Resignation

Revival of Latin Mass spreads among Vietnamese Catholic youth #Catholic The Latin Mass and traditional Vietnamese prayers and catechetical texts written by missionaries prior to the Second Vatican Council are growing in popularity among young Vietnamese Catholics.“Few Catholic communities in Southeast Asia still possess such a rich heritage,” Joseph Christopher Nguyen Thien Tuan Hoang, the leader of a Latin Mass community in Vietnam, said in an Aug. 25 UCA News report.While there is no established parish dedicated to the Latin Mass according to the report, traditional communities are able to attend the liturgy when approval is granted and with the help of foreign visiting priests.“Our biggest challenge is not hostility, but misunderstanding,” Hoang said. “If more Church leaders understood why some young Catholics are drawn to the older liturgy, I believe more people would have the opportunity to experience this part of the Churchʼs tradition.”From Gaza to Taybeh, priests call for living Christian presence in Holy LandFather Gabriel Romanelli of Holy Family Parish in Gaza City discussed the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza during a video appearance at the Rimini Meeting, a signature event hosted by the Catholic movement Communion and Liberation.Romanelli described Gaza as a devastated territory where water, electricity, and basic necessities remain scarce. The priest said his decision to stay was rooted in pastoral duty: the parish could not abandon children, people with disabilities, or struggling families.ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Aug. 26 that Gaza’s Christian community now numbers 541 Catholics and Orthodox, and 60 members have died since the war began.Father Francesco Ielpo, custos of the Holy Land, also spoke at the event, turning attention to the attacks facing the Christian town of Taybeh and called for concrete protection of fundamental rights. He also encouraged pilgrims to return, noting that their presence supports local Christians and strengthens their calling to care for the holy sites.10 Catholic dioceses in the Philippines call for end to mining agreementBishops representing 10 Catholic dioceses in the Philippines have issued a joint pastoral statement addressed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Environment Secretary Juan Miguel T. Cuna calling for an end to mining in the island of Sibuyan.The letter, titled “Let Sibuyan Live: A Joint Call to Initiate the Cancellation of APMC’s Mining Agreement,” urges political leaders to carry out a comprehensive review of a mining agreement with Altai Philippines Mining Corp (APMC) in Sibuyan to ensure compliance with environmental laws, according to an Aug. 24 report from Inquirer.net. The bishops expressed concern over the mining agreement’s threats to the island’s mountains, watersheds, rivers, coral reefs, and species unique to the island.Recently appointed apostolic nuncio to Germany makes first visitThe recently appointed apostolic nuncio to Germany, Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, completed his inaugural visit to the headquarters of the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) in Bonn this week, CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Aug. 28. During the meeting, van Megen presented his official assignment letter as nuncio to the DBK chairman signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. "It was the first visit of an apostolic nuncio to the Secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference in more than 13 years,” the DBK noted in its announcement on social media. Van Megen has served as nuncio to Kenya and South Sudan and held various positions within United Nations institutions.UK member of Parliament calls for reforms before considering assisted suicideMember of Parliament Zubir Ahmed, a former health minister in the British Labour Party and National Health Service doctor, has backed calls from Prime Minister Andy Burnham, a Catholic, to carry out health reforms before considering legislation on assisted suicide.“What kind of society are we building if, before we’ve fixed the systems designed to care for people, we introduce a system designed to help them die?” Ahmed asked in an Aug. 25 op-ed in The Guardian. “As a former health minister who has seen the system from the inside, I am able to say it is not ready or equipped to answer this question.” Ahmed’s remarks come after the prime minister said in July that debates on assisted suicide should be delayed until the country’s palliative and social care systems have been reformed.Syria’s Catholic schools seek to remain both strong and compassionateWith another school year approaching, Syria’s Christian schools are struggling to keep tuition affordable while covering salaries, taxes, electricity, books, and other rising expenses.Father Fadi Najjar, secretary-general of Catholic educational institutions in Syria, said no child should be forced out because a family cannot pay, ACI MENA reported Aug. 27. At the same time, he cautioned that schools cannot fulfill their educational mission if they are treated solely as charitable institutions. Najjar appealed to churches and aid organizations to support families in genuine need and help protect the future of