Catholic News
- Pope Leo: 'Become joyful laborers in God's Kingdom' by prioritizing prayer (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his July 6 Angelus address that “we need laborers who are eager to work in the mission field, loving disciples who bear witness to the Kingdom of God in all places” (video). Reflecting on the Gospel reading at Sunday Mass (Luke 10:1-12, 17-20), Pope Leo said that “there are few who are ready, on a daily basis, to labor in God’s harvest, cultivating the seed of the Gospel in their own hearts in order then to share it in their families, places of work or study, their social contexts and with those in need.” To do so, the Pope continued, “we do not need too many theoretical ideas about pastoral plans. Instead, we need to pray to the Lord of the harvest. Priority must be given, then, to our relationship with the Lord and to cultivating our dialogue with him. “In this way,” Pope Leo explained, “he will make us his laborers and send us into the field of the world to bear witness to his Kingdom.” - Castel Gandolfo welcomes Pontiff as he resumes custom of summer residence there (AP)
Pope Leo XVI arrived in Castel Gandolfo on July 6 (video). In doing so, he resumed the centuries-old custom, abandoned by Pope Francis after 2013, of residing there during much of the summer. “When Pope Francis decided not to come, we were upset on an emotional level, beyond the economic level,” said Patrizia Gasperini, whose family runs a souvenir shop there. Earlier in the day, at the conclusion of his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Leo said, “This afternoon, I will travel to Castel Gandolfo, where I intend to have a short period of rest. I hope that everyone will be able to enjoy some vacation time in order to restore both body and spirit.” - Strengthen your relationship with Christ, Pope tells young pilgrims, teachers (Dicastery for Communication)
In a July 5 audience, Pope Leo XIV received young people from the Diocese of Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as Catholic school teachers from Ireland, England, Wales, and Scotland. “Remember that God has created each one of you with a purpose and a mission in this life,” the Pope said to the young people. “Use this opportunity for listening, for prayer, so that you may hear more clearly God’s voice calling you deep within your hearts ... And through that listening you might be open to allowing God’s grace to strengthen your faith in Jesus, so that you might more readily share that gift with others.” Students “look to you particularly as to how you teach and how you live,” the Pope told the teachers. “I hope that, each day, you will nurture your relationship with Christ, who gives us the pattern of all authentic teaching, so that, in turn, you may guide and encourage those entrusted to your care to follow Christ in their own lives.” - Imitate your foundress and read St. Augustine's On the Teacher, Pope advises Augustinian sisters (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV received members of the Suore Agostiniane Serve di Gesù e Maria [Augustinian Sisters, Servants of Jesus and Mary] on July 5 at the conclusion of a provincial chapter. Venerable Maria Teresa Spinelli founded the institute in 1827. Pope Leo advised the sisters to imitate their foundress, so that they might be “patient in tribulations,” “courageous in the mission,” and “unwavering in the following of Christ.” The Pope also advised the sisters to “pick up again” and “contemplate” St. Augustine’s De Magistro [On the Teacher. “In this work, Augustine affirms that external teaching must always lead to the encounter with the inner Master, who is Jesus,” the Pontiff said. - Montenegro's PM meets with Pontiff (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV received Prime Minister Milojko Spajić of Montenegro on July 4. “In a cordial conversation” that “lasted much longer than planned, the excellent relations between Montenegro and the Holy See were confirmed, which have deep historical roots and a tradition of mutual respect since the 19th century, when Prince Nikola signed the first Concordat,” Spajić tweeted. “As a great honor for our country, we conveyed the message that we expect all the conditions for the opening of the Nunciature in our country to be fulfilled by the end of July!” Following the audience, the prime minister met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. The parties, according to the Holy See Press Office, discussed Church-state relations, the war in Ukraine, and the expansion of the EU, which Spajić said he “particularly emphasized” in the conversation. The Southeast European nation of 600,000 (map) is 79% Christian (71% Eastern Orthodox) and 18% Muslim. - Taizé prior, Pontiff discuss Christian unity (Ateliers et Presses de Taizé)
Brother Matthew, prior of the Taizé Community, met with Pope Leo XIV in a July 4 audience. The pair discussed the “great challenges of Christian unity, the ecumenical witness of Taizé for more than 70 years, and the commitment of young people to peace and justice,” according to Taizé. Brother Roger Schütz founded the French ecumenical monastic community in 1940. - Cardinal McElroy: Trump administration's immigrant deportations are 'morally repugnant' (CNN)
In an interview with CNN, Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said that the Trump administration’s deportation policy is “not only incompatible with Catholic teaching; it’s inhumane and it’s morally repugnant.” “The scenes that occurred in Los Angeles where you saw mass agents of the government descending on car washers and Costco parking lots to round up whoever they can round up is not a sign of going after those who have criminal convictions,” he said. “It’s right to be able to control our borders,” he added. “However, what’s going on now is something far beyond that. It is a mass, indiscriminate deportation of men and women and children and families which literally rips families apart and is intended to do so.” - Vatican newspaper series examines 'challenges and hopes' facing USA (CWN)
The Vatican newspaper published a series on the United States in its July 4 edition. The series, entitled “Stati Uniti, sfide e speranze nel giorno dell’indipendenza” [United States, Challenges and Hopes on Independence Day], had four articles. - Archbishop Lori, Supreme Knight discuss Knights of Columbus with Pope Leo (Catholic Review (Baltimore))
In a July 4 audience, Pope Leo XIV received Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore and Patrick Kelly, respectively the Supreme Chaplain and Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus. “It was an opportunity to present kind of a comprehensive picture of who the Knights are and what the Knights do and what some of its current initiatives are,” said Archbishop Lori. The Pope, he added, “asked some good questions about aspects of the work of the Knights, particularly the COR program, which is a kind of a men’s formation and evangelization program.” - Papal condolences for Texas flood victims, encouragement to pray for peace (Dicastery for Communication)
