NATION
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Celebrating an Aug. 3 Mass for the Outreach 2024 LGBTQ Catholic Ministry Conference at Georgetown University, Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington stressed the need for sincere dialogue in seeking unity in the Catholic Church. “In many respects, you are engaging in an act of synodality – the vision and invitation proposed by Pope Francis that sincerely and openly speaking and listening to one another under the light and guidance of the Holy Spirit is the way that the church grows in perfection,” Cardinal Gregory said in his homily at the Mass, which was celebrated at the university’s Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart. The annual Outreach conference – held Aug. 2-4 this year – brings together Catholics who identify as LGBTQ and supporters of that community. According to the conference’s website, the gathering is held to “build community, share best practices and worship together.” The cardinal praised the Outreach conference attendees for their willingness to engage in discussions at a challenging time for the Catholic Church and the United States. Concluding his homily, the cardinal said, “The presence and the pastoral needs of our LGBTQ sisters and brothers may often be viewed as a volatile topic, but they must be faced with sincerity and genuine compassion. I pray that this conference advance that goal and make us a stronger, holier, and more welcoming church and nation.”

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The Catholic Benefits Association filed a motion July 24 in federal court for preliminary injunction against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over two regulations it says violates Catholics’ religious beliefs. The group objects to two regulations issued earlier this year. One is the final regulation issued for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, granting workers protections for time off and other job accommodations for pregnancy-related medical conditions such as miscarriage, stillbirth and lactation – but also for abortion, which was opposed by many of the bill’s supporters, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The other was a provision of the EEOC’s “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment,” which CBA CEO Doug Wilson argued in a statement means that “if an employer declines to use an employee’s preferred pronouns or refuses to grant him or her access to bathrooms or locker rooms for the opposite sex, such decisions would constitute actionable sexual harassment.” Both regulations, Wilson said, “imposed mandates unacceptable for Catholic employers and never intended by Congress.” Martin Nussbaum, CBA’s general counsel at the Colorado Springs-Colorado-based First and Fourteenth law firm, explained to OSV News the Supreme Court’s recent overturning of its Chevron doctrine eliminates the courts’ deference to regulatory agencies’ interpretation of law that would have put a heavier burden on the CBA’s legal challenge. The CBA’s membership comprises Catholic dioceses, hospitals, school systems, religious orders and other entities that offer their employees insurance and benefit programs that adhere to Catholic teaching.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis said he dreams of visiting China one day and, especially, praying at the Shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan near Shanghai. In an interview with Jesuit Father Pedro Chia, director of communications for the Jesuit’s Chinese Province, the pope said he also would want to meet with the country’s bishops and with all Chinese Catholics, who “are indeed a faithful people who have gone through so much and remained faithful.” Vatican-Chinese relations have been difficult for decades with the country’s communist authorities being suspicious of Catholicism as a “foreign” influence on their people. The interview, conducted in Spanish, was filmed in the library of the Apostolic Palace May 24, the feast of Our Lady of Sheshan, also known as Our Lady Help of Christians. The Jesuit’s Chinese Province released the video on YouTube Aug. 9.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – More than a week after the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games, the Vatican joined people who complained that a segment of the show featuring drag performers offended Christians. “The Holy See was saddened by certain scenes in the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Paris and can only join the voices that have been raised in recent days to deplore the offense caused to many Christians and believers of other religions,” said the statement published by the Vatican press office late Aug. 3. The Vatican statement did not specifically identify the July 26 performance, which featured drag performers, including one wearing a crown, seated at a table in a scene that reminded many people of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting of the Last Supper. “In a prestigious event where the whole world gathers around common values, there should be no allusions that ridicule the religious convictions of many people,” the Vatican statement said.

