Stories for July 2018

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Monday, Jul. 23

 4 arrested following attack on parish in Pakistan
 Priest dies from bullet wounds in Cameroon
 Cardinal questioned by police in Indian rape inquiry
 +Jerry Coniker, 79
 Bishop calls upon India’s prime minister to halt Jharkhand’s harassment of Christians
 Chinese churches get ready for ‘Sinicization’
 Latin America’s Catholics pray for Nicaragua
 Christian pastor and his son beaten in Uttar Pradesh
 Pope Francis appeals for the security and dignity of migrants
 Pope Francis: Jesus sees, has compassion, and teaches
 Another church desecrated in Nicaragua as emboldened Ortega vilifies bishops
 8 new priests ordained for ordinariate in England
 Gaza’s Catholic population falls to 138
 Vatican newspaper explores Quran’s treatment of Mary
 +Bishop Joseph Li Mingshu, 94

Released Friday, Jul. 20

 Nigerian bishop fears genocide against Christians, pleads with West to take notice
 Notorious Chicago ex-priest assigned to prison facility for the sexually violent
 Future Pope John Paul I said death better than pedophilia scandal
 Contraception ‘intrinsically wrong,’ affirms head of Vatican commission on Humanae Vitae
 Pope accepts resignation of Honduran bishop accused of misconduct with seminarians
 New Mexico bishop investigates report of weeping statue at parish
 Vatican cardinal: Pope’s Bari visit offers hope for Middle East
 Majority of US Melkite priests have no roots in Middle East, bishop says
 Nebraska bishop contrasts ‘abject tragedy’ of contraception, joy of Gospel of life
 Archbishop Gomez: reread Humanae Vitae with ‘new eyes and open hearts’
 Church works to counter tribalism in Sudan
 Knesset approves Jewish nation-state bill, claiming Israel is ‘exclusively’ Jewish
 2 Pentecostals arrested for ‘forced conversions’ in Chhattisgarh are released
 Pope Francis will help Church in Ireland grapple with changed culture, Dublin archbishop says
 Australian nun again ordered to leave Philippines
 Italian bishops urge new government to be receptive to migrants, refugees
 Cardinal Dolan: pray that Supreme Court change will lead to protection of all human life
 UN agencies interfere in Mexican abortion debate
 Nicaraguan cardinal appeals for prayers, calls on Catholics to ‘put pressure’ on Ortega regime

Released Thursday, Jul. 19

 $63,000 cash found in home of priest charged with embezzlement
 Canonizations fixed for October 14
 Australian prime minister calls for removal of convicted archbishop
 Chilean abuse prosecutor investigating cardinals
 Ireland: pastor removed for telling pro-abortion voters to confess?
 Scotland: Catholic university chaplain removed after protesting Gay Pride
 OAS condemns Nicaraguan regime
 Cardinal renews consecration of Lebanon, Middle East to Immaculate Heart of Mary
 Vatican media will not abandon countries with scant internet access, new prefect says
 Venezuela’s bishops decry Maduro regime’s authoritarianism, abuse of power
 USCCB approves $1.4M in grants to Church in Africa
 Cardinal Tagle: ‘Prepare to be attacked because we are for Christ’
 Russian Orthodox patriarch: ‘tempations coming from abroad’ led to assassination of Czar Nicholas II
 Study: as Catholic options dwindle, middle class retreats from private schools
 Cardinal Marx criticizes Merkel’s allies over immigration policy
 Priest criticizes tougher Italian policies on migrants, refugees
 EU bishops’ commission calls for stricter measures to protect children from online pornography
 1.5 million Venezuelans have left nation in past year
 Borders pose challenge for Church in Amazon basin
 California bishop deplores administration’s immigration policies as ‘unconscionable’
 Nicaraguan forces storm barrio, destroy churches; ‘it is a genocide,’ says priest
 Pope’s representative in Nicaragua appeals for peace

