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Westrup Heide in the early morning during the heather blossom season, Haltern am See, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
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The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer in May announced their rejection of the Second Vatican Council and the popes that have come since.
Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia El-Kassis previously served as apostolic nuncio to the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
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Emerald swift (Sceloporus malachiticus) Finca El Pilar, Antigua Guatemala. Also known as the green spiny lizard.
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The U.N. high commissioner for human rights has urged the Ortega dictatorship to disclose the fate, whereabouts, and condition of 80-year-old Bishop Abelardo Mata and restore the rule of law.
At the outset of the catastrophe, the Archdiocese of Caracas established an emergency response commission tasked with managing spiritual, psychological, and material care for those affected.
![Facing deportation, Nigerian nun in south Texas speaks out – #Catholic – Sister Leticia Ugboaja, the Catholic nun and nurse who was briefly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in south Texas in June, made her first public remarks after what she described as weeks of “stress, anxiety, and fear.” At a July 23 press conference, she said she is still afraid of what may yet happen to her but is trusting in God.“I was very much afraid, with cold sweat,” she said of her detainment by ICE officers as she walked to Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas, on June 28. “I did not expect [it]; on an ordinary Sunday morning, when people should be ready to go to Mass to worship the Lord, on the street here, just in front of the school, where I have walked … a countless number of times.”“I will not pretend it did not hurt and it’s hurting me today,” she said, describing the two ICE agents as “armed, and Iʼm just a small woman, a nun, armless, with just my rosary, my key, and my phone.”Though she felt afraid and hurt, she said she has been trusting in God, quoting Jesus’ admonition to “not be afraid, because I am with you always.”Ugboaja, a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and a registered nurse at South Texas Health System, said it was “heartbreaking” to be told “no” by the ICE agents after she asked them if she could first attend Sunday Mass and receive Communion because “as we know, Sunday Mass is obligatory … it is mandatory.”During the press conference, Carlos Garcia, her lawyer, gave more information about her immigration status. He said an immigration judge denied her application for asylum in 2019 but did grant her protection from removal to Nigeria under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, saying it was likely she would be tortured if she returned there.Garcia said this protection legally bars the U.S. government from deporting her to Nigeria, though “as a technical matter,” she remains under a final order of removal.Nevertheless, he said the religious sister and nurse, who has served in south Texas for more than a decade, is legally authorized to work in the U.S. and “has never missed an immigration appointment.”Garcia said Ugboaja’s detainment by immigration officials is confusing: “People who’ve been granted this type of relief have generally for many years been under the impression they are OK as long as they complied … So it’s very confusing not only for her but for many others I’ve talked to as to what is going on.”Of the way immigration enforcement actions are taking place, Garcia said “it’s hard to comprehend, because of the way it’s happening, without [people] being informed of any reasoning” by the government.Not an isolated case“I am not the only one,” Ugboaja said of others who are “languishing’ in the same situation in which she finds herself but who do not have the attention of the media on them.They are “people who have been given some form of protection under our laws, who have followed every rule asked of them … who still live with uncertainty about where they might be sent and whether anyone will tell them before it happens.”She said she is praying for them and is asking for something simple: “Before anyone is taken into custody, give them … the opportunity to be heard.”Garcia said she has a check-in appointment with immigration officials on July 28, where Ugboaja could be detained or an ankle monitor could be placed on her.The attorney said he hopes the appointment will be unnecessary, but if it does take place, “we are asking that she not be detained and that no ankle monitor be placed … she’s broken no rule, posed no danger, and given the country a decade of nursing and a lifetime of ministry.”He said ICE detained her on June 28 in order to remove the nun to a third country, a practice that he said is “currently the subject of active litigation in federal courts nationwide.”He suggested she is entitled to “notice and a meaningful opportunity to contest a proposed third country removal before she’s taken into custody and removed.”The incident occurred amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, which has included operations near houses of worship.The nun’s release June 28 was facilitated by lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who 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 serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion at Our Lady of Sorrows, had been released from custody and returned home.Cuellar told EWTN News at the time that “this is not the way they should have picked her up. If ICE had any questions, there would have been more appropriate ways to deal with her situation.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/facing-deportation-nigerian-nun-in-south-texas-speaks-out-catholic-sister-leticia-ugboaja-the-catholic-nun-and-nurse-who-was-briefly-detained-by-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-ice-agents.jpg "Facing deportation, Nigerian nun in south Texas speaks out – #Catholic – Sister Leticia Ugboaja, the Catholic nun and nurse who was briefly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in south Texas in June, made her first public remarks after what she described as weeks of “stress, anxiety, and fear.” At a July 23 press conference, she said she is still afraid of what may yet happen to her but is trusting in God.“I was very much afraid, with cold sweat,” she said of her detainment by ICE officers as she walked to Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas, on June 28. “I did not expect [it]; on an ordinary Sunday morning, when people should be ready to go to Mass to worship the Lord, on the street here, just in front of the school, where I have walked … a countless number of times.”“I will not pretend it did not hurt and it’s hurting me today,” she said, describing the two ICE agents as “armed, and Iʼm just a small woman, a nun, armless, with just my rosary, my key, and my phone.”Though she felt afraid and hurt, she said she has been trusting in God, quoting Jesus’ admonition to “not be afraid, because I am with you always.”Ugboaja, a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and a registered nurse at South Texas Health System, said it was “heartbreaking” to be told “no” by the ICE agents after she asked them if she could first attend Sunday Mass and receive Communion because “as we know, Sunday Mass is obligatory … it is mandatory.”During the press conference, Carlos Garcia, her lawyer, gave more information about her immigration status. He said an immigration judge denied her application for asylum in 2019 but did grant her protection from removal to Nigeria under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, saying it was likely she would be tortured if she returned there.Garcia said this protection legally bars the U.S. government from deporting her to Nigeria, though “as a technical matter,” she remains under a final order of removal.Nevertheless, he said the religious sister and nurse, who has served in south Texas for more than a decade, is legally authorized to work in the U.S. and “has never missed an immigration appointment.”Garcia said Ugboaja’s detainment by immigration officials is confusing: “People who’ve been granted this type of relief have generally for many years been under the impression they are OK as long as they complied … So it’s very confusing not only for her but for many others I’ve talked to as to what is going on.”Of the way immigration enforcement actions are taking place, Garcia said “it’s hard to comprehend, because of the way it’s happening, without [people] being informed of any reasoning” by the government.Not an isolated case“I am not the only one,” Ugboaja said of others who are “languishing’ in the same situation in which she finds herself but who do not have the attention of the media on them.They are “people who have been given some form of protection under our laws, who have followed every rule asked of them … who still live with uncertainty about where they might be sent and whether anyone will tell them before it happens.”She said she is praying for them and is asking for something simple: “Before anyone is taken into custody, give them … the opportunity to be heard.”Garcia said she has a check-in appointment with immigration officials on July 28, where Ugboaja could be detained or an ankle monitor could be placed on her.The attorney said he hopes the appointment will be unnecessary, but if it does take place, “we are asking that she not be detained and that no ankle monitor be placed … she’s broken no rule, posed no danger, and given the country a decade of nursing and a lifetime of ministry.”He said ICE detained her on June 28 in order to remove the nun to a third country, a practice that he said is “currently the subject of active litigation in federal courts nationwide.”He suggested she is entitled to “notice and a meaningful opportunity to contest a proposed third country removal before she’s taken into custody and removed.”The incident occurred amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, which has included operations near houses of worship.The nun’s release June 28 was facilitated by lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who 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 serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion at Our Lady of Sorrows, had been released from custody and returned home.Cuellar told EWTN News at the time that “this is not the way they should have picked her up. If ICE had any questions, there would have been more appropriate ways to deal with her situation.”")
“I am not the only one,” Sister Leticia Ugboaja said of others who are also “languishing” in the same situation in which she finds herself but who do not have the attention of the media on them.
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Adult woman of the Laarim Tribe smoking in a pipe, Kimotong, South Sudan.