Christian education in Syria.Catholic priest in Ghana suspended for ‘abandoning’ pastoral ministryGhana’s Diocese of Konongo-Mampong has imposed an indefinite canonical suspension on a priest of the diocese for taking a leave of absence and “abandoning his pastoral ministry” without legitimate permission.Bishop John Opoku-Agyemang announced the suspension of Father Samuel Adapore on Aug. 24, ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, reported. The priest has been barred from administering any of the sacraments publicly, including the celebration of Mass, or officiating any other liturgical services. The bishop said he made the decision “with a heavy heart but a great sense of duty to Holy Mother Church” to suspend the priest, who he noted had left his parish without telling anyone where he was going, including immediate family members.Sierra Leonean priest cautions religious against shunning help for mental health strugglesThe president of the Regional Union of Priests of West Africa has told members of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life not to be ashamed of seeking psychological support, stressing that “mental-health struggles do not cancel their vocation,” ACI Africa reported Aug. 25.“Our priests and religious spend their lives caring for others. We must also care for them. They need trusted friends, safe spaces for honest conversation, regular medical and psychological support, sufficient rest, and communities that listen without judgment,” Father Peter Konteh said following the resignation of Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann of German’s Speyer Diocese over mental health struggles.Christian city of Qamishli, Syria, turns 100The city of Qamishli marked its centennial with a Christian community far smaller than the one that helped build the northeastern Syrian city.Founded in 1926 after Christians fled Ottoman-era massacres, the city once had a population that was nearly 90% Christian, ACI MENA reported Aug. 25. Father Samir Kanoun, priest of the church of St. Yacoub Al-Nusaibini in Qamishli, said decades of migration, intensified after the Syrian crisis began in 2011, have reduced that share to about 20%, leaving roughly 2,000 Christian families. Despite the decline, Qamishli retains a rich mix of Syriac, Armenian, Chaldean, Assyrian, and Protestant churches. Their cooperation grew stronger during the war through shared prayer, security coordination, and charitable work. Kanoun remains hopeful, pointing to the city’s active young Christians and the Church’s efforts to preserve their faith, heritage, and sense of belonging to Syria.
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Revival of Latin Mass spreads among Vietnamese Catholic youth #Catholic The Latin Mass and traditional Vietnamese prayers and catechetical texts written by missionaries prior to the Second Vatican Council are growing in popularity among young Vietnamese Catholics.“Few Catholic communities in Southeast Asia still possess such a rich heritage,” Joseph Christopher Nguyen Thien Tuan Hoang, the leader of a Latin Mass community in Vietnam, said in an Aug. 25 UCA News report.While there is no established parish dedicated to the Latin Mass according to the report, traditional communities are able to attend the liturgy when approval is granted and with the help of foreign visiting priests.“Our biggest challenge is not hostility, but misunderstanding,” Hoang said. “If more Church leaders understood why some young Catholics are drawn to the older liturgy, I believe more people would have the opportunity to experience this part of the Churchʼs tradition.”From Gaza to Taybeh, priests call for living Christian presence in Holy LandFather Gabriel Romanelli of Holy Family Parish in Gaza City discussed the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza during a video appearance at the Rimini Meeting, a signature event hosted by the Catholic movement Communion and Liberation.Romanelli described Gaza as a devastated territory where water, electricity, and basic necessities remain scarce. The priest said his decision to stay was rooted in pastoral duty: the parish could not abandon children, people with disabilities, or struggling families.ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Aug. 26 that Gaza’s Christian community now numbers 541 Catholics and Orthodox, and 60 members have died since the war began.Father Francesco Ielpo, custos of the Holy Land, also spoke at the event, turning attention to the attacks facing the Christian town of Taybeh and called for concrete protection of fundamental rights. He also encouraged pilgrims to return, noting that their presence supports local Christians and strengthens their calling to care for the holy sites.10 Catholic dioceses in the Philippines call for end to mining agreementBishops representing 10 Catholic dioceses in the Philippines have issued a joint pastoral statement addressed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Environment Secretary Juan Miguel T. Cuna calling for an end to mining in the island of Sibuyan.The letter, titled “Let Sibuyan Live: A Joint Call to Initiate the Cancellation of APMC’s Mining Agreement,” urges political leaders to carry out a comprehensive review of a mining agreement with Altai Philippines