Released Wednesday, Jul. 18

 Vatican authors critique American ‘Prosperity Gospel’
 Cardinal Coccopalmerio: canon law should include environmental norms
 Chinese authorities raze Catholic church, claiming zoning violations
 Judge rules Catholic agency must include same-sex couples in foster care
 Quebec cardinal calls for renewed evangelization of Canada
 100,000 mark 100th anniversary of murder of last Russian czar
 Central African bishops distance themselves from group promising to avenge murdered priests
 Caritas official: Greeks are suffering under increasing economic strains
 Church in Germany allocated $700M to social and pastoral projects worldwide in 2017
 Religion scholars aid Fordham theology student arrested protesting a white supremacist
 Dozens killed in Boko Haram attack on Nigerian military base
 Texas bishops score major religious liberty victory in fetal remains case
 Florida bishop pays tribute to Humanae Vitae
 Tennessee’s bishops urge governor to halt executions
 Nicaragua’s bishops to pray for exorcism amid Ortega crackdown
 UN chief renews criticism of government repression in Nicaragua
 Russian Orthodox leaders issue message for 1030th anniversary of baptism of Kievan Rus’
 Thailand cave rescue draws attention to small but thriving Catholic population
 USCCB grants $4.9M to 209 projects in ex-Communist nations
 European bishops’ conferences seek to sway Catholics’ views on migrants

Released Tuesday, Jul. 17

 Confessional seal not a matter of human rights, says Australian official
 Catholicism is ‘foreign’ to young Irish, Dublin’s archbishop fears
 Lebanese Muslim leader: Middle East loses when Christians leave
 Sri Lankan cardinal would support death penalty for drug dealers
 Mother Teresa’s successor: baby-sale charges based on ‘false news’
 India orders inspection of all orphanages run by Missionaries of Charity
 Australian bishops ‘affirm and celebrate’ lay pastoral ministry
 Bosnian bishops: lawmakers should consider common good, rather than focus on ethnic majority
 Provincial says Carmelite nuns in Aleppo live in ‘heroic situation’
 In North Korea, despite hostile regime, the faith clings to life
 Denver archbishop: efforts against religious freedom punish the poor and needy
 Is Hungary experiencing a policy-induced baby boom?
 Eritrea’s Eastern-rite church calls for prayers for peace with Ethiopia
 House panel moves to protect ‘religious conviction’ of adoption agencies
 Anchor your social apostolate in evangelization, Vatican prelate tells East African bishops
 British study examines character education in Catholic schools
 Rebuilding with US funds, Iraq’s minority religious communities still await security
 Catholic Charities storefront center in Texas stands in eye of border ‘storm’
 Catholic Action president calls for renewed commitment to internationalism
 Ukraine’s president renews call for autocephalous status for Orthodox church
 Youth long for mystery and liturgy, need tradition and history, Chicago auxiliary says
 Nicaraguan bishop attacked at police checkpoint

Released Monday, Jul. 16

 Pope planning major announcements for Thursday consistory?
 New York Times recounts Cardinal McCarrick’s years of abuse
 Rwanda closes 700 churches under new government guidelines
 Renewal is top priority, Vatican official tells African bishops
 Pope surprises couple by presiding at wedding
 Pope names cardinals to preside at Synod assembly
 Russian Orthodox leaders meet at site of last czar’s execution
 ‘Look to your roots,’ Pope tells Caribbean youth
 Despite Trump’s Kavanaugh nomination, overturning Roe remains difficult, pro-life analysts caution
 For Gaza’s parish priest, ‘people are desperate,’ but ‘we continue to hope for peace’
 Bahrain’s cathedral to become the heart of the Catholic community in Arabia
 Maltese bishop criticizes European nations for ‘criminal’ attitude toward migrants
 Vatican Secretary of State: wars can be avoided if we make room for God
 Holy See nurtures high hopes for global migration compact
 USCCB lends support to Catholic Charities agencies reuniting families
 New Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue statement hailed as ‘substantive step forward’
 Courage honors its founder, Father John Harvey
 Pope Francis greets religious gathered for Angelus
 Pope Francis: all the baptized are called to be missionary disciples
 Pro-Ortega militias in Nicaragua besiege another Catholic church, kill 2 students
 CRS lauds Congress’ rejection of administration’s proposed cuts to foreign aid

