Catholic News
- Pope Leo pleads with SSPX not to proceed with episcopal consecrations (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV pleaded with the Society of Saint Pius X not to proceed with its planned consecration of four bishops without a pontifical mandate. - God's grace shines in our lives, as it did in the lives of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope tells pilgrims (CWN)
God’s grace shines in the lives of Christians today, as it did in the lives of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Leo XIV said during his June 29 Angelus address (video) on their feast day. - Pope Leo: Saints Peter and Paul show us how to build unity and serve the truth (CWN)
Saints Peter and Paul can help us understand how to be “apostles and builders of unity, and generous servants of the truth in charity,” Pope Leo XIV preached at Mass this morning in St. Peter’s Basilica (booklet, video). - USCCB issues action alert: 'Call on the US Senate to protect our Haitian neighbors' (CWN)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) asked the faithful to “call on the US Senate to protect our Haitian neighbors” from deportation. - Cambodia's leading prelate named 'Upholder of the Buddha's Dispensation' (Fides)
Buddhist authorities in Cambodia bestowed the title of “Elder Great Lay Supporter and Upholder of the Buddha’s Dispensation” upon the nation’s leading Catholic prelate and named a primary school for future Buddhist monks after him. Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, M.E.P., the vicar apostolic of Phnom Penh, also received from the nation’s king the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia. Bishop Schmitthaeusler described the award from King Norodom Sihamoni as “a sign of the shared mission between Buddhists and Catholics, which is bearing tangible fruit in the service of Cambodian society.” The prelate added that “the Catholic Church and Buddhism walk hand in hand for the common good of our people and our country,” Located in Southeast Asia, Cambodia, a nation of 17.2 million (map), is 87% Buddhist and 3% Christian, with 6% adhering to ethnic or Chinese folk religions. Buddhism is the state religion. - San Francisco archdiocese agrees to $395M abuse settlement (CBS SF Bay Area)
The Archdiocese of San Francisco, California, agreed to a $395-million settlement with over 500 plaintiffs who allege they were sexually abused as minors by clergy of the archdiocese. Between 2020 and 2022, the State of California lifted the statute of limitations for abuse suits. The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2023. “We believe this proposal provides a path toward fair compensation for survivors who have borne the weight of this abuse for a lifetime,” said Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. “We have a moral obligation to bring some level of healing and reconciliation to those who deserve our unwavering respect, attention and prayers.” - Attackers again shoot at German parish (OIDAC Europe)
A month after an attack on a German parish during Sunday Mass, an attacker—or attackers—again shot at the parish’s windows. The damage to Holy Spirit Church in Hanau, a city of 98,000, is estimated at 6,000 euros ($6,833). - Michigan AG releases report on abuse in Diocese of Saginaw (Religion Clause)
Attorney General Dana Nessel of Michigan released a report on sexual abuse and misconduct allegations against priests and deacons of the Diocese of Saginaw. “During the 75-year period in the report, more than 680 priests served in our diocese. The report details the reported abuse by 37 priests and one deacon,” the diocese stated in its response. “30 are known or presumed to be dead. For the 8 who are living or presumed to be living, none are in active ministry ... The vast majority of reported abuse cases in our diocese are very old, with most occurring in the 1970s and 1980s.” - 'The priority now is to rebuild lives,' says archbishop in Venezuela (Aid to the Church in Need)
Archbishop Raúl Biord of Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, spoke of the devastation wrought by the earthquakes there. In La Guaira, “the seminarians were in the building when the earth shook,” Archbishop Biord recounted. “There were some lightly wounded, but nobody was killed, and both the seminarians and their formators were able to leave. We can say that it was a miracle.” “However, the building is inaccessible, it cannot be used, and it was heavily damaged,” he added. “They lost everything, even their clothes and shoes.” - DDF prefect condemns just-war justifications for preventive wars (Vatican News (Italian))
In an address to the extraordinary consistory of cardinals, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said that Catholic social doctrine has been misused to provide justifications for what are described as preventive wars. In attempting to justify preventive wars, leaders invoke “unproven preparatory actions for external aggression,” said Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, as “we continue to see in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, and elsewhere.” “The destruction of entire cities cannot be considered a proportionate defensive action,” Cardinal Fernández added, as he lamented “the enormous disproportion of military interventions in Gaza and southern Lebanon.” - Vatican diplomat calls for institutional support for motherhood (Holy See Mission)
