The Eucharist in America: 5 centuries of faith that shaped a nation – #Catholic – Before America became a nation, before its founding documents were written, and before its first flag was raised, the holy sacrifice of the Mass was already being celebrated on these shores.For centuries, the history of Catholicism in America has been written in the shadow of hardship, sacrifice, and perseverance. At the center of that story has always been the Eucharist — the real presence of Christ — which sustained missionaries, settlers, soldiers, immigrants, and pioneers long before Catholicism became a visible part of American life.As hundreds of thousands of Catholics gather for Eucharistic pilgrimages, congresses, and parish revivals across the United States to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary, they are participating in something that stretches back nearly 500 years. The National Eucharistic Revival may be new, but America’s devotion to the Blessed Sacrament is as old as the Church’s presence on this continent.The first Masses on American soilSome of the first recorded celebrations of the Mass in what is now the United States took place nearly 500 years ago. These marked the beginning of a Eucharistic presence that would shape the nationʼs Catholic history.During the Narváez expedition in 1528 and the Coronado expedition in 1540–1542, Spanish missionaries carried the Eucharist into Florida and the American Southwest. In 1565, when Spanish settlers led by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine, Florida, Mass and the Eucharist quickly became the center of the new colony’s religious life.More than two centuries later, St. Junípero Serra would continue that tradition as he established California’s mission system. Serra often traveled hundreds of miles on foot between missions, carrying the Blessed Sacrament to isolated Catholic communities. Every new mission he founded placed the altar and the celebration of the Eucharist at the center of its life.For missionaries such as the Franciscans, and later the Jesuits, the Eucharist was the heart of their missionary work. Wherever they established a mission, they first erected an altar, making the celebration of the Mass the center of community life.Hidden altars in Colonial AmericaElsewhere in Britain’s American colonies, however, Catholics often practiced their faith in secret.Anti-Catholic laws frequently prohibited the public celebration of Mass. Priests risked arrest, and Catholic families gathered quietly in manor houses, private homes, and secluded chapels.One of the many examples of the hardship Catholics endured in early America occurred in the colonial state of Massachusetts. In 1647 and again in 1700, Massachusetts passed laws prohibiting Catholics from settling in the colony, and any priest who entered could be sentenced to death as “an enemy of the true Christian religion.”At this time, the Eucharist became a symbol not only of faith but also of perseverance. Families sometimes traveled miles through forests to attend clandestine Masses offered by missionary priests.Freedom after the RevolutionThe American Revolution marked a turning point.Over time, legal restrictions eased, allowing practices that had once been forbidden to emerge into public life. In 1788, Boston celebrated its first public Mass, marking a cautious yet significant milestone in establishing a Catholic presence in the region.Leading that new beginning was Father John Carroll, who in 1789 became the first bishop of the United States. Under his leadership, parishes, schools, and charitable institutions spread across the new nation, each centered on the celebration of the Eucharist.The Eucharist on the American frontierAs religious freedom expanded beyond the original colonies, the frontier presented entirely new challenges. Nowhere was this more evident than in Texas.Following Texas' independence from Mexico, the withdrawal of Mexican diocesan priests left the new republic with only one active Catholic parish north of the Nueces River — San Fernando Church in San Antonio.In 1838, Pope Gregory XVI authorized Archbishop Antoine Blanc of New Orleans to send missionaries to Texas, appointing Father John Timon as prefect of Texas to oversee their work. Many of these French Vincentian and Oblate missionaries became known as “saddlebag priests” for the hundreds of miles they traveled across the frontier to minister to scattered Catholic communities.As more settlers pushed westward, priests often rode hundreds of miles carrying the Blessed Sacrament in small pyxes to isolated Catholic families.Among the most remarkable was Jesuit missionary Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, who traveled tens of thousands of miles across the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. Carrying the Eucharist with him, De Smet celebrated Mass among Native American tribes and remote frontier settlements, bringing the sacraments to places few other priests had ever reached.In the Southwest, Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy traveled throughout the vast Diocese of Santa Fe, where Catholics sometimes waited months for a priest to arrive. When he finally came, entire villages gathered to celebrate Mass, receive Communion, and adore the Blessed Sacrament.A Church steps into public viewBy the late 19th century, Catholicism had become one of America’s largest religious communities, and Eucharistic devotion increasingly moved into the public square.That growth reached a dramatic high point in 1926, when Chicago hosted the International Eucharistic Congress.More than 1 million Catholics participated in outdoor liturgies, Eucharistic processions, Holy Hours, and public acts of adoration. Newspapers described it as one of the largest religious gatherings in American history. Pilgrims traveled from across the world, transforming Chicago into the center of global Catholic life for several days.For many American Catholics, the congress symbolized something remarkable: A Church that had once worshipped in secret now publicly proclaimed its faith in the Real Presence before the world.A new Eucharistic RevivalOne hundred years after the Chicago Congress, American Catholics are once again gathering around the Blessed Sacrament.The National Eucharistic Revival was launched by the U.S. bishops in 2022. Amid recent decades of declining Mass attendance and surveys indicating weakened belief in the Real Presence among many Catholics, the revival seeks to renew belief in Christ’s real presence through parish formation, Eucharistic processions, perpetual adoration, and missionary outreach.The 2026 pilgrimage began in St. Augustine, Florida, near where the first Mass was celebrated. The route continued up the Eastern Seaboard and will conclude over the Fourth of July weekend in Philadelphia.While today’s pilgrims travel highways instead of frontier trails, their journey echoes generations of Catholics who carried the Eucharist across the U.S.The circumstances have changed dramatically over five centuries, yet beneath those outward changes lies an unbroken thread stretching across nearly five centuries. The same Eucharist celebrated by missionaries in St. Augustine, carried across the Great Plains, hidden in colonial homes, and proclaimed before millions in Chicago is the Eucharist that gathers Catholics today. The history of Catholicism in America is not simply the story of how the Church grew — it is the story of how the Eucharist sustained that growth, generation after generation.
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The Eucharist in America: 5 centuries of faith that shaped a nation – #Catholic – Before America became a nation, before its founding documents were written, and before its first flag was raised, the holy sacrifice of the Mass was already being celebrated on these shores.For centuries, the history of Catholicism in America has been written in the shadow of hardship, sacrifice, and perseverance. At the center of that story has always been the Eucharist — the real presence of Christ — which sustained missionaries, settlers, soldiers, immigrants, and pioneers long before Catholicism became a visible part of American life.As hundreds of thousands of Catholics gather for Eucharistic pilgrimages, congresses, and parish revivals across the United States to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary, they are participating in something that stretches back nearly 500 years. The National Eucharistic Revival may be new, but America’s devotion to the Blessed Sacrament is as old as the Church’s presence on this continent.The first Masses on American soilSome of the first recorded celebrations of the Mass in what is now the United States took place nearly 500 years ago. These marked the beginning of a Eucharistic presence that would shape the nationʼs Catholic history.During the Narváez expedition in 1528 and the Coronado expedition in 1540–1542, Spanish missionaries carried the Eucharist into Florida and the American Southwest. In 1565, when Spanish settlers led by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine, Florida, Mass and the Eucharist quickly became the center of the new colony’s religious life.More than two centuries later, St. Junípero Serra would continue that tradition as he established California’s mission system. Serra often traveled hundreds of miles on foot between missions, carrying the Blessed Sacrament to isolated Catholic communities. Every new mission he founded placed the altar and the celebration of the Eucharist at the center of its life.For missionaries such as the Franciscans, and later the Jesuits, the Eucharist was the heart of their missionary work. Wherever they established a mission, they first erected an altar, making the celebration of the Mass the center of community life.Hidden altars in Colonial AmericaElsewhere in Britain’s American colonies, however, Catholics often practiced their faith in secret.Anti-Catholic laws frequently prohibited the public celebration of Mass. Priests risked arrest, and Catholic families gathered quietly in manor houses, private homes, and secluded chapels.One of the many examples of the hardship Catholics endured in early America occurred in the colonial state of Massachusetts. In 1647 and again in 1700, Massachusetts passed laws prohibiting Catholics from settling in the colony, and any priest who entered could be sentenced to death as “an enemy of the true Christian religion.”At this time, the Eucharist became a symbol not only of faith but also of perseverance. Families sometimes traveled miles through forests to attend clandestine Masses offered by missionary priests.Freedom after the RevolutionThe American Revolution marked a turning point.Over time, legal restrictions eased, allowing practices that had once been forbidden to emerge into public life. In 1788, Boston celebrated its first public Mass, marking a cautious yet significant milestone in establishing a Catholic presence in the region.Leading that new beginning was Father John Carroll, who in 1789 became the first bishop of the United States. Under his leadership, parishes, schools, and charitable institutions spread across the new nation, each centered on the celebration of the Eucharist.The Eucharist on the American frontierAs religious freedom expanded beyond the original colonies, the frontier presented entirely new challenges. Nowhere was this more evident than in Texas.Following Texas' independence from Mexico, the withdrawal of Mexican diocesan priests left the new republic with only one active Catholic parish north of the Nueces River — San Fernando Church in San Antonio.In 1838, Pope Gregory XVI authorized Archbishop Antoine Blanc of New Orleans to send missionaries to Texas, appointing Father John Timon as prefect of Texas to oversee their work. Many of these French Vincentian and Oblate missionaries became known as “saddlebag priests” for the hundreds of miles they traveled across the frontier to minister to scattered Catholic communities.As more settlers pushed westward, priests often rode hundreds of miles carrying the Blessed Sacrament in small pyxes to isolated Catholic families.Among the most remarkable was Jesuit missionary Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, who traveled tens of thousands of miles across the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. Carrying the Eucharist with him, De Smet celebrated Mass among Native American tribes and remote frontier settlements, bringing the sacraments to places few other priests had ever reached.In the Southwest, Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy traveled throughout the vast Diocese of Santa Fe, where Catholics sometimes waited months for a priest to arrive. When he finally came, entire villages gathered to celebrate Mass, receive Communion, and adore the Blessed Sacrament.A Church steps into public viewBy the late 19th century, Catholicism had become one of America’s largest religious communities, and Eucharistic devotion increasingly moved into the public square.That growth reached a dramatic high point in 1926, when Chicago hosted the International Eucharistic Congress.More than 1 million Catholics participated in outdoor liturgies, Eucharistic processions, Holy Hours, and public acts of adoration. Newspapers described it as one of the largest religious gatherings in American history. Pilgrims traveled from across the world, transforming Chicago into the center of global Catholic life for several days.For many American Catholics, the congress symbolized something remarkable: A Church that had once worshipped in secret now publicly proclaimed its faith in the Real Presence before the world.A new Eucharistic RevivalOne hundred years after the Chicago Congress, American Catholics are once again gathering around the Blessed Sacrament.The National Eucharistic Revival was launched by the U.S. bishops in 2022. Amid recent decades of declining Mass attendance and surveys indicating weakened belief in the Real Presence among many Catholics, the revival seeks to renew belief in Christ’s real presence through parish formation, Eucharistic processions, perpetual adoration, and missionary outreach.The 2026 pilgrimage began in St. Augustine, Florida, near where the first Mass was celebrated. The route continued up the Eastern Seaboard and will conclude over the Fourth of July weekend in Philadelphia.While today’s pilgrims travel highways instead of frontier trails, their journey echoes generations of Catholics who carried the Eucharist across the U.S.The circumstances have changed dramatically over five centuries, yet beneath those outward changes lies an unbroken thread stretching across nearly five centuries. The same Eucharist celebrated by missionaries in St. Augustine, carried across the Great Plains, hidden in colonial homes, and proclaimed before millions in Chicago is the Eucharist that gathers Catholics today. The history of Catholicism in America is not simply the story of how the Church grew — it is the story of how the Eucharist sustained that growth, generation after generation.

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From the first Masses in the New World to today’s Eucharistic Revival, here’s how the Real Presence shaped nearly five centuries of Catholic life in America.

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Pope Leo XIV: Migrants lost at sea are victims of choices made and unmade – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass Saturday on the island of Lampedusa, warning that migrants who have died crossing the Mediterranean are “victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made.”In his homily at the Arena sports field July 4, the pope cited the Gospel parable of the Good Samaritan, saying residents of Lampedusa had seen “thousands of human beings fallen into the hands of robbers who have taken everything from them, beat them brutally and walked away, leaving them half-dead.”“The sea has claimed the lives of others — those who did not manage to reach their hoped-for destination,” he said. “Yet we feel their presence, which challenges us no less than that of those who have landed in need of attention and aid.”The pope arrived at the sports field in a Fiat Nuova Campagnola convertible, the same vehicle Pope Francis used during his July 8, 2013, visit to Lampedusa. The crowd greeted him with songs, waving arms, and yellow-and-white caps against the backdrop of the island’s sea and sky.Before the liturgy, Lampedusa’s mayor presented the pope with a model of the island’s lighthouse. Pope Leo recalled Pope Francis’ closeness to the people of Lampedusa and said he had come not primarily to give speeches but to celebrate the Eucharist, the supreme sign of Christ’s presence.The pope’s homily repeatedly returned to the theme of love — a love made concrete in compassion, hospitality, and the willingness to draw near to those in need.“The Gospel resounds where peoples meet, people welcome one another, their lives intertwine and different cultures engage in dialogue,” he said. “It falls silent, however, when each person makes him or herself an island, avoiding contact and cutting off exchange.”Citing the parable of the Good Samaritan, the pope said the encounter with those stripped of everything calls Christians “to be close to them.”“This is the heart of the Gospel parable: we become neighbors by acting as neighbors,” he said.Pope Leo thanked the people of Lampedusa for what he called the “miracle of compassion,” including the volunteers, organizations in Forum Lampedusa Solidale, civil authorities, the Coast Guard, local administrations, deacons, priests, religious sisters, doctors, psychologists, educators, security forces, and all those who serve migrants on the island.“I greet the migrants who are here,” he added. “They themselves have not only received solidarity but have often shown it on their journey, as the poor helping the poorest.”But the pope also warned against indifference, corruption, fear, prejudice, and policies that fail to respond to the scale of the crisis.“Indifference to the common good and corruption in their countries of origin; a global economic system that generates poverty and exclusion; fear that fuels prejudice and contempt; the belief that such problems do not concern us; the criminal calculations of those who profit from the suffering of others; the slow and difficult transition from mere emergency management to the development of comprehensive and shared policies — all are present-day echoes of the haste to ‘pass by’ in the Gospel narrative,” he said.Pope Leo also said religious belonging must never be used to exclude or discriminate.“It is time to recognize and affirm that religious affiliation must never become a reason for discrimination, as if faith had boundaries rather than being a universal call to salvation,” he said. “There is no love of God without love of neighbor, and there is no neighbor if I do not draw near.”From Lampedusa, which lies between Sicily and North Africa and has become a symbol of the migration crisis in the Mediterranean, the pope turned his attention to Europe.“From this far-flung corner of Europe on the Mediterranean Sea, one can more clearly perceive the momentous challenge that the phenomenon of migration poses to European societies,” he said.Europe, he continued, has “a unique potential” and therefore “a corresponding responsibility” to address migration in a comprehensive way — integrating immediate relief into “a long-term strategic plan capable of receiving, protecting, supporting and integrating migrants,” while also assisting developing countries so that “no one is forced to emigrate.”The pope said the task belongs not only to public institutions but also to civil society and the Church.Speaking directly to the people of Lampedusa, he also noted that tourism on the island can risk creating an “invisible wall” between vacationers and migrants who have survived shipwrecks.“Have the courage to think differently,” he said, urging residents to help visitors become “more humane” through contact with the island’s charity and history.“There is authentic rest when the meaning of life is rediscovered, and true well-being when the economy is just and fraternal,” the pope said. “In such an economy, care for creation and social friendship come together in a synthesis that humanity is seeking today.”At the close of his homily, Pope Leo referred to the image of Our Lady of Safe Harbor, patroness of Lampedusa, placed near the altar.“In God we all have a safe haven, and every Christian community is called to be a reflection of it on earth,” he said. He ended with the traditional local greeting: “O’scià!”Before the Mass, the pope visited the cemetery of Lampedusa, where he placed flowers on the graves of migrants, pausing especially at the graves of children. The moment was marked by silence and strong wind.He then went to the Porta d’Europa, the “Gateway to Europe” monument, where he briefly met a migrant family. A child gave him a soccer ball and read him a note.“Dear pope, I am super excited to meet you. Ten years ago my story began here in Lampedusa. I was alone and had lost everything, especially my mother,” the child wrote.The child said he had stopped crying only after someone gave him a ball made of paper.“From that day, the ball has remained in my heart, and I have never stopped playing,” he wrote. “Now I hope that this ball I am giving you can reach another child and make him happy, just like me.”The pope then moved toward the sea to pray alone. The wind swept away his white zucchetto, which fell into the water as he prayed near the sea.Before heading to the Arena sports field, Pope Leo visited Molo Favaloro, where he blessed a plaque dedicating the dock to Pope Francis. There he greeted migrants accompanied by the Red Cross, as well as religious sisters who are among the first to welcome migrants arriving on the island.The visit came a day after the U.S.-born Pope Leo, accepting the Liberty Medal awarded by the National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia, recalled how his native land had opened its doors to waves of immigrants, allowing them and their children to help build the nation’s future. The pope has been critical of Trump administration’s policies on immigration and the coincidence of his visit to Lampedusa with America’s 250th anniversary has been widely noted there.This story was first published in two parts by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.Sources used: ACI Stampa Mass report and official English homily text .
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Pope Leo XIV: Migrants lost at sea are victims of choices made and unmade – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass Saturday on the island of Lampedusa, warning that migrants who have died crossing the Mediterranean are “victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made.”In his homily at the Arena sports field July 4, the pope cited the Gospel parable of the Good Samaritan, saying residents of Lampedusa had seen “thousands of human beings fallen into the hands of robbers who have taken everything from them, beat them brutally and walked away, leaving them half-dead.”“The sea has claimed the lives of others — those who did not manage to reach their hoped-for destination,” he said. “Yet we feel their presence, which challenges us no less than that of those who have landed in need of attention and aid.”The pope arrived at the sports field in a Fiat Nuova Campagnola convertible, the same vehicle Pope Francis used during his July 8, 2013, visit to Lampedusa. The crowd greeted him with songs, waving arms, and yellow-and-white caps against the backdrop of the island’s sea and sky.Before the liturgy, Lampedusa’s mayor presented the pope with a model of the island’s lighthouse. Pope Leo recalled Pope Francis’ closeness to the people of Lampedusa and said he had come not primarily to give speeches but to celebrate the Eucharist, the supreme sign of Christ’s presence.The pope’s homily repeatedly returned to the theme of love — a love made concrete in compassion, hospitality, and the willingness to draw near to those in need.“The Gospel resounds where peoples meet, people welcome one another, their lives intertwine and different cultures engage in dialogue,” he said. “It falls silent, however, when each person makes him or herself an island, avoiding contact and cutting off exchange.”Citing the parable of the Good Samaritan, the pope said the encounter with those stripped of everything calls Christians “to be close to them.”“This is the heart of the Gospel parable: we become neighbors by acting as neighbors,” he said.Pope Leo thanked the people of Lampedusa for what he called the “miracle of compassion,” including the volunteers, organizations in Forum Lampedusa Solidale, civil authorities, the Coast Guard, local administrations, deacons, priests, religious sisters, doctors, psychologists, educators, security forces, and all those who serve migrants on the island.“I greet the migrants who are here,” he added. “They themselves have not only received solidarity but have often shown it on their journey, as the poor helping the poorest.”But the pope also warned against indifference, corruption, fear, prejudice, and policies that fail to respond to the scale of the crisis.“Indifference to the common good and corruption in their countries of origin; a global economic system that generates poverty and exclusion; fear that fuels prejudice and contempt; the belief that such problems do not concern us; the criminal calculations of those who profit from the suffering of others; the slow and difficult transition from mere emergency management to the development of comprehensive and shared policies — all are present-day echoes of the haste to ‘pass by’ in the Gospel narrative,” he said.Pope Leo also said religious belonging must never be used to exclude or discriminate.“It is time to recognize and affirm that religious affiliation must never become a reason for discrimination, as if faith had boundaries rather than being a universal call to salvation,” he said. “There is no love of God without love of neighbor, and there is no neighbor if I do not draw near.”From Lampedusa, which lies between Sicily and North Africa and has become a symbol of the migration crisis in the Mediterranean, the pope turned his attention to Europe.“From this far-flung corner of Europe on the Mediterranean Sea, one can more clearly perceive the momentous challenge that the phenomenon of migration poses to European societies,” he said.Europe, he continued, has “a unique potential” and therefore “a corresponding responsibility” to address migration in a comprehensive way — integrating immediate relief into “a long-term strategic plan capable of receiving, protecting, supporting and integrating migrants,” while also assisting developing countries so that “no one is forced to emigrate.”The pope said the task belongs not only to public institutions but also to civil society and the Church.Speaking directly to the people of Lampedusa, he also noted that tourism on the island can risk creating an “invisible wall” between vacationers and migrants who have survived shipwrecks.“Have the courage to think differently,” he said, urging residents to help visitors become “more humane” through contact with the island’s charity and history.“There is authentic rest when the meaning of life is rediscovered, and true well-being when the economy is just and fraternal,” the pope said. “In such an economy, care for creation and social friendship come together in a synthesis that humanity is seeking today.”At the close of his homily, Pope Leo referred to the image of Our Lady of Safe Harbor, patroness of Lampedusa, placed near the altar.“In God we all have a safe haven, and every Christian community is called to be a reflection of it on earth,” he said. He ended with the traditional local greeting: “O’scià!”Before the Mass, the pope visited the cemetery of Lampedusa, where he placed flowers on the graves of migrants, pausing especially at the graves of children. The moment was marked by silence and strong wind.He then went to the Porta d’Europa, the “Gateway to Europe” monument, where he briefly met a migrant family. A child gave him a soccer ball and read him a note.“Dear pope, I am super excited to meet you. Ten years ago my story began here in Lampedusa. I was alone and had lost everything, especially my mother,” the child wrote.The child said he had stopped crying only after someone gave him a ball made of paper.“From that day, the ball has remained in my heart, and I have never stopped playing,” he wrote. “Now I hope that this ball I am giving you can reach another child and make him happy, just like me.”The pope then moved toward the sea to pray alone. The wind swept away his white zucchetto, which fell into the water as he prayed near the sea.Before heading to the Arena sports field, Pope Leo visited Molo Favaloro, where he blessed a plaque dedicating the dock to Pope Francis. There he greeted migrants accompanied by the Red Cross, as well as religious sisters who are among the first to welcome migrants arriving on the island.The visit came a day after the U.S.-born Pope Leo, accepting the Liberty Medal awarded by the National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia, recalled how his native land had opened its doors to waves of immigrants, allowing them and their children to help build the nation’s future. The pope has been critical of Trump administration’s policies on immigration and the coincidence of his visit to Lampedusa with America’s 250th anniversary has been widely noted there.This story was first published in two parts by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.Sources used: ACI Stampa Mass report and official English homily text .

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Celebrating Mass on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, Pope Leo XIV urged Europe to respond to migration with long-term policies rooted in human dignity.

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Picture of the day Genex Tower in Belgrade, Serbia, an iconic example of Yugoslav brutalism, framed with abandoned car park. Today is 35 years since both Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence from Yugoslavia, and started the breakup of Yugoslavia. #ImageOfTheDay

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Picture of the day
Genex Tower in Belgrade, Serbia, an iconic example of Yugoslav brutalism, framed with abandoned car park. Today is 35 years since both Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence from Yugoslavia, and started the breakup of Yugoslavia.
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Gospel and Word of the Day – 04 July 2026 – A reading from the Book of Amos 9:11-15 Thus says the LORD: On that day I will raise up the fallen hut of David; I will wall up its breaches, raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old, That they may conquer what is left of Edom and all the nations that shall bear my name, say I, the LORD, who will do this. Yes, days are coming, says the LORD, When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the vintager, him who sows the seed; The juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains, and all the hills shall run with it. I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel; they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities, Plant vineyards and drink the wine, set out gardens and eat the fruits. I will plant them upon their own ground; never again shall they be plucked From the land I have given them, say I, the LORD, your God.From the Gospel according to Matthew 9:14-17 The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” The Christian is fundamentally joyful. For this reason, at the end of the Gospel, when they bring the wine, when he speaks of wine, it makes me think of the wedding at Cana – and for this reason Jesus works His miracle – this is why Our Lady, when she realized that there was no more wine… but if there is no wine there is no party … imagining that the wedding feast might therefore end with the drinking of tea or juice: it would not do … it is a feast, and Our Lady asks for the miracle. Such is the Christian life. The Christian life has this joyfulness of spirit, a joyfulness of heart. (…) “This is the second Christian attitude: to recognize Jesus as the whole, the center, the totality. But we will always be tempted to cast this newness of the Gospel, this new wine, into old attitudes … It is sin, we are all sinners. Only recognise it: ‘This is a sin.’ Do not say this goes with this. No! The old wineskins cannot hold the new wine. This is the novelty of the Gospel. Jesus is the bridegroom, the bridegroom who weds the Church, the groom who loves the Church, who gives his life for the Church. Jesus is the one who makes this wedding feast! Jesus asks us the joy of festivity, the joy of being Christians. He also asks of us the all: it’s all Him. If we have something that is not of Him, repent, ask for forgiveness and move on. May the Lord give us, to all of us, the grace always to have this joy, as if we were attending a wedding. And also have this faithfulness to the only bridegroom, who is the Lord.” (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 6 September 2013)

unitedyam

A reading from the Book of Amos
9:11-15

Thus says the LORD:
On that day I will raise up
the fallen hut of David;
I will wall up its breaches,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
That they may conquer what is left of Edom
and all the nations that shall bear my name,
say I, the LORD, who will do this.
Yes, days are coming,
says the LORD,
When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
and the vintager, him who sows the seed;
The juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains,
and all the hills shall run with it.
I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel;
they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities,
Plant vineyards and drink the wine,
set out gardens and eat the fruits.
I will plant them upon their own ground;
never again shall they be plucked
From the land I have given them,
say I, the LORD, your God.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
9:14-17

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.
No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,
for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” 

The Christian is fundamentally joyful. For this reason, at the end of the Gospel, when they bring the wine, when he speaks of wine, it makes me think of the wedding at Cana – and for this reason Jesus works His miracle – this is why Our Lady, when she realized that there was no more wine… but if there is no wine there is no party … imagining that the wedding feast might therefore end with the drinking of tea or juice: it would not do … it is a feast, and Our Lady asks for the miracle. Such is the Christian life. The Christian life has this joyfulness of spirit, a joyfulness of heart. (…) “This is the second Christian attitude: to recognize Jesus as the whole, the center, the totality. But we will always be tempted to cast this newness of the Gospel, this new wine, into old attitudes … It is sin, we are all sinners. Only recognise it: ‘This is a sin.’ Do not say this goes with this. No! The old wineskins cannot hold the new wine. This is the novelty of the Gospel. Jesus is the bridegroom, the bridegroom who weds the Church, the groom who loves the Church, who gives his life for the Church. Jesus is the one who makes this wedding feast! Jesus asks us the joy of festivity, the joy of being Christians. He also asks of us the all: it’s all Him. If we have something that is not of Him, repent, ask for forgiveness and move on. May the Lord give us, to all of us, the grace always to have this joy, as if we were attending a wedding. And also have this faithfulness to the only bridegroom, who is the Lord.” (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 6 September 2013)

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SSPX rejects Vatican’s excommunication, calls it ‘objectively’ unjust and invalid #Catholic The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), whose members are known as “Lefebvrians,” rejected the recent excommunications decreed by the Vatican after consecrating four bishops without papal authorization on July 1 and asserted that the sanctions imposed are “objectively unjust and invalid.”In a letter addressed to Pope Leo XIV, released on July 3, Father Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the SSPX, justified the episcopal consecrations that prompted the Vatican’s decree declaring the group to be in schism as “an extreme measure to save souls, amid the doctrinal and moral confusion in which the Church finds itself.”“We in no way intend to replace the Church, and our sole purpose is to remain faithful to her,” wrote Pagliarani, who leads the group founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who died in 1991.The group founded by Lefebvre aims to preserve the traditional liturgy as it existed prior to the reforms implemented after the Second Vatican Council while maintaining its opposition to aspects of the council’s teachings on ecumenism, religious freedom, and collegiality.Lefebvre was excommunicated in 1988 after ordaining, without the permission of Pope John Paul II, four bishops: Alfonso de Galarreta of Spain, Bernard Fellay of Switzerland, Richard Williamson of England, and Bernard Tissier de Mallerais of France.Amid attempts to build bridges of dialogue with the SSPX, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications in 2009 against the four bishops consecrated by Lefebvre.Tissier de Mallerais and Williamson died in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Galarreta and Fellay, on the other hand, participated in the recent consecration of four new bishops on July 1, for which they were excommunicated once again.‘We had asked for bread’Using as the central theme of his argument the passage from the Gospel according to St. Luke (11:11–13), in which Jesus reminds his disciples that “if you, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him,” Pagliarani asserted that “we had asked for bread — that is, a little understanding in the face of a sincere case of conscience, a gesture of fatherly compassion.”“Unfortunately, we have received a stone,” he continued, noting that, instead of “fish” — that is, “the possibility of temporarily obtaining the necessary means to continue forming good priests … unfortunately, we have received a snake.”“We had asked for an egg, promising to return it as soon as possible,” he added. He affirmed that “the holy tradition we preserve in our souls belongs to the Church, our Mother” but “unfortunately, we have received a scorpion.”The superior of the SSPX assured Leo XIV that the society does not accept the Vatican’s sanctions “in a spirit of bitterness or rebellion” but rather feel encouraged “to love the holy Church even more and to attend to her needs more than ever with all our strength.”“We are certain that one day you yourself or one of your successors will wish to embrace the program of St. Pius X: ‘To restore all things in Christ,’” he said, noting that “on that day, the Holy Father will discover, with great joy and deep consolation, authentically Catholic souls — souls whose bond with the Church was never founded on the shifting sands of ambiguous dialogue but on the rock of Peter’s faith.”‘Turn back!’: Leo XIV’s plea the SSPX ignoredIn his letter, Pagliarani makes no mention of the Catholic Church’s repeated calls for dialogue, which date back to the pontificate of St. John Paul II with the creation of the Ecclesia Dei Commission and which reached one of their highest points in Benedict XVI’s decision to lift the excommunications of the four bishops consecrated by Lefebvre.Pope Francis also reached out to the SSPX with decisions such as allowing sacramental confessions with its priests to be valid and lawful during the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016 — a decision he later extended beyond that year.Pagliarani also did not address Pope Leo XIV’s direct plea to the Society of St. Pius X, asking the group not to commit “a schismatic act.”“In this spirit, and filled with Christian affection, I implore and ask you with all my heart: Turn back!” the Holy Father wrote to them on June 30.“I urge you to carefully consider the spiritual good of the faithful, because the schismatic act you would carry out would deprive them of the lawful — and in some cases, even valid — reception of the sacraments that they love and seek for their own sanctification,” the pope stated.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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SSPX rejects Vatican’s excommunication, calls it ‘objectively’ unjust and invalid #Catholic The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), whose members are known as “Lefebvrians,” rejected the recent excommunications decreed by the Vatican after consecrating four bishops without papal authorization on July 1 and asserted that the sanctions imposed are “objectively unjust and invalid.”In a letter addressed to Pope Leo XIV, released on July 3, Father Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the SSPX, justified the episcopal consecrations that prompted the Vatican’s decree declaring the group to be in schism as “an extreme measure to save souls, amid the doctrinal and moral confusion in which the Church finds itself.”“We in no way intend to replace the Church, and our sole purpose is to remain faithful to her,” wrote Pagliarani, who leads the group founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who died in 1991.The group founded by Lefebvre aims to preserve the traditional liturgy as it existed prior to the reforms implemented after the Second Vatican Council while maintaining its opposition to aspects of the council’s teachings on ecumenism, religious freedom, and collegiality.Lefebvre was excommunicated in 1988 after ordaining, without the permission of Pope John Paul II, four bishops: Alfonso de Galarreta of Spain, Bernard Fellay of Switzerland, Richard Williamson of England, and Bernard Tissier de Mallerais of France.Amid attempts to build bridges of dialogue with the SSPX, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications in 2009 against the four bishops consecrated by Lefebvre.Tissier de Mallerais and Williamson died in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Galarreta and Fellay, on the other hand, participated in the recent consecration of four new bishops on July 1, for which they were excommunicated once again.‘We had asked for bread’Using as the central theme of his argument the passage from the Gospel according to St. Luke (11:11–13), in which Jesus reminds his disciples that “if you, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him,” Pagliarani asserted that “we had asked for bread — that is, a little understanding in the face of a sincere case of conscience, a gesture of fatherly compassion.”“Unfortunately, we have received a stone,” he continued, noting that, instead of “fish” — that is, “the possibility of temporarily obtaining the necessary means to continue forming good priests … unfortunately, we have received a snake.”“We had asked for an egg, promising to return it as soon as possible,” he added. He affirmed that “the holy tradition we preserve in our souls belongs to the Church, our Mother” but “unfortunately, we have received a scorpion.”The superior of the SSPX assured Leo XIV that the society does not accept the Vatican’s sanctions “in a spirit of bitterness or rebellion” but rather feel encouraged “to love the holy Church even more and to attend to her needs more than ever with all our strength.”“We are certain that one day you yourself or one of your successors will wish to embrace the program of St. Pius X: ‘To restore all things in Christ,’” he said, noting that “on that day, the Holy Father will discover, with great joy and deep consolation, authentically Catholic souls — souls whose bond with the Church was never founded on the shifting sands of ambiguous dialogue but on the rock of Peter’s faith.”‘Turn back!’: Leo XIV’s plea the SSPX ignoredIn his letter, Pagliarani makes no mention of the Catholic Church’s repeated calls for dialogue, which date back to the pontificate of St. John Paul II with the creation of the Ecclesia Dei Commission and which reached one of their highest points in Benedict XVI’s decision to lift the excommunications of the four bishops consecrated by Lefebvre.Pope Francis also reached out to the SSPX with decisions such as allowing sacramental confessions with its priests to be valid and lawful during the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016 — a decision he later extended beyond that year.Pagliarani also did not address Pope Leo XIV’s direct plea to the Society of St. Pius X, asking the group not to commit “a schismatic act.”“In this spirit, and filled with Christian affection, I implore and ask you with all my heart: Turn back!” the Holy Father wrote to them on June 30.“I urge you to carefully consider the spiritual good of the faithful, because the schismatic act you would carry out would deprive them of the lawful — and in some cases, even valid — reception of the sacraments that they love and seek for their own sanctification,” the pope stated.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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In a letter addressed to Pope Leo XIV, released on July 3, Father Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the SSPX, justified the episcopal consecrations that prompted the Vatican’s decree.

