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More than 28,600 young adults from 1,300 US groups are headed to Lisbon, Portugal, for World Youth Day next week. The pilgrims number more than twice the amount of U.S. attendees who went to the 2019 World Youth Day in Panama, according to numbers from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The celebration in Panama took place in January. The last World Youth Day celebration to take place in the summer was when it was held in 2016 in Krakow, Poland, when more than 40,000 Americans were registered to attend. World Youth Day, a global event for young people that takes place about every three years, offers a deeper encounter with Jesus Christ through liturgical celebrations, networking, faith sharing, catechetical sessions, and prayer with the Holy Father. Established by Pope John Paul II in 1985, the weeklong World Youth Day celebrations usually attract hundreds of thousands of young people from across the globe.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254884/here-s-how-many-american-pilgrims-are-headed-to-world-youth-day-in-lisbon

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City responded to Oklahoma’s execution of convicted murderer Jemaine Cannon with a call for the abolition of the death penalty, which he called an “archaic punishment.” Coakley also called for prayers for the condemned man, his victim, and their families. Cannon, 51, was executed by lethal injection on Thursday morning at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, about a 130-mile drive from Oklahoma City. He was sentenced to die for the 1995 murder of a Tulsa woman. Coakley called for prayers. “Please join me in praying for the soul of Sharonda Clark, her family, Jemaine Cannon, his family, and the corrections staff involved in carrying out the execution,” he said.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254881/after-latest-oklahoma-execution-archbishop-coakley-calls-for-death-penalty-abolition

Today, the Church celebrates Saint James the Apostle, the brother of John the Evangelist, and the first Apostle to be martyred. He was beheaded by order of Herod of Agrippa. The Gospels tell us that the two brothers left their father, Zebedee, and followed Jesus as soon as He called out to them. James was one of the three Apostles who were particularly close to the Lord. He was there with the Lord and his brother, John, and Peter at the Transfiguration and in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is known as James "the Greater" to distinguish him from the other Apostle by the same name. He is the patron saint of Spain and of pilgrims. In northwestern Spain, he is venerated at Santiago de Compostela, a mediaeval pilgrimage site that is still very popular today.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-james-547

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Calling for “a new bond between the young and old,” Pope Francis marked the third annual World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly with an intergenerational Mass Sunday in Saint Peter’s Basilica. Old age is a “blessed time,” the pope affirmed in his homily, “for it is the season to be reconciled, a time for looking tenderly at the light that has shone despite the shadows, confident in the hope that the good wheat sown by God will prevail over the weeds with which the devil has wanted to plague our hearts.” Sunday marked the first time Pope Francis presided over the special papal Mass since initiating the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly in 2021. The celebration is now held on the fourth Sunday of July — the Sunday closest to the July 26 feast of Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. Joining some 6,000 grandparents and older people at the liturgy were young people bound for World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, which begins August 1.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254873/pope-francis-celebrates-world-day-of-grandparents-and-the-elderly

Pope Francis met with Doctor Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, this morning in a private Vatican audience, the Holy See’s press office announced. No additional details were provided regarding the meeting. Containment of the COVID-19 outbreak had been a major focal point of WHO, the health agency of the United Nations, over the past three years. The Holy See donated to WHO’s emergency fund for medics on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254876/pope-meets-with-head-of-world-health-organization

The Vatican has commissioned a new investigation of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (Sodality of Christian Life), a lay society of apostolic life founded in Peru. The investigation will be led by Archbishop Charles Scicluna, assistant secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and an expert on sexual abuse, the Peruvian newspaper La República reported on July 20. Scicluna will be accompanied by Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, an official of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The visit could begin Tuesday, July 25, according to the report. The Crux news outlet also reported on July 21 that a Vatican inquiry was underway. Founded in 1971 by the Peruvian layman Luis Fernando Figari, and with pontifical approval since 1997, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) has been involved in various accusations of sexual abuse and and the abuse of power.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254872/vatican-to-send-abuse-expert-to-investigate-sodalitium-christianae-vitae-in-peru

Today, the Church celebrates Pope Saint Leo IV. He was the first to enclose the Vatican hill by a wall. He was buried in Saint Peter's on July 17, 855. He is credited with being a worker of miracles.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-leo-iv-304

