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CNA Staff, Jul 22, 2025 / 14:16 pm (CNA).

A Nigerian priest who served for years in the U.S. has been released after being held in captivity by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram for several weeks.

Father Alphonsus Afina was captured by Boko Haram in June while serving in the Diocese of Maiduguri in the Nigerian state of Borno.

The priest had previously worked in the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, for six and a half years. 

The Fairbanks Diocese last month urged the faithful to "pray for [Afina's] freedom from captivity and for his physical and spiritual strength" while he was in captivity.

In a Facebook post on July 21, the diocese announced that Afina had been freed.

"Praise God! We received word today that [Father] Alphonsus Afina is unharmed and has been safely released!" the diocese wrote. "Thank you to all who have been storming heaven for him."

The diocese called on the faithful to "continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who continue to be held captive that they, too, will soon taste freedom."

On July 21 the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need said the priest had spent 51 days in captivity. 

Maiduguri Auxiliary Bishop John Bakeni told the charity that the priest was "a bit frail and tired" but was "in good health" and emotionally stable.

"We are now arranging medical checkups and rest for him," the bishop said, adding that he would be reunited with his family.

The prelate said the priest's release "should be regarded as a true miracle," according to the charity, with the bishop citing "the prayers and the intercession of Our Lady."

Afina was released alongside 10 women who were being held in captivity at the same time, Aid to the Church in Need said.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 22, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

The Richmond office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) spied on a priest because he refused to discuss private conversations he had with a parishioner who was converting to Catholicism, according to a July 22 report from the House Judiciary Committee.

According to the report, the Richmond FBI investigated the priest's background, monitored his travel plans, and looked into his credit card information. This investigation was allegedly launched after the priest became uncomfortable with an FBI agent's questions about a parishioner and said he would need to speak to the church's leadership and an attorney before answering questions.

"There appeared to be no legitimate law-enforcement purpose for investigating this priest," the report determined. "This new information suggests that the FBI's religious liberty abuses were more widespread than the FBI initially admitted and led the public to believe."

The report, provided to CNA by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan's office, offers more details about the extent to which the FBI investigated so-called "radical traditionalist" Catholics. 

The FBI's investigation into supposed "radical traditionalist" Catholic ties to "the far-right white national movement" was first revealed to the public through a leaked Richmond FBI memo in February 2023.

Although the FBI under former President Joe Biden quickly disavowed the document when it came to light and asserted it was a single product of a single field agency, information unveiled by the Judiciary Committee shows the investigatory efforts into Catholics was more widespread and that the national FBI headquarters was involved.

In the report, the committee states that the Richmond FBI was working with the national FBI headquarters to develop an agency-wide document on "radical traditionalist" Catholics, which was ultimately shelved. The headquarters and other field offices also coordinated with the Richmond FBI investigation of the previously mentioned priest.

The 2023 memo cited the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for the definition of "radical traditionalist" Catholicism, but the new committee report says the field office relied on "several radical anti-religious materials" from organizations that "spewed radical, left-leaning ideology" to inform the agency apart from just the SPLC.

CNA reached out to the FBI for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Spying on a Catholic priest

Emails uncovered by the committee show that the Richmond FBI allegedly coordinated with the national FBI's Counterterrorism Division, the Louisville FBI field office, and the international London FBI field office in its investigation of the Richmond-area priest who belongs to the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX).

SSPX is a traditionalist Catholic priestly fraternity that holds an irregular canonical status with the Catholic Church. Its bishops were excommunicated in 1988, though that order was lifted in 2009. The Vatican has worked with SSPX with the intent of eventually reestablishing full communion.

The committee report showed that a Richmond FBI employee interviewed the priest about a parishioner who had recently been arrested.

When the FBI employee asked the priest whether the parishioner had spoken about "desires and plans to commit violence," the priest "became very uncomfortable and started incoherently stuttering," according to an email that the employee sent to the counterterrorism unit.

The email stated that the priest "requested to speak with the church's leadership and attorneys" before continuing. It said the priest then "refused to speak with us any further but has continued to speak with [the parishioner] while in prison, and even attempted to visit him."

The FBI employee incorrectly asserted in the email that the priest's communications with the parishioner were "not considered privileged" because he "has not completed his catechism or been baptized in the Church." Virginia law protects priest-penitent privilege for any confidential communication with a member of clergy related to "spiritual counsel and advice." 

"The priest-penitent privilege rightly protects communications between a clergy member and an individual seeking spiritual guidance," the report notes. "It is not dependent on the individual achieving certain milestones in his or her spiritual life."

In response to the priest's refusal to disclose confidential information, the Richmond FBI opened a "formal investigative assessment" of the priest. This included an examination of the priest's ordination history and coordination with the FBI's London office to monitor the priest's trip to the United Kingdom. 

In emailed communications, FBI employees discussed the priest's location, travel plans, and credit card information. The Richmond FBI employee also sought information from other agents about the SSPX more broadly, including the priestly fraternity's recruitment efforts.

"This new information demonstrates that the FