Catholic News
- Americans don't want children, new study shows (Pew Forum)
With the US fertility rate at an all-time low, a new Pew Research study finds that nearly half of adult Americans do not expect to have children—in most cases because they don’t want children. In the Pew survey, 47% of the respondents aged 18-49 said that they did not anticipate having children. Among them, 57% said they did not want children. Among respondents over the age of 50, 31% of those who did not have children said the main reason was that they did not want children. Those who did not want children explained that they thought a childless life would make it simpler to acquire the possessions they wanted, enjoy free time and outside interests, and be successful in their careers. These responses were more common among respondents with college degrees and/or postgraduate education. Among the older (50+) adults who did not have children, two-thirds said that having children was not important in having a fulfilling life. - Excavations in Rome uncover walls of early papal palace (Smithsonian)
Archeologists in Rome have identified the walls of an ancient papal palace. Excavations at the piazza of the basilica of St. John Lateran, undertaken in preparations of the Jubilee Year 2025, unearthed the outer walls of the palace where popes lived from the 4th until the 14th centuries. After the years of the Avignon papacy (1309-1376) the popes moved to the Vatican. - Vatican has authorized TLM in 56 parish churches worldwide (Katholisch)
The Dicastery for Divine Worship has authorized the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in 56 parishes, including 34 in the United States, the Vatican has disclosed. In announcing the number of permissions granted, the Dicastery for Divine Worship reaffirmed its ruling that the TLM cannot be celebrated in parish churches without Vatican approval. The figures disclosed in the Official Gazette of the dicastery include only decisions made through the end of 2022; numbers for 2023 and beyond are not yet available. - Controversial Polish archbishop staying beyond retirement, at Pope's request (Our Sunday Visitor)
Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Krakow, who reached his 75th birthday this week, has disclosed that Pope Francis “has accepted my resignation, while asking me to continue holding the office of diocesan bishop until he appoints my successor.” The announcement is unusual, since the Pope frequently delays acceptance of the resignations that bishops are required to submit upon reaching 75. But the situation in Krakow is also unusual. The Vatican has recently overturned two decisions by Archbishop Jedraszewski: one removing a popular pastor for “numerous irregularities” in management, and another appointing a caretaker for the property of Wawel Cathedral, after rejecting the institution’s financial reports. A spokesman for the Krakow archdiocese said that the Vatican had “suspended” the archbishop’s directives in the two cases, suggesting that Vatican officials hoped to resolve controversies within the archdiocese amicably. - Belgian prelate leaving post as head of abuse-response effort (Pillar)
Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp has announced that he is stepping away from his post as head of the Church’s response to the sex-abuse scandal. “The policy, the media, the negotiations... It’s a very big task and I have to combine that with caring for a large diocese like that of Antwerp,” Bishop Bonny explained. He said that the combined responsibilities were taking a toll on his health. Bishop Bonny had recently asked the Vatican to appoint an auxiliary to help with his work in the Antwerp diocese; his request was turned down. The bishop’s resignation, and the sex-abuse crisis that precipitated it, are likely to stir discussion when Pope Francis visits Belgium in late September. - Knights of Malta deliver food relief to Gaza (Jerusalem Patriarchate)
The Latin-rite Patriarchate of Jerusalem has announced the successful delivery of relief supplies to the single Catholic parish in Gaza. About 40 tons of food were delivered on July 23, supplied through the Knights of Malta, the patriarchate reported. Packages of non-perishable food items, which should be sufficient to feed a family of five for a month, are now being distributed among the many families in need. - Chaldean bishops reject same-sex unions (CNA)
The bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church have stated that they will not recognize “the union of two people of the same sex.” At a meeting of the Chaldean Synod, the bishops said that marriage can only be a union between a man and a woman to form a family. The Synod also called for steps to prevent children from sexual abuse. - Archdiocesan prayer rally opposes divorce initiative in Philippines (Crux)
