Catholic News
- Let the beauty of music lead you to God, Pope tells young choir members (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV encouraged young choir members to let music’s beauty lead them to God. - Vatican diplomat calls for greater investment in affordable housing (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN meeting on the New Urban Agenda, a Vatican diplomat emphasized the centrality of the human person and called for greater investment in affordable housing in order to address homelessness. “Urban development cannot be measured solely by the height of its buildings or the strength of its economy, but above all by its ability to enable every person to flourish by participating fully in society and contributing to the common good,” Msgr. Robert Murphy, interim chargé d’affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, said on July 28. “Among the many challenges facing urban development, homelessness undoubtedly stands out as a grave affront to human dignity,” Msgr. Murphy continued. “In this regard, the Delegation of the Holy See encourages greater investment in affordable and adequate housing, as well as integrated social services.” The diplomat added: Urban planning should also address the root causes of homelessness, such as poverty, unemployment, drug addiction, mental health issues, family breakdown, displacement and conflict. These efforts must be developed through the meaningful participation of local communities, civil society, faith-based organizations and those individuals with lived experience of homelessness, whose involvement could be essential for shaping effective and lasting policies. - 12 years after Christian couple lynched, Pakistan's Supreme Court overturns convictions (Fides)
The Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned the death sentences of three men convicted of lynching a Christian couple in 2014. After Shama and Shahzad Masih were accused of desecrating a Qur’an, members of an angry mob threw them alive into a kiln. In overturning the convictions on July 9, the Court cited inconsistent witness testimony. - Continuing Irish diocesan consolidations, Pope unites 2 dioceses in persona episcopi (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Gerard Nash of Ferns, Ireland, as the bishop of Ossory, and in doing so united the two dioceses in persona episcopi (in the person of the bishop). Four pairs out of Ireland’s 26 dioceses are now united in persona episcopi. According to the online Annuario Pontificio, the Diocese of Ferns. founded c. 500, has 111,079 Catholics and 49 parishes. The Diocese of Ossory, founded in 549, has 82,101 Catholics and 42 parishes. - Police detain Polish suspect in Medjugorje vandalism (OSV News)
Police in Bosnia and Herzegovina detained a Polish suspect following vandalism at the Marian pilgrimage site of Medjugorje. A vandal, or vandals, defaced a statute of the Blessed Virgin Mary and set fire to an outdoor altar there. In 2024, Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith granted cautious approval to Medjugorje devotions in its Note About the Spiritual Experience Connected with Medjugorje. - USCCB expresses prayerful solidarity with Church in South Sudan (USCCB)
The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace expressed “continued solidarity and fraternal unity” with the Church in South Sudan. “Be assured of our steadfast prayers for the South Sudanese people at this time of severe economic hardship, deadly violence, environmental and food insecurity, and contestation surrounding the country’s Transitional Constitution framework,” Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, the Maronite bishop of Los Angeles, wrote in a July 28 letter to Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio, president of the Integral Human Development Commission Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference. “We mourn with the South Sudanese people, afflicted by violence between local communities, as well as conflict between the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces and opposition groups,” Bishop Zaidan added. “We implore God, as ever, to bring justice, healing, and lasting peace to your land!” - Florida bishops issue pastoral letter on death penalty (Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops)
In a pastoral letter on the death penalty in Florida, the state’s bishops said that they wished to “remind Catholics of the teaching of our Church against the use of the death penalty in situations—like our own—where bloodless means are sufficient to punish offenders and protect public safety.” “We do work with determination for its abolition, and we urge all Catholics, and our fellow citizens of good will, to end the practice of capital punishment in our state,” the bishops wrote in their July 27 letter. They concluded by “imploring God that the ethic of human dignity will infuse every element of society with respect for persons—from the most innocent unborn child to convicted felons—through people of faith transformed by the Gospel message of Christ’s love and life.” - Massachusetts bishops speak out against late-term abortion bill (Diocese of Worcester)
