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Cardinal López Romero accused of molesting at least 5 women (Le Monde)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 04:07:54 GMT

The Spanish-born archbishop of Rabat, Morocco, announced that he was “stepping back” from his duties after at least five women accused him of sexual assault.

Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, S.D.B., said that he has been “accused of inappropriate behavior towards adult women” and that “this situation has led the Church to open a preliminary investigation.”

“I have committed neither assault nor violence nor sexual harassment,” he added.

Father Marc Helt, the archdiocesan vicar general, told Agence France-Presse that “we do not know whether [the reported acts] really amount to sexual assault.” Archbishop Alfred Xuereb, the apostolic nuncio to Morocco, said that the “presumption of innocence must be preserved” until the “facts are established by the competent authorities.”

Share Christ's light with others, Pope tells Iraqi Catholic youth (CWN)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:07:33 GMT

Pope Leo XIV called upon young Iraqi Catholics to share the light of Christ with others.

Holy See is open to dialogue on AI, papal message emphasizes (CWN)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 08:07:03 GMT

Pope Leo XIV assured participants in the AI for Good Global Summit of the Holy See’s openness to dialogue on artificial intelligence.

Vatican diplomat: Prioritize poverty eradication and enact pro-family policies (Holy See Mission)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:07:17 GMT

Addressing a United Nations forum today, a Vatican diplomat called upon the international community to “prioritize the eradication of poverty” and enact pro-family policies.

“The Holy See also wishes to emphasize the vital role of the family as the fundamental unity of society, a ‘primary social good,’ and a crucial source of resilience,” said Msgr. Marco Formica, interim chargé d’affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. “Policies that strengthen families contribute directly to poverty eradication, social stability and the integral development.”

Pope appoints Diocese of Rome's 1st moderator of the curia (Vatican Press Office)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:07:07 GMT

Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Pier Luigi Stolfi as the Diocese of Rome’s first moderator of the curia.

Father Stolfi, born in 1970 and ordained in 1996, is now parish priest of San Lino, a parish with weekly Eucharistic adoration. Confessions are scheduled at the parish for over four hours each weekday, as well as during every Sunday Mass.

The July 7 appointment followed the creation of the position in a June 24 apostolic letter. Article 19 of Confirma Fratres Tuos provides that the moderator of the curia, appointed upon the recommendation of the cardinal vicar for a five-year term, coordinates the activities of the diocesan curia.

Cardinal Bagnasco: 'To speak the truth with clarity is the first act of love' (AdVaticanum)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:07:48 GMT

Reflecting on his 60 years as a priest, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the archbishop emeritus of Genoa, said in an interview that “to speak the truth with clarity is the first act of love towards one’s neighbor.”

The 83-year-old cardinal, appointed president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference by Pope Benedict in 2007 and again in 2012, said that “I see in Europe a growing expectation: it is the path towards Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life ... Both in Italy and across Europe I see encouraging signs of vocations: God continues to call.”

Commenting on the extraordinary form of the Mass, Cardinal Bagnasco added:

The unity of faith is not in question, but rather legitimate personal sensibilities. If, in this area, differences do not become absolutes, banners, or parties, then why not? The good of souls is the mission of the Church.

Israeli settlers' outpost threatens Palestinian Christian village, West Bank priest warns (Vatican News)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 08:07:53 GMT

A priest in Taybeh, a Palestinian Christian village in the West Bank, warned of the threat posed by the illegal construction of an Israeli settlers’ outpost.

Over the past year, settlers have repeatedly attacked Taybeh. Amid the reported beginning of the outpost’s construction, Father Bashar Fawadleh warned that Christian families “fear living under constant intimidation, while farmers worry they may no longer be able to reach their fields and poultry farms in the eastern part of the village,” according to Vatican News.

“The Holy Land cannot be preserved through words alone,” he said. “It must be protected through concrete action ... Do not wait until yet another irreversible reality is imposed. The time to act is now.”

Transalpine Redemptorists are distinct from Redemptorists, superior general clarifies (Scala News)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:07:21 GMT

The superior general of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori, clarified that the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, commonly known as the Transalpine Redemptorists, are not part of the Redemptorist order.

Father Rogério Gomes, C.Ss.R., issued his statement prior to the scheduled illicit episcopal consecration of a Transalpine Redemptorist priest.

The Transalpine Redemptorists, a traditionalist community founded in 1988, reconciled with the Holy See in 2008 but adopted a sedevacantist position in May. Father Michael Mary is scheduled to be ordained a bishop on July 25 by Bishop Pierre Roy, a former priest of the Society of Saint Pius X who traces his episcopal lineage to a bishop ordained by Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục.

Cardinal Cupich: Synodality is like dancing (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 10:07:23 GMT

In an article published in the Vatican newspaper, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago compared synodality to the kolo, a Slavic dance that he encountered at his childhood parish.

In “La sinodalità è come ballare” (Synodality is like dancing), an article published on July 7, Cardinal Cupich wrote that “both dance and synodality require a shift from individual performance to collective harmony, transforming a group of distinct individuals into a single, moving body.”

