spring

Bomb squad called after Christian nonprofit in Ireland receives possible anthrax

null / Credit: Andrius Zemaitis/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 20, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed.

Bomb squad called after Christian nonprofit CEO in Ireland receives anthrax

The Irish Army bomb squad blocked off part of Dublin city center this week after David Quinn, CEO of the Iona Institute, received a letter in the mail containing a white powdery substance purporting to be anthrax. In a post on social media, Quinn wrote: “Received this in the post today. Nice,” sharing an image of a letter containing the white substance, which read: “Happy anthrax.” 

“I opened up the thing about 1 o’clock and all this powder comes out,” Quinn told the Irish Independent. “It was just addressed ‘Iona Institute,’ so it’s basically targeting me and Breda O’Brien,” he continued, adding: “I can only imagine that it’s somebody with a hang-up about the Catholic Church.”

Catholic monastery in Corfu closes after 381 years due to ‘lack of vocations’

The Capuchin Fathers monastery in Corfu, Greece, has been shut down after nearly 400 years due to a “lack of vocations,” according to the Greek Reporter

A final Mass at the monastery was celebrated by the Catholic archbishop of Corfu, Georgios Altouvas, this week, the report said, noting that “worshippers who had long turned to the friars for guidance and support wept as they bid farewell to the last brothers.” The order reportedly said they could no longer find friars to continue running the monastery’s operations.

Mass attendance in Austria goes up, disaffiliation goes down

Mass attendance in Austria has gone up, according to statistics reported by the Pillar on Sept. 17, and the number of individuals filing for formal disaffiliation from the Church has gone down in the past year. 

In addition to the positive attendance trend, the annual statistics also found a rise in Church tax revenue. According to the Pillar, the data reflects a rise from 309,000 worshippers in the spring of 2022 to 378,797 in the fall of 2024. “Attendance rose in the Sankt Pölten Diocese, led by Bishop Alois Schwarz, from 40,193 and 42,652 in 2023 to 63,520 and 46,179 in 2024. In the Vienna Archdiocese, the increase was from 56,906 and 63,157 in 2023 to 78,806 and 84,621 in 2024,” the Pillar reported.

Church in Nepal joins government in condemning unrest

The apostolic administrator of the Vicariate of Nepal, Father Silas Bogati, has signaled approval of the new interim government led by former Chief Justice Sushila Karki amid ongoing anti-corruption protests that have left at least 72 dead, according to UCA news

“We as a Catholic community have confidence in Sushila Karki, who, among other things, in the past, when she was still a lawyer, defended one of our priests and some religious sisters who had been wrongly accused in several court cases,” Bogati said of the country’s new interim leader. “We have a good opinion of her and trust in her work in the coming months to act in accordance with the rule of law and the democratic principles of justice and legality.”

Democratic Republic of Congo bishops denounce latest killings

The National Episcopal Conference of Congo has condemned the new wave of deadly attacks in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, decrying what they describe as the growing trivialization of human life in the Central African nation, according to ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa. 

In a Sept. 16 statement shared with ACI Africa, the bishops highlighted recent attacks and expressed concern about the “evolution of the security situation, particularly in the eastern part of the country, which continues to suffer enormous loss of human life as a result of various forms of violence.” The deadliest incident, the Church leaders said, occurred Sept. 8 when at least 102 people were killed in Ntoyo village, Lubero Territory.

Benin bishop: Jihadist attacks ‘a constant threat to our pastoral activities’

Bishop Martin Adjou Moumouni of the Diocese of N’Dali in the West African country of Benin is speaking out after jihadists carried out an attack on a local village, targeting its police station, looting homes, and taking at least six hostages, according to statements the prelate made to Fides News Agency. 

“Nigerian Jihadists have long been spreading terror in our diocese, especially in rural areas,” the bishop said. “We were forced to suspend pastoral activities in the villages, and even in the city, I asked the priests of my diocese to hold services only during daylight hours, as insecurity increases with nightfall.”