The Archdiocese of Cebu is organizing a prayer rally on July 27 to support marriage and spur opposition to a bid to legalize divorce in the Philippines. Archbishop Jose Palma said that event is “a thanksgiving to the Lord for the gift of family, the gift of the sacrament, and the gift of the many who have become witnesses to the marriage that has contributed to the welfare of many families.” - Spanish Carmelite convent closing after 400 years (National Catholic Register)
A group of Discalced Carmelite nuns is leaving a historic convent in Cordoba, having failed to attract enough vocations to remain viable. The prioress of a the San José monastery, founded in 1612, announced “with great pain and sadness” that the nuns would be joining another Carmelite community in the Salamanca diocese. The Cordoba Carmelites had enjoyed the support of Pope Francis, who was friendly with their former prioress, Mother Adriana of Jesus Crucified. Her death in 2023 left the monastery with only four members: below the minimum required for a religious community. But the convent remained open, granted a special dispensation from that requirement with the Pope’s support. The departure of another member left only three nuns in the monastery, leading to the decision to vacate. - Prominent Russian Orthodox prelate suspended (Orthodox Times)
The Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow has announced that Metropolitan Hilarion has been suspended “temporarily” from his post as head of the Budapest diocese, during an investigation of his leadership. Although the announcement did not specify the reason for the investigation, a recent story in Novaya Gazeta Europe had disclosed that Metropolitan Hilarion has been charged with sexual harassment by a subdeacon who lived with him. Hilarion has denied the charge, and claimed that he is being blackmailed. Metropolitan Hilarion is one of the most prominent prelates in the Russian Orthodox Church, having served as the head of the patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations—in effect, the “foreign minister” of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was dismissed from that role in 2022 amid suggestions that he was not sufficiently supportive of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. Ironically the newspaper that aired the complaint against him, Novaya Gazeta Europe, has also been accused of sympathy for Ukraine, and is classified by the Russian government as an “undesirable organization.” - Visa problems cause priest shortages in US (KY3)
A backlog in the handling of visa requests is complicating the shortage of priests in many American dioceses. Bishop Edward Rice of Springfield-Cape Giradeau explained: “Ninety percent of our dioceses in the United States are dealing with this because we have priests from either Africa, India, or South America.” - Citing Nicaragua, 2 US bishops' committees back Stateless Protection Act (USCCB)
The chairmen of the US bishops’ Committee on Migration and Committee on International Justice and Peace have expressed support for the Stateless Protection Act of 2024 (S 3987/HR 7755), sponsored by Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD). “Motivated by our belief that each person is endowed by God with an inherent dignity that confers certain universal, inviolable, and inalienable rights, the USCCB is deeply concerned for those who have been deprived of the most basic of political rights—their national identity,” Bishops Mark Seitz and A. Elias Zaidan wrote in a letter to members of Congress. “This concern has only been heightened by recent and alarming abuses witnessed in places such as Nicaragua, where Catholic clergy and laypersons have specifically been targeted by the state and stripped of their citizenship,” the prelates continued. “If enacted, this bill would define ‘stateless person’ for the first time in U.S. law, afford protection to stateless persons through a new form of relief and path to permanent residency known as Stateless Protected Status, and support initiatives aimed at preventing statelessness and related human rights violations.” - K of C covers Rupnik art at John Paul II Shrine pending sex abuse investigation (CNA)
Fulfilling a recent pledge, the Knights of Columbus have covered mosaics by Father Marko Ivan Rupnik at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, DC. “There was a strong consensus to prioritize the needs of victims, especially because the allegations are current, unresolved, and horrific,” the Knights of Columbus said in a statement. Last October, amid an outcry, the Pope waived the statute of limitations in the Rupnik case, allowing the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to investigate multiple charges of sexual abuse against the former Jesuit. Father Rupnik in now a priest in good standing in a Slovenian diocese. In March 2020, Father Rupnik was invited to take the place of the Preacher of the Papal Household in preaching a Lenten sermon to the Roman Curia—despite Rupnik’s canonical conviction, two months earlier, of the offense of absolving an accomplice in a sexual sin. Rupnik was subsequently excommunicated, and the excommunication was swiftly lifted. - Vatican cardinal lauds National Eucharistic Congress in US (Vatican News)
