Catholic News

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The regime of President Daniel Ortega has ordered police in Nicaragua to launch an investigation into the Catholic bishop of Matagalpa, who they have detained for allegedly trying to "organize violent groups" to destabilize the government. Bishop Rolando José Álvarez, who was placed under house arrest and threatened with prison, has been openly critical of the abuses and human rights violations being committed by the Sandinista regime. In a press release published Aug. 5, the Nicaraguan national police accused high-ranking leaders of the Catholic Church in Matagalpa, and Álvarez in particular, of “using the communications media and social media” to try to “organize violent groups, inciting them to carry out acts of hatred against the population, creating an atmosphere of anxiety and disorder, disturbing the peace and harmony of the community.” Such actions have the "purpose of destabilizing the State of Nicaragua and attacking the constitutional authorities," the police continue. The Ortega regime’s police force announced they have already started an investigation “in order to determine the criminal responsibility of the people involved.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251993/nicaraguan-police-place-catholic-bishop-priests-under-house-arrest

A gunman shot at a Denver-area Catholic church, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in separate early morning incidents Saturday and Monday. No one was hurt, but one estimate suggests the gunshots caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Parish staff stressed the need to pray for the perpetrator and emphasized that they are taking the utmost security precautions. Two separate rounds of gunshots hit the parish church in unincorporated Adams County just north of Denver. The Adams County Sheriff's Office is handling the investigation. The parish church is on the same property as Assumption School, which serves about 130 students in pre-K through eighth grade. The shooting has not affected the school, as the school year has not yet begun.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251996/gunshots-target-denver-area-catholic-church

The same day last week that Indiana adopted an abortion ban with limited exceptions, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law another measure the state’s Catholic conference says has the potential to help families. Known as SB2, the legislation, which received broad bipartisan support, provides for a tax exemption for an adopted child, cuts the state’s tax on children’s diapers, caps the gas tax, and increases the adoption tax credit, the Indy Star reported. It also creates a $45 million fund for a variety of family-related programs and initiatives, the Criterion, the newspaper of the Indianapolis Archdiocese, reported. The legislation was overshadowed by the sweeping abortion ban Holcomb signed into law the same day, Aug. 5. The law represents the first state abortion ban passed in the US following the June 24 US Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v Wade, giving states the authority to regulate abortion.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251995/indiana-abortion-ban-overshadows-another-pro-family-law

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also known as Saint Edith Stein. Saint Teresa converted from Judaism to Catholicism in the course of her work as a philosopher, and later entered the Carmelite Order. She died in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz in 1942.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-teresa-benedicta-of-the-cross-edith-stein-557

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Twelve Polish pilgrims bound for Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina were killed Saturday when their bus crashed into a ditch, authorities said. Another 31 people were injured, some critically. The accident happened at around 5:40 a.m. local time when the bus veered off the A4 road between Jarek Bisaski and Podvorec, northeast of Zagreb, Croatia. The pilgrims included three priests and six nuns, the BBC reported. The news agency said the trip to Medjugorje, the site of alleged apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was organized by the Brotherhood of Saint Joseph Catholic group.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251987/13-polish-pilgrims-bound-for-medjugorje-killed-in-bus-crash

Archie Battersbee, the 12-year-old British boy whose family waged an unsuccessful legal fight to stop his doctors from disconnecting him from a ventilator, died Saturday. Archie had been in a coma on a ventilator since April when he was found unconscious with a ligature around his neck. His family argued that Archie needed more time to recover to whatever extent possible. But a High Court judge said the evidence that Battersbee was alive was unconvincing. She ordered that doctors remove the boy from the ventilator, saying the available medical evidence showed that Archie was brain dead as of May 31. An appeals court subsequently upheld the decision. Catholic bioethics experts condemned the decision by the hospital to take Archie off of life support.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251988/archie-battersbee-12-dies-after-being-removed-from-life-support

An unborn baby is now recognized as a dependent who will qualify expectant parents for a $3,000 deduction in Georgia tax rules, under the same law which bans abortion based on a detectible fetal heartbeat. Georgia’s Department of Revenue issued new guidance stating that “any unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat” is eligible for Georgia’s individual income tax dependent exemption. Georgia’s 2019 law banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detectible recognizes the unborn child as a “natural person.” The same law which allows expectant parents to claim their baby as a dependent also requires a father to pay child support for “direct medical and pregnancy-related expenses” for an unborn child.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251984/unborn-babies-are-tax-exempt-under-georgia-s-heartbeat-based-abortion-law

