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Browsing News Entries

Browsing News Entries

‘The Russians Will Never Bomb This Place’ — Then They Did

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Vatican October Meeting to Focus On Divorce, Other Family Issues

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Vatican diplomat laments plight of Sudanese civilians (Holy See Mission)

A Vatican diplomat lamented the plight of civilians in El Obeid, Sudan, who are at risk of atrocities amid the nation’s civil war.

“My delegation is particularly concerned by the tightening obstruction of humanitarian access, and the siege-like conditions in which food, water and fuel are scarce, and essential city services are under attack,” Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, said during a UN Human Rights Council meeting on July 3.

“Starving civilians can never be a method of warfare,” Archbishop Balestrero continued. “All parties must comply with international humanitarian law, protect and uphold human rights, step back from any assault upon El Obeid, open safe corridors for those in need, and ensure unimpeded humanitarian access.”

Bishops, in pastoral letter, link America's founding principles to Ukraine's fight for freedom (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)

In the joint pastoral letter, the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the United States paid tribute to the nation’s founding ideals and to the Ukrainian Catholic contribution to American life.

The bishops also applied the principles enunciated in the Declaration of Independence to Ukraine today:

Ukrainians are not fighting for territory alone. They are fighting for the same truths that the Founders called self-evident: that human beings are created equal, that their rights come from God and not from governments, and that no empire has the authority to extinguish them.

Freedom is not free. Americans have known this and have paid for it in blood throughout their history. Today Ukrainians are paying the same price in their own blood. Their struggle, however, is not for Ukraine alone. It is a witness to the world that the principles of the American founding are not the property of one nation or one moment in history. They are universal, and they are always worth defending.

Pope visits with US ambassador on July 4 (@USinHolySee)

On July 4, Pope Leo XIV visited with Brian Burch, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, and his family.

The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See stated that “Ambassador Burch and the Holy Father discussed President Trump‘s bold leadership and American efforts to pursue peace, religious freedom, and the need for moral clarity and courage around the world.”

The embassy also stated that “the Ambassador and his family presented the Holy Father a USA World Cup jersey, a commemorative Freedom 250 baseball, and a homemade apple pie,” and that “Pope Leo confirmed he is rooting for the country of his birth in the World Cup.”

Pastor freed from prison in China, weeks after President Trump requested his release (AP)

A prominent Chinese Protestant pastor, Jin Mingri, was freed from prison and arrived in Los Angeles, his family announced on July 4.

However, at least eight other members of the Beijing Zion Church, which Mingri founded, remain in prison.

During his recent visit to China, President Donald Trump advocated for Jin’s release, along with the release of lay Catholic Jimmy Lai, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February.

The Lord carries the cross with us, Pope tells pilgrims (CWN)

Giving of oneself, out of love, “constitutes Jesus’ yoke, which is the essence of his teaching and the heart of his wisdom,” Pope Leo XIV said during his July 5 Angelus address (video).

Recalling 1st Mass in Florida and American saints, Pope praises USA's Eucharistic heritage (CWN)

Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to the “strong, though largely unknown, Eucharistic heritage of the United States of America” in a video message for the conclusion of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.

Papal praise for Columbanus Day, celebrated in honor of Irish saint (CWN)

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a letter in the Holy Father’s name to the bishop of Lodi, Italy, for the 27th celebration of Columbanus Day.