Saint Joseph Catholic Church

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A priest of the Diocese of Malaga, Spain, was sentenced to 52 years in prison for drugging, and sexually assaulting four women and filming his victims, three of whom were raped.

The 35-year-old priest, identified only as “Father Fran” in the article, was ordained in 2012; the crimes took place between 2015 and 2018. The priest was jailed in 2023 after “his girlfriend, with whom he lived in Melilla, discovered the images of the abuse on a hard drive,” El País reported.

The court also ordered the diocese to pay over 400,000 euros ($457,000) to the victims.

The leaders of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India highlighted religious-freedom concerns in a memorandum to Amit Shah, the Union Minister of Home Affairs.

The prelates discussed their concerns about an amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act that would allow Church property to be seized in some circumstances.

The bishops also called on the government to “restore lasting peace, communal harmony, and normalcy” in the strife-torn state of Manipur, which is 41% Hindu and 41% Christian.

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago announced that he asked Father Michael Pfleger to step aside from ministry following a new abuse allegation. The alleged incident took place over three decades ago.

“I have no memory of this girl, nor do countless others who have been at St. Sabina for those years,” the priest said as he denied the allegation. “The statement she has supposedly made is absolutely not true, and the facts will show that this is just an attempt by someone who is either being unfairly manipulated by others to hurt my reputation, or who is simply trying to make money by making false accusations.”

In 2021, and again in 2022, Father Pfleger was accused of abuse and then reinstated to ministry following an investigation.

Devon and Cornwall Police arrested a man on suspicion of murdering Ann Widdecombe, an English pro-life Catholic politician was was killed last week.

“The suspect, who is a white British national, is now in police custody,” police said in a statement. “At this time, there is still no information to suggest that this is a terrorism related incident.”

In a 169-164 vote, the French Senate rejected an assisted-suicide bill for the third time on July 7.

The National Assembly—the lower house of the French Parliament—voted in favor of the legislation in June and is expected to hold another vote on July 15.

Welcoming the “progress that has been accomplished in preventing and treating HIV and AIDS in the past five years,” a Vatican diplomat drew “special attention to children, who remain particularly vulnerable to HIV.”

“Gaps in both diagnosis and treatment mean that the 3% of HIV patients that are children account for 12% of deaths due to HIV,” said Msgr. Marco Formica, interim chargé d’affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, in a July 10 statement for a UN meeting on AIDS. “These disparities begin with their mothers who are at-risk and HIV positive and who do not receive adequate testing and consistent treatment.”

Enacting disciplinary measures on his priests, a Kenyan bishop imposed a 7:00 PM curfew, banned alcohol in Church residences, banned overnight visits and lay guests without his permission, and forbade cohabitation and intimate relationships “with members of either sex.”

Bishop Hieronymus Emusugut Joya, I.M.C., of Maralal, who has led the diocese since 2022, also suspended six of his priests. The diocese has only 15 parishes and 39 priests—30 diocesan and nine religious—according to the Annuario Pontificio.

“It is painful to state that I found the diocese with multiple problems, but no one was willing to tell me the cause of the problems and how to get the solution,” said Bishop Joya, who said he suspended the priests to “protect the integrity of the priesthood and the proper stewardship of Church property.”