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Dominic Guzman, who helped the cause of orthodoxy in the medieval Church by founding the Order of Preachers, also known as Dominicans. In 1214, Dominic's extreme physical asceticism caused him to fall into a coma, during which the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to him and instructed him to promote the prayer of the Rosary.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-dominic-556

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The Vatican announced Thursday that Pope Francis has appointed a “personal health care assistant.” Pope Francis has selected Massimiliano Strappetti, a Vatican nurse whom the pope has credited with saving his life, to provide additional assistance as the 85-year-old pope faces mobility problems.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251958/pope-francis-appoints-nurse-as-his-personal-health-care-assistant

Pope Francis has asked the Catholic Church to pray for small businesses during the month of August. “As a consequence of the pandemic and the wars, the world is facing a grave socio-economic crisis,” the pope said in a video message released Aug. 2. “And among those most affected are small and medium-sized businesses.” “With courage, with effort, with sacrifice, they invest in life, creating wellbeing, opportunities, and work,” Pope Francis said. “Let us pray for small and medium-sized businesses, hard hit by the economic and social crisis, so that they may find ways to continue operating, and serving their communities,” he concluded.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251965/this-is-pope-francis-prayer-intention-for-august-2022

The tragic death of Republican Representative Jackie Walorski and her two staff members, Emma Thomson and Zachery Potts, in a car accident Wednesday afternoon has left many in the nation’s capital mourning the loss of the Indiana congresswoman, known for her kindness and service to her country. Walorski leaves behind a legacy of devotion to the unborn, evident in both her record as a lawmaker and personal efforts to help the most vulnerable. Walorski had a strong pro-life voting record, receiving an A+ rating from Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America. She consistently opposed attempts to spend federal money on abortions both at home and abroad and sought to protect the conscience rights of health care providers. She also advocated on behalf of dignity for victims of abortion.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251961/rep-jackie-walorski-killed-car-accident-pro-life

A prominent Chicago church that is home to a Traditional Latin Mass religious institute announced the end of all public Masses, as of last Sunday. The Shrine of Christ the King, in the Woodlawn neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, forms the U.S. headquarters of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. The institute is a society of apostolic life that celebrates the traditional form of the Roman rite, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass. Among the guidelines of the Archdiocese of Chicago are a prohibition of the celebration of Traditional Latin Masses on the first Sunday of every month, Christmas, the Triduum, Easter Sunday, and Pentecost.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251967/public-masses-suspended-at-chicagos-shrine-of-christ-the-king

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Emygdius, a very successful second-century missionary to Trier, Germany. When he began to smash pagan idols, the non-converts revolted, and he had to flee to Rome for safety. When he returned to his mission, he was martyred by pagans before he could convert anyone else. He is the patron saint against earthquakes.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-emygdius-323

The Church also celebrates Blessed Frederic Janssoone. His greatest desire and prayer was to help others come closer to God. His ministry as a Franciscan help him to do that, and took him to many places, from Europe, to the Holy Land and then to North America, where he died. Pope Saint John Paul II beatified Frederic in 1988.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/blessed-frederic-janssoone-554

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The defeat of a proposed pro-life amendment in Kansas is in large part due to confusion and fear-mongering in the wake of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, one leading supporter on the ground has said. Kansas voters defeated the Value Them Both amendment by about 59% to 41% in the Aug. 2 referendum. The proposed amendment would have allowed restrictions on abortion to the extent allowed by the US Constitution. It was a response to a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision that ruled that a woman has a right to an abortion under the state constitution. Kansas will now have an increasingly large role as a destination for abortions, which means parishes and pregnancy crisis centers need to be prepared to provide alternatives to “meet the needs of these women that are going to be bussed in and flown into Kansas for abortions.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251955/post-roe-confusion-helped-defeat-kansas-pro-life-amendment

Vin Scully, who commentated on Los Angeles Dodgers baseball games for more than two-thirds of a century, died Tuesday at his home at the age of 94. A gifted orator and storyteller who was dubbed a “poet-philosopher of baseball,” Scully deftly narrated numerous momentous events in baseball during his 67 seasons as a broadcaster. Scully was a devout Catholic who found in his faith a source of joy and comfort and sought to share it with others through personal kindness and philanthropy. In 2016, Scully — a devotee of the Virgin Mary — created a two-CD audio recording of the rosary. The sales benefitted the outreach organization Catholic Athletes for Christ, which ministers to high school students. Ultimately, Scully credited God’s providence for his longevity and popularity as a broadcaster.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251950/vin-scully-legendary-baseball-announcer-and-committed-catholic-dies-at-94