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![U.S. Ambassador clarifies view on pope’s role in politics, war after Vatican response – #Catholic – After the Vatican reframed statements that U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch made to The New York Times, the ambassador has clarified that he understands Pope Leo XIV’s role as a head of state is “inseparable” from his role as the universal shepherd of the Church.During a July 23 interview with the EWTN News program “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,” Burch clarified that his July 9 comments to the Times were not meant to imply that Leo’s statements about Iran war policy should be seen as simply diplomatic — rather than spiritual — guidance.“I think thereʼs a misunderstanding,” Burch explained. “… [The role of] the pope as the universal sovereign of the Holy See and as the universal pastor — a pastor of the universal Church — is inseparable.”The controversy stemmed from a quotation in the Times article in which Burch said: “When the pope acts as the sovereign leader of the Holy See, he is coequal with world leaders.” The article also paraphrased Burch’s position by saying the ambassador argued that the pope’s comments about the Iran war were not made as the vicar of Christ but rather as the political leader of the Vatican City State.Without naming Burch, the Editorial Director for the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, Andrea Tornielli, subsequently wrote a July 13 op-ed saying that “even when he speaks about war and peace … the Successor of Peter remains, above all, a spiritual leader.” Even though Leo is a head of state, he wrote, this “does not mean that he acts or speaks as a politician when addressing issues concerning the affairs of humanity.”In his interview with Arroyo, Burch disputed the Times’ characterization of his views, saying the outlet “doesnʼt exactly understand the nuances of Catholic social teaching and how to apply it.”“The pope has this dual role,” Burch said. “He is both the head of the sovereign territory of the Holy See, which has diplomatic relations with the world, but inseparable from that is his role as the universal pastor of the Catholic Church. And when he acts, he certainly acts in such a way to call the world to these high moral principles, to the ideals of … how [humanity] ought to live together.”At the same time, Burch insisted that “there are some very difficult, contingent, practical matters” that play into decisions about going to war, which he said “is the responsibility of the prudential wisdom of those responsible for the common good,” which are political leaders like President Trump.“I tried to explain [to the Times] where there are certain prudential questions,” Burch said. “For example, what does the intelligence information tell us about the situation in Iran? Where is the dialogue at? What [do] the regional alliances look like? What [does] the war game scenario implicate?”“These are very contingent, prudential questions that inform this question on the legitimate use of force,” he added. “And I think, to the Holy Fatherʼs credit, he is the universal shepherd that is calling humanity to this high ideal to try to resolve these sorts of conflicts without violence, without the use of force.”Burch told Arroyo that he does not see disagreement between Trump and Leo on the intended end goal: “Thereʼs no disagreement on peace, on disarming Iran, on the need for interreligious dialogue, for religious freedom.”“Where the challenge comes is the means to get there,” Burch said. He added that it’s not “a surprise, nor a shock, nor an unwelcome message from the Holy Father that we ought to seek peace, that we ought to seek ways to resolve these sorts of conflicts without the use of force.”“But as you know, original sin exists, and there are evil people in this world with evil intentions that, if they arenʼt stopped, certainly could do enormous damage, catastrophic damage, in the world,” the ambassador emphasized.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/u-s-ambassador-clarifies-view-on-popes-role-in-politics-war-after-vatican-response-catholic-after-the-vatican-reframed-statements-that-u-s-ambassador-to-the-holy-see-brian-burch-made.jpg "U.S. Ambassador clarifies view on pope’s role in politics, war after Vatican response – #Catholic – After the Vatican reframed statements that U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch made to The New York Times, the ambassador has clarified that he understands Pope Leo XIV’s role as a head of state is “inseparable” from his role as the universal shepherd of the Church.During a July 23 interview with the EWTN News program “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,” Burch clarified that his July 9 comments to the Times were not meant to imply that Leo’s statements about Iran war policy should be seen as simply diplomatic — rather than spiritual — guidance.“I think thereʼs a misunderstanding,” Burch explained. “… [The role of] the pope as the universal sovereign of the Holy See and as the universal pastor — a pastor of the universal Church — is inseparable.”The controversy stemmed from a quotation in the Times article in which Burch said: “When the pope acts as the sovereign leader of the Holy See, he is coequal with world leaders.” The article also paraphrased Burch’s position by saying the ambassador argued that the pope’s comments about the Iran war were not made as the vicar of Christ but rather as the political leader of the Vatican City State.Without naming Burch, the Editorial Director for the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, Andrea Tornielli, subsequently wrote a July 13 op-ed saying that “even when he speaks about war and peace … the Successor of Peter remains, above all, a spiritual leader.” Even though Leo is a head of state, he wrote, this “does not mean that he acts or speaks as a politician when addressing issues concerning the affairs of humanity.”In his interview with Arroyo, Burch disputed the Times’ characterization of his views, saying the outlet “doesnʼt exactly understand the nuances of Catholic social teaching and how to apply it.”“The pope has this dual role,” Burch said. “He is both the head of the sovereign territory of the Holy See, which has diplomatic relations with the world, but inseparable from that is his role as the universal pastor of the Catholic Church. And when he acts, he certainly acts in such a way to call the world to these high moral principles, to the ideals of … how [humanity] ought to live together.”At the same time, Burch insisted that “there are some very difficult, contingent, practical matters” that play into decisions about going to war, which he said “is the responsibility of the prudential wisdom of those responsible for the common good,” which are political leaders like President Trump.“I tried to explain [to the Times] where there are certain prudential questions,” Burch said. “For example, what does the intelligence information tell us about the situation in Iran? Where is the dialogue at? What [do] the regional alliances look like? What [does] the war game scenario implicate?”“These are very contingent, prudential questions that inform this question on the legitimate use of force,” he added. “And I think, to the Holy Fatherʼs credit, he is the universal shepherd that is calling humanity to this high ideal to try to resolve these sorts of conflicts without violence, without the use of force.”Burch told Arroyo that he does not see disagreement between Trump and Leo on the intended end goal: “Thereʼs no disagreement on peace, on disarming Iran, on the need for interreligious dialogue, for religious freedom.”“Where the challenge comes is the means to get there,” Burch said. He added that it’s not “a surprise, nor a shock, nor an unwelcome message from the Holy Father that we ought to seek peace, that we ought to seek ways to resolve these sorts of conflicts without the use of force.”“But as you know, original sin exists, and there are evil people in this world with evil intentions that, if they arenʼt stopped, certainly could do enormous damage, catastrophic damage, in the world,” the ambassador emphasized.")
Burch said his recent comments to the New York Times were not meant to imply that Pope Leo’s statements about the Iran war should be seen as simply diplomatic — rather than spiritual — guidance.
Pope Leo XIV’s recent visit to Spain was well received by attendees and volunteers, with 97% reporting a positive or very positive view.
Vance Boelter was sentenced for the murder of Rep. Melissa Hortman, a Catholic lawmaker who once taught Sunday school and volunteered in her parish’s children’s faith formation program.
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The Medieval town of Belcastel in Aveyron, France, named one of “the most beautiful villages of France”. Today is Bastille Day, the French National Day.
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Republicans insisted reports of medical neglect, spoiled food, and blocked oversight were “false narratives,” while Democrats pointed to deaths in ICE custody and allegations of substandard care.
