Catholic News

The Vatican has released a new documentary, "Leone a Roma," about Pope Leo XIV's early years in Rome before his election to the papacy.

Following its previous documentaries, "León de Perú" and "Leo from Chicago," the documentary premiered July 1 on the Vatican News YouTube channels in English, Italian, and Spanish.

The documentary covers the then-Father Robert Prevost's nearly two decades in the Eternal City. He first came to Rome to study canon law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas from 1981 to 1987, served as prior general of the Augustinians from 2001 to 2013, and led the Dicastery for Bishops from 2023 to 2025.

Prevost's trips and fun moments with Augustinians

Many of his former Augustinian confreres reminisce about their time with Prevost, particularly their trips with him throughout Italy. Father Giovanni Lenzi, OSA, speaking to Vatican News, reflected on those trips with fondness.

"We went on trips to various parts of Italy, both in Sicily and to the north, up in Trentino, but also to various places where our houses were located, our Augustinian houses in Liguria," Lenzi told Vatican News.

Prevost is also remembered for his lighthearted moments with his fellow Augustinians. Father Ciro Musiello, OSA, recalls a particular prank Prevost and others played on him.

"One time we were doing spiritual exercises with the Jesuit fathers. [Prevost and others] said to me, 'Here, we'd like to offer you a candy.' So I thought it was candy, but instead it was a laxative tablet."

"As a result, while I was in the chapel, I had to run to the bathroom," Musiello recounted to Vatican News.

Serving as Augustinian prior general for 12 years required Prevost to travel frequently to meet other Augustinians worldwide. Father Miguel Ángel Martín Juárez, OSA, expressed surprise that Prevost could do it all while based in Rome.

"He traveled. He had a provincial chapter in Australia, then on the way back, he would stop to visit a province, who knows which one."

"Then he would arrive here [at the Augustinian General Curia in Rome] in the afternoon, maybe after the whole night on a plane. In the afternoon, he was already working in the office. It was tremendous physical and also mental endurance," Juárez told Vatican News.

Service in helping the pope select the world's bishops

Raised to the cardinalate by Pope Francis in 2023, Prevost returned to Rome that year after serving as a bishop in Peru to serve as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. This was his most recent post before he was elected Pope Leo XIV in 2025.

María Lía Zervino, a member of the dicastery, remembers Prevost for his thoughtfulness and listening while serving as its leader.

"It was clear that he had this way of listening, of gathering what others had to say, of reasoning about it, to do with his own imprint," Zervino told Vatican News. "So he is used to working with this kind of discernment and has no problem making a decision."

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Appearing before the European Parliament's Committee on Petitions on June 23, French activist Charlène Bernard, who had launched a petition on maternity protection, recounted the ordeal that led her to undergo a forced abortion.

Bernard's petition asks whether European institutions and member states are doing enough to protect women who wish to continue their pregnancies when they face pressure from partners, medical professionals, or difficult social circumstances.

Focusing on maternity protection and support for vulnerable pregnant women, her petition has drawn backing from pro-life civil society groups including the European Centre for Law and Justice as well as support across several political groups in Parliament, most notably the European People's Party, the European Conservatives and Reformists, Patriots for Europe, and Europe of Sovereign Nations.

Her petition also lands in a French context that suggests the issue merits closer scrutiny. According to a 2024 IFOP survey, 29% of French women who underwent an abortion said they felt pressure to abort from the health professional they consulted. Applied to France's 251,270 abortions in 2024, that would suggest on the order of 72,900 women.

These figures give Bernard's appeal broader relevance and raise the question of whether Europe's institutions are doing enough to protect women who want to carry their pregnancies to term.

The personal story behind the petition

At 27, Bernard discovered she was unexpectedly pregnant and wanted to keep her child. However, instead of finding support, she encountered a chain of pressure that culminated in an abortion she never wanted.

"What still hurts so much is the absence of my child, who is the first victim in my story," Bernard told EWTN News. "I am speaking out today so that what I have experienced has meaning, to protect other women from this painful ordeal, and to protect unborn children."

Bernard said her partner repeatedly urged her to abort, despite professing to love her. "It was incomprehensible to me that someone would push the woman they love to destroy the fruit of their love," she said.

She insisted that from the beginning, her intentions were clear: "I was happy to be pregnant, I already loved my baby, I wouldn't have an abortion."