Today, the Church celebrates Saint John Vianney, patron of priests. As a parish priest in 19th century France, he prayed and worked for the conversion of his parishioners. Although he saw himself as unworthy of his mission as pastor, he allowed himself to be consumed by the love of God as he served the people. His reputation as a confessor grew rapidly, and pilgrims traveled from all over France to come to him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Firmly committed to the conversion of the people, he would spend up to 16 hours a day in the confessional.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-john-mary-vianney-322

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Kansas citizens rejected a pro-life amendment — known as the “Value Them Both” amendment — during their state’s primary election Tuesday. The referendum represented the first major statewide vote on abortion following the overturning of Roe v Wade. The amendment needed a simple majority to pass. It would have reversed the Kansas Supreme Court’s 2019 ruling that the state’s constitution protects a woman’s right to abortion. Currently, state lawmakers are, in most cases, prohibited from passing any type of abortion restriction. The amendment would have enabled state lawmakers to pass legislation to regulate or restrict abortion, and did not propose a total ban on abortion.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251946/kansas-abortion-vote-pro-life-amendment-fails-in-first-post-roe-vote

Pope Francis said Wednesday that Canada is in the process of “writing a new page” in the relationship between the Catholic Church and indigenous peoples. Speaking during his general audience in Vatican City on August 3, the pope said that his pastoral visit to Canada last week was “a different journey” from the other 36 international trips of his pontificate. The pope told the crowd that his main motivation for the trip to Canada was to be close to the indigenous peoples and "to ask for forgiveness … for the harm done to them by those Christians, including many Catholics, who in the past collaborated in the forced assimilation and enfranchisement policies of the governments of the time.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251947/pope-francis-canada-is-writing-a-new-page-in-church-s-relationship-with-indigenous-peoples

The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Idaho, seeking to block the state’s trigger law which will ban abortions — with a few exceptions — beginning August 25. Announcing the lawsuit in an August 2 press conference, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the DOJ is suing the state because of a supposed conflict with a federal law that requires hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment to a person experiencing a medical emergency, regardless of their ability to pay. The lawsuit is the first legal challenge brought by the federal government against a state abortion restriction since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June, returning the question of abortion policy to the states. Garland asserted that Idaho's law will prevent doctors from performing abortions when the mother's life is at risk, despite the Idaho’s law providing an exception to the ban if the abortion was, in the physician’s judgement, “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.” The DOJ is seeking to block Idaho’s law from taking effect.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251944/us-department-of-justice-challenges-idaho-abortion-ban-in-court

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Nicodemus, a secret disciple of Jesus. As a member of the Sanhedrin, he would meet Jesus by night so that the others would not see him with Jesus. Eventually, it was Nicodemus who reminded the Sanhedrin that Jesus had the right to a trial. Together with Saint Joseph of Arimathea, he prepared Jesus' body and placed him in the tomb. Tradition holds that Saint Nicodemus was martyred, though no record remains.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-nicodemus-552

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Amid record flooding in Kentucky that has left at least 30 people dead, Catholic Charities of Lexington is collaborating with other Christian churches as well as Catholic Charities USA to provide aid to those affected. The flooding began with heavy rains on July 27, leading to widespread flooding across at least five eastern Kentucky counties by the weekend. At least 18,000 people remained without power Monday, and reports suggest that entire towns — many of which are in already impoverished areas — have been inundated. The Catholic churches in the diocese have a strong collaborative partnership with other Christian communities, since at only 3% to 4% of the population, the majority of the people in eastern Kentucky are not Catholic, especially in the countryside. He said the Catholic communities in rural Kentucky have been working to provide what aid they can for the poor and needy. The Catholic Charities office in Lexington has been in close contact with Catholic Charities USA, working to coordinate national relief efforts.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251933/kentucky-catholic-charities-coordinates-national-aid-amid-devastating-floods