Mining Corp (APMC) in Sibuyan to ensure compliance with environmental laws, according to an Aug. 24 report from Inquirer.net. The bishops expressed concern over the mining agreement’s threats to the island’s mountains, watersheds, rivers, coral reefs, and species unique to the island.Recently appointed apostolic nuncio to Germany makes first visitThe recently appointed apostolic nuncio to Germany, Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, completed his inaugural visit to the headquarters of the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) in Bonn this week, CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Aug. 28. During the meeting, van Megen presented his official assignment letter as nuncio to the DBK chairman signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. "It was the first visit of an apostolic nuncio to the Secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference in more than 13 years,” the DBK noted in its announcement on social media. Van Megen has served as nuncio to Kenya and South Sudan and held various positions within United Nations institutions.UK member of Parliament calls for reforms before considering assisted suicideMember of Parliament Zubir Ahmed, a former health minister in the British Labour Party and National Health Service doctor, has backed calls from Prime Minister Andy Burnham, a Catholic, to carry out health reforms before considering legislation on assisted suicide.“What kind of society are we building if, before we’ve fixed the systems designed to care for people, we introduce a system designed to help them die?” Ahmed asked in an Aug. 25 op-ed in The Guardian. “As a former health minister who has seen the system from the inside, I am able to say it is not ready or equipped to answer this question.” Ahmed’s remarks come after the prime minister said in July that debates on assisted suicide should be delayed until the country’s palliative and social care systems have been reformed.Syria’s Catholic schools seek to remain both strong and compassionateWith another school year approaching, Syria’s Christian schools are struggling to keep tuition affordable while covering salaries, taxes, electricity, books, and other rising expenses.Father Fadi Najjar, secretary-general of Catholic educational institutions in Syria, said no child should be forced out because a family cannot pay, ACI MENA reported Aug. 27. At the same time, he cautioned that schools cannot fulfill their educational mission if they are treated solely as charitable institutions. Najjar appealed to churches and aid organizations to support families in genuine need and help protect the future of Christian education in Syria.Catholic priest in Ghana suspended for ‘abandoning’ pastoral ministryGhana’s Diocese of Konongo-Mampong has imposed an indefinite canonical suspension on a priest of the diocese for taking a leave of absence and “abandoning his pastoral ministry” without legitimate permission.Bishop John Opoku-Agyemang announced the suspension of Father Samuel Adapore on Aug. 24, ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, reported. The priest has been barred from administering any of the sacraments publicly, including the celebration of Mass, or officiating any other liturgical services. The bishop said he made the decision “with a heavy heart but a great sense of duty to Holy Mother Church” to suspend the priest, who he noted had left his parish without telling anyone where he was going, including immediate family members.Sierra Leonean priest cautions religious against shunning help for mental health strugglesThe president of the Regional Union of Priests of West Africa has told members of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life not to be ashamed of seeking psychological support, stressing that “mental-health struggles do not cancel their vocation,” ACI Africa reported Aug. 25.“Our priests and religious spend their lives caring for others. We must also care for them. They need trusted friends, safe spaces for honest conversation, regular medical and psychological support, sufficient rest, and communities that listen without judgment,” Father Peter Konteh said following the resignation of Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann of German’s Speyer Diocese over mental health struggles.Christian city of Qamishli, Syria, turns 100The city of Qamishli marked its centennial with a Christian community far smaller than the one that helped build the northeastern Syrian city.Founded in 1926 after Christians fled Ottoman-era massacres, the city once had a population that was nearly 90% Christian, ACI MENA reported Aug. 25. Father Samir Kanoun, priest of the church of St. Yacoub Al-Nusaibini in Qamishli, said decades of migration, intensified after the Syrian crisis began in 2011, have reduced that share to about 20%, leaving roughly 2,000 Christian families. Despite the decline, Qamishli retains a rich mix of Syriac, Armenian, Chaldean, Assyrian, and Protestant churches. Their cooperation grew stronger during the war through shared prayer, security coordination, and charitable work. Kanoun remains hopeful, pointing to the city’s active young Christians and the Church’s efforts to preserve their faith, heritage, and sense of belonging to Syria.

