Catholic News
- The Lord carries the cross with us, Pope tells pilgrims (CWN)
Giving of oneself, out of love, “constitutes Jesus’ yoke, which is the essence of his teaching and the heart of his wisdom,” Pope Leo XIV said during his July 5 Angelus address (video). - Recalling 1st Mass in Florida and American saints, Pope praises USA's Eucharistic heritage (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to the “strong, though largely unknown, Eucharistic heritage of the United States of America” in a video message for the conclusion of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. - Pope pays tribute to newly beatified Vietnamese martyr (Dicastery for Communication)
At the conclusion of his July 5 Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to Blessed Trương Bửu Diệp (1897-1946), who was beatified in Vietnam on July 2. The priest, slain by Japanese soldiers, “was killed in 1946 in hatred of the faith,” Pope Leo said. “Amid oppression and violence, he defended the rights of the people and did not abandon his parishioners. May his intercession and prayers strengthen all those who proclaim the Gospel in situations of persecution today.” - Papal praise for Columbanus Day, celebrated in honor of Irish saint (CWN)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a letter in the Holy Father’s name to the bishop of Lodi, Italy, for the 27th celebration of Columbanus Day. - Pope visits with US ambassador on July 4 (@USinHolySee)
On July 4, Pope Leo XIV visited with Brian Burch, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, and his family. The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See stated that “Ambassador Burch and the Holy Father discussed President Trump‘s bold leadership and American efforts to pursue peace, religious freedom, and the need for moral clarity and courage around the world.” The embassy also stated that “the Ambassador and his family presented the Holy Father a USA World Cup jersey, a commemorative Freedom 250 baseball, and a homemade apple pie,” and that “Pope Leo confirmed he is rooting for the country of his birth in the World Cup.” - Vatican diplomat laments plight of Sudanese civilians (Holy See Mission)
A Vatican diplomat lamented the plight of civilians in El Obeid, Sudan, who are at risk of atrocities amid the nation’s civil war. “My delegation is particularly concerned by the tightening obstruction of humanitarian access, and the siege-like conditions in which food, water and fuel are scarce, and essential city services are under attack,” Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, said during a UN Human Rights Council meeting on July 3. “Starving civilians can never be a method of warfare,” Archbishop Balestrero continued. “All parties must comply with international humanitarian law, protect and uphold human rights, step back from any assault upon El Obeid, open safe corridors for those in need, and ensure unimpeded humanitarian access.” - Report finds 83 instances of anti-Christian harassment in Israel between April and June (Religious Freedom Data Center)
The Religious Freedom Data Center documented 83 instances of anti-Christian harassment in Israel during the second quarter of 2026. The center, based in Israel, documented 47 instances of spitting, four physical assaults, six defacements of signs, and 26 other incidents, including verbal assaults, threatening behavior, and throwing trash. - Bishops, in pastoral letter, link America's founding principles to Ukraine's fight for freedom (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
In the joint pastoral letter, the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the United States paid tribute to the nation’s founding ideals and to the Ukrainian Catholic contribution to American life. The bishops also applied the principles enunciated in the Declaration of Independence to Ukraine today: Ukrainians are not fighting for territory alone. They are fighting for the same truths that the Founders called self-evident: that human beings are created equal, that their rights come from God and not from governments, and that no empire has the authority to extinguish them. Freedom is not free. Americans have known this and have paid for it in blood throughout their history. Today Ukrainians are paying the same price in their own blood. Their struggle, however, is not for Ukraine alone. It is a witness to the world that the principles of the American founding are not the property of one nation or one moment in history. They are universal, and they are always worth defending. - Washington, DC cardinal reflects on patriotism (Catholic Standard)
In his July 5 homily, “The Meaning of Patriotism As We Celebrate Our Nation’s Birth,” Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington preached that “we stand in awe of the vision” that the nation’s founders “emblazoned on this new continent, and of the community and nation that have been built during these past two and a half centuries.” “As we celebrate this great moment that marks our nation’s past and calls us to its future, let us as people of faith embrace a patriotism rooted both in the founding vision of our nation and in our deep love for the specific culture and society in which we live,” Cardinal McElroy preached. “And let us also as people of faith constantly reform both of these foundations of patriotism in the light of the Gospel and the Beatitudes which are the template for our transformation of the world.” “For we must always, in patriotism, be moving forward, never complacent, always aspirational and called to the greatness, the true greatness to which our country should move,” he concluded. - Baltimore archbishop, in July 4 homily, recalls colonial Catholics, Charles Carroll (Archdiocese of Baltimore)
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, Maryland, celebrated Mass on July 4 at the church nearest Charles Carroll House, the home of the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. “Here in Annapolis, long before religious liberty was secured, Catholic families persevered in their faith,” Archbishop Lori preached. “Here, on this very property, generations prayed, worshipped and hoped for a country where faith would not be a barrier to citizenship.” “Standing here at St. Mary’s, in the shadow of the Carroll House, we can see that the Catholic contribution to America has never been simply political,” he added. “It has been spiritual. Catholics helped build this nation not only by signing documents or holding office, but by building churches, founding schools, caring for the poor, welcoming immigrants, and witnessing to the dignity of every human person, from the moment of conception until natural death.” - Pastor freed from prison in China, weeks after President Trump requested his release (AP)
