Catholic News

• St. John Henry Newman to be declared a doctor of the Church (CWN)
  The Holy See Press Office announced on July 31 that St. John Henry Newman (1801-1890) will be proclaimed a doctor of the Universal Church.
• As Jubilee of Youth begins, Pope, youth call for peace in the world (Dicastery for Communication)
  Following the conclusion of the welcoming Mass at the Jubilee of Youth—the largest event to date for the 2025 jubilee year—Pope Leo XIV offered an unexpected greeting to the 120,000 young pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “Let us walk together with our faith in Jesus Christ,” Pope Leo said. “We must also cry out for peace in the world. Let us all say, ‘We want peace in the world!’” After the young people said, “We want peace in the world,” the Pope added, “Let us pray for peace. Let us pray for peace and be witnesses of the peace and reconciliation of Jesus Christ, the light that we are all seeking for today’s world.” Archbishop Rino Fisichella, one of the two pro-prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelization, was the principal celebrant at the Mass.
• Ecumenical Patriarch: Counter secular materialism through 'global alliance of conscience' (Ecumenical Patriarchate)
  In his keynote address at a meeting of the World Council of Religions for Peace, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople called for a “global alliance of conscience” to counter secular materialism, which he described as bankrupt and asphyxiating. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches, told participants in the Istanbul meeting on July 29 that “we are not called” to “compose a new global religion of consensus. We are called, each from the standpoint of his faith, to constitute a global alliance of conscience, a prophetic testimony that will keep open the horizon of transcendence in a world threatened with asphyxiation within the confines of the material.” “Our unity is not founded on what we believe in common, but on our common love for humanity and on our common reference to the mystery of the one God,” he added. “This is the only viable peace.”
• Holy See reiterates position on Israel-Hamas war, renews call for 2-state solution (Holy See Mission)
  Addressing a UN conference, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, reiterated the Holy See’s long-standing position on peace in the Holy Land and the Israel-Hamas war. Archbishop Caccia said that the Holy See “reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of the heinous terrorist attack of 7 October by Hamas against the people in Israel.” At the same time, “the Holy See emphasizes that the right to self-defense should be exercised within the traditional limits of necessity and proportionality.” “The Holy See remains gravely concerned by the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip,” he continued. “The Holy See urgently calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all Israeli hostages, the restitution of the bodies of the deceased, the protection of all Palestinian civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law, and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance.” Archbishop Caccia added: The Holy See remains convinced that the Two-State Solution, based on secure and internationally recognized borders, is the only viable and equitable path toward a just and lasting peace ... The Holy See supports their legitimate aspirations to live in freedom, security, and dignity within an independent and sovereign State.
• Tehran's cardinal assesses international situation (Fides)
  A month after the Iran–Israel war ceasefire, Tehran’s cardinal offered his assessment of the international situation. “We have moved from a bipolar world—West/Soviet Union—to a monopolized world, dominated by the hegemony of the so-called ‘free world’ in the face of a malignant threat,” said Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu, OFM Conv. “Israel and Iran accuse each other of being at risk of annihilation,” he continued. “One attacks Jewish Zionism, which oppresses Muslim Palestinians; the other attacks the mullahs’ regime, which threatens Israel’s very existence with its nuclear program. The main source of conflict lies in the ideology that demonizes the other and its supposed ambitions.” Cardinal Mathieu added: A premeditated preventive war, justified by a supposedly imminent threat, which could unilaterally impose peace through capitulation or the overthrow of the regime, is not a solution. State terrorism, with its infiltration, violence, or support for certain countries, parties, or ethnic groups, does not lead to peace.