Voters in Kansas are set to decide Tuesday on an amendment to the state constitution which would reverse an earlier state supreme court decision, and exclude a right to abortion in the state. It marks the first statewide vote on abortion in the United States since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June. The amendment would not ban abortion, but instead, it empowers state lawmakers to regulate abortion as they see fit. Pro-life volunteers in Kansas have been going door to door canvasing for the amendment ahead of today’s vote.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251928/kansas-pro-lifers-counter-misinformation-on-value-them-both-amendment

Lawmakers in the Australian Parliament have proposed a bill to allow two of Australia’s ten territories to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, following the legalization of the practices in all six Australian states despite vocal Catholic opposition. Australia has six states and ten territories, though the lawmaking abilities of the latter can be restricted by the federal parliament. If the proposed bill passes, the legislation would allow the legislatures of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, which its backers characterize as “assisted dying.” In 1995, the Australian Capital Territory was the first place in the world to legalize voluntary assisted suicide, leading to four deaths by suicide.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251935/australian-bill-would-allow-legalization-of-assisted-suicide-euthanasia-in-territories

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Peter Julian Eymard, who helped many Catholics, both clergy and laypeople, to rediscover the importance of the Eucharist. He is also considered a pioneer in involving laypeople more actively in the life of the Church. In 1851, he answered a call to establish a community of men dedicated to Eucharistic Adoration, called the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. Its mission was to promote the importance and significance of the Eucharist. The congregation also worked with the poor and helped them to prepare for first Communion.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-peter-julian-eymard-551

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Plans are now set for Pope Francis to visit Kazakhstan in September for an interreligious meeting. Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced in April that a papal visit was possible. In his meeting with the media on his return flight from Canada Saturday, Pope Francis confirmed his intention to travel to the Central Asian country from September 13th to 15th, saying, “That wouldn’t be too rigorous a journey.” In Kazakhstan, there are five Catholic dioceses and approximately 250,000 Latin Rite Catholics, according to 2008 statistics, making up a small minority of its population of 18 million people. The first pope to travel to Kazakhstan was Pope Saint John Paul II, who visited the country, together with Armenia, in September 2001.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251927/pope-francis-to-visit-kazakhstan-in-september

Thirteen parishes in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, must stop offering Traditional Latin Masses on September 8 under new rules issued Friday by Bishop Michael Burbidge to conform with Pope Francis' liturgical directives. Under the rules, eight other parishes may continue to offer Masses in what is called the Extraordinary Form, but five of those may only do so in other locations besides their churches, including school buildings and a former church. Moreover, none of the eight parishes may publish the times of their Latin Masses in their bulletins, parish websites, or social media channels, in conformity with the Vatican's requirements. Three parishes in the 70-parish diocese may continue to host Latin Masses in their churches. They are: Saint Anthony Mission in King George, Saint Rita Church in Alexandria, and Saint John the Beloved in McLean.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251924/arlington-bishop-restricts-traditional-latin-masses

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Alphonsus Liguori, a doctor of the Church who is widely known for his contribution to moral theology and his great kindness. In 1732, he founded the Redemptorists, a preaching order. He was a great moral theologian and his famous book, “Moral Theology,” was published in 1748.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-alphonsus-liguori-550

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Today marks the last day of Pope Francis' visit to Canada. He will be meeting with members of the Society of Jesus and a delegation of indigenous peoples in Québec. From there, he will fly to Iqaluit, where he will meet with students of former residential schools, young people, and elders, and attend a farewell ceremony. Home to only 7,740 people, Iqaluit is the capital — and only city — of Nunavut, Canada’s northernmost and most sparsely populated territory. The first Catholic mission in Nunavut was founded by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Chesterfield Inlet in 1912. There is one Catholic parish in Iqaluit: Our Lady of the Assumption. According to the pastor, Father Daniel Perreault, only a handful of his parishioners are Inuit. The rest are from different countries on at least five different continents. His parish serves more than 100 people at Mass each Sunday.