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The US House of Representatives passed two amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Thursday evening mandating the military stop its programs paying for abortion travel and transgender surgeries for service members. Under a policy laid out by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the military has been granting paid leave and subsidizing service members’ travel to obtain abortions. Transgender and gender-identity treatments and surgeries also have been subsidized by the military under the Biden administration. Two amendments passed by the House Thursday evening would undo those military policies. The NDAA is an annual must-pass spending package that sets the military’s budget for the next fiscal year. Both the House and Senate advance their own versions of the package, which must be reconciled with each other and then signed by the president.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254797/house-passes-amendments-ending-military-spending-on-abortion-travel-transgender-surgeries

Following failed negotiations with the regime of Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega to free the persecuted Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, the US bishops have called for the imprisoned prelate’s release. Álvarez, who in February was sentenced to 26 years in prison after declining exile to the United States, was convicted of treason, undermining national integrity, and spreading false news. In addition to his jail sentence, Álvarez was stripped of his citizenship and fined. His imprisonment came after his outspoken criticism of Ortega’s dictatorial policies and religious persecution. The government has committed egregious religious freedom abuses in the country including detaining and expelling priests from the country, denying them reentry, hindering the services of Church-affiliated organizations, targeting Catholic educational institutions, and removing Catholic television and radio stations from the air.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254788/us-bishops-call-for-release-of-nicaraguan-bishop-alvarez

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be canonized. Known as the "Lily of the Mohawks," Kateri lived a life of holiness and virtue, despite obstacles and opposition within her tribe. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980, and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 21, 2012.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-kateri-tekakwitha-521

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Authorities have arrested a suspect in the murder last week of a teacher from Kentucky on the campus of The Catholic University of America. On July 5, 25-year-old Maxwell Emerson was shot and killed on the university’s Washington DC campus. The DC Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement this week that it had made an arrest in the case, apprehending 22-year-old DC resident Jaime Maceo and charging him with first-degree murder. Police reportedly identified Maceo from security camera footage showing the altercation that led to Emerson’s death.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254784/arrest-made-in-murder-of-kentucky-teacher-on-catholic-university-of-america-campus

A new national survey shows students in the United States are still struggling to make up learning loss experienced over the course of the COVID-19 crisis. The report this week from NWEA examined test scores from nearly 7 million elementary and middle school students in about 20,000 public schools around the US. The researchers found that “achievement gains in 2022–23 lagged pre-pandemic trends” in nearly all surveyed students, with numbers “falling short of pre-pandemic averages by 1–19% in reading and by 6–15% in math.” The NWEA noted that the decline was sharper than what was observed in 2021-2022. Reading in upper-level grades suffered the most, the researchers said. Overall, the average student at the end of the school year required over four months of additional schooling in both math and reading to come up to grade level, the report said.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254776/national-data-shows-us-students-still-stalled-after-pandemic

A former Jesuit priest has pleaded guilty to sex crimes committed in and around New Orleans, in which he was charged with drugging and raping 17 adult male victims, many of whom were visiting the popular tourist area. Detectives also believe that there are more than 50 victims who remain unidentified. Stephen Sauer, who reportedly left the Jesuit order by his own request in 2020, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on July 7 in front of a Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, judge. He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and is barred from contacting 12 of the victims for life.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254778/catholic-church-is-most-credible-institution-in-nicaragua-cid-gallup-poll-finds

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Henry II, a German king who led and defended Europe's Holy Roman Empire at the beginning of the first millennium.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-henry-ii-520

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Pope Francis has named Dominican Father Steven Maekawa, a former active duty military chaplain, as the next bishop of Fairbanks, Alaska. The Vatican announced the appointment on July 11. Maekawa will take on the role of leading a diocese that spans more than 400,000 square miles, the largest diocese in the United States geographically. The 55-year-old Dominican friar has been based in Alaska since 2016, serving as the pastor of Holy Family Old Cathedral in Anchorage. Maekawa was awarded a special medal in active duty for his work as a military chaplain in the U.S. Navy Reserve, serving a tour of duty with ground troops in Afghanistan in 2004. In Fairbanks, Maekawa will succeed Bishop Chad Zielinski, whom Pope Francis appointed as the bishop of New Ulm, Minnesota, last year. The Diocese of Fairbanks has 46 Catholic parishes, only nine of which can be reached by car. The new bishop will need to use a bush plane to reach some remote Catholic parishes, including in native Yup’ik, Cup’ik, and Inupiat communities.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254770/pope-francis-names-dominican-priest-and-former-military-chaplain-as-alaska-s-next-bishop

