Catholic News
- Report: At least 10 underground bishops have been consecrated in China since 2018 (Catholic World Report)
A Chinese bishop said that at least ten bishops have been secretly consecrated in China’s Fujian province since the 2018 Sino-Vatican provisional agreement on episcopal appointments. Anthony Clark, PhD, professor of Chinese History at Whitworth University, wrote: During an animated and candid discussion with a Chinese bishop who is unaffiliated with the Patriotic Association (anonymous to protect his well-being), our chat began with the “terrible things happening to Catholics in China, especially in Fujian.” After the 2018 Sino-Vatican agreement was codified between the Holy See and China’s government, Fujian experienced what the bishop has defined as “a state of emergency.” The faithful of the underground community have grown continually fearful that, as government influence over the bishops increases, “the integrity of the Catholic faith will suffer.” To “assure the survival of China’s Church,” new bishops have been “secretly consecrated.” The number is unknown, but he suggested that “at least ten new bishops” were ordained for the underground community there. This proliferation of surreptitious consecrations, the bishop informed me, represents only Fujian province; he did not discuss other areas of China. - Portugal's leading prelates meet with Pope (Agência ECCLESIA)
The president, vice president, and secretary of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference met with Pope Leo on August 27 for 35 minutes. “We expressed to the Holy Father our communion with the Church in all the dioceses of Portugal, our desire to stand with him and accompany him, and we also renewed the invitation we had previously extended to him to visit Portugal when it is opportune, as soon as possible,” said Bishop Virgilio do Nascimento Antunes of Coimbra, the president of the episcopal conference. “It was a very friendly, very fraternal, very brotherly dialogue.” - Pontiff, leading Argentine prelates discuss upcoming papal visit (Conferencia Episcopal Argentina)
The president and secretary-general of the Argentine Episcopal Conference met with Pope Leo XIV on August 27. “The meeting took place in a cordial and affable atmosphere and provided an opportunity to discuss various aspects of the life of the Church in Argentina, as well as to converse about preparations for the Holy Father’s visit to the country,” the bishops’ conference said in a statement. “During the audience, the Pope expressed his enthusiasm for the trip and demonstrated that he was well-informed about the various options currently under consideration for its organization,” the statement continued. “In this context, particular emphasis was placed on the desire for the visit to have an eminently pastoral character and to have an impact that extends beyond the days of the trip itself, bearing fruit for the life of the Church and also for Argentine society.” The Pontiff is scheduled to visit Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru in November; visits to Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Luján are planned in Argentina. - USCCB responds to proposed regulations on sponsors for unaccompanied immigrant minors (USCCB)
The general counsel of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops warned that the Trump administration’s proposed regulations on sponsors for unaccompanied immigrant minors could deter the reunification of families, particularly the reunification of minors with parents who are not present in the United States legally. “We fear, without guaranteeing adequate flexibility, that the Agency’s newly proposed sponsor requirements for proof of identity and proof of income could exclude otherwise eligible parents and relatives from sponsoring children, creating excessive barriers to reunification and unnecessarily prolonging children’s stays in government custody,” William J. Quinn wrote in an August 21 letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Quinn added: Under federal law, prospective sponsors may be noncitizens, including those without lawful immigration status—and this is as it should be, since “unaccompanied alien children,” by definition, are themselves noncitizens who lack lawful immigration status. Nevertheless, one’s immigration status can limit access to certain forms of identification, including many of the forms of identification enumerated in the proposed changes ... For instance, a driver’s license is one of the most common forms of identification, but only select states allow persons without lawful status to be issued licenses. - USCCB committee backs bipartisan Right to Worship Act (USCCB)
The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty thanked four members of Congress for introducing the Right to Worship Act. “Religious liberty is ‘Our First, Most Cherished Liberty,’ and people of faith should be able to attend religious services without fear of intimidation or harassment,” Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, wrote on August 26. “The Right to Worship Act will establish a zone of protection around houses of worship during religious services to prevent deliberate disruption of scheduled services.” The four members of Congress who introduced the legislation are Rep. Brad Knott (R-NC), Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). - Cardinal Sarah: Aversion to Latin, Gregorian chant will die with the generation of 1968 (Diane Montagna's Substack)
The prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said in an interview that aversion to Latin and Gregorian chant within some sectors of the Church will pass away with the generation of 1968. Nico Spuntoni asked Cardinal Robert Sarah, “Your Eminence, do you believe there is an aversion to Latin and Gregorian chant in certain parts of the Church?” Cardinal Sarah replied: It strikes me as an aversion confined to a few self-referential cultural circles—more a matter of psychology than of substance—and I think it’s simply a generational issue: once the ’68 generation has passed, these baseless, one-sided positions, which diminish the very cultural stature of Latin Catholicism, will pass with it. Cardinal Sarah also called for the repeal of Pope Francis’s restrictions on the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass. “Access to ritual forms recognized and in use for centuries can never be artificially restricted by decree,” he said. “If a rite ceased to serve the faith, it would die out on its own; but if it preserves and nurtures the faith, may we never limit it—because in doing so we would be restricting the preservation and spread of the faith itself.” - The Order of Saint Augustine: a numerical overview (CWN)