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Pope Leo XIV accepts Constitution Center’s 2026 Liberty Medal: ‘I am honored’ #Catholic PHILADELPHIA — Pope Leo XIV said he was “honored” to accept the 2026 Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center (NCC) in livestreamed remarks delivered for the ceremony in Philadelphia on July 3.“I am honored to accept the Liberty Medal of the National Constitution Center in this year that marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776,” the Holy Father said.Leo was born in Chicago but earned a bachelor’s degree at Villanova University in the Philadelphia suburbs. The NCC presented the award to the pontiff in person at the Vatican on April 30, ahead of the ceremony.In his remarks, Leo thanked those gathered in Philadelphia for the occasion. The NCC building overlooks the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the country’s founders developed and adopted the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.“As a son of this great country, founded by courageous men and women who dreamed of liberty and of a better life for themselves and for their children, I join you in asking God’s blessings upon America’s future, that the lofty ideals enshrined at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence may continue to guide the flourishing of the nation in unity, justice, and peace,” Leo said.“From our youth, most of us have admired the eloquence of those words, with their resounding appeal to the law of nature and to nature’s God as the basis of their assertion that all men and women are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” he said.The pontiff said that although the text employed “the language of the Enlightenment,” the claim is “ultimately grounded in an understanding of the human person inspired by the great biblical vision of man and woman being created in the divine image.”“It is indeed here that we discover the basis of human dignity; dignity which precedes the establishment of any state and whose custody constitutes its very purpose,” Leo said. Pope Leo XIV watches the livestreamed ceremony between the Vatican and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on July 3, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Respecting the right to life “in every form and condition,” he said, is directly tied to the nation’s vitality. He said society must cultivate a reverence for life that “sways the hearts of individuals and inspires laws that recognize and safeguard this gift from the moment of conception to natural death.”The right to liberty, the pontiff said, is much deeper than simply doing what one wants. It is “founded upon the human person’s capacity to know the truth and adhere to what is good, even at great cost — a sacrifice well known to many who have labored to shape this country,” he said.“The desire for truth and freedom, as well as the very pursuit of happiness, continues to inspire people of all generations to ask fundamental questions regarding the meaning of life, our ultimate purpose, and indeed about God, and it is proper for magnanimous hearts to endeavor to answer these questions with sincerity,” Leo said.The Holy Father said that religious freedom, to be “free from fear and coercion, as enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” is needed to answer those questions.“It is my hope that this tradition will continue to bear fruit in a public discourse marked by moderation, respect for the views of others, and an ongoing effort to find common ground in promoting the cause of peace and reconciliation, at home and abroad,” he added.The pope said he is praying that the 250th anniversary of the United States “may be the occasion of a solemn recommitment to these ideals that have made America a country that values peace and prosperity, a country characterized by generosity and nobility of heart.”Archbishop Perez, Gov. Shapiro speakThe ceremony was attended by a few hundred guests and included other speakers, such as Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Perez, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, state Attorney General Dave Sunday, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, and local Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religious leaders.Perez said throughout Leo’s life — as priest, bishop, cardinal, and pope — he has defended the “inherent dignity of all people and building pathways to peace,” including a defense of religious freedom.“True freedom stems from defending dignity and the value of every human being,” he said.Perez told EWTN News following the event that the pope’s words “bring us back to our origins” as Americans regarding the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.“It was wonderful to hear him once again bring us back to center, that we all were created in a very image and likeness of God,” the archbishop said. “Our human dignity and our rights flow from that. They flow from being created in Godʼs image and likeness and from there flows our freedom and the heart that seeks God.”“Itʼs a wonderful day for Philadelphia,” Perez said. “Itʼs a wonderful day for the country. Itʼs a wonderful day for the world.”Shapiro congratulated the pope on receiving the award and thanked the Holy Father, on behalf of Pennsylvania, “for using your voice, your power, to advance religious liberty for all people.”The ceremony included the ringing of a replica of the Liberty Bell just outside the building. It was rung by Sunday, the attorney general, who recalled the words of Benjamin Franklin when the Founding Father was asked what form of government they had created after the constitutional convention: “A republic, if you can keep it.”“Our Constitution is the rock upon which we will build in the next 250 years,” Sunday said.
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Pope Leo XIV accepts Constitution Center’s 2026 Liberty Medal: ‘I am honored’ #Catholic PHILADELPHIA — Pope Leo XIV said he was “honored” to accept the 2026 Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center (NCC) in livestreamed remarks delivered for the ceremony in Philadelphia on July 3.“I am honored to accept the Liberty Medal of the National Constitution Center in this year that marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776,” the Holy Father said.Leo was born in Chicago but earned a bachelor’s degree at Villanova University in the Philadelphia suburbs. The NCC presented the award to the pontiff in person at the Vatican on April 30, ahead of the ceremony.In his remarks, Leo thanked those gathered in Philadelphia for the occasion. The NCC building overlooks the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the country’s founders developed and adopted the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.“As a son of this great country, founded by courageous men and women who dreamed of liberty and of a better life for themselves and for their children, I join you in asking God’s blessings upon America’s future, that the lofty ideals enshrined at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence may continue to guide the flourishing of the nation in unity, justice, and peace,” Leo said.“From our youth, most of us have admired the eloquence of those words, with their resounding appeal to the law of nature and to nature’s God as the basis of their assertion that all men and women are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” he said.The pontiff said that although the text employed “the language of the Enlightenment,” the claim is “ultimately grounded in an understanding of the human person inspired by the great biblical vision of man and woman being created in the divine image.”“It is indeed here that we discover the basis of human dignity; dignity which precedes the establishment of any state and whose custody constitutes its very purpose,” Leo said. Pope Leo XIV watches the livestreamed ceremony between the Vatican and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on July 3, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Respecting the right to life “in every form and condition,” he said, is directly tied to the nation’s vitality. He said society must cultivate a reverence for life that “sways the hearts of individuals and inspires laws that recognize and safeguard this gift from the moment of conception to natural death.”The right to liberty, the pontiff said, is much deeper than simply doing what one wants. It is “founded upon the human person’s capacity to know the truth and adhere to what is good, even at great cost — a sacrifice well known to many who have labored to shape this country,” he said.“The desire for truth and freedom, as well as the very pursuit of happiness, continues to inspire people of all generations to ask fundamental questions regarding the meaning of life, our ultimate purpose, and indeed about God, and it is proper for magnanimous hearts to endeavor to answer these questions with sincerity,” Leo said.The Holy Father said that religious freedom, to be “free from fear and coercion, as enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” is needed to answer those questions.“It is my hope that this tradition will continue to bear fruit in a public discourse marked by moderation, respect for the views of others, and an ongoing effort to find common ground in promoting the cause of peace and reconciliation, at home and abroad,” he added.The pope said he is praying that the 250th anniversary of the United States “may be the occasion of a solemn recommitment to these ideals that have made America a country that values peace and prosperity, a country characterized by generosity and nobility of heart.”Archbishop Perez, Gov. Shapiro speakThe ceremony was attended by a few hundred guests and included other speakers, such as Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Perez, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, state Attorney General Dave Sunday, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, and local Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religious leaders.Perez said throughout Leo’s life — as priest, bishop, cardinal, and pope — he has defended the “inherent dignity of all people and building pathways to peace,” including a defense of religious freedom.“True freedom stems from defending dignity and the value of every human being,” he said.Perez told EWTN News following the event that the pope’s words “bring us back to our origins” as Americans regarding the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.“It was wonderful to hear him once again bring us back to center, that we all were created in a very image and likeness of God,” the archbishop said. “Our human dignity and our rights flow from that. They flow from being created in Godʼs image and likeness and from there flows our freedom and the heart that seeks God.”“Itʼs a wonderful day for Philadelphia,” Perez said. “Itʼs a wonderful day for the country. Itʼs a wonderful day for the world.”Shapiro congratulated the pope on receiving the award and thanked the Holy Father, on behalf of Pennsylvania, “for using your voice, your power, to advance religious liberty for all people.”The ceremony included the ringing of a replica of the Liberty Bell just outside the building. It was rung by Sunday, the attorney general, who recalled the words of Benjamin Franklin when the Founding Father was asked what form of government they had created after the constitutional convention: “A republic, if you can keep it.”“Our Constitution is the rock upon which we will build in the next 250 years,” Sunday said.

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The pope delivered livestreamed remarks, praising the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence: the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

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Pope Leo XIV congratulates the U.S. on its 250th anniversary – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV celebrated the contributions of Catholics and immigrants to the United States in an open letter to Americans for the country’s 250th anniversary.The letter, dated June 25 and released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Friday, also highlighted the principles of religious freedom and the right to life.Unknown block type “cdn77.asset”, specify a component for it in the `components.types` optionLeo, the first U.S.-born pope, wrote that the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, “gave enduring voice to the ideals of liberty, equality, the pursuit of happiness, justice, and democratic self-government.”The pope called religious freedom “among the most cherished of these principles,” writing that it is “central to the American promise, protecting both individual dignity and the peaceful coexistence of a diverse people.” That freedom has allowed the Catholic Church to flourish in the U.S., serving the nation in many fields including “education, the preferential care for the poor, healthcare, and basic social services,” Leo wroteThe pope also underscored the importance for the country’s history of the “God-given dignity of every human life.” Recognizing that dignity means “safeguarding human life from its beginning at conception until natural death” and caring for the “vulnerable, the suffering, and the forgotten,” he wrote.It also means “welcoming, protecting, and assisting immigrants,” who “have helped to shape the nation’s character,” Leo wrote.The pope’s letter to Americans closed with an invocation of the “Immaculate Conception, patroness of this country, that she will continue to watch over America and protect all who dwell therein.”
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Pope Leo XIV congratulates the U.S. on its 250th anniversary – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV celebrated the contributions of Catholics and immigrants to the United States in an open letter to Americans for the country’s 250th anniversary.The letter, dated June 25 and released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Friday, also highlighted the principles of religious freedom and the right to life.Unknown block type “cdn77.asset”, specify a component for it in the `components.types` optionLeo, the first U.S.-born pope, wrote that the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, “gave enduring voice to the ideals of liberty, equality, the pursuit of happiness, justice, and democratic self-government.”The pope called religious freedom “among the most cherished of these principles,” writing that it is “central to the American promise, protecting both individual dignity and the peaceful coexistence of a diverse people.” That freedom has allowed the Catholic Church to flourish in the U.S., serving the nation in many fields including “education, the preferential care for the poor, healthcare, and basic social services,” Leo wroteThe pope also underscored the importance for the country’s history of the “God-given dignity of every human life.” Recognizing that dignity means “safeguarding human life from its beginning at conception until natural death” and caring for the “vulnerable, the suffering, and the forgotten,” he wrote.It also means “welcoming, protecting, and assisting immigrants,” who “have helped to shape the nation’s character,” Leo wrote.The pope’s letter to Americans closed with an invocation of the “Immaculate Conception, patroness of this country, that she will continue to watch over America and protect all who dwell therein.”

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The pontiff’s letter stressed religious freedom, the right to life, and the contributions of Catholics and immigrants to American history.

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Bishop celebrates Mass at joyful Lake Hopatcong parish #Catholic - On June 28, Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in the Lake Hopatcong neighborhood of Jefferson Township, N.J., welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the parish’s Family Mass during the pastoral visit in the church. Father Sean McDonnell, pastor of Star of the Sea, concelebrated the liturgy. Children participating in Star of the Sea’s Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW), from grades kindergarten to third grade, were dismissed from the Mass to hear the God’s word proclaimed at their level by trained adults and enjoy faith-based activities such as coloring. The children returned to Mass during the presentation of gifts. CLOW occurs at Star of the Sea several times throughout the year. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
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Bishop celebrates Mass at joyful Lake Hopatcong parish #Catholic – On June 28, Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in the Lake Hopatcong neighborhood of Jefferson Township, N.J., welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the parish’s Family Mass during the pastoral visit in the church. Father Sean McDonnell, pastor of Star of the Sea, concelebrated the liturgy. Children participating in Star of the Sea’s Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW), from grades kindergarten to third grade, were dismissed from the Mass to hear the God’s word proclaimed at their level by trained adults and enjoy faith-based activities such as coloring. The children returned to Mass during the presentation of gifts. CLOW occurs at Star of the Sea several times throughout the year. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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Bishop celebrates Mass at joyful Lake Hopatcong parish #Catholic –

On June 28, Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in the Lake Hopatcong neighborhood of Jefferson Township, N.J., welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the parish’s Family Mass during the pastoral visit in the church. Father Sean McDonnell, pastor of Star of the Sea, concelebrated the liturgy. Children participating in Star of the Sea’s Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW), from grades kindergarten to third grade, were dismissed from the Mass to hear the God’s word proclaimed at their level by trained adults and enjoy faith-based activities such as coloring. The children returned to Mass during the presentation of gifts. CLOW occurs at Star of the Sea several times throughout the year.

BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
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– On June 28, Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in the Lake Hopatcong neighborhood of Jefferson Township, N.J., welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the parish’s Family Mass during the pastoral visit in the church. Father Sean McDonnell, pastor of Star of the Sea, concelebrated the liturgy. Children participating in Star of the Sea’s Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW), from grades kindergarten to third grade, were dismissed from the Mass to hear the God’s word proclaimed at their level by trained adults and enjoy faith-based activities such as coloring. The children returned to Mass during the presentation

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July 3, 2004:  The death of Andriyan Nikolayev

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Space Race pioneer Andriyan Grigoryevich Nikolayev died July 3, 2004, in Cheboksary, Russia. Even among the first group of Soviet cosmonauts selected, he was considered elite, a member of the “Vanguard Six” chosen for the Vostok missions. His career included piloting Vostok 3 in August 1962, which became the first instance of two crewed spacecraftContinue reading “July 3, 2004:  The death of Andriyan Nikolayev”

The post July 3, 2004:  The death of Andriyan Nikolayev appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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The Sky This Week from July 3 to 10: Mars and Uranus meet

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Friday, July 3Although the Moon is still bright, there’s a short window after darkness falls and before moonrise to sneak in some deep-sky viewing. Let’s get a jump on tomorrow’s celebration of U.S. Independence Day with a look at the Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946) in Cygnus, which has reached  an altitude of more than 40°Continue reading “The Sky This Week from July 3 to 10: Mars and Uranus meet”

The post The Sky This Week from July 3 to 10: Mars and Uranus meet appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Nicaraguan dictatorship detains Bishop Abelardo Mata again #Catholic Nicaraguan police detained Bishop Emeritus Abelardo Mata again on June 30, just one day after his initial detention and subsequent release on June 29. The 80-year-old prelate is reportedly now under house arrest.Mata, bishop emeritus of Estelí, was arrested at a clinic where he had gone for a checkup for his pacemaker. This occurred the day after he celebrated a Mass in which he prayed for the persecuted Church in Nicaragua, an act that may have provoked the ire of the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo.Following the new detention, the bishop is reportedly under house arrest at his home in the town of Tisma, according to the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa.In addition to the bishop, Father Francisco Morales, pastor of Calvary’s Cross Church in Estelí, where Mata celebrated Mass on June 28, and Deacon Wilfred Arauz Rodríguez were also detained. Both were released but remain subject to conditions.“Bishop Mata holds no administrative responsibilities within the Diocese of Estelí but continues to assist that diocese with its pastoral needs. He thus went to celebrate Mass last Sunday at the request of the parish priest. However, the Sandinista dictatorship has forbidden him from being in the department of Estelí,” ​​Martha Patricia Molina explained on July 2 to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. She is the author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” which documents thousands of attacks by the dictatorship against Catholics since 2018.Molina further highlighted that “the Diocese of Estelí has ​​always been a target of repression by the Sandinista dictatorship due to the hatred the dictatorial couple harbors toward Bishop Rolando José Álvarez, the apostolic administrator. Although Álvarez is not voicing opinions, the dictatorship views him as a constant focus of their attention.”Álvarez, apostolic administrator of Estelí since 2021, following Mata’s resignation, currently lives in Rome after being exiled in January 2024 while serving a 26-year prison sentence. The prelate was a consistent critic of the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship.Even though Álvarez is living in exile, Pope Francis confirmed him in his position as bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí.Molina also told ACI Prensa that the situation in Estelí “is being aggravated because Mata has been critical of the arbitrary actions committed by the Sandinista dictatorship. Currently, we only learn of 10% of the attacks committed against the Catholic Church because the rest go unreported due to the fear and caution priests and laypeople have about speaking out in the news media or on social media.”The researcher noted that the number of reports could reach “400 a day” if Catholics were able to speak freely in public.The ‘dire’ situation in EstelíMolina noted that the dictatorship is now persecuting the Church in a different way: “They had stopped abducting priests, but now they have gone back to it; furthermore, there are cases of priests having to report to police stations to give statements, and also there’s the constant monitoring and harassment of priests across the countryʼs various dioceses by the police.”The researcher pointed out that the Diocese of Estelí, “the one most persecuted by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship after Matagalpa,” is currently forced to “operate without [its bishop] and with only 42% of its clergy. This makes pastoral work difficult and places a heavier workload on the active priests.”These priests must also take on “the duties of those who are in exile due to persecution, those who have passed away, or those who, for one reason or another, are not exercising their ministry in Nicaragua,” she pointed out.“The situation is worsening because the Sandinista dictatorship has banned diaconal and priestly ordinations in that diocese,” she emphasized. Ordinations are also forbidden in Matagalpa, Jinotega, and Siuna. None of the four dioceses has its bishop present, as they have all been exiled from Nicaragua.The need to be vigilant“We have to remain vigilant regarding Bishop Mata because his health is fragile and requires professional care. What worries me is that the last individuals who have been under surveillance by the dictatorship or the police have ended up in worse condition or even dead,” Arturo McFields, Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), told ACI Prensa on July 2.A recent example of this situation is the case of Brooklyn Rivera, an Indigenous leader and political prisoner whom the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship held incommunicado for over 970 days. He passed away in late May at the age of 73, following several statements from the regime regarding his critical health condition.“If the dictatorship’s actions are not strongly denounced, the regime would not hesitate to bring about the death of Bishop Mata, as they harbor deep resentment toward this man of God because of his courage and clarity for many years,” McFields emphasized.An exiled Nicaraguan priest who prefers to remain anonymous to avoid reprisals told ACI Prensa that the situation involving Mata “is sad, but it can also be viewed as a sign of the fear the dictatorship has of an elderly bishop, an 80-year-old (with health issues) because his presence as a shepherd strengthens the lives of the faithful,” ensuring that “the faith remains alive.”The priest emphasized that he continues to prepare “our hearts for a future in which we can rebuild the Church in Nicaragua not only socially but also through faith because spiritual and pastoral reconstruction work must also be done.”Call for releaseFélix Maradiaga, president of the Freedom for Nicaragua Foundation, issued “an urgent call to the international community, human rights organizations, the world’s democracies, and all people of goodwill to remain vigilant, demand the immediate release of Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata and all arbitrarily detained members of the clergy, and firmly condemn this new escalation of repression.”“Nicaragua cannot normalize a dictatorship imprisoning priests, silencing pulpits, and persecuting the faith. The moral voice of the Church has historically stood with the Nicaraguan people during their most difficult times, and that is precisely why the regime seeks to intimidate it,” Maradiaga told ACI Prensa.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Nicaraguan dictatorship detains Bishop Abelardo Mata again #Catholic Nicaraguan police detained Bishop Emeritus Abelardo Mata again on June 30, just one day after his initial detention and subsequent release on June 29. The 80-year-old prelate is reportedly now under house arrest.Mata, bishop emeritus of Estelí, was arrested at a clinic where he had gone for a checkup for his pacemaker. This occurred the day after he celebrated a Mass in which he prayed for the persecuted Church in Nicaragua, an act that may have provoked the ire of the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo.Following the new detention, the bishop is reportedly under house arrest at his home in the town of Tisma, according to the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa.In addition to the bishop, Father Francisco Morales, pastor of Calvary’s Cross Church in Estelí, where Mata celebrated Mass on June 28, and Deacon Wilfred Arauz Rodríguez were also detained. Both were released but remain subject to conditions.“Bishop Mata holds no administrative responsibilities within the Diocese of Estelí but continues to assist that diocese with its pastoral needs. He thus went to celebrate Mass last Sunday at the request of the parish priest. However, the Sandinista dictatorship has forbidden him from being in the department of Estelí,” ​​Martha Patricia Molina explained on July 2 to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. She is the author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” which documents thousands of attacks by the dictatorship against Catholics since 2018.Molina further highlighted that “the Diocese of Estelí has ​​always been a target of repression by the Sandinista dictatorship due to the hatred the dictatorial couple harbors toward Bishop Rolando José Álvarez, the apostolic administrator. Although Álvarez is not voicing opinions, the dictatorship views him as a constant focus of their attention.”Álvarez, apostolic administrator of Estelí since 2021, following Mata’s resignation, currently lives in Rome after being exiled in January 2024 while serving a 26-year prison sentence. The prelate was a consistent critic of the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship.Even though Álvarez is living in exile, Pope Francis confirmed him in his position as bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí.Molina also told ACI Prensa that the situation in Estelí “is being aggravated because Mata has been critical of the arbitrary actions committed by the Sandinista dictatorship. Currently, we only learn of 10% of the attacks committed against the Catholic Church because the rest go unreported due to the fear and caution priests and laypeople have about speaking out in the news media or on social media.”The researcher noted that the number of reports could reach “400 a day” if Catholics were able to speak freely in public.The ‘dire’ situation in EstelíMolina noted that the dictatorship is now persecuting the Church in a different way: “They had stopped abducting priests, but now they have gone back to it; furthermore, there are cases of priests having to report to police stations to give statements, and also there’s the constant monitoring and harassment of priests across the countryʼs various dioceses by the police.”The researcher pointed out that the Diocese of Estelí, “the one most persecuted by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship after Matagalpa,” is currently forced to “operate without [its bishop] and with only 42% of its clergy. This makes pastoral work difficult and places a heavier workload on the active priests.”These priests must also take on “the duties of those who are in exile due to persecution, those who have passed away, or those who, for one reason or another, are not exercising their ministry in Nicaragua,” she pointed out.“The situation is worsening because the Sandinista dictatorship has banned diaconal and priestly ordinations in that diocese,” she emphasized. Ordinations are also forbidden in Matagalpa, Jinotega, and Siuna. None of the four dioceses has its bishop present, as they have all been exiled from Nicaragua.The need to be vigilant“We have to remain vigilant regarding Bishop Mata because his health is fragile and requires professional care. What worries me is that the last individuals who have been under surveillance by the dictatorship or the police have ended up in worse condition or even dead,” Arturo McFields, Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), told ACI Prensa on July 2.A recent example of this situation is the case of Brooklyn Rivera, an Indigenous leader and political prisoner whom the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship held incommunicado for over 970 days. He passed away in late May at the age of 73, following several statements from the regime regarding his critical health condition.“If the dictatorship’s actions are not strongly denounced, the regime would not hesitate to bring about the death of Bishop Mata, as they harbor deep resentment toward this man of God because of his courage and clarity for many years,” McFields emphasized.An exiled Nicaraguan priest who prefers to remain anonymous to avoid reprisals told ACI Prensa that the situation involving Mata “is sad, but it can also be viewed as a sign of the fear the dictatorship has of an elderly bishop, an 80-year-old (with health issues) because his presence as a shepherd strengthens the lives of the faithful,” ensuring that “the faith remains alive.”The priest emphasized that he continues to prepare “our hearts for a future in which we can rebuild the Church in Nicaragua not only socially but also through faith because spiritual and pastoral reconstruction work must also be done.”Call for releaseFélix Maradiaga, president of the Freedom for Nicaragua Foundation, issued “an urgent call to the international community, human rights organizations, the world’s democracies, and all people of goodwill to remain vigilant, demand the immediate release of Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata and all arbitrarily detained members of the clergy, and firmly condemn this new escalation of repression.”“Nicaragua cannot normalize a dictatorship imprisoning priests, silencing pulpits, and persecuting the faith. The moral voice of the Church has historically stood with the Nicaraguan people during their most difficult times, and that is precisely why the regime seeks to intimidate it,” Maradiaga told ACI Prensa.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Mata was detained on June 29, released the same day, and as of June 30 reportedly is under house arrest. At a June 28 Mass he asked for prayers for the persecuted Church, triggering retaliation.

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 03 July 2026 – A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians 2:19-22 Brothers and sisters: You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.From the Gospel according to John 20:24-29 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But Thomas said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.""Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe" (Jn 20: 25). Basically, from these words emerges the conviction that Jesus can now be recognized by his wounds rather than by his face. Thomas holds that the signs that confirm Jesus’ identity are now above all his wounds, in which he reveals to us how much he loved us. In this the Apostle is not mistaken. (…) Jesus reappeared among his disciples eight days later and this time Thomas was present. Jesus summons him:  "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing" (Jn 20: 27). Thomas reacts with the most splendid profession of faith in the whole of the New Testament:  "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20: 28). St Augustine comments on this:  Thomas "saw and touched the man, and acknowledged the God whom he neither saw nor touched; but by the means of what he saw and touched, he now put far away from him every doubt, and believed the other" (In ev. Jo. 121, 5). The Evangelist continues with Jesus’ last words to Thomas:  "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" (Jn 20: 29). This sentence can also be put into the present:  "Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe". In any case, here Jesus spells out a fundamental principle for Christians who will come after Thomas, hence, for all of us. (Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 27 September 2006)

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A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians
2:19-22

Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

From the Gospel according to John
20:24-29

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."
But Thomas said to them,
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

"Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe" (Jn 20: 25). Basically, from these words emerges the conviction that Jesus can now be recognized by his wounds rather than by his face. Thomas holds that the signs that confirm Jesus’ identity are now above all his wounds, in which he reveals to us how much he loved us. In this the Apostle is not mistaken. (…) Jesus reappeared among his disciples eight days later and this time Thomas was present. Jesus summons him:  "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing" (Jn 20: 27). Thomas reacts with the most splendid profession of faith in the whole of the New Testament:  "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20: 28). St Augustine comments on this:  Thomas "saw and touched the man, and acknowledged the God whom he neither saw nor touched; but by the means of what he saw and touched, he now put far away from him every doubt, and believed the other" (In ev. Jo. 121, 5). The Evangelist continues with Jesus’ last words to Thomas:  "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" (Jn 20: 29). This sentence can also be put into the present:  "Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe". In any case, here Jesus spells out a fundamental principle for Christians who will come after Thomas, hence, for all of us.

(Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 27 September 2006)

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Wyoming Catholic College student wins Presidential 1776 Award #Catholic Incoming Wyoming Catholic College student Miriam Washut took home a 0,000 scholarship after winning first place in the first-ever Presidential 1776 Awards, a nationwide civics competition.Washut, who is the daughter of Wyoming Catholic College President Kyle Washut, emerged triumphant from among 20 finalists and over 8,000 students from all 50 states and territories who entered the competition.Washut, along with the second and third place winners, met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office July 1 alongside U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.TweetMcMahon said the award “recognizes students who have demonstrated a deep understanding of America’s founding principles and enthusiasm for learning America’s story. What better way to celebrate 250 years of this great nation than by honoring those who will carry us into the next 250!”University of Mary launches graduate school of theology in ArizonaThe University of Mary has announced it will open a graduate school of theology in Phoenix in the fall.The satellite graduate school will offer a four-year master of divinity degree and a 36-credit master of arts in theology, taught in person at the Arizona Center, located across from St. Mary’s Basilica and the diocesan pastoral center, the university announced on June 30. The university described the move as a further development of its “long-standing partnership with the Diocese of Phoenix and Nazareth Seminary,” and an expansion of its Arizona mission. “What originally started as undergraduate formation for the seminarians of the diocese has blossomed into an academic program that now includes master’s-level work,” said Eric Westby, associate professor of theology at the university. “This formation will help students know their faith more deeply and be equipped to pass it on in a variety of settings,” he added. Benedictine College to open Independence Hall-themed library  Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, will hold a soft-launch opening of its new library, built to resemble Independence Hall in Philadelphia, on July 4. Benedictine Collegeʼs new library is designed to simultaneously honor the Catholic intellectual tradition and the principles of American liberty. | Credit: Courtesy of Benedictine College The interior of the new library includes an exact replica of Independence Hall’s historic Assembly Room, where America’s Declaration of Independence was debated and signed. The Assembly Room will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to noon, the college said in a press release. Visitors to the library, which is in the final stages of construction, will also be able to view a replica of the Liberty Bell. Visitors will also have the opportunity to view a collection of historic documents through an exhibit titled “Celebrating the American Experiment.”“Thirty-nine documents trace the story of the American founding and its origins in centuries of Western political thought,” the exhibit page states. “Among them are works by Aristotle, Cicero, John Locke, and Algernon Sidney, as well as the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and a rare 1788 printing of the Constitution of the United States, one of only five known copies in existence.”DeSantis blocks funding for security improvements at Catholic schoolsRepublican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed a bill that would have allocated million in state funding for security improvements at Catholic schools in Miami-Dade County. The veto came after the Florida Legislature passed the bill on May 29.The Archdiocese of Miami expressed its disappointment with the veto and thanked lawmakers for their efforts to pass legislation to protect its more than 37,000 students. “Security enhancements are not a luxury; they are an essential component of providing safe environments where students can learn and thrive,” the Archdiocese of Miami said in a June 29 statement. The archdiocese noted that it does not receive any funding to offset security costs, despite other privately-run public charter schools in the state receiving government aid.
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Wyoming Catholic College student wins Presidential 1776 Award #Catholic Incoming Wyoming Catholic College student Miriam Washut took home a $150,000 scholarship after winning first place in the first-ever Presidential 1776 Awards, a nationwide civics competition.Washut, who is the daughter of Wyoming Catholic College President Kyle Washut, emerged triumphant from among 20 finalists and over 8,000 students from all 50 states and territories who entered the competition.Washut, along with the second and third place winners, met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office July 1 alongside U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.TweetMcMahon said the award “recognizes students who have demonstrated a deep understanding of America’s founding principles and enthusiasm for learning America’s story. What better way to celebrate 250 years of this great nation than by honoring those who will carry us into the next 250!”University of Mary launches graduate school of theology in ArizonaThe University of Mary has announced it will open a graduate school of theology in Phoenix in the fall.The satellite graduate school will offer a four-year master of divinity degree and a 36-credit master of arts in theology, taught in person at the Arizona Center, located across from St. Mary’s Basilica and the diocesan pastoral center, the university announced on June 30. The university described the move as a further development of its “long-standing partnership with the Diocese of Phoenix and Nazareth Seminary,” and an expansion of its Arizona mission. “What originally started as undergraduate formation for the seminarians of the diocese has blossomed into an academic program that now includes master’s-level work,” said Eric Westby, associate professor of theology at the university. “This formation will help students know their faith more deeply and be equipped to pass it on in a variety of settings,” he added. Benedictine College to open Independence Hall-themed library  Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, will hold a soft-launch opening of its new library, built to resemble Independence Hall in Philadelphia, on July 4. Benedictine Collegeʼs new library is designed to simultaneously honor the Catholic intellectual tradition and the principles of American liberty. | Credit: Courtesy of Benedictine College The interior of the new library includes an exact replica of Independence Hall’s historic Assembly Room, where America’s Declaration of Independence was debated and signed. The Assembly Room will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to noon, the college said in a press release. Visitors to the library, which is in the final stages of construction, will also be able to view a replica of the Liberty Bell. Visitors will also have the opportunity to view a collection of historic documents through an exhibit titled “Celebrating the American Experiment.”“Thirty-nine documents trace the story of the American founding and its origins in centuries of Western political thought,” the exhibit page states. “Among them are works by Aristotle, Cicero, John Locke, and Algernon Sidney, as well as the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and a rare 1788 printing of the Constitution of the United States, one of only five known copies in existence.”DeSantis blocks funding for security improvements at Catholic schoolsRepublican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed a bill that would have allocated $15 million in state funding for security improvements at Catholic schools in Miami-Dade County. The veto came after the Florida Legislature passed the bill on May 29.The Archdiocese of Miami expressed its disappointment with the veto and thanked lawmakers for their efforts to pass legislation to protect its more than 37,000 students. “Security enhancements are not a luxury; they are an essential component of providing safe environments where students can learn and thrive,” the Archdiocese of Miami said in a June 29 statement. The archdiocese noted that it does not receive any funding to offset security costs, despite other privately-run public charter schools in the state receiving government aid.

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A Wyoming Catholic College student wins a White House civics competition, Benedictine College shows off its new library, and more in this week’s roundup of Catholic education news in the U.S.

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Filipino bishop decries government corruption as ‘grave sin’ – #Catholic – Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan, Philippines, spoke out against government corruption during a June 28 rally at the People Power Monument in Manila.“We cannot remain silent while funds meant for the poor are being stolen. We cannot remain silent while the people’s treasury is being turned into the personal wealth of a few. We cannot remain silent while corruption continues to destroy the future of our children,” Bagaforo said at the White Ribbon March on Sunday, according to Licas News. The chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ Commission on Interreligious Dialogue further condemned corruption as “a grave sin of theft and betrayal of the people.” Bagaforo’s remarks come in the wake of a corruption scandal last year involving infrastructure projects worth an estimated billion.Catholic anti-trafficking leaders  meet in ThailandThe sixth international Talitha Kum Leadership Training Course conference drew 30 Catholic anti-trafficking leaders from 23 countries to the Sam Phran District in Thailand this past week.During the seven-day conference, Talitha Kum Thailand delivered a presentation on education as a form of protection against human trafficking, according to a Licas News report on Monday. Sister Marie-Agnes Suwanna Buasap, SPC, who was present at the first training course in Rome, announced a K–12 curriculum and textbook series called “Don’t Touch Me” aimed at raising vigilance among students and teachers to prevent trafficking cases. “Preventing human trafficking begins in the classroom, from the heart of the teacher, and from the community of love and safety that the school provides,” said Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand.Australian bishops call on Catholics to pray for work on the seaThe Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called on Catholics to pray for mariners ahead of Sea Sunday on July 12.“Sea Sunday is a time when we reflect on the lives and the work of all the seafarers of our world,” Father Tony Cox, SSC, the national director of Stella Maris Australia, said in a press release Wednesday. Cox described mariners as living on the margins of society, recalling how they were unable to set foot on dry land for over a year and a half during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he said, they must face the war-torn Strait of Hormuz.“One visiting seafarer said to me: ‘People do not see us and because of our invisibility they think we are not human. They do not see what we do and forget that we too have needs,’” Cox said.Cambodia school takes name of Buddhist and Catholic leadersA Buddhist primary school for monks in southern Cambodia has adopted the names of Buddhist and Catholic religious leaders in a display of unity between the faith communities.The “Chomroen Olivier” school was inaugurated June 25 and combines the names of Venerable Nget Chomroeun, the Buddhist abbot of Ang Montrey Pagoda, and Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, MEP, apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh, according to a report from Fides News Agency. Schmitthaeusler hailed the school as "a beautiful, concrete, and living sign of collaboration between the pagoda and the Catholic Church.”Maronite, Armenian Catholic leaders meet with Pope Leo Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rai and Armenian Catholic Patriarch Raphael Bedros XXI Minassian shared updates about the faithful in their respective countries with Pope Leo XIV during a meeting Tuesday.Al-Rai told Leo a new phase of dialogue for peace began after the pope’s trip to Cedar, and they emphasized the need for continued dialogue and national unity at a fragile moment for Lebanon, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported. Minassian and Leo discussed the witness of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the current state of the Armenian Catholic Church.Irish government proposes abortion leave after removing reflection periodThe Republic of Ireland’s government is considering proposals to provide paid leave for women who lose a baby before 23 weeks, including those who have an abortion.The news comes after the Irish government voted to remove the three-day wait period for pregnant women considering an abortion of their unborn baby. Eilís Mulroy of the Pro-life Campaign said that the government had its priorities in the wrong order. “After the way they voted recently to abolish the three-day reflection period prior to an abortion, senior members of government like Micheál Martin and Simon Harris are now, in effect, saying to women: ‘We recognize the grief and trauma you might experience after an abortion, so we believe youʼre entitled to five days' leave. However, we voted to abolish the three-day reflection period before an abortion despite the fact that it could potentially safeguard you from finding yourself in that awful situation in the first place,’” he said, adding: “The position these politicians are adopting makes absolutely no sense.”Priest who developed video evangelization program named bishop of Arundel and BrightonFather Stephen Wang has been appointed as the new Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, England, replacing Archbishop Richard Moth, who was recently appointed as the archbishop of Westminster.Wang described the appointment as “a huge surprise,” adding: “I’m grateful to Pope Leo for calling me and putting his trust in me, and to Archbishop Moth for his care for the diocese over these years.” The bishop-elect has spent the last five years as rector of the Venerable English College, one of two English and Welsh seminaries in Rome, training men for the priesthood. Wang, whose appointment has been widely welcomed, is renowned for having developed “Sycamore,” a video-based Catholic evangelization program that explores the Catholic faith through short films and guided discussion. Designed to make the faith more accessible, “Sycamore” is now widely used by Catholic parishes, schools, and university chaplaincies across the world.German bishops welcome apostolic nuncio from KenyaMembers of the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) have welcomed the former apostolic nuncio to Kenya, Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, pledging their collaboration in the Vatican diplomat’s new apostolic mission.“We are delighted by your arrival in our country and wish you God’s abundant blessings for your new task,” GCBC Vice President Bishop Michael Gerber of the Diocese of Fulda said, according to a report from ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on Tuesday. Pope Leo XIV transferred van Megen, who served as the apostolic nuncio in Kenya for seven years, on April 9 to Germany after Archbishop Nikola Eterović resigned upon reaching the canonical age limit.
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Filipino bishop decries government corruption as ‘grave sin’ – #Catholic – Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan, Philippines, spoke out against government corruption during a June 28 rally at the People Power Monument in Manila.“We cannot remain silent while funds meant for the poor are being stolen. We cannot remain silent while the people’s treasury is being turned into the personal wealth of a few. We cannot remain silent while corruption continues to destroy the future of our children,” Bagaforo said at the White Ribbon March on Sunday, according to Licas News. The chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ Commission on Interreligious Dialogue further condemned corruption as “a grave sin of theft and betrayal of the people.” Bagaforo’s remarks come in the wake of a corruption scandal last year involving infrastructure projects worth an estimated $2 billion.Catholic anti-trafficking leaders  meet in ThailandThe sixth international Talitha Kum Leadership Training Course conference drew 30 Catholic anti-trafficking leaders from 23 countries to the Sam Phran District in Thailand this past week.During the seven-day conference, Talitha Kum Thailand delivered a presentation on education as a form of protection against human trafficking, according to a Licas News report on Monday. Sister Marie-Agnes Suwanna Buasap, SPC, who was present at the first training course in Rome, announced a K–12 curriculum and textbook series called “Don’t Touch Me” aimed at raising vigilance among students and teachers to prevent trafficking cases. “Preventing human trafficking begins in the classroom, from the heart of the teacher, and from the community of love and safety that the school provides,” said Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand.Australian bishops call on Catholics to pray for work on the seaThe Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called on Catholics to pray for mariners ahead of Sea Sunday on July 12.“Sea Sunday is a time when we reflect on the lives and the work of all the seafarers of our world,” Father Tony Cox, SSC, the national director of Stella Maris Australia, said in a press release Wednesday. Cox described mariners as living on the margins of society, recalling how they were unable to set foot on dry land for over a year and a half during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he said, they must face the war-torn Strait of Hormuz.“One visiting seafarer said to me: ‘People do not see us and because of our invisibility they think we are not human. They do not see what we do and forget that we too have needs,’” Cox said.Cambodia school takes name of Buddhist and Catholic leadersA Buddhist primary school for monks in southern Cambodia has adopted the names of Buddhist and Catholic religious leaders in a display of unity between the faith communities.The “Chomroen Olivier” school was inaugurated June 25 and combines the names of Venerable Nget Chomroeun, the Buddhist abbot of Ang Montrey Pagoda, and Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, MEP, apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh, according to a report from Fides News Agency. Schmitthaeusler hailed the school as "a beautiful, concrete, and living sign of collaboration between the pagoda and the Catholic Church.”Maronite, Armenian Catholic leaders meet with Pope Leo Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rai and Armenian Catholic Patriarch Raphael Bedros XXI Minassian shared updates about the faithful in their respective countries with Pope Leo XIV during a meeting Tuesday.Al-Rai told Leo a new phase of dialogue for peace began after the pope’s trip to Cedar, and they emphasized the need for continued dialogue and national unity at a fragile moment for Lebanon, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported. Minassian and Leo discussed the witness of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the current state of the Armenian Catholic Church.Irish government proposes abortion leave after removing reflection periodThe Republic of Ireland’s government is considering proposals to provide paid leave for women who lose a baby before 23 weeks, including those who have an abortion.The news comes after the Irish government voted to remove the three-day wait period for pregnant women considering an abortion of their unborn baby. Eilís Mulroy of the Pro-life Campaign said that the government had its priorities in the wrong order. “After the way they voted recently to abolish the three-day reflection period prior to an abortion, senior members of government like Micheál Martin and Simon Harris are now, in effect, saying to women: ‘We recognize the grief and trauma you might experience after an abortion, so we believe youʼre entitled to five days' leave. However, we voted to abolish the three-day reflection period before an abortion despite the fact that it could potentially safeguard you from finding yourself in that awful situation in the first place,’” he said, adding: “The position these politicians are adopting makes absolutely no sense.”Priest who developed video evangelization program named bishop of Arundel and BrightonFather Stephen Wang has been appointed as the new Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, England, replacing Archbishop Richard Moth, who was recently appointed as the archbishop of Westminster.Wang described the appointment as “a huge surprise,” adding: “I’m grateful to Pope Leo for calling me and putting his trust in me, and to Archbishop Moth for his care for the diocese over these years.” The bishop-elect has spent the last five years as rector of the Venerable English College, one of two English and Welsh seminaries in Rome, training men for the priesthood. Wang, whose appointment has been widely welcomed, is renowned for having developed “Sycamore,” a video-based Catholic evangelization program that explores the Catholic faith through short films and guided discussion. Designed to make the faith more accessible, “Sycamore” is now widely used by Catholic parishes, schools, and university chaplaincies across the world.German bishops welcome apostolic nuncio from KenyaMembers of the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) have welcomed the former apostolic nuncio to Kenya, Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, pledging their collaboration in the Vatican diplomat’s new apostolic mission.“We are delighted by your arrival in our country and wish you God’s abundant blessings for your new task,” GCBC Vice President Bishop Michael Gerber of the Diocese of Fulda said, according to a report from ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on Tuesday. Pope Leo XIV transferred van Megen, who served as the apostolic nuncio in Kenya for seven years, on April 9 to Germany after Archbishop Nikola Eterović resigned upon reaching the canonical age limit.

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Filipino bishop calls out government corruption, anti-trafficking leaders meet in Thailand, Australian bishops call for prayers for sea mariners, and more in this week’s Catholic world news roundup.

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Cameroon diocese announces release of kidnapped priest, religious brothers – #Catholic – NKONGSAMBA, Cameroon — Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Nkongsamba has announced the safe release of a priest and two members of the Fraternity of Franciscans of Emmanuel (FFE) who were reportedly abducted in the country’s North-West Region.In the letter that the diocesan chancellor, Abbé Luc Roger Dodo, issued on July 1, the diocese gave thanks to God for the release of Father John Bosco Bihkong and Brothers Sylvester Sewong and Marie Rodrigue, who were kidnapped on Saturday night, June 27.“Thank you to everyone for your prayers and expressions of support, which have borne fruit,” Dodo said in the letter, quoting the psalmist: "Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.”In a statement issued June 30, the vicar general of the diocese announced the kidnapping of the three men.According to Father Joseph Tchinda Dountio, Bihkong had traveled to his native village of Melim, near Ndop in the North-West Region of Cameroon, to celebrate his first Mass on Friday, June 26.He was accompanied by Brother Sylvester Sewong, guardian of the FFE convent in Kékem, and Brother Marie Rodrigue Sop, who is preparing for a perpetual profession. The three were abducted the following night.No details were provided regarding the identity of the kidnappers, their motives, or whether contact had been established with the abductors.Cameroonʼs North-West Region is one of the two English-speaking regions that have experienced years of insecurity linked to the countryʼs Anglophone crisis.Clergy, women and men religious, and other civilians have periodically been targeted in abductions as violence persists in the region.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
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Cameroon diocese announces release of kidnapped priest, religious brothers – #Catholic – NKONGSAMBA, Cameroon — Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Nkongsamba has announced the safe release of a priest and two members of the Fraternity of Franciscans of Emmanuel (FFE) who were reportedly abducted in the country’s North-West Region.In the letter that the diocesan chancellor, Abbé Luc Roger Dodo, issued on July 1, the diocese gave thanks to God for the release of Father John Bosco Bihkong and Brothers Sylvester Sewong and Marie Rodrigue, who were kidnapped on Saturday night, June 27.“Thank you to everyone for your prayers and expressions of support, which have borne fruit,” Dodo said in the letter, quoting the psalmist: "Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.”In a statement issued June 30, the vicar general of the diocese announced the kidnapping of the three men.According to Father Joseph Tchinda Dountio, Bihkong had traveled to his native village of Melim, near Ndop in the North-West Region of Cameroon, to celebrate his first Mass on Friday, June 26.He was accompanied by Brother Sylvester Sewong, guardian of the FFE convent in Kékem, and Brother Marie Rodrigue Sop, who is preparing for a perpetual profession. The three were abducted the following night.No details were provided regarding the identity of the kidnappers, their motives, or whether contact had been established with the abductors.Cameroonʼs North-West Region is one of the two English-speaking regions that have experienced years of insecurity linked to the countryʼs Anglophone crisis.Clergy, women and men religious, and other civilians have periodically been targeted in abductions as violence persists in the region.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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The Diocese of Nkongsamba gave thanks for the release of Father John Bosco Bihkong and Brothers Sylvester Sewong and Marie Rodrigue, who were kidnapped on June 27.

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2 SSPX bishops hold dubious distinction of being excommunicated twice – #Catholic – Two bishops of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) — Spaniard Alfonso de Galarreta and Swiss Bernard Fellay — incurred automatic excommunication by committing the canonical offense of schism following the ordination of four bishops without the permission of Pope Leo XIV.The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on July 2 declared that the SSPX is in a state of schism following the ordinations. With this Vatican decision, Galarreta and Fellay represent a unique case: They have each been excommunicated twice. Against the will of St. John Paul II, both were consecrated bishops in 1988 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the SSPX, thereby incurring the penalty of schism and excommunication. Pope Benedict XVI pardoned them in 2009.Fellay entered the Écône, Switzerland, seminary in 1977 and was ordained a priest in 1982. After serving as the societyʼs bursar general, he was elected superior of the SSPX in 1994, a position he held until 2012.During his tenure, a certain rapprochement took place between the SSPX and the Vatican, leading to Pope Benedict XVIʼs decision to lift the excommunication in January 2009.However, this decision did not eliminate the illegitimacy of his ministry, as the Bavarian pontiff explained in a letter published in March of the same year.De Galarreta was born in Torrelavega, Spain, and his family emigrated to Argentina, where he entered the La Plata seminary in 1975. Rejecting the reforms driven by the Second Vatican Council, he decided to transfer to the Écône seminary in 1978.Lefebvre ordained him a priest in Buenos Aires in 1980. Five years later, de Galarreta assumed the role of superior of the fraternityʼs South American district.He was subsequently assigned as superior of the Autonomous House in Spain and served as the director of the Our Lady Co-Redemptrix Seminary in La Reja, Argentina. Following the 2018 election of Father Davide Pagliarani as superior of the SSPX, Galarreta was promoted to first assistant general of the society.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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2 SSPX bishops hold dubious distinction of being excommunicated twice – #Catholic – Two bishops of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) — Spaniard Alfonso de Galarreta and Swiss Bernard Fellay — incurred automatic excommunication by committing the canonical offense of schism following the ordination of four bishops without the permission of Pope Leo XIV.The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on July 2 declared that the SSPX is in a state of schism following the ordinations. With this Vatican decision, Galarreta and Fellay represent a unique case: They have each been excommunicated twice. Against the will of St. John Paul II, both were consecrated bishops in 1988 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the SSPX, thereby incurring the penalty of schism and excommunication. Pope Benedict XVI pardoned them in 2009.Fellay entered the Écône, Switzerland, seminary in 1977 and was ordained a priest in 1982. After serving as the societyʼs bursar general, he was elected superior of the SSPX in 1994, a position he held until 2012.During his tenure, a certain rapprochement took place between the SSPX and the Vatican, leading to Pope Benedict XVIʼs decision to lift the excommunication in January 2009.However, this decision did not eliminate the illegitimacy of his ministry, as the Bavarian pontiff explained in a letter published in March of the same year.De Galarreta was born in Torrelavega, Spain, and his family emigrated to Argentina, where he entered the La Plata seminary in 1975. Rejecting the reforms driven by the Second Vatican Council, he decided to transfer to the Écône seminary in 1978.Lefebvre ordained him a priest in Buenos Aires in 1980. Five years later, de Galarreta assumed the role of superior of the fraternityʼs South American district.He was subsequently assigned as superior of the Autonomous House in Spain and served as the director of the Our Lady Co-Redemptrix Seminary in La Reja, Argentina. Following the 2018 election of Father Davide Pagliarani as superior of the SSPX, Galarreta was promoted to first assistant general of the society.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Society of St. Pius X bishops Galarreta and Fellay have been excommunicated twice: by Pope John Paul II in 1988 and again on July 2 for the canonical offense of schism.

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BREAKING: Grand Jury Indicts Former Olympic Canoeist David Hearn on Felony Charges For Vandalizing Reflecting Pool – David Hearn, the former Olympian who was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for destruction of property for vandalizing the Lincoln Reflecting Pool last month was indicted by a grand jury on felony charges on Thursday. The post BREAKING: Grand Jury Indicts Former Olympic Canoeist David Hearn on Felony Charges For Vandalizing Reflecting Pool appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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BREAKING: Grand Jury Indicts Former Olympic Canoeist David Hearn on Felony Charges For Vandalizing Reflecting Pool – David Hearn, the former Olympian who was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for destruction of property for vandalizing the Lincoln Reflecting Pool last month was indicted by a grand jury on felony charges on Thursday. The post BREAKING: Grand Jury Indicts Former Olympic Canoeist David Hearn on Felony Charges For Vandalizing Reflecting Pool appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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View of the Washington Monument reflected in the reflecting pool, surrounded by greenery and visitors enjoying a sunny day in Washington, D.C.

View of the Washington Monument reflected in the reflecting pool, surrounded by greenery and visitors enjoying a sunny day in Washington, D.C.

David Hearn, the former Olympian who was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for destruction of property for vandalizing the Lincoln Reflecting Pool last month was indicted by a grand jury on felony charges on Thursday.

The post BREAKING: Grand Jury Indicts Former Olympic Canoeist David Hearn on Felony Charges For Vandalizing Reflecting Pool appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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LOL! “I’m Dr. Trump” – Trump Posts AI Video of Himself Treating TDS with Testimonials From Rosie O’Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, and Robert De Niro, Other Trump Hating Actors (VIDEO) – President Trump shared an AI-generated meme on Truth Social late Wednesday night, trolling Hollywood celebs and deranged talk show hosts, portraying them as sick people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.  “Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with TDS? The post LOL! “I’m Dr. Trump” – Trump Posts AI Video of Himself Treating TDS with Testimonials From Rosie O’Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, and Robert De Niro, Other Trump Hating Actors (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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LOL! “I’m Dr. Trump” – Trump Posts AI Video of Himself Treating TDS with Testimonials From Rosie O’Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, and Robert De Niro, Other Trump Hating Actors (VIDEO) – President Trump shared an AI-generated meme on Truth Social late Wednesday night, trolling Hollywood celebs and deranged talk show hosts, portraying them as sick people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.  “Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with TDS? The post LOL! “I’m Dr. Trump” – Trump Posts AI Video of Himself Treating TDS with Testimonials From Rosie O’Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, and Robert De Niro, Other Trump Hating Actors (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Three celebrities, including a doctor, discuss health topics in a medical setting, highlighting various perspectives on healthcare issues.

Three celebrities, including a doctor, discuss health topics in a medical setting, highlighting various perspectives on healthcare issues.

President Trump shared an AI-generated meme on Truth Social late Wednesday night, trolling Hollywood celebs and deranged talk show hosts, portraying them as sick people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.  “Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with TDS?

The post LOL! “I’m Dr. Trump” – Trump Posts AI Video of Himself Treating TDS with Testimonials From Rosie O’Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, and Robert De Niro, Other Trump Hating Actors (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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“We are going to celebrate the GREAT AMERICAN COMEBACK”: President Trump Announces First Ever Republican Midterm Concention to Be Held in Dallas in September – President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce the first-ever midterm Republican convention. The post “We are going to celebrate the GREAT AMERICAN COMEBACK”: President Trump Announces First Ever Republican Midterm Concention to Be Held in Dallas in September appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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“We are going to celebrate the GREAT AMERICAN COMEBACK”: President Trump Announces First Ever Republican Midterm Concention to Be Held in Dallas in September – President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce the first-ever midterm Republican convention. The post “We are going to celebrate the GREAT AMERICAN COMEBACK”: President Trump Announces First Ever Republican Midterm Concention to Be Held in Dallas in September appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce the first-ever midterm Republican convention.

The post “We are going to celebrate the GREAT AMERICAN COMEBACK”: President Trump Announces First Ever Republican Midterm Concention to Be Held in Dallas in September appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Mamdani Offers To Cool New Yorkers Down By Sending Them To Siberian Gulag #BabylonBee – NEW YORK, NY — Mayor Zohran Mamdani asked New Yorkers weathering the heatwave to keep their thermostats at a scorching 78 degrees so as not to tax the city’s inadequate power grid. Still, Mamdani said he had other ways to cool down anyone who complains: "Off to gulag!"
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Mamdani Offers To Cool New Yorkers Down By Sending Them To Siberian Gulag #BabylonBee – NEW YORK, NY — Mayor Zohran Mamdani asked New Yorkers weathering the heatwave to keep their thermostats at a scorching 78 degrees so as not to tax the city’s inadequate power grid. Still, Mamdani said he had other ways to cool down anyone who complains: "Off to gulag!"

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NEW YORK, NY — Mayor Zohran Mamdani asked New Yorkers weathering the heatwave to keep their thermostats at a scorching 78 degrees so as not to tax the city’s inadequate power grid. Still, Mamdani said he had other ways to cool down anyone who complains: "Off to gulag!"

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Absolutely Shredded Guy Reveals His Secret Is Water Aerobics #BabylonBee – ORLANDO, FL — After years of being admired for his absolutely shredded physique, local man Chris Kolaski finally revealed that his secret to looking like a Greek god was water aerobics.
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Absolutely Shredded Guy Reveals His Secret Is Water Aerobics #BabylonBee – ORLANDO, FL — After years of being admired for his absolutely shredded physique, local man Chris Kolaski finally revealed that his secret to looking like a Greek god was water aerobics.

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ORLANDO, FL — After years of being admired for his absolutely shredded physique, local man Chris Kolaski finally revealed that his secret to looking like a Greek god was water aerobics.

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LINK Spacecraft Set for Mission to Boost NASA’s Swift Observatory – A Katalyst engineer runs tests on LINK while the satellite is inside the Pegasus XL rocket attached to the Stargazer aircraft at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the evening of Tuesday, June 16, 2026.

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A Katalyst engineer runs tests on LINK while the satellite is inside the Pegasus XL rocket attached to the Stargazer aircraft at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the evening of Tuesday, June 16, 2026.

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Vatican formally notifies SSPX bishops of excommunication #Catholic One day after the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) consecrated four bishops without the permission of Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican issued a decree declaring the excommunication of all bishops involved in the ceremony.Published on July 2 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the decree specified that the consecrating bishops, Bishops Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay, as well as the four bishops consecrated, Bishops Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, and Marc Hanappier, have incurred excommunication latae sententiae for performing the consecrations. These excommunications, according to canon law, can only be removed by the pope.The decree also warned Catholic clergy and lay faithful not to adhere to the SSPX’s “schism,” under penalty of automatic excommunication.The decree, in an explanatory note, lamented that doctrinal discussions between the Holy See and the SSPX, since the time of St. Paul VI, have not resulted in the society’s full communion with the Holy See. The Vatican stated on May 13 that the consecrations would be a schismatic act, resulting in automatic excommunication for the consecrating bishops and those consecrated. The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, later called the SSPX’s act “schismatic”.Pope Leo XIV even issued a final appeal to the society not to proceed with these consecrations.“In this spirit, and filled with Christian affection, I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: Please turn back,” Leo wrote in his letter.In 1988, after Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the SSPX, consecrated bishops without a papal mandate, the Vatican responded two days later, notifying him and the consecrated bishops of their automatic excommunication.The SSPX exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass and has rejected certain teachings and reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly regarding religious freedom and the Church’s approach to other faiths.
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Vatican formally notifies SSPX bishops of excommunication #Catholic One day after the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) consecrated four bishops without the permission of Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican issued a decree declaring the excommunication of all bishops involved in the ceremony.Published on July 2 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the decree specified that the consecrating bishops, Bishops Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay, as well as the four bishops consecrated, Bishops Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, and Marc Hanappier, have incurred excommunication latae sententiae for performing the consecrations. These excommunications, according to canon law, can only be removed by the pope.The decree also warned Catholic clergy and lay faithful not to adhere to the SSPX’s “schism,” under penalty of automatic excommunication.The decree, in an explanatory note, lamented that doctrinal discussions between the Holy See and the SSPX, since the time of St. Paul VI, have not resulted in the society’s full communion with the Holy See. The Vatican stated on May 13 that the consecrations would be a schismatic act, resulting in automatic excommunication for the consecrating bishops and those consecrated. The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, later called the SSPX’s act “schismatic”.Pope Leo XIV even issued a final appeal to the society not to proceed with these consecrations.“In this spirit, and filled with Christian affection, I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: Please turn back,” Leo wrote in his letter.In 1988, after Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the SSPX, consecrated bishops without a papal mandate, the Vatican responded two days later, notifying him and the consecrated bishops of their automatic excommunication.The SSPX exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass and has rejected certain teachings and reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly regarding religious freedom and the Church’s approach to other faiths.

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Because the traditionalist group consecrated bishops without papal approval, the Vatican issued a decree on July 2 declaring those bishops and their consecrators automatically excommunicated.