Released Friday, Jul. 13

 Vatican News: illicitly ordained Chinese bishops want union with Holy See
 Former chancellor of Chile archdiocese arrested for child sexual abuse
 Congolese cardinal does not fear death but takes measures to avoid being poisoned
 Egypt: Coptic Christians attacked after Facebook post ‘showing contempt of Islam’
 Bishops see new hope for Zimbabwe
 Vatican cardinal: announcement of Jesus, not philanthropy, is at heart of missionary activity
 Catholic lawmaker queries absence of Christians from UK’s saved Syrian refugees
 Polish cardinal, declared venerable by Pope Francis, criticized for anti-Semitism
 Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh seen as a conservative judge formed by Catholic faith
 Cardinal Cupich: overcome polarization by encountering others as persons
 USCCB names new director of international justice and peace office
 Amnesty International backs abortion on demand
 European bishops begin meeting on migrants and communication
 Peru’s bishops call for judicial reform
 Cardinal Tauran commended to God in Requiem Mass at St. Peter’s
 Holy See will not lodge formal diplomatic protest against Nicaragua
 Vatican Secretary of State: don’t close Europe’s ports to migrants

Released Thursday, Jul. 12

 Australian archbishops: children less safe if confessional seal compromised
 All events sold out for Pope’s August visit to Ireland, World Meeting of Families
 SSPX elects new leader, pointing toward tougher stand in talks with Vatican
 Pope wants ‘gesture of reconciliation’ for residential schools in Canada, nuncio says
 Catholic Charities office sues diocese in Minnesota
 Cardinal Arinze: to receive Communion, become Catholic
 Over 50,000 petition for release of Christians jailed in India
 US advocates say Christians in Myanmar’s Kachin state need help
 Venezuelan bishops condemn ‘perverse ideology, system of government’
 Sainthood cause begins for Jesuit superior-general Father Arrupe
 Vatican diplomat denounces exploitation of fisheries and fishermen
 Black sisters, priests mark organizations’ 50th anniversary
 Unity, openness at core of Melkite Catholic identity, says patriarch
 Ecumenical Patriarch calls for restoration of unity among Ukraine’s Orthodox Christians
 Canadian bishops confirm plans to publish new English-language hymnal
 Patriarch calls for lifting of West’s sanctions against Syria
 Sweden’s cardinal says Pope can still sway immigration debate
 EU report: population declines in 9 nations; Ireland has highest birthrate
 European bishops’ conferences discuss ‘culture of encounter’
 Bishop reflects on trip to US-Mexico border
 Anglican synod calls for renewed efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament
 UN leader, German government, bishops denounce attacks on Church in Nicaragua
 Nicaragua’s bishops affirm willingness to mediate despite government hostility
 Assist child victims of armed conflict, Holy See diplomat emphasizes at UN

Released Wednesday, Jul. 11

 Duterte launches new verbal attack on Church leaders
 Vatican drafting guidelines for sale, use of closed parish churches
 Myanmar’s Cardinal Bo: stop ecological ‘holocaust’
 Irish police will block ‘travelers’ from setting up camp before Pope’s visit
 Australian prelate says Archbishop Wilson should resign after conviction
 Archbishop Wilson can serve one-year term under house arrest
 Some bishops advised Paul VI to accept contraception, Vatican author reports
 16 Christians arrested for ‘forced conversions’ of tribals in Jharkhand
 Chinese province approves new repressive measures against Catholics
 Military aggression against Ukraine ‘has not ceased,’ prelate tells fellow European bishops
 US bishops publish document on Asian, Pacific Island Catholics
 Nearly 200 child soldiers freed from Boko Haram
 Killings of Catholic priests in Africa raise fears that peacemakers are targets
 Nebraska bishops oppose scheduled execution of prisoner
 Cardinal Schönborn calls on EU to protect refugees
 EU court rules Jehovah’s Witnesses must ask permission before collecting personal information
 Holy See diplomat affirms support for global migration compact, concerned about changes in wording
 Church of England to withdraw funds from polluting firms that fail to tackle climate change
 British prelate ‘profoundly encouraged’ by migrant solidarity march
 2nd church attacked, looted in Nicaragua
 Nicaragua’s Cardinal Brenes decries desecration of basilica by pro-Ortega paramilitary forces

