Saint Joseph Catholic Church

The Vatican’s Interdicasterial Commission on Artificial Intelligence, established last month, held its first meeting on June 17.

At the meeting, a “broad consensus emerged regarding the need for a twofold service: on the one hand, fostering internal coordination, information sharing, and reflection on the use of AI within the institutions of the Holy See; on the other, providing a point of reference for discernment and support for the many initiatives promoted in this field,” according to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

The National Council for Islamic Affairs of Chad, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Chad, and the Alliance of Evangelical Churches and Missions in Chad established a joint forum at a June 25 ceremony chaired by the nation’s deputy prime minister.

“We will continue to work so that everyone can contribute to human development and to achieving our common goal of building a united, prosperous Chad that looks confidently to the future,” said Archbishop Edmond Djitangar of N’Djamena, the nation’s capital.

Located in Central Africa, the nation of 19.7 million (map) is 61% Muslim, 31% Christian (17% Catholic), and 6% ethnic religionist.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued an urgent action alert on the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), scheduled to be voted upon by the House of Representatives today.

The bishops’ conference asked the faithful to “tell your member of Congress: any final House bipartisan agreement on KOSA must include the Senate’s duty of care standard.” The suggested message to members of Congress begins:

As a constituent and a Catholic, I urge you to oppose the KIDS Act legislative package that does not include the “duty of care” standard. The current House package explicitly rejects the “duty of care,” but this provision is essential for the legislation to be meaningful.

The Senate’s version of the Kids Online Safety Act, S.1784, rightly demands that digital companies treat children not as data points or revenue sources, but as vulnerable human beings with real needs and rights.

A vandal attempted to set fire to the altar of the Church of Saints Bassiano and Fereolo in Lodi, a city of 45,000 in Lombardy, in northern Italy.

“Fortunately. I think the fire went out by itself,” Father Elia Croce, the parish priest, said after the June 16 incident. He said that an altar cloth was burnt, but “there was no serious damage” to the altar.

Today the Church universally celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles (d. 64-67). This is a holyday of obligation in some countries. Veneration of the two great Apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, has its roots in the very foundations of the Church. They are the solid rock on which the Church is built, the origin of her faith and will forever remain her protectors and her guides. To them Rome owes her true greatness, for it was under God's providential guidance that they were led to make the capital of the Empire, sanctified by their martyrdom, the center of the Christian world whence should radiate the preaching of the Gospel.

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