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Prayer for Employment: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, July 02, 2026 – #Prayer – God, our Father, I turn to you seeking your divine help and guidance as I look for suitable employment. I need your wisdom to guide my footsteps along the right path, and to lead me to find the proper things to say and do in this quest. I wish to use the gifts and talents you have given me, but I need the opportunity to do so with gainful employment. Do not abandon me, dear Father, in this search, but rather grant me this favor I seek so that I may return to you with praise and thanksgiving …

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God, our Father, I turn to you seeking your divine help and guidance as I look for suitable employment. I need your wisdom to guide my footsteps along the right path, and to lead me to find the proper things to say and do in this quest. I wish to use the gifts and talents you have given me, but I need the opportunity to do so with gainful employment. Do not abandon me, dear Father, in this search, but rather grant me this favor I seek so that I may return to you with praise and thanksgiving …

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 02 July 2026 – A reading from the Book of Amos 7:10-17 Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, king of Israel: "Amos has conspired against you here within Israel; the country cannot endure all his words. For this is what Amos says: Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land." To Amos, Amaziah said: "Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple." Amos answered Amaziah, "I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now hear the word of the LORD!" You say: prophesy not against Israel, preach not against the house of Isaac. Now thus says the LORD: Your wife shall be made a harlot in the city, and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; Your land shall be divided by measuring line, and you yourself shall die in an unclean land; Israel shall be exiled far from its land.From the Gospel according to Matthew 9:1-8 After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town. And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven." At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, "Why do you harbor evil thoughts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"– he then said to the paralytic, "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." He rose and went home. When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to men.The paralyzed man is the image of every human being whom sin prevents from moving about freely, from walking on the path of good and from giving the best of himself. Indeed, by taking root in the soul, evil binds the person with the ties of falsehood, anger, envy and other sins and gradually paralyzes him. Jesus, therefore, scandalizing the scribes who were present, first said:  "… your sins are forgiven". Only later, to demonstrate the authority to forgive sins that God had conferred upon him, did he add:  "Stand up! Pick up your mat and go home" (…), and heals the man completely. The message is clear:  human beings, paralyzed by sin, need God’s mercy which Christ came to give to them so that, their hearts healed, their whole life might flourish anew. Today too, humanity is marked by sin which prevents it from rapidly progressing in those values of brotherhood, justice and peace that with solemn declarations it had resolved to practise. Why? What is blocking it? What is paralyzing this integral development? We know well that there are many historical reasons for this and that the problem is complex. But the Word of God invites us to have a gaze of faith and to trust, like the people who were carrying the paralytic, that Jesus alone is capable of true healing. (Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, 19 February 2006)

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A reading from the Book of Amos
7:10-17

Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam,
king of Israel:
"Amos has conspired against you here within Israel;
the country cannot endure all his words.
For this is what Amos says:
Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land."

To Amos, Amaziah said:
"Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!
There earn your bread by prophesying,
but never again prophesy in Bethel;
for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple."
Amos answered Amaziah, "I was no prophet,
nor have I belonged to a company of prophets;
I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.
The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me,
‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
Now hear the word of the LORD!"

You say: prophesy not against Israel,
preach not against the house of Isaac.
Now thus says the LORD:
Your wife shall be made a harlot in the city,
and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword;
Your land shall be divided by measuring line,
and you yourself shall die in an unclean land;
Israel shall be exiled far from its land.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
9:1-8

After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
"Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
"This man is blaspheming."
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
"Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins"–
he then said to the paralytic,
"Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

The paralyzed man is the image of every human being whom sin prevents from moving about freely, from walking on the path of good and from giving the best of himself. Indeed, by taking root in the soul, evil binds the person with the ties of falsehood, anger, envy and other sins and gradually paralyzes him.

Jesus, therefore, scandalizing the scribes who were present, first said:  "… your sins are forgiven". Only later, to demonstrate the authority to forgive sins that God had conferred upon him, did he add:  "Stand up! Pick up your mat and go home" (…), and heals the man completely.

The message is clear:  human beings, paralyzed by sin, need God’s mercy which Christ came to give to them so that, their hearts healed, their whole life might flourish anew.

Today too, humanity is marked by sin which prevents it from rapidly progressing in those values of brotherhood, justice and peace that with solemn declarations it had resolved to practise. Why? What is blocking it? What is paralyzing this integral development?

We know well that there are many historical reasons for this and that the problem is complex. But the Word of God invites us to have a gaze of faith and to trust, like the people who were carrying the paralytic, that Jesus alone is capable of true healing. (Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, 19 February 2006)

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Polish, Ukrainian cardinals call for reconciliation amid historical tensions between nations #Catholic – WARSAW, Poland (OSV News) — Four years after Poles welcomed millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s full-scale invasion, Catholic leaders from both countries are urging their peoples not to let historical disputes undo that solidarity as disputes over World War II history inflamed relations between Poland and Ukraine. Cardinals from both countries, attending the June consistory with Pope Leo XIV, warned in a joint statement that the greatest danger may not be disagreement itself, but the language used to express it. Ukrainian Cardinal Mykola Bychok and Polish prelates Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz and Cardinal Grzegorz Rys, together with Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk — head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church — issued a joint appeal urging both peoples not to allow old wounds to become new divisions. In a June 29 statement, they called for a “disarmament of language on both sides” and encouraged both nations to continue the path of reconciliation begun under St. John Paul II. They said they spoke up during the consistory, feeling “invited to take special responsibility for the community of the Church and to support the ministry of the Successor of St. Peter.” Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. The appeal comes amid fresh political friction between Warsaw and Kyiv. In June, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked the Order of the White Eagle previously awarded to Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the Ukrainian president approved naming a Ukrainian military unit in honor of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA. Polish-Ukrainian relations remain deeply marked by the violence that engulfed Volhynia and Eastern Galicia during World War II. The Volhynia Slaughter remains the deepest historical conflict between Poles and Ukrainians. Between 1943 and 1945, in Volhynia and parts of Eastern Galicia, UPA carried out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the region’s Polish population. Historians estimate that about 100,000 Polish civilians were killed, many in brutal attacks on villages. About 10,000 Ukrainians also died in retaliatory violence carried out by Polish underground formations and civilians, although on a significantly smaller scale. The memory of those events continues to influence politics and public opinion in both countries, even as modern Poland became one of Ukraine’s strongest allies after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, welcoming millions of refugees. Against that backdrop, Church leaders argue that remembering history and preserving neighborly relations should not become opposing goals. “Building the common good requires evangelical language: clear, but not humiliating; courageous, but not aggressive; true, but not closing the path to forgiveness,” the prelates said. Saying they are “saddened” to see the “growing tensions and resurgent hostility between Poles and Ukrainians,” the cardinals and Major Archbishop Shevchuk said, “It is even more painful that this is happening at a time when Ukraine continues to experience the horrors of war, and Poland has shown great solidarity with millions of Ukrainian brothers and sisters in recent years.” They also noted that “all this is happening as Ukrainian Catholics celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Polish Pope’s historic visit to Ukraine.” “In the tumult of the Second World War when the need for solidarity and reciprocal help would have been particularly urgent, the dark action of evil poisoned hearts, and weapons caused innocent blood to flow,” St. John Paul said in July 2003, two years after his historic visit to Ukraine. He urged that “Ukrainians and Poles rid themselves of their sorrowful memories and, seeing past events in a new perspective, look at one another with reconciled eyes, striving to build a better future for one and all.” The renewed appeal of the prelates, experts say, seeks to protect both historical truth and the trust built over decades. “The consistory meant that the cardinals who signed the appeal met in Rome, most likely held consultations with the pope and Major Archbishop Shevchuk, and these circumstances made this the moment when the common message appeared,” Father Stefan Batruch, pastor of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic parish in Lublin, told OSV News. “The content of the appeal reminds us not to forget or omit, in our discussions, the earlier and very important statements of the popes concerning Polish-Ukrainian relations,” Father Batruch told OSV News. The appeal also recalls decades of dialogue between the Catholic Church in Poland and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, including joint pastoral letters, declarations and humanitarian cooperation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Bishop Arkadiusz Trochanowski of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy of Olsztyn-Gdansk welcomed the declaration, saying it demonstrates that “responsibility for the future of our nations begins with personal conversion, mutual respect and readiness to forgive.” He also emphasized that “reconciliation does not mean turning away from history, but means the courage to look at it in the light of the Gospel and not allow the pain of the past to become the source of new hatred.” Historian Igor Halagida, a scholar of Polish-Ukrainian relations at the University of Gdansk, Poland, believes the current debate has lost sight of its central concern. “In today’s discussion, people forget what is most important — the victims, all the victims,” he told OSV News. Halagida also noted that dialogue between the Church in Poland and Ukraine “has continued uninterrupted since 1987,” long before the current political disputes and even before Ukraine regained its independence. For Father Jaroslaw Moskalyk, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest and professor of theology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland, the new statement represents another step in a much longer process rather than reaction to a political moment. “The Church, which is not engaged in politics, offers a broader perspective on relations between the two peoples — certainly not through the prism of short-term or one-sided political gains,” he told OSV News. “The growing wave of mutually unfriendly gestures introduced into public debate can only intensify negative emotions and awaken antagonistic tendencies,” he said. “In consequence, it may lead to a serious regression in relations and squander years of reconciliation efforts, including those undertaken by the Churches.” The Church, he stressed, does not seek to settle historical disputes. “The role of the Church is not to resolve contested historical questions between two nations, especially those involving complex and often tragic circumstances,” Father Moskalyk said. “Its mission is to serve the truth, including the truth about painful experiences of the past.” Asked whether it is still possible to speak honestly about the Volhynia massacres while building reconciliation, Father Batruch answered without hesitation. “It is absolutely possible to speak honestly about difficult historical issues, provided that an interdisciplinary, nonpartisan joint commission is established to examine all disputed questions and issue an appropriate statement,” he told OSV News. “The challenge is a clear political will among the leaders of all major political groups for such a body to be created,” one that “could conduct reliable research.” “In political discussions, even on the most difficult issues in our mutual relations, radical and categorical public statements should be avoided,” he said. “Such language is closely connected with emotions, and emotions expressed without moderation deeply wound and destroy the dignity of the other side.” The signatories of the joint declaration argue that Christians must pursue historical truth together with mercy and reject a culture that turns memory into a weapon. Katarzyna Szalajko writes for OSV News from Warsaw, Poland.
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Polish, Ukrainian cardinals call for reconciliation amid historical tensions between nations #Catholic – WARSAW, Poland (OSV News) — Four years after Poles welcomed millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s full-scale invasion, Catholic leaders from both countries are urging their peoples not to let historical disputes undo that solidarity as disputes over World War II history inflamed relations between Poland and Ukraine. Cardinals from both countries, attending the June consistory with Pope Leo XIV, warned in a joint statement that the greatest danger may not be disagreement itself, but the language used to express it. Ukrainian Cardinal Mykola Bychok and Polish prelates Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz and Cardinal Grzegorz Rys, together with Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk — head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church — issued a joint appeal urging both peoples not to allow old wounds to become new divisions. In a June 29 statement, they called for a “disarmament of language on both sides” and encouraged both nations to continue the path of reconciliation begun under St. John Paul II. They said they spoke up during the consistory, feeling “invited to take special responsibility for the community of the Church and to support the ministry of the Successor of St. Peter.” Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. The appeal comes amid fresh political friction between Warsaw and Kyiv. In June, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked the Order of the White Eagle previously awarded to Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the Ukrainian president approved naming a Ukrainian military unit in honor of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA. Polish-Ukrainian relations remain deeply marked by the violence that engulfed Volhynia and Eastern Galicia during World War II. The Volhynia Slaughter remains the deepest historical conflict between Poles and Ukrainians. Between 1943 and 1945, in Volhynia and parts of Eastern Galicia, UPA carried out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the region’s Polish population. Historians estimate that about 100,000 Polish civilians were killed, many in brutal attacks on villages. About 10,000 Ukrainians also died in retaliatory violence carried out by Polish underground formations and civilians, although on a significantly smaller scale. The memory of those events continues to influence politics and public opinion in both countries, even as modern Poland became one of Ukraine’s strongest allies after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, welcoming millions of refugees. Against that backdrop, Church leaders argue that remembering history and preserving neighborly relations should not become opposing goals. “Building the common good requires evangelical language: clear, but not humiliating; courageous, but not aggressive; true, but not closing the path to forgiveness,” the prelates said. Saying they are “saddened” to see the “growing tensions and resurgent hostility between Poles and Ukrainians,” the cardinals and Major Archbishop Shevchuk said, “It is even more painful that this is happening at a time when Ukraine continues to experience the horrors of war, and Poland has shown great solidarity with millions of Ukrainian brothers and sisters in recent years.” They also noted that “all this is happening as Ukrainian Catholics celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Polish Pope’s historic visit to Ukraine.” “In the tumult of the Second World War when the need for solidarity and reciprocal help would have been particularly urgent, the dark action of evil poisoned hearts, and weapons caused innocent blood to flow,” St. John Paul said in July 2003, two years after his historic visit to Ukraine. He urged that “Ukrainians and Poles rid themselves of their sorrowful memories and, seeing past events in a new perspective, look at one another with reconciled eyes, striving to build a better future for one and all.” The renewed appeal of the prelates, experts say, seeks to protect both historical truth and the trust built over decades. “The consistory meant that the cardinals who signed the appeal met in Rome, most likely held consultations with the pope and Major Archbishop Shevchuk, and these circumstances made this the moment when the common message appeared,” Father Stefan Batruch, pastor of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic parish in Lublin, told OSV News. “The content of the appeal reminds us not to forget or omit, in our discussions, the earlier and very important statements of the popes concerning Polish-Ukrainian relations,” Father Batruch told OSV News. The appeal also recalls decades of dialogue between the Catholic Church in Poland and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, including joint pastoral letters, declarations and humanitarian cooperation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Bishop Arkadiusz Trochanowski of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy of Olsztyn-Gdansk welcomed the declaration, saying it demonstrates that “responsibility for the future of our nations begins with personal conversion, mutual respect and readiness to forgive.” He also emphasized that “reconciliation does not mean turning away from history, but means the courage to look at it in the light of the Gospel and not allow the pain of the past to become the source of new hatred.” Historian Igor Halagida, a scholar of Polish-Ukrainian relations at the University of Gdansk, Poland, believes the current debate has lost sight of its central concern. “In today’s discussion, people forget what is most important — the victims, all the victims,” he told OSV News. Halagida also noted that dialogue between the Church in Poland and Ukraine “has continued uninterrupted since 1987,” long before the current political disputes and even before Ukraine regained its independence. For Father Jaroslaw Moskalyk, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest and professor of theology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland, the new statement represents another step in a much longer process rather than reaction to a political moment. “The Church, which is not engaged in politics, offers a broader perspective on relations between the two peoples — certainly not through the prism of short-term or one-sided political gains,” he told OSV News. “The growing wave of mutually unfriendly gestures introduced into public debate can only intensify negative emotions and awaken antagonistic tendencies,” he said. “In consequence, it may lead to a serious regression in relations and squander years of reconciliation efforts, including those undertaken by the Churches.” The Church, he stressed, does not seek to settle historical disputes. “The role of the Church is not to resolve contested historical questions between two nations, especially those involving complex and often tragic circumstances,” Father Moskalyk said. “Its mission is to serve the truth, including the truth about painful experiences of the past.” Asked whether it is still possible to speak honestly about the Volhynia massacres while building reconciliation, Father Batruch answered without hesitation. “It is absolutely possible to speak honestly about difficult historical issues, provided that an interdisciplinary, nonpartisan joint commission is established to examine all disputed questions and issue an appropriate statement,” he told OSV News. “The challenge is a clear political will among the leaders of all major political groups for such a body to be created,” one that “could conduct reliable research.” “In political discussions, even on the most difficult issues in our mutual relations, radical and categorical public statements should be avoided,” he said. “Such language is closely connected with emotions, and emotions expressed without moderation deeply wound and destroy the dignity of the other side.” The signatories of the joint declaration argue that Christians must pursue historical truth together with mercy and reject a culture that turns memory into a weapon. Katarzyna Szalajko writes for OSV News from Warsaw, Poland.

unitedyam

Polish, Ukrainian cardinals call for reconciliation amid historical tensions between nations #Catholic –

WARSAW, Poland (OSV News) — Four years after Poles welcomed millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s full-scale invasion, Catholic leaders from both countries are urging their peoples not to let historical disputes undo that solidarity as disputes over World War II history inflamed relations between Poland and Ukraine.

Cardinals from both countries, attending the June consistory with Pope Leo XIV, warned in a joint statement that the greatest danger may not be disagreement itself, but the language used to express it.

Ukrainian Cardinal Mykola Bychok and Polish prelates Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz and Cardinal Grzegorz Rys, together with Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk — head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church — issued a joint appeal urging both peoples not to allow old wounds to become new divisions.

In a June 29 statement, they called for a “disarmament of language on both sides” and encouraged both nations to continue the path of reconciliation begun under St. John Paul II. They said they spoke up during the consistory, feeling “invited to take special responsibility for the community of the Church and to support the ministry of the Successor of St. Peter.”

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

The appeal comes amid fresh political friction between Warsaw and Kyiv. In June, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked the Order of the White Eagle previously awarded to Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the Ukrainian president approved naming a Ukrainian military unit in honor of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA.

Polish-Ukrainian relations remain deeply marked by the violence that engulfed Volhynia and Eastern Galicia during World War II. The Volhynia Slaughter remains the deepest historical conflict between Poles and Ukrainians. Between 1943 and 1945, in Volhynia and parts of Eastern Galicia, UPA carried out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the region’s Polish population.

Historians estimate that about 100,000 Polish civilians were killed, many in brutal attacks on villages. About 10,000 Ukrainians also died in retaliatory violence carried out by Polish underground formations and civilians, although on a significantly smaller scale. The memory of those events continues to influence politics and public opinion in both countries, even as modern Poland became one of Ukraine’s strongest allies after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, welcoming millions of refugees.

Against that backdrop, Church leaders argue that remembering history and preserving neighborly relations should not become opposing goals.

“Building the common good requires evangelical language: clear, but not humiliating; courageous, but not aggressive; true, but not closing the path to forgiveness,” the prelates said.

Saying they are “saddened” to see the “growing tensions and resurgent hostility between Poles and Ukrainians,” the cardinals and Major Archbishop Shevchuk said, “It is even more painful that this is happening at a time when Ukraine continues to experience the horrors of war, and Poland has shown great solidarity with millions of Ukrainian brothers and sisters in recent years.”

They also noted that “all this is happening as Ukrainian Catholics celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Polish Pope’s historic visit to Ukraine.”

“In the tumult of the Second World War when the need for solidarity and reciprocal help would have been particularly urgent, the dark action of evil poisoned hearts, and weapons caused innocent blood to flow,” St. John Paul said in July 2003, two years after his historic visit to Ukraine. He urged that “Ukrainians and Poles rid themselves of their sorrowful memories and, seeing past events in a new perspective, look at one another with reconciled eyes, striving to build a better future for one and all.”

The renewed appeal of the prelates, experts say, seeks to protect both historical truth and the trust built over decades.

“The consistory meant that the cardinals who signed the appeal met in Rome, most likely held consultations with the pope and Major Archbishop Shevchuk, and these circumstances made this the moment when the common message appeared,” Father Stefan Batruch, pastor of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic parish in Lublin, told OSV News.

“The content of the appeal reminds us not to forget or omit, in our discussions, the earlier and very important statements of the popes concerning Polish-Ukrainian relations,” Father Batruch told OSV News.

The appeal also recalls decades of dialogue between the Catholic Church in Poland and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, including joint pastoral letters, declarations and humanitarian cooperation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Bishop Arkadiusz Trochanowski of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy of Olsztyn-Gdansk welcomed the declaration, saying it demonstrates that “responsibility for the future of our nations begins with personal conversion, mutual respect and readiness to forgive.”

He also emphasized that “reconciliation does not mean turning away from history, but means the courage to look at it in the light of the Gospel and not allow the pain of the past to become the source of new hatred.”

Historian Igor Halagida, a scholar of Polish-Ukrainian relations at the University of Gdansk, Poland, believes the current debate has lost sight of its central concern. “In today’s discussion, people forget what is most important — the victims, all the victims,” he told OSV News.

Halagida also noted that dialogue between the Church in Poland and Ukraine “has continued uninterrupted since 1987,” long before the current political disputes and even before Ukraine regained its independence.

For Father Jaroslaw Moskalyk, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest and professor of theology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland, the new statement represents another step in a much longer process rather than reaction to a political moment.

“The Church, which is not engaged in politics, offers a broader perspective on relations between the two peoples — certainly not through the prism of short-term or one-sided political gains,” he told OSV News.

“The growing wave of mutually unfriendly gestures introduced into public debate can only intensify negative emotions and awaken antagonistic tendencies,” he said. “In consequence, it may lead to a serious regression in relations and squander years of reconciliation efforts, including those undertaken by the Churches.”

The Church, he stressed, does not seek to settle historical disputes. “The role of the Church is not to resolve contested historical questions between two nations, especially those involving complex and often tragic circumstances,” Father Moskalyk said. “Its mission is to serve the truth, including the truth about painful experiences of the past.”

Asked whether it is still possible to speak honestly about the Volhynia massacres while building reconciliation, Father Batruch answered without hesitation.

“It is absolutely possible to speak honestly about difficult historical issues, provided that an interdisciplinary, nonpartisan joint commission is established to examine all disputed questions and issue an appropriate statement,” he told OSV News. “The challenge is a clear political will among the leaders of all major political groups for such a body to be created,” one that “could conduct reliable research.”

“In political discussions, even on the most difficult issues in our mutual relations, radical and categorical public statements should be avoided,” he said. “Such language is closely connected with emotions, and emotions expressed without moderation deeply wound and destroy the dignity of the other side.”

The signatories of the joint declaration argue that Christians must pursue historical truth together with mercy and reject a culture that turns memory into a weapon.

Katarzyna Szalajko writes for OSV News from Warsaw, Poland.

– WARSAW, Poland (OSV News) — Four years after Poles welcomed millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s full-scale invasion, Catholic leaders from both countries are urging their peoples not to let historical disputes undo that solidarity as disputes over World War II history inflamed relations between Poland and Ukraine. Cardinals from both countries, attending the June consistory with Pope Leo XIV, warned in a joint statement that the greatest danger may not be disagreement itself, but the language used to express it. Ukrainian Cardinal Mykola Bychok and Polish prelates Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz and Cardinal Grzegorz Rys, together with Major

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‘Alone’: Lessons from the wilderness #Catholic – “Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14). My dad and I have very different tastes in television. When he suggested I might like “Alone” on the History Channel, I was skeptical. However, once I checked out the seasons available on streaming platforms, I was hooked. “Alone” sends 10 trained survivalists into the wilderness to live off the land. Armed with strict limits on their gear, the individual who lasts the longest wins a 0,000 prize. Unlike other reality shows, the participants do their own camera work. The newest season, dubbed the “World Championship” because contestants hail from across the globe, premiered June 17. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. What impresses me most about “Alone” is not the display of survival skills, as amazing as they are. Instead, the spiritual journey the participants undergo in the wilderness truly moves me. They might not use that vocabulary, but the description fits. Just like the biblical wilderness, the environment strips participants of almost everything, laying their souls bare. This wilderness experience holds three profound lessons for us all. — Lesson one: Back to basics — Modern life generally grants us easy access to our necessities. In North American culture, sufficient food, water and shelter are fairly easy to come by. On “Alone,” each participant must secure food and build shelter in a harsh environment. In contemporary culture, instead of working directly for food and water, we work for money to buy what we need — and often what we don’t. By stripping away modern conveniences, “Alone” forces participants to experience the raw reality of survival. Watching the show offers a powerful opportunity to assess our own abundance and consider how we might share the bounty the Lord has given us with those who have less. — Lesson two: Sitting with silence — Because the survivalists constantly narrate their experiences for the camera, the deep silence they encounter is easy to overlook. Left with only their thoughts for company, they have ample time to evaluate their lives. Participants display varying levels of comfort with this silence. An early “tap-out” — the show’s term for quitting the competition — often indicates extreme discomfort with the stark silence. Conversely, those who use the silence for self-reflection often tap out simply because the prize money loses its motivating power. Rich storytelling happens on the screen. Some participants process grief or share challenges from their careers or family lives. Many speak of their children and their desire to pass on their love for the land. While few reference God directly, they allow the silence of the wilderness to help them make sense of their lives and express profound gratitude. In Catholic life, we find our own “wilderness experience” by going on a retreat. A retreat provides time to step away from the daily pulse of life to connect with God and discern how he might be inviting us to re-assess our priorities. While most retreats are not as physically stark as “Alone,” the time to sit in silence and evaluate our hearts remains a cherished gift. — Lesson three: What really matters — Each participant enters the competition intending to win the 0,000. Yet, when the living gets rough, when foraging efforts fail, or when the family photo causes deep homesickness, the survivalists contemplate what truly matters. In the seasons I have watched, stripping away everything grants them a fresh perspective on their highest priority: the people they love. I find it deeply edifying when a participant decides to tap out not out of weakness, but because they realize no amount of money can replace the time they are losing with family. They show the courage to “fail” in front of a national television audience to put their relationships first. We should all strive for that same courage, prioritizing life-giving relationships over the accumulation of wealth or goods. — Bonus lessons: Humility and gratitude — As I watch “Alone,” I think of the millions of other viewers and pray that they feel inspired to cultivate the virtues of humility and gratitude. Seeing how the wilderness strips a person to their very core, leaving them humbled before the power of nature, reminds me that I could use a little more humility myself. Humble people pay more attention to the needs of others rather than their own. Gratitude also shines through the screen. Witnessing the pure joy of a participant who catches a fish after four days of starvation helps me appreciate the food and blessings in my own life. “Alone” sends its contestants on an unforgettable journey. As viewers, we enter into their experience, feeling their struggle to survive in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. What they learn about themselves along the way can inspire us to value silence, realign our priorities and come away with a deeper appreciation for the gifts God gives as we humbly thank him for providing all we need. Sister Hosea Rupprecht, a Daughter of St. Paul, is the associate director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies.  
Read More

‘Alone’: Lessons from the wilderness #Catholic – “Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14). My dad and I have very different tastes in television. When he suggested I might like “Alone” on the History Channel, I was skeptical. However, once I checked out the seasons available on streaming platforms, I was hooked. “Alone” sends 10 trained survivalists into the wilderness to live off the land. Armed with strict limits on their gear, the individual who lasts the longest wins a $500,000 prize. Unlike other reality shows, the participants do their own camera work. The newest season, dubbed the “World Championship” because contestants hail from across the globe, premiered June 17. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. What impresses me most about “Alone” is not the display of survival skills, as amazing as they are. Instead, the spiritual journey the participants undergo in the wilderness truly moves me. They might not use that vocabulary, but the description fits. Just like the biblical wilderness, the environment strips participants of almost everything, laying their souls bare. This wilderness experience holds three profound lessons for us all. — Lesson one: Back to basics — Modern life generally grants us easy access to our necessities. In North American culture, sufficient food, water and shelter are fairly easy to come by. On “Alone,” each participant must secure food and build shelter in a harsh environment. In contemporary culture, instead of working directly for food and water, we work for money to buy what we need — and often what we don’t. By stripping away modern conveniences, “Alone” forces participants to experience the raw reality of survival. Watching the show offers a powerful opportunity to assess our own abundance and consider how we might share the bounty the Lord has given us with those who have less. — Lesson two: Sitting with silence — Because the survivalists constantly narrate their experiences for the camera, the deep silence they encounter is easy to overlook. Left with only their thoughts for company, they have ample time to evaluate their lives. Participants display varying levels of comfort with this silence. An early “tap-out” — the show’s term for quitting the competition — often indicates extreme discomfort with the stark silence. Conversely, those who use the silence for self-reflection often tap out simply because the prize money loses its motivating power. Rich storytelling happens on the screen. Some participants process grief or share challenges from their careers or family lives. Many speak of their children and their desire to pass on their love for the land. While few reference God directly, they allow the silence of the wilderness to help them make sense of their lives and express profound gratitude. In Catholic life, we find our own “wilderness experience” by going on a retreat. A retreat provides time to step away from the daily pulse of life to connect with God and discern how he might be inviting us to re-assess our priorities. While most retreats are not as physically stark as “Alone,” the time to sit in silence and evaluate our hearts remains a cherished gift. — Lesson three: What really matters — Each participant enters the competition intending to win the $500,000. Yet, when the living gets rough, when foraging efforts fail, or when the family photo causes deep homesickness, the survivalists contemplate what truly matters. In the seasons I have watched, stripping away everything grants them a fresh perspective on their highest priority: the people they love. I find it deeply edifying when a participant decides to tap out not out of weakness, but because they realize no amount of money can replace the time they are losing with family. They show the courage to “fail” in front of a national television audience to put their relationships first. We should all strive for that same courage, prioritizing life-giving relationships over the accumulation of wealth or goods. — Bonus lessons: Humility and gratitude — As I watch “Alone,” I think of the millions of other viewers and pray that they feel inspired to cultivate the virtues of humility and gratitude. Seeing how the wilderness strips a person to their very core, leaving them humbled before the power of nature, reminds me that I could use a little more humility myself. Humble people pay more attention to the needs of others rather than their own. Gratitude also shines through the screen. Witnessing the pure joy of a participant who catches a fish after four days of starvation helps me appreciate the food and blessings in my own life. “Alone” sends its contestants on an unforgettable journey. As viewers, we enter into their experience, feeling their struggle to survive in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. What they learn about themselves along the way can inspire us to value silence, realign our priorities and come away with a deeper appreciation for the gifts God gives as we humbly thank him for providing all we need. Sister Hosea Rupprecht, a Daughter of St. Paul, is the associate director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies.  

unitedyam

‘Alone’: Lessons from the wilderness #Catholic –

“Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14).

My dad and I have very different tastes in television. When he suggested I might like “Alone” on the History Channel, I was skeptical. However, once I checked out the seasons available on streaming platforms, I was hooked.

“Alone” sends 10 trained survivalists into the wilderness to live off the land. Armed with strict limits on their gear, the individual who lasts the longest wins a $500,000 prize. Unlike other reality shows, the participants do their own camera work.

The newest season, dubbed the “World Championship” because contestants hail from across the globe, premiered June 17.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

What impresses me most about “Alone” is not the display of survival skills, as amazing as they are. Instead, the spiritual journey the participants undergo in the wilderness truly moves me. They might not use that vocabulary, but the description fits. Just like the biblical wilderness, the environment strips participants of almost everything, laying their souls bare. This wilderness experience holds three profound lessons for us all.

— Lesson one: Back to basics —

Modern life generally grants us easy access to our necessities. In North American culture, sufficient food, water and shelter are fairly easy to come by. On “Alone,” each participant must secure food and build shelter in a harsh environment.

In contemporary culture, instead of working directly for food and water, we work for money to buy what we need — and often what we don’t. By stripping away modern conveniences, “Alone” forces participants to experience the raw reality of survival. Watching the show offers a powerful opportunity to assess our own abundance and consider how we might share the bounty the Lord has given us with those who have less.

— Lesson two: Sitting with silence —

Because the survivalists constantly narrate their experiences for the camera, the deep silence they encounter is easy to overlook. Left with only their thoughts for company, they have ample time to evaluate their lives.

Participants display varying levels of comfort with this silence. An early “tap-out” — the show’s term for quitting the competition — often indicates extreme discomfort with the stark silence. Conversely, those who use the silence for self-reflection often tap out simply because the prize money loses its motivating power.

Rich storytelling happens on the screen. Some participants process grief or share challenges from their careers or family lives. Many speak of their children and their desire to pass on their love for the land. While few reference God directly, they allow the silence of the wilderness to help them make sense of their lives and express profound gratitude.

In Catholic life, we find our own “wilderness experience” by going on a retreat. A retreat provides time to step away from the daily pulse of life to connect with God and discern how he might be inviting us to re-assess our priorities. While most retreats are not as physically stark as “Alone,” the time to sit in silence and evaluate our hearts remains a cherished gift.