The Church today commemorates the memorial of St. Augustine (354-430), whose rule was adopted by Order of Saint Augustine, to which Pope Leo XIV belongs. - 1st Jewish president of a Catholic university discusses his work (Forward)
A synagogue president who has led Assumption University in Massachusetts since 2013 discussed his work as the first Jewish president of a Catholic university. “I never had any hesitation at all about whether being a Jewish president would work—quite the opposite,” Greg Weiner said in an interview. “The divide in society between people who do and don’t treat religion seriously is much wider than between particular religions.” - Father Reese discusses his hatred for traditional Latin Mass (RNS)
A prominent American Jesuit discussed “why I hate the old Latin Mass.” “The old Latin Mass is like a zombie,” said Father Thomas Reese, S.J., in an op-ed published by Religion News Service. “We thought it was dead, but it keeps coming back.” - Pope Leo: 'There is no better defense against drugs than a good family' (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV said today that “there is no better defense against drugs than a good family.” - Pope mourns victims of Nepal floods (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV today mourned the victims of devastating floods in Nepal and offered prayers for the deceased and for emergency personnel. - Cardinal Reina, French archbishop differ over Catholic funerals for Freemasons (CWN)
Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome and archpriest of the Lateran Basilica, halted a planned August 7 funeral Mass for a Freemason after the rector of the church where the Mass was scheduled learned of the deceased’s Masonic affiliation and asked Cardinal Reina how to proceed. - Pope pays tribute to Saints Monica, Augustine; recalls Blessed Wyszyński's Jasna Góra vows (CWN)
At the conclusion of his August 26 general audience, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to Saints Monica and Augustine. - Archbishop Gallagher in Moscow: The war must end (Vatican News)
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, visited Moscow and met with Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations. “The position of the Holy See is clear: the conflict [with Ukraine] cannot be resolved by military means,” Archbishop Gallagher said in Moscow. “It is urgent and necessary to end the hostilities and plan future relations so as not to remain prisoners of the wrongs of the pass.” - Fire destroys historic Canadian church; man charged with arson (CBC Radio-Canada)
A 68-year-old man was charged with arson after a fire destroyed the Catholic church in Saint-Simon, New Brunswick, in Canada. CBC Radio-Canada reported that the church was “believed to be the largest wooden church left in New Brunswick.” “This event has plunged us into deep sorrow,” said Bishop Michel Proulx, O. Praem., of Bathurst. “What an immeasurable loss! So many memories are tied to this beautiful wooden church: baptisms, weddings, funerals, and so many other significant events. Several generations of Christians celebrated their faith there, and it was the precious legacy of our ancestors.” - Ghana's bishops issue pastoral letter on relics in wake of Cardinal Parolin video (Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference )
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued a pastoral letter on the veneration of relics after a video of Cardinal Pietro Parolin crowning the skull of St. Agatha in Catania, Italy, disturbed some of the faithful. “We write because this video has troubled many of the faithful,” the bishops said in their letter, released yesterday. “For most, the discomfort was not merely at seeing a human skull handled and displayed; it brought to mind necromancy and occultism—the attempt to communicate with the dead, or to seek hidden supernatural power through ritual, outside the worship of God.” The bishops added: The crowning of St Agatha’s relic is an act of Christian veneration, not idolatry, and certainly not necromancy or occultism. To anyone asking what it means to crown the skull of St Agatha, the Catholic answer is this: the ceremony honors a woman who, by tradition, remained faithful to Christ rather than renounce her faith. The crown represents a martyr’s victory and heavenly reward; the relic recalls the person who lived that life; and the honor ultimately points to God, the source of her holiness. - Israeli man who attacked nun sent to psychiatric facility (EWTN News)
An Israeli man who attacked a French religious sister in Jerusalem this spring was acquitted because of mental illness and sent to a psychiatric facility for up to six years. Jerusalem Magistrate Court Judge Ophir Tischler ruled that the assailant could not be held responsible for the assault. - Tennessee diocese issues statement on Dolly Parton's passing (Diocese of Knoxville)
The Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, issued a statement on the passing of country music singer-songwriter Dolly Parton (1946-2026). “She first sang in a small Pentecostal church, long before the world knew her name,” the diocese said in its statement. “She never hid her faith. It showed up in the hymns she recorded across six decades, in how openly she talked about God.” “As Catholics, we entrust her to the mercy of Almighty God,” the statement continued. “We pray that Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life, will receive her into His eternal kingdom ... May God grant her eternal rest. May perpetual light shine upon her.” - Chicago's Father Pfleger cleared of abuse allegation, reinstated to ministry (Archdiocese of Chicago)
Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago announced the reinstatement of Father Michael Pfleger to ministry, a month after the activist priest was accused of abuse. “The Review Board has concluded there is no reason to believe Father Pfleger is guilty of this allegation,” said Cardinal Cupich. “After careful consideration I have accepted their conclusion and have reinstated Father Pfleger to ministry at St. Sabina, effective immediately.” - Vatican hosts meeting on drugs, criminal recruitment of youth (Vatican News)
The Pontifical Commission for Latin America helped organize a three-day conference devoted to “Faith-Based Response to Drugs and the Criminal Recruitment of Young People: A Dialogue from Latin America and the Caribbean to the World.” The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council’s Latin American Ministry for Accompaniment and Prevention of Addictions and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission also helped organize the meeting, which began on August 25 and concludes today. - More...