WORLD
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (OSV News) – At least 11 churchmen have been detained by police and paramilitaries over a weeklong assault in northern Nicaragua, depleting the already demoralized Diocese of Matagalpa – whose leader, Bishop Rolando Álvarez, lives in exile. Nine priests and a deacon were detained Aug. 1 and 2 – with some taken from parishes and parish residences – according to independent Nicaragua media. An octogenarian priest was also detained July 27 in the Diocese of Estelí, where Bishop Álvarez is apostolic administrator. “The Diocese of Matagalpa practically no longer has any clergy. We’ve been expelled, pressured and forced to flee. Parishes are on their own,” an exiled priest, familiar with the diocese, told OSV News. “(The church) has been attacked from all sides. They’ve removed clergy, they’ve frozen its accounts. The church has survived,” he added. But he said of the ruling Sandinista regime, “Their ultimate goal is is to exterminate the diocesan church where Monsignor Rolando (Álvarez) is still bishop.” The arrests reflected the deepening repression of the Catholic Church in the Central American country, which has careened toward totalitarianism. President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosarillo Murillo, continue to crack down on dissent, close spaces for civil society and infringe on freedom worship – with priests being spied upon and forced to watch their words during Mass.

SÃO PAULO (OSV News) – The Aug. 9 passenger plane crash in the city of Vinhedo, Brazil, killed all 62 on board, greatly touching different Catholic communities in the country. Pope Francis prayed for the victims of the crash during his Aug. 11 Angelus prayer in the Vatican: “Let us … pray for the victims of the tragic air crash in Brazil,” he said. A twin-engine turboprop plane, traveling from Cascavel, in Paraná state, to Guarulhos airport, in the São Paulo metropolitan area, crashed close to residential buildings, dropping 17,000 feet in just one minute, only 45 miles away from its destination. Many of Voepass Brazilian airline passengers lived in the region of the Archdiocese of Cascavel, which released a letter of condolences a few hours after the incident and informed that all Masses celebrated over the following three days would be dedicated to the victims. “Our Archbishop, José Mário Scalon Angonese, expresses his deepest solidarity to the families affected by this tragedy. He joins the community in prayer and offers his spiritual support, wishing that divine comfort can alleviate the sorrow and pain of everyone who is suffering,” the note, posted on the archdiocese’s Facebook page, read. The parish church of St. Peter the Apostle in Guaratinguetá, in São Paulo state, was also affected by the tragedy. Local churchgoers Maria Auxiliadora Vaz de Arruda and her husband José Cloves Arruda were among the victims. Father Aloísio dos Santos Mota released a statement in order to express his special sorrow for the loss of the couple. The wife, called Dona Dôra in her church community, was known all across the region. “I’ve been her parish priest for five years, since I arrived in Guaratinguetá. She had an iconic presence in our church, a protagonism that everybody could notice,” Father Mota told OSV News.

NATION

LAFAYETTE, La. (OSV News) – Gov. Jeff Landry, R-La., vetoed $1 million in state funds for an emergency homeless shelter run by Catholic Charities of Acadiana over the organization’s work with migrants, he acknowledged in press statements. Landry, a Catholic, said that he vetoed the funds for the largest homeless shelter in Lafayette on the basis of his allegation that the shelter’s operator, Catholic Charities of Acadiana, facilitates illegal immigration, a charge the Catholic Church’s charitable arm denied. The move comes as some elected officials have grown increasingly hostile toward nongovernmental organizations, including Catholic ones, that provide resources such as food and shelter to migrants, including those at the U.S.-Mexico border. In July, a state judge denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s effort to shut down Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, a Catholic nonprofit serving migrants, finding his office “failed to establish probable grounds for the proceedings” and violated the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In February, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, issued a statement expressing solidarity with faith-driven ministries to migrants, saying it was the “strong tradition of religious liberty” that allows Catholics “to live out our faith in full.”

