Catholic News

• Pope recalls Corpus Christi, St. Aloysius Gonzaga (Vatican Press Office)
  At the conclusion of his June 19 general audience, Pope Francis said that the feast of Corpus Christi, celebrated the Thursday after Trinity Sunday on the General Roman Calendar (but transferred to the following Sunday in many nations), is a “special opportunity to revive our faith in the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist.” The Pope also recalled St. Aloysius Gonzaga, whose feast day is June 21.
• Hong Kong's Cardinal Tong renews request for withdrawal of controversial extradition law (AsiaNews)
  Cardinal John Tong Hon, Hong Kong’s bishop from 2009 until his 2017, commented on new developments in the anti-extradition bill protests.
• There is 'an Islam that wants to dialogue,' Vatican spokesman says (Zenit)
  “I believe that the Pope’s hope, after the signing of the human fraternity document in Abu Dhabi, is to be able to show and make it clear, that there is an Islam that wants to dialogue, engage in respect for human rights and is also committed to making concrete progress, make significant steps,” Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, said in an interview.
• Archbishop Viganò, in new interview, discusses Bishop Bransfield and the 'gay mafia' (One Peter Five)
  Following his interview with the Washington Post, the former apostolic nuncio to the US discussed the case of the disgraced former West Virginia bishop with Italian journalist Marco Tosatti.
• Philippine bishops slam Duterte's reaction to fishing boat sinking (UCANews)
  Prelates accused the Philippine president, who has often clashed with the hierarchy, of pandering to Beijing after a Chinese vessel reportedly rammed a Philippine fishing boat.
• US military archbishop calls for de-escalation of conflict with Iran (USCCB)
  Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the archbishop for the Military Services, also serves as chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace.
• Archbishop Scicluna defends St. John Paul II's record on abuse (Zenit)
  “Those who question the competence or determination of St. John Paul II in the treatment of this phenomenon should brush up on their knowledge of history,” said Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, who was once the top Vatican prosecutor in sex-abuse cases and who again has a Vatican role in addressing clerical abuse.
• Venezuelan bishops lament rise in human trafficking (Fides)
  As Venezuelans flee political repression and economic collapse, “abuse and exploitation of women migrating from Venezuela has reached alarming levels,” the humanitarian organization CARE recently reported.
• Burkina Faso and Niger bishops: 'For years, we have been in the grip of terrorism' (Fides)
  Burkina Faso, a West African nation of 19.7 million (map), is 62% Muslim, 23% Catholic, 7% Protestant, and 8% animist. Neighboring Niger (map) has 19.9 million people and is 99% Muslim.
• Coptic Orthodox patriarch meets with Pope Francis (Zenit)
  Born in 1952, Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria has led the Coptic Orthodox Church (CNEWA profile) since 2012. The church is among the Oriental Orthodox churches that ceased to be in full communion with the Holy See following the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451.
• Number of refugees, other displaced persons tops 70 million (UNHCR)
  According to a new report, released by the UN refugee agency, two-thirds of refugees come from five countries (Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar, and Somalia). The nations that host the most refugees are Turkey, Pakistan, Uganda, Sudan, and Germany. Concern for refugees has been a hallmark of Pope Francis’s pontificate, from his 2013 visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa, to his 2016 visit to the Greek island of Lesbos (Lesvos), to his annual messages.
• Congressman warns of 'pro-abortion legislation on steroids' (National Right to Life News)
  The appropriations bill, H.R.2740, was introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).
• Kerala bishops' protest fails to change cartoon award (UCANews)
  The southwestern Indian state of Kerala (map) is 55% Hindu, 27% Muslim, and 18% Christian. Two Eastern Catholic churches (the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church) are headquartered there, as are two Oriental Orthodox churches (the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church).
• Burundi's bishops caution that political intolerance poses threats (CNS)
  The African Great Lakes nation of 11.9 million (map) is 62% Catholic and 24% Protestant.
• Family of kidnapped Christian in Egypt: 'We fear torture and savage death' (Aid to the Church in Need)
  Islamic militants kidnapped a Christian man in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in January.
• Scottish bishops authorize independent abuse audit of each diocese (CNS)
  The bishops authorized the audits as the the Independent Review Group issued a report on the sexual abuse of minors in Scotland’s dioceses.
• Ousted Islamist Morsi's rule was 'catastrophic,' priest says upon former Egyptian leader's death (AsiaNews)
  Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s president from 2012 to 2013, died on June 17. “We are sorry for his death and we sympathize with his family, despite the total disagreement on the way he governed the country for a year, in a catastrophic way,” said Father Rafic Greiche, president of the Media Committee of the Council of Churches of Egypt.
• Vatican cardinal calls on Catholic charismatic renewal to share Catholic faith, foster Christian unity (Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity)
  Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said in a recent message that “it is crucial also to share with our [non-Catholic] brothers and sisters what the Holy Spirit has sown in the Catholic Church, which is also intended to be a gift for them ... The communion among Christians can grow only if Christians are true disciples of Christ. It is fundamental to learn from Him how to create the bonds of communion. Therefore, ecumenism is part and parcel of our very identity as Catholics.”
• Charitable giving by individual Americans dropped in 2018 (AP)
  Although individual giving fell from $295 billion in 2017 to $292 billion in 2018, overall giving rose to $427.7 billion because of increased corporate and foundation giving.
• Leading EU prelate sees ecological conversion as a 'matter of life and death' (COMECE)
  Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, of Luxembourg, president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU, made his remarks during a reflection day on Laudato si’, Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical letter on care for our common home.
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