![Vatican publishes biography of founder of Cuban nationhood, Father Félix Varela – #Catholic – The Vatican Publishing House recently released the first Italian edition of the book “Félix Varela: A Biography,” a work about the priest considered by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia to be “a sort of founder of [Cuban] national culture through his works and writings.”The 208-page volume, published July 9, was written by Monsignor Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, a prominent figure in the Cuban Catholic Church who passed away in Havana in 2014. Paglia, president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life, wrote the book’s foreword, noting in it that “the relationship between Varela and Cuban society is very profound.”This is because Varela’s writings “shaped an identity deeply linked to a faith expressed in a new humanism, where the primacy of conscience was supreme and the condemnation of slavery and the need for independence were fundamental,” the archbishop explained, according to a Vatican News report.Varela was a priest committed to social issues who lived during a time of profound change in the territories then held by the Spanish Empire in the Americas, according to the report.He was born in Havana on Nov. 20, 1788. Thanks to his high standing, he was sent to Spain in 1821 to represent the island before the parliament in Madrid.However, his legislative proposals to abolish slavery on the island, declare Cuban independence, and establish a government for the overseas provinces led to his exile in 1823; consequently, he was forced to settle in New York, where he lived while serving as a parish priest and episcopal vicar.In his preface, Paglia wrote that, in both Cuba and the United States, Varela fostered “efforts toward freedom, teaching love and stirring hearts to choose the poor as their primary companions on the journey.”Varela’s parish in New York “was interethnic and intercultural.” Moreover, he dedicated himself especially to immigrants, establishing a system of social and charitable assistance unprecedented in the United States. He was convinced that a mission centered on the Gospel could give rise to a more just and compassionate society.Varela’s legacyThe Cuban priest passed away in St. Augustine, Florida, on Feb. 27, 1853, leaving behind works such as “Letters to Elpidio on Impiety, Superstition, and Fanaticism in Their Relationship with Society,” a work described by St. John Paul II during his 1998 apostolic journey to Cuba as a “true monument of moral teaching.”“It’s no coincidence,” Vatican News pointed out, “that his work can be described as ‘civilizing’: an exemplary priest, a ‘principled patriot,’ and ‘the first to teach us how to think,’ Varela was able to revitalize pedagogical methods and the teaching of philosophy, theology, law, and science, creating a synthesis in which faith and culture become inseparable dimensions.”Furthermore, as Paglia noted, in a “contemporary world where we often face incredible forms of violence and dangerous political divisions,” Varela “represents the possibility of unity.”He was “a truly Catholic — that is, universal — priest,” Paglia wrote, and therefore “reflects the message of the Gospel, which does not divide but unites, while respecting individual differences.” Paglia also noted that Varela’s message is in line with Popes Leo XIV and Francis: “Three witnesses from the Americas inviting the Americas to a renewed enthusiasm for a missionary vocation that places faith at the service of a society fervently rooted in the Gospel.”Varela was declared venerable by Benedict XVI in March 2012. The Vatican decree highlights that “the Servant of God stands out on the horizon of Cuba’s history as a figure remarkable for his human gifts and for his Christian and priestly virtues.”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.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/vatican-publishes-biography-of-founder-of-cuban-nationhood-father-felix-varela-catholic-the-vatican-publishing-house-recently-released-the-first-italian-edition-of-the-book-felix-varela.jpg "Vatican publishes biography of founder of Cuban nationhood, Father Félix Varela – #Catholic – The Vatican Publishing House recently released the first Italian edition of the book “Félix Varela: A Biography,” a work about the priest considered by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia to be “a sort of founder of [Cuban] national culture through his works and writings.”The 208-page volume, published July 9, was written by Monsignor Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, a prominent figure in the Cuban Catholic Church who passed away in Havana in 2014. Paglia, president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life, wrote the book’s foreword, noting in it that “the relationship between Varela and Cuban society is very profound.”This is because Varela’s writings “shaped an identity deeply linked to a faith expressed in a new humanism, where the primacy of conscience was supreme and the condemnation of slavery and the need for independence were fundamental,” the archbishop explained, according to a Vatican News report.Varela was a priest committed to social issues who lived during a time of profound change in the territories then held by the Spanish Empire in the Americas, according to the report.He was born in Havana on Nov. 20, 1788. Thanks to his high standing, he was sent to Spain in 1821 to represent the island before the parliament in Madrid.However, his legislative proposals to abolish slavery on the island, declare Cuban independence, and establish a government for the overseas provinces led to his exile in 1823; consequently, he was forced to settle in New York, where he lived while serving as a parish priest and episcopal vicar.In his preface, Paglia wrote that, in both Cuba and the United States, Varela fostered “efforts toward freedom, teaching love and stirring hearts to choose the poor as their primary companions on the journey.”Varela’s parish in New York “was interethnic and intercultural.” Moreover, he dedicated himself especially to immigrants, establishing a system of social and charitable assistance unprecedented in the United States. He was convinced that a mission centered on the Gospel could give rise to a more just and compassionate society.Varela’s legacyThe Cuban priest passed away in St. Augustine, Florida, on Feb. 27, 1853, leaving behind works such as “Letters to Elpidio on Impiety, Superstition, and Fanaticism in Their Relationship with Society,” a work described by St. John Paul II during his 1998 apostolic journey to Cuba as a “true monument of moral teaching.”“It’s no coincidence,” Vatican News pointed out, “that his work can be described as ‘civilizing’: an exemplary priest, a ‘principled patriot,’ and ‘the first to teach us how to think,’ Varela was able to revitalize pedagogical methods and the teaching of philosophy, theology, law, and science, creating a synthesis in which faith and culture become inseparable dimensions.”Furthermore, as Paglia noted, in a “contemporary world where we often face incredible forms of violence and dangerous political divisions,” Varela “represents the possibility of unity.”He was “a truly Catholic — that is, universal — priest,” Paglia wrote, and therefore “reflects the message of the Gospel, which does not divide but unites, while respecting individual differences.” Paglia also noted that Varela’s message is in line with Popes Leo XIV and Francis: “Three witnesses from the Americas inviting the Americas to a renewed enthusiasm for a missionary vocation that places faith at the service of a society fervently rooted in the Gospel.”Varela was declared venerable by Benedict XVI in March 2012. The Vatican decree highlights that “the Servant of God stands out on the horizon of Cuba’s history as a figure remarkable for his human gifts and for his Christian and priestly virtues.”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.")
The Vatican’s publication of a book on the life of Father Félix Varela (1788–1853) once again draws attention to Cuban priest’s virtues and accomplishments.
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Arhbalou village nestled in the foothills of the barren north face of the Western High Atlas, Al Haouz, Morocco.
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Catholic Relief Services (CRS) will deliver kits of prepackaged food and hygiene kits for up to 700 Cuban families.
![Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel sees a resurgence with new shrine in Mexico City - #Catholic - As of this year, devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel has a new site in Mexico City. On July 15, the old non-parochial church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was dedicated as an archdiocesan shrine, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the historic church.In recent days, the church, located in the traditional San Ángel neighborhood on the city’s south side, has begun to welcome more visitors than usual. Every year on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, celebrated on July 16, hundreds of pilgrims are drawn to the shrine.
Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in San Ángel, Mexico City. | Credit: EWTN News
However, interest has gained new momentum since Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, primatial archbishop of Mexico, announced in May that the historic church would be elevated to a shrine.Among those drawn by curiosity was Mariana Ledesma. Although she acknowledged that she is only just beginning to learn about this devotion to Our Lady under this title, she wanted to be part of a moment she considers historic.“The shrine is beautiful and full of symbolism; seeing the devotion of the entire community, being able to share in that faith, is something truly beautiful. That is precisely the purpose of the shrine: to make it known to others as well,” she told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.4 centuries of historyThe relationship between Mexico City and Our Lady of Mount Carmel dates back to 1585, when the first missionaries of the Discalced Carmelite order arrived in New Spain to assist in the work of evangelization.In the early 17th century, they established one of their most important convents in San Ángel, from which they fostered contemplative life, spiritual formation, and devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a devotion that took deep root among the capitalʼs inhabitants.
Carmelite friars. | Credit: Discalced Carmelites of Central America
For centuries, the church and convent served as an important religious and cultural center. However, following the Reform Laws of 1876, the old convent was nationalized and became state property.Today, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church remains a place of Catholic worship while the former convent, after serving various purposes over the years, houses a museum. After more than 400 years of tending to the church, this year the Discalced Carmelites handed over its administration to the Archdiocese of Mexico due to a decline in vocations within the order.Mary, ‘strengthen my heart’During the Mass of canonical dedication as a shrine, Héctor Mario Pérez Villarreal, auxiliary bishop of Mexico, explained that the decision to elevate the church to a shrine reflects the fact that the faithful have long been making pilgrimages there to “seek solace and to come seeking the nourishment of the sacraments and the mercy of confession.”
Mass of dedication of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church as a shrine, July 15, 2026. | Credit: Primatial Archdiocese of Mexico
“Let us hope that this [act] serves as an encouragement for many more people to return here to renew the consolation offered by the Virgin of Mount Carmel and their love for Jesus Christ,” he stated.He also invited the faithful to turn to Mary during times of difficulty. He noted that when faith or hope “begin to fade,” it is necessary to turn one’s gaze toward Mary and say: “Most Holy Mother, you who were able to remain faithful even [standing] before your Son’s cross, strengthen my heart.”