— Lesson three: What really matters —

Each participant enters the competition intending to win the $500,000. Yet, when the living gets rough, when foraging efforts fail, or when the family photo causes deep homesickness, the survivalists contemplate what truly matters. In the seasons I have watched, stripping away everything grants them a fresh perspective on their highest priority: the people they love.

I find it deeply edifying when a participant decides to tap out not out of weakness, but because they realize no amount of money can replace the time they are losing with family. They show the courage to “fail” in front of a national television audience to put their relationships first. We should all strive for that same courage, prioritizing life-giving relationships over the accumulation of wealth or goods.

— Bonus lessons: Humility and gratitude —

As I watch “Alone,” I think of the millions of other viewers and pray that they feel inspired to cultivate the virtues of humility and gratitude. Seeing how the wilderness strips a person to their very core, leaving them humbled before the power of nature, reminds me that I could use a little more humility myself. Humble people pay more attention to the needs of others rather than their own.

Gratitude also shines through the screen. Witnessing the pure joy of a participant who catches a fish after four days of starvation helps me appreciate the food and blessings in my own life.

“Alone” sends its contestants on an unforgettable journey. As viewers, we enter into their experience, feeling their struggle to survive in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. What they learn about themselves along the way can inspire us to value silence, realign our priorities and come away with a deeper appreciation for the gifts God gives as we humbly thank him for providing all we need.

Sister Hosea Rupprecht, a Daughter of St. Paul, is the associate director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies.

 

– “Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14). My dad and I have very different tastes in television. When he suggested I might like “Alone” on the History Channel, I was skeptical. However, once I checked out the seasons available on streaming platforms, I was hooked. “Alone” sends 10 trained survivalists into the wilderness to live off the land. Armed with strict limits on their gear, the individual who lasts the longest wins a $500,000 prize. Unlike other reality shows, the participants do their own camera work. The newest

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Seton Hall president ‘not implicated’ in internal sex allegation report, Newark Archdiocese says #Catholic Seton Hall University President Monsignor Joseph Reilly was “not implicated” in an internal report examining the school’s response to sex abuse allegations, the Archdiocese of Newark said this week.The archdiocese on July 1 announced the release of its own report into whether an internal investigation commissioned by Seton Hall — the latter known as the “Latham report” — revealed that Reilly knew about abuse allegations at the university and yet failed to report them. Reilly was appointed president of the school in 2024. Archbishop Cardinal Joseph Tobin said in the July 1 announcement that the archdiocese’s report, which was launched in February 2025 and performed by the law firm Ropes & Gray LLP, revealed that Reilly “was not implicated in the Latham report.”The archdiocesan report reveals that Reilly “responded promptly to allegations of sexual harassment involving seminarians at [Seton Hall’s] Immaculate Conception Seminary in 2012,” though Reilly “did not follow the university’s Title IX reporting requirements” because he had not been trained on them, Tobin said. The Latham report, which has never been made public, was expected to examine whether Reilly, then-rector of Seton Hall’s Immaculate Conception Seminary, knew about sexual misconduct allegations against now-deceased former cardinal Theodore McCarrick and failed to report them.The Ropes & Gray inquiry, however, states that the Latham report “contains no findings or allegations that Monsignor Reilly … witnessed or received reports of any sexual misconduct by McCarrick (or any other individuals) at any time,” including during a stint as McCarrick’s secretary in the early 1990s. Among its findings, the Ropes & Gray report said Reilly in 2012 removed a seminarian from the school’s seminary after the younger man was found to have engaged in sexual harassment. Reilly was “not involved” in a separate 2014 dispute over inappropriate conduct involving two adults, meanwhile. In his announcement on July 1, Tobin said that “nothing in [the] thorough report changes my firm view that Monsignor Reilly is a good priest with formidable experience and a deep commitment to a Catholic institution serving the Church and the world.” “He is highly regarded across the Seton Hall community and has my full respect and confidence,” the archbishop said. The Latham report was commissioned by Seton Hall in 2019 and produced by the law firm Latham & Watkins; the school ordered it after bombshell allegations involving McCarrick, who died in 2025. A New Jersey appeals court ruled in June that Seton Hall would not have to fully disclose the report as part of ongoing clergy abuse lawsuits. The appeals court did rule that one section of the report regarding the university’s sexual harassment policies could be disclosed in court, though parts of that section could be subject to redactions depending on the contents.
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Seton Hall president ‘not implicated’ in internal sex allegation report, Newark Archdiocese says #Catholic Seton Hall University President Monsignor Joseph Reilly was “not implicated” in an internal report examining the school’s response to sex abuse allegations, the Archdiocese of Newark said this week.The archdiocese on July 1 announced the release of its own report into whether an internal investigation commissioned by Seton Hall — the latter known as the “Latham report” — revealed that Reilly knew about abuse allegations at the university and yet failed to report them. Reilly was appointed president of the school in 2024. Archbishop Cardinal Joseph Tobin said in the July 1 announcement that the archdiocese’s report, which was launched in February 2025 and performed by the law firm Ropes & Gray LLP, revealed that Reilly “was not implicated in the Latham report.”The archdiocesan report reveals that Reilly “responded promptly to allegations of sexual harassment involving seminarians at [Seton Hall’s] Immaculate Conception Seminary in 2012,” though Reilly “did not follow the university’s Title IX reporting requirements” because he had not been trained on them, Tobin said. The Latham report, which has never been made public, was expected to examine whether Reilly, then-rector of Seton Hall’s Immaculate Conception Seminary, knew about sexual misconduct allegations against now-deceased former cardinal Theodore McCarrick and failed to report them.The Ropes & Gray inquiry, however, states that the Latham report “contains no findings or allegations that Monsignor Reilly … witnessed or received reports of any sexual misconduct by McCarrick (or any other individuals) at any time,” including during a stint as McCarrick’s secretary in the early 1990s. Among its findings, the Ropes & Gray report said Reilly in 2012 removed a seminarian from the school’s seminary after the younger man was found to have engaged in sexual harassment. Reilly was “not involved” in a separate 2014 dispute over inappropriate conduct involving two adults, meanwhile. In his announcement on July 1, Tobin said that “nothing in [the] thorough report changes my firm view that Monsignor Reilly is a good priest with formidable experience and a deep commitment to a Catholic institution serving the Church and the world.” “He is highly regarded across the Seton Hall community and has my full respect and confidence,” the archbishop said. The Latham report was commissioned by Seton Hall in 2019 and produced by the law firm Latham & Watkins; the school ordered it after bombshell allegations involving McCarrick, who died in 2025. A New Jersey appeals court ruled in June that Seton Hall would not have to fully disclose the report as part of ongoing clergy abuse lawsuits. The appeals court did rule that one section of the report regarding the university’s sexual harassment policies could be disclosed in court, though parts of that section could be subject to redactions depending on the contents.

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Cardinal Joseph Tobin said Monsignor Joseph Reilly “responded promptly” to sexual harassment allegations, though he failed to follow Title IX requirements due to a lack of training.

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Pope Leo overhauls Vatican finance watchdog, revises Rome vicariate reforms in busy day of decrees #Catholic – ROME (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV spent what is traditionally his weekly day off on Tuesday issuing a flurry of legislation and appointments June 30, overhauling the Vatican’s financial watchdog agency, revising the governing structure of the Vicariate of Rome and making several appointments in the Roman Curia. While the pope’s letter to SSPX garnered (and merited) the headlines, the less reported decrees released by the Holy See Press Office show a pope who is reforming quietly and methodically, fine tuning the reforms made by his predecessor Pope Francis, rather than dramatically shaking up the Roman Curia. Here is a breakdown of what changes he made this week and why it matters. Financial watchdog restructured Pope Leo signed a new 12-article statute for the Supervisory and Financial Information Authority, known as ASIF, the Vatican’s financial intelligence and anti-money-laundering agency. The statute eliminates the agency’s president and board and replaces them with a director and deputy director, both appointed by the pope for five-year terms. Under the new rules, ASIF retains authority over supervision of money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of weapons proliferation, as well as financial intelligence gathering and prudential supervision of entities conducting financial activity in Vatican territory. The agency’s annual and financial reports will now go to the Vatican’s Council for the Economy for approval. The statute also expands ASIF’s authority to arbitrate disputes between users and the Institute for the Works of Religion, the Vatican bank, extending that jurisdiction beyond payment systems to cover the full range of the bank’s financial services. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. “Transparency, integrity, and accountability in economic and financial activities constitute indispensable elements of good governance and service to the common good, which must characterize the Institutions of the Holy See and of the Vatican City State,” Pope Leo wrote in his introduction to the new statute. The pope added that in light of the reforms already enacted by Pope Francis and the continual evolution of the relevant international standards, it appeared appropriate to update the ASIF’s statutes so that it may continue to carry out the functions entrusted to it with “the utmost effectiveness and contribute, with renewed vigor, to the transparency, integrity, stability, and security of the economic and financial system of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.” A reform of the reform of the Vicariate of Rome Pope Leo also issued a motu proprio adjusting “In Ecclesiarum Communione,” the 2023 constitution Pope Francis used to reorganize the Vicariate of Rome. Pope Leo’s new law reaffirms the cardinal vicar’s governing powers, while also giving day-to-day coordination of the offices and the administrative structure to a “moderator curiae,” appointed by the pope for a five-year term. The new reform legislation, called “Confirma Fratres Tuos,” or “Confirm your brothers,” also streamlines the distribution of responsibilities within the vicariate. These changes build off of other administrative changes Pope Leo made in the vicariate last fall that reestablished certain administrative aspects Pope Francis had abolished in the prior reforms. The Vatican said the changes followed a review process by a working group Pope Leo ordered in February, after a few years of experience operating under the 2023 reform, smoothing out administrative kinks that needed updating. It shows Pope Leo is willing to revise and reverse aspects of Pope Francis’ administrative reforms without completely overturning them. Peter’s Pence runs a deficit Separately, the Vatican released its 2025 financial report for Peter’s Pence, the collection that funds the pope’s charitable and administrative activities. The fund took in 57.6 million euros and spent 59.8 million euros, leaving a roughly 2.2 million euros deficit despite the significant reduction in expenses from the previous year. The total amount of individual donations dropped from 2024 to 2025, while the United States remained the largest source of donations. Of the money spent, 41.2 million euros supported the Holy See’s operations, while 13.3 million euros funded 252 direct-assistance projects in 74 countries, with Africa receiving the largest share. Promoting current officials in the Roman Curia Pope Leo made several appointments across Vatican offices, largely promoting officials who already served in the Roman Curia under Pope Francis rather than bringing in outsiders. Bishop Marco Mellino will be moved up from adjunct secretary to secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, and Msgr. Lucio Adrián Ruiz will be shuffled from the Dicastery for Communication to the Dicastery for the Service of Charity starting in September. Massimo Ralli, an official at the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, was also named undersecretary of the dicastery. In the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, Pope Leo confirmed and promoted the leadership appointed by Pope Francis, naming the dicastery’s secretary as the dicastery’s prefect, the cardinal who served as undersecretary of the dicastery’s migrants section was appointed as pro-prefect, and the undersecretary became the secretary. More notable about this particular set of appointments is the pairing of a woman religious with a cardinal as the top officials in the dicastery, a replication of a governance novelty first introduced by Pope Francis introduced in 2025. Sister Alessandra Smerilli will serve as the dicastery’s prefect with Cardinal Fabio Baggio serving as pro-prefect. The appointment is a continuation of Pope Francis’ legacy of placing women in senior Vatican leadership roles while at the same time confirming the personnel selected for leadership positions by Pope Francis. A consultative governing style From emphasizing financial transparency to fine tuning reform legislation, Pope Leo, a trained canon lawyer and former math major, is adjusting the machinery of Vatican governance in his careful style. The pope’s appointments and legislation were announced following a two-day extraordinary consistory of cardinals — the second such meeting he has called this year — during which Pope Leo told the cardinals he had assembled from across the globe that his ministry “cannot be carried out alone” and asked for their “strong, explicit, and public” support. While the motu proprio and financial transparency statutes were signed before the consistory began, meaning they weren’t the product of the cardinals’ input, taken all together the week’s announcements signal Pope Leo’s preference for consultation and incremental change over the headline-grabbing reforms of his predecessor. Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.
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Pope Leo overhauls Vatican finance watchdog, revises Rome vicariate reforms in busy day of decrees #Catholic – ROME (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV spent what is traditionally his weekly day off on Tuesday issuing a flurry of legislation and appointments June 30, overhauling the Vatican’s financial watchdog agency, revising the governing structure of the Vicariate of Rome and making several appointments in the Roman Curia. While the pope’s letter to SSPX garnered (and merited) the headlines, the less reported decrees released by the Holy See Press Office show a pope who is reforming quietly and methodically, fine tuning the reforms made by his predecessor Pope Francis, rather than dramatically shaking up the Roman Curia. Here is a breakdown of what changes he made this week and why it matters. Financial watchdog restructured Pope Leo signed a new 12-article statute for the Supervisory and Financial Information Authority, known as ASIF, the Vatican’s financial intelligence and anti-money-laundering agency. The statute eliminates the agency’s president and board and replaces them with a director and deputy director, both appointed by the pope for five-year terms. Under the new rules, ASIF retains authority over supervision of money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of weapons proliferation, as well as financial intelligence gathering and prudential supervision of entities conducting financial activity in Vatican territory. The agency’s annual and financial reports will now go to the Vatican’s Council for the Economy for approval. The statute also expands ASIF’s authority to arbitrate disputes between users and the Institute for the Works of Religion, the Vatican bank, extending that jurisdiction beyond payment systems to cover the full range of the bank’s financial services. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. “Transparency, integrity, and accountability in economic and financial activities constitute indispensable elements of good governance and service to the common good, which must characterize the Institutions of the Holy See and of the Vatican City State,” Pope Leo wrote in his introduction to the new statute. The pope added that in light of the reforms already enacted by Pope Francis and the continual evolution of the relevant international standards, it appeared appropriate to update the ASIF’s statutes so that it may continue to carry out the functions entrusted to it with “the utmost effectiveness and contribute, with renewed vigor, to the transparency, integrity, stability, and security of the economic and financial system of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.” A reform of the reform of the Vicariate of Rome Pope Leo also issued a motu proprio adjusting “In Ecclesiarum Communione,” the 2023 constitution Pope Francis used to reorganize the Vicariate of Rome. Pope Leo’s new law reaffirms the cardinal vicar’s governing powers, while also giving day-to-day coordination of the offices and the administrative structure to a “moderator curiae,” appointed by the pope for a five-year term. The new reform legislation, called “Confirma Fratres Tuos,” or “Confirm your brothers,” also streamlines the distribution of responsibilities within the vicariate. These changes build off of other administrative changes Pope Leo made in the vicariate last fall that reestablished certain administrative aspects Pope Francis had abolished in the prior reforms. The Vatican said the changes followed a review process by a working group Pope Leo ordered in February, after a few years of experience operating under the 2023 reform, smoothing out administrative kinks that needed updating. It shows Pope Leo is willing to revise and reverse aspects of Pope Francis’ administrative reforms without completely overturning them. Peter’s Pence runs a deficit Separately, the Vatican released its 2025 financial report for Peter’s Pence, the collection that funds the pope’s charitable and administrative activities. The fund took in 57.6 million euros and spent 59.8 million euros, leaving a roughly 2.2 million euros deficit despite the significant reduction in expenses from the previous year. The total amount of individual donations dropped from 2024 to 2025, while the United States remained the largest source of donations. Of the money spent, 41.2 million euros supported the Holy See’s operations, while 13.3 million euros funded 252 direct-assistance projects in 74 countries, with Africa receiving the largest share. Promoting current officials in the Roman Curia Pope Leo made several appointments across Vatican offices, largely promoting officials who already served in the Roman Curia under Pope Francis rather than bringing in outsiders. Bishop Marco Mellino will be moved up from adjunct secretary to secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, and Msgr. Lucio Adrián Ruiz will be shuffled from the Dicastery for Communication to the Dicastery for the Service of Charity starting in September. Massimo Ralli, an official at the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, was also named undersecretary of the dicastery. In the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, Pope Leo confirmed and promoted the leadership appointed by Pope Francis, naming the dicastery’s secretary as the dicastery’s prefect, the cardinal who served as undersecretary of the dicastery’s migrants section was appointed as pro-prefect, and the undersecretary became the secretary. More notable about this particular set of appointments is the pairing of a woman religious with a cardinal as the top officials in the dicastery, a replication of a governance novelty first introduced by Pope Francis introduced in 2025. Sister Alessandra Smerilli will serve as the dicastery’s prefect with Cardinal Fabio Baggio serving as pro-prefect. The appointment is a continuation of Pope Francis’ legacy of placing women in senior Vatican leadership roles while at the same time confirming the personnel selected for leadership positions by Pope Francis. A consultative governing style From emphasizing financial transparency to fine tuning reform legislation, Pope Leo, a trained canon lawyer and former math major, is adjusting the machinery of Vatican governance in his careful style. The pope’s appointments and legislation were announced following a two-day extraordinary consistory of cardinals — the second such meeting he has called this year — during which Pope Leo told the cardinals he had assembled from across the globe that his ministry “cannot be carried out alone” and asked for their “strong, explicit, and public” support. While the motu proprio and financial transparency statutes were signed before the consistory began, meaning they weren’t the product of the cardinals’ input, taken all together the week’s announcements signal Pope Leo’s preference for consultation and incremental change over the headline-grabbing reforms of his predecessor. Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.

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Pope Leo overhauls Vatican finance watchdog, revises Rome vicariate reforms in busy day of decrees #Catholic –

ROME (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV spent what is traditionally his weekly day off on Tuesday issuing a flurry of legislation and appointments June 30, overhauling the Vatican’s financial watchdog agency, revising the governing structure of the Vicariate of Rome and making several appointments in the Roman Curia.

While the pope’s letter to SSPX garnered (and merited) the headlines, the less reported decrees released by the Holy See Press Office show a pope who is reforming quietly and methodically, fine tuning the reforms made by his predecessor Pope Francis, rather than dramatically shaking up the Roman Curia.

Here is a breakdown of what changes he made this week and why it matters.

Financial watchdog restructured

Pope Leo signed a new 12-article statute for the Supervisory and Financial Information Authority, known as ASIF, the Vatican’s financial intelligence and anti-money-laundering agency. The statute eliminates the agency’s president and board and replaces them with a director and deputy director, both appointed by the pope for five-year terms.

Under the new rules, ASIF retains authority over supervision of money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of weapons proliferation, as well as financial intelligence gathering and prudential supervision of entities conducting financial activity in Vatican territory. The agency’s annual and financial reports will now go to the Vatican’s Council for the Economy for approval.

The statute also expands ASIF’s authority to arbitrate disputes between users and the Institute for the Works of Religion, the Vatican bank, extending that jurisdiction beyond payment systems to cover the full range of the bank’s financial services.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

“Transparency, integrity, and accountability in economic and financial activities constitute indispensable elements of good governance and service to the common good, which must characterize the Institutions of the Holy See and of the Vatican City State,” Pope Leo wrote in his introduction to the new statute.

The pope added that in light of the reforms already enacted by Pope Francis and the continual evolution of the relevant international standards, it appeared appropriate to update the ASIF’s statutes so that it may continue to carry out the functions entrusted to it with “the utmost effectiveness and contribute, with renewed vigor, to the transparency, integrity, stability, and security of the economic and financial system of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.”

A reform of the reform of the Vicariate of Rome

Pope Leo also issued a motu proprio adjusting “In Ecclesiarum Communione,” the 2023 constitution Pope Francis used to reorganize the Vicariate of Rome. Pope Leo’s new law reaffirms the cardinal vicar’s governing powers, while also giving day-to-day coordination of the offices and the administrative structure to a “moderator curiae,” appointed by the pope for a five-year term. The new reform legislation, called “Confirma Fratres Tuos,” or “Confirm your brothers,” also streamlines the distribution of responsibilities within the vicariate.

These changes build off of other administrative changes Pope Leo made in the vicariate last fall that reestablished certain administrative aspects Pope Francis had abolished in the prior reforms.

The Vatican said the changes followed a review process by a working group Pope Leo ordered in February, after a few years of experience operating under the 2023 reform, smoothing out administrative kinks that needed updating. It shows Pope Leo is willing to revise and reverse aspects of Pope Francis’ administrative reforms without completely overturning them.

Peter’s Pence runs a deficit

Separately, the Vatican released its 2025 financial report for Peter’s Pence, the collection that funds the pope’s charitable and administrative activities. The fund took in 57.6 million euros and spent 59.8 million euros, leaving a roughly 2.2 million euros deficit despite the significant reduction in expenses from the previous year. The total amount of individual donations dropped from 2024 to 2025, while the United States remained the largest source of donations. Of the money spent, 41.2 million euros supported the Holy See’s operations, while 13.3 million euros funded 252 direct-assistance projects in 74 countries, with Africa receiving the largest share.

Promoting current officials in the Roman Curia

Pope Leo made several appointments across Vatican offices, largely promoting officials who already served in the Roman Curia under Pope Francis rather than bringing in outsiders. Bishop Marco Mellino will be moved up from adjunct secretary to secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, and Msgr. Lucio Adrián Ruiz will be shuffled from the Dicastery for Communication to the Dicastery for the Service of Charity starting in September. Massimo Ralli, an official at the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, was also named undersecretary of the dicastery.

In the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, Pope Leo confirmed and promoted the leadership appointed by Pope Francis, naming the dicastery’s secretary as the dicastery’s prefect, the cardinal who served as undersecretary of the dicastery’s migrants section was appointed as pro-prefect, and the undersecretary became the secretary. More notable about this particular set of appointments is the pairing of a woman religious with a cardinal as the top officials in the dicastery, a replication of a governance novelty first introduced by Pope Francis introduced in 2025. Sister Alessandra Smerilli will serve as the dicastery’s prefect with Cardinal Fabio Baggio serving as pro-prefect. The appointment is a continuation of Pope Francis’ legacy of placing women in senior Vatican leadership roles while at the same time confirming the personnel selected for leadership positions by Pope Francis.

A consultative governing style

From emphasizing financial transparency to fine tuning reform legislation, Pope Leo, a trained canon lawyer and former math major, is adjusting the machinery of Vatican governance in his careful style. The pope’s appointments and legislation were announced following a two-day extraordinary consistory of cardinals — the second such meeting he has called this year — during which Pope Leo told the cardinals he had assembled from across the globe that his ministry “cannot be carried out alone” and asked for their “strong, explicit, and public” support. While the motu proprio and financial transparency statutes were signed before the consistory began, meaning they weren’t the product of the cardinals’ input, taken all together the week’s announcements signal Pope Leo’s preference for consultation and incremental change over the headline-grabbing reforms of his predecessor.

Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.

– ROME (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV spent what is traditionally his weekly day off on Tuesday issuing a flurry of legislation and appointments June 30, overhauling the Vatican’s financial watchdog agency, revising the governing structure of the Vicariate of Rome and making several appointments in the Roman Curia. While the pope’s letter to SSPX garnered (and merited) the headlines, the less reported decrees released by the Holy See Press Office show a pope who is reforming quietly and methodically, fine tuning the reforms made by his predecessor Pope Francis, rather than dramatically shaking up the Roman Curia. Here is

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Supreme Court finds Trump executive order on birthright citizenship unconstitutional #Catholic – WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship on June 30, finding the order violated the 14th Amendment. A cornerstone of his efforts to restrict immigration, the ruling comes as a loss for Trump, who even attended oral arguments in the case, Trump v. Barbara, in person, marking the first time a sitting president has done so, according to records from the high court and the nonprofit Supreme Court Historical Society. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community.” Citing comments made by Sen. Lyman Trumbull, a proponent of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which led to the 14th Amendment, Roberts wrote, “The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today.” Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. The case concerned an executive order signed by Trump within hours of returning to the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2025, that sought to change the longstanding legal interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Trump’s order, part of his administration’s broader efforts to restrict immigration, sought to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who either lack permanent legal status or are temporary visa holders. The order said that after 30 days from the executive order’s date, only children born to at least one U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident parent would automatically acquire citizenship. It was promptly challenged in court. Previously, the Supreme Court limited the ability of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions against the order while litigation over it proceeded, but did not directly address the merits of the order itself. The Trump administration previously argued in defense of the order that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” makes the president’s order lawful, despite longstanding legal interpretation that children born in the U.S. are granted citizenship with only narrow exceptions. But Roberts wrote, “The word ‘jurisdiction’ was hardly unknown to the drafters and ratifiers of the Fourteenth Amendment. Congress chose to use an established legal term and the Clause must be interpreted in that light.” Roberts was joined in his opinion by Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Brett Kavanaugh filed an opinion that concurred in the judgment but dissented in part. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented. In his own opinion, Kavanaugh wrote that he disagrees with the court’s finding that the order violates the 14th Amendment, instead arguing that it is unlawful because it ran afoul of a federal statute governing birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, which specifies particular circumstances under which citizenship is granted at birth in accordance with that amendment. “Congress could — consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment — amend §1401(a) or otherwise enact new legislation establishing exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to foreign citizens unlawfully or temporarily in the country,” he said. “But Congress has not yet done so.” Writing for the minority, Thomas argued the majority’s ruling “adds to the sad history of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was designed and understood to secure equal rights for the freed blacks but has instead been repurposed for political projects that the Reconstruction Congress did not support.” Trump, in a post on his social media website Truth Social, argued, “The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is too bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the President, that has now been determined during this process.” “No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary! Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship. They will have my Complete and Total Support!” he argued. However, it was not immediately clear what the path forward for such legislation would be in Congress, as such a proposal would need to gain enough support to meet the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold in order to reach Trump’s desk. Ashley Feasley, the legal expert in residence at the Immigration Law and Policy Initiative at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, told OSV News, “Today’s opinion is a victory for immigrant children born in the United States.” Roberts’ opinion, she said, “while focused on Constitutional analysis and history and tradition, aligns with the bishops, who noted in their amicus brief on the case, the alignment of birthright citizenship with Church teaching as it treats ‘birth within a community as a sufficient and objective basis for political belonging.’” J. Kevin Appleby, senior fellow for policy and communications at the Center for Migration Studies of New York and the former director of migration policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told OSV News, “This decision shows that, when push comes to shove, the Constitution retains its authority and still guides our 250-year-old republic. It also sends a message to the administration that to change the Constitution you must go through a constitutional amendment process, not just use a pen.” “The executive order that was struck down would have returned us to a two-tiered society, with one group being stateless and having no rights in our democracy,” he said. “The justices rightly did not take the nation back to that era.” Catholic social teaching on immigration involves three interrelated principles: the right of persons to migrate in order to sustain their lives and those of their families, the right of a country to regulate its borders and control immigration, and a nation’s duty to regulate its borders with justice and mercy. Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, also known as CLINIC, said in a statement, “We are relieved and grateful that the Supreme Court has upheld this right that is so important for our identity as a nation and for safeguarding justice and human dignity.” “In our amicus brief, we explained how the values of Catholic social teaching, the particular realities of undocumented immigration in the United States, and our nation’s legal history make upholding the tradition of birthright citizenship the most just outcome of this case,” she said. “We are glad to receive a decision that will bring relief to immigrant families and our network. This is a win for immigrants, and a win for justice.” The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and CLINIC previously submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, arguing that ending the practice of birthright citizenship would weaken families and risk leaving children stateless, thereby making them targets for violence, trafficking and exploitation. “The principle of citizenship by birth is firmly rooted in Western legal tradition, enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment, and reaffirmed by this Court’s precedent,” it said. “It is equally grounded in Church teachings, which affirms the inherent dignity of every human person, especially the innocent child.” Appleby told OSV News, “I think the Church’s voice made a difference here.” “This is a victory for human dignity and for human life,” he said, adding the ruling is one that could be celebrated by “Catholics of all political views.” Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon. NOTES: The Trump v. Barbara decision can be found here.
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Supreme Court finds Trump executive order on birthright citizenship unconstitutional #Catholic – WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship on June 30, finding the order violated the 14th Amendment. A cornerstone of his efforts to restrict immigration, the ruling comes as a loss for Trump, who even attended oral arguments in the case, Trump v. Barbara, in person, marking the first time a sitting president has done so, according to records from the high court and the nonprofit Supreme Court Historical Society. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community.” Citing comments made by Sen. Lyman Trumbull, a proponent of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which led to the 14th Amendment, Roberts wrote, “The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today.” Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. The case concerned an executive order signed by Trump within hours of returning to the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2025, that sought to change the longstanding legal interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Trump’s order, part of his administration’s broader efforts to restrict immigration, sought to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who either lack permanent legal status or are temporary visa holders. The order said that after 30 days from the executive order’s date, only children born to at least one U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident parent would automatically acquire citizenship. It was promptly challenged in court. Previously, the Supreme Court limited the ability of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions against the order while litigation over it proceeded, but did not directly address the merits of the order itself. The Trump administration previously argued in defense of the order that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” makes the president’s order lawful, despite longstanding legal interpretation that children born in the U.S. are granted citizenship with only narrow exceptions. But Roberts wrote, “The word ‘jurisdiction’ was hardly unknown to the drafters and ratifiers of the Fourteenth Amendment. Congress chose to use an established legal term and the Clause must be interpreted in that light.” Roberts was joined in his opinion by Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Brett Kavanaugh filed an opinion that concurred in the judgment but dissented in part. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented. In his own opinion, Kavanaugh wrote that he disagrees with the court’s finding that the order violates the 14th Amendment, instead arguing that it is unlawful because it ran afoul of a federal statute governing birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, which specifies particular circumstances under which citizenship is granted at birth in accordance with that amendment. “Congress could — consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment — amend §1401(a) or otherwise enact new legislation establishing exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to foreign citizens unlawfully or temporarily in the country,” he said. “But Congress has not yet done so.” Writing for the minority, Thomas argued the majority’s ruling “adds to the sad history of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was designed and understood to secure equal rights for the freed blacks but has instead been repurposed for political projects that the Reconstruction Congress did not support.” Trump, in a post on his social media website Truth Social, argued, “The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is too bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the President, that has now been determined during this process.” “No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary! Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship. They will have my Complete and Total Support!” he argued. However, it was not immediately clear what the path forward for such legislation would be in Congress, as such a proposal would need to gain enough support to meet the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold in order to reach Trump’s desk. Ashley Feasley, the legal expert in residence at the Immigration Law and Policy Initiative at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, told OSV News, “Today’s opinion is a victory for immigrant children born in the United States.” Roberts’ opinion, she said, “while focused on Constitutional analysis and history and tradition, aligns with the bishops, who noted in their amicus brief on the case, the alignment of birthright citizenship with Church teaching as it treats ‘birth within a community as a sufficient and objective basis for political belonging.’” J. Kevin Appleby, senior fellow for policy and communications at the Center for Migration Studies of New York and the former director of migration policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told OSV News, “This decision shows that, when push comes to shove, the Constitution retains its authority and still guides our 250-year-old republic. It also sends a message to the administration that to change the Constitution you must go through a constitutional amendment process, not just use a pen.” “The executive order that was struck down would have returned us to a two-tiered society, with one group being stateless and having no rights in our democracy,” he said. “The justices rightly did not take the nation back to that era.” Catholic social teaching on immigration involves three interrelated principles: the right of persons to migrate in order to sustain their lives and those of their families, the right of a country to regulate its borders and control immigration, and a nation’s duty to regulate its borders with justice and mercy. Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, also known as CLINIC, said in a statement, “We are relieved and grateful that the Supreme Court has upheld this right that is so important for our identity as a nation and for safeguarding justice and human dignity.” “In our amicus brief, we explained how the values of Catholic social teaching, the particular realities of undocumented immigration in the United States, and our nation’s legal history make upholding the tradition of birthright citizenship the most just outcome of this case,” she said. “We are glad to receive a decision that will bring relief to immigrant families and our network. This is a win for immigrants, and a win for justice.” The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and CLINIC previously submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, arguing that ending the practice of birthright citizenship would weaken families and risk leaving children stateless, thereby making them targets for violence, trafficking and exploitation. “The principle of citizenship by birth is firmly rooted in Western legal tradition, enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment, and reaffirmed by this Court’s precedent,” it said. “It is equally grounded in Church teachings, which affirms the inherent dignity of every human person, especially the innocent child.” Appleby told OSV News, “I think the Church’s voice made a difference here.” “This is a victory for human dignity and for human life,” he said, adding the ruling is one that could be celebrated by “Catholics of all political views.” Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon. NOTES: The Trump v. Barbara decision can be found here.