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (OSV News) – The Knights of Columbus announced July 11 the organization will cover mosaics by ex-Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington and the Holy Family Chapel at the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut. In a statement, the Knights said the decision came at “the conclusion of a careful and thorough process.” The mosaics will be obscured by fabric “which will remain in place at least until the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) issues its decision on the pending sexual abuse cases against artist Father Marko Rupnik.” After that “a permanent plaster covering may be in order.” Father Rupnik, whose distinctive mosaics are known for their oversized black, almond-shaped eyes, was expelled from the Society of Jesus in 2023 after refusing to obey their measures imposed in response to credible accusations that he spiritually, psychologically or sexually abused some two dozen women and at least one man. He remains a priest living and working in Rome as the director of art and dean of theology at Centro Aletti, the religious art community he founded in 1991. Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly said in the statement that the Knights had to prioritize the needs of abuse victims, especially as “the allegations are current, unresolved and horrific.” He noted the Knights’ commitment to proclaim Jesus Christ’s Good News and said, “Shrines are places of healing, prayer and reconciliation. They should not cause victims further suffering.”

EXTON, Pa. (OSV News) – “The Bible in 10 Minutes,” a new viral video offering by Father Mike Schmitz and Ascension, earned 358,000 views in just 24 hours, according to a July 10 news release from Exton-based Ascension, a multimedia Catholic network and a leader in Catholic faith formation and digital content. The audience response makes this Father Schmitz’s most “viral video ever, more than doubling his previous one-day record of 160,000 views set with his 2022 review of ‘The Sound of Freedom,'” the release said. Father Schmitz, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, has gained a national following for, among other things, his popular “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year” podcasts from Ascension. He will be a featured keynote speaker during the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21 in Indianapolis. Father Schmitz and Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, founder and servant mother of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth in the Archdiocese of Boston, are scheduled to address the congress’s July 18 evening revival session 7-9:30 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium. “The Bible in 10 Minutes” can be found on the “Ascension Presents” YouTube channel.

VATICAN

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The working document for the October assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality called for responses to how all the baptized can better serve the Catholic Church and help heal humanity’s “deepest wounds.” The document said the synod should spur the church to become a “refuge” and “shelter” for those in need or distress and encourage Catholics to “allow themselves to be led by the Spirit of the Lord to horizons that they had not previously glimpsed” as brothers and sisters in Christ. “This is the ongoing conversion of the way of being the Church that the synodal process invites us to undertake,” the document said. The 30-page document, called an “instrumentum laboris,” was released at the Vatican July 9. It will serve as a discussion guideline for the synod’s second session Oct. 2-27, which reflects on the theme: “How to be a missionary synodal Church.” The reflections are the next step in the synod’s overarching theme: “For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission.” Synodal practice “calls us to mutual care, interdependence and co-responsibility for the common good,” it said, and it is willing to listen to everyone, in contrast to methods “in which the concentration of power shuts out the voices of the poorest, the marginalized and minorities.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis prayed in thanksgiving for the release of two Ukrainian Catholic priests who were held in Russian captivity for more than 19 months, calling on Christians to pray for the release of all prisoners of war. “I give thanks to God for the freeing of the two Greek Catholic priests,” he said after praying the Angelus June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. “May all the prisoners of this war soon return home.” The pope expressed his sorrow for all people suffering because of war around the world, asking Christians to “pray for all populations wounded and threatened by fighting, that God may free them and support them in the struggle for peace.” The two priests, Redemptorist Fathers Ivan Levytsky and Bohdan Geleta, were arrested in the occupied city of Berdyansk Nov. 16, 2022, according to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which said that after military items were placed in a church in the town the two priests were arrested for the “illegal possession of weapons.” Fathers Levystky and Geleta were among 10 prisoners who were released to Ukrainian authorities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a June 28 post on X. “I would also like to recognize the Holy See’s efforts to bring these people home,” the president said in his post.