The bishops of Massachusetts issued a statement on state legislation that would remove legal limits on abortions between the 24th week of pregnancy and the moment of birth. “As Catholic bishops we have a moral responsibility to present and uphold Catholic teaching and the sacred God-given dignity of every human life from conception to the natural death,” the bishops said in their July 29 statement. “The proposed elimination of any legal restraint on late-term abortion is, in our judgement, a radical measure which is gravely immoral.” The legislation, which passed the state house in a 119-33 vote, is now being considered by the senate. - Gaza parish priest says humanitarian crisis is disastrous (Società per l’Informazione Religiosa)
The pastor of Gaza’s sole Catholic parish said that “when people say the situation here is disastrous, believe me: it truly is disastrous, if not deserving of an even stronger descriptor.” Father Gabriel Romanelli, I.V.E., told the SIR news agency that “is needed to reach a hospital, a workplace, or a school, or to visit the sick and deliver aid.” However, diesel, he says, costs $13 per liter ($49 per gallon), and a donkey costs between $16,000 and $17,000. “People are living with nothing,” he added. “Reconstruction efforts are certainly needed, but so are all the essentials for daily life.” - Vatican newspaper: 'Welcome to the age of fire' (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
L’Osservatore Romano devoted the most prominent article in its July 29 edition to the heat waves and wildfires that Europe has experienced this summer. In “Benvenuti nell’era del fuoco” (Welcome to the age of fire), staff journalist Valerio Palombaro wrote that “alarm is growing regarding the prospect of a near future in which this becomes the ‘new normal’ driven by climate change.” “The emergency in Europe highlights chronic global difficulties that are also attributable to climate change,” Palombaro added. “This environmental crisis, driven by human activity, calls on governments across Europe and the world to take action and change course.” - Talitha Kum releases report on anti-trafficking efforts (Talitha Kum)
Talitha Kum, an international network of consecrated religious against human trafficking, released its 2025 annual report. “Today, Talitha Kum is a global network of 68 national networks present in 113 countries, strengthening both our local presence and our collective global response,” said Sister Abby Avelino, M.M., the network’s international coordinator. “In 2025, Talitha Kum reached more than 1.2 million people through prevention, protection, survivor accompaniment, advocacy, formation, and capacity-building initiatives.” - Archaeologists may have found church where First Council of Nicaea took place (Türkiye Today)
An archaeological team led by Professor Mustafa Sahin of Bursa Uludağ University in Turkey may have found the church in which the First Council of Nicaea was held in 325. “The finds were identified by the excavation team as belonging to the Church of Saint Neophytos, an earlier structure that stood before the larger basilica now visible at the site,” Türkiye Today reported. The archaeologists believe that an earthquake destroyed the original church in 368, leading to the construction of the subsequent Basilica of Saint Neophytos. - Father Martin announces LGBTQ pilgrimage (Outreach)
Outreach, an organization founded by Father James Martin, S.J., announced a $250 LGBTQ Catholic history pilgrimage, to take place in New York City. “New York is an historic site for LGBTQ Catholics and LGBTQ people in general, and so we’re happy to have our second pilgrimage—following in the footsteps of our pilgrimage to Rome last year—where we will be able to share the historic and spiritual riches of the place Outreach calls home,” said Father Martin, who will lead the pilgrimage. - In Medjugorje, vandals deface Marian statue, site fire to outdoor altar (Rome Reports)
Vandals defaced a statute of the Blessed Virgin Mary and set fire to an outdoor altar at the pilgrimage site of Medjugorje, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Medjugorje parish office asked the faithful to respond “with prayer, fasting, and forgiveness. We pray for the conversion of the hearts of those who committed this act, that the Lord may touch them with His grace and lead them on the path of goodness.” In 2024, Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith granted cautious approval to Medjugorje devotions in its Note About the Spiritual Experience Connected with Medjugorje. - Vandalism, burglary at Melkite Catholic Patriarchate (Syriac Press)
The office of the Patriarchate of the Melkite Catholic Church, headquartered in Damascus, Syria, was vandalized during a July 28 burglary. “Unidentified individuals entered the Patriarchate’s Olive Church [the Patriarch’s cathedral] during the early morning hours, stealing items from the Vicar’s Office before intentionally damaging the premises and destroying a number of furnishings and other belongings inside the building,” Syriac Press reported. The Melkite Catholic Church (CNEWA profile) is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See. - Leading Nigerian bishops meet with nation's president, challenge him on erosion of democracy (CSN Media)