Released Tuesday, Jul. 10

 Duterte to meet with leader of bishops’ conference
 Transferred to new diocese, Austrian bishop faces questions
 Armenian Patriarch faces calls for resignation
 Hungary: pro-family policies result in higher birth rates
 Coptic pope presides at liturgy in Roman basilica
 Church of England ombudsman to oversee sexual abuse cases
 After Cardinal Farrell’s marriage-preparation remarks, some Catholics ask for clarity
 Gunman shot dead at Philippine archbishop’s residence
 Study: children with autism nearly twice as likely not to attend church
 Brazil: Pope encourages fans after World Cup loss
 Philippine bishops declare days of prayer, penance following president’s blasphemy
 Al Qaeda attacks Tunisian security forces
 Chicago cardinal praises anti-gun march on highway
 Masked government allies rough up bishop, priests in Nicaraguan church siege
 Kenyan religious leaders denounce corruption as cancer that pervades society
 Encuentro process aims to identify, train 20,000 Hispanic Catholics to be leaders
 Vatican confirms that Pope will attend World Youth Day in Panama
 Pope, prelates pay tribute to late Cardinal Tauran
 English prelate offers mild criticism of court ruling on civil partnerships
 List of patriarchs, other Christian leaders who gathered with Pope Francis in Bari
 ‘Donor fatigue’ among the threats to Iraqi Christian refugees in Jordan
 Mass migration part of plan to water down Europe’s Christian identity, bishop charges

Released Monday, Jul. 9

 Church leaders oppose bid to decriminalize abortion in Ivory Coast
 Australian bishops to mend fences with government leaders
 Papal sympathies for Japanese flood victims
 National Geographic profiles keeper of the keys at Vatican Museums
 Cardinal Urosa Savino of Caracas, leading foe of Venezuelan regime, resigns
 Ambassador Gingrich highlights common objectives shared by US, Holy See
 Chaldean patriarch: ‘there is a future for the Gospel’ in the Middle East
 God doesn’t conform to our expectations, Pope tells faithful
 Vatican withdraws charges against former auditor general
 Religious freedom advocates in the UK welcome special envoy announcement
 Some Italian priests oppose new interior minister’s immigration views
 Cardinal DiNardo objects to pro-abortion Roe litmus test for Supreme Court nominees
 Nigerian prelate pleads for dialogue in wake of wave of killings
 Pope Francis: meeting with Middle East’s patriarchs was ‘eloquent sign of Christian unity’
 Vatican issues message for Sea Sunday
 Jihadist group launches deadly assaults in Somali capital
 English bishops’ conference stresses importance of religious freedom, abolition of death penalty
 Church leaders call for sustainable peace as South Sudan marks 7 years of independence
 ‘Our common home is on the brink of ruin,’ says Vatican cardinal
 +Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, 75
 Catholics, Russian Orthodox help rebuild Syrian Christian sites
 Pope, other Christian leaders pray for Middle East’s beleaguered Christians

Released Friday, Jul. 6

 Vatican official questions priests’ role in preparing couples of marriage
 Bishop Paprocki dissents from USCCB on Supreme Court ruling on union dues
 Archbishop Wilson will not resign, despite legal conviction
 Open hearts to migrants, Pope pleads
 Wisconsin court rules against Marquette, for suspended conservative professor
 Pope urges governments to curb greenhouse gases
 French priest, prominent in debate on homosexuality, barred from ministry
 Lebanon: Maronite bishops question new naturalization policy
 Vatican ‘foreign minister’ sees opportunity for peace in Korea
 Bethlemen’s pastor reports Christians disappearing
 German bishop invites all Protestant spouses to Communion
 Clerics seek to block release of grand-jury report on abuse in Pennsylvania

