Saint Joseph Catholic Church

“I gave no blessing to anyone and had not been aware that any blessings would be given,” said Cardinal Radcliffe.

The Mass, described as a Mass of Thanksgiving for 50 Years of Friendship, Partnership, and Commitment in the Pursuit of Justice, “was not designed to celebrate gay relationships as such,” he continued. “To promote it as such would be to misrepresent it. To do so for the purposes of exciting scandal would be morally wrong.”

Cardinal Radcliffe added:

The guidelines given by the Church are that any such occasion should be private so as not to cause misunderstanding. It was agreed that this occasion should be private. Why the privacy was not respected I do not know. So making it more public by writing articles about it would be against the will of the Church as I understand it.

“We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Nicaraguan Bishop Abelardo Mata who has been arbitrarily detained by the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship,” the Bureau stated. “80-year old Bishop Mata poses no threat to the regime and his health is fragile.”

Hanna al-Amil, mayor of the Christian village of Rmaish, responded that “15 Christian towns had issued a statement two days ago denying these allegations.” France 24 reported that most Christian villages in southern Lebanon “have remained inhabited despite Israeli evacuation orders, with residents choosing to stay to protect their homes, churches and farmland.”

The prime minister made his remarks four months after the beginning of the Lebanon war, during which Israel has occupied part of southern Lebanon.

Matters India, based in Delhi, reported that

• a mob attacked the home of a Christian widow in Murshidabad, “demanding she abandon her faith and donate her property for conversion into a [Hindu] temple”
• activists “seized Bibles and briefly detained worshippers” at a Protestant prayer meeting in Bankura
• attackers “broke windows, desecrated the altar, and damaged musical instruments” at a Mizo Synod [Presbyterian] church in Suvas Gram
• a mob attacked Grace Church at Faridpur during a Sunday service, assaulting the pastor and members of the congregation

Matters India linked the attacks against Christians—as well as recent intimidation of Muslims—to a new Bharatiya Janata Party government in West Bengal. The state is 71% Hindu, 27% Muslim, and 0.7% Christian.

“We had a very frank and illuminating conversation,” Archbishop Gallagher told journalists after the July 6 meeting. “It was good to hear that many of our positions regarding the role of religious leaders, both on the Catholic side and the Muslim side, coincide. For me, this is a reason for optimism regarding the religious cohesion of the country and our shared commitment to working for the good of all Nigerians.”

Salisu Shehu, the council’s deputy-secretary general, said that “there was a strong call for all religious and faith communities to work together to combat hate speech, especially the growing and unfortunate phenomenon whereby some individuals openly insult religious leaders who are highly respected within their various faith communities.”

Nigeria, a nation of 243 million (map)--the most populous in Africa and sixth most populous in the world—is 47% Muslim, 46% Christian (11% Catholic), and 7% ethnic religionist.

The Holy See Press Office, General Secretariat of the Synod, and Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life released the preparatory document for the upcoming Vatican meeting on the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia.

“I am very happy to be here among you and to spend the next few weeks with a little rest, a little prayer, a little reading, and, hopefully, a little sport here in Castel Gandolfo,” Pope Leo said to local residents upon his arrival. “Coming together is always an important moment, and I am happy that you are all here. Thank you for your welcome, and thank you for being brothers and sisters.”

For centuries, the popes have customarily spent at least part of their summers in Castel Gandolfo. Pope Francis abandoned the custom after 2013; Pope Leo resumed it last year, to the delight of local residents.