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Supreme Court finds Trump executive order on birthright citizenship unconstitutional #Catholic –

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship on June 30, finding the order violated the 14th Amendment.

A cornerstone of his efforts to restrict immigration, the ruling comes as a loss for Trump, who even attended oral arguments in the case, Trump v. Barbara, in person, marking the first time a sitting president has done so, according to records from the high court and the nonprofit Supreme Court Historical Society.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community.”

Citing comments made by Sen. Lyman Trumbull, a proponent of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which led to the 14th Amendment, Roberts wrote, “The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today.”

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The case concerned an executive order signed by Trump within hours of returning to the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2025, that sought to change the longstanding legal interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Trump’s order, part of his administration’s broader efforts to restrict immigration, sought to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who either lack permanent legal status or are temporary visa holders. The order said that after 30 days from the executive order’s date, only children born to at least one U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident parent would automatically acquire citizenship. It was promptly challenged in court.

Previously, the Supreme Court limited the ability of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions against the order while litigation over it proceeded, but did not directly address the merits of the order itself.

The Trump administration previously argued in defense of the order that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” makes the president’s order lawful, despite longstanding legal interpretation that children born in the U.S. are granted citizenship with only narrow exceptions.

But Roberts wrote, “The word ‘jurisdiction’ was hardly unknown to the drafters and ratifiers of the Fourteenth Amendment. Congress chose to use an established legal term and the Clause must be interpreted in that light.”

Roberts was joined in his opinion by Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Brett Kavanaugh filed an opinion that concurred in the judgment but dissented in part. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented.

In his own opinion, Kavanaugh wrote that he disagrees with the court’s finding that the order violates the 14th Amendment, instead arguing that it is unlawful because it ran afoul of a federal statute governing birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, which specifies particular circumstances under which citizenship is granted at birth in accordance with that amendment.

“Congress could — consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment — amend §1401(a) or otherwise enact new legislation establishing exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to foreign citizens unlawfully or temporarily in the country,” he said. “But Congress has not yet done so.”

Writing for the minority, Thomas argued the majority’s ruling “adds to the sad history of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was designed and understood to secure equal rights for the freed blacks but has instead been repurposed for political projects that the Reconstruction Congress did not support.”

Trump, in a post on his social media website Truth Social, argued, “The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is too bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the President, that has now been determined during this process.”

“No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary! Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship. They will have my Complete and Total Support!” he argued.

However, it was not immediately clear what the path forward for such legislation would be in Congress, as such a proposal would need to gain enough support to meet the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold in order to reach Trump’s desk.

Ashley Feasley, the legal expert in residence at the Immigration Law and Policy Initiative at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, told OSV News, “Today’s opinion is a victory for immigrant children born in the United States.”

Roberts’ opinion, she said, “while focused on Constitutional analysis and history and tradition, aligns with the bishops, who noted in their amicus brief on the case, the alignment of birthright citizenship with Church teaching as it treats ‘birth within a community as a sufficient and objective basis for political belonging.’”

J. Kevin Appleby, senior fellow for policy and communications at the Center for Migration Studies of New York and the former director of migration policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told OSV News, “This decision shows that, when push comes to shove, the Constitution retains its authority and still guides our 250-year-old republic. It also sends a message to the administration that to change the Constitution you must go through a constitutional amendment process, not just use a pen.”

“The executive order that was struck down would have returned us to a two-tiered society, with one group being stateless and having no rights in our democracy,” he said. “The justices rightly did not take the nation back to that era.”

Catholic social teaching on immigration involves three interrelated principles: the right of persons to migrate in order to sustain their lives and those of their families, the right of a country to regulate its borders and control immigration, and a nation’s duty to regulate its borders with justice and mercy.

Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, also known as CLINIC, said in a statement, “We are relieved and grateful that the Supreme Court has upheld this right that is so important for our identity as a nation and for safeguarding justice and human dignity.”

“In our amicus brief, we explained how the values of Catholic social teaching, the particular realities of undocumented immigration in the United States, and our nation’s legal history make upholding the tradition of birthright citizenship the most just outcome of this case,” she said. “We are glad to receive a decision that will bring relief to immigrant families and our network. This is a win for immigrants, and a win for justice.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and CLINIC previously submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, arguing that ending the practice of birthright citizenship would weaken families and risk leaving children stateless, thereby making them targets for violence, trafficking and exploitation.

“The principle of citizenship by birth is firmly rooted in Western legal tradition, enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment, and reaffirmed by this Court’s precedent,” it said. “It is equally grounded in Church teachings, which affirms the inherent dignity of every human person, especially the innocent child.”

Appleby told OSV News, “I think the Church’s voice made a difference here.”

“This is a victory for human dignity and for human life,” he said, adding the ruling is one that could be celebrated by “Catholics of all political views.”

Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon. NOTES: The Trump v. Barbara decision can be found here.

– WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship on June 30, finding the order violated the 14th Amendment. A cornerstone of his efforts to restrict immigration, the ruling comes as a loss for Trump, who even attended oral arguments in the case, Trump v. Barbara, in person, marking the first time a sitting president has done so, according to records from the high court and the nonprofit Supreme Court Historical Society. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights

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Procesión lleva la Eucaristía al corazón de Boston #Catholic – BOSTON (OSV News) — Fue una vista que, si hubieran vivido para verla, habría hecho que los puritanos de la época colonial escupieran sus frijoles y bacalao. Más de 2.500 católicos, unidos y orgullosos de su fe, marchando por Boston y llevando la presencia real de Jesús en la Eucaristía a todos en su entorno, liderados por su arzobispo y decenas de sacerdotes, rezando el rosario en un lugar donde la celebración de la Misa era ilegal. La procesión eucarística de 2.5 millas, que tuvo lugar el 27 de junio como parte de la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional, fue una celebración del 250 aniversario de los EE.UU. y la historia de Boston. La procesión siguió aproximadamente el Freedom Trail, una especie de ruta de peregrinación que honra el pasado revolucionario de Boston. El tema de la peregrinación nacional a lo largo de la Costa Este del país es “One Nation Under God”. En Boston Common en la mañana del 27 de junio, los guías turísticos deambulaban en trajes coloniales, rodeados de multitudes masivas que habían venido a adorar al Santísimo Sacramento: sacerdotes en sotanas y gorras de béisbol, hombres y mujeres religiosos en hábitos, multitudes de feligreses que habían llegado en autobuses, y músicos con tambores y guitarras. Para suscribirse a nuestro boletín electrónico semanal, haga click aquí. La muestra de solidaridad internacional fue suficiente para rivalizar con la Copa del Mundo. Las comunidades hispana, portuguesa, brasileña, vietnamita, caboverdiana y coreana de la Arquidiócesis de Boston, entre otras, mostraron con orgullo pancartas que honraban a sus países de origen, parroquias y santos patrones. “Dios los bendiga a todos, Dios bendiga a la ciudad de Boston, Dios bendiga al Commonwealth de Massachusetts y Dios bendiga a América”, dijo el arzobispo Richard G. Henning, dando la bienvenida a los peregrinos. Les dijo que, mientras caminaban por algunos de los sitios más históricos de los EE.UU., ellos mismos harían historia. Los animó a rezar por la nación. “Hoy somos testigos”, dijo. “Somos testigos de la gracia y la misericordia de Jesucristo”. Una multitud de personas se separó para que la Eucaristía, sombreada bajo un dosel bordado, pudiera llegar al arzobispo. La custodia dorada brillaba al sol. La procesión se dirigió hacia la Casa del Estado, una gran masa curva de personas. Algunos cantaban, otros guardaban un silencio reverente. Miembros de las muchas comunidades étnicas de la arquidiócesis proporcionaron música. La procesión pasó por el Memorial Robert Gould Shaw, luego bajó la colina a través del Common. Una hermana salió de la multitud para ofrecer comida a un hombre sin hogar que descansaba bajo un árbol. El humo del incienso se mezclaba con el vapor que salía de las tapas de las alcantarillas. La procesión pasó por la Old South Meeting House, donde se organizó el Boston Tea Party; la Old State House, que fue testigo de la Masacre de Boston; el Ayuntamiento; y la Casa de Paul Revere. Una niebla que soplaba teñía las puntas de los rascacielos que se alzaban sobre los monumentos históricos. El arzobispo Henning y los peregrinos se detuvieron brevemente para adorar al Santísimo Sacramento frente a la Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón en el North End –el arzobispo celebraría más tarde ese día una Misa Votiva del Sagrado Corazón en la Catedral de la Santa Cruz. “La Iglesia en América ha sido tan importante para el viaje americano”, dijo Mark Riley, quien vino de Amesbury, Massachusetts, para unirse a la procesión. “Piensas en la Iglesia y los Estados Unidos, ambas son fuerzas poderosas para el bien, mejorando el mundo de manera tan hermosa, pero también pasando por tiempos difíciles y luchando contra las dificultades que se presentan en el camino, y por eso estoy aquí. Tierra de los libres, hogar de los valientes”. Riley nunca había caminado por el Freedom Trail antes. Su amigo Peter Mercier, de Salem, señaló que Riley ahora lo estaba caminando con Jesús. “Toda la Iglesia es mi vida, realmente”, dijo Mercier. Al crecer, había tres héroes en su hogar: el Papa San Juan Pablo II, la Madre Teresa y (la estrella del basketball) Larry Bird. “Es un día hermoso, hermoso, hermoso”, dijo. “Tantas personas fieles aquí. Somos muy afortunados de ser parte de ello, y el arzobispo Henning lo está liderando, y realmente siento que es un gran renacimiento para la fe en Boston y en Nueva Inglaterra”. La procesión se abrió camino por las estrechas y sinuosas calles del North End, llenas de grupos de turistas y restaurantes italianos. Un hombre con el equipo completo de los Yankees se persignó al ver la procesión. El USS Constitution y el Monumento a Bunker Hill, el destino final de la procesión, eran visibles a través del puerto. Turistas, trabajadores de la construcción, trabajadores de saneamiento, empresarios, ciclistas, jugadores de softball y personas tomando el sol se detuvieron para ver a los peregrinos. Extendiendo por cuadras a la distancia, las multitudes rezando cruzaron el Puente Bill Russell hacia Charlestown. Un barco llamado “Indiscretion” de Newport, que llevaba una despedida de soltera, tocó su bocina en saludo. Las mujeres a bordo saludaron a los peregrinos. Pasando por la Iglesia de Santa María en Charlestown, la procesión finalmente subió por Monument Avenue hasta el obelisco de 221 pies de altura, donde se había instalado un altar. “Lo logramos”, dijo el arzobispo Henning ante los aplausos. Y agregó: “Han hecho algo hermoso. Han dado testimonio de su fe en Jesucristo. Nos hemos unido, hemos rezado, honrando las promesas del pasado y rezando por las esperanzas del futuro”. Recordó las famosas palabras del puritano John Winthrop, quien instó a sus compañeros colonos a hacer de Boston “una ciudad sobre una colina”, una imagen del Evangelio de Mateo. Generaciones después, en Bunker Hill, los patriotas lucharon contra los británicos. El arzobispo dijo que dieron testimonio de “la libertad y de una visión de la dignidad de cada persona, igual ante Dios”. “Honramos sus sacrificios y su visión”, dijo. “También estamos llamados a ser la luz, a dar ejemplo, a señalar la verdad de Dios”. Los fieles se arrodillaron en el césped para adorar al Santísimo Sacramento. Cantaron himnos de alabanza, seguidos de “God Bless America”. Finalmente, Dominic Smethurst, un estudiante de cuarto grado en la Escuela St. Mary of the Annunciation en Danvers, leyó su poema “Mission Faith” para la multitud. Dominic ganó un concurso de poesía organizado por la Oficina de Escuelas Católicas de la Arquidiócesis de Boston en honor a la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional. Se pidió a los estudiantes que reenmarcaran “Paul Revere’s Ride” de Longfellow como “The Midnight Ride of Faith”. Las palabras del poema de Dominic debieron resonar con los peregrinos que habían viajado desde Boston Common hasta Bunker Hill. “Comienzo mi ruta”, dice su poema. “Vago por la ciudad. Predico mi mensaje, y nunca me desanimo. La ruta es dura, pero tengo fe. Siempre me mantengo firme, porque estoy listo. Predico a todos, ‘¡Ten fe en Dios! ¡Ten esperanza en la vida! ¡Ten coraje para resolver cada conflicto!’ ” Este artículo fue publicado originalmente (en inglés y español) por The Pilot, el medio informativo de la Arquidiócesis de Boston, y distribuido a través de una colaboración con OSV News. Wes Cipolla forma parte del equipo de The Pilot.
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Procesión lleva la Eucaristía al corazón de Boston #Catholic – BOSTON (OSV News) — Fue una vista que, si hubieran vivido para verla, habría hecho que los puritanos de la época colonial escupieran sus frijoles y bacalao. Más de 2.500 católicos, unidos y orgullosos de su fe, marchando por Boston y llevando la presencia real de Jesús en la Eucaristía a todos en su entorno, liderados por su arzobispo y decenas de sacerdotes, rezando el rosario en un lugar donde la celebración de la Misa era ilegal. La procesión eucarística de 2.5 millas, que tuvo lugar el 27 de junio como parte de la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional, fue una celebración del 250 aniversario de los EE.UU. y la historia de Boston. La procesión siguió aproximadamente el Freedom Trail, una especie de ruta de peregrinación que honra el pasado revolucionario de Boston. El tema de la peregrinación nacional a lo largo de la Costa Este del país es “One Nation Under God”. En Boston Common en la mañana del 27 de junio, los guías turísticos deambulaban en trajes coloniales, rodeados de multitudes masivas que habían venido a adorar al Santísimo Sacramento: sacerdotes en sotanas y gorras de béisbol, hombres y mujeres religiosos en hábitos, multitudes de feligreses que habían llegado en autobuses, y músicos con tambores y guitarras. Para suscribirse a nuestro boletín electrónico semanal, haga click aquí. La muestra de solidaridad internacional fue suficiente para rivalizar con la Copa del Mundo. Las comunidades hispana, portuguesa, brasileña, vietnamita, caboverdiana y coreana de la Arquidiócesis de Boston, entre otras, mostraron con orgullo pancartas que honraban a sus países de origen, parroquias y santos patrones. “Dios los bendiga a todos, Dios bendiga a la ciudad de Boston, Dios bendiga al Commonwealth de Massachusetts y Dios bendiga a América”, dijo el arzobispo Richard G. Henning, dando la bienvenida a los peregrinos. Les dijo que, mientras caminaban por algunos de los sitios más históricos de los EE.UU., ellos mismos harían historia. Los animó a rezar por la nación. “Hoy somos testigos”, dijo. “Somos testigos de la gracia y la misericordia de Jesucristo”. Una multitud de personas se separó para que la Eucaristía, sombreada bajo un dosel bordado, pudiera llegar al arzobispo. La custodia dorada brillaba al sol. La procesión se dirigió hacia la Casa del Estado, una gran masa curva de personas. Algunos cantaban, otros guardaban un silencio reverente. Miembros de las muchas comunidades étnicas de la arquidiócesis proporcionaron música. La procesión pasó por el Memorial Robert Gould Shaw, luego bajó la colina a través del Common. Una hermana salió de la multitud para ofrecer comida a un hombre sin hogar que descansaba bajo un árbol. El humo del incienso se mezclaba con el vapor que salía de las tapas de las alcantarillas. La procesión pasó por la Old South Meeting House, donde se organizó el Boston Tea Party; la Old State House, que fue testigo de la Masacre de Boston; el Ayuntamiento; y la Casa de Paul Revere. Una niebla que soplaba teñía las puntas de los rascacielos que se alzaban sobre los monumentos históricos. El arzobispo Henning y los peregrinos se detuvieron brevemente para adorar al Santísimo Sacramento frente a la Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón en el North End –el arzobispo celebraría más tarde ese día una Misa Votiva del Sagrado Corazón en la Catedral de la Santa Cruz. “La Iglesia en América ha sido tan importante para el viaje americano”, dijo Mark Riley, quien vino de Amesbury, Massachusetts, para unirse a la procesión. “Piensas en la Iglesia y los Estados Unidos, ambas son fuerzas poderosas para el bien, mejorando el mundo de manera tan hermosa, pero también pasando por tiempos difíciles y luchando contra las dificultades que se presentan en el camino, y por eso estoy aquí. Tierra de los libres, hogar de los valientes”. Riley nunca había caminado por el Freedom Trail antes. Su amigo Peter Mercier, de Salem, señaló que Riley ahora lo estaba caminando con Jesús. “Toda la Iglesia es mi vida, realmente”, dijo Mercier. Al crecer, había tres héroes en su hogar: el Papa San Juan Pablo II, la Madre Teresa y (la estrella del basketball) Larry Bird. “Es un día hermoso, hermoso, hermoso”, dijo. “Tantas personas fieles aquí. Somos muy afortunados de ser parte de ello, y el arzobispo Henning lo está liderando, y realmente siento que es un gran renacimiento para la fe en Boston y en Nueva Inglaterra”. La procesión se abrió camino por las estrechas y sinuosas calles del North End, llenas de grupos de turistas y restaurantes italianos. Un hombre con el equipo completo de los Yankees se persignó al ver la procesión. El USS Constitution y el Monumento a Bunker Hill, el destino final de la procesión, eran visibles a través del puerto. Turistas, trabajadores de la construcción, trabajadores de saneamiento, empresarios, ciclistas, jugadores de softball y personas tomando el sol se detuvieron para ver a los peregrinos. Extendiendo por cuadras a la distancia, las multitudes rezando cruzaron el Puente Bill Russell hacia Charlestown. Un barco llamado “Indiscretion” de Newport, que llevaba una despedida de soltera, tocó su bocina en saludo. Las mujeres a bordo saludaron a los peregrinos. Pasando por la Iglesia de Santa María en Charlestown, la procesión finalmente subió por Monument Avenue hasta el obelisco de 221 pies de altura, donde se había instalado un altar. “Lo logramos”, dijo el arzobispo Henning ante los aplausos. Y agregó: “Han hecho algo hermoso. Han dado testimonio de su fe en Jesucristo. Nos hemos unido, hemos rezado, honrando las promesas del pasado y rezando por las esperanzas del futuro”. Recordó las famosas palabras del puritano John Winthrop, quien instó a sus compañeros colonos a hacer de Boston “una ciudad sobre una colina”, una imagen del Evangelio de Mateo. Generaciones después, en Bunker Hill, los patriotas lucharon contra los británicos. El arzobispo dijo que dieron testimonio de “la libertad y de una visión de la dignidad de cada persona, igual ante Dios”. “Honramos sus sacrificios y su visión”, dijo. “También estamos llamados a ser la luz, a dar ejemplo, a señalar la verdad de Dios”. Los fieles se arrodillaron en el césped para adorar al Santísimo Sacramento. Cantaron himnos de alabanza, seguidos de “God Bless America”. Finalmente, Dominic Smethurst, un estudiante de cuarto grado en la Escuela St. Mary of the Annunciation en Danvers, leyó su poema “Mission Faith” para la multitud. Dominic ganó un concurso de poesía organizado por la Oficina de Escuelas Católicas de la Arquidiócesis de Boston en honor a la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional. Se pidió a los estudiantes que reenmarcaran “Paul Revere’s Ride” de Longfellow como “The Midnight Ride of Faith”. Las palabras del poema de Dominic debieron resonar con los peregrinos que habían viajado desde Boston Common hasta Bunker Hill. “Comienzo mi ruta”, dice su poema. “Vago por la ciudad. Predico mi mensaje, y nunca me desanimo. La ruta es dura, pero tengo fe. Siempre me mantengo firme, porque estoy listo. Predico a todos, ‘¡Ten fe en Dios! ¡Ten esperanza en la vida! ¡Ten coraje para resolver cada conflicto!’ ” Este artículo fue publicado originalmente (en inglés y español) por The Pilot, el medio informativo de la Arquidiócesis de Boston, y distribuido a través de una colaboración con OSV News. Wes Cipolla forma parte del equipo de The Pilot.

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Procesión lleva la Eucaristía al corazón de Boston #Catholic –

BOSTON (OSV News) — Fue una vista que, si hubieran vivido para verla, habría hecho que los puritanos de la época colonial escupieran sus frijoles y bacalao.

Más de 2.500 católicos, unidos y orgullosos de su fe, marchando por Boston y llevando la presencia real de Jesús en la Eucaristía a todos en su entorno, liderados por su arzobispo y decenas de sacerdotes, rezando el rosario en un lugar donde la celebración de la Misa era ilegal.

La procesión eucarística de 2.5 millas, que tuvo lugar el 27 de junio como parte de la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional, fue una celebración del 250 aniversario de los EE.UU. y la historia de Boston. La procesión siguió aproximadamente el Freedom Trail, una especie de ruta de peregrinación que honra el pasado revolucionario de Boston. El tema de la peregrinación nacional a lo largo de la Costa Este del país es “One Nation Under God”.

En Boston Common en la mañana del 27 de junio, los guías turísticos deambulaban en trajes coloniales, rodeados de multitudes masivas que habían venido a adorar al Santísimo Sacramento: sacerdotes en sotanas y gorras de béisbol, hombres y mujeres religiosos en hábitos, multitudes de feligreses que habían llegado en autobuses, y músicos con tambores y guitarras.

Para suscribirse a nuestro boletín electrónico semanal, haga click aquí.

La muestra de solidaridad internacional fue suficiente para rivalizar con la Copa del Mundo. Las comunidades hispana, portuguesa, brasileña, vietnamita, caboverdiana y coreana de la Arquidiócesis de Boston, entre otras, mostraron con orgullo pancartas que honraban a sus países de origen, parroquias y santos patrones.

“Dios los bendiga a todos, Dios bendiga a la ciudad de Boston, Dios bendiga al Commonwealth de Massachusetts y Dios bendiga a América”, dijo el arzobispo Richard G. Henning, dando la bienvenida a los peregrinos.

Les dijo que, mientras caminaban por algunos de los sitios más históricos de los EE.UU., ellos mismos harían historia. Los animó a rezar por la nación.

“Hoy somos testigos”, dijo. “Somos testigos de la gracia y la misericordia de Jesucristo”.

Una multitud de personas se separó para que la Eucaristía, sombreada bajo un dosel bordado, pudiera llegar al arzobispo. La custodia dorada brillaba al sol. La procesión se dirigió hacia la Casa del Estado, una gran masa curva de personas. Algunos cantaban, otros guardaban un silencio reverente. Miembros de las muchas comunidades étnicas de la arquidiócesis proporcionaron música.

La procesión pasó por el Memorial Robert Gould Shaw, luego bajó la colina a través del Common. Una hermana salió de la multitud para ofrecer comida a un hombre sin hogar que descansaba bajo un árbol. El humo del incienso se mezclaba con el vapor que salía de las tapas de las alcantarillas.

La procesión pasó por la Old South Meeting House, donde se organizó el Boston Tea Party; la Old State House, que fue testigo de la Masacre de Boston; el Ayuntamiento; y la Casa de Paul Revere. Una niebla que soplaba teñía las puntas de los rascacielos que se alzaban sobre los monumentos históricos.

El arzobispo Henning y los peregrinos se detuvieron brevemente para adorar al Santísimo Sacramento frente a la Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón en el North End –el arzobispo celebraría más tarde ese día una Misa Votiva del Sagrado Corazón en la Catedral de la Santa Cruz.

“La Iglesia en América ha sido tan importante para el viaje americano”, dijo Mark Riley, quien vino de Amesbury, Massachusetts, para unirse a la procesión. “Piensas en la Iglesia y los Estados Unidos, ambas son fuerzas poderosas para el bien, mejorando el mundo de manera tan hermosa, pero también pasando por tiempos difíciles y luchando contra las dificultades que se presentan en el camino, y por eso estoy aquí. Tierra de los libres, hogar de los valientes”.

Riley nunca había caminado por el Freedom Trail antes. Su amigo Peter Mercier, de Salem, señaló que Riley ahora lo estaba caminando con Jesús.

“Toda la Iglesia es mi vida, realmente”, dijo Mercier.

Al crecer, había tres héroes en su hogar: el Papa San Juan Pablo II, la Madre Teresa y (la estrella del basketball) Larry Bird.

“Es un día hermoso, hermoso, hermoso”, dijo. “Tantas personas fieles aquí. Somos muy afortunados de ser parte de ello, y el arzobispo Henning lo está liderando, y realmente siento que es un gran renacimiento para la fe en Boston y en Nueva Inglaterra”.

La procesión se abrió camino por las estrechas y sinuosas calles del North End, llenas de grupos de turistas y restaurantes italianos. Un hombre con el equipo completo de los Yankees se persignó al ver la procesión. El USS Constitution y el Monumento a Bunker Hill, el destino final de la procesión, eran visibles a través del puerto.

Turistas, trabajadores de la construcción, trabajadores de saneamiento, empresarios, ciclistas, jugadores de softball y personas tomando el sol se detuvieron para ver a los peregrinos. Extendiendo por cuadras a la distancia, las multitudes rezando cruzaron el Puente Bill Russell hacia Charlestown. Un barco llamado “Indiscretion” de Newport, que llevaba una despedida de soltera, tocó su bocina en saludo. Las mujeres a bordo saludaron a los peregrinos. Pasando por la Iglesia de Santa María en Charlestown, la procesión finalmente subió por Monument Avenue hasta el obelisco de 221 pies de altura, donde se había instalado un altar.

“Lo logramos”, dijo el arzobispo Henning ante los aplausos.

Y agregó: “Han hecho algo hermoso. Han dado testimonio de su fe en Jesucristo. Nos hemos unido, hemos rezado, honrando las promesas del pasado y rezando por las esperanzas del futuro”.

Recordó las famosas palabras del puritano John Winthrop, quien instó a sus compañeros colonos a hacer de Boston “una ciudad sobre una colina”, una imagen del Evangelio de Mateo. Generaciones después, en Bunker Hill, los patriotas lucharon contra los británicos. El arzobispo dijo que dieron testimonio de “la libertad y de una visión de la dignidad de cada persona, igual ante Dios”.

“Honramos sus sacrificios y su visión”, dijo. “También estamos llamados a ser la luz, a dar ejemplo, a señalar la verdad de Dios”.

Los fieles se arrodillaron en el césped para adorar al Santísimo Sacramento. Cantaron himnos de alabanza, seguidos de “God Bless America”.

Finalmente, Dominic Smethurst, un estudiante de cuarto grado en la Escuela St. Mary of the Annunciation en Danvers, leyó su poema “Mission Faith” para la multitud.

Dominic ganó un concurso de poesía organizado por la Oficina de Escuelas Católicas de la Arquidiócesis de Boston en honor a la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional. Se pidió a los estudiantes que reenmarcaran “Paul Revere’s Ride” de Longfellow como “The Midnight Ride of Faith”. Las palabras del poema de Dominic debieron resonar con los peregrinos que habían viajado desde Boston Common hasta Bunker Hill.

“Comienzo mi ruta”, dice su poema. “Vago por la ciudad. Predico mi mensaje, y nunca me desanimo. La ruta es dura, pero tengo fe. Siempre me mantengo firme, porque estoy listo. Predico a todos, ‘¡Ten fe en Dios! ¡Ten esperanza en la vida! ¡Ten coraje para resolver cada conflicto!’ ”

Este artículo fue publicado originalmente (en inglés y español) por The Pilot, el medio informativo de la Arquidiócesis de Boston, y distribuido a través de una colaboración con OSV News. Wes Cipolla forma parte del equipo de The Pilot.

– BOSTON (OSV News) — Fue una vista que, si hubieran vivido para verla, habría hecho que los puritanos de la época colonial escupieran sus frijoles y bacalao. Más de 2.500 católicos, unidos y orgullosos de su fe, marchando por Boston y llevando la presencia real de Jesús en la Eucaristía a todos en su entorno, liderados por su arzobispo y decenas de sacerdotes, rezando el rosario en un lugar donde la celebración de la Misa era ilegal. La procesión eucarística de 2.5 millas, que tuvo lugar el 27 de junio como parte de la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional, fue una celebración

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Parolin: SSPX ordinations are ‘schismatic’ – #Catholic – ROME — Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said Wednesday that the episcopal ordinations carried out earlier in the day without papal mandate by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) constitute a schismatic act.“I don’t think there is much to say about this episode,” Parolin said at an event July 1. “First of all, I want to express great sorrow. I want to express great sorrow because, speaking of the unity of the Church, an act like this deeply wounds the unity of the Church.”The cardinal was commenting on the episcopal ordination of four new bishops at the SSPX headquarters in Switzerland.“Evidently this is in itself a schismatic act, because we know that episcopal ordinations without pontifical mandate break the unity of the Church and are also subject to very precise sanctions, which are fundamentally excommunication,” Parolin said.The cardinal said he did not know “the timing and the manner” in which the excommunication would be formally addressed.“My hope is that, despite what happened today, dialogue can resume and that a solution can truly be found here as well,” he said. “The fundamental point is the council — that is, whether or not to accept the Second Vatican Council.”“One certainly cannot think that the history of the Church stops at a certain point,” Parolin continued. “The history of the Church continues, and therefore the Second Vatican Council is a milestone in the history of the Church that must be accepted and implemented in the right way.”Parolin added that “despite this serious wound that has been produced,” he hopes dialogue with the SSPX can resume and “paths can be found that make it possible to resolve this problem.”This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Parolin: SSPX ordinations are ‘schismatic’ – #Catholic – ROME — Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said Wednesday that the episcopal ordinations carried out earlier in the day without papal mandate by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) constitute a schismatic act.“I don’t think there is much to say about this episode,” Parolin said at an event July 1. “First of all, I want to express great sorrow. I want to express great sorrow because, speaking of the unity of the Church, an act like this deeply wounds the unity of the Church.”The cardinal was commenting on the episcopal ordination of four new bishops at the SSPX headquarters in Switzerland.“Evidently this is in itself a schismatic act, because we know that episcopal ordinations without pontifical mandate break the unity of the Church and are also subject to very precise sanctions, which are fundamentally excommunication,” Parolin said.The cardinal said he did not know “the timing and the manner” in which the excommunication would be formally addressed.“My hope is that, despite what happened today, dialogue can resume and that a solution can truly be found here as well,” he said. “The fundamental point is the council — that is, whether or not to accept the Second Vatican Council.”“One certainly cannot think that the history of the Church stops at a certain point,” Parolin continued. “The history of the Church continues, and therefore the Second Vatican Council is a milestone in the history of the Church that must be accepted and implemented in the right way.”Parolin added that “despite this serious wound that has been produced,” he hopes dialogue with the SSPX can resume and “paths can be found that make it possible to resolve this problem.”This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the episcopal ordinations carried out without papal mandate by the Society of St. Pius X “deeply wound” Church unity.