Hoping to find help navigating this tension, the couple first consulted a doctor, who, Bernard said, reacted with incomprehension to her desire to continue the pregnancy. She then turned to a psychologist at a marriage and family counseling center affiliated with the International Planned Parenthood Federation, seeking someone who could help her and her partner talk through the situation and support her wish to carry the pregnancy to term.

Instead, she said the pressure intensified. Staff repeatedly referred to her unborn child as "just a bunch of cells," and a psychologist even arranged an abortion appointment "just in case" Bernard would change her mind. "I found myself trapped from the moment I walked through the door of the family planning clinic."

The pressure reached its peak when her partner forced abortion medication into her mouth, leaving her unable to exercise her freedom.

She said the experience led to severe depression, the collapse of the relationship, and lasting trauma. "What hurt me terribly," she said, "was constantly wondering how I could have let this happen — asking myself, 'What kind of mother am I to have let this happen?'"

Her petition

Bernard said her petition is aimed at forcing European institutions to confront what she sees as a blind spot in the continent's abortion debate: women who do not want an abortion but feel pressured into one.

"The normalization of abortion is such that pregnant women sometimes end up being pressured into having an abortion," she told EWTN News. While abortion rights are strongly defended in France and across the EU, she said, lawmakers should also defend "the right to motherhood," the right of women to carry a pregnancy to term without being subjected to pressure and with meaningful support.

Bernard said many women face social, familial, or spousal pressure to abort because they are considered too young, financially unstable, or at risk of losing their jobs. "Instead of supporting them in their motherhood, the only solution promoted to them is abortion," she said.

Among other things, Bernard is calling for stronger medical, psychological, and social support, including access to counseling, maternity services, housing assistance, and other forms of aid for women who want to continue their pregnancies.

She also wants Brussels to review existing EU funding and health initiatives to determine whether they genuinely support women who carry pregnancies to term, or whether some policies and funding streams indirectly create pressure toward abortion rather than offering real alternatives.

"Today in France, who supports vulnerable pregnant women who want to keep their babies? No one," Bernard said. "On the other hand, it's very easy to find support when you want an abortion."

Testing the EU's abortion funding logic

A key backdrop to Bernard's petition is the European Citizens' Initiative "My Voice, My Choice," which called on the EU to create a financial mechanism to facilitate cross-border access to abortion across the bloc.

In its Feb. 26 response, the European Commission declined to propose a new legal instrument but said member states could already draw on existing EU funding streams, most notably the 142.7 billion-euro ($162 billion) European Social Fund Plus, to support abortion-related services.

For legal scholars at the European Centre for Law and Justice, that position has direct implications for Bernard's case. If Brussels accepts that existing EU funds can be mobilized to help women access abortion, they propose, then those same instruments should also be available to support women who wish to continue their pregnancies.

In practical terms, that could mean EU-backed funding not only for abortion access but also for maternity counseling, housing assistance, and other support services for vulnerable pregnant women facing pressure to abort.

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ABUJA, Nigeria — A new six-year study released by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) is challenging long-held assumptions about the drivers of violence in Nigeria and the religious identity of its victims, with Christians bearing the larger burden.

Released on June 30, the report, "Killings and Abductions in Nigeria (2020–2025)," analyzes violence recorded between October 2019 and September 2025, documenting 79,323 people killed and nearly 35,000 abducted in attacks linked to what ORFA describes as terror groups.

The report argues that armed groups it classifies as "Fulani Terror Groups" were responsible for far more civilian deaths than Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) during the period under review.

According to ORFA's press release, the findings "overturn long-standing assumptions" about Nigeria's violence by concluding that Boko Haram and ISWAP together accounted for only 12% of civilian killings during the six-year period, while armed groups categorized by the organization as "Fulani Terror Groups" accounted for 44%.

"The data makes this very difficult to ignore," Frans Vierhout, senior research Analyst at ORFA, said. "We look at how killing occurs. Who they target, where they operate, the seasonal fluctuations of killings — and the evidence points strongly in one direction."

Vierhout continued: "Violence linked to Fulani militias is the dominant force behind Nigeria's death toll. The Western preoccupation with Boko Haram is, at best, misleading."

He further warned that the West African nation "is incubating a terror network which the outside world has yet to acknowledge."

Christians disproportionately affected

Beyond identifying the actors involved, the report places significant emphasis on what it describes as the religious dimension of Nigeria's violence.