WORLD

PARIS (OSV News) – The capital of France’s Normandy region held its breath on July 11 as reports and social media pictures spread that the Rouen Cathedral’s spire was on fire, causing the building to be evacuated. Around 70 firefighters brought the blaze under control in less than two hours, much to everyone’s relief. “In the end, there was more fear than harm,” Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen told OSV News on July 12. “Today, the cathedral is reopened,” he said. Rouen Cathedral is the tallest church in France. It was in Rouen that St. Joan of Arc was burned alive in 1431, during the Hundred Years’ War between France and England. As in Paris, the Seine River flows through the city. “The fire started inside the spire, right at the edge,” Archbishop Lebrun said. “But in the end it only burned a large plastic casing from the restoration work currently underway. The rest was untouched.” The origin of the fire, thought to be accidental, is not yet known. “I am very grateful to the entire rescue chain, including the sacristans, firefighters, contractors, police and civil authorities, who acted with great professionalism,” Archbishop Lebrun told OSV News. The spire of the cathedral, unlike Notre Dame’s in Paris, is made of cast iron, so the fire did not spread, but four construction site workers were injured by smoke inhalation and were psychologically shocked.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (OSV News) – The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem issued a strong condemnation after the Israeli military targeted a Catholic school in Gaza that killed four people, including a senior Hamas official. In a statement published July 7, the patriarchate said it was monitoring reports of a strike on Holy Family School, which “has, since the beginning of the war, been a place of refuge for hundreds of civilians.” “The Latin Patriarchate condemns, in the strongest terms, the targeting of civilians or any belligerent actions that fall short of ensuring that civilians remain outside the combat scene,” the statement read. The patriarchate called for a cease-fire agreement “that would put an immediate end to the horrifying bloodbath and humanitarian catastrophe in the region.” According to multiple news reports, including by The Associated Press, Israeli airstrikes took place overnight July 6-7 in Gaza, killing 13 Palestinians. The strike against Holy Family School, which was operating as a shelter, claimed the lives of four people, including Ihab al-Ghussein, Hamas’ undersecretary of labor. In a statement, Hamas mourned the death of al-Ghussein, whose wife and daughter were killed in strikes in the early days of the war, AP reported. Israeli military officials justified the attack on the school, arguing that the bombing struck a Hamas military building and a weapons-making facility “in the area of a school building.”

KYIV, Ukraine (OSV News) – A July 8 attack by Russia on a children’s hospital and other civilian targets throughout Ukraine is “a sin that cries out to heaven for revenge,” said the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. At least 42 have been killed and over 190 injured as Russian bombers pummeled Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and numerous cities throughout the nation with more than 40 missiles and guided aerial bombs. Among the sites struck was the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, where two adults died and about 50 were injured, including seven children. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, father and head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, released a July 8 statement denouncing the strike. “In the name of God, with all determination, we condemn this crime against humanity. … This is a sin that cries out to heaven for revenge,” he said. He noted that doctors, medical workers and volunteers bloodied in the strike were digging through the hospital’s wreckage “to save even those children whose hearts are beating there under the rubble.” “Today we cry with all the victims. Today we want to pray for all the dead … (and) wrap our Christian love around all the wounded,” said Major Archbishop Shevchuk. He concluded his statement with a prayer “for the protection and victory of the lives of our children and women.

NATION
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The U.S. Catholic bishops’ latest annual report on child and youth protection shows abuse allegations are down, while safe environment protocols have taken root in the church – but guarding against complacency about abuse prevention is critical, as is providing ongoing support for survivors. On May 28, the bishops released their “2023 Annual Report – Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” For the period from July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023, the report found a more than 51% drop in historical allegations from those reported in the same period last year, from 2,704 in 2022 to 1,308 in 2023. The decrease was partly due to the resolution of allegations received as a result of lawsuits, said the report. Another milestone was the full participation of all 196 dioceses and eparchies in the Charter audit, a 100% response rate that was unprecedented. But the report found that over the past 10 years, the Catholic dioceses and eparchies in the U.S. alone have paid more than $2 billion in costs regarding abuse allegations. Total abuse allegation-related costs in fiscal year 2023 were up 99% over the previous year at more than $260.5 million. Suzanne Healy, chairwoman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Review Board, emphasized in the report that as the church moves forward, it cannot risk “fatigue or complacency. We must remain vigilant.”

