CatholicCulture.org - Catholic World News

Pope celebrates Mass in Sagrada Família, 100 years after Gaudí's death (CWN)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 09:06:12 GMT

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in the famed Basilica of Sagrada Família in Barcelona on June 10, the 100th anniversary of the death of its architect, Venerable Antoni Gaudí (video).

Pope encourages Barcelona Catholic charity workers (CWN)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:06:11 GMT

Pope Leo XIV visited the Church of St. Augustine in Barcelona on June 10 (video) and offered encouragement to archdiocesan charity workers.

Let us lay down our armor, as St. Ignatius of Loyola did, Pope says at Montserrat (CWN)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:06:24 GMT

Pope Leo XIV visited the historic Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat and encouraged the faithful to imitate St. Ignatius of Loyola’s gesture of laying down their armor.

'The Lord allows us all to start anew,' Pope tells prisoners (CWN)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:06:00 GMT

Pope Leo XIV visited a prison in Barcelona (video) and told the prisoners that “God loves you just as you are, but he dreams of you being even better.”

Cardinal Parolin, in papal letter, reflects on the elderly's 'magisterium of frailty' (CWN)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 07:06:15 GMT

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, wrote a letter in Pope Leo’s name to participants in a Vatican study day on pastoral care of the elderly.

US bishops discuss sexual abuse, sainthood causes; new nuncio 'a study in contrast' (CWN)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:06:46 GMT

On the first day of their June 2026 meeting in Orlando, the U.S. bishops offered a message to the Holy Father, heard from the new apostolic nuncio, voiced support for two sainthood causes, and discussed the revision of the Dallas Charter on the sexual abuse of minors.

Liberia's bishops distance themselves from interreligious council's support for abortion (Live Action)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:06:32 GMT

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Liberia distanced itself from the Inter-Religious Council of Liberia’s support for a bill that would legalize abortion.

“While the Catholic Church shared some important values like justice, peace, reconciliation, human dignity, etc with our Brothers and Sisters of other faiths, we want to categorically state that we are not in agreement with the Inter-Religious Council in endorsing and requesting the passage of the New Public Health Bill of Liberia in its entirety,” the bishops said in a statement.

The Inter-Religious Council of Liberia then withdrew its support for the legislation, Live Action reported.

Irish bishops decry civil unrest in Belfast (Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:06:17 GMT

The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference lamented riots in Northern Ireland.

The bishops “expressed concern at the attack on human life and the wider violence and social disorder that has taken place in Belfast and in some other places across Northern Ireland over the last 48-hours,” the bishops’ conference said in a June 10 statement. “Reports that the focus of these violent attacks was family homes and businesses of migrants, is all the more disconcerting.”

“The true measure of a just society is one which effectively welcomes newcomers, combats racism and rejects divisive political rhetoric,” the statement continued. The bishops called for “support for the police and for community leaders across [Northern Ireland] throughout the summer months.”

178 abuse allegations lodged in Ireland in 9-month period (National Board for Safeguarding Children)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:06:08 GMT

Between April and December 2025, the Irish bishops’ National Board for Safeguarding Children received 178 allegations of sexual and physical abuse against clergy and religious, according to a newly released report.

The vast majority of allegations date from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s; only four date from the 2000s, 2010s, or 2020s (p. 10). In the majority of cases, the alleged abuser is deceased (p. 12).

US bishops voice support for sainthood causes of Msgr. Joseph Buh, John Rick Miller (CWN)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 09:06:21 GMT

On the opening day of their June meeting, the bishops of the United States expressed their support for the sainthood causes of the Servants of God Msgr. Joseph Buh (1833-1922) and John Rick Miller (1948-2015).

Colorado bishops criticize candidate's use of Pope in ad (Colorado Catholic Conference)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:06:48 GMT

The Colorado Catholic Conference responded to a candidate’s use of a video of Pope Leo in a political advertisement.

“The Colorado Catholic Conference, as the united voice of the Catholic Bishops of Colorado, objects to the use of Pope Leo XIV’s image and words to imply endorsement of [Manny] Rutinel,” the conference stated. “Furthermore, the position of Rutinel on abortion, especially Rutinel’s recent co-sponsorship HB26-1335 and HB25-129, is direct participation in the grave evil of abortion and violates Catholic Church teaching.”

Vandalism of statue of Christ sparks uproar in India's Mumbai (UCANews)

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:06:46 GMT

The Archdiocese of Bombay condemned the vandalism of a statue of Christ in India’s largest city.

“The Archdiocese of Bombay wishes to place on record its deep concern and unequivocal condemnation of the recent acts of deliberate vandalism against sacred Christian sites within the city of Mumbai,” said archdiocesan spokesman Father Nigel Barrett. “Targeted attacks on the religious sentiments of an entire community [are] a direct assault on the spirit of peaceful coexistence that has long defined this great city.”

Be missionaries of the Gospel, Pope tells over 600,000 Spanish young people (CWN)

Sun, 07 Jun 2026 11:06:23 GMT

Pope Leo XIV presided at a prayer vigil with young people last evening in Madrid’s Plaza de Lima (video) and challenged the Catholic youth of Spain to “be missionaries of the Gospel amid the material and spiritual poverty of our time, knowing full well that our faith is a way of life that is lived out in charity.”

Let Eucharistic piety transform Spanish society, Pope preaches at Mass for 1.2 million (CWN)

Sun, 07 Jun 2026 03:06:10 GMT

Pope Leo XIV celebrated the Mass of Corpus Christi today in Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles (video 1, video 2) and lauded Spain’s heritage of Eucharistic piety.

Cost of abuse scandal in US soars 82% in single year to $483.5M (CWN)

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 08:06:45 GMT

The costs of the clerical abuse scandal in the United States soared 82% in the July 2024—June 2025 reporting year, to $483,534,316, according to the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection.

Bishop murdered in Mozambique (Agência ECCLESIA (Portuguese))

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 05:06:33 GMT

The bishop of Quelimane, Mozambique, died this morning after being shot in the heart in his residence.

Born in 1972, Bishop Osório Cîtora Afonso, I.M.C., was ordained to the priesthood in 2002, appointed auxiliary bishop of Maputo (the nation’s capital) in 2023, and became bishop of Quelimane last July, according to the Annuario Pontificio. Prior to being named a bishop, he was an an official in the Dicastery for Evangelization; previously, he earned a licentiate at the Biblicum, worked at seminaries, and held regional leadership positions in his order, the Consolata Missionaries.

The Portuguese bishops’ news agency reported that the murder was “committed with an AKM-type weapon by individuals who climbed the wall of his residence, having vandalized the electrical security ... There are no detainees so far, and the authorities are investigating the case.”

Pope addresses Spanish Parliament, urges respect for dignity of every human person (CWN)

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 03:06:47 GMT

Pope Leo XIV addressed the Spanish Parliament this morning in the Palacio de las Cortes and urged lawmakers to respect the dignity of every human person in their decisions about the unborn, parental rights, migration, peace, religious freedom, and the seal of Confession.

Spanish saints are examples in our own dark night, Pope tells nation's leaders (CWN)

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 03:06:03 GMT

Pope Leo XIV told Spanish lawmakers today that three Spanish saints—St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), St. Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582), and St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1566)—can assist the people of our own age, which he characterized as “so dark.”

Pope Leo: Iran war does not meet just-war criteria (CWN)

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 02:06:42 GMT

In extemporaneous comments this morning on his flight from Rome to Madrid, Pope Leo XIV said that the Iran war does not meet just-war criteria.