ORFA says that after accounting for victims whose religious identity could not immediately be established, an estimated 28,551 Christians were killed during the study period compared with 13,224 Muslims.

The report further states that, relative to local population sizes in affected states, Christians were killed at approximately 4.4 times the rate of Muslims.

The report explains that it includes the religious affiliation of civilian victims because "a variety of contradictory analyses exist concerning the causes of violence in Nigeria."

"ORFA is not taking sides," the researchers say. "The observatory wants to let the data speak for itself without purposefully steering towards one or the other of these narratives."

The researchers argue that identifying victims' religious backgrounds is necessary for understanding patterns of violence and assessing whether particular communities are disproportionately affected.

Community attacks accounted for most civilian deaths

According to ORFA, approximately three-quarters of civilians killed died during raids on communities rather than in isolated attacks.

The report records 42,033 civilian deaths among the 79,323 people killed during the study period and notes that 75% of civilian fatalities occurred during attacks on farming communities, which often involved abductions, destruction of property, and displacement.

The study also documents 34,773 civilian abductions over the same period.

While Christian and Muslim civilians were abducted in nearly equal numbers overall, ORFA's accompanying field research argues that the treatment of hostages differed according to religion.

"The field research reveals lesser value is assigned to a Christian life," said Steven Kefas, senior research analyst and author of "Captivity by Creed: The Religious Sorting System Nobody Talks About."

"From the moment of capture, Muslim and Christian hostages enter different realities. It is not about individual captors. It is a system — consistent across multiple states, armed groups, and multiple years of survivor testimony," Kefas said.

According to the researchers, Christian captives faced higher ransom demands, longer periods in captivity, greater likelihood of execution, and, in the case of women, sexual violence, forced conversion, and forced marriage.

Report distinguishes armed groups from Fulani population

ORFA stresses throughout both the report and accompanying press release that it distinguishes between armed groups and the wider Fulani community.

The organization says the category "Fulani Terror Groups" refers to armed actors and "is careful to distinguish between armed Fulani terror groups and the Fulani people as a whole, the vast majority of whom are not involved in violence."

The report also notes that many Muslim victims were themselves targeted.

"It is important to understand this shift because FEM has not only targeted Christian civilians but also non-Fulani Muslim civilians," the researchers say in the report.

They add: "It follows that Christian civilians were killed or abducted for being Christians, while Muslim civilians were killed or abducted for being non-Fulani."

Call for greater attention to religious freedom

ORFA concludes the report by urging governments, policymakers, civil society organizations, and international partners to engage closely with the findings and incorporate the religious dimension into efforts to address insecurity in Nigeria.

Among its recommendations, the organization calls for greater attention to freedom of religion or belief, improved community security, stronger protection for vulnerable populations, and an end to what it describes as impunity for perpetrators of violence.

The ORFA researchers argue that overlooking the religious dimension risks producing incomplete responses to security challenges in Africa's most populous nation.

"We strongly encourage the reader to study the full report," they say. "It provides vital context and offers a roadmap for addressing the ongoing challenges in Nigeria."

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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One day after the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) consecrated four bishops without the permission of Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican issued a decree declaring the excommunication of all bishops involved in the ceremony and stating that the group is in schism.

Published on July 2 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the decree specified that the consecrating bishops, Bishops Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay, as well as the four bishops consecrated, Bishops Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, and Marc Hanappier, have incurred excommunication latae sententiae for performing the consecrations. These excommunications, according to canon law, can only be removed by the pope.

The decree also warned Catholic clergy and lay faithful not to adhere to the SSPX's "schism," under penalty of automatic excommunication.

The dicastery, in an explanatory note, lamented that doctrinal discussions between the Holy See and the SSPX, since the time of St. Paul VI, have not resulted in the society's full communion with the Holy See.

The note also stated that SSPX clergy "administer the sacraments illicitly and that the sacrament of penance administered by them and the marriage assisted by them are invalid."

Pope Francis had granted SSPX priests special permission to hear confessions and conduct marriage ceremonies as part of his outreach to the group.

The Vatican stated on May 13 that the consecrations would be a schismatic act, resulting in automatic excommunication for the consecrating bishops and those consecrated. The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, later called the SSPX's act "schismatic".

Pope Leo XIV even issued a final appeal to the society not to proceed with these consecrations.

"In this spirit, and filled with Christian affection, I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: Please turn back," Leo wrote in his letter.