Lamenting discrimination that women face because of motherhood, a Vatican diplomat agreed with a UN official’s assessment that motherhood “remains largely undervalued and mischaracterized as a private choice rather than a public good requiring recognition and support from society and institutions.” “Valuing motherhood means supporting families and particularly mothers,” Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, said during a June 22 meeting with the UN’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls. “They are entitled to special care, assistance, and protection before and after childbirth, including paid leave and adequate social security.” “The Holy See has consistently raised concern about institutional and cultural tendencies that disregard the family and penalize or stigmatize motherhood as an obstacle to women’s advancement, rather than as an irreplaceable contribution to the life and future of every society,” Archbishop Balestrero added. “The Holy See calls on States to stand with mothers and fathers through concrete actions that protect and support them and their children.” - Catholics, Protestants, and Muslims in Chad establish joint forum (Fides)
The National Council for Islamic Affairs of Chad, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Chad, and the Alliance of Evangelical Churches and Missions in Chad established a joint forum at a June 25 ceremony chaired by the nation’s deputy prime minister. “We will continue to work so that everyone can contribute to human development and to achieving our common goal of building a united, prosperous Chad that looks confidently to the future,” said Archbishop Edmond Djitangar of N’Djamena, the nation’s capital. Located in Central Africa, the nation of 19.7 million (map) is 61% Muslim, 31% Christian (17% Catholic), and 6% ethnic religionist. - USCCB issues urgent action alert on Kids Online Safety Act (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued an urgent action alert on the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), scheduled to be voted upon by the House of Representatives today. The bishops’ conference asked the faithful to “tell your member of Congress: any final House bipartisan agreement on KOSA must include the Senate’s duty of care standard.” The suggested message to members of Congress begins: As a constituent and a Catholic, I urge you to oppose the KIDS Act legislative package that does not include the “duty of care” standard. The current House package explicitly rejects the “duty of care,” but this provision is essential for the legislation to be meaningful. The Senate’s version of the Kids Online Safety Act, S.1784, rightly demands that digital companies treat children not as data points or revenue sources, but as vulnerable human beings with real needs and rights. - Vatican AI commission holds 1st meeting (Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development)
The Vatican’s Interdicasterial Commission on Artificial Intelligence, established last month, held its first meeting on June 17. At the meeting, a “broad consensus emerged regarding the need for a twofold service: on the one hand, fostering internal coordination, information sharing, and reflection on the use of AI within the institutions of the Holy See; on the other, providing a point of reference for discernment and support for the many initiatives promoted in this field,” according to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. - Fire set to altar of Italian church (Il Cittadino di Lodi)
A vandal attempted to set fire to the altar of the Church of Saints Bassiano and Fereolo in Lodi, a city of 45,000 in Lombardy, in northern Italy. “Fortunately. I think the fire went out by itself,” Father Elia Croce, the parish priest, said after the June 16 incident. He said that an altar cloth was burnt, but “there was no serious damage” to the altar. - Relics of St. Margaret Mary brought to US for veneration (OSV News)
First-class relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque have been brought to the United States for public veneration in various cities through September. The saint is renowned for receiving private revelations of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The bishops of the United States consecrated the nation to the Sacred Heart on June 11. S - Synodality is not about power, but about guarding the Gospel, Pope says at consistory's conclusion (CWN)
At the conclusion of the June 26-27 extraordinary consistory of cardinals (program), Pope Leo XIV said that synodality is not about power, nor about the multiplication of meetings, but about guarding the Gospel with fidelity. - Mission is the Church's 'very reason for existing,' Pope tells world's cardinals (CWN)
Addressing the opening session of the two-day extraordinary consistory of the College of Cardinals (program), Pope Leo said today that “mission is not merely one of the Church’s many tasks,” but “her very reason for existing and thus, it also becomes the criterion that guides our discernment.” - The living, believing Church bears much fruit, Pope preaches to cardinals as consistory begins (CWN)
Reflecting on Christ’s parable of the vine and the branches, Pope Leo XIV told the world’s cardinals that the living, believing Church bears much fruit. - English bishop charged with rape of girl (CWN)
Police in Staffordshire, England, announced that Bishop David Oakley of Northampton has been charged with two counts of rape of a girl under 16. - More...