Cardinal Vincent Nichols signs joint statement to end war in Gaza

The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has signed a joint statement with Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, and other church leaders from England and Ireland, pushing for an end to the war in Gaza.

“We fear that the unfolding assault on Gaza City will only intensify the human suffering and misery as already malnourished and traumatized families are forced, yet again, to flee the horrors of this war,” the statement reads. “This deadly escalation is futile and must stop.” The statement comes ahead of the United Nations’ International Day of Peace on Sept. 21, for which many Christian leaders have organized a day of prayer and public witness

Christians in Syria divided over police presence at churches

Syria’s Ministry of the Interior has tightened security measures around churches by deploying armed guards at their entrances following the St. Elias Church bombing in June, according to a Sept. 16 report from ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. 

“Many believe that the guards give them a sense of comfort and reassurance during prayer, as it provides a layer of protection,” said Joseph Kneifati, a deacon in the Melkite Greek Catholic Archdiocese of Aleppo. “But on the other hand, the church is our second home, sometimes even our first.”

“When we enter and are asked where we’re going, it feels less natural,” he added. “Since childhood, we’ve been accustomed to attending church freely and simply. The presence of armed personnel at the doors has erased that spirit.”

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Deacon in San Diego says he will self-deport after residency status revoked

View of the San Diego skyline. / Credit: russellstreet, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2025 / 13:19 pm (CNA).

A deacon in San Diego told parishioners last week that he will voluntarily deport himself after his residency status was revoked by the U.S. government.

The deacon reportedly made the announcement at St. Jude Shrine of the West during Masses on Sept. 14. Local media reported that the clergyman came to the U.S. when he was 13 and “served the St. Jude community for roughly four decades.” He will reportedly be returning to Tijuana, Mexico.

Local reports did not identify the deacon. A diocesan representative indicated to CNA that the news reports were accurate, but the diocese said it could not identify the deacon himself and that he was handling the matter privately.

Representatives at St. Jude Parish did not respond to queries regarding the announcement.

The deacon’s self-deportation comes amid a wave of heightened immigration enforcement around the country as the Trump administration works to ramp up deportations of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

Catholic and Christian advocates have criticized the elevated enforcement. Prior to his death, Pope Francis in February told the U.S. bishops that amid the deportations, the faithful “are called upon to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights, not vice versa.”

In the spring, meanwhile, religious leaders including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of Evangelicals lamented the potential impacts of mass deportations on Christian families in the U.S.

A “significant share of the immigrants who are a part of our body are vulnerable to deportation, whether because they have no legal status or their legal protections could be withdrawn,” the leaders said. 

In some cases priests have faced deportation or loss of legal status amid changing immigration rules. In Texas, a Mexican-born Catholic priest who served in the Diocese of Laredo, Texas, for nine years left the United States last month because his application for residency was denied and his religious worker visa was expiring.

Catholic advocates have repeatedly warned that changes to U.S. visa rules have brought about a looming crisis in which many U.S.-based priests will be forced to leave their ministries, return to their home countries, and remain there for lengthy wait times.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told EWTN News in August that the Trump administration is “committed” to addressing that issue. 

“We’ll have a plan to fix it,” Rubio said. Details of that plan have yet to be released.

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Live musical performance honors life and legacy of St. Teresa of Calcutta

Soprano Catherine Wethington sings during a live performance of “Journey of Faith: A Musical Tribute to Mother Teresa” at Carnegie Hall. / Credit: Richard Termine

CNA Staff, Aug 31, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A live musical performance celebrating the life of St. Teresa of Calcutta will be taking center stage at the Music Center at Strathmore in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 6 after a successful performance at the historic Carnegie Hall in New York.

Journey of Faith: A Musical Tribute to Mother Teresa” highlights the life and legacy of Mother Teresa, especially her service to the poor through the order she founded — the Missionaries of Charity. 

The live musical event is conducted by Dante Santiago Anzolini and features the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, baritone Sean Michael Plumb, and soprano Catherine Wethington, who also curated the show.