In 1988, after Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the SSPX, consecrated bishops without a papal mandate, the Vatican responded two days later, notifying him and the consecrated bishops of their automatic excommunication.

The SSPX exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass and has rejected certain teachings and reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly regarding religious freedom and the Church's approach to other faiths.

The SSPX did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.

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The Sovereign Military Order of Malta's humanitarian outreach assisted 9 million people in 2025 across conflict- and disaster-affected regions, including Gaza and Ukraine, and has launched an emergency response in Venezuela.

Speaking for the nearly 1,000-year-old humanitarian order, Josef Blotz, its grand hospitaller, told "EWTN News Nightly" about "the sobering degree of need" and the "requirements amidst destruction" in Gaza after the Israel-Hamas conflict.

As grand hospitaller, Blotz supervises the order's health and social affairs offices. He has served in the position since February 2025.

Blotz oversaw the opening of a health clinic in Gaza City on June 22 in partnership with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Calling it an "honor" to open the facility alongside Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Blotz said it was "a wonderful opportunity to live up to the order's charism" by serving "the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable" in Gaza City.

"It's very important for me to outline that we are not only looking after our Catholic people in this parish or of the Christians," he said of the clinic located on the premises of Holy Family Church in Gaza City. "We are absolutely ready to help everyone irrespective of ethnicity or religion."

Order provides aid in Ukraine

Blotz said of Ukraine's humanitarian situation amid its war with Russia that "the crisis is ongoing."

Active in about 74 locations in Ukraine, the order's work in the country includes caring for orphans and children as well as wounded soldiers, Blotz said.

The order provides prosthetic limbs for soldiers injured during combat, producing the prosthetics "with the help of artificial intelligence," according to Blotz.

"We are modern by tradition," Blotz said. "And this is something you can witness in Ukraine where we really try — and actually achieved — making a difference in people's lives."

Venezuela mission assessed

Blotz said the order is preparing to send an assessment team to Venezuela "to find out where the need is."

"We are very experienced in setting up activities like these not only in crisis areas but also in terms of disaster-relief operations," he said, noting that he will know more in the coming days about how the order will lend its support.

"We have to understand the situation and also set up networks and partnerships," he said. "Because together with others, the Church, Caritas, and many other governmental organizations, we would be even more successful."

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NKONGSAMBA, Cameroon — The Catholic Diocese of Nkongsamba in Cameroon has appealed for prayers for the safe release of a priest and two members of the Fraternity of Franciscans of Emmanuel (FFE) who were abducted in the country's North-West Region.

In a June 30 statement, the vicar general of the diocese announced that Father John Bosco Bihkong, a priest serving in the Diocese of Nkongsamba, and two FFE members were kidnapped the night of June 27.

According to Father Joseph Tchinda Dountio, Bihkong traveled to his native village of Melim, near Ndop in the North-West Region of Cameroon, to celebrate his first Mass on Friday, June 26.

He was accompanied by Brother Sylvester Sewong, guardian of the FFE convent in Kékem, and Brother Marie Rodrigue Sop, who is preparing for perpetual profession. The three were abducted the following night.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way," Dountio said.

He said the local ordinary, Bishop Dieudonné Espoir Atangana, is appealing for prayers for their safe release.

"Bishop Dieudonné invites the people of God, as well as all people of goodwill, to pray and support the Franciscan Brothers of Emmanuel for the release of these servants of God," he said.

No details were provided regarding the identity of the kidnappers, their motives, or whether contact had been established with the abductors.

Cameroon's North-West Region is one of the two English-speaking regions that have experienced years of insecurity linked to the country's Anglophone crisis.

Clergy, women and men religious, and other civilians have periodically been targeted in abductions as violence has persisted in the region.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been more than just a celebration of soccer. Amid the excitement, players, coaches, and fans have made it clear that, for many of them, faith is also part of the game.

Mexico, the United States, and Canada are hosting the tournament, which kicked off on June 11 and for the first time in history has brought together 48 national teams for a total of 104 matches.

The Virgin of Luján and the Argentinian national team

Argentina, the tournament's defending champion, seeks to repeat the feat achieved at Qatar in 2022 under the protection of the Virgin of Luján. During that World Cup, a video shared by goalkeeper Emiliano "Dibu" Martínez revealed an image of the patroness of Argentina in the locker room at the white-and-blue-uniformed team's training camp.

