Catholic News
- Pope encourages Knights of Columbus to foster unity and charity (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV encouraged participants in the 144th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus to promote unity and charity. - Pope Leo: Digital communication must serve truth and human dignity (Vatican News)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message in Pope Leo’s name to participants in SIGNIS World Congress 2026, which is taking place in Kigali, Rwanda. SIGNIS is the World Catholic Association for Communication. In the message, Pope Leo “expressed the hope that [participants’] reflections lead to communication strategies and tools guided by truth and rooted in respect for the dignity of every person,” Vatican News reported. - Military leader tells bishops there is religious freedom in Myanmar (Eleven Media/ANN)
Myanmar’s president told a delegation of bishops today that “all religions are allowed to practice freely in Myanmar and there is no discrimination based on religion,” according to a report from Myanmar-based Eleven Media. President Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in a 2021 coup d’état, made his comments amid what the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom describes as “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.” Last month, the military regime bombed the village where Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, S.D.B., of Yangon was born. Eleven Media, which operates amid severe press restrictions, reported: Cardinal Charles Bo, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar, expressed his joy and pride at the opportunity to meet with the President and his recognition of his efforts to fulfill his duties as a state despite the challenges. He also expressed his gratitude for the land provided for the construction of a Catholic church in Naypyidaw and wished the President and all the people of Myanmar peace and prosperity. - Cardinal Koovakad highlights convergences, differences between Christianity, Confucianism (Vatican News)
Addressing a Confucian-Christian colloquium in South Korea, the prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue discussed points of convergence and distinctions between the two religions. The colloquium’s theme is “Dialogue on the Contribution of Christianity and Confucianism to an Ideal Society: The New Heaven, the New Earth, and Datong (Great Unity).” In his August 4 address at Sogang University in Seoul, Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad accordingly discussed how both religions have “profoundly shaped the moral, cultural and social development of societies and continue to inspire lives of virtue and service to the common good,” according to Vatican News’s paraphrase of his remarks. Cardinal Koovakad said that “for Christianity, the renewal of humanity and creation is rooted in God’s redeeming action through Christ,” according to Vatican News. “For Confucianism, by contrast, harmony arises not from divine redemption but from the moral cultivation of the individual, the guidance of virtuous rulers, education through ritual practice, and the ethical ordering of human relationships.” - Mozambique's Cardinal Langa dies at 98 (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Cardinal Júlio Duarte Langa of Xai-Xai, Mozambique, died on August 3 at the age of 98. Born in 1927 and ordained to the priesthood in 1957, Langa was named bishop of Xai-Xai in 1976 and retired in 2004. He became Mozambique’s second cardinal when Pope Francis created him a cardinal in 2015. “Keeping religious practice alive and giving new impetus to the Church in a particularly impoverished area, one also struck by famines, epidemics, and natural disasters, sums up the ministry” of the prelate, the Vatican newspaper reported. “Regarded as a father by the priests of the African nation, he had focused particularly on the formation and welfare of the diocesan clergy within the Mozambican Episcopal Conference.” - 3 churches in French archdiocese desecrated ( Diocèse de Tours)
Three churches in the Archdiocese of Tours, France, were desecrated, with the Blessed Sacrament profaned, according to a recent archdiocesan statement. The churches are located in Chambray-lès-Tours, Luynes, and Tours (the Church of St. Joan of Arc). - Be a network, not a bureaucracy, Vatican prefect tells SIGNIS (Vatican News)
The prefect of the Dicastery for Communication encouraged the World Catholic Association for Communication (SIGNIS) to be a network rather than a bureaucracy. “SIGNIS should not be an ecclesiastic bureaucracy, but a network of people, a network of professionals sharing the same faith,” Paolo Ruffini said in a video message to participants in SIGNIS World Congress 2026, which is taking place in Kigali, Rwanda. “This should be a place where relationships of trust are established, true information is shared, and good projects are designed.” Ruffini’s successor, Maria Montserrat (Montse) Alvarado, will assume office on November 1. - Moroccan archdiocese assists migrants returning from Spanish city of Ceuta (Vatican News)