The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria “raised serious concerns over the state of the nation’s democratic situation, issuing a direct warning against the narrowing of political opposition and the creeping fear of a single-party dominant state,” according to a report from the episcopal conference’s media network. Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso of Kaduna made his remarks during a July 28 meeting with Bola Tinubu, the nation’s president since 2023. The report added: Beyond political freedoms, Archbishop Ndagoso presented a stark assessment of the severe economic and security challenges threatening the nation’s stability, restating what the Conference has severally said in the past; that Nigeria is bleeding, and its citizens are suffering and crying, not only due to incessant security threats, but also because of government policies whose promised relief has been delayed for too long. In an address to the Catholic prelates, President Tinubu touted his economic record and added, “I have just approved the expansion of the armed forces. We are getting more equipment, building new barracks. We will defeat terrorism.” Located in West Africa, Nigeria, a nation of 243 million (map), is the most populous in Africa and sixth most populous in the world. It is 47% Muslim, 46% Christian (11% Catholic), and 7% ethnic religionist. - Vatican Bank publishes sustainability report (Institute for the Works of Religion)
The Institute for the Works of Religion (Institutum pro Operibus Religionis, or IOR), colloquially known as the Vatican Bank, released its 2025 Sustainability Report on July 28. The Institute stated that in 2025, the “IOR generated economic value amounting to € 67.6 million [$77 million], up from € 50 million in the previous year, with net profit of € 51 million [$57 million]. The value created was distributed among the Holy Father (36%), employees (23%) and suppliers (14%), while the remaining share contributed to strengthening the Institute’s capital, ensuring its long-term solidity and sustainability.” - USCCB calls for prayer, action against abortion pills (USCCB)
The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities invited the faithful to “join a focused effort of prayer and action to stop the spread of abortion pills.” “The Food and Drug Administration has enabled a nationwide mail-order abortion industry by allowing abortion pills to be prescribed in telehealth appointments and sold both at neighborhood pharmacies and online, circumventing state laws that protect life in the womb,” Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City and Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, said in their announcement, posted on the USCCB website on July 27. “This leaves women vulnerable to suffering an abortion alone at home, without any medical supervision,” the bishops added. “It also sets up additional opportunities for exploitation by violent partners or human traffickers.” The initiative continues through the end of October (Respect Life Month). - Another bishop appointed, consecrated in China (Vatican Press Office)
The Holy See Press Office announced today that Father Francis Xavier Duan Yongkun, 45, was consecrated coadjutor bishop of Bameng, China, earlier today. Bameng is located in Inner Mongolia (map). Typically, the Holy See Press Office announces a bishop’s appointment, rather than his consecration. In announcing the prelate’s consecration, the press office stated that Pope Leo, “having approved his candidacy within the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China,” made the appointment on June 15. Today’s announcement and episcopal consecration followed a similar announcement and consecration on July 22. - Santa Fe archbishop defends mosque construction, condemns anti-Muslim sentiment (Archdiocese of Santa Fe)
The archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico, issued a statement defending the right of Muslims to construct a mosque in Albuquerque. “As Archbishop of Santa Fe and a resident of Albuquerque, I feel compelled to speak clearly and pastorally: our Muslim neighbors have the same God-given and constitutionally protected right to worship freely as every other faith community, including our own,” Archbishop John Wester said in a July 27 statement. “Defending that right is not only a civic duty but a core element of Catholic teaching.” “I must also speak plainly: anti-Muslim sentiment has no place in the heart of a Christian,” Archbishop Wester added. “Any hostility toward Muslims—whether expressed through rhetoric, suspicion, or opposition to their places of worship—is incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who commands us to love our neighbor without exception.” - More...