“Synodality is the Church learning to dance,” he continued. “It is a constant practice of listening to the divine melody, honoring each participant’s unique steps, and moving forward in a beautifully coordinated witness to the world. It reminds us that the goal is not to reach the end of the song as quickly as possible, but to offer praise to the Creator through grace, unity, and the love shown in every single step along the way.”

Campania's bishops appeal for respect for dignity of the person (Ottopagine.it )

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 10:07:47 GMT

The bishops of the Italian region of Campania (map) issued a wide-ranging appeal, “Per la dignità della persona e il bene in Campania” (For the dignity of the person and the good in Campania).

During a recent visit to Campania, Pope Leo XIV “called everyone to a leap of dignity and responsibility, inviting them to serve life, to choose justice and to place the common good above partisan interests,” the bishops said in their July 6 statement.

“We care about our communities, families, young people, the elderly, the sick, workers, migrants, prisoners, those who live in inland areas, urban and social peripheries, lands wounded by pollution, illegality and abandonment,” the bishops continued, as they asked for “a serious, shared and non-ideological discernment” about a range of concerns, including abortion, the Mafia, pollution, and prisons.

Murdered priest was tireless peacemaker, says bishop in Central African Republic (Aid to the Church in Need)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:07:21 GMT

Bishop Aurelio Gazzera of Bangassou paid tribute to Father Crépin Martial Monga, a priest who was killed outside his parish residence in Zemio on June 29.

“At some points he and the parish cared for more than 3,000 refugees at the mission,” said Bishop Gazzera. “He maintained many contacts with various rebel leaders and the authorities, always striving to mediate and find resolutions for the conflicts.”

The Central African Republic Civil War began in 2012; Father Monga coordinated the Local Committee for Peace and Reconciliation.

Thousands of errors found in British Columbia assisted-suicide cases, internal report shows (The Catholic Register)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 10:07:24 GMT

Citing an internal government document, a Canadian Catholic newspaper reported that medical professionals in the province of British Columbia made 2,807 errors as they managed 4,169 MAiD (medical aid in dying) cases in 2024.

“The staggering level of errors surrounding the practice of euthanasia in Canada betrays a level of indifference and callousness toward Canadian patients at end of life,” said Amanda Achtman, ethics director of Canadian Physicians for Life. “At the same time, every euthanasia death is a medical ‘error’ because it is an aberration of sound medical practice rooted in the Hippocratic oath to ‘do no harm.’”

Louisiana bishop warns against Mass attendance at SSPX chapel (Diocese of Baton Rouge)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:07:00 GMT

Stating that “it is our duty to support the Magisterium of the Church and the authority of the Roman Pontiff,” the bishop of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, encouraged the faithful not to attend Mass at the local chapel of the Society of Saint Pius X.

“I know, for some, these words are difficult to hear, especially for those who have worshiped, whether regularly or on occasion, at liturgies celebrated by priests of the Society for spiritual reasons and who never affirmed or professed the Society’s contradictory theology,” Bishop Michael Duca said in his July 7 statement.

Bishop Duca encouraged attendance at a diocesan parish where the traditional Latin Mass is celebrated on Sundays.

Arson, vandalism at German parish (OIDAC Europe)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 10:07:37 GMT

Unknown perpetrators vandalized a German parish and set fire to a bench, the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe reported.

The incident took place on June 29 at St. Mary’s Church in Freudenberg, a small city in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Vatican newspaper highlights 'note of hope' in Gaza refugee camp (CWN)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 08:07:24 GMT

L’Osservatore Romano devoted the most prominent front-page article in its July 7 edition to Suhail Abu Shawish, a Palestinian craftsman who repairs ouds in a Gaza refugee camp.

DDF publishes procedures for the return of SSPX priests, laity to full communion (CWN)

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:07:51 GMT

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published procedures for the return of priests and lay faithful of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) into full communion with the Church.

Vatican releases preparatory document for extraordinary meeting on Amoris Laetitia (CWN)

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 05:07:43 GMT

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.

Pastor, family arrested under Indian state's anti-conversion law (Catholic Connect)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 08:07:16 GMT

Christians in a village in Uttar Pradesh (map) appealed for prayers after a Protestant pastor, his wife, and an area resident were arrested under the state’s anti-conversion law.

Catholic Connect, a website of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, reported that the arrest took place on July 5 in Pipardeurwa, before Pastor Saroj Kumar’s Sunday service. The northern Indian state is 80% Hindu and 19% Muslim; only 0.2% of its population is Christian.

DDF: SSPX bishops, priests excommunicated; SSPX priests' confessions henceforth invalid (CWN)

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:07:30 GMT

In a decree issued this morning, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith declared that the Society of Saint Pius X’s four new bishops, along with the prelates who consecrated them, incurred the penalty of automatic excommunication under the Code of Canon Law.

Welcome migrants with the compassion of the Good Samaritan, Pope preaches on Lampedusa (CWN)

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 01:07:51 GMT

Pope Leo XIV made a brief pastoral visit to Lampedusa today (program, video) and called upon the faithful to welcome migrants with the compassion of the Good Samaritan.