• Immigration conflicts damage Los Angeles' identity: Archbishop Gomez (AngelusNews)
  “This is a situation not worthy of a great nation,” says Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, speaking of conflicts arising over the enforcement of immigration laws. Following up on his announcement that the archdiocese was establishing a new program to help immigrants in need, the archbishop said that there is “a climate of fear an uncertainty throughout our parishes and neighborhoods.” He said that the conflict is damaging the city’s historic identity, saying: Los Angeles has been a city of welcome, generously opening its doors to migrants and refugees from every part of the world. This diversity of cultures, traditions, experiences, and languages is what gives this city its unique character and creative energy.
• Papal prayer for Congo parish massacre victims, persecuted Christians (Dicastery for Communication)
  At the conclusion of his July 30 general audience, Pope Leo XIV prayed for victims of the recent terrorist attack on a parish in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “I renew my deep sorrow for the brutal terrorist attack that occurred during the night between 26 and 27 July in Komanda, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where over 40 Christians were killed in a church during a prayer vigil, and in their own homes,” Pope Leo told the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “As I entrust the victims to God’s loving Mercy, I pray for the wounded and for Christians around the world who continue to suffer violence and persecution,” he added. “I urge those with local and international responsibility, to work together in order to prevent such tragedies.”
• Italian bishops have given $49M to Holy Land projects (Conferenza Episcopale Italiana)
  The Italian Episcopal Conference announced on July 30 that it has given nearly 43 million euros ($49.2 million) to projects in the Holy Land. The announcement did not specify the time frame in which the donations have been given, though it did make reference to nearly $1.645 million euros ($1.88M) over the last two years related to the war and humanitarian emergency, as well as a recent 300,000 euro ($343,000) gift to a Comboni missionary hospital. “We are close to the community of the Holy Land with prayer and concrete help: their pain is our pain, their tears are ours,” said Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, the conference’s president.
• US bishops back Kids Online Safety Act (USCCB)
  The chairmen of the US bishops’ Committee on Communications and Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth lent their support to the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), sponsored by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). “The digital environment in which our young people live can and must be made safer, more transparent, and more accountable than what currently exists,” Bishops William Byrne and Robert Barron wrote in a recent letter. “The KOSA legislation that you have championed takes meaningful and effective steps toward that goal.”
• Vatican, Italy to cooperate on agrivoltaic plant (Vatican News)
  The Vatican has signed an agreement with the government of Italy to build an agrivoltaic plant on Vatican-owned land outside Rome. The project—which will produce solar energy while preserving the agricultural use of the 1,000-acre site—will be located at Santa Maria di Galeria. The agrivoltaic plant will provide energy for Vatican City. Santa Maria di Galeria was once the focus of a controversy between the Vatican and the Italian government, as local residents had complained of problems they attributed to the electro-magnetic waves produced by Vatican Radio transmitters on the site. The Vatican agreed to cut back the strength of the transmissions.
• Jesuit spokesman contrasts Pope Francis's closeness, actions of previous popes (General Curia, Society of Jesus)
  In a reflection for the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, a Jesuit spokesman wrote that Pope Francis’s 2013 World Youth Day in Brazil was “my first experience of the leader of the Catholic Church ‘smelling like his sheep.’” “I had been part of World Youth Day since 1993 and had seen how Pope John Paul II & Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the events,” wrote Father Robert Ballecer, SJ, a communication official at the Jesuit general curia. “Francis was different ... He encouraged the assembled bishops and cardinals to be WITH their young adults, rather than watching them from a distance.” “Pope Leo XIV is a worthy successor to Peter, and I believe he will guide the Church with the same love and sense of service that I appreciated about Francis,” Father Ballacer added, as he prayed that “this first Feast Day since the passing of the first Jesuit Pope may be one of celebration and gratitude for our brother Francis.”
• New director named for Vatican Observatory (Vatican News)
  Father Richard D’Souza, a Jesuit astronomer from India, has been appointed by Pope Leo to become director of the Vatican Observatory. Father D’Souza, who has been on the staff of the Observatory since 2016 and has been superior of the Jesuit community there, will replace Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ, who will complete his 10-year term as director in September. Father D’Souza, who earned his doctorate from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Munich, specializes in the formation of galaxies.
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