Catherine Wethington, the featured soprano and curator of "Journey of Faith: A Musical Tribute to Mother Teresa." Credit: DJ Corey Photography
Catherine Wethington, the featured soprano and curator of “Journey of Faith: A Musical Tribute to Mother Teresa.” Credit: DJ Corey Photography

In 2019, Wethington was invited to sing in a chamber music festival in the Balkans, which included a concert in Skopje, Macedonia — the hometown of Mother Teresa. There she visited a museum about the life and legacy of the beloved saint and was introduced to a piece of music titled “Divine Waltz, Hymn to Mother Teresa,” which was commissioned by Dijana Toksa for the saint’s 2016 canonization ceremony at the Vatican.

The piece, composed by Genc Tukiçi, uses a poem written by Mother Teresa upon leaving her homeland to accept her call to ministry and was built off a motif composed by her cousin, Lorenc Antoni. Wethington was invited in 2023 to be the soprano soloist for the piece’s Albanian premiere commemorating the 20th anniversary of Mother Teresa’s beatification. 

“The experience of performing this piece in Tirana and recognizing that St. Teresa continues to have a revolutionary impact on people’s lives today led me to create a program that celebrates her journey, her courage, and her faith,” Wethington told CNA in an interview.

The first half of the musical program focuses on Mother Teresa’s ministry to the sick and dying, and the belief that death is not the end but leads to something greater. The second half focuses on the saint’s earthly life — her childhood, her time in India, and her Catholic faith.

“The program is a combination of sacred and secular works that either place us in the physical location of her journey or highlight a part of her life from youthfulness to faithful struggle to global inspiration,” Wethington explained.

The soprano said she hopes “that people walk away from the evening recognizing that her message can impact our communities today, especially as we are surrounded by so much suffering.”

She added: “It’s tempting to place Mother Teresa on such a lofty pedestal that her impact seems beyond our reach. Her greatness didn’t spring from perfection, it grew from perseverance, faith, and relentless compassion in the face of overwhelming need.”

“Her most famous words ring like a challenge across the decades: ‘Small things done with great love will change the world.’ This isn’t mere sentiment, it’s a call to action,” Wethington said. “Her message was elegantly simple: love without condition, serve without pride, act without expecting reward. In doing so, she proved that even one gift, fully given, can transform the world. We can transform the world, too.”

Tickets to the performance in Washington, D.C., can be found here.

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Picture of the day





La Fuentona, Muriel de la Fuente, Soria, Spain. The natural spring is a natural monument since 1998. There are only 6 such monuments in the Community of Castile and León (the biggest in Spain by surface).
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Picture of the day
La Fuentona, Muriel de la Fuente, Soria, Spain. The natural spring is a natural monument since 1998. There are only 6 such monuments in the Community of Castile and León (the biggest in Spain by surface).
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Picture of the day





Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), Arrábida National Park, Portugal. The common cuttlefish is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of 100 to 200m during autumn and winter. They only have a lifespan of 1–2 years and have many predators including sharks, dolphins, seals, fish, and cephalopods which includes other cuttlefish. During the day, most cuttlefish can be found buried below the substrate and fairly inactive. At night however, they are actively searching for prey and can ambush them from under the substrate. Cuttlefish are carnivorous and eat a variety of organisms including crustaceans (crabs and shrimp), small fish, molluscs (clams and snails), and sometimes other cuttlefish.
 #ImageOfTheDay
Picture of the day
Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), Arrábida National Park, Portugal. The common cuttlefish is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of 100 to 200m during autumn and winter. They only have a lifespan of 1–2 years and have many predators including sharks, dolphins, seals, fish, and cephalopods which includes other cuttlefish. During the day, most cuttlefish can be found buried below the substrate and fairly inactive. At night however, they are actively searching for prey and can ambush them from under the substrate. Cuttlefish are carnivorous and eat a variety of organisms including crustaceans (crabs and shrimp), small fish, molluscs (clams and snails), and sometimes other cuttlefish.
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