Referring to floods in central Texas, Pope Leo XIV expressed condolences at the conclusion of his July 6 Angelus address to “all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters, who were at the summer camp, in the disaster caused by flooding of the Guadalupe River.” Pope Leo then told the pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square that “peace is a desire of all peoples, and it is the sorrowful cry of those torn apart by war. Let us ask the Lord to touch the hearts and inspire the minds of those who govern, that the violence of weapons be replaced by the pursuit of dialogue.” - Papal prayer for those affected by gas explosion in Rome (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV offered prayers after an explosion at a gasoline station in Rome injured 45 people. “I pray for the people involved in the explosion at a gas station this morning in the Prenestino Labicano district, in the heart of my Diocese,” he said on July 4. “I continue to follow with concern the developments of this tragic incident.” - New archpriest of Santa Maria Maggiore (Vatican Press Office)
Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, succeeded Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko in the position on July 4, the latter’s 80th birthday. The wording of the Vatican announcement was unusual. Rather than the customary statement to the effect that the Pope accepted Cardinal Ryłko’s resignation—as was the case in 2016, when his 81-year-old predecessor resigned—the Holy See Press Office instead said that “the Holy Father has thanked His Eminence Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko for his service as archpriest.” - Vatican officials present new Mass formulary: Mass for the Care of Creation (CWN)
Two Vatican officials presented a new Mass formulary, the Missa pro custodia creationis (Mass for the Care of Creation), at a July 3 press conference (video). The press conference followed a decree (Latin, English) of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. - 600 children meet with Pope Leo (Vatican News)
Some 600 children—half from Ukraine, and half from a Vatican summer camp—met with Pope Leo XIV in Paul VI Audience Hall on July 3. In his conversation with the children, Pope Leo recalled attending Mass as a child; there, he encountered “the best friend of all: Jesus.” “It is important to build bridges, to create friendship,” the Pope told the children. “Do not enter into war or conflict ... Jesus calls us all to be friends.” - Cardinal Fernández: Rupnik judges selected; excommunications are 'often' declared and lifted (Our Sunday Visitor)
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said on July 3 that judges have been selected for the canonical trial of Father Marko Rupnik, the Slovenian priest and artist accused of abusing more than two dozen women. In May 2020, Father Rupnik was declared excommunicated for the canonical offense of absolving an accomplice in a sin against the Sixth Commandment; the excommunication was lifted that same month. Asked about the excommunication, Cardinal Fernández replied, “It happens much more often than one might imagine, sometimes even in the same day.” - USCCB president condemns 'devastating effects' of One Big Beautiful Bill Act (USCCB)
Reacting to the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said that “the final version of the bill includes unconscionable cuts to healthcare and food assistance, tax cuts that increase inequality, immigration provisions that harm families and children, and cuts to programs that protect God’s creation.” Archbishop Timothy Broglio said that “the bill, as passed, will cause the greatest harm to those who are especially vulnerable in our society. As its provisions go into effect, people will lose access to healthcare and struggle to buy groceries, family members will be separated, and vulnerable communities will be less prepared to cope with environmental impacts of pollution and extreme weather. More must be done to prevent these devastating effects.” The bishops’ conference also criticized changes that were made to the bill before it was passed: While the bishops had commended the positive aspects of an earlier version of the bill, the restriction on federal funds to abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood was reduced to one year, the parental choice in education provision was greatly weakened, and the restriction on federally funding “gender transition” procedures was removed. - Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarchy discusses pastoral care of families in wartime (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
The Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is meeting in Rome to discuss the pastoral care of families in wartime. Bishop Arkadiusz Trochanowski of Olsztyn-Gdańsk, Poland, presented a report on the challenges that families face, including women and children without a father present, soldiers on the front lines apart from their families, and families separated by emigration. Bishop Trochanowski also spoke about Ukraine’s demographic crisis: According to data for the first half of 2024, there were 286 deaths per 100 births, while in 2023 there were 265 deaths per 100 births in Ukraine. Ukraine is entering a critical phase of demographic decline, and solving this problem must become a national priority. - Poland's President Duda meets with Pontiff (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV received Polish President Andrzej Duda in a July 3 audience. Following the audience, President Duda met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. The parties, according to the Holy See Press Office, discussed the “sound” relations between the Holy See and Poland, the nation’s sociopolitical situation, and the war in Ukraine. Poland, a Central European nation of 38.8 million (map), is 95% Christian (93% Catholic). - Vatican diplomat deplores violence against women, says differences between men and women must be recognized (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a session of the UN Human Rights Council, a Vatican diplomat said recently that the Holy See is “concerned by the increasing exploitation and violence against women and girls.” “This includes femicide and rape, female genital mutilation, and prenatal sex selection, as well as practices that commodify the female body, such as surrogacy, prostitution, and pornography,” said Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland. “These issues cannot be satisfactorily resolved or ended, without clearly defining and recognizing the specific vulnerabilities that women face due to their innate biological differences from men,” Archbishop Balestrero added. “When these objective realities are ignored, and sexual difference is obscured or deprioritized in law and culture, it is often women and girls who suffer the most, sometimes facing traumatic lifelong consequences.” - Pope welcomes Taiwan's new ambassador (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Pope Leo XIV received the credentials of Anthony Chung-Yi Ho, Taiwan’s new ambassador to the Holy See, on July 3. The act was significant, as only 11 nations, in addition to the Holy See, maintain formal diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan). Most nations instead maintain diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, the Communist nation whose capital is Beijing. Taiwan, an East Asian nation of 23.6 million (map), is 43% Chinese folk religionist, 26% Buddhist, 13% Daoist, and 7% Christian. - More...