Mass of Dedication of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church as a shrine on July 15, 2026. | Credit: Primatial Archdiocese of Mexico
Petitions to Our Lady of Mount CarmelThe aisles of the shrine were filled with people holding scapulars, flowers, or photographs of their family members. Some came to give thanks for favors received; others sought to place their concerns in Maryʼs hands.Among them was Claudio de la Paz, a devotee who traveled from the state of Campeche, over 500 miles away, to take part in the celebration. In addition to hoping the faithful will draw closer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, he asked that young people be specially commended to her care, as he said they are currently going through “times of great vulnerability.”
Mass of Dedication of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church as a shrine on July 15, 2026. | Credit: Primatial Archdiocese of Mexico
For Rafael Estrada, devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel “represents a quest for peace, serenity, and harmony.” Estrada urged Catholics to ask for Mary’s protection amid the tribulations Mexico is going through.Sister Nina Ramos, a religious of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, invited the faithful to visit the new shrine and noted that those who fulfill the conditions established by the Church may obtain a plenary indulgence.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.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/devotion-to-our-lady-of-mount-carmel-sees-a-resurgence-with-new-shrine-in-mexico-city-catholic-as-of-this-year-devotion-to-our-lady-of-mount-carmel-has-a-new-site-in-mexico-city-on-july-15-the.png)
Formerly served by the Discalced Carmelites, the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has been elevated to an archdiocesan shrine and has seen an increase in the number of pilgrims.
The Catholic Church’s social services arm in the country reports that its operations are in a transitional phase, as it shifts from immediate assistance to the recovery of those who lost everything.
![Bishop Barres, Catholic sisters sue New York over assisted suicide mandates – #Catholic – Bishop John O. Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and four communities of religious sisters have filed a lawsuit against New York’s attorney general and commissioner of health over a law they say would force them to participate in the process of physician-assisted suicide.The Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, and the religious communities — the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, and the Little Sisters of the Poor — provide care for elderly and terminally ill people and say their Catholic faith prohibits them from participation in the process in any way.Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill legalizing physician-assisted suicide in February, and the law goes into effect in August. Although some facilities can opt out of parts of the physician‑assisted suicide process, the exemptions are limited, and the law imposes additional requirements on the diocese and religious communities.“We will never submit to New York’s culture of death,” Barres said in a statement through his attorneys at the Becket Fund.“Assisted suicide is a grave moral failure that puts the elderly, the disabled, and those suffering from mental and emotional illness at risk of abuse and manipulation,” the bishop said. “Christ the Divine Physician calls us to accompany the sick and dying with compassion, not abandon them to death. The court should protect that millennia-old mission.”The New York’s attorney general’s office and Department of Health did not immediately reply to a request for comment.Requirements in the lawMore than a dozen states have legalized physician-assisted suicide over the past two decades, but New York’s opt out policy “is among the narrowest in the nation,” according to the lawsuit, and it affects some of the religious communities differently.While most of the Catholic-run facilities qualify for the narrow “opt outs,” those that qualify must still follow existing laws to offer counseling to terminally ill patients that explains various options for end-of-life care, along with the “risks and benefits” of their options, or refer them to someone who will.According to the lawsuit, this will now apply to the “option” of physician-assisted suicide, which means nurse practitioners or physicians “must either counsel terminal patients about the availability and benefits of [physician-assisted suicide], or else help the patient find a provider who is willing do so.”Physicians covered by the opt outs must also assist in determining whether patients qualify for assisted suicide through actions such as referring them for mental health evaluations. Facilities covered by the opt outs — if they refuse to directly participate in the suicide itself — must refer the patient to a facility that will administer it, according to the lawsuit.The lawsuit further states that providers must sign a death certificate that says the patient died from his or her underlying condition, rather than the drugs that ended his or her life. It states that facilities may also not be able to take adverse employment actions against employees who act in accordance with New York’s physician-assisted suicide law, even if the facility prohibits it.At least one facility — the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict — is not covered by the opt outs, which means it must also allow the prescription and the ingestion of the suicide drugs on its property. Those that qualify for the opt out are exempted from this requirement.Adele Keim, senior counsel at Becket, told EWTN News the law essentially requires all the facilities to “take [the patients] through the process” and “allow that very involved process to take place in their facilities.”“[They] will not do that,” she said, explaining that it violates their religious beliefs.First Amendment objectionsKeim said Catholic sisters have offered end-of-life care to New Yorkers for more than 100 years, “providing that personal accompaniment, which in Catholic teaching, is rooted in the example of Mary sitting at the foot of the cross as Jesus died.”“That’s what they believe they’re called to do,” she said. “… [They are] bearing witness to the distinctly Catholic response to the suffering people experience in their final days."Sister Justyna Owsiejko, O.S.B., of the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, said in a statement through Becket that “we are simple nuns whose mission is to serve God — and we do that by offering the aged a home in which to live their final days in peace, tranquility, and comfort, cared for by sisters who see the face of Christ in each person they serve.”“New York is trying to force us to abandon that vocation and help our residents commit suicide,” she said. “That is something we will never do. Our foundress overcame war and exile to serve those in need — we will overcome this law to do the same.”Mother Alice Marie Monica of the Little Sisters of the Poor said in a statement that “we have served God by welcoming the elderly poor and dying into our homes for nearly 200 years.”“Our calling is to protect and care for needy seniors, not steer them toward suicide,” she said. “We will remain true to that mission, whatever the cost.”The lawsuit argues that forcing Catholic-run facilities to participate in physician-assisted suicide violates their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. The Church teaches that life must be protected from conception until natural death.The suit also argues that the law violates their freedom of speech by compelling them to counsel their patients about physician-assisted suicide.“The sisters’ Catholic faith leads them to accept death as the natural end to a life well-lived: neither artificially prolonging it through burdensome technological and medical interventions that provide no reasonable benefit, nor artificially hastening it,” the lawsuit states.“Above all,” the lawsuit adds, “it means that the sisters seek to personally provide a loving human presence alongside each person — bearing witness to the ending of a uniquely beautiful and unrepeatable life.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/bishop-barres-catholic-sisters-sue-new-york-over-assisted-suicide-mandates-catholic-bishop-john-o-barres-of-the-diocese-of-rockville-centre-and-four-communities-of-religious-sisters-have-filed.jpg "Bishop Barres, Catholic sisters sue New York over assisted suicide mandates – #Catholic – Bishop John O. Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and four communities of religious sisters have filed a lawsuit against New York’s attorney general and commissioner of health over a law they say would force them to participate in the process of physician-assisted suicide.The Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, and the religious communities — the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, and the Little Sisters of the Poor — provide care for elderly and terminally ill people and say their Catholic faith prohibits them from participation in the process in any way.Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill legalizing physician-assisted suicide in February, and the law goes into effect in August. Although some facilities can opt out of parts of the physician‑assisted suicide process, the exemptions are limited, and the law imposes additional requirements on the diocese and religious communities.“We will never submit to New York’s culture of death,” Barres said in a statement through his attorneys at the Becket Fund.“Assisted suicide is a grave moral failure that puts the elderly, the disabled, and those suffering from mental and emotional illness at risk of abuse and manipulation,” the bishop said. “Christ the Divine Physician calls us to accompany the sick and dying with compassion, not abandon them to death. The court should protect that millennia-old mission.”The New York’s attorney general’s office and Department of Health did not immediately reply to a request for comment.Requirements in the lawMore than a dozen states have legalized physician-assisted suicide over the past two decades, but New York’s opt out policy “is among the narrowest in the nation,” according to the lawsuit, and it affects some of the religious communities differently.While most of the Catholic-run facilities qualify for the narrow “opt outs,” those that qualify must still follow existing laws to offer counseling to terminally ill patients that explains various options for end-of-life care, along with the “risks and benefits” of their options, or refer them to someone who will.According to the lawsuit, this will now apply to the “option” of physician-assisted suicide, which means nurse practitioners or physicians “must either counsel terminal patients about the availability and benefits of [physician-assisted suicide], or else help the patient find a provider who is willing do so.”Physicians covered by the opt outs must also assist in determining whether patients qualify for assisted suicide through actions such as referring them for mental health evaluations. Facilities covered by the opt outs — if they refuse to directly participate in the suicide itself — must refer the patient to a facility that will administer it, according to the lawsuit.The lawsuit further states that providers must sign a death certificate that says the patient died from his or her underlying condition, rather than the drugs that ended his or her life. It states that facilities may also not be able to take adverse employment actions against employees who act in accordance with New York’s physician-assisted suicide law, even if the facility prohibits it.At least one facility — the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict — is not covered by the opt outs, which means it must also allow the prescription and the ingestion of the suicide drugs on its property. Those that qualify for the opt out are exempted from this requirement.Adele Keim, senior counsel at Becket, told EWTN News the law essentially requires all the facilities to “take [the patients] through the process” and “allow that very involved process to take place in their facilities.”“[They] will not do that,” she said, explaining that it violates their religious beliefs.First Amendment objectionsKeim said Catholic sisters have offered end-of-life care to New Yorkers for more than 100 years, “providing that personal accompaniment, which in Catholic teaching, is rooted in the example of Mary sitting at the foot of the cross as Jesus died.”“That’s what they believe they’re called to do,” she said. “… [They are] bearing witness to the distinctly Catholic response to the suffering people experience in their final days.\"Sister Justyna Owsiejko, O.S.B., of the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, said in a statement through Becket that “we are simple nuns whose mission is to serve God — and we do that by offering the aged a home in which to live their final days in peace, tranquility, and comfort, cared for by sisters who see the face of Christ in each person they serve.”“New York is trying to force us to abandon that vocation and help our residents commit suicide,” she said. “That is something we will never do. Our foundress overcame war and exile to serve those in need — we will overcome this law to do the same.”Mother Alice Marie Monica of the Little Sisters of the Poor said in a statement that “we have served God by welcoming the elderly poor and dying into our homes for nearly 200 years.”“Our calling is to protect and care for needy seniors, not steer them toward suicide,” she said. “We will remain true to that mission, whatever the cost.”The lawsuit argues that forcing Catholic-run facilities to participate in physician-assisted suicide violates their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. The Church teaches that life must be protected from conception until natural death.The suit also argues that the law violates their freedom of speech by compelling them to counsel their patients about physician-assisted suicide.“The sisters’ Catholic faith leads them to accept death as the natural end to a life well-lived: neither artificially prolonging it through burdensome technological and medical interventions that provide no reasonable benefit, nor artificially hastening it,” the lawsuit states.“Above all,” the lawsuit adds, “it means that the sisters seek to personally provide a loving human presence alongside each person — bearing witness to the ending of a uniquely beautiful and unrepeatable life.”")