VICTORIA, Texas (OSV News) – The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s perpetual pilgrims’ second week included already iconic events – such as when Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York blessed the city with the Eucharist from a boat near the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor May 27 – and hidden moments – like when a man got out of a truck in the middle of Oregon, far away from any towns, and genuflected as the Eucharistic caravan passed. On a May 29 media call, the pilgrims shared other stories of encounter and conversion: On the California side of Lake Tahoe, a photographer for a secular news outlet – amazed by the masses of people turning out for processions – told the perpetual pilgrims that he was inspired to learn more about the Eucharist and plans to begin the process for becoming Catholic. Meanwhile, a woman who isn’t able to walk with the pilgrims has been joining each procession along the St. Juan Diego Route since Brownsville, Texas, on a retrofitted tricycle. Also in Texas, some perpetual pilgrims helped bandage a woman’s wounded leg at a homeless shelter, and then the woman – whose name is Hope – asked the pilgrims to pray with her. On the May 29 media call, the perpetual pilgrims acknowledged that their packed days can sap their energy, but explained each “amazing encounter” along their routes also reveals to them the impact that the pilgrimage is having.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis announced that he is preparing a document on the Sacred Heart of Jesus to “illuminate the path of ecclesial renewal, but also to say something significant to a world that seems to have lost its heart.” The document is expected to be released in September, he said. The pope made the announcement during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square June 5. The Catholic Church traditionally dedicates the month of June to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The document will include reflections from “previous magisterial texts” and it will aim to “re-propose to the whole church this devotion laden with spiritual beauty. I believe it will do us much good to meditate on various aspects of the Lord’s love,” the pope said. Meanwhile, in his main audience talk, Pope Francis continued a new series on the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the church. He said the freedom Jesus offers with his Spirit has nothing to do with the selfishness of being free to do what one wants, but it is “the freedom to freely do what God wants! Not freedom to do good or evil, but freedom to do good and do it freely.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Although Pope Francis usually takes the month of July off – except for leading the recitation of the Angelus on Sundays – he will hold a consistory with cardinals in Rome July 1 for the final approval of the canonization of several sainthood candidates, according to the master of papal liturgical ceremonies. In late May, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints said Pope Francis would be convoking the meeting of cardinals to vote on approving the canonizations of Blessed Carlo Acutis, an Italian teen and computer whiz; Blessed Giuseppe Allamano, founder of the Consolata Missionaries; eight Franciscan friars and three Maronite laymen who were martyred in Syria in 1860; Canada-born Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis, founder of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family; and Blessed Elena Guerra, an Italian nun who founded the Oblates of the Holy Spirit. The date or dates for the canonizations could be announced during the ceremony.

WORLD
LOURDES, France (OSV News) – Surrounded by almost 15,000 military personnel from around the world, Airman 1st Class Quenton Cooper felt a deep sense of fraternity during a May 24-26 pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. Cooper was one of 183 American pilgrims who journeyed to Lourdes for the annual International Military Pilgrimage. Every year since 1958, the French army has invited soldiers from across the world to come together for three days of festivities, prayer, and fraternity in Lourdes, the frequented pilgrimage site where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858. “This trip has bolstered my spiritual life because it has reminded me that I’m not alone in my prayer life and that the church is not just located in one country, but it’s a community that extends all over the world,” Cooper said. “It is this reminder that no matter who we are, we need to thrive, and God will put us in.” For over 20 years, the Knights of Columbus and the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services have co-sponsored the Warriors to Lourdes pilgrimage, bringing both active-duty service members and veterans from across the world to seek healing through the pilgrimage. The pilgrimage also provides participants from a military background the opportunity to experience fraternity with the global church, said military chaplain Father Philip O’Neill.

