Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Themes for daily prayer, reflection, and action include anti-religious violence, immigration enforcement, gender identity, and Nicaragua.

“There’s been very severe intertribal fighting for the past six weeks but not clear who the perpetrators are,” said Dr. Tom Catena, an American medical missionary who works six miles away.

The court ruled that a ban on door-to-door evangelization in Shumen, Bulgaria, violated the European Convention on Human Rights.

An estimated 21,562 of the world’s permanent deacons serve in dioceses of the United States, which has 6% of the world’s Catholic population, according to a newly-released survey conducted for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.

The 14 acres of land include a mountaintop shrine to Christ the King that tens of thousands of pilgrims visit each year.

“This affront to religious liberty cannot stand,” the diocese said in a June 19 court filing.

“We believe that any attempt to force through such a process carries enormous risks, including the balkanization of the country,” the bishops said in a June 20 statement. “In a context where political rivalries increasingly take on ethnic and tribal dimensions, the outbreak of another civil war is a real possibility.”

The nation has experienced numerous internal conflicts, including the Second Congo War (1998-2003), the deadliest conflict since World War II.

“Since the first debates, the bishops of France have been keen to recall forcefully that one does not take care of life by putting an end to it, but by accompanying it attentively, until the end,” the bishops’ conference said in a statement announcing the June 21-29 novena.

“His Holiness was pleased to learn of the theme chosen for this year, focused on the wonder of the full humanity of the child in the womb, as well as of your efforts to support mothers and fathers who have suffered the loss of an infant,” Cardinal Parolin wrote. “His Holiness prays that all parents grieving the loss of a child, especially an infant, may find comfort and peace in the knowledge of God’s love for them and for their child.”

“It is likewise his hope that these parents find the support they need in the Church community and especially in a life nourished by prayer and by the Sacraments,” Cardinal Parolin continued. “In thanking you for your continued commitment to bear witness to the marvelous gift of life in all its grandeur and inherent dignity, the Holy Father assures all taking part of his prayerful closeness.”