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Furthermore, the athletic shoes worn by Lionel Messi, captain and superstar of the Argentinian national team, were blessed at Our Lady of Luján Basilica by Father Lucas García, the shrine's rector.

In a video shared on social media, the priest is seen sprinkling holy water on the footwear while praying that the World Cup becomes a time of unity for all Argentinians.

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Croatia and its faith

Croatia, one of the standout teams in recent World Cups, has also consistently borne witness to its faith.

Before the World Cup, the players and coaching staff left their training session to attend Mass on the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

Another significant moment occurred before the team's first match against England, when EWTN News asked players Kristijan Jakic and Igor Matanovic what Catholicism means to the team and if prayer and faith are important to them.

"I think faith is very important in my life. When you pray to God, you feel that someone is listening to you, and that gives me a lot of strength," Matanovic said.

Jakic added: "We are a Catholic country where faith is the pathway of our lives. I think faith represents the entire national team. Faith is everything in our lives."

St. Michael the Archangel and Scotland

Scotland returned to the World Cup this year after a 28-year absence, featuring a generation of established stars alongside the talent of young prospects such as 20-year-old Ben Gannon-Doak, a forward for Bournemouth in the English Premier League.

In an interview with the BBC, the player spoke about the central role the Catholic faith plays in his life. He carries a medal of St. Michael the Archangel and prays and reads the Bible before every match.

Following Scotland's victory over Haiti in its World Cup debut, cameras captured Doak kneeling on the playing field as he thanked God in prayer.

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Mexico at the feet of Our Lady of Guadalupe

At Mexico City Stadium, the site for the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, there is a small, restricted-access Catholic chapel that players and coaching staff pass through before taking the field.

It's a simple space featuring just two kneelers and an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, accompanied by a plaque noting that the image was blessed by St. John Paul II in 1999 during his fourth visit to Mexico.

A video released during the tournament showed head coach Javier Aguirre and some members of "El Tri" — as the Mexican national team is known — pausing briefly to pray before their match against the Czech Republic on June 24, which they won 3-0.

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Faith also finds expression at the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, where fans can entrust the Mexican National Team before an image of the child Jesus dressed in the team's official uniform, a tradition that seeks not to ask for sporting victories but to place their joys in the hands of Christ.

Just steps from the cathedral in Mexico City's Constitution Square, a Fan Fest has been set up where fans gather to watch the games. There, one can find two nuns from the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament walking through the square, offering "free hugs" to the fans.

USA

On June 12, the United States got off to a strong start in the World Cup by defeating Paraguay 4-1. After the match, defender Mark McKenzie led the team in a moment of prayer on the field.

Leading up to the tournament, several U.S. players spoke openly about their faith. Standout winger Christian Pulisic is known for leading teammates in a Bible study he calls "Bible Time" and has spoken about the important role that reading Scripture plays in his daily life.

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This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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ROME — Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said Wednesday that the episcopal ordinations carried out earlier in the day without papal mandate by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) constitute a schismatic act.

"I don't think there is much to say about this episode," Parolin said at an event July 1. "First of all, I want to express great sorrow. I want to express great sorrow because, speaking of the unity of the Church, an act like this deeply wounds the unity of the Church."

The cardinal was commenting on the episcopal ordination of four new bishops at the SSPX headquarters in Switzerland.

"Evidently this is in itself a schismatic act, because we know that episcopal ordinations without pontifical mandate break the unity of the Church and are also subject to very precise sanctions, which are fundamentally excommunication," Parolin said.

The cardinal said he did not know "the timing and the manner" in which the excommunication would be formally addressed.

"My hope is that, despite what happened today, dialogue can resume and that a solution can truly be found here as well," he said. "The fundamental point is the council — that is, whether or not to accept the Second Vatican Council."

"One certainly cannot think that the history of the Church stops at a certain point," Parolin continued. "The history of the Church continues, and therefore the Second Vatican Council is a milestone in the history of the Church that must be accepted and implemented in the right way."

Parolin added that "despite this serious wound that has been produced," he hopes dialogue with the SSPX can resume and "paths can be found that make it possible to resolve this problem."

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Seton Hall University President Monsignor Joseph Reilly was "not implicated" in an internal report examining the school's response to sex abuse allegations, the Archdiocese of Newark said this week.

The archdiocese on July 1 announced the release of its own report into whether an internal investigation commissioned by Seton Hall — the latter known as the "Latham report" — revealed that Reilly knew about abuse allegations at the university and yet failed to report them. Reilly was appointed president of the school in 2024.

