Catholic News
- Detroit archbishop fires seminary professors (CWN)
Detroit’s Archbishop Edward Weisenburger has fired two prominent teachers at the archdiocesan seminary, apparently because they had been critical of Pope Francis. - Israel report: shelling of Gaza church was accidental (Catholic Herald)
The shelling of Holy Family church in Gaza on July 17 was accidental, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have announced. After an investigation of the incident, the IDF said that the church was struck by a mortar round “due to an unintentional deviation of munitions.” The report went on to say that the IDF has issued new guidelines “for opening fire near religious buildings, shelters, and other sensitives sites.” The IDF report, issued on July 23, said that the mortar shell “injured several Gaza civilians.” It did not acknowledge the death that had resulted. Officials at the Patriarchate of Jerusalem said that they had heard about the IDF report from media reports. Witnesses at Holy Family church had originally reported that the church was hit by a shell from a tank, not a mortar. - Vatican court rejects appeal by ousted auditor general (Pillar)
The Vatican’s Court of Appeal has rejected a bid by Libero Milone, the former auditor general, to revive his wrongful-termination suit. Last year a Vatican tribunal dismissed Milone’s claim against the Secretariat of State, ruling that Cardinal (then Archbishop) Angelo Becciu, who forced Milone’s resignation, was acting on his own. The appeals court affirmed that decision, saying that the case against the Secretariat of State was rightly dismissed because of “the groundlessness of the claim brought against it.” While Cardinal Becciu has been convicted on several counts of financial misconduct, the appeals court noted that he has never faced charges for forcing Milone’s resignation. The appeals court ordered Milone to pay the costs of the original trial, which could amount to tens of thousands of dollars. Milone has insisted that he was forced out because, as auditor general, he had uncovered clear evidence of widespread financial corruption inside the Vatican. He had threatened in the past to make that evidence public if the Vatican courts did not hear his appeal. - The Church will never abandon Gaza, Patriarchs say following visit (CWN)
The Latin and Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Jerusalem held a joint press conference on July 22 to discuss their visit to Holy Family Church in Gaza, following the Israeli military strike that left three dead and ten wounded there. - Los Angeles archdiocese sets up new fund for immigrants (Angelus News)
Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, working with local business executives, has established a fund to help families facing special financial needs because of recent raids by federal immigration officials. “This program will provide direct support to families who are suffering financial hardships because of the current climate of uncertainty and fear,” the archbishop said at a July 23 press conference. The fund will support parish programs to assist families with groceries, medications, and other immediate needs. - Franciscan official, in Vatican newspaper, deplores 'unjust and unjustifiable' starvation in Gaza (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
In a prominent front-page article in the Vatican newspaper’s July 23 edition, a leading official of the Franciscan Holy Land province decried starvation in Gaza. “Dying of hunger and thirst is unjust and unjustifiable,” said Father Ibrahim Faltas, OFM, vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land. “Food, medicine, and electricity have not entered Gaza for months; these vital necessities are blocked just kilometers from those who need them, and this is inhumane.” “The eyes, the tears, the tormented and trembling bodies of the children of Gaza fill us with indignation and make us cry out for peace, which is also a hunger and thirst for justice,” Father Faltas added. - Church desecrated in DR Congo (Fides)
A Catholic church was desecrated on July 21 in Ituri Province in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Diocese of Bunia attributed the sacrilege to CODECO, an association of militia groups. - US commission assesses religious freedom in Nigeria (USCIRF)
In an updated assessment of religious freedom in Nigeria, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom founded that “Nigeria’s legal system imposes systematic restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, specifically with its use of blasphemy laws in 12 states,” as well as the imposition of sharia law on non-Muslims in some states. The commission also found that “Nigeria’s federal and state authorities continue to tolerate attacks by nonstate entities who often justify their violence on the basis of a religious ideology and specifically target vulnerable religious communities.” The nation of 237 million (map), the most populous in Africa and sixth most populous in the world, is 47% Christian (11% Catholic), 46% Muslim, and 7% ethnic religionist. - Federal judge halts enforcement of part of Tennessee's abortion-trafficking law (Axios)
A federal judge has halted the enforcement of portions of Tennessee’s law against abortion trafficking. Judge Julia Gibbons, who was appointed a district court judge by President Ronald Reagan (1983) and an appellate court judge by President George W. Bush (2002), ruled that the law “unconstitutionally regulates speech based on content and is facially overbroad.” - Following peace deal, USCCB committee chairman expresses solidarity with African region's bishops (USCCB)
The chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace expressed “profound ecclesial solidarity with the bishops of the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa (ACEAC) and all the faithful of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Rwanda, as you work to defend human dignity and propose peaceful alternatives to violence in the Great Lakes sub-region.” “We are hopeful that the peace agreement signed by the foreign ministers of the DRC and Rwanda on June 27th in Washington will serve as a tangible step towards addressing the complex crisis that has caused such grave violence,” Bishop A. Elias Zaidan wrote in a letter to ACEAC’s president, in reference to the DRC-Rwanda peace agreement. Bishop Zaidan’s letter to ACEAC followed a similar letter to the chairman of the National Episcopal Conference of the Congo’s Justice and Peace Commission. - 500,000 young people expected in Rome next week for Jubilee of Youth (AP)