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God on the soccer field: Expressions of faith at the World Cup – #Catholic – The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been more than just a celebration of soccer. Amid the excitement, players, coaches, and fans have made it clear that, for many of them, faith is also part of the game.Mexico, the United States, and Canada are hosting the tournament, which kicked off on June 11 and for the first time in history has brought together 48 national teams for a total of 104 matches. The Virgin of Luján and the Argentinian national teamArgentina, the tournamentʼs defending champion, seeks to repeat the feat achieved at Qatar in 2022 under the protection of the Virgin of Luján. During that World Cup, a video shared by goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez revealed an image of the patroness of Argentina in the locker room at the white-and-blue-uniformed teamʼs training camp.TweetFurthermore, the athletic shoes worn by Lionel Messi, captain and superstar of the Argentinian national team, were blessed at Our Lady of Luján Basilica by Father Lucas García, the shrine’s rector.In a video shared on social media, the priest is seen sprinkling holy water on the footwear while praying that the World Cup becomes a time of unity for all Argentinians.Instagram postCroatia and its faithCroatia, one of the standout teams in recent World Cups, has also consistently borne witness to its faith.Before the World Cup, the players and coaching staff left their training session to attend Mass on the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Mass with the Croatian national team. | Credit: Archdiocese of Rijeka Another significant moment occurred before the team’s first match against England, when EWTN News asked players Kristijan Jakić and Igor Matanović what Catholicism means to the team and if prayer and faith are important to them.“I think faith is very important in my life. When you pray to God, you feel that someone is listening to you, and that gives me a lot of strength,” Matanović said.Jakić added: “We are a Catholic country where faith is the pathway of our lives. I think faith represents the entire national team. Faith is everything in our lives.”St. Michael the Archangel and ScotlandScotland returned to the World Cup this year after a 28-year absence, featuring a generation of established stars alongside the talent of young prospects such as 20-year-old Ben Gannon-Doak, a forward for Bournemouth in the English Premier League.In an interview with the BBC, the player spoke about the central role the Catholic faith plays in his life. He carries a medal of St. Michael the Archangel and prays and reads the Bible before every match.Following Scotlandʼs victory over Haiti in its World Cup debut, cameras captured Doak kneeling on the playing field as he thanked God in prayer.Instagram postMexico at the feet of Our Lady of GuadalupeAt Mexico City Stadium, the site for the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, there is a small, restricted-access Catholic chapel that players and coaching staff pass through before taking the field.It’s a simple space featuring just two kneelers and an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, accompanied by a plaque noting that the image was blessed by St. John Paul II in 1999 during his fourth visit to Mexico.A video released during the tournament showed head coach Javier Aguirre and some members of “El Tri” — as the Mexican national team is known — pausing briefly to pray before their match against the Czech Republic on June 24, which they won 3-0.Instagram postFaith also finds expression at the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, where fans can entrust the Mexican National Team before an image of the child Jesus dressed in the teamʼs official uniform, a tradition that seeks not to ask for sporting victories but to place their joys in the hands of Christ. The child Jesus dressed in the three official uniforms of the Mexican national soccer team at the Altar of the Kings in the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral Just steps from the cathedral in Mexico City’s Constitution Square, a Fan Fest has been set up where fans gather to watch the games. There, one can find two nuns from the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament walking through the square, offering “free hugs” to the fans.USAOn June 12, the United States got off to a strong start in the World Cup by defeating Paraguay 4-1. After the match, defender Mark McKenzie led the team in a moment of prayer on the field.Leading up to the tournament, several U.S. players spoke openly about their faith. Standout winger Christian Pulisic is known for leading teammates in a Bible study he calls “Bible Time” and has spoken about the important role that reading Scripture plays in his daily life.TweetThis story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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God on the soccer field: Expressions of faith at the World Cup – #Catholic – The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been more than just a celebration of soccer. Amid the excitement, players, coaches, and fans have made it clear that, for many of them, faith is also part of the game.Mexico, the United States, and Canada are hosting the tournament, which kicked off on June 11 and for the first time in history has brought together 48 national teams for a total of 104 matches. The Virgin of Luján and the Argentinian national teamArgentina, the tournamentʼs defending champion, seeks to repeat the feat achieved at Qatar in 2022 under the protection of the Virgin of Luján. During that World Cup, a video shared by goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez revealed an image of the patroness of Argentina in the locker room at the white-and-blue-uniformed teamʼs training camp.TweetFurthermore, the athletic shoes worn by Lionel Messi, captain and superstar of the Argentinian national team, were blessed at Our Lady of Luján Basilica by Father Lucas García, the shrine’s rector.In a video shared on social media, the priest is seen sprinkling holy water on the footwear while praying that the World Cup becomes a time of unity for all Argentinians.Instagram postCroatia and its faithCroatia, one of the standout teams in recent World Cups, has also consistently borne witness to its faith.Before the World Cup, the players and coaching staff left their training session to attend Mass on the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Mass with the Croatian national team. | Credit: Archdiocese of Rijeka Another significant moment occurred before the team’s first match against England, when EWTN News asked players Kristijan Jakić and Igor Matanović what Catholicism means to the team and if prayer and faith are important to them.“I think faith is very important in my life. When you pray to God, you feel that someone is listening to you, and that gives me a lot of strength,” Matanović said.Jakić added: “We are a Catholic country where faith is the pathway of our lives. I think faith represents the entire national team. Faith is everything in our lives.”St. Michael the Archangel and ScotlandScotland returned to the World Cup this year after a 28-year absence, featuring a generation of established stars alongside the talent of young prospects such as 20-year-old Ben Gannon-Doak, a forward for Bournemouth in the English Premier League.In an interview with the BBC, the player spoke about the central role the Catholic faith plays in his life. He carries a medal of St. Michael the Archangel and prays and reads the Bible before every match.Following Scotlandʼs victory over Haiti in its World Cup debut, cameras captured Doak kneeling on the playing field as he thanked God in prayer.Instagram postMexico at the feet of Our Lady of GuadalupeAt Mexico City Stadium, the site for the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, there is a small, restricted-access Catholic chapel that players and coaching staff pass through before taking the field.It’s a simple space featuring just two kneelers and an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, accompanied by a plaque noting that the image was blessed by St. John Paul II in 1999 during his fourth visit to Mexico.A video released during the tournament showed head coach Javier Aguirre and some members of “El Tri” — as the Mexican national team is known — pausing briefly to pray before their match against the Czech Republic on June 24, which they won 3-0.Instagram postFaith also finds expression at the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, where fans can entrust the Mexican National Team before an image of the child Jesus dressed in the teamʼs official uniform, a tradition that seeks not to ask for sporting victories but to place their joys in the hands of Christ. The child Jesus dressed in the three official uniforms of the Mexican national soccer team at the Altar of the Kings in the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral Just steps from the cathedral in Mexico City’s Constitution Square, a Fan Fest has been set up where fans gather to watch the games. There, one can find two nuns from the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament walking through the square, offering “free hugs” to the fans.USAOn June 12, the United States got off to a strong start in the World Cup by defeating Paraguay 4-1. After the match, defender Mark McKenzie led the team in a moment of prayer on the field.Leading up to the tournament, several U.S. players spoke openly about their faith. Standout winger Christian Pulisic is known for leading teammates in a Bible study he calls “Bible Time” and has spoken about the important role that reading Scripture plays in his daily life.TweetThis story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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During the World Cup, various players and teams have expressed faith in God, asking not so much for victory but to put their lives and efforts in his hands.

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A stellar nursery in Cygnus

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Ron Brecher from Guelph, Ontario, Canada Sharpless 2–112 is a glowing cloud of ionized hydrogen roughly 30 light-years across, threaded by dark rifts of dust. It lies about 6,500 light-years away in Cygnus and is energized by the hot, massive O-type star BD+45 3216. The imager took nearly 24½ hours of exposure in the HubbleContinue reading “A stellar nursery in Cygnus”

The post A stellar nursery in Cygnus appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Nun arrested by ICE while walking to Sunday Mass in Texas released after lawmakers’ intervention – #Catholic – A Catholic nun was briefly detained by federal immigration officers while walking to church in her religious habit on Sunday, sparking widespread concern among local faith leaders and prompting swift intervention by members of Congress.Sister Leticia Ugboaja, a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and a registered nurse at South Texas Health System, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on June 28 as she headed to Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas, just miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.Parish officials quickly shared news of the arrest on social media, which drew significant attention and led to outreach from lawmakers, including U.S. Reps. Monica de la Cruz and Henry Cuellar, the latter of whom said his office communicated with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and border czar Tom Homan to secure Ugboaja’s immediate release.By Sunday evening, Ugboaja, who volunteers as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion at Our Lady of Sorrows, had been released from custody and returned home.U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar told EWTN News that he was told at first that she could not be released until Monday because of staffing issues but that Homan made her earlier release happen.“[Homan] said he’d take care of it. I want to thank the DHS secretary and Homan for helping her get released” on Sunday, Cuellar said. The congressman said he now knows why Ugboaja was initially detained but is not at liberty to speak about it. “This is not the way they should have picked her up,” he emphasized. “If ICE had any questions, there would have been more appropriate ways to deal with her situation.”Cuellar said the image of a nun in full habit walking to church on a Sunday morning “lowers a curtain of fear in the community … We should not have people being picked up on the streets in America. That’s not America.”  “If there’s fear, it should be focused on criminals,” the Democratic congressman said. “Those are the ones who should fear ICE.”Brenda Riojas, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, told EWTN News in a statement the diocese was “grateful also for the quick response of local representatives who reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to get Sister Leticia released from custody.”She noted the diocese is still gathering information about the circumstances regarding Ugboaja’s detainment by ICE.In the statement, Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville said the nun “is a well-known source of goodness and hope in our community, and I am grateful she has been released.”He said there remain “many questions” about her arrest. “For now, it is clear that Homeland Security enforcement protocols that make it possible for a religious sister, or anyone, to be detained and handcuffed while peacefully walking to church on a Sunday morning are wildly disturbing and need to be reformed.”The League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest and largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States, started a petition addressed to Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, calling for an immediate investigation into why the nun was detained.“This incident highlights the concerns that advocates, faith leaders, and community organizations have raised for months about unlawful enforcement practices and the lack of oversight,” the petition reads.The incident comes amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, which has included operations near houses of worship.An ICE spokesperson told EWTN News in July 2025 that while the agency is “not subject to previous restrictions on immigration operations at sensitive locations, to include schools, churches, and courthouses,” it nevertheless “does not indiscriminately take enforcement actions at these locations.”“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests aliens who commit crimes and other individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” the spokesperson noted, adding: “All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention, and, if found removable by final order, removed from the United States.”In January, the Department of Homeland Security removed places of worship from its sensitive locations list, allowing ICE agents to carry out immigration enforcement procedures.Following a lawsuit from a group of 27 religious organizations, ICE was temporarily blocked in March 2025 from carrying out deportations in places of worship. However, one month later, a federal judge found the organizations did not have legal standing, thereby allowing operations to continue.Bishops in South Texas have reported increased anxiety among parishioners, with some opting to attend Mass virtually or requesting assistance with errands to avoid leaving their homes.Bishops in other parts of the country have issued dispensations from Mass attendance for those who fear deportation.San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller told EWTN News in January that instead of dispensing the Mass obligation, he wants to “reach out to those who are hidden.” “That’s our work. We will go and find them in their homes, bring catechists and Communion to their homes,” he said.Reached for comment, ICE referred EWTN News to the Homeland Security department, which did not respond by the time of publication.This story was updated at 3:13 p.m. ET on July 1, 2026, with the quotes from Rep. Cuellar.
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Nun arrested by ICE while walking to Sunday Mass in Texas released after lawmakers’ intervention – #Catholic – A Catholic nun was briefly detained by federal immigration officers while walking to church in her religious habit on Sunday, sparking widespread concern among local faith leaders and prompting swift intervention by members of Congress.Sister Leticia Ugboaja, a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and a registered nurse at South Texas Health System, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on June 28 as she headed to Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas, just miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.Parish officials quickly shared news of the arrest on social media, which drew significant attention and led to outreach from lawmakers, including U.S. Reps. Monica de la Cruz and Henry Cuellar, the latter of whom said his office communicated with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and border czar Tom Homan to secure Ugboaja’s immediate release.By Sunday evening, Ugboaja, who volunteers as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion at Our Lady of Sorrows, had been released from custody and returned home.U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar told EWTN News that he was told at first that she could not be released until Monday because of staffing issues but that Homan made her earlier release happen.“[Homan] said he’d take care of it. I want to thank the DHS secretary and Homan for helping her get released” on Sunday, Cuellar said. The congressman said he now knows why Ugboaja was initially detained but is not at liberty to speak about it. “This is not the way they should have picked her up,” he emphasized. “If ICE had any questions, there would have been more appropriate ways to deal with her situation.”Cuellar said the image of a nun in full habit walking to church on a Sunday morning “lowers a curtain of fear in the community … We should not have people being picked up on the streets in America. That’s not America.”  “If there’s fear, it should be focused on criminals,” the Democratic congressman said. “Those are the ones who should fear ICE.”Brenda Riojas, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, told EWTN News in a statement the diocese was “grateful also for the quick response of local representatives who reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to get Sister Leticia released from custody.”She noted the diocese is still gathering information about the circumstances regarding Ugboaja’s detainment by ICE.In the statement, Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville said the nun “is a well-known source of goodness and hope in our community, and I am grateful she has been released.”He said there remain “many questions” about her arrest. “For now, it is clear that Homeland Security enforcement protocols that make it possible for a religious sister, or anyone, to be detained and handcuffed while peacefully walking to church on a Sunday morning are wildly disturbing and need to be reformed.”The League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest and largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States, started a petition addressed to Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, calling for an immediate investigation into why the nun was detained.“This incident highlights the concerns that advocates, faith leaders, and community organizations have raised for months about unlawful enforcement practices and the lack of oversight,” the petition reads.The incident comes amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, which has included operations near houses of worship.An ICE spokesperson told EWTN News in July 2025 that while the agency is “not subject to previous restrictions on immigration operations at sensitive locations, to include schools, churches, and courthouses,” it nevertheless “does not indiscriminately take enforcement actions at these locations.”“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests aliens who commit crimes and other individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” the spokesperson noted, adding: “All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention, and, if found removable by final order, removed from the United States.”In January, the Department of Homeland Security removed places of worship from its sensitive locations list, allowing ICE agents to carry out immigration enforcement procedures.Following a lawsuit from a group of 27 religious organizations, ICE was temporarily blocked in March 2025 from carrying out deportations in places of worship. However, one month later, a federal judge found the organizations did not have legal standing, thereby allowing operations to continue.Bishops in South Texas have reported increased anxiety among parishioners, with some opting to attend Mass virtually or requesting assistance with errands to avoid leaving their homes.Bishops in other parts of the country have issued dispensations from Mass attendance for those who fear deportation.San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller told EWTN News in January that instead of dispensing the Mass obligation, he wants to “reach out to those who are hidden.” “That’s our work. We will go and find them in their homes, bring catechists and Communion to their homes,” he said.Reached for comment, ICE referred EWTN News to the Homeland Security department, which did not respond by the time of publication.This story was updated at 3:13 p.m. ET on July 1, 2026, with the quotes from Rep. Cuellar.

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The incident comes amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, which has included operations near houses of worship.

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 01 July 2026 – A reading from the Book of Amos 5:14-15, 21-24 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; Then truly will the LORD, the God of hosts, be with you as you claim! Hate evil and love good, and let justice prevail at the gate; Then it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will have pity on the remnant of Joseph.I hate, I spurn your feasts, says the LORD, I take no pleasure in your solemnities; Your cereal offerings I will not accept, nor consider your stall-fed peace offerings. Away with your noisy songs! I will not listen to the melodies of your harps. But if you would offer me burnt offerings, then let justice surge like water, and goodness like an unfailing stream.From the Gospel according to Matthew 8:28-34 When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him. They were so savage that no one could travel by that road. They cried out, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?” Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding. The demons pleaded with him, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.” And he said to them, “Go then!” They came out and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned. The swineherds ran away, and when they came to the town they reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.Satan’s power is not infinite. He is merely a creature, powerful inasmuch as he is a pure spirit, but still a creature, subject to the limitations of a creature and subordinate to God’s will and dominion. If Satan acts in the world out of his hatred for God and His kingdom, this is permitted by divine Providence, which with power and goodness (“fortiter et suaviter”) guides the history of man and the world. Although Satan’s actions certainly cause great harm – of a spiritual nature and indirectly also of a physical nature – to individuals and society, he is nevertheless unable to nullify the ultimate end towards which humanity and all creation are directed: the Good (…). Thus, the entire history of humanity can be viewed in terms of total salvation, in which Christ’s victory over the “prince of this world” is inscribed. (Saint John Paul II, General Audience, 20 August 1986)

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A reading from the Book of Amos
5:14-15, 21-24

Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;
Then truly will the LORD, the God of hosts,
be with you as you claim!
Hate evil and love good,
and let justice prevail at the gate;
Then it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,
will have pity on the remnant of Joseph.I hate, I spurn your feasts, says the LORD,
I take no pleasure in your solemnities;
Your cereal offerings I will not accept,
nor consider your stall-fed peace offerings.
Away with your noisy songs!
I will not listen to the melodies of your harps.
But if you would offer me burnt offerings,
then let justice surge like water,
and goodness like an unfailing stream.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
8:28-34

When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,
two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.
They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.
They cried out, “What have you to do with us, Son of God?
Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?”
Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.
The demons pleaded with him,
“If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.”
And he said to them, “Go then!”
They came out and entered the swine,
and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea
where they drowned.
The swineherds ran away,
and when they came to the town they reported everything,
including what had happened to the demoniacs.
Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,
and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.

Satan’s power is not infinite. He is merely a creature, powerful inasmuch as he is a pure spirit, but still a creature, subject to the limitations of a creature and subordinate to God’s will and dominion. If Satan acts in the world out of his hatred for God and His kingdom, this is permitted by divine Providence, which with power and goodness (“fortiter et suaviter”) guides the history of man and the world. Although Satan’s actions certainly cause great harm – of a spiritual nature and indirectly also of a physical nature – to individuals and society, he is nevertheless unable to nullify the ultimate end towards which humanity and all creation are directed: the Good (…). Thus, the entire history of humanity can be viewed in terms of total salvation, in which Christ’s victory over the “prince of this world” is inscribed. (Saint John Paul II, General Audience, 20 August 1986)

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Nicaraguan police arrest 80-year-old bishop being treated at a medical clinic – #Catholic – Abelardo Mata, the bishop emeritus of Estelí, Nicaragua, who recently turned 80, was detained for several hours on June 29 by the dictatorships’s police one day after he had celebrated a Mass in which he called for prayers for the persecuted Church in the country.Around midday on Monday, the prelate was taken into police custody from the clinic to the Investigations Center at the Evaristo Vásquez Sánchez Police Complex, headquarters of the Directorate of Judicial Assistance known as “El Nuevo Chipote,” according to reports by Arnulfo Peralta Solís, a Nicaraguan journalist based in the United States.El Nuevo Chipote is where political dissidents have been imprisoned and allegedly tortured.Peralta further stated that on that same day, Mata returned to his home in the town of Tisma. The journalist had spoken with the bishop on May 18 during the latterʼs first public appearance in years as he congratulated an Indigenous Nicaraguan doctor working in Denver.According to the newspaper La Prensa, Mata arrived in Estelí on Thursday, June 25, and his detention took place following a Mass he celebrated on Sunday, June 28, at the Calvary’s Cross church, where the bishop “asked for prayers for the persecuted Church and prayed for exiled priests, including Bishop Rolando Álvarez and Father Frutos Constantino Valle Salmerón.”According to the Nicaraguan newspaper, Mata is reportedly barred by authorities from traveling to Estelí and celebrating Mass there.The Nicaraguan media Mosaico CSI reported that the prelate had visited a clinic in Estelí for a checkup, as he uses a pacemaker.Álvarez, who serves as apostolic administrator of Estelí since Mata resigned in 2021, currently lives in Rome. He was exiled there in January 2024 after serving about 11 months of a 26-year prison sentence, not counting the approximately seven months he was held under house arrest prior. The prelate was a consistent critic of the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo.Valle, who is over 80 years old, holds the position of “administrator ad omnia” for Estelí, meaning he can carry out all ordinary functions of pastoral governance except those reserved to a bishop. Valle is currently living at the Our Lady of Fatima Seminary and is under house arrest, prohibited from leaving the seminary.“Bishop Emeritus Juan Abelardo Mata has been a bishop close to the people who has spoken the truth, actions that the Sandinista dictatorship does not tolerate,” researcher Martha Patricia Molina stated on June 30 in comments to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.Molina, the author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” which has documented thousands of attacks by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship against Catholics since 2018, noted that “in Nicaragua, anyone who dares to voice an opinion, however obvious it may seem, ends up offending the dictatorship and that’s why they keep the prelates under surveillance.”“They are constantly threatened with imprisonment or exile, and while not all cases become public, several priests are enduring this same constant harassment without reporting it publicly, because the dictatorship reacts more harshly when they do,” Molina explained.In April, a priest in Nicaragua speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons gave an interview to ACI Prensa to denounce the harassment he faces on a daily basis.Every Sunday, the police arrive to photograph him. He is required to report every time he leaves his parish, every religious service, and every movement outside his territory. If he speaks about a social issue during his homily, he risks one of two things: imprisonment or exile.Mata is ‘courageous, beloved, and credible voice in Nicaragua’“Bishop Mata has been a strong, courageous voice that has always spoken truth to power, and that truth and light are unsettling. He is a beloved and credible voice in Nicaragua,” Arturo McFields, Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States, told ACI Prensa.“The dictatorship tends to want to normalize what is happening in the country, and what has happened to Bishop Mata shows us that there is nothing normal in Nicaragua,” he said. “There is a spiteful, dangerous, criminal, and satanic dictatorship, and this must be denounced because it is the only way to put a stop to these actions, especially against any voice that dares to question the regime.”McFields also charged that the dictatorship “harbors a deep-seated grudge against Bishop Mata and is intent on ‘settling scores.’”Bishop Báez condemns attack on Mata“I am deeply outraged by and absolutely condemn the act of aggression committed by the regime’s police against my brother Juan Abelardo Mata, bishop emeritus of Estelí,” ​​Bishop Silvio Báez, auxiliary bishop of Managua, currently in exile in Miami, wrote on X.“These cowardly actions only demonstrate the weakness and irrationality of a criminal dictatorship,” the prelate stated on June 30.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Nicaraguan police arrest 80-year-old bishop being treated at a medical clinic – #Catholic – Abelardo Mata, the bishop emeritus of Estelí, Nicaragua, who recently turned 80, was detained for several hours on June 29 by the dictatorships’s police one day after he had celebrated a Mass in which he called for prayers for the persecuted Church in the country.Around midday on Monday, the prelate was taken into police custody from the clinic to the Investigations Center at the Evaristo Vásquez Sánchez Police Complex, headquarters of the Directorate of Judicial Assistance known as “El Nuevo Chipote,” according to reports by Arnulfo Peralta Solís, a Nicaraguan journalist based in the United States.El Nuevo Chipote is where political dissidents have been imprisoned and allegedly tortured.Peralta further stated that on that same day, Mata returned to his home in the town of Tisma. The journalist had spoken with the bishop on May 18 during the latterʼs first public appearance in years as he congratulated an Indigenous Nicaraguan doctor working in Denver.According to the newspaper La Prensa, Mata arrived in Estelí on Thursday, June 25, and his detention took place following a Mass he celebrated on Sunday, June 28, at the Calvary’s Cross church, where the bishop “asked for prayers for the persecuted Church and prayed for exiled priests, including Bishop Rolando Álvarez and Father Frutos Constantino Valle Salmerón.”According to the Nicaraguan newspaper, Mata is reportedly barred by authorities from traveling to Estelí and celebrating Mass there.The Nicaraguan media Mosaico CSI reported that the prelate had visited a clinic in Estelí for a checkup, as he uses a pacemaker.Álvarez, who serves as apostolic administrator of Estelí since Mata resigned in 2021, currently lives in Rome. He was exiled there in January 2024 after serving about 11 months of a 26-year prison sentence, not counting the approximately seven months he was held under house arrest prior. The prelate was a consistent critic of the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo.Valle, who is over 80 years old, holds the position of “administrator ad omnia” for Estelí, meaning he can carry out all ordinary functions of pastoral governance except those reserved to a bishop. Valle is currently living at the Our Lady of Fatima Seminary and is under house arrest, prohibited from leaving the seminary.“Bishop Emeritus Juan Abelardo Mata has been a bishop close to the people who has spoken the truth, actions that the Sandinista dictatorship does not tolerate,” researcher Martha Patricia Molina stated on June 30 in comments to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.Molina, the author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” which has documented thousands of attacks by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship against Catholics since 2018, noted that “in Nicaragua, anyone who dares to voice an opinion, however obvious it may seem, ends up offending the dictatorship and that’s why they keep the prelates under surveillance.”“They are constantly threatened with imprisonment or exile, and while not all cases become public, several priests are enduring this same constant harassment without reporting it publicly, because the dictatorship reacts more harshly when they do,” Molina explained.In April, a priest in Nicaragua speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons gave an interview to ACI Prensa to denounce the harassment he faces on a daily basis.Every Sunday, the police arrive to photograph him. He is required to report every time he leaves his parish, every religious service, and every movement outside his territory. If he speaks about a social issue during his homily, he risks one of two things: imprisonment or exile.Mata is ‘courageous, beloved, and credible voice in Nicaragua’“Bishop Mata has been a strong, courageous voice that has always spoken truth to power, and that truth and light are unsettling. He is a beloved and credible voice in Nicaragua,” Arturo McFields, Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States, told ACI Prensa.“The dictatorship tends to want to normalize what is happening in the country, and what has happened to Bishop Mata shows us that there is nothing normal in Nicaragua,” he said. “There is a spiteful, dangerous, criminal, and satanic dictatorship, and this must be denounced because it is the only way to put a stop to these actions, especially against any voice that dares to question the regime.”McFields also charged that the dictatorship “harbors a deep-seated grudge against Bishop Mata and is intent on ‘settling scores.’”Bishop Báez condemns attack on Mata“I am deeply outraged by and absolutely condemn the act of aggression committed by the regime’s police against my brother Juan Abelardo Mata, bishop emeritus of Estelí,” ​​Bishop Silvio Báez, auxiliary bishop of Managua, currently in exile in Miami, wrote on X.“These cowardly actions only demonstrate the weakness and irrationality of a criminal dictatorship,” the prelate stated on June 30.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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In retaliation for asking for prayers for the persecuted Church at a Mass he celebrated, the bishop was held for several hours by police, part of an ongoing campaign of harassment of clergy.

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East Hanover Knights present scholarships, accept state award #Catholic – The Knights of Columbus East Hanover Council 6504 presented college scholarship awards to several local students at the council’s awards night held at St. Rose of Lima Church in East Hanover, N.J., on June 22. The council, with the support from an anonymous donor, awarded one-time college scholarships of ,000 each to seven students: Sophia Duarte, Villanova University; Alicia Cosentino, Sacred Heart University; Lucas Lorent, University of Tennessee; Ryan Carrell, University of Miami; Anthony Cosentino, Rutgers University; Ava Patanella, Rider University; and Emma Patanella, University of Delaware. The students were congratulated by the council along with their family and friends who attended. Pictured with the students is Council 6504 Grand Knight Michael Trocchia. At the same event, the East Hanover council was presented with the Drive for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities Appreciation Award which had been given to the council on May 16 at the Knights of Columbus annual N.J. State Council Convention in appreciation for the council’s outstanding work with their Intellectual Disabilities Drive. Pictured above: Michael Spiecker, district deputy, who presented the award to the council; Michael Trocchia, Council 6504 Grand Knight; and Robert Cosentino, Council 6504’s Intellectual Disabilities Drive chairman. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
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East Hanover Knights present scholarships, accept state award #Catholic – The Knights of Columbus East Hanover Council 6504 presented college scholarship awards to several local students at the council’s awards night held at St. Rose of Lima Church in East Hanover, N.J., on June 22. The council, with the support from an anonymous donor, awarded one-time college scholarships of $3,000 each to seven students: Sophia Duarte, Villanova University; Alicia Cosentino, Sacred Heart University; Lucas Lorent, University of Tennessee; Ryan Carrell, University of Miami; Anthony Cosentino, Rutgers University; Ava Patanella, Rider University; and Emma Patanella, University of Delaware. The students were congratulated by the council along with their family and friends who attended. Pictured with the students is Council 6504 Grand Knight Michael Trocchia. At the same event, the East Hanover council was presented with the Drive for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities Appreciation Award which had been given to the council on May 16 at the Knights of Columbus annual N.J. State Council Convention in appreciation for the council’s outstanding work with their Intellectual Disabilities Drive. Pictured above: Michael Spiecker, district deputy, who presented the award to the council; Michael Trocchia, Council 6504 Grand Knight; and Robert Cosentino, Council 6504’s Intellectual Disabilities Drive chairman. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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East Hanover Knights present scholarships, accept state award #Catholic –

The Knights of Columbus East Hanover Council 6504 presented college scholarship awards to several local students at the council’s awards night held at St. Rose of Lima Church in East Hanover, N.J., on June 22. The council, with the support from an anonymous donor, awarded one-time college scholarships of $3,000 each to seven students: Sophia Duarte, Villanova University; Alicia Cosentino, Sacred Heart University; Lucas Lorent, University of Tennessee; Ryan Carrell, University of Miami; Anthony Cosentino, Rutgers University; Ava Patanella, Rider University; and Emma Patanella, University of Delaware. The students were congratulated by the council along with their family and friends who attended. Pictured with the students is Council 6504 Grand Knight Michael Trocchia.