A prominent Chinese Protestant pastor, Jin Mingri, was freed from prison and arrived in Los Angeles, his family announced on July 4. However, at least eight other members of the Beijing Zion Church, which Mingri founded, remain in prison. During his recent visit to China, President Donald Trump advocated for Jin’s release, along with the release of lay Catholic Jimmy Lai, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February. - In letter to Americans, Pope Leo marks 250th anniversary of USA's founding (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV marked the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America with a letter extending “heartfelt congratulations to all Americans on the occasion.” - SSPX leader, in letter to Pope, reacts to Vatican's excommunication decree (Society of Saint Pius X)
Condemning the Vatican’s decree of excommunication as “objectively unjust and invalid,” the superior general of the Society of Saint Pius X said in a letter to Pope Leo XIV that what the SSPX “has done, and will continue to do, is nothing other than an extraordinary initiative for the salvation of souls, amidst the doctrinal and moral confusion into which the Church is plunged.” “We in no way claim to substitute ourselves for the Church, and we have no ambition other than to remain faithful to her,” Father Davide Pagliarani wrote in his July 3 letter. “In conscience, we did not believe we could evade the moral duty we owe to souls.” “We are certain that one day You yourself, or one of Your successors, will wish to adopt the program of Saint Pius X: ‘To restore all things in Christ,’” Father Pagliarani added. “On that day, the Holy Father will discover, with great joy and profound consolation, authentically Catholic souls whose bond with the Church was never founded upon the shifting sands of an ambiguous dialogue, but upon the rock of the faith of Peter.” - Welcome migrants with the compassion of the Good Samaritan, Pope preaches on Lampedusa (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV made a brief pastoral visit to Lampedusa today (program, video) and called upon the faithful to welcome migrants with the compassion of the Good Samaritan. - Accepting Liberty Medal, Pope hails Declaration's 'lofty ideals,' stresses rights to life, religious freedom (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV accepted the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center and, in a July 3 video address (49:05), hailed the “lofty ideals enshrined at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence.” - Kansas City archbishop to SSPX: The Church's doors remain open (Archdiocese of Kansas City)
Addressing “those members of the faithful who have attended missions or apostolates associated with the Society of Saint Pius X,” the archbishop of Kansas City, Kansas, said that “they should know that they are loved by the Church and remain the object of our prayers for unity.” “Nevertheless, the faithful should be aware that, as the Holy See has explained, the ministry exercised by the Society is not legitimate in the life of the Church: the sacraments celebrated by its ministers are illicit, and the sacraments of Penance and Matrimony administered by them are now invalid,” said Archbishop Shawn McKnight, who added: Because participation in the worship and apostolic life of a schismatic community objectively expresses and fosters separation from the Church’s communion, Catholics may not knowingly take part in the Society’s liturgical celebrations, apostolates, or other activities. Such participation is not merely discouraged but is gravely contrary to the unity of the Church and, when undertaken with full knowledge and deliberate consent, is sinful. Clergy and laity alike are further admonished not to adhere to the Society’s schism, lest they incur the penalty of excommunication latae sententiae. We therefore encourage all who have participated in the Society’s apostolates to remain united to the Holy Father and to seek the guidance of our priests regarding any questions that may arise from this unfortunate situation, especially if they have concerns about the validity of sacraments they may have received ... We continue to pray that those who have taken this step may one day be restored to full communion. The Church’s doors remain open, and our hope remains that the unity for which Christ prayed may one day be fully realized. - Archbishop Gänswein says 'radical fringe' prevailed in SSPX, calls for repeal of Traditionis Custodes (Corriere della Sera)
Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the private secretary of the late Pope Benedict, decried the illicit consecration of four new SSPX bishops and said that “the story of the Lefebvrists is not a liturgical question,” as “their understanding of tradition is not tradition.” “Rather, they cement the Catholic tradition up to Pius XII,” explained Archbishop Gänswein, now apostolic nuncio to three Baltic nations. “After that everything was over for them, that’s it, from that moment there were only mistakes.” In remitting the excommunications of the four bishops illicitly consecrated in 1988, Pope Benedict was “like a father who tries to create peace—an outstretched hand that, unfortunately, they did not accept,” Archbishop Gänswein continued. “There was a radical fringe that prevailed.” The prelate called for the repeal of Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis’s 2021 apostolic letter restricting the extraordinary form of the Mass: “a wrong decision can and must be corrected ... I believe that Pope Francis has made a mistake, without realizing it.” - San Antonio archbishop instructs faithful to stop attending Mass at SSPX chapel (Archdiocese of San Antonio)
The archbishop of San Antonio, Texas, instructed the faithful not to attend Mass not at the city’s SSPX chapel. Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller encouraged Catholics who wish to attend a traditional Latin Mass to do so at an archdiocesan parish where the extraordinary form is offered weekly. - DDF publishes procedures for the return of SSPX priests, laity to full communion (CWN)
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published procedures for the return of priests and lay faithful of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) into full communion with the Church. - Michigan bishop reflects on Church at nation's founding (Diocese of Lansing)
The bishop of Lansing, Michigan, today published “The Soul of the Nation,” a brief reflection on the Church when the nation was founded. “In 1785 there were 9,000 Catholic adults, 3,000 children, and 3,800 Catholic slaves all in Maryland, with about 7,000 Catholics in Pennsylvania and 1,500 in New York, and scattered Catholics in the rest of the country out of a total United States population of over 3 million,” said Bishop Earl Boyea. “We were really a minority.” - More...