The bishop said “we will never submit” to “the culture of death” as the Catholic diocese and religious sisters argue that their faith prevents them from participating in physician-assisted suicide.
In a joint statement, Bishops Daniel García and Brendan Cahill called for the application of immigration law in a humane manner and with respect for fundamental human rights.
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Cacomantis sonneratii (Banded Bay Cuckoo) in Ajodhya Hills, West Bengal, India.
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“We express our spiritual closeness to all those affected, to those who have lost their homes, and to those generously participating in rescue, care, and relief efforts,” Bishop Carlos García said.
Carlos Márquez, auxiliary bishop of Caracas, Venezuela, explained that God’s promise is not to eliminate suffering but that amid pain, he will not abandon us.
At the Sunday Angelus in Castel Gandolfo, the pontiff said God’s kingdom grows quietly through smallness, patience, and service rather than spectacle or power.
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St. Jude’s Church, Chinnathurai, built on sandy soil near the beach, cemetery to the left. Thoothoor, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India.
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![Nebraska man arrested over threat to shoot up Catholic school, kill Catholic governor’s family, nuns – #Catholic – A Nebraska man is in police custody after officials say he made threats against Catholic schools and nuns as well as the children of the state’s Catholic governor. The Nebraska State Patrol said they initially arrested 32-year-old Ean Halstead on June 29. The patrol said in a press release that police were investigating a threatening online message against Columbus Catholic Schools and the family of state Gov. Jim Pillen. The investigation led police to Halstead, who was arrested on June 29 after a standoff at his apartment in Omaha. He was charged with obstructing a police officer and failing to obey a lawful order. A search at his residence revealed “evidence linking [Halstead] to the threatening message sent to Columbus Catholic Schools,” the patrol said. He was subsequently re-arrested on July 17 and charged with “terroristic threats and destruction of evidence.” Local news reported that the message, posted to the Facebook page of Columbus Catholic Schools, had declared: “I’m going to shoot up this school and kill Jim Pillen’s children and a few nuns for (expletive) funsies.”A spokesman for Pillen said the governor’s office was “extremely grateful” for law enforcement’s “quick and thorough work to track down this individual and ensure the security of the First Family.” “We have zero tolerance for political violence here in Nebraska, including threats to carry it out. If you threaten violence against a public official or their family in this state, you will be found and held accountable,” the governor’s office said.Pillen has four children with his wife Suzanne. He has been governor of the state since 2023. Earlier in 2026 he told EWTN News that there was “no way I could possibly be governor without my faith.” His faith life includes the regular praying of the rosary; describing his average day, he said: “I get up and I pray to do God’s will.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/nebraska-man-arrested-over-threat-to-shoot-up-catholic-school-kill-catholic-governors-family-nuns-catholic-a-nebraska-man-is-in-police-custody-after-officials-say-he-made-threats-against-cath-scaled.jpg "Nebraska man arrested over threat to shoot up Catholic school, kill Catholic governor’s family, nuns – #Catholic – A Nebraska man is in police custody after officials say he made threats against Catholic schools and nuns as well as the children of the state’s Catholic governor. The Nebraska State Patrol said they initially arrested 32-year-old Ean Halstead on June 29. The patrol said in a press release that police were investigating a threatening online message against Columbus Catholic Schools and the family of state Gov. Jim Pillen. The investigation led police to Halstead, who was arrested on June 29 after a standoff at his apartment in Omaha. He was charged with obstructing a police officer and failing to obey a lawful order. A search at his residence revealed “evidence linking [Halstead] to the threatening message sent to Columbus Catholic Schools,” the patrol said. He was subsequently re-arrested on July 17 and charged with “terroristic threats and destruction of evidence.” Local news reported that the message, posted to the Facebook page of Columbus Catholic Schools, had declared: “I’m going to shoot up this school and kill Jim Pillen’s children and a few nuns for (expletive) funsies.”A spokesman for Pillen said the governor’s office was “extremely grateful” for law enforcement’s “quick and thorough work to track down this individual and ensure the security of the First Family.” “We have zero tolerance for political violence here in Nebraska, including threats to carry it out. If you threaten violence against a public official or their family in this state, you will be found and held accountable,” the governor’s office said.Pillen has four children with his wife Suzanne. He has been governor of the state since 2023. Earlier in 2026 he told EWTN News that there was “no way I could possibly be governor without my faith.” His faith life includes the regular praying of the rosary; describing his average day, he said: “I get up and I pray to do God’s will.”")
Authorities originally detained the suspect in June after he resisted arrest in connection with the investigation.
After noting the benefits of sports for athletes and fans, Bishop José Munilla of Spain pointed out the pitfalls of exaggerating their value and turning the game and star players into idols.
Bishop Robert Barron urged Catholics to follow Sheen’s example of faithful evangelization as thousands are expected in St. Louis for Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification.