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Vietnamese youth drawn to the TLM, Holy Land priests highlight plight of Christian community, Philippine dioceses call for end of mining agreement, and more in this week’s world news roundup.

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March for Life president steps down to become ‘full-time mom’ #Catholic March for Life president steps down to focus on familyJennie Bradley Lichter, the president of the March for Life, is stepping down to devote more time to her family as a “full-time mom,” the leader said this week.“I have been humbled and inspired by the stories — so many stories, everywhere I go — of how the March for Life has changed people’s minds and hearts, how for so many Marchers it has sparked a lifetime of action and advocacy on behalf of the unborn, and in some cases, how it has changed the entire trajectory of their lives,” Bradley Lichter wrote in a farewell statement.She and her husband “are raising two tweens and a rising kindergartner, and it has become very clear that my family needs more of my time and my active presence than I’m able to give while leading the March for Life,” she said in the statement “My most important titles of all are not ‘President’ — but ‘wife’ and ‘Mom,’” she said.Bradley Lichter said that her role has been “the highlight of my professional life.”The resignation is effective July 31. The March for Life Board is actively searching for a new president.The annual demonstration draws tens of thousands to the nation’s capital yearly to advocate for the rights of unborn babies.Abortion drug present in municipal water, study findsA study published on July 20 in the Journal of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine highlighted the need for “significant additional investigation into the levels of various hormones and [endocrine-disrupting chemicals], including mifepristone, in water sources,” with researchers finding high levels of the abortion drug in municipal water supplies.Mifepristone is used in chemical abortions, as well as in treatment for miscarriages, and works by blocking progesterone, a hormone necessary for pregnancy. The investigation found “significant levels of mifepristone (up to 0.041 μgram/l) in the water of all but one of the nine sampling classes,” the study read. Water samples “were collected from sites upstream and downstream of water treatment facilities, and from municipal tap water,” from multiple American cities.“Because of the plethora of effects of progesterone, this contaminant could affect the physiology of aquatic animals; and human health, including fertility, pregnancy and fetal development,” the researchers said. Justice Department settles with pro-life father after FBI raidThe U.S. Department of Justice reached a seven-figure settlement with pro-life father Paul Vaughn after his home was raided by the FBI in connection with his pro-life work.The settlement affirmed that under the Biden administration, the government’s actions “were an abuse of government power,” according to a July 28 press release by the Thomas More Society, the legal nonprofit that defended Vaughn.Vaughn, a Catholic father of 11, was arrested at gunpoint after the FBI raided his house in connection with his protest at an abortion clinic. He is one of several pro-life advocates prosecuted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act during the Biden administration.“My family has been through a traumatic ordeal that never should have happened. But today brings an end to this portion of the story,” Vaughn said in a statement.“This chapter is finally closed, and our family looks forward with gratitude and hope, as we continue to serve God, advocating for the most vulnerable among us without fear.”Catholic bishops of Massachusetts speak out against late-term abortion billThe Catholic bishops of Massachusetts spoke out this week against a bill that will legalize late-term abortion in the state.“As Catholic bishops we have a moral responsibility to present and uphold Catholic teaching and the sacred God-given dignity of every human life from conception to the natural death,” the bishops said in July 29 statement signed by Bishop William Byrne of Springfield, Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston, Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, and Bishop Edgar da Cunha of Fall River.The state legislature passed the bill in July, with the Massachusetts Senate voting in favor of it on July 31. The measure, if signed into law, will remove the stateʼs 24-week limit on abortion.“The proposed elimination of any legal restraint on late-term abortion is, in our judgement, a radical measure which is gravely immoral,” the bishops’ statement read. The advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is also strongly opposing the bill; the group’s president Marjorie Dannenfelser called for nationwide protections for unborn children.“If Gov. [Maura] Healey signs this bill into law, Massachusetts will join 10 states and Washington, D.C. with an all-trimester abortion policy where babies are killed after the point they can survive outside of the womb,” Dannenfelser told EWTN News. “These extreme laws that only 10% of Americans support are enabled by the ‘states-only’ philosophy on abortion,” she said.
