July 2026

Editorial

How great Thou art

July 23, 2026

The creative drive behind the multiple millions of artistic forms humanity has birthed since our ancestors first began painting cave walls is ultimately the Creator creating through us, His creations.

Humanity’s face remains the heart of history

Joseph Sinasac · July 23, 2026

Pope Leo XiV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, drew headlines and news coverage from around the world for its incisive critique of artificial intelligence and the sometimes-toxic social environment that gave it birth.

The lost art of the fast

Fasting helps us become one with Christ

Luke Mandato · July 23, 2026

As more Catholics find themselves in a culture increasingly promising mastery over the body, few traditional practices find themselves more countercultural than voluntarily depriving ourselves of our abundance, most commonly through fasting.

Rupnik's acquittal rumours 'completely unfounded'

Paulina Guzik · July 23, 2026

The Vatican has pushed back against reports that former Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik has been acquitted in his Vatican criminal trial.

Venezuelan bishops urge faithful to reject superstitious view of earthquakes

Junno Arocho Esteves · July 23, 2026

The bishops of Venezuela called on the faithful to reject the superstitious notion that the twin earthquakes that struck the country were a divine punishment.

Culture à la Carte

Women and men share sin’s bodily burden

Sr. Helena Burns · July 24, 2026

A friend recently asked in effect: “Why are only women designated as ‘virgins’ in the liturgical calendar? Isn’t it an important virtue and value for men as well?”

Pope Leo’s roots planted at Our Lady of the Cape

Quinton Amundson · July 24, 2026

Pope Leo XIV's rich multicultural heritage includes a remarkable ancestral bond with Canada's oldest Marian shrine: the miraculous Our Lady of the Cape in Trois-Rivières, Que.

Synod study group report on same-sex attraction continues to draw mixed reactions

Gina Christian · July 25, 2026

Weeks after the release of a synod study group report on controversial pastoral issues, experts have continued to express mixed opinions about the document's treatment of same-sex attraction.

A decade after Father Jacques Hamel's murder, his sister gives powerful witness to forgiveness

Caroline de Sury · July 25, 2026

Ten years after the killing of Father Jacques Hamel shocked France and the world, the Catholic Church in France is preparing to honour his memory with prayer and remembrance.

CRS receives State Department funds to 'significantly expand' humanitarian aid to Cuba

Gina Christian · July 25, 2026

Catholic Relief Services is welcoming federal support that will help "significantly expand" humanitarian aid to Cuba, as the Caribbean nation battles multiple crises.

Pope Leo quotes Bob Dylan song in book foreword calling for nuclear disarmament

Courtney Mares · July 25, 2026

Pope Leo XIV said the conscience of just one person can "be worth the entire world" when it comes to preventing a nuclear catastrophe, in a new book foreword that also quotes an unpublished Bob Dylan song about the atomic bomb.

Pope Leo appeals for just peace in Holy Land, Middle East

Linda Bordoni · July 27, 2026

Pope Leo XIV on July 26 renewed his urgent appeals for peace in the Holy Land and across the Middle East during his Angelus address in Castel Gandolfo, expressing deep concern over the escalating violence and calling for an immediate return to dialogue.

Apostolic nuncio to UAE and Yemen named Holy See's new permanent observer to UN

OSV News · July 27, 2026

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia el-Kassis, apostolic nuncio to the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, as the Holy See's new permanent observer to the United Nations in New York.

Christian oppression in Nigeria, Iran intensifies, report finds

Nigeria, Iran draw special focus of ICC in Global Persecution Index

Quinton Amundson · July 27, 2026

International Christian Concern’s (ICC) 2026 Global Persecution Index spotlights intensifying oppression and execution of Jesus’ disciples in Nigeria and Iran.

Pope Leo prays for victims of deadly wildfires in Spain, France

Junno Arocho Esteves · July 27, 2026

Pope Leo XIV offered prayers as firefighters continue to battle massive wildfires in Spain and France that have forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate from their homes.

Youth called to mission, not be 'couch potatoes,' Pope says

Courtney Mares · July 28, 2026

Pope Leo XIV urged young people not to be "couch potatoes" in a video message on July 25, adding that the Church needs their missionary energy and "holy rebelliousness."

Pope Leo appoints two US bishops as members of Vatican's highest court

Courtney Mares · July 28, 2026

Pope Leo XIV has named two American bishops as members of the Vatican's highest court, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

Medjugorje shrine targeted in overnight vandalism, altar fire

Junno Arocho Esteves · July 28, 2026

Police are investigating several acts of vandalism and desecration at the famed village of Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, where Marian apparitions are alleged to have occurred since 1981.

New York Catholics cite Canadian experience in fighting MAiD

Kimberley Heatherington · July 29, 2026

The bright orange and white signs told the story of the protesters holding them outside the United Nations: "We deserve care — not suicide."

Polish suspect in Medjugorje vandalism detained

Katarzyna Szalajko · July 29, 2026

Locals in Bosnia and Herzegovina's famed Marian shrine Medjugorje began cleaning a vandalized statue of the Virgin Mary and repairing a burned outdoor altar, as police detained a Polish suspect and calls grew to avoid online attacks against the troubled man.