“The U.S. Catholic bishops have repeatedly called for enforcement efforts that are targeted, proportional, and humane,” said Archbishop Joe Vásquez of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
![Scottish teacher takes legal action after dismissal over pro-life views – #Catholic – A Catholic teacher based in Arbroath, Scotland, is filing suit after she was fired over her pro-life views.Supported by pro-life group the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), Sarah Morse, 66, is taking Arbroath High School, run by Angus Council, to court on grounds of discrimination. The move comes after Morse was fired after telling a student, “I am a faithful Roman Catholic and I am against it,” when asked her opinion on abortion during a history lesson in November 2025. “At no time did I attempt to persuade any student to adopt my position. To be ‘canceled’ and lose my livelihood because of my religious identity is a terrifying precedent for the teaching profession in Scotland,” Morse said.“As a faithful Roman Catholic, Sarah Morse respectfully said she opposes [abortion]. Hours later she was sacked on the spot,” SPUC said. “We must all have the right to express our pro-life views without fear of losing our jobs.”Attack on Christians in Egypt raises questions about hate speechA new attack on Christians in Egypt’s Minya Governorate has renewed scrutiny of sectarian incitement and the deeper roots of anti-Christian hostility.According to ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, Bishop Macarius, Coptic Orthodox bishop of Minya, said extremists attacked Copts in the village of al-Tal al-Qibliya, damaged a priest’s car, prevented worshippers from leaving a church, and cut off electricity. Security forces later arrived, arrested those accused of incitement and rioting, and began documenting the damage.Egyptian senator Bassem Kamel said repeated incidents in Minya point to failures that cannot be addressed by security responses alone, calling for renewed religious discourse, educational reform, media policies that promote acceptance, and faster action on an independent antidiscrimination commission. Apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia describes pastoral visits amid warApostolic Vicar Aldo Berardi, OSST, of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia revealed that he was able to carry out 11 pastoral visits throughout the region despite airport closures and ongoing conflicts.“Despite the difficulties caused by the attacks and the closure of airports, we were able to carry out the program as planned,” Berardi said in a Fides News article, emphasizing the need to visit his flock “especially at a time marked by tension and fear.” The Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia covers Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. “We gathered to pray for peace and organized special moments of encounter and fraternity,” he said. “No priest requested to return to his home country, a source of great consolation for the entire community.”Vatican diplomat highlights HIV crisis among childrenMonsignor Marco Formica, counselor of the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations, called for increased attention to HIV cases among children.“My delegation would like to draw special attention to children, who remain particularly vulnerable to HIV. Gaps in both diagnosis and treatment mean that the 3% of HIV patients that are children account for 12% of deaths due to HIV,” Formica said in a statement following a U.N. meeting on HIV and AIDS. “Quality antenatal as well as perinatal and postpartum care protects both mothers and their children. It is vital to ensure early testing and consistent access to treatment for children with HIV in child-friendly formulations,” he said.Syriac lawmaker says Christians not sufficiently representedGabriel Moshe Kourieh, the only Syriac member of Syria’s Parliament and a leading figure in the Assyrian Democratic Organization, told ACI MENA that Christian representation in the new People’s Assembly remains below the community’s aspirations.Christians currently hold about 3% of the seats, a figure Kourieh said does not properly reflect their historic role in Syrian public life or their place in the country’s national consensus. He argued that a future fair electoral law could allow broader Christian participation from different provinces while stressing that Syria’s transition must be judged by actions: the building of institutions, separation of powers, judicial independence, and equal citizenship. Kourieh also placed constitutional recognition of the Syriac-Assyrian identity, language, and culture among his top parliamentary priorities while warning that economic hardship, poor services, and fading hope continue to push many Syrians toward emigration.Catholic Social Services in Australia urges government to address housing crisisCatholic Social Services Australia (CCSA) has asked the Australian government to conduct an audit of the country’s regulations on buying and building housing.“Regulation is not inherently negative. It is introduced to address specific problems or market failures,” CSSA chief executive Jerry Nockles said in a Catholic News report on Thursday following the proposed audit. “Without regular reassessment, well-intentioned regulations can inadvertently constrain housing supply, driving up costs and limiting access — experienced most acutely by low-income households.”Caritas South Korea named official channel for humanitarian aidThe South Korean Caritas will serve as the primary distributor of humanitarian aid from Caritas International for people north of the border, Asia News reported."On behalf of the Caritas Internationalis, we discussed the project of development and cooperation with Kim Seong-il, vice chairman of the National Economic Cooperation Committee of North Korea, who accepted our direct commitment. We also exchanged a letter of intent,” Father Lazzaro You Heung-sik, president of the bishops' aid committee, said following a five-day visit to North Korea in May, according to the report. Under the agreement, Caritas will serve as the “only channel of aid from Catholics from all over the world,” Paul Jeremiah Hwang Yong-yeon, secretary of the South Korean Caritas, also said.Filipino bishop calls for end to stigma around mental healthThe Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines pledged to walk with members of the faithful struggling with mental illness and work toward breaking societal stigmas around mental health.“Mental illness is not a sign of weak faith. It is not a punishment from God. Like any illness, it deserves understanding, appropriate care, and compassionate accompaniment. Every person, whatever his or her condition, is created in the image and likeness of God and possesses an inalienable dignity that no illness can ever take away,” the bishops said in a pastoral statement released on Monday. “As a Church, we commit to building communities of encounter, breaking the stigma, strengthening collaboration, and walking together in hope so that every person is welcomed, accompanied, and freed from stigma,” the bishops added.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/scottish-teacher-takes-legal-action-after-dismissal-over-pro-life-views-catholic-a-catholic-teacher-based-in-arbroath-scotland-is-filing-suit-after-she-was-fired-over-her-pro-life-views-support.jpg "Scottish teacher takes legal action after dismissal over pro-life views – #Catholic – A Catholic teacher based in Arbroath, Scotland, is filing suit after she was fired over her pro-life views.Supported by pro-life group the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), Sarah Morse, 66, is taking Arbroath High School, run by Angus Council, to court on grounds of discrimination. The move comes after Morse was fired after telling a student, “I am a faithful Roman Catholic and I am against it,” when asked her opinion on abortion during a history lesson in November 2025. “At no time did I attempt to persuade any student to adopt my position. To be ‘canceled’ and lose my livelihood because of my religious identity is a terrifying precedent for the teaching profession in Scotland,” Morse said.“As a faithful Roman Catholic, Sarah Morse respectfully said she opposes [abortion]. Hours later she was sacked on the spot,” SPUC said. “We must all have the right to express our pro-life views without fear of losing our jobs.”Attack on Christians in Egypt raises questions about hate speechA new attack on Christians in Egypt’s Minya Governorate has renewed scrutiny of sectarian incitement and the deeper roots of anti-Christian hostility.According to ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, Bishop Macarius, Coptic Orthodox bishop of Minya, said extremists attacked Copts in the village of al-Tal al-Qibliya, damaged a priest’s car, prevented worshippers from leaving a church, and cut off electricity. Security forces later arrived, arrested those accused of incitement and rioting, and began documenting the damage.Egyptian senator Bassem Kamel said repeated incidents in Minya point to failures that cannot be addressed by security responses alone, calling for renewed religious discourse, educational reform, media policies that promote acceptance, and faster action on an independent antidiscrimination commission. Apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia describes pastoral visits amid warApostolic Vicar Aldo Berardi, OSST, of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia revealed that he was able to carry out 11 pastoral visits throughout the region despite airport closures and ongoing conflicts.“Despite the difficulties caused by the attacks and the closure of airports, we were able to carry out the program as planned,” Berardi said in a Fides News article, emphasizing the need to visit his flock “especially at a time marked by tension and fear.” The Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia covers Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. “We gathered to pray for peace and organized special moments of encounter and fraternity,” he said. “No priest requested to return to his home country, a source of great consolation for the entire community.”Vatican diplomat highlights HIV crisis among childrenMonsignor Marco Formica, counselor of the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations, called for increased attention to HIV cases among children.“My delegation would like to draw special attention to children, who remain particularly vulnerable to HIV. Gaps in both diagnosis and treatment mean that the 3% of HIV patients that are children account for 12% of deaths due to HIV,” Formica said in a statement following a U.N. meeting on HIV and AIDS. “Quality antenatal as well as perinatal and postpartum care protects both mothers and their children. It is vital to ensure early testing and consistent access to treatment for children with HIV in child-friendly formulations,” he said.Syriac lawmaker says Christians not sufficiently representedGabriel Moshe Kourieh, the only Syriac member of Syria’s Parliament and a leading figure in the Assyrian Democratic Organization, told ACI MENA that Christian representation in the new People’s Assembly remains below the community’s aspirations.Christians currently hold about 3% of the seats, a figure Kourieh said does not properly reflect their historic role in Syrian public life or their place in the country’s national consensus. He argued that a future fair electoral law could allow broader Christian participation from different provinces while stressing that Syria’s transition must be judged by actions: the building of institutions, separation of powers, judicial independence, and equal citizenship. Kourieh also placed constitutional recognition of the Syriac-Assyrian identity, language, and culture among his top parliamentary priorities while warning that economic hardship, poor services, and fading hope continue to push many Syrians toward emigration.Catholic Social Services in Australia urges government to address housing crisisCatholic Social Services Australia (CCSA) has asked the Australian government to conduct an audit of the country’s regulations on buying and building housing.“Regulation is not inherently negative. It is introduced to address specific problems or market failures,” CSSA chief executive Jerry Nockles said in a Catholic News report on Thursday following the proposed audit. “Without regular reassessment, well-intentioned regulations can inadvertently constrain housing supply, driving up costs and limiting access — experienced most acutely by low-income households.”Caritas South Korea named official channel for humanitarian aidThe South Korean Caritas will serve as the primary distributor of humanitarian aid from Caritas International for people north of the border, Asia News reported.\"On behalf of the Caritas Internationalis, we discussed the project of development and cooperation with Kim Seong-il, vice chairman of the National Economic Cooperation Committee of North Korea, who accepted our direct commitment. We also exchanged a letter of intent,” Father Lazzaro You Heung-sik, president of the bishops' aid committee, said following a five-day visit to North Korea in May, according to the report. Under the agreement, Caritas will serve as the “only channel of aid from Catholics from all over the world,” Paul Jeremiah Hwang Yong-yeon, secretary of the South Korean Caritas, also said.Filipino bishop calls for end to stigma around mental healthThe Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines pledged to walk with members of the faithful struggling with mental illness and work toward breaking societal stigmas around mental health.“Mental illness is not a sign of weak faith. It is not a punishment from God. Like any illness, it deserves understanding, appropriate care, and compassionate accompaniment. Every person, whatever his or her condition, is created in the image and likeness of God and possesses an inalienable dignity that no illness can ever take away,” the bishops said in a pastoral statement released on Monday. “As a Church, we commit to building communities of encounter, breaking the stigma, strengthening collaboration, and walking together in hope so that every person is welcomed, accompanied, and freed from stigma,” the bishops added.")