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March for Life president steps down to become ‘full-time mom’ #Catholic March for Life president steps down to focus on familyJennie Bradley Lichter, the president of the March for Life, is stepping down to devote more time to her family as a “full-time mom,” the leader said this week.“I have been humbled and inspired by the stories — so many stories, everywhere I go — of how the March for Life has changed people’s minds and hearts, how for so many Marchers it has sparked a lifetime of action and advocacy on behalf of the unborn, and in some cases, how it has changed the entire trajectory of their lives,” Bradley Lichter wrote in a farewell statement.She and her husband “are raising two tweens and a rising kindergartner, and it has become very clear that my family needs more of my time and my active presence than I’m able to give while leading the March for Life,” she said in the statement “My most important titles of all are not ‘President’ — but ‘wife’ and ‘Mom,’” she said.Bradley Lichter said that her role has been “the highlight of my professional life.”The resignation is effective July 31. The March for Life Board is actively searching for a new president.The annual demonstration draws tens of thousands to the nation’s capital yearly to advocate for the rights of unborn babies.Abortion drug present in municipal water, study findsA study published on July 20 in the Journal of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine highlighted the need for “significant additional investigation into the levels of various hormones and [endocrine-disrupting chemicals], including mifepristone, in water sources,” with researchers finding high levels of the abortion drug in municipal water supplies.Mifepristone is used in chemical abortions, as well as in treatment for miscarriages, and works by blocking progesterone, a hormone necessary for pregnancy. The investigation found “significant levels of mifepristone (up to 0.041 μgram/l) in the water of all but one of the nine sampling classes,” the study read. Water samples “were collected from sites upstream and downstream of water treatment facilities, and from municipal tap water,” from multiple American cities.“Because of the plethora of effects of progesterone, this contaminant could affect the physiology of aquatic animals; and human health, including fertility, pregnancy and fetal development,” the researchers said. Justice Department settles with pro-life father after FBI raidThe U.S. Department of Justice reached a seven-figure settlement with pro-life father Paul Vaughn after his home was raided by the FBI in connection with his pro-life work.The settlement affirmed that under the Biden administration, the government’s actions “were an abuse of government power,” according to a July 28 press release by the Thomas More Society, the legal nonprofit that defended Vaughn.Vaughn, a Catholic father of 11, was arrested at gunpoint after the FBI raided his house in connection with his protest at an abortion clinic. He is one of several pro-life advocates prosecuted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act during the Biden administration.“My family has been through a traumatic ordeal that never should have happened. But today brings an end to this portion of the story,” Vaughn said in a statement.“This chapter is finally closed, and our family looks forward with gratitude and hope, as we continue to serve God, advocating for the most vulnerable among us without fear.”Catholic bishops of Massachusetts speak out against late-term abortion billThe Catholic bishops of Massachusetts spoke out this week against a bill that will legalize late-term abortion in the state.“As Catholic bishops we have a moral responsibility to present and uphold Catholic teaching and the sacred God-given dignity of every human life from conception to the natural death,” the bishops said in July 29 statement signed by Bishop William Byrne of Springfield, Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston, Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, and Bishop Edgar da Cunha of Fall River.The state legislature passed the bill in July, with the Massachusetts Senate voting in favor of it on July 31. The measure, if signed into law, will remove the stateʼs 24-week limit on abortion.“The proposed elimination of any legal restraint on late-term abortion is, in our judgement, a radical measure which is gravely immoral,” the bishops’ statement read. The advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is also strongly opposing the bill; the group’s president Marjorie Dannenfelser called for nationwide protections for unborn children.“If Gov. [Maura] Healey signs this bill into law, Massachusetts will join 10 states and Washington, D.C. with an all-trimester abortion policy where babies are killed after the point they can survive outside of the womb,” Dannenfelser told EWTN News. “These extreme laws that only 10% of Americans support are enabled by the ‘states-only’ philosophy on abortion,” she said.

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Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

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