Catholic News
- God the Father continues to sow the seed of Jesus in our hearts, Pope tells pilgrims (CWN)
The parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23) describes the “generosity and trust with which God sows his Word in our hearts and his power in us,” Pope Leo XIV said during his July 12 Sunday Angelus address (video). - Pope renews appeal for peace; recalls Sea Sunday, Jasna Góra pilgrimage (CWN)
At the conclusion of his July 12 Sunday Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV renewed his appeal for peace. - Work to build communion, not another Babel, Pope tells Church in Asia (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV exhorted the Church in Asia, and especially the bishops there, to implore God “that we may become builders of communion and not architects of this world’s Babylon; servants of the Kingdom to come, not builders of towers destined to collapse.” - Pope recalls Soviet persecution, restoration of hierarchy in Ukraine (CWN)
In a Latin-language letter, Pope Leo XIV recalled the persecution of the Church in Ukraine after the Second World War and the restoration of the hierarchy there following the Soviet Union’s collapse. - Kenyan bishop suspends 15% of his priests; imposes curfew, bans overnight rectory guests (Tuko News (Kenya))
Enacting disciplinary measures on his priests, a Kenyan bishop imposed a 7:00 PM curfew, banned alcohol in Church residences, banned overnight visits and lay guests without his permission, and forbade cohabitation and intimate relationships “with members of either sex.” Bishop Hieronymus Emusugut Joya, I.M.C., of Maralal, who has led the diocese since 2022, also suspended six of his priests. The diocese has only 15 parishes and 39 priests—30 diocesan and nine religious—according to the Annuario Pontificio. “It is painful to state that I found the diocese with multiple problems, but no one was willing to tell me the cause of the problems and how to get the solution,” said Bishop Joya, who said he suspended the priests to “protect the integrity of the priesthood and the proper stewardship of Church property.” - British man arrested on suspicion of murdering pro-life Catholic politician Ann Widdecombe (BBC)
Devon and Cornwall Police arrested a man on suspicion of murdering Ann Widdecombe, an English pro-life Catholic politician was was killed last week. “The suspect, who is a white British national, is now in police custody,” police said in a statement. “At this time, there is still no information to suggest that this is a terrorism related incident.” - India's bishops stress religious-freedom concerns in letter to cabinet minister (Conference of Catholic Bishops of India)
The leaders of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India highlighted religious-freedom concerns in a memorandum to Amit Shah, the Union Minister of Home Affairs. The prelates discussed their concerns about an amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act that would allow Church property to be seized in some circumstances. The bishops also called on the government to “restore lasting peace, communal harmony, and normalcy” in the strife-torn state of Manipur, which is 41% Hindu and 41% Christian. - French Senate rejects assisted-suicide bill in 169-164 vote (Catholic Herald)
In a 169-164 vote, the French Senate rejected an assisted-suicide bill for the third time on July 7. The National Assembly—the lower house of the French Parliament—voted in favor of the legislation in June and is expected to hold another vote on July 15. - Vatican diplomat draws attention to plight of children with HIV (Holy See Mission)
Welcoming the “progress that has been accomplished in preventing and treating HIV and AIDS in the past five years,” a Vatican diplomat drew “special attention to children, who remain particularly vulnerable to HIV.” “Gaps in both diagnosis and treatment mean that the 3% of HIV patients that are children account for 12% of deaths due to HIV,” said Msgr. Marco Formica, interim chargé d’affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, in a July 10 statement for a UN meeting on AIDS. “These disparities begin with their mothers who are at-risk and HIV positive and who do not receive adequate testing and consistent treatment.” - Spanish priest sentenced to 52 years in prison (El País (Spanish))
A priest of the Diocese of Malaga, Spain, was sentenced to 52 years in prison for drugging, and sexually assaulting four women and filming his victims, three of whom were raped. The 35-year-old priest, identified only as “Father Fran” in the article, was ordained in 2012; the crimes took place between 2015 and 2018. The priest was jailed in 2023 after “his girlfriend, with whom he lived in Melilla, discovered the images of the abuse on a hard drive,” El País reported. The court also ordered the diocese to pay over 400,000 euros ($457,000) to the victims. - Chicago's Father Pfleger removed from ministry following new abuse allegation (Archdiocese of Chicago)
Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago announced that he asked Father Michael Pfleger to step aside from ministry following a new abuse allegation. The alleged incident took place over three decades ago. “I have no memory of this girl, nor do countless others who have been at St. Sabina for those years,” the priest said as he denied the allegation. “The statement she has supposedly made is absolutely not true, and the facts will show that this is just an attempt by someone who is either being unfairly manipulated by others to hurt my reputation, or who is simply trying to make money by making false accusations.” In 2021, and again in 2022, Father Pfleger was accused of abuse and then reinstated to ministry following an investigation. - Ukrainian bishops in Poland express 'deep regret' for World War II massacres (Greek Catholic Church of Poland (Polish))
