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July 2019

July 14

Jesuits condemn rights violations in Honduras

July 14, 2019

The Jesuits of North America are calling out the government of Honduras for “the deterioration of the rule of law,” and backing up a condemnation of Honduras’ political class by the country’s conference of Catholic bishops.

God's Word on Sunday: God’s messengers come in many forms

July 14, 2019

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 21 (Year C) Genesis 18:1-10a; Psalm 15; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42 What does a messenger from God look like? Probably very ordinary — Scripture tells us that many have entertained angels without knowing it. There is no need for wings, harps and dazzling lights — after all, the word “angel” simply means messenger.

Religion has role in fighting loneliness

July 14, 2019

Religion can play a key role in reducing social isolation and loneliness, suggests a new Angus Reid Institute poll.

July 15

Deacon subdues attacker at abbey

July 15, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Deacon Jose Montoya stares in horror. What if the vicious surprise punch had hit an elderly monk instead of on his own face? Such a blow might have killed a frailer man. And what if the attacker had wielded a knife or a gun?

Missing bones found in Vatican investigation

July 15, 2019

VATICAN CITY (CNA) -- The Vatican has found two ossuaries believed to maybe belong to the German noblewomen whose tombs were found empty earlier this week.

Angelus: Judge your own heart first

July 15, 2019

VATICAN CITY -- Praying that Catholics would understand and act on "the inseparable bond" between love of God and love of neighbor, Pope Francis again appealed for a solution to the crisis in Venezuela.

Iraq would be caught in the middle of U.S.-Iran conflict, cardinal fears

July 15, 2019

DOHUK, Iraq -- Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Cardinal Louis Sako is concerned by rising tensions between the United States and Iran, fearful that his country, Iraq, could be caught in the middle of any potential conflict. It has also made a proposed visit by Pope Francis to Iraq next year uncertain, he said.

Unplanned enjoys success at Canadian box office

July 15, 2019

The braintrust behind the pro-life movie Unplanned say they are ecstatic with attendance figures from the 49 Canadian screens that showed the movie during its one-week run in Canadian theatres.

July 16

Detroit Catholics help save iconic church of their twin parish in Ontario

July 16, 2019

WINDSOR, Ontario -- Detroiters might soon notice a bronze glow on the horizon as they stare south across the Detroit River.

U.S. receives poor marks in Pew report on religious freedoms

July 16, 2019

WASHINGTON -- The Pew Research Center's annual report on restrictions on religion worldwide showed the United States had the worst scores in the Americas in three of the eight categories Pew surveyed.

Vatican City State set to end sale of single-use plastics

July 16, 2019

VATICAN CITY -- After current supplies run out, Vatican City State will no longer be selling any single-use plastic items on its tiny territory.

Monks saved manuscripts from Islamic militants in Iraq

July 16, 2019

BEIRUT -- The first time a band of Islamic State militants "visited" the monks, they presented the monks with a kind of suggestion, in a nonthreatening manner: "Why don't you become a Muslim?"

Global leaders address religious freedom at State Department

July 16, 2019

WASHINGTON -- The rabbi of a Pittsburgh Jewish community where 11 people were killed by a gunman in October told a worldwide meeting of religious freedom activists that only by rejecting racism and bigotry can violence in the name of religion be overcome.

July 17

Philippine bishops call for 'ecological conversion'

July 17, 2019

MANILA, Philippines -- Catholic bishops in the Philippines criticized "the continuing destruction of our common home" and called for "ecological conversion" amid "climate emergency."

Being curator of meteorites allows Jesuit to 'find God' in all things

July 17, 2019

HOUSTON -- At the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo near Rome, Jesuit Brother Robert Macke finds his work as the curator of meteorites for the Vatican Observatory -- formally founded in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII -- allows him to, as the Jesuit saying goes, "find God in all things."

Cardinal Müller releases statement criticizing Amazon synod document

July 17, 2019

VATICAN CITY (CNA) -- That the working document for October’s Synod of Bishops calls the Amazon region a source of revelation is a “false teaching,” Cardinal Gerhard Müller said Tuesday.

Report gives snapshot of efforts to protect religious freedom around globe

July 17, 2019

WASHINGTON -- In conjunction with the U.S. State Department's Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, the Religious Freedom Institute presented a side event July 15 to discuss current international religious freedom policy.

Full text of Cardinal Müller's analysis on the working document of the Amazon synod

July 17, 2019

VATICAN CITY (CNA) -- Cardinal Gerhard Müller, who was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2012 and 2017, presented an analysis with a series of objections and criticisms of the Instrumentum Laboris, or working document, of the Synod on the Amazon, to be held in Rome in October.

July 18

Pope Francis appoints new Vatican press office director

July 18, 2019

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis appointed Matteo Bruni to serve as director of the Vatican press office, replacing Alessandro Gisotti, who had been serving as interim director since Dec. 31.

Synod emphasizes church's mission to defend the vulnerable, cardinal says

July 18, 2019

VATICAN CITY -- The objective of the upcoming Synod of Bishops for the Amazon is to highlight the need for religious, political and social leaders to come together and defend the dignity of indigenous men, women and children and an ecosystem that is crucial to the environment, said Peruvian Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno of Huancayo.