At the same event, the East Hanover council was presented with the Drive for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities Appreciation Award which had been given to the council on May 16 at the Knights of Columbus annual N.J. State Council Convention in appreciation for the council’s outstanding work with their Intellectual Disabilities Drive. Pictured above: Michael Spiecker, district deputy, who presented the award to the council; Michael Trocchia, Council 6504 Grand Knight; and Robert Cosentino, Council 6504’s Intellectual Disabilities Drive chairman.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

– The Knights of Columbus East Hanover Council 6504 presented college scholarship awards to several local students at the council’s awards night held at St. Rose of Lima Church in East Hanover, N.J., on June 22. The council, with the support from an anonymous donor, awarded one-time college scholarships of $3,000 each to seven students: Sophia Duarte, Villanova University; Alicia Cosentino, Sacred Heart University; Lucas Lorent, University of Tennessee; Ryan Carrell, University of Miami; Anthony Cosentino, Rutgers University; Ava Patanella, Rider University; and Emma Patanella, University of Delaware. The students were congratulated by the council along with their family and friends

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All Saints Academy celebrates 8th grade graduates #Catholic – All Saints Academy in Parsippany, N.J. celebrated this year’s eight-grade graduates on June 5. The day began with a family breakfast followed by the annual clap-out and concluded with a graduation Mass and award ceremony. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
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All Saints Academy celebrates 8th grade graduates #Catholic – All Saints Academy in Parsippany, N.J. celebrated this year’s eight-grade graduates on June 5. The day began with a family breakfast followed by the annual clap-out and concluded with a graduation Mass and award ceremony. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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All Saints Academy celebrates 8th grade graduates #Catholic –

All Saints Academy in Parsippany, N.J. celebrated this year’s eight-grade graduates on June 5. The day began with a family breakfast followed by the annual clap-out and concluded with a graduation Mass and award ceremony.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

– All Saints Academy in Parsippany, N.J. celebrated this year’s eight-grade graduates on June 5. The day began with a family breakfast followed by the annual clap-out and concluded with a graduation Mass and award ceremony. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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Aid official: ‘The world fell apart’ as coastal Venezuela awaits assistance – #Catholic – Several coastal states in Venezuela remain without foreign assistance as thousands of people — including children who have lost their families — are homeless or missing after two earthquakes last week.“The world fell apart in less than two minutes,” Claudia Gonzales, an external relations manager for World Vision Venezuela, told “EWTN News Nightly” on June 30. “And yesterday our government says that we already have confirmed 1,700 people that died during the earthquakes.”According to Gonzales, who lives just outside of Caracas, more than 60,000 people remain missing and 50,000 are homeless following a pair of 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck the country on June 24.In her own city of Guarenas, she said, “we have more than 500 families that are sleeping in the streets, looking for help and looking for comfort.”“We have people on the ground with concrete under them, and we donʼt know if they are still alive,” she said.According to Gonzales, the most affected area is the coastal state of La Guaira, north of Caracas. She noted that several other northern states, including Carabobo, Falcón, Aragua, and Miranda, have not received aid.“We have a lot of children that have not only [lost] their houses,” she said. “We have children that have lost their entire family, their neighbors.”While Gonzales expressed gratitude for the influx of foreign aid and support, she emphasized that large parts of the population are still waiting for help.“The international help came,” she said. “But the thing is, La Guaira is big; that is not enough.”“The size of this tragedy, we’re talking about 80% of the buildings in La Guaira collapsed,” she said. “You know, itʼs just something that we never thought could happen in our country.”Catholic responseThe Catholic Church in Venezuela has mobilized alongside international Catholic nonprofits such as Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Caritas International, and Catholic Charities to provide support for earthquake victims.CRS has been working in partnership with Caritas to provide food, shelter, and emergency healthcare to earthquake victims, according to CRS’ website.Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Miami announced a relief fund for earthquake victims on June 26, with Archbishop Thomas Wenski calling for “our Catholic faithful and all people of goodwill across South Florida to stand in solidarity with the communities that will be hard hit” and “to please be generous in providing assistance.”
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Aid official: ‘The world fell apart’ as coastal Venezuela awaits assistance – #Catholic – Several coastal states in Venezuela remain without foreign assistance as thousands of people — including children who have lost their families — are homeless or missing after two earthquakes last week.“The world fell apart in less than two minutes,” Claudia Gonzales, an external relations manager for World Vision Venezuela, told “EWTN News Nightly” on June 30. “And yesterday our government says that we already have confirmed 1,700 people that died during the earthquakes.”According to Gonzales, who lives just outside of Caracas, more than 60,000 people remain missing and 50,000 are homeless following a pair of 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck the country on June 24.In her own city of Guarenas, she said, “we have more than 500 families that are sleeping in the streets, looking for help and looking for comfort.”“We have people on the ground with concrete under them, and we donʼt know if they are still alive,” she said.According to Gonzales, the most affected area is the coastal state of La Guaira, north of Caracas. She noted that several other northern states, including Carabobo, Falcón, Aragua, and Miranda, have not received aid.“We have a lot of children that have not only [lost] their houses,” she said. “We have children that have lost their entire family, their neighbors.”While Gonzales expressed gratitude for the influx of foreign aid and support, she emphasized that large parts of the population are still waiting for help.“The international help came,” she said. “But the thing is, La Guaira is big; that is not enough.”“The size of this tragedy, we’re talking about 80% of the buildings in La Guaira collapsed,” she said. “You know, itʼs just something that we never thought could happen in our country.”Catholic responseThe Catholic Church in Venezuela has mobilized alongside international Catholic nonprofits such as Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Caritas International, and Catholic Charities to provide support for earthquake victims.CRS has been working in partnership with Caritas to provide food, shelter, and emergency healthcare to earthquake victims, according to CRS’ website.Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Miami announced a relief fund for earthquake victims on June 26, with Archbishop Thomas Wenski calling for “our Catholic faithful and all people of goodwill across South Florida to stand in solidarity with the communities that will be hard hit” and “to please be generous in providing assistance.”

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Claudia Gonzales, a World Vision Venezuela manager, said the quakes left children without families and thousands of people missing or homeless, with at least 1,700 confirmed deaths.

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A New Mexico mountain with Christ at the top is the latest battleground in U.S. immigration debate - #Catholic - Deacon Jim Winder, the chancellor of the Diocese of Las Cruces in New Mexico, says the diocese, which sits along the U.S.-Mexico border, is “not against border security.” “We’ve been accused of that, and it’s not correct,” he told EWTN News. In 2021 the diocese allowed federal immigration officials to build an access road and place motion sensors on diocesan-owned land that runs alongside Mexico, an arrangement the diocese renewed in 2023. “They’ve had that ever since,” Winder said. “We think that’s adequate. I don’t think any people can get through there with that system.” The U.S. federal government, however, is attempting to seize that land outright from the diocese and build a much more substantial border wall there. It is so determined to do so that it seeks to seize the land through eminent domain. Las Cruces is fighting the government’s attempt in court, putting the diocese at the forefront of the current U.S. immigration debate.Quite literally at the apex of the dispute is Mount Cristo Rey, a small mountain with a nearly-century-old statue of Jesus Christ atop it that has been a pilgrimage site for decades. The diocese says the government’s proposed border security at the base of the mountain would negatively affect pilgrims coming to the site. A towering statue of Christ the King sits atop Mount Cristo Rey in the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, June 28, 2026. The mountain has become the site of a dispute between the diocese and the U.S. federal government over the seizure of land for a border wall. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Jim Winder The Trump administration’s immigration policy has come under fire from numerous elements of the U.S. Catholic Church over the past 18 months, including the U.S. bishops and multiple dioceses that have witnessed enhanced immigration enforcement. Various Church leaders have urged the administration to balance its border security efforts with more mercy and discretion.Winder stressed that the diocese is supportive of immigration security. But, he said, “we see the border wall as more of a political tool — something that the administration wants to do to show that they’re tough on immigration.” Winder said the disputed stretch of land near El Paso, Texas, is not ideal for illegal immigration. Mount Cristo Rey, he said, is “really rough. It’s not super tall but it’s rough. To try to go over the mountain to get in the United States — it’s a pretty effective barrier in and of itself.”“It’s nice flat ground on either side of it, for hundreds of miles,” he said. “[The government] patrols it. They’ve got vehicles parked there. I don’t think it’s a real high-volume place,” he observed, for illegal immigration crossings.Statue of Christ arose from priest’s visionAmid the ongoing court battle, Las Cruces Bishop Peter Baldacchino held a Mass atop Mount Cristo Rey on June 28, drawing hundreds of faithful to the sun-baked top of the mountain with Christ towering over them. Bishop Peter Baldacchino celebrates Mass atop Mount Cristo Rey in the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, on June 28, 2026. The mountain has become the site of a dispute between the diocese and the federal government over the seizure of land for a border wall. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Jim Winder Mount Cristo Rey sits near the now-vanished town of Smeltertown within what Winder called a “unique” tip of land in New Mexico, one that is surrounded both by the state of Texas and the nation of Mexico. Both El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, are roughly southeast of the mountain. An informational website says the towering statue of Christ took shape from 1933, when local priest Father Lourdes Costa “[looked] out the back window of his residence in the community of Smeltertown [and] envisioned erecting a monument at the summit of this glorious mountain.” The 29-foot-tall limestone statue was dedicated in 1940. It has since become a regular pilgrimage site, with the faithful hiking up the short summit to the base of the monument. Winder said the decision to hold the Mass on June 28 was “completely apolitical.”“It wasn’t meant as a protest,” he said. “It was a Mass. It was meant for prayer, to bring people together, to practice unity, to pray for the Church, and to pray for government leaders.”The response to the Mass was “very good,” the deacon said. “It was very hot. It’s not a great time to climb mountains in southern New Mexico. But about 400 people showed up and made the climb. They came from all over. Some from El Paso, some from our diocese, some from Albuquerque and beyond.” Pilgrims hike to the top of Mount Cristo Rey for Mass in the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, on June 28, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Jim Winder The mountain has served as a significant site for local Catholic worship for nearly a century, Winder said. He compared the geography of the area to the “Four Corners” monument where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico all meet. “This is a place where there’s this unity of two nations and two states,” he said. “There’s a symbolism of that unity in Christ the King standing above it. But it’s also a pilgrimage site.” “It’s just a special place,” he said. “It’s very powerful. It’s a magnificent place to have Mass.” Bishop Peter Baldacchino hikes to the top of Mount Cristo Rey for Mass in the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, June 28, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Jim Winder The diocese was dealt a blow in June when a federal district court said the government could put down a six-figure deposit on the land as a pretext to obtaining it. The dispute is still ongoing, Winder said, with another hearing anticipated in late July. The diocese has filed numerous motions against the government’s effort, he said. He described the proposed border wall as more of a political symbol than a really practical measure, one that would mar the sacredness of the site.“If you go to the mountain and hike to the top, you’ll see a 30-foot-tall image of Christ the King,” he said. “And if the government builds this wall, and you turn your head slightly [from Christ], you’ll see a 30-foot ‘Keep Out’ sign below.” “It’s an affront,” he said.
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A New Mexico mountain with Christ at the top is the latest battleground in U.S. immigration debate – #Catholic – Deacon Jim Winder, the chancellor of the Diocese of Las Cruces in New Mexico, says the diocese, which sits along the U.S.-Mexico border, is “not against border security.” “We’ve been accused of that, and it’s not correct,” he told EWTN News. In 2021 the diocese allowed federal immigration officials to build an access road and place motion sensors on diocesan-owned land that runs alongside Mexico, an arrangement the diocese renewed in 2023. “They’ve had that ever since,” Winder said. “We think that’s adequate. I don’t think any people can get through there with that system.” The U.S. federal government, however, is attempting to seize that land outright from the diocese and build a much more substantial border wall there. It is so determined to do so that it seeks to seize the land through eminent domain. Las Cruces is fighting the government’s attempt in court, putting the diocese at the forefront of the current U.S. immigration debate.Quite literally at the apex of the dispute is Mount Cristo Rey, a small mountain with a nearly-century-old statue of Jesus Christ atop it that has been a pilgrimage site for decades. The diocese says the government’s proposed border security at the base of the mountain would negatively affect pilgrims coming to the site. A towering statue of Christ the King sits atop Mount Cristo Rey in the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, June 28, 2026. The mountain has become the site of a dispute between the diocese and the U.S. federal government over the seizure of land for a border wall. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Jim Winder The Trump administration’s immigration policy has come under fire from numerous elements of the U.S. Catholic Church over the past 18 months, including the U.S. bishops and multiple dioceses that have witnessed enhanced immigration enforcement. Various Church leaders have urged the administration to balance its border security efforts with more mercy and discretion.Winder stressed that the diocese is supportive of immigration security. But, he said, “we see the border wall as more of a political tool — something that the administration wants to do to show that they’re tough on immigration.” Winder said the disputed stretch of land near El Paso, Texas, is not ideal for illegal immigration. Mount Cristo Rey, he said, is “really rough. It’s not super tall but it’s rough. To try to go over the mountain to get in the United States — it’s a pretty effective barrier in and of itself.”“It’s nice flat ground on either side of it, for hundreds of miles,” he said. “[The government] patrols it. They’ve got vehicles parked there. I don’t think it’s a real high-volume place,” he observed, for illegal immigration crossings.Statue of Christ arose from priest’s visionAmid the ongoing court battle, Las Cruces Bishop Peter Baldacchino held a Mass atop Mount Cristo Rey on June 28, drawing hundreds of faithful to the sun-baked top of the mountain with Christ towering over them. Bishop Peter Baldacchino celebrates Mass atop Mount Cristo Rey in the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, on June 28, 2026. The mountain has become the site of a dispute between the diocese and the federal government over the seizure of land for a border wall. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Jim Winder Mount Cristo Rey sits near the now-vanished town of Smeltertown within what Winder called a “unique” tip of land in New Mexico, one that is surrounded both by the state of Texas and the nation of Mexico. Both El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, are roughly southeast of the mountain. An informational website says the towering statue of Christ took shape from 1933, when local priest Father Lourdes Costa “[looked] out the back window of his residence in the community of Smeltertown [and] envisioned erecting a monument at the summit of this glorious mountain.” The 29-foot-tall limestone statue was dedicated in 1940. It has since become a regular pilgrimage site, with the faithful hiking up the short summit to the base of the monument. Winder said the decision to hold the Mass on June 28 was “completely apolitical.”“It wasn’t meant as a protest,” he said. “It was a Mass. It was meant for prayer, to bring people together, to practice unity, to pray for the Church, and to pray for government leaders.”The response to the Mass was “very good,” the deacon said. “It was very hot. It’s not a great time to climb mountains in southern New Mexico. But about 400 people showed up and made the climb. They came from all over. Some from El Paso, some from our diocese, some from Albuquerque and beyond.” Pilgrims hike to the top of Mount Cristo Rey for Mass in the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, on June 28, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Jim Winder The mountain has served as a significant site for local Catholic worship for nearly a century, Winder said. He compared the geography of the area to the “Four Corners” monument where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico all meet. “This is a place where there’s this unity of two nations and two states,” he said. “There’s a symbolism of that unity in Christ the King standing above it. But it’s also a pilgrimage site.” “It’s just a special place,” he said. “It’s very powerful. It’s a magnificent place to have Mass.” Bishop Peter Baldacchino hikes to the top of Mount Cristo Rey for Mass in the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, June 28, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Jim Winder The diocese was dealt a blow in June when a federal district court said the government could put down a six-figure deposit on the land as a pretext to obtaining it. The dispute is still ongoing, Winder said, with another hearing anticipated in late July. The diocese has filed numerous motions against the government’s effort, he said. He described the proposed border wall as more of a political symbol than a really practical measure, one that would mar the sacredness of the site.“If you go to the mountain and hike to the top, you’ll see a 30-foot-tall image of Christ the King,” he said. “And if the government builds this wall, and you turn your head slightly [from Christ], you’ll see a 30-foot ‘Keep Out’ sign below.” “It’s an affront,” he said.

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Mount Cristo Rey in the Diocese of Las Cruces stands over a disputed patch of borderland that the U.S. government is attempting to seize from the Catholic Church.

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Argentinians join in prayer for earthquake-shattered Venezuelans #Catholic With thousands dead, injured, and missing in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, Argentinians gathered in prayer for the Venezuelan people on June 28 at the basilica and national shrine of Our Lady of Luján. There, the archbishop of Mercedes-Luján, Jorge Eduardo Scheinig, offered Mass for the Venezuelan people.“Let us think of those who have died and their families,” Scheinig said in his homily. “In a single minute, so many people were left with nothing, absolutely nothing,” he noted.“Let us pray for the rescue workers and for all those who are working [on the ground]. Let us stand in solidarity with them through prayer,” said Scheinig, who proceeded to lead a moment of silence to pray to God and the Virgin for the people of Venezuela.The archbishop dedicated the rest of his homily to examining priorities, those things that “carry more weight than others” and “have the power to bring order to our lives.”“If you have the right priorities, you are at peace. But if you choose your priorities poorly, it causes confusion and anguish for you; it doesn’t help you live well. So, from time to time, we need to have the courage to reexamine our priorities,” he noted.In this regard, he said that “Jesus helps us order our priorities,” and elaborated: “What is Jesus’ priority? God. What comes first for Jesus? God. And what does he advise us? Put God first, and you won’t regret it,” he explained.He therefore urged people to ask themselves: “What place does God hold? What place does Mass hold?” he continued. “If you put God’s love first, if you love God in your life — that love is so good, so pure, and so radiant that it brings order to your entire life and helps you understand your whole life. Because God takes nothing away from you; he fills your life with love,” he pointed out. “Putting God first means taking a stand, taking a risk, and filling your heart with love; that helps you love everyone and everything in a different way, to love better,” he emphasized.Referring to the situation in Venezuela, Scheinig reflected: “Just look at how strange the world is. Today, television shows harrowing scenes. I was watching the news and saw a little boy crying — he had been left all alone after the earthquake, and it breaks your heart. Yet, a short while later, we’re watching the Argentina [World Cup] match.”“And notice, too, that we see scenes of war, of migrants who have nothing and live in a small tent. That’s the world. It happens to us in a family as well: You might be celebrating the 15th birthday of one of your children and then a close relative dies or someone comes down with an illness. That’s life. Life is that strange mix of very beautiful things and deeply painful things,” he noted.“But when your heart has priorities, you don’t get confused. And so, yes, we can cheer for the national team, but my priority isn’t soccer; my priority is life, it’s what happens to other people. I don’t let the things of life desensitize me,” he cautioned.That is why, “if God is your priority, you are able to not get desensitized to pain. You have your life on track. You can watch the World Cup, but you realize that it isn’t the priority. Your life is in order. You know where you stand, what you want, and what you don’t want,” he continued.In that context, he added, the need arises to stand with Venezuelans in prayer: “God, strengthen so many people whose lives changed in an instant.”“We also feel moved to show solidarity, to give money and goods, and to share what we have with those in need because your heart is rightly ordered; it is with God.”“Life presents us with complex, difficult moments in the world,” Scheinig acknowledged, while expressing the hope that “God holds first place on our list of priorities, so that we may remain good people.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Argentinians join in prayer for earthquake-shattered Venezuelans #Catholic With thousands dead, injured, and missing in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, Argentinians gathered in prayer for the Venezuelan people on June 28 at the basilica and national shrine of Our Lady of Luján. There, the archbishop of Mercedes-Luján, Jorge Eduardo Scheinig, offered Mass for the Venezuelan people.“Let us think of those who have died and their families,” Scheinig said in his homily. “In a single minute, so many people were left with nothing, absolutely nothing,” he noted.“Let us pray for the rescue workers and for all those who are working [on the ground]. Let us stand in solidarity with them through prayer,” said Scheinig, who proceeded to lead a moment of silence to pray to God and the Virgin for the people of Venezuela.The archbishop dedicated the rest of his homily to examining priorities, those things that “carry more weight than others” and “have the power to bring order to our lives.”“If you have the right priorities, you are at peace. But if you choose your priorities poorly, it causes confusion and anguish for you; it doesn’t help you live well. So, from time to time, we need to have the courage to reexamine our priorities,” he noted.In this regard, he said that “Jesus helps us order our priorities,” and elaborated: “What is Jesus’ priority? God. What comes first for Jesus? God. And what does he advise us? Put God first, and you won’t regret it,” he explained.He therefore urged people to ask themselves: “What place does God hold? What place does Mass hold?” he continued. “If you put God’s love first, if you love God in your life — that love is so good, so pure, and so radiant that it brings order to your entire life and helps you understand your whole life. Because God takes nothing away from you; he fills your life with love,” he pointed out. “Putting God first means taking a stand, taking a risk, and filling your heart with love; that helps you love everyone and everything in a different way, to love better,” he emphasized.Referring to the situation in Venezuela, Scheinig reflected: “Just look at how strange the world is. Today, television shows harrowing scenes. I was watching the news and saw a little boy crying — he had been left all alone after the earthquake, and it breaks your heart. Yet, a short while later, we’re watching the Argentina [World Cup] match.”“And notice, too, that we see scenes of war, of migrants who have nothing and live in a small tent. That’s the world. It happens to us in a family as well: You might be celebrating the 15th birthday of one of your children and then a close relative dies or someone comes down with an illness. That’s life. Life is that strange mix of very beautiful things and deeply painful things,” he noted.“But when your heart has priorities, you don’t get confused. And so, yes, we can cheer for the national team, but my priority isn’t soccer; my priority is life, it’s what happens to other people. I don’t let the things of life desensitize me,” he cautioned.That is why, “if God is your priority, you are able to not get desensitized to pain. You have your life on track. You can watch the World Cup, but you realize that it isn’t the priority. Your life is in order. You know where you stand, what you want, and what you don’t want,” he continued.In that context, he added, the need arises to stand with Venezuelans in prayer: “God, strengthen so many people whose lives changed in an instant.”“We also feel moved to show solidarity, to give money and goods, and to share what we have with those in need because your heart is rightly ordered; it is with God.”“Life presents us with complex, difficult moments in the world,” Scheinig acknowledged, while expressing the hope that “God holds first place on our list of priorities, so that we may remain good people.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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In his homily during a Mass offered for the earthquake’s victims, Archbishop Jorge Scheinig urged the faithful to reexamine their priorities in life, realizing one can lose everything in an instant.

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Catholic youth chaplains in Nigeria urged to report abuse allegations to Church, civil authorities #Catholic ABUJA, Nigeria — The national director of the Pastoral Affairs Department of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria has urged youth chaplains across the country to promptly report allegations of abuse involving minors to both Church and civil authorities, emphasizing that safeguarding is an essential responsibility of youth ministry.Speaking to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on the sidelines of a June 25 seminar for provincial youth chaplains, Father Augustine Olusegun Fasiku said the Churchʼs commitment to young people requires creating and maintaining safe environments.“The Church entrusts young people to chaplains not merely to organize programs or celebrate Masses. She entrusts them with the lives, safety, dignity, and spiritual growth of those young people, and so you must report abuse of minors anytime it occurs under your watch,” Fasiku said.Describing youth chaplains as both “pastor and protector,” he said every retreat, counseling session, youth gathering, and online interaction should reflect accountability, vigilance, and care.Fasiku stressed that chaplains have moral, pastoral, canonical, and legal obligations to report allegations of abuse immediately rather than attempt to address them privately.“The first responsibility is to receive the report seriously and compassionately,” he said. “However, the chaplain must remember that he is not an investigator. His role is not to interrogate witnesses or determine guilt. He must promptly report the allegation to the appropriate diocesan safeguarding office or Church authority while ensuring that relevant civil authorities are informed according to legal requirements.”The Nigerian Catholic priest cautioned against efforts to conceal abuse in order to avoid scandal, noting that such actions can expose both individuals and Church institutions to legal consequences.“There should be no confusion today; Pope Francis abolished the pontifical secret in cases involving sexual abuse of minors. Internal Church procedures cannot be used to prevent cooperation with civil authorities,” he said.Fasiku underscored that canonical procedures and civil legal processes operate alongside one another.“In Nigeria, withholding information in order to avoid scandal can itself create serious legal consequences. The welfare of the child must always take precedence over institutional reputation,” he said.Referring to Nigeria’s Child Rights Act of 2003 and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act of 2015, he said Church personnel who commit offenses against minors are accountable under both ecclesiastical and civil law.“What this means is that a priest, chaplain, teacher, or Church worker who commits an offense against a minor is not only answerable to ecclesiastical authorities but also accountable under Nigerian law,” he explained.Fasiku also highlighted provisions of Church law governing safeguarding, citing Canon 1752, which states that the salvation of souls is the supreme law of the Church, and Canon 1398, which criminalizes sexual offenses against minors and vulnerable persons, including grooming and the possession of abusive materials.He further pointed to Pope Francis’ motu proprio Vos Estis Lux Mundi (You Are the Light of the World) saying that it establishes mandatory reporting obligations within the Church and mechanisms for holding Church leaders accountable in cases of negligence or cover-ups.Addressing the dynamics of youth ministry, Fasiku warned that abuse often begins with the misuse of authority and trust.“Young people frequently see priests as representatives of God. If a chaplain abuses that authority by manipulating a young person’s conscience or presenting personal desires as God’s will, the consequences can be devastating,” he said.He noted that many young people seek guidance from chaplains during periods of grief, family difficulties, identity struggles, and other personal crises, circumstances that can create significant imbalances of power.“Parents entrust their children to the Church because they believe the Church will protect them,” he said. “Young people themselves share personal struggles because they trust their chaplain.”According to the priest, that trust places a fiduciary obligation on ministers to act solely in the best interests of those entrusted to their care.He added that no romantic, financial, or exploitative relationship between a chaplain and a young person can ever be justified, because responsibility for maintaining appropriate boundaries rests with the adult minister.He also outlined practical safeguarding measures, encouraging chaplains to observe the “Two-Adult Rule” and ensure meetings with minors take place in visible and transparent settings.“Counseling sessions should not occur in isolated private locations. Physical contact should always remain appropriate, public, and nonexclusive,” he said.He further cautioned against favoritism and emotional dependency, warning that special privileges or excessive personal attention to individual youths can foster unhealthy attachments and resemble grooming behavior.Fasiku also addressed the challenges posed by digital communication, urging chaplains to avoid secretive online interactions with minors.“Private messaging late at night, disappearing messages, secret chats, or communications that cannot be monitored create unnecessary risks and should be avoided,” he said.He encouraged the use of official and accountable communication channels and recommended involving parents or other responsible adults whenever appropriate.On care for survivors, Fasiku emphasized that victims of abuse must receive compassionate accompaniment and access to spiritual, psychological, emotional, and medical support.“The Church’s responsibility does not end with receiving a report; accompaniment and healing is an essential component of pastoral care,” he said.He added that accused ministers should have no contact with victims or their families during investigations and that independent pastoral caregivers should be assigned to support those affected while safeguarding the integrity of the process.Fasiku urged youth chaplains to view safeguarding not as an administrative requirement but as a concrete expression of the Gospel.“The future of the Church depends greatly on the trust young people place in her; that trust can only flourish when young people know they are safe,” he said.The priest emphasized: “When we protect the vulnerable, we honor Christ. When we create safe environments, we strengthen the Church. And when we place the dignity and welfare of young people at the center of our ministry, we fulfill both our pastoral mission and our legal obligation.”This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
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Catholic youth chaplains in Nigeria urged to report abuse allegations to Church, civil authorities #Catholic ABUJA, Nigeria — The national director of the Pastoral Affairs Department of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria has urged youth chaplains across the country to promptly report allegations of abuse involving minors to both Church and civil authorities, emphasizing that safeguarding is an essential responsibility of youth ministry.Speaking to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on the sidelines of a June 25 seminar for provincial youth chaplains, Father Augustine Olusegun Fasiku said the Churchʼs commitment to young people requires creating and maintaining safe environments.“The Church entrusts young people to chaplains not merely to organize programs or celebrate Masses. She entrusts them with the lives, safety, dignity, and spiritual growth of those young people, and so you must report abuse of minors anytime it occurs under your watch,” Fasiku said.Describing youth chaplains as both “pastor and protector,” he said every retreat, counseling session, youth gathering, and online interaction should reflect accountability, vigilance, and care.Fasiku stressed that chaplains have moral, pastoral, canonical, and legal obligations to report allegations of abuse immediately rather than attempt to address them privately.“The first responsibility is to receive the report seriously and compassionately,” he said. “However, the chaplain must remember that he is not an investigator. His role is not to interrogate witnesses or determine guilt. He must promptly report the allegation to the appropriate diocesan safeguarding office or Church authority while ensuring that relevant civil authorities are informed according to legal requirements.”The Nigerian Catholic priest cautioned against efforts to conceal abuse in order to avoid scandal, noting that such actions can expose both individuals and Church institutions to legal consequences.“There should be no confusion today; Pope Francis abolished the pontifical secret in cases involving sexual abuse of minors. Internal Church procedures cannot be used to prevent cooperation with civil authorities,” he said.Fasiku underscored that canonical procedures and civil legal processes operate alongside one another.“In Nigeria, withholding information in order to avoid scandal can itself create serious legal consequences. The welfare of the child must always take precedence over institutional reputation,” he said.Referring to Nigeria’s Child Rights Act of 2003 and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act of 2015, he said Church personnel who commit offenses against minors are accountable under both ecclesiastical and civil law.“What this means is that a priest, chaplain, teacher, or Church worker who commits an offense against a minor is not only answerable to ecclesiastical authorities but also accountable under Nigerian law,” he explained.Fasiku also highlighted provisions of Church law governing safeguarding, citing Canon 1752, which states that the salvation of souls is the supreme law of the Church, and Canon 1398, which criminalizes sexual offenses against minors and vulnerable persons, including grooming and the possession of abusive materials.He further pointed to Pope Francis’ motu proprio Vos Estis Lux Mundi (You Are the Light of the World) saying that it establishes mandatory reporting obligations within the Church and mechanisms for holding Church leaders accountable in cases of negligence or cover-ups.Addressing the dynamics of youth ministry, Fasiku warned that abuse often begins with the misuse of authority and trust.“Young people frequently see priests as representatives of God. If a chaplain abuses that authority by manipulating a young person’s conscience or presenting personal desires as God’s will, the consequences can be devastating,” he said.He noted that many young people seek guidance from chaplains during periods of grief, family difficulties, identity struggles, and other personal crises, circumstances that can create significant imbalances of power.“Parents entrust their children to the Church because they believe the Church will protect them,” he said. “Young people themselves share personal struggles because they trust their chaplain.”According to the priest, that trust places a fiduciary obligation on ministers to act solely in the best interests of those entrusted to their care.He added that no romantic, financial, or exploitative relationship between a chaplain and a young person can ever be justified, because responsibility for maintaining appropriate boundaries rests with the adult minister.He also outlined practical safeguarding measures, encouraging chaplains to observe the “Two-Adult Rule” and ensure meetings with minors take place in visible and transparent settings.“Counseling sessions should not occur in isolated private locations. Physical contact should always remain appropriate, public, and nonexclusive,” he said.He further cautioned against favoritism and emotional dependency, warning that special privileges or excessive personal attention to individual youths can foster unhealthy attachments and resemble grooming behavior.Fasiku also addressed the challenges posed by digital communication, urging chaplains to avoid secretive online interactions with minors.“Private messaging late at night, disappearing messages, secret chats, or communications that cannot be monitored create unnecessary risks and should be avoided,” he said.He encouraged the use of official and accountable communication channels and recommended involving parents or other responsible adults whenever appropriate.On care for survivors, Fasiku emphasized that victims of abuse must receive compassionate accompaniment and access to spiritual, psychological, emotional, and medical support.“The Church’s responsibility does not end with receiving a report; accompaniment and healing is an essential component of pastoral care,” he said.He added that accused ministers should have no contact with victims or their families during investigations and that independent pastoral caregivers should be assigned to support those affected while safeguarding the integrity of the process.Fasiku urged youth chaplains to view safeguarding not as an administrative requirement but as a concrete expression of the Gospel.“The future of the Church depends greatly on the trust young people place in her; that trust can only flourish when young people know they are safe,” he said.The priest emphasized: “When we protect the vulnerable, we honor Christ. When we create safe environments, we strengthen the Church. And when we place the dignity and welfare of young people at the center of our ministry, we fulfill both our pastoral mission and our legal obligation.”This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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The national director of the Pastoral Affairs Department of Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) said the Church’s commitment to young people requires creating and maintaining safe environments.

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