Shevchenkove—that have been devastated by bombing. The aid was delivered through the Dicastery for the Service of Charity. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the head of that dicastery, said: “The Holy Father asked me to do it as quickly as possible.”
• Venezuelan bishops urge government respect for human rights (Vatican News)
  The Venezuelan Catholic bishops, who have clashed repeatedly with the country’s government, have issued a pastoral statement calling for “a more perfect justice among people, and the recognition that the dignity of the human person and the common good stand above the tranquility of those who do not wish to renounce their privileges.” Issued at the conclusion of their plenary meeting, the bishops’ statement—entitled “Builders of Peace in Justice and Freedom”—urges political leaders “to ensure that the fundamental rights of citizens enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic are recognized, respected, and promoted.”
• USCCB, other Catholic organizations urge FDA: Protect women from mifepristone (USCCB)
  The US bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, joined by five other Catholic organizations, said in a letter to the Food and Drug Administration’s commissioner that the FDA has “an ethical obligation to protect women from the dangers that mifepristone presents to women’s health and safety.” The signatories of the letter said that a recent study, “covering 865,727 chemical abortion cases from 2017 to 2023, found that 10.93% of women experienced serious adverse events such as infection, sepsis, hemorrhage, and incomplete abortion—a rate shockingly 22 times higher than previously acknowledged by the FDA.” “Given these alarming ethical and clinical findings, the FDA has an urgent obligation to prioritize women’s health and safety,” the signatories continued. “While in this initiative we are focusing on the well-being of women, we want to stress that society is never served well by losing sight of the precious gift of life violated by abortion.”
• Philippine cardinal criticizes government for fueling online gambling addiction (CBCP News)
  Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), criticized the nation’s government for facilitating online gambling. “We fail to see the real culprit: a government that grants licenses and expands online gambling platforms just to earn revenue for public spending—spending that often becomes a tool for political power,” he preached on July 13. Referring to the parable of the Good Samaritan, he added, “The Word opens our eyes to see the hidden victims on these digital highways.” The prelate’s homily followed the publication of a CBCP statement on online gambling.
• Chinese archbishop calls for end of wedding dowries (Fides)
  Archbishop Meng Ningyou of Taiyuan called upon Christian couples to reject the traditional Chinese custom of the wedding dowry. Fides, the news agency of the Pontifical Mission Societies, explained that “the practice of dowry—the assets in the form of money, real estate, jewelry, or cars that families of origin must provide to future spouses at the time of marriage—continues to be a burden for young future spouses and their families of origin, causing the union to break up for many young couples.”
• Google shuts down Italian Catholic blog (Zenit)
  Citing unspecified hate-speech violations, Google has shut down Messa in Latino, a popular Italian Catholic blog that attracted more than a million visitors in June. Luigi Casalini, who operates the site, vowed to take legal action against the company.
• Cardinal Tobin, Greek Orthodox archbishop lead joint pilgrimage to Rome, Turkey (Orthodox Times)
  Cardinal Joseph Tobin, CSSR, of Newark and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros of America are leading a joint pilgrimage “From Rome to New Rome.” Fifty Catholic and Eastern Orthodox pilgrims are visiting Rome, Constantinople, and Nicaea.
• Church leaders protest Israeli settlers' violence against Christian community (AsiaNews)
  Christian leaders in Jerusalem gathered on July 15 in the town of Taybeh, in northern Israel, to condemn escalating violence against the town’s Christian community by militant Israeli settlers. The Church leaders cited “an intensifying trend of systematic and targeted attacks” against the Christian residents, demanding an effective response from the Israeli government. The most blatant violence occurred on July 7, when settlers set fire to the ancient Church of St. George and its cemetery. “These actions are a direct and intentional threat to our local community first and foremost, but also to the historic and religious heritage of our ancestors and holy sites,” proclaimed the Church leaders. The statement was signed by Catholic Patriarch Pietro Pizzaballa, Orthodox Patriarch Theopilos III, and representatives of the Armenian, Lutheran, and Anglican communities. King Abdullah of Jordan added a separate condemnation of the “brutal attacks,” calling for “an immediate and firm international position.” Christian prelates complained that the Israeli government has ignored the violence by extremists. Asked whether he anticipated a government response now, Cardinal Pizzaballa said: “I doubt it, but I hope so.”
• Guam archbishop tells Pope: 'we are sinking!' (Pacific Daily News)
  Archbishop Ryan Jimenez of Agana, Guam, reports that during a private audience with Pope Leo XIV he stressed the urgency of climate-change concerns in Oceania. The archbishop said that he had conveyed a message from other bishops in the region: “Please tell the Holy Father that we are sinking in Tuvalu.” Natives of the Pacific island nation are migrating to Australia, he said. “With the effects of climate change, the rising sea levels, people are forced to leave their homes and move to another place.”
• Pope celebrates Mass for carabinieri at Castel Gandolfo (Vatican News)
  Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass on July 15 at the chapel of the police (carabinieri) headquarters in Castel Gandolfo, near the summer papal residence. The Pontiff praised the “noble and demanding service” of the carabinieri, and encouraged them: “In the face of injustices that wound the social order, do not yield to the temptation to think that evil can prevail.” The Pope celebrated the Mass in the ad orientem posture, facing the altar of the chapel. Later in the day the Pope visited a Poor Clare convent in the nearby town of Albano, joining the cloistered nuns in prayer.
• US dioceses vary widely on baptism rates (Zenit)
  In a detailed look at baptism statistics for US dioceses, the Zenit news agency finds the Archdiocese of Los Angeles clearly in the lead with over 46,000 baptisms last year, easily outdistancing all other dioceses. However, looking more carefully at the ratio between the number of baptisms and the number of Catholics registered in the diocese, Zenit finds a different leader: Nashville, with 1 infant baptism for every 48 Catholics. The dioceses of Tulsa, Baker (OR), Stockton (CA), Miami, Birmingham, Tyler (TX), Memphis, and Jackson (MS) all saw more than one infant baptism for every 60 Catholics. At the other end of the spectrum, several diocese listed less than one baptism for every 300 Catholics. They were: Colorado Springs, Boston, Erie (PA), Norwich, Brownsville, Galveston-Houston, Providence, and Burlington (VT).
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