The Archdiocese of Tangier, Morocco, offered assistance to some of the tens of thousands of migrants who returned to their native land after surging into the Spanish city of Ceuta. “This migration crisis caught us completely by surprise and prevented us from responding adequately,” Archbishop Emilio Rocha Grande, O.F.M., said in an interview. “We therefore provided the most basic assistance we could—water and food—but only within the limits of our resources.” Archbishop Rocha told Vatican News that Morocco is “not currently a poor country in the sense that people are dying of hunger. It is a country experiencing strong economic growth.” At the same time, “many young people feel that the economic opportunities created by development remain out of their reach,” the prelate said. “The temptation to leave is very strong. Many believe that simply arriving in Europe will solve all their problems—that they will find work, housing, and a better future.” - 2 newly identified St. Augustine sermons found in Poland (OSV News)
Scholars from Austria and Germany found two previously unknown sermons of St. Augustine in a twelfth-century manuscript in a Polish diocesan library. The sermons found in the Pelplin diocesan library address King Saul’s meeting with the witch of Endor. - Queens parish suffers 4th act of vandalism (QNS)
St. Rita Church in Long Island City, New York, suffered its fourth act of vandalism since 2024 when a vandal smashed a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a hammer on August 1. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has documented over 400 acts of vandalism, arson, and other destruction at parishes and other Catholic sites in the United States since 2020. A tracker at CatholicVote.org lists additional attacks. - Vatican newspaper calls for 'sustainability-focused strategies' amid nuclear power plant shutdowns (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
L’Osservatore Romano devoted the most prominent front-page article in its August 4 edition to the drought-related shutdowns of nuclear power plants in Hungary and Romania. “Water is essential for energy production, such as in hydroelectric power plants or for cooling facilities, while energy is required to extract, treat, transport, and purify water before it reaches homes or agricultural fields,” staff journalist Valerio Palombaro wrote. “This interdependence, which extends to food, given that agriculture accounts for approximately 70% of freshwater withdrawals, highlights the growing need to adopt sustainability-focused strategies at both European and global levels.” “Ensuring water, energy, and food security requires a systemic approach capable of integrating technological innovation, environmental protection, and social equity,” he concluded. - Michigan bishop responds to local ICE actions (Diocese of Saginaw)
The bishop of Saginaw, Michigan, issued a statement in response to “recent ICE events” there, some of which “occurred within the shadow of the Chancery.” “As Catholics, we believe that all persons are created in the image and likeness of God and therefore, have an inherent human dignity,” Bishop Robert Gruss said in a statement issued on August 1. “Every human person, migrant or otherwise, must be treated as such.” Bishop Gruss added that “the deportation of people without cause, the detention of immigrants without meaningful legal representation, without access to family or a supportive community, and without basic human needs being met, and the forced separation of immigrant families and incarceration of children do not represent a just and civil society.” - Vatican official brings relics from St. Peter's Basilica to home parish in Indonesia (Vatican News)
A Vatican official brought two relics from St. Peter’s Basilica to his home parish in East Flores, Indonesia, in the hope of making it a pilgrimage site. Father Markus Solo Kewuta, S.V.D., an official of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, brought soil from St. Peter’s tomb and a stone fragment of the basilica’s holy door to St. Peter the Apostle Mission Station Church in the village of Lewouran. According to Vatican News, Father Kewuta is the first Indonesian priest to work in the Roman Curia. - Cardinal Parolin travels to Guatemala to mark 90 years of diplomatic relations (@TerzaLoggia)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, traveled to Guatemala on August 1 to mark 90 years of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Central American nation. Cardinal Parolin met with the nation’s president and vice president and celebrated Mass at the cathedral of Guatemala City. Guatemala, a nation of 18.5 million (map), is 97% Christian (65% Catholic). - New York agrees: Nuns may continue ministry without being forced to assist suicides (The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty)
