CatholicCulture.org - Catholic World News

Pope accepts resignation of Peruvian bishop accused of abuse (CWN)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 08:07:51 GMT

Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop Antonio Santarsiero Rosa, O.S.J., from the governance of the Diocese of Huacho, Peru.

Vatican promulgates new Latin edition of Roman Martyrology (USCCB)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:07:54 GMT

Updating editions published in 2001 and 2004, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has promulgated the third edition of the postconciliar Martyrologium Romanum (Roman Martyrology), the Church’s comprehensive listing of saints and blesseds.

The January 6 promulgation was announced in the March 2026 newsletter of the US bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship. The newsletter was posted on the USCCB website on July 14, along with the January and February newsletters.

Vatican Bank names new director general (Institute for the Works of Religion)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:07:31 GMT

The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), colloquially known as the Vatican Bank, announced the appointment of a new director general, Giovanni Boscia.

Boscia, the IOR’s deputy director general, succeeds Gian Franco Mammì, the director general since 2019, who has reached retirement age. Prior to becoming the IOR’s CFO in 2019, Boscia was head of fixed income and credit at Quaestio Capital SGR.

Under the IOR’s governance structure, the director general reports to the IOR’s Board of Superintendence, which in turn is overseen by a Commission of Cardinals. An on-site prelate—since 2013, Msgr. Battista Mario Salvatore Ricca—“helps administrators and employees govern and operate according to the founding principles of Catholic ethics and consistently with the mission of the Institute.”

The director general, in turn, “directs and controls all activities concerning the administration, management and organization of the Institute, as well as the recruitment and management of personnel.”

USCCB calls on Trump administration to reconsider support for IVF (USCCB)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:07:31 GMT

Noting that in vitro fertilization (IVF) “kills countless children and violates others’ rights and dignity,” the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called upon the Trump administration to reconsider a proposed regulation that would expand IVF insurance coverage.

“We urge the Departments to refocus the rule on therapeutic, restorative treatments, and to abandon its inclusion of IVF, which is profoundly flawed both legally and morally,” the USCCB’s general counsel and associate general counsel wrote at the conclusion of their 17-page public comment.

Scholar who has written on synodality, teen pregnancy, suffering to lead Ugandan diocese (CWN)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:07:17 GMT

Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Bonaventure Gubazire, M.Afr., rector of the Missionaries of Africa’s formation house in Enju, Ghana, as the new bishop of Kabale. The Ugandan diocese is the priest’s diocese of birth.

Recalling St. Vladimir, papal envoy prays for peace in Ukraine (Vatican News)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:07:30 GMT

As his papal mission in Ukraine continued, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi of Bologna, Italy, traveled to Kyiv, where he took part in the national celebration of the anniversary of the baptism of Kyivan Rus’ under St. Vladimir (Volodymyr).

As he prayed for a just peace and the release of prisoners and children, Cardinal Zuppi noted that Volodymyr is the first name of both the Russian and Ukrainian presidents. He added, “May St. Volodymyr enlighten the minds and hearts of the two heads of state, opening paths of justice and peace.”

Cardinal Burke: Synodality has to be stopped (The College of Cardinals Report)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 02:07:12 GMT

In a wide-ranging interview, Cardinal Raymond Burke said that “there is no definition of synodality, there’s no history of it in the Church.”

“We have to insist that this whole synodality business stop, and there be a very serious study done of the whole matter, because we’re talking about the very life of the Church, and we’re talking about the salvation of souls,” Cardinal Burke said in a 20-minute video interview, granted June 28 and posted online yesterday. “Whatever it is, it has to be completely faithful to what the Church teaches, and to the holiness of the Church’s life.”

Cardinal Burke also called for the establishment of a dicastery to assist Catholics who wish to “receive all the sacraments” according to the extraordinary form.

Montfort Missionaries sell former seminary to United American Muslim Association (Long Island Business News)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:07:59 GMT

The Montfort Missionaries sold their former seminary in Bay Shore, New York, to the United American Muslim Association for $5.2 million. The 15-acre property was previously slated to sold to an assisted-living facility company, but the planned sale encountered vocal local opposition.

The Montfort Missionaries bade farewell to the property in April, after a century of presence there.

The United American Muslim Association plans to open a boarding school at the former seminary.

Colorado bishop leads Rosary outside new ICE facility (Denver Catholic)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:07:39 GMT

Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodríguez of Denver prayed the Rosary outside a Colorado prison that is being repurposed as an ICE facility. The bishop was joined by an advisor to the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) and by Luca Casarini, whose organization seeks to rescue refugees whose boats have capsized in the Mediterranean Sea.

“As believers, we believe in the power of prayer,” said Bishop Rodríguez. “We acknowledge something sad and tragic may happen in this place, but for us this is just a symbolic way of expressing our concern, and to bring this concern to our most powerful God who will help us to do the right thing. That is why we are here.”

Goa archdiocesan officials face trial in multimillion-dollar land fraud case (UCANews)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:07:37 GMT

Two former procurators of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, India, face a trial in a multimillion-dollar land fraud case.

Prosecutors alleged that Fathers Arlino De Mello and Victor Conceicao Rodrigues “deprived a tenant family of its legal rights to a 2,479-square-meter plot of land,” the Union of Catholic Asian News reported. “Forged land records were used to register the property in the name of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman before it was sold in 2007.”

Father De Mello described the charge as a “clear case of politically motivated harassment.”

Arkansas gains top ranking in Religious Liberty in the States report (First Liberty Institute)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:07:06 GMT

Arkansas gained the top ranking in the 2026 Religious Liberty in the States report, compiled by First Liberty Institute’s Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy.

The report, published annually, assesses states on the basis of 20 religious liberty safeguards. The states with the highest rankings are Arkansas, Tennessee, and Florida; the lowest ranked are Michigan (48), Vermont (49), and New York (50).

UK rattled by killing of pro-life Catholic politician Ann Widdecombe (NBC News)

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:07:49 GMT

An English pro-life Catholic politician was found dead with serious injuries on July 9, prompting a murder investigation.

A convert to Catholicism, Ann Widdecombe, 78, was a Member of Parliament (1987-2010) and a Member of the European Parliament (2019-20). She was also Minister of State for Employment (1993-95) and Minister of State for Prisons (1995-97) under Prime Minister John Major.

Bishop Nicholas Hudson of Plymouth told BBC that Widdecombe “was a woman of faith and a great public servant.”

“Our prayers, the prayers of all the community, across Plymouth Diocese, in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, are very much with her and with her family and friends,” he said.

Vatican newspaper highlights plight of repatriated Afghan refugees (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:07:50 GMT

The Vatican newspaper devoted the most prominent article in its July 15 edition to the plight of thousands of Afghan refugees who are being deported to their native country by officials in neighboring Pakistan.

The refugees “are sent back to their home country unceremoniously, men, women, children, and entire families alike,” Federico Piana reported. “Often, in the transit camps where they are held before being pushed across the border into the Afghan town of Spin Boldak, they are kept in chains.”

Repatriation, Piana added, is “extremely dangerous; the deportees include former employees of the previous Afghan government, former security force members, journalists, activists, judges, and women active in public life, people who, according to many humanitarian organizations, could face reprisals or discrimination from the Taliban government.”