Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Pope Leo XIV pleaded with the Society of Saint Pius X not to proceed with its planned consecration of four bishops without a pontifical mandate.

“During the 75-year period in the report, more than 680 priests served in our diocese. The report details the reported abuse by 37 priests and one deacon,” the diocese stated in its response. “30 are known or presumed to be dead. For the 8 who are living or presumed to be living, none are in active ministry ... The vast majority of reported abuse cases in our diocese are very old, with most occurring in the 1970s and 1980s.”

Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, M.E.P., the vicar apostolic of Phnom Penh, also received from the nation’s king the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia.

Bishop Schmitthaeusler described the award from King Norodom Sihamoni as “a sign of the shared mission between Buddhists and Catholics, which is bearing tangible fruit in the service of Cambodian society.” The prelate added that “the Catholic Church and Buddhism walk hand in hand for the common good of our people and our country,”

Located in Southeast Asia, Cambodia, a nation of 17.2 million (map), is 87% Buddhist and 3% Christian, with 6% adhering to ethnic or Chinese folk religions. Buddhism is the state religion.

The damage to Holy Spirit Church in Hanau, a city of 98,000, is estimated at 6,000 euros ($6,833).

God’s grace shines in the lives of Christians today, as it did in the lives of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Leo XIV said during his June 29 Angelus address (video) on their feast day.

In La Guaira, “the seminarians were in the building when the earth shook,” Archbishop Biord recounted. “There were some lightly wounded, but nobody was killed, and both the seminarians and their formators were able to leave. We can say that it was a miracle.”

“However, the building is inaccessible, it cannot be used, and it was heavily damaged,” he added. “They lost everything, even their clothes and shoes.”