The bishops of the three Ukrainian Greek Catholic eparchies in Poland lamented the massacre of some 100,000 Poles by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army between 1943 and 1945. The massacre has helped lead to recent tensions in Polish-Ukrainian relations. “On the eve of the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Volyn Massacre, we convey words of sympathy and grief to the families who lost their loved ones as a result of Ukrainian military actions,” the bishops said. “We join you in your pain and express our deep regret for the bloody events that took place at that time.” The bishops also said that “both Ukrainian crimes against Poles and Polish crimes against Ukrainians should be condemned,” and called on Polish and Ukrainian officials to “assist in finding all the graves, in identifying the victims and in their dignified burial.” “It is up to Polish and Ukrainian historians to reliably explain the circumstances of those tragic events and to determine the actual number of victims on both sides,” the prelates added. - UK rattled by killing of pro-life Catholic politician Ann Widdecombe (NBC News)
An English pro-life Catholic politician was found dead with serious injuries on July 9, prompting a murder investigation. A convert to Catholicism, Ann Widdecombe, 78, was a Member of Parliament (1987-2010) and a Member of the European Parliament (2019-20). She was also Minister of State for Employment (1993-95) and Minister of State for Prisons (1995-97) under Prime Minister John Major. Bishop Nicholas Hudson of Plymouth told BBC that Widdecombe “was a woman of faith and a great public servant.” “Our prayers, the prayers of all the community, across Plymouth Diocese, in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, are very much with her and with her family and friends,” he said. - Let us work to overcome injustices, Pope says at lunch with poor people (CWN)
Some 200 poor people from the Diocese of Rome traveled to Castel Gandolfo today for lunch with Pope Leo XIV at Borgo Laudato Si. - Bishop says Nigerian government 'unserious' about combating terrorism, warns of God's judgment (EWTN News)
A Nigerian bishop charged that the nation’s government is “unserious” about fighting terrorism. “In the security challenges that we are facing, we all know that the government is unserious,” Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza of Yola said to a journalist on July 7. “You cannot say that the government doesn’t have a hand in what is happening since the government is not prepared to resolve these issues and also give the military full authority to get rid of the terrorists.” “We have air power, we have land power, and we have all the necessary advantages that we need in order to get rid of the insurgency,” Bishop Mamza continued. “But there is no will, there is no seriousness, there is no commitment, and there is too much politics in it.” Bishop Mamza also warned that “both perpetrators of violent terrorism and those who fail in their responsibility to protect lives will face divine accountability ... God knows. His judgment is just and fair.” - Cardinal McElroy: Exorcist role should be 'private' after priest's removal tied to UFO controversy (CNS)
Weeks after he removed Msgr. Stephen Rossetti as an archdiocesan exorcist, Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., said in an interview that the dismissal ultimately “wasn’t touching on the question of UFOs” and that “my major objection is that I think the traditional role of an exorcist is a very private one. It’s a sacred one.” At the time of Msgr. Rossetti’s removal, Cardinal McElroy said that “statements made by Monsignor Rossetti linking UFOs to demonic presence and the Center’s recent use of social media gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism.” - US bishops, Catholic organizations weigh in on Farm Bill (USCCB)
Echoing a February letter to leaders of the House Agricultural Committee, the chairmen of two committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops warned that the Senate’s current Farm Bill proposal “falls short of the Farm Bill’s historic bipartisanship.” Archbishop Shelton Fabre, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace, weighed in on various aspects of the bill in a July 9 letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture. The head of Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Rural Life, and the National Council of the United States Society of St. Vincent de Paul joined the two prelates in signing the letter. - German 'Church tax miracle' continues with revenues up, membership down (Pillar)
Despite the loss of 307,117 Catholics in 2025, German dioceses received additional revenue from the Kirchensteuer (Church tax). Revenue rose from 6.628 billion euros ($7.58 billion) in 2024 to 6.751 billion euros ($7.72 billion) in 2025. “In Germany, religious communities that are corporations under public law have a right to levy taxes on their members,” The Pillar explained. “Every person in Germany who is officially registered as a member of the Catholic Church is required to pay church tax equivalent to 8-9% of their income tax liability, depending on the region in which they live.” - India's Latin-rite bishops clarify norms on biritual faculties (Catholic Connect)
The Commission for Canon Law and Legislative Texts of the Latin-rite Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) clarified canonical norms on biritual faculties, according to Catholic Connect, a CCBI website. The commission stated that bishops do not have the authority to confer biritual faculties but must seek permission from the Apostolic See. Such faculties are to be granted for only a five-year period, and priests should seek them only to meet a genuine pastoral need, rather than because of “devotional attraction.” - Archbishop Gudziak warns of lack of priestly missionary spirit, shortage of bishop candidates (Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia)
Speaking at a worldwide meeting of the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Archbishop Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia warned of a “lack of missionary spirit among priests.” “We serve our own people well, close to home,” Archbishop Gudziak said. “But Christ’s call is, ‘Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’ Maybe we haven’t fully heard that yet. This is a great challenge: understanding Christianity as more than a cultural identity.” The prelate also described the “shortage of candidates for the episcopacy” as “one of the major problems facing the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church globally.” “In 1900 there were two bishops; today there are 56,” he said. “The overall number of faithful is roughly comparable. If it was three million then, today it is four and a half million.” - More...