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, told Vatican News that his attendance at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis had been “a blessed experience for me.” The Filipino cardinal, who attended the event as a papal delegate, said that he conveyed the message of Pope Francis that those participating in the Congress should bear in mind “the missionary dimension of our Eucharistic devotion, so that our Eucharistic devotion does not end up being a closed relationship between Jesus and me, and I forget the world and I forget others.” - New Zealand commission: 200,000 abuse victims in government, religious institutions (Royal Commission)
New Zealand’s Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care has issued its final report into abuse committed in government and religious institutions. The report found that “of the estimated 655,000 children, young people and adults in care from 1950 to 2019, it is estimated that 200,000 were abused and even more were neglected ... It is a national disgrace that hundreds of thousands of children, young people and adults were abused and neglected in the care of the State and faith-based institutions.” The report linked the abuse to the growth of the welfare state and to government policies toward indigenous persons, many of whom were placed in “care settings.” Part 4 of the final report recounted stories of sexual abuse in Catholic and other institutions. The final report is a culmination of a series of earlier reports, including a report on abuse committed by members of the Order of the Brothers of St. John of God. - Cardinal Parolin meets with 2 priests released from Russian captivity (RISU)
As he concluded his first visit to Ukraine since the 2022 Russian invasion, the Pope’s Secretary of State met with two Ukrainian Catholic priests who were recently freed from Russian captivity. Cardinal Pietro Parolin asked the priests about their imprisonment and their current health. “Both priests expressed gratitude for the prayers and tireless concern of the Pope and the Holy See for their fate,” the Religious Information Service of Ukraine reported. - Vatican withheld reason for Irish bishop's suspension (Catholic Herald)
The late Bishop Eamonn Casey was removed from his post in the Galway diocese in 1992 because of sex-abuse allegations, not because of his affair with an American woman, according to an investigation by RTE television and the Irish Mail. Bishop Casey resigned after the release of reports that he had fathered a child. But the RTE/Mail investigation found reports that he had abused minors, both in Ireland and in previous assignments in England. - Texas court rejects attorney general's case against Catholic Charities (Texas Tribune)
A Texas court has dealt a major setback to the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, in his bid to show “systematic criminal conduct” by a Catholic agency involved with migrants. Judge Bobby Flores ruled that Paxton cannot question the executive director of a local office of Catholic Charities. A previous court decision had rejected Paxton’s attempt to close down the migrant center, saying that the attorney general had “failed to establish probable grounds” for his claim that Annunciation House had broken criminal laws. - Pope renews call for 'new bond' between young, elderly (@Pontifex)
“We need a new bond between the young and the elderly,” Pope Francis tweeted on July 24, underscoring a theme repeated frequently during his pontificate. “May those with more life experience water the shoots of hope of those who are still growing,” he continued. “May we come to know the beauty of life and build a fraternal society.” - Kenyan bishops denounce police brutality, caution young protestors against intolerance (CISA News Africa)
Kenya’s bishops have denounced police brutality in reaction to the Finance Bill protests that began on June 18. “We regret that we lost young lives to police brutality,” the prelates said in their statement (video). “No law allows unwarranted arrest, torture, or killing of people.” The bishops praised the young protestors for “driving change and highlighting our social ills,” but cautioned them against intolerance. “We must drive for social systems that respect God,” the bishops said. “There is a real risk that as you push for a truly transformative agenda, you become intolerant to ideas and visions that are not similar to yours ... We, therefore, request that you open up yourselves for inclusive conversations so that you are also enriched by perspectives that may not be obvious to you.” The East African nation of 57 million (map) is 82% Christian (21% Catholic), 8% Muslim, and 8% ethnic religionist. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2015. - More...