Catholic News

• Pope accepts resignation of Honduran bishop accused of misconduct with seminarians (Vatican Press Office)
  Earlier this year, former seminarians accused Auxiliary Bishop Juan José Pineda Fasquelle of sexual misconduct. The bishop was governing the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa as Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga received cancer treatment.
• Australian nun again ordered to leave Philippines (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  In an April interview, Sister Patricia Ann Fox said that her advocacy on behalf of human rights brought her into conflict with the Philippine government.
• Pope Francis will help Church in Ireland grapple with changed culture, Dublin archbishop says (Archdiocese of Dublin)
  On July 19, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin released the program for the Festival of Families, which will take place during the World Meeting of Families in August.
• Nicaraguan cardinal appeals for prayers, calls on Catholics to 'put pressure' on Ortega regime (Aid to the Church in Need)
  With one city “submerged under a wave of bullets,” Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes of Managua “addressed an appeal to the West, and to Catholics in particular, calling for the Ortega government to be reminded to show respect.” As he asked for prayers, he added, “Please put pressure on the government, urging it to show respect for the bishops, the priests, and the population.”
• Italian bishops urge new government to be receptive to migrants, refugees (SIR)
  In cases that have received much media attention in Europe, the government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has not permitted boats of migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea to land in Italy. “We feel responsible for this army of poor people, victims of war and hunger, of deserts and torture,” the Italian Episcopal Conference said in a statement. “These painful stories of men, women and children ... challenge us to dare solidarity, justice, and peace.”
• Vatican cardinal: Pope's Bari visit offers hope for Middle East (OSV Newsweekly)
  Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, reflected on the Pope’s July 7 meeting with the heads of the churches and Christian communities of the Middle East.
• Nicaraguan forces storm barrio, destroy churches; 'it is a genocide,' says priest (CWN)
  Nicaraguan police and pro-regime paramilitary forces stormed the indigenous community of Monimbó, a center of opposition to the President Daniel Ortega’s repressive regime.
• Priest criticizes tougher Italian policies on migrants, refugees (CNS)
  Msgr. Robert Vitillo is secretary-general of the International Catholic Migration Commission.
• Knesset approves Jewish nation-state bill, claiming Israel is 'exclusively' Jewish (AsiaNews)
  The Knesset is Israel’s unicameral parliament; the bill passed in a 62-55 vote.
• Pope's representative in Nicaragua appeals for peace (Vatican News)
  “I wish to express, on behalf of the Holy Father and the Holy See, my deep concern for the grave situation the country is facing,” said Archbishop Waldemar Sommertag, who was present when pro-government paramilitary forces desecrated a basilica on July 9. “With all my human and spiritual strength, I appeal to the consciences of all to reach a truce and return quickly to a national dialogue to seek together an adequate solution to solve the crisis.”
• Cardinal Dolan: pray that Supreme Court change will lead to protection of all human life (USCCB)
  “Each Friday, from August 3 —September 28, 2018, I urge all people of good will to join me in prayer that this change in the US Supreme Court will move our nation closer to the day when every human being is protected in law and welcomed in life,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan, chairman of the US bishops’ pro-life committee.
• Church works to counter tribalism in Sudan (CNS)
  “Africa is suffering from one big cancer: tribalism,” said retired Bishop Macram Max Gassis of El Obeid. “And as long as tribalism prevails, people will suffer a lot.”
• OAS condemns Nicaraguan regime (Fides)
  The permanent council of the Organization of American States approved a resolution on July 18 condemning the Nicaraguan government for political repression and human-rights violations.
• 2 Pentecostals arrested for 'forced conversions' in Chhattisgarh are released (AsiaNews)
  Chhattisgarh is a state in east-central India; it is 93% Hindu, 2% Christian, and 2% Muslim.
• UN agencies interfere in Mexican abortion debate (C-FAM)
  According to the report, three UN agencies applauded a court ruling that “orders the legislature of Veracruz to guarantee access to abortion for women and girls on the basis of the non-binding recommendations of UN committees.”
• Nigerian bishop fears genocide against Christians, pleads with West to take notice (Aid to the Church in Need)
  Bishop William Amove Avenya of Gboko, Nigeria, has warned that escalating attacks on Christians by Fulani tribesmen could soon become a genocidal campaign. “Please don’t make the same mistake as was made with the genocide in Rwanda,” he said. He observed that age-old tribal conflicts have been aggravated by religious tensions and by a recent flood of powerful weapons into the region.
• Majority of US Melkite priests have no roots in Middle East, bishop says (Aleteia)
  The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic church based in Damascus. Bishop Nicholas Samra, who ministers to Melkite Greek Catholics in the US, cited the “great attraction to Eastern spirituality ... People join us because they feel the comfort of an Eastern tradition in America. More than half of my clergy have no Middle Eastern roots.”
• New Mexico bishop investigates report of weeping statue at parish (Las Cruces Sun-News)
  Bishop Oscar Cantú said that investigators determined that the tears reportedly flowing from a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary are composed of olive oil. “But even if it were (a hoax), we are not sure how it would be done, physically,” he said. “Because [the statue] is hardened bronze. We’ve examined the interior, and there’s nothing on the interior.” The prelate spoke of “stories of tremendous faith, people who have been dealing with terrible suffering in their lives and have felt a tremendous spiritual consolation that Mary walks with us in our tears.”
• Contraception 'intrinsically wrong,' affirms head of Vatican commission on Humanae Vitae (Catholic Herald)
  Msgr. Gilfredo Marengo, the head of a Vatican commission exploring the history of Humanae Vitae, told an audience in England that the encyclical must be understood in the context of the entire Gospel message. “We know very well that to use artificial contraception is intrinsically wrong,” he said. The challenge, he remarked, is to present the argument in a persuasive manner.
• Archbishop Gomez: reread Humanae Vitae with 'new eyes and open hearts' (Angelus News)
  Blessed Paul VI issued Humanae Vitae, his encyclical letter on the regulation of birth, on July 25, 1968. “Much of what Pope Paul warned of has come to pass—from rampant divorce, infidelity and pornography, to ‘test-tube’ babies, widespread abortion, ‘demographic winter,’ and the total confusion about gender, sexuality and the human person that we see in our society today,” the archbishop of Los Angeles said. “But we should also read Humanae Vitae as a promise. This is a letter about happiness and love.”
• More...