Archbishop Cardinal Joseph Tobin said in the July 1 announcement that the archdiocese's report, which was launched in February 2025 and performed by the law firm Ropes & Gray LLP, revealed that Reilly "was not implicated in the Latham report."

The archdiocesan report reveals that Reilly "responded promptly to allegations of sexual harassment involving seminarians at [Seton Hall's] Immaculate Conception Seminary in 2012," though Reilly "did not follow the university's Title IX reporting requirements" because he had not been trained on them, Tobin said.

The Latham report, which has never been made public, was expected to examine whether Reilly, then-rector of Seton Hall's Immaculate Conception Seminary, knew about sexual misconduct allegations against now-deceased former cardinal Theodore McCarrick and failed to report them.

The Ropes & Gray inquiry, however, states that the Latham report "contains no findings or allegations that Monsignor Reilly … witnessed or received reports of any sexual misconduct by McCarrick (or any other individuals) at any time," including during a stint as McCarrick's secretary in the early 1990s.

Among its findings, the Ropes & Gray report said Reilly in 2012 removed a seminarian from the school's seminary after the younger man was found to have engaged in sexual harassment.

Reilly was "not involved" in a separate 2014 dispute over inappropriate conduct involving two adults, meanwhile.

In his announcement on July 1, Tobin said that "nothing in [the] thorough report changes my firm view that Monsignor Reilly is a good priest with formidable experience and a deep commitment to a Catholic institution serving the Church and the world."

"He is highly regarded across the Seton Hall community and has my full respect and confidence," the archbishop said.

The Latham report was commissioned by Seton Hall in 2019 and produced by the law firm Latham & Watkins; the school ordered it after bombshell allegations involving McCarrick, who died in 2025.

A New Jersey appeals court ruled in June that Seton Hall would not have to fully disclose the report as part of ongoing clergy abuse lawsuits.

The appeals court did rule that one section of the report regarding the university's sexual harassment policies could be disclosed in court, though parts of that section could be subject to redactions depending on the contents.

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BANGASSOU, Central African Republic — A Catholic priest serving in the Diocese of Bangassou in Central African Republic was shot dead in an armed attack in eastern Central African Republic. A parishioner accompanying him was seriously wounded.

Father Crépin Martial Monga, pastor of St. John the Baptist Zémio Parish in the Bangassou Diocese, was killed Monday, June 29, as he returned to the rectory.

According to local and diocesan sources, the attack occurred around 6:43 p.m. local time on the road linking a checkpoint of the Central African Armed Forces to the parish residence.

He was struck in the head and died instantly. A female parishioner traveling with him was also hit by a bullet in the neck. She was rushed to the hospital in Zémio, where she remains in intensive care.

Medical personnel say her condition is critical and she may require evacuation to a better-equipped facility.

Authorities have not yet identified those responsible for the attack, and no group has claimed responsibility. The circumstances and motives remain unclear as investigations continue.

Bangassou Bishop Aurelio Gazzera paid tribute to the slain priest, highlighting his commitment to peace.

"This is a tremendous loss for the local community and for the Diocese of Bangassou," he said.

Gazzera praised the priest's constant commitment to peace and reconciliation in the region.

The bishop noted that at the time of his statement, gunfire was still being heard in Zémio, a volatile security situation that currently makes it difficult to gather precise information on the exact circumstances of the tragedy.

Beyond his pastoral ministry, Monga was actively engaged in peace-building efforts in the region. He served on the Local Committee for Peace and Reconciliation, working to promote dialogue, social cohesion, and reconciliation among communities affected by conflict.

He was widely known as a man of peace, committed entirely to his pastoral mission. His "weapons," as described by those who knew him, were the Bible and the rosary, and his mission was to serve communities affected by prolonged instability.

Serving in the conflict-affected Zémio region, he was recognized for his closeness to the people, his kindness, and his dedication to families facing hardship.

Only hours before his death, Monga was still actively engaged in pastoral care. On June 28, he administered the sacrament of baptism to 175 candidates, including 160 displaced Christians from his parish who had been accommodated in Zapay from June 27–29.

On the morning of June 29, the priest accompanied the newly baptized to the banks of the Mbomou River before returning with them — his final pastoral act before the attack that evening.

Monga's funeral is scheduled to take place July 1 at St. Peter Claver Cathedral in the Bangassou Diocese.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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