A Scottish teacher fights discrimination, Christians face heightened attacks in Egypt, Filipino bishops pledge to end mental health stigma, and more in this week’s Catholic world news roundup.
Thirteen years ago, former Spanish soccer star David Silva thanked the Blessed Mother after Spain won the 2010 World Cup.
“We regret that this briefing was uploaded to our website without going through the established internal review processes,” Amnesty International UK said.
Bishop Antonio Santarsiero Rosa denied accusations of sexual abuse that surfaced in April. He submitted his resignation as bishop when he turned 75 in June and the pope accepted it as of July 15.
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According to First Liberty Institute, Arkansas ranks first among all 50 states for protecting religious liberty, while New York ranks last.
Four years after the National Eucharistic Revival began, Bishop Thomas Paprocki says Catholics must unite belief in Christ’s real presence with moral life and worthy Communion.
What started out as a friendly match among local priests has grown into a tournament with priests from seven dioceses in Peru, an event that strengthens fraternity and is a seedbed for vocations.
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Photograph of Louis Armstrong playing Trumpet by Harry Warnecke and Gus Schoenbaechler, 1947.
Armstrong died on this day 55 years ago. |
![BBC correspondent David Willey, longtime Vatican and papal chronicler, dies at 93 - #Catholic - David Willey, a BBC correspondent whose career in Rome spanned more than 50 years and five papacies, died July 11 in Italy at the age of 93.From being a student taking in the pomp of Pope Pius XII carried in a ceremonial throne to traveling the world with St. John Paul II to writing about the changes brought by Pope Francis, Willey saw “a complete revolution so that people saw the pope much more as a personality rather than in a hierarchical sense,” the journalist told EWTN News at his home in February.Catholic backgroundDavid Douglas Willey was born in High Wycombe, in the county of Buckinghamshire, northwest of London, in December 1932. He grew up Catholic in nearby Marlow.Willey’s first experience of Rome was a visit as a student, when he witnessed Pope Pius XII being carried through crowds in a gestatorial chair. “For me, the Vatican, St. Peter’s in Rome, was a spectacle, it was almost operatic,” he noted.After studying law and modern languages at Cambridge, he moved to Rome as a trainee for Reuters.He then left for stints in Algeria as a freelancer and subsequently East Africa as a correspondent for BBC. He also reported from Asia, including Saigon and Beijing, and then spent some time in London as the BBC’s assistant diplomatic correspondent.He returned to Italy as BBC’s Rome correspondent in 1972 — and he never left.
David Willey, who died July 11, 2026, served as a BBC correspondent in Rome starting in 1972. He is seen here standing on a street in 1980. | Credit: Photo courtesy of BBC
“I never imagined I would be covering the Vatican [as a] correspondent when I was an altar boy at St. Peter’s Church in Marlow,” he said.Willey explained that he no longer practiced the Catholic faith of his childhood but that he had “the greatest respect for the Catholic religion.”His reporting on the Vatican was through this lens. “I always treated reporting for the Vatican as a secular matter rather than a religious one,” he said, adding that he still found “inspiration and pleasure in covering Vatican affairs” because he thought the pope and the Church had an important message in a world “torn by war and discord.”Lengthy Rome careerDuring his more than five decades covering Rome and the Vatican, Willey witnessed dramatic technological changes both to journalism and to the Vatican’s own operations and communication.Two episodes from his early days in Rome illustrate this, including a call to the Vatican switchboard asking to be connected to a cardinal.He was immediately put through to Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, who would later become the pope’s No. 2 as the Vatican secretary of state.“An important cardinal in the Vatican because he dealt with what was called the Ostpolitik, the Vaticanʼs policy towards Eastern Europe, communist Eastern Europe, during the years of the Cold War,” Willey said, noting that he asked to speak and the cardinal invited him that very afternoon to his “palatial” apartment for what would become a three-and-a-half-hour conversation.Willey recalled how, while a Reuters apprentice in the 1950s, international news agencies would pay a Vatican official for information. Once, on Easter Sunday, he was sent to wait at a bar close to the Vatican to pick up a text of the pope’s “urbi et orbi” blessing.“That was how the system worked. The changes wrought by Vatican II were extraordinary in the sense that a whole department was set up in the Vatican dealing with relations with the media,” he noted.During the pontificate of St. John Paul II, Willey joined the Polish pope on at least 40 of his international trips, nearly half of the jet-setting pope’s total apostolic journeys.“We went all over the world,” Willey noted. “It added to my knowledge of the world immeasurably, but it also enabled me to see the Catholic Church as an international, worldwide body of believers, which you donʼt always understand when you live here in Europe or in Rome in particular.”Veering from the prevailing idea that the faithful should come to see the pope in Rome, John Paul II went out “to meet his flock in person. And he did this with great panache,” the British journalist said.“And by allowing journalists like me to join him on the papal plane; one day, for example, I found him sitting next to me at breakfast on the plane,” Willey recalled. “He used to get bored during his very long journeys across the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans and he mingled with the journalists and sat down and actually talked to them.”“I remember talking to him once about the usefulness of the United Nations, for example. He had some quite interesting things to say.”Willey said he also had a memorable encounter with another living saint — Mother Teresa of Calcutta.One day he rang up the Sisters of Charity in Rome to ask if he could interview Mother Teresa and was told they could arrange a meeting at the airport, in between her landing in Rome from India and before she would immediately depart again for Canada.“We sat down together, and she was, I must say, great fun,” Willey recalled. “We had a very lively conversation in which she confided all sorts of little secrets to me, such as I said, ‘What do you do when you normally arrive in a new country?’ ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘I go to the local phone box and call up the head of state and ask him to send a car to meet me. I ring up the pope and he sends me a car.’”“She was this combination of extreme saintliness and piety — and of course her work among the poor in India was completely a subject of which she was prepared to talk endlessly — but what I found was her sense of fun and her sense that the world was completely open to her,” the journalist said.In 2003, Willey was appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to broadcast journalism.He wrote several books, including “God’s Politician,” a 1992 biography of John Paul II’s global impact. He also wrote about the start of Pope Francis’ pontificate in “The Promise of Francis: The Man, the Pope, and the Challenge of Change” in 2015.Willey continued to be active into his 90s — including writing a final reflection on the Vatican following Pope Francis’ death in April 2025. Willey spent his final years in the quiet lakeside town of Trevignano Romano, about 30 miles north of Rome. He died on July 11 from heart failure, the BBC reported.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/bbc-correspondent-david-willey-longtime-vatican-and-papal-chronicler-dies-at-93-catholic-david-willey-a-bbc-correspondent-whose-career-in-rome-spanned-more-than-50-years-and-five-papacies-die-scaled.jpg)
EWTN News spoke to the journalist in February about his more than 50 years covering the Vatican.