SAN SALVADOR (OSV News) – A recent decision by officials in El Salvador to remove a painting of St. Óscar Romero from a prominent location in the nation’s main airport and move it to a secluded area, generated backlash from Catholics and opinion leaders, who have been critical of how the nation’s government is treating national symbols while trying to rebrand the country as a safe, tourist-friendly destination. The 18-foot-wide painting depicts scenes of St. Romero’s life, including a meeting that he had with people whose relatives had been abducted by the military. The painting was commissioned in 2010 to mark the 30th anniversary of St. Romero’s murder and it had been placed in a hallway of the airport’s departure hall, where it could be easily seen by passengers as they headed to their gates. It was passengers at the airport who noted that the painting was no longer at its original location and had been replaced with a poster that welcomes tourists to El Salvador, “the land of surfing, volcanoes and coffee.” Officials initially provided no explanation for the painting’s removal, sparking criticism from some Catholic leaders. Carlos Colorado, a Salvadoran-American lawyer who runs a blog about St. Romero, said that he was concerned that El Salvador’s current government was being dismissive of the bishop’s contribution to the nation’s history. St. Romero was the archbishop of San Salvador in the late 1970s, a turbulent period that led to a full-fledged civil war, in which more than 75,000 people were killed.

NATION
INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) – A special track just for priests has been added to the schedule of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21, with speakers including two bishops and prominent theologians. The 90-minute “impact session” titled “Abide: The Priest Experience” will be offered on days two, three and four of the five-day congress. Day Two features speakers theologian Scott Hahn, founder and president of the St. Paul Center, and Father Brian Welter, executive director of the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, Nebraska. Day Three features Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc.; Dan Cellucci, CEO of Catholic Leadership Institute; Tim Glemkowski, CEO of National Eucharistic Congress Inc.; Jason Simon, president of The Evangelical Catholic; and Jonathan Reyes, senior vice president of strategic partnerships and senior advisor for the Knights of Columbus. Cellucci returns on Day Four, along with Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas. Meanwhile, the congress will also include a luncheon series for permanent deacons featuring Deacon Dominic Cerrato, Deacon James Keating, Deacon Omar Gutiérrez and Deacon Joseph Michalak. The congress is the pinnacle of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative of the U.S. bishops to deepen understanding and love for Jesus in the Eucharist.

ABBEVILLE, Louisiana (OSV News) – A first Communion Mass at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville, Louisiana, was disrupted May 11 after a teenager attempted to enter the church with a rifle. Parishioners prevented the young man from entering the parish where 60 children were preparing to receive their first Communion. Police took the suspect into custody, and moments of chaos were caught on the church’s live stream as they swept the premises to see if other threats were present. Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of Lafayette commented on the incident, saying, “we are thankful to God that a tragedy was avoided at the First Communion Mass for the children of St. Mary Magdalen in Abbeville. The quick response of the Abbeville Police Department and alert parishioners is a great example of caring for the most vulnerable in our community. Let us pray for an end to all threats of violence to innocent human life.”

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pilgrims passing through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica during the Holy Year 2025, going to confession, receiving Communion and praying for the intentions of the pope can receive an indulgence, but so can inmates in prison and those who work to defend human life or assist migrants and refugees. Fasting “at least for one day of the week from futile distractions” such as social media also can be a path toward a jubilee indulgence, according to norms published by the Vatican May 13. Pope Francis said he will open the Holy Year at the Vatican Dec. 24 this year and close it Jan. 6, 2026, the feast of Epiphany. But he also asked bishops around the world to celebrate the Jubilee in their dioceses from Dec. 29 this year to Dec. 28, 2025. The norms for receiving an indulgence during the Holy Year were signed by Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the new head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court dealing with matters of conscience and with the granting of indulgences. The basic conditions, he wrote, are that a person is “moved by a spirit of charity,” is “purified through the sacrament of penance and refreshed by Holy Communion” and prays for the pope. Along with a pilgrimage, a work of mercy or an act of penance, a Catholic “will be able to obtain from the treasury of the Church a plenary indulgence, with remission and forgiveness of all their sins, which can be applied in suffrage to the souls in Purgatory.”

