Saint Joseph Catholic Church

At Pope Leo XIV’s behest, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi of Bologna, Italy, traveled to Ukraine and gave holy cards to Russian prisoners of war near Lviv.

Cardinal Zuppi, accompanied by the apostolic nuncio and the Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See, also gave the prisoners keychains, telling them that he hoped that “soon you will put your house key on it, so you can open your front door and embrace your loved ones.”

“Pope Leo sent the nuncio and me here to bring you hope,” added Cardinal Zuppi. “He is praying for you, that the war may end and that you may return home.”

Cardinal Zuppi also visited Ukraine in 2023 at the behest of Pope Francis as the Pope’s special wartime envoy.

A Kenyan bishop urged women who intend to tempt priests not to do so.

“For those intending to tempt priests and force them into affairs that go against their beliefs and priestly calling, please stop,” Bishop Hieronymus Emusugut Joya, I.M.C., of Maralal said yesterday. “These priests are human and have feelings. If you convince them, they might fall.”

On July 12, Bishop Joya suspended 15% of his priests and enacted disciplinary measures, including a 7:00 PM curfew and a ban on overnight guests in priests’ residences without his permission.

The executive director of the Pakistani bishops’ Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice said in an interview that mob violence against a Christian family in Baldia Town was averted on July 9.

Naeem Yousaf Gill told Vatican News that a torn page of the Qur’an, along with a picture of the Christian shopkeeper and his mother, was mailed to someone. Soon, a violent mob gathered outside the shopkeeper’s home.

Gill said that the Commission swiftly drew on connections gained through interreligious dialogue. To Gill’s great surprise, Muslim clerics, seminary students, and local politicians intervened, and police dispersed the mob. Thus, said Gill, “interreligious dialogue has great significance. It should be continued. It will break the barriers.”

“The Christian community feels unprotected and vulnerable in Pakistan due to repeated incidents,” he said. “The allegation is levelled against one person; however, if the accused is Christian, the whole community pays the price.”

“The Catholics in Pakistan are living a hard life,” Gill added. “They are facing discrimination, humiliation and hatred in all spheres of their lives. Still struggling to live with dignity.”

Today is the Memorial of St. Bonaventure (1221-1274), who was born in Italy in 1221. He joined the Franciscan Order and went to Paris for his studies. He was made General of his Order and deserves to be reckoned its second founder for his work in consolidating an institution that was as yet ill-defined in nature. St. Bonaventure died at Lyons in 1274 during the general Council between Greeks and Latins held in this city. Dante had already included him among the inhabitants of his "Paradise." He is known as the Seraphic Doctor.

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