A law to shield churches from discriminatory state regulation is officially in effect in Virginia, offering state residents what the bill’s sponsor called a “spectacular win” for religious freedom in the state.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254769/new-virginia-law-offers-churches-additional-protections-against-being-shut-down

A little boy who managed to get past the crowd control barrier at World Youth Day (WYD) in Rio de Janeiro in 2013 to give an emotional embrace to Pope Francis is now a seminarian preparing for the priesthood.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254774/boy-who-got-past-security-barrier-to-embrace-pope-francis-at-wyd-2013-is-now-a-seminarian

Today, the Church celebrates Saint John Gualbert. Born wealthy in the tenth century and growing up in a life of frivolity, John experienced a powerful conversion when he had a vision of Christ on the Cross, leading him to forgive his brother’s murderer. On a plot of land east of Florence called Vallombrosa, together with men who were equally committed to a more austere and stricter following of the Rule of St. Benedict, he founded a humble monastery devoted to contemplation and prayer and care of the poor and sick. The Vallombrosan Benedictines still exist today, mainly in the region of Tuscany and Lombardy, and number a handful of monasteries.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-john-gualbert-299

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Arrests were made Saturday in two separate vandalism incidents at Catholic churches in the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. At Resurrection Church in Brooklyn, a white marble statue of the Blessed Mother was spray-painted with black graffiti on her face, shoulders, and hands. The word “fake” was written on the statue as well as what appears to be an upside-down cross. Jonathan Bulik, 37, of Brooklyn, was charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime in connection with the attack. He was seen spray-painting the statue by two parishioners who stopped him in the act on Saturday. Another incident occurred on Saturday at Saint Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Astoria by the same man who allegedly desecrated the church in early June.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254762/two-arrests-made-in-vandalism-incidents-at-catholic-churches-in-brooklyn-diocese?utm_campaign=CNA%20Daily&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=265845133&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_HLd5-E7W1nVumuq-rbaaoWSkFUjLy7WrrSGkopnDVIprGrVA_g0L9pKSNWKnDRJuYJ2hHpNGR_Uj9KzC-nN7IhHWYIQ&utm_content=265845133&utm_source=hs_email

The US bishops have reaffirmed the importance of education access for marginalized racial groups after the US Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in higher education. “Education is a gift, an opportunity, and an important aspect of our democracy that is not always within the reach of all, especially racial and ethnic groups who find themselves on the margins,” Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Perry of Chicago, chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, said in a July 7 statement. “It is our hope that our Catholic institutions of higher learning will continue to find ways to make education possible and affordable for everyone, regardless of their background.” The June 29 U.S. Supreme Court decision Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard concerned the affirmative action programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. However, the decision will impact all universities across the country, including Catholic institutions.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254761/catholic-higher-ed-still-open-to-all-bishops-say-after-supreme-court-blocks-affirmative-action?utm_campaign=CNA%20Daily&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=265845133&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8t08I29Egf6ED8mMvGTiBrcVa0aKIx296ryjUGIjRfs8kWJcqKV_uaR8GT8ZrWuo2umVBRMrUoABgzQCn7yWf5p7S_Xg&utm_content=265845133&utm_source=hs_email

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Benedict, of Nursia, the sixth-century abbot who gave Christian monasticism its lasting foundation in Western Europe. For his historic role as the “Father of Western Monasticism,” Saint Benedict was declared a co-patron of Europe (along with Saints Cyril and Methodius).