WORLD
BILLUND, Denmark (OSV News) – As workers complete the rebuilding of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after a devastating April 2019 fire, LEGO fans can assemble their own model of the iconic medieval structure, thanks to a soon-to-be-released kit from the Danish toy manufacturer. On May 7, the LEGO group announced it is accepting pre-orders for LEGO Architecture Notre-Dame de Paris, which will be released June 1. The company also will issue a LEGO Art Mona Lisa kit Oct. 1, with both products forming a tribute to Paris’ best-known artistic treasures, according to LEGO. The Notre Dame model – which retails for $229.99 – consists of 4,383 pieces and measures 13 inches high and 8.5 inches wide, with a depth of 16 inches. “We wanted LEGO fans to retrace the architectural journey and evolution of this landmark during its construction, to encourage a deeper appreciation for its real-life counterpart,” said LEGO senior designer Rok Žgalin Kobe.

PARIS (OSV News) – Called a “consoling angel,” the sister of King Louis XVI decided to stay on the side of her family even when death was imminent for doing so in the midst of horrors of the French Revolution. On the 230th anniversary of her death under the guillotine on May 10, 1794, “Madame Elisabeth” is one step closer to beatification as the historical commission for her sainthood cause wrapped up its work May 2. The diocesan phase of her sainthood cause was reopened in 2017. Since then Father Xavier Snoëk, the postulator, has spared no effort to raise awareness of the noble lady. Father Snoëk called her “an original and very modern young woman … pious and exuberant at the same time.” Elisabeth never married and chose “a life of commitment to the service of others, rooted in faith.” She was 25 when the French Revolution broke out full scale in 1789. She could have gone into exile, but she decided to stay with her brother Louis XVI. In August 1792, the whole royal family was imprisoned in the notorious Le Temple prison. Elisabeth “put all her energy into trying to support family members,” Father Scnoëk said, explaining why she was called a “consoling angel.” “She recited a daily prayer of abandonment to God, and at the moment of her death on the guillotine,” he added.

TBILISI, Georgia (OSV News) – A Catholic aid worker in the nation of Georgia told OSV News that a proposed law targeting nongovernmental organizations and media would severely undermine care for children and the poor in that country. “I cannot imagine how (we will) advocate for the rights of the children, the rights of the people,” said Tamar Sharashidze, children and youth protection and development program manager for Caritas Georgia. The agency – part of Caritas Internationalis, the universal Catholic Church’s global federation of more than 160 humanitarian organizations – is a locally registered NGO that serves as the country’s largest social service provider. But that reach is now threatened by a renewed push to enact Georgia’s proposed “Transparency of Foreign Influence” legislation. The Russian-style law would label as “foreign agents” entities receiving more than 20% of their funds from outside donors, threatening both Caritas Georgia’s mission and the country’s hopes to become a member of the European Union. Sharashidze is one of thousands regularly protesting the bill, donning a mask and glasses to evade being tear-gassed by police. “This proposed law would limit the capacity of civil society and media organizations to operate freely, and it could limit freedom of expression and unfairly stigmatize organizations that deliver benefits to citizens of Georgia,” she said. “And the voice of the people is more and more loud. And we have hope that we will win.”

NATION
CASHION, Arizona (OSV News) – St. William Catholic Church in Cashion, Arizona, was destroyed in an overnight fire May 1. The fire broke out just before 1 a.m. Local station Fox 10 Phoenix reported that firefighters arrived and found flames coming from the attic of the church. The roof of the church ultimately collapsed as firefighters fought the flames. “This is a devastating loss to this community,” Avondale Fire Battalion Chief Steve Mayhew said. Father Andres Arango, pastor of St. William, wrote on the parish’s website, “as many of you know, we had a major fire on campus very early this morning and it appears the church has been totally destroyed. Thankfully no one was injured and everyone is safe.” “An official investigation on the cause of the fire is being handled by local officials,” he added. “The campus is closed off during this investigation.” He wrote that “plans for a location for future Masses are currently being developed.”