Bishop Marc Aillet has warned ahead of France’s decisive final vote on July 15 that Catholic lawmakers who support the bill “will no longer be able to receive Communion.”
Church leaders applauded Iraq Prime Minister Ali Falih al Zaidi’s call for Christians and business leaders to return to their homeland but stressed the need for reform.
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Photographic art based on pastel chalks, taken in Dülmen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
The photo was taken using ICM technique and multiple exposure. |
After liturgical disputes in India nearly led to a schism in 2025, the Syro-Malabar community came together July 9–12 in Chicago to honor its 25th year as an official eparchy in the U.S.
![Indian court upholds Hindu prayers in state schools, calls them ‘moral instruction’ – #Catholic – Catholic and other Christian groups have expressed concern after the High Court of Chhattisgarh — a central Indian state governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — declined to set aside a state government order making Hindu prayers mandatory in government schools, dismissing a challenge to it as “premature.”“The government order of June 12 [mandating Hindu prayers in schools at assemblies, meal breaks, and at closing] came as a shock to us,” Archbishop Victor Henry Thakur of Raipur, the state capital, told EWTN News on July 13.“We were looking forward to the judiciary to uphold the fundamental rights of the religious minorities enshrined under the constitution. But the July 2 verdict of the High Court belies our hope, as it has dismissed the plea against the government order as ‘premature,’” Thakur said.What the circular requiresThe ruling came on a petition filed by former Chhattisgarh Waqf Board chairman Abdul Salam Rizvi and two others challenging the June 12 order. According to The Hindu, which cited a government official, the morning assembly would include the national anthem, national song, Deep Mantra, Saraswati Vandana, Guru Mantra, and excerpts from the biographies of great personalities.During the midday meal, students would recite a food prayer, the Bhojan Mantra, while the closing session at the end of the school day would include the state song, the Gayatri Mantra, and the Shanti Mantra. The order also threatened punitive action “to ensure strict implementation of the order,” with officials inspecting schools to check for violations of the prescribed guidelines.The court’s rulingWhile dismissing the petition against the June 12 order as “premature,” the High Court said the plea was “based on mere apprehension rather than any actual grievance.”The judge, Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad, said the petitioners could approach the court “afresh by way of an appropriate petition, supported by cogent and relevant material, if any exigency arises in the future.”However, Thakur said: “In a secular democratic country, young children or their families should not be forced to wage legal battle against the system to uphold their fundamental rights.”“We urge all concerned to ensure that the schools — temples of learning and harmony — are not reduced to communal battlefields of division and religious dominance,” reiterated Thakur, who heads the Catholic Church in Chhattisgarh, where Christians number less than 2% of the state’s 25 million people and the Catholic Church runs over 250 schools.Article 30 of the Indian Constitution empowers all religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.Protests and ‘deep disappointment’The notification of the order drew protests from Christian and civil rights groups and opposition political parties, which dubbed it a Hindu nationalist “majoritarian show.”Sushil Anand Shukla, spokesperson for the opposition Congress party, said: “Students of all faiths, castes, and communities study in government schools and making the recitation of specific religious mantras compulsory could hurt the sentiments of people belonging to other faiths.”The Progressive Christian Alliance (PCA), in a statement on July 10, expressed “deep disappointment” with the High Court order: “The judgment fails to adequately protect the fundamental rights of students of religious minorities and other faith streams … who now face daily pressure to participate in religious practices that are not their own.”“The dismissal overlooks the real and immediate coercive atmosphere created by a government circular that uses the … school setting where children have little agency to opt out without fear of stigma or exclusion,” said the Rev. Akhilesh Edgar, general secretary of the Evangelical Churches in India, in the statement issued on behalf of the educational wing of the PCA.“We organized protests in several places including Raipur against this move to enforce Hindutva [Hindu nationalist] agenda,” said Pastor Simon Digbal Tandi, coordinator of the PCA.“This court order has come even as we were preparing to move the court,” said Tandi, who heads the PCA’s Chhattisgarh chapter.Tandi also said “the government is hypocritical and playing double talk.” While the government had told the court the order drew no objections, he said, it had already begun allotting 25,000 rupees (about $260) per village school to install sound systems to carry out the prayers.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/indian-court-upholds-hindu-prayers-in-state-schools-calls-them-moral-instruction-catholic-catholic-and-other-christian-groups-have-expressed-concern-after-the-high-court-of-chh-scaled.jpg "Indian court upholds Hindu prayers in state schools, calls them ‘moral instruction’ – #Catholic – Catholic and other Christian groups have expressed concern after the High Court of Chhattisgarh — a central Indian state governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — declined to set aside a state government order making Hindu prayers mandatory in government schools, dismissing a challenge to it as “premature.”“The government order of June 12 [mandating Hindu prayers in schools at assemblies, meal breaks, and at closing] came as a shock to us,” Archbishop Victor Henry Thakur of Raipur, the state capital, told EWTN News on July 13.“We were looking forward to the judiciary to uphold the fundamental rights of the religious minorities enshrined under the constitution. But the July 2 verdict of the High Court belies our hope, as it has dismissed the plea against the government order as ‘premature,’” Thakur said.What the circular requiresThe ruling came on a petition filed by former Chhattisgarh Waqf Board chairman Abdul Salam Rizvi and two others challenging the June 12 order. According to The Hindu, which cited a government official, the morning assembly would include the national anthem, national song, Deep Mantra, Saraswati Vandana, Guru Mantra, and excerpts from the biographies of great personalities.During the midday meal, students would recite a food prayer, the Bhojan Mantra, while the closing session at the end of the school day would include the state song, the Gayatri Mantra, and the Shanti Mantra. The order also threatened punitive action “to ensure strict implementation of the order,” with officials inspecting schools to check for violations of the prescribed guidelines.The court’s rulingWhile dismissing the petition against the June 12 order as “premature,” the High Court said the plea was “based on mere apprehension rather than any actual grievance.”The judge, Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad, said the petitioners could approach the court “afresh by way of an appropriate petition, supported by cogent and relevant material, if any exigency arises in the future.”However, Thakur said: “In a secular democratic country, young children or their families should not be forced to wage legal battle against the system to uphold their fundamental rights.”“We urge all concerned to ensure that the schools — temples of learning and harmony — are not reduced to communal battlefields of division and religious dominance,” reiterated Thakur, who heads the Catholic Church in Chhattisgarh, where Christians number less than 2% of the state’s 25 million people and the Catholic Church runs over 250 schools.Article 30 of the Indian Constitution empowers all religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.Protests and ‘deep disappointment’The notification of the order drew protests from Christian and civil rights groups and opposition political parties, which dubbed it a Hindu nationalist “majoritarian show.”Sushil Anand Shukla, spokesperson for the opposition Congress party, said: “Students of all faiths, castes, and communities study in government schools and making the recitation of specific religious mantras compulsory could hurt the sentiments of people belonging to other faiths.”The Progressive Christian Alliance (PCA), in a statement on July 10, expressed “deep disappointment” with the High Court order: “The judgment fails to adequately protect the fundamental rights of students of religious minorities and other faith streams … who now face daily pressure to participate in religious practices that are not their own.”“The dismissal overlooks the real and immediate coercive atmosphere created by a government circular that uses the … school setting where children have little agency to opt out without fear of stigma or exclusion,” said the Rev. Akhilesh Edgar, general secretary of the Evangelical Churches in India, in the statement issued on behalf of the educational wing of the PCA.“We organized protests in several places including Raipur against this move to enforce Hindutva [Hindu nationalist] agenda,” said Pastor Simon Digbal Tandi, coordinator of the PCA.“This court order has come even as we were preparing to move the court,” said Tandi, who heads the PCA’s Chhattisgarh chapter.Tandi also said “the government is hypocritical and playing double talk.” While the government had told the court the order drew no objections, he said, it had already begun allotting 25,000 rupees (about $260) per village school to install sound systems to carry out the prayers.")
The Chhattisgarh High Court dismissed as “premature” a challenge to a government order mandating Hindu prayers in schools, prompting concern from Christian leaders.