Released Thursday, Jul. 5

 Italian layman to head Vatican Secretariat for Communications
 Australian archbishop bars dissident Jesuit from speaking
 Report finds severe violence against Christians in India
 Four lay people moved toward beatification
 Schedule released for Pope’s September trip to Baltic nations
 Cardinal Parolin underlines importance of Laudato Si’
 Vatican ‘foreign minister’ meets with South Korea’s President Moon
 2 Indian nuns arrested on charges of selling children
 Theme of American Missionary Congress: ‘America on a mission, the Gospel is joy!’
 ‘The educational system penalizes religious education,’ Sri Lankan cardinal charges
 Church in El Salvador prepares for Blessed Óscar Romero’s canonization
 Eritrean archbishop describes new door of peace with Ethiopia as a miracle
 Madagascar’s new cardinal focuses on peace and the Gospel
 6,000 attend Focolare’s international youth festival in Manila
 Pope Francis assures Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of his support
 Vatican: ‘real negotiation has begun again’ with China’s government
 Middle East’s Christian population has fallen from 20% to 4% in last century, cardinal notes
 Korean bishop criticizes those who oppose Yemeni asylum seekers
 Nicaragua: police, paramiltary forces surround parish, detain priests

Released Wednesday, Jul. 4

 Most French dioceses will not ordain priests this year
 Al Gore lauds Pope Francis in Vatican News interview
 Nigerian bishops demand president’s resignation as violence continues
 English bishop sees continued risk that hospitals hasten deaths
 New Vatican document explains role of consecrated virgins
 Pope’s prayer intention for July: priests and their pastoral ministy

Released Tuesday, Jul. 3

 Sistine Chapel Choir is focus of financial-misconduct probe
 ARCIC says Catholics, Anglicans can learn from each other
 India: nun accuses bishop of rape
 Australian archbishop given one-year sentence for concealing abuse
 Former bishop molested boys, Cheyenne diocese reveals
 Pope suspends Wednesday public audiences for July
 UK court upholds ban on abortion-clinic prayer vigils
 3,000-year-old sculpted head found in Israel turns into riddle for scholars
 President Trump on abortion: ‘maybe someday it will be [up] to the states’
 Delegation of US bishops visits Mexican border, calls for urgent reunification of children
 2 terrorist attacks in Mali
 63 migrants feared dead in new shipwreck off Libyan coast
 Vatican Secretary of State travels to Serbia, says talk of papal visit is premature
 Missionary in Bangladesh discusses ministry to youth, workers
 Pope prays for boys trapped in Thai cave
 Cardinal promotes reconciliation between Ethiopia, Eritrea
 Pope stands with Nicaragua’s bishops in demanding democracy
 Syriac Orthodox Church denies rumored move of headquarters to Lebanon
 Chaldean patriarch, on behalf of fellow cardinals, pledges joyful fidelity
 In Bari, Francis to extend his push for an ‘ecumenism of friendship’
 Mexican bishops urge collaboration after election of leftist López Obrador

Released Monday, Jul. 2

 German archbishop approves Communion for Protestant spouses
 Madrid archdiocese cautions against government plan to exhume Franco’s remains
 Vatican City still has no formal sex-abuse policy
 Pope joins new cardinal for dinner with 280 of Rome’s poor
 Canada: man faces ‘hate crime’ prosecution for Christian flyers on homosexuality
 Pope Francis: Jesus is more than a dreamer or revolutionary—He is Son of the living God
 New Melbourne archbishop vows to ‘right the grievous wrongs of the past’
 Toronto cardinal: ‘we are facing an assault on our faith’ from ‘grievously, ferociously secular people’
 Pope prays for peace in Nicaragua, Syria
 Turn to Jesus for healing and receive new life, Pope tells faithful
 Official explains Vatican media strategy: let the Pope be himself
 Ukrainian Catholic leader denounces violence against Romani
 Priest murdered in Central African Republic
 Prince William visits Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre
 Philippine bishops deny they are plotting to destabilize government
 Philippine president should ‘repent and relent,’ bishop says
 Vietnamese priest’s brave protest goes viral
 Christ’s Blood is the source of salvation, Pope tells Precious Blood communities
 Bolivia’s president meets with Pope Francis
 Vatican newspaper laments state of EU

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