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-benedict-537

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Pope Francis said on Sunday that he will create 21 new cardinals, including the Vatican’s recently appointed doctrinal chief Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, at a consistory on September 30. The 86-year-old pope made the announcement from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square after reciting the Angelus prayer on July 9. A few of the notable names on the list include Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the US; Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; and Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, Bishop of Hong Kong. Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has created 121 cardinals from 66 countries at eight consistories. The last consistory to create new cardinals took place on August 27, 2022. The new cardinals included Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego and Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. For the complete list of new Cardinals, visit catholic news agency dot com.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254759/pope-francis-names-21-new-cardinals-including-archbishop-fernandez

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Amalberga. Born in Brabant, Belgium in the seventh century, she and her husband ultimately withdrew from the world; he becoming a monk, and she a nun. She became the mother of three saints: Gudila, Reinelda, and Emembertus.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-amalberga-297

Thank you for listening to Catholic News. This podcast will take two brief summer breaks to allow the producers to go on vacation. The first break will be from today until May 15. The second will be for one week in July. As always, the latest news will be available at CatholicNewsAgency.com. God bless you.

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

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Pope Francis on Sunday warned against the danger of living life without a sense of purpose or a destination to set our course by, reminding the faithful that Jesus is “our compass for reaching heaven,” our true home. Speaking to pilgrims gathered on a sunny day in Saint Peter’s Square to pray the Regina Caeli, the pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading, in which Jesus consoles his disciples before his ascension, telling them, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” John 14:6. “Jesus uses the familiar image of home, the place of relationships and intimacy. In the Father’s house — he says to his friends, and to each one of us — there is space for you, you are welcome, you will always be received with the warmth of an embrace, and I am in heaven to prepare a place for you!” Pope Francis said that keeping in mind “where life is headed” is the way to get through the experiences of “fatigue, bewilderment, and even failure.” When we lose sight of what makes “life worth living for,” he said, we “compress our life into the present,” the pope said. We merely seek maximum enjoyment and “end up living day by day, without purpose, without a goal.” “Our homeland, instead, is in heaven; let us not forget the greatness and the beauty of our destination!” he urged.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254258/pope-francis-jesus-calls-us-to-set-our-sights-on-heaven

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Peter of Tarantaise, a Cistercian monk who reluctantly became Archbishop of Tarantaise in France. On his accession to the episcopacy, he reformed the diocese and set about providing education and distributing food to the poor, a tradition called the "May Bread,” which lasted until the French Revolution in 1789. He performed many miraculous healings during that time.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-peter-of-tarantaise-bishop-470

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Pope Francis has sent a video message to the teens and young adults preparing to attend World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, in August. World Youth Day was established by Pope John Paul II in 1985. The weeklong gathering usually attracts hundreds of thousands of young people. Pope Francis announced that the Portuguese capital would host the global Catholic gathering of young people at the closing Mass of the last international World Youth Day in Panama City in January 2019. In his video message, Pope Francis also shared “a secret” to preparing well for World Youth Day. “To prepare well, it’s good to look towards your roots,” he said, encouraging young people to spend time with the elderly before the gathering. “Many of you have grandparents. Visit your grandparents and ask them: ‘In your time did World Youth Day exist?’ — Surely not. ‘And what do you think I must do?’ Talk a little with your grandparents. They’ll give you wisdom.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254237/see-you-in-lisbon-pope-francis-shares-message-3-months-before-world-youth-day-2023

The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, will represent Pope Francis at the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, May 6. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced Parolin’s attendance on Thursday. Parolin will be in attendance with other high-ranking guests, including world leaders, representatives of European monarchies, and royal families from around the world. The presence of other crowned royals at the ceremony is a break from royal tradition, British press reported. Approximately 2,200 people have been invited to the crowning.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254236/vatican-to-send-representative-of-pope-francis-to-british-coronation-ceremony

A Catholic hospital system in Oklahoma is contesting federal officials’ demand that it must extinguish an enclosed tabernacle candle in its chapel or lose accreditation and its ability to serve needy patients. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ordered Saint Francis Health System in Oklahoma to snuff out the candle after one of its contractors responsible for accrediting hospitals deemed it a fire hazard. Saint Francis Health System has five hospitals in eastern Oklahoma. It treats almost 400,000 patients per year and has provided over $650 million in free medical care over the last five years.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254239/hhs-orders-catholic-hospital-to-snuff-out-chapel-candle-or-lose-its-accreditation

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Hilary of Arles, a fifth-century bishop who gave up wealth and privilege in favor of austerity and sacrifice for the sake of the Church.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-hilary-of-arles-701

The Church also celebrates Blessed Edmund Rice, an Irish businessman who was so moved by the plight of children in the port city where he worked that he founded schools and eventually a religious order to serve them.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/blessed-edmund-rice-467