NEW ORLEANS (OSV News) – The Louisiana State Police and the FBI are investigating whether Archdiocese of New Orleans officials – including previous archbishops – covered up child sex trafficking by clergy over several decades, with some alleged victims reportedly taken out of state to be abused and marked for further exploitation among clergy. On April 25, the state police executed a comprehensive search warrant on the archdiocese for documents related to a widening investigation into how the archdiocese has handled allegations of abuse. The warrant – a copy of which OSV News obtained following the document’s April 30 release – cites the felony of “trafficking of children for sexual purposes” as the reason for its sweeping access to archdiocesan records, including the diocese’s canonically required secret archive and archdiocesan communications with the Vatican. Probable cause for the warrant, based on the testimony of a state police investigator also assigned to the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force, details reports of clergy marking out victims for abuse on archdiocesan and out-of-state properties, with complaints ignored or paid off and withheld from law enforcement. The warrant also claims several unnamed New Orleans archbishops were aware of the abuse but overlooked or obscured allegations. A spokesperson with the Archdiocese of New Orleans told OSV News the archdiocese “has been openly discussing the topic of sex abuse for over 20 years. In keeping with this, we also are committed to working with law enforcement in these endeavors.”

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Loneliness causes tremendous harm, including to families, Pope Francis told international leaders of the Teams of Our Lady lay movement. “With your charism, you can become rescuers attentive to those who are in need, those who are alone, those who have family problems and do not know how to talk about them because they are ashamed or have lost hope,” he said during an audience with the leaders at the Vatican May 4. “In your dioceses, you can make families understand the importance of helping each other and forming a network; building communities where Christ can ‘dwell’ in the homes and in family relations,” he said. “Without Christian communities, families feel alone, and loneliness does a great deal of harm!” The lay movement, which formed in France in 1938 and has spread to numerous countries, is dedicated to improving married couples’ spiritual lives. Pope Francis said, “The Christian family is going through a genuine ‘cultural storm’ in this changing era and is threatened and tempted on various fronts.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Meeting members of the Swiss Guard, including 34 new recruits, Pope Francis thanked them for their dedication and generous service protecting the pope every day. He told them they stand out for their professionalism and their “kind, attentive, indeed scrupulous style,” during an audience at the Vatican May 6, ahead of the swearing-in ceremony for the new guards later that day. The men have built “a positive and respectful atmosphere in the barracks,” the pope said, and they show great courtesy toward “superiors and guests, despite sometimes long periods of intense and strenuous service.” Serving in the Swiss Guard, an enlistment that lasts at least two years, means it is “an important and formative time for you,” he said. “It is not just a period of work, but a time of living and relating, of intense fellowship in a diverse company.”

WORLD
CUERNAVACA, Mexico (OSV News) – A retired Mexican bishop known for brokering deals with drug cartel bosses was located in a hospital bed after being incommunicado for two days, though local officials say he was briefly abducted in an “express kidnapping” by unknown assailants. Retired Bishop Salvador Rangel Mendoza of Chilpancingo-Chilapa was reported missing April 29, sparking an outpouring of concern amid widespread violence in Mexico. The bishop has long been famous for trying to diminish violence in the southern state of Guerrero – which includes his former diocese – through dialogue with crime bosses and more recently helping to negotiate a peace pact between rival drug cartels. The Mexican bishops’ conference said in an April 29 statement that Bishop Rangel was hospitalized in the city of Cuernavaca, where he has resided since resigning as bishop of Chilpancingo-Chilapa in early 2022. The conference provided no details on Bishop Rangel’s condition or the circumstances of his disappearance. Morelos state prosecutor Uriel Carmona showed reporters a cellular phone picture of Bishop Rangel lying in a hospital bed and said officials were investigating an “express kidnapping,” in which victims are briefly abducted and robbed.

KYIV (OSV News) – The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has denounced Russia’s seizure of a Catholic church in Ukraine’s Kherson region, calling the structure’s rededication for the Russian Orthodox Church a “sacrilege.” The Church of St. Archstrategist Michael, located in the village of Oleksandrivka in the occupied Kherson region, was captured and joined to the ROC during Holy Week of the Julian calendar, said Major Archbishop Sviatslav Shevchuk. Construction on the church began in 2017, some 11 years after the formerly Orthodox parish was officially received into the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The seizure is part of a steady campaign by Russia to suppress the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, along with Catholicism in general and other faiths, in occupied areas of Ukraine.