The State of New York temporarily agreed not to enforce its assisted-suicide mandates against the Catholic plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the state’s Medical Aid in Dying Act. “This agreement is an important first step towards protecting religious freedom,” said Bishop John Barres of Rockville Centre. “New York cannot force the Church to answer suffering with suicide or abandon the sick and dying when they need care most.” “Until our legal fight is resolved, this temporary agreement keeps our ministries free to serve every patient according to the Gospel,” Bishop Barres added. “We continue to proclaim that every human life is sacred and worthy of love until its natural end.” The Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, and Little Sisters of the Poor joined in the lawsuit, as did the Catholic Health System of Long Island. - Pope appoints apostolic administrator amid investigation of Cardinal López Romero (OMI World )
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate announced that Pope Leo has appointed Msgr. Mario León Dorado, O.M.I,, the prefect of Western Sahara since 2013, as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Rabat, Morocco. The announcement comes amid an investigation into allegations that Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, S.D.B., of Rabat molested at least five women. - Report: Beijing pressured US Catholic organization to withdraw invitation to scholar (Bitter Winter)
Chinese government officials successfully pressured the US-China Catholic Association to disinvite its scheduled conference keynote speaker, according to Bitter Winter, an online magazine of religious liberty and human rights. Bitter Winter reported that the disinvited keynote speaker was Fenggang Yang, the founding Director of the Center on Religion and the Global East at Purdue University. The US-China Catholic Association, according to its website, was “founded in 1989 by concerned U.S. bishops, Maryknoll, the Jesuits, and representatives of other religious orders in order to promote mutual support and fraternal ties between the Church in China and the U.S. Church.” - San Antonio archbishop issues pastoral letter on solidarity with migrants (Archdiocese of San Antonio)
Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, M.Sp.S., of San Antonio issued a pastoral letter, “We Will Come to You: United in Solidarity with Our Brothers and Sisters in Migration.” “I prayed over this letter for a long time before writing it to you,” Archbishop García-Siller began. “What follows is at times deeply personal: it arises from my own encounters with God in the lives of migrants, from years of walking alongside those who have endured migration’s trials and from my own family history and migration story.” “As a reflection on the prevailing climate of immigration enforcement, it is offered in love, grounded not in ideology but in walking with you: listening to your pastors, sitting in silence with families who no longer feel safe to leave their homes, and accompanying our sisters and brothers who have migrated, missionaries of hope among us,” he continued. “You are the heart of this letter. The Church will not be silent.” The letter concluded with a call for five “urgent reforms”: “protect sensitive locations,” “keep families together,” “restore asylum and due process,” “end mass detention and mass deportation,” and “build just pathways to citizenship.” - Man charged with federal firearms offense after shots fired at New Mexico church (U.S. Department of Justice)
A 40-year-old man with a prior felony conviction faces up to 15 years in prison after he was charged in connection with the firing of shots at a parish in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced on August 3: On May 4, 2026, Las Cruces Police Department officers responded to a reported shooting at St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church ... Officers found five bullet holes in the church’s front glass entrance and recovered five .380 caliber shell casings. Surveillance footage showed a black sedan arriving at the church, after which a man exited the driver’s side and fired multiple rounds at the entrance before leaving the scene. - US-Canadian ecumenical conference focuses on 'visible justice' (NATI-RETI 2026)
The Canadian Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches of Christ of the USA organized a two-week training course, “Where now for visible justice?”, which began on August 3. “Whether discussing climate, race, politics, economics, or solidarity with indigenous communities, the question of justice—and the church’s role in embodying it—will intersect with all theological and ecumenical reflections,” according to the organizers of the course, which is taking place in Detroit and Toronto. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops is among the members of the Canadian Council of Churches; the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is not a member of the National Council of Churches. - More...