A half million young people from 146 countries are expected in Rome for the Jubilee of Youth, which takes place from July 28 to August 3. It will likely be the largest event of the 2025 jubilee year, which has already attracted 17 million pilgrims to Rome. Church and civil officials discussed the upcoming event at a July 23 press conference (video). Pope Leo XIV will join the young people—including 3,500 from the United States—at Tor Vergata (video) for an August 2 evening prayer vigil and an August 3 outdoor Mass. - Diocese of Rochester's abuse settlement reaches $246M (WHAM-TV)
Following a $120-million settlement agreement with an insurance company, the Diocese of Rochester’s abuse settlement with abuse victims has reached $246.35 million. 450 people alleged they were abused by priests of the upstate New York diocese after the state enacted a law lifting the statute of limitations for the filing of abuse cases. The diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2019. - Fire set to historic French chapel (OIDAC Europe)
Two teenagers set fire to Marienfloss chapel, a shrine that dates to 1238. The chapel is located in Sierck-Les-Bains, a town of 1,800 in northeastern France. - Caritas rips Israeli actions in Gaza (Caritas Internationalis)
Caritas Internationalis, the Church’s federation of relief and development agencies, issued a blistering statement denouncing Israel’s “merciless attacks on the civilian population of Gaza and those who are trying to help them and bring humanitarian relief.” The charity also lamented the continued holding of 50 hostages by Hamas. “People are being starved to the point of famine; children are bombed while waiting for therapeutic nutrition and vaccines,” the charity stated. “For the love of the God of Abraham and in the name of humanity, Caritas Internationalis as the humanitarian arm of the Catholic Church, demands the Israeli Government immediately stop its atrocities and persecution of the Palestinians.” Stating that “history will not forgive this barbarism and complicity,” Caritas demanded that nations “stop the military support to the state of Israel or any other support that aids or abets it in these atrocities.” Caritas also denounced proposals to remove Palestinians from Gaza: The Israeli Government is planning to forcibly evict the entire population of almost 2 million people of Gaza to a non-existent camp in Rafah, which Ehud Olmert, former Prime Minister of Israel, has described as a “concentration camp” and “part of an ethnic cleansing.” - Driver crashes truck into sanctuary of Texas church (KFDM)
Police in Lumberton, Texas, called in FBI assistance to investigate an incident in which a woman drove a pickup truck through the foyer and into the sanctuary of a Catholic church. Windows and pews in the church were damaged, and the driver was treated for minor injuries. Lumberton Police Chief Danny Sullins said that he did not believe the crash was accidental. - New Holy Land custos arrives in Jerusalem (Vatican News)
Father Francesco Ielpo, OFM, the new custos (custodian) of the Holy Land, arrived in Jerusalem following a visit to Syria and Lebanon. As head of the region’s Franciscan province, the custos is responsible for pastoral care at the Holy Land’s shrines, as well as in 17 schools and in the parishes entrusted to it by the Latin Patriarchate. Father Ielpo told Vatican News that he is simply asking the friars in province “that they be good friars. As their predecessors were, those who have preserved and ensured the Christian presence in the Holy Land for 800 years. With care for their neighbor, but always with their gaze fixed on Christ.” - Cardinal Parolin issues renewed call for end to Holy Land violence (Vatican News)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, issued a renewed call for an to violence in Gaza. Cardinal Parolin said that Christians and others who have died in attacks there “are the object of an unacceptable violence; all are victims of a conflict that must end as soon as possible.” “We take them all into our hearts, we truly feel them all present within us, and for all—for everyone—we implore the peace of God and, above all, through their sacrifice, their blood, we pray for the end of this tragedy,” he added. - HHS investigation demands 'transparency' in organ transplantation (CatholicVote)
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has called for “system-level changes to safeguard potential organ donors nationally” following reports that “hospitals allowed the organ-procurement process to begin when patients showed signs of life.” Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the HHS Secretary, said that an investigation of organ-procurement policies had produces “horrifying” results. Examining 351 cases in which organ donation had been authorized, the investigation found found 103 cases with “concerning features, ncluding 73 patients with neurological signs incompatible with organ donation.” - Algerian president meets with Pontiff (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV met on July 24 with President Abdelmagjid Tebboun of Algeria. A brief Vatican statement released after the meeting indicated that the conversation had touched on “the life of the Church in the country,” inter-religious dialogue, and broader geopolitical concerns. - Pakistani court orders investigation into misuse of nation's blasphemy laws (Fides)
The Islamabad High Court ordered Pakistan’s government to establish a commission to investigate the misuse of the nation’s anti-blasphemy laws, particularly by online extortionists. Khalil Tahir Sandhu, a Catholic attorney, said that “this directive offers hope to the affected families ... The blasphemy law in Pakistan, as it stands today, lends itself to being exploited and manipulated.” Islam is the official religion of the South Asian nation of 252 million (map), the fifth most populous in the world. 95% of Pakistan’s people are Muslim; 2% are Christian, and 1% are Hindu. The use of blasphemy laws has been part of the persecution of Christians there. - More...