Today, the Church celebrates Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. n the gospel of Luke, Martha receives Jesus into her home and worries herself with serving Him, a worry that her sister Mary, who sat beside the Lord's feet "listening to Him speak," doesn't share. Her complaint that her sister is not helping her serve draws a reply from the Lord who says to her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." The overanxiousness she displays in serving is put into the right context by Jesus who emphasizes the importance of contemplating Him before all things.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-martha-528

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Pope Francis concluded his second full day in Canada with a visit to Lac Ste. Anne, the site of one of Canada’s most famous Catholic pilgrimages and a place of spiritual significance for the nation’s indigenous people. The pope celebrated a Liturgy of the Word at the Shrine of Ste. Anne, with a crowd of mostly indigenous people in attendance, estimated at around 10,000. The large, shallow, and muddy lake — about an hour’s drive from Edmonton — has been revered as a place of spiritual significance, and of healing, for centuries. Known as Wakamne, “Lake of God,” by the Nakota Sioux and “Lake of the Spirit” by the Cree people, it received the name “Lac Ste. Anne” from Father Jean-Baptiste Thibault, the first priest to establish a permanent Catholic mission in Alberta, in 1842. Before the liturgy, making the Sign of the Cross towards the four cardinal points — according to indigenous custom — the pope blessed a bowl of the lake’s water, which was brought up to a small wooden structure, shaped like a teepee, overlooking the lake. The pope, after spending a moment in prayer sitting at the water's edge in his wheelchair, later sprinkled the crowds with the blessed water. Commenting on the lake’s reputation for its healing waters, the pope called on Christ’s healing power. Preaching at a Mass celebrated in Canada’s largest stadium earlier that day, Pope Francis reflected on the elderly, who he said should be honored, and who serve as an example to the Church on how to pass on faith in a loving way.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251882/pope-francis-preaches-before-50000-at-largest-stadium-in-canada

Six years after Father Jacques Hamel was murdered by knife-wielding terrorists while celebrating Mass at his parish church in northern France, locals gathered to commemorate his life and to pray. Three nuns and several parishioners were present when the attack took place. One elderly parishioner was severely hurt when the attackers tried to take him hostage. The two attackers, both 19 years old, were killed by police as they exited the church. Hamel’s death shocked France and much of the world. Pope Francis offered a Mass for the priest shortly after the attack, calling Hamel a martyr. The latest commemorations come months after a French court convicted four people for crimes relating to the attack. The Rouen archdiocese began a preliminary inquiry into Hamel’s sainthood cause in 2016 after Pope Francis waived the traditional five-year waiting period. Lebrun announced the formal opening of the priest’s cause on April 13, 2017. During the diocesan phase of the investigation, archivists transcribed 600 homilies preached by Hamel.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251883/six-years-after-grisly-murder-france-remembers-father-jacques-hamel

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Panteleon, the patron saint of bachelors and physicians. He was the physician for emperor Maximinianus. At one point in his life he had abandoned his faith, but he eventually returned to the Church, and gave his fortune to the poor, providing them medical treatment without charge. Some of his cures were accomplished by prayer. He was later tortured and martyred for his faith.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-panteleon-548

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In a speech in rural Canada before a crowd of indigenous Canadian people, Pope Francis publicly apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in running much of Canada’s government-sponsored residential school system. During more than a century of operation, the system worked to stamp out aspects of native culture, language, and religious practice. “I am here because the first step of my penitential pilgrimage among you is that of again asking forgiveness, of telling you once more that I am deeply sorry,” Pope Francis said in his July 25 speech. “Sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the indigenous peoples. I am sorry. I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the Church and of religious communities cooperated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of residential schools.” The speech marked Pope Francis’ first public address since arriving in Canada on July 24 for a weeklong visit. Later that day, speaking to a group of Catholics at Sacred Heart parish in Edmonton, Pope Francis reiterated his “shame” and sorrow at the hurt caused by Catholics during the era of Canada’s residential school system, and praised the parish community as “a house for all, open and inclusive, just as the Church should be.” Today, on Tuesday July 26, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Later today, he will participate in a pilgrimage to Lac Saint Anne, a site which plays host annually to thousands of pilgrims, billing itself as the largest annual Catholic gathering in western Canada. The pope will also celebrate a Liturgy of the Word at the site.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251870/pope-francis-apologizes-for-the-harm-done-to-indigenous-canadians-at-residential-schools

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251874/christ-offers-example-of-reconciliation-through-suffering-pope-francis-tells-indigenous-catholics-in-canada

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251871/no-remains-unearthed-yet-from-canada-residential-school-grave-sites

Today, the Church celebrates the parents of the Virgin Mary, Saints Joachim and Anne. The couple's faith and perseverance brought them through the sorrow of childlessness, to the joy of conceiving and raising the immaculate and sinless woman who would give birth to Christ. The Church also celebrates Blessed William Ward, who ministered to the Catholic population and to the poor in London in the 17th century before his martyrdom.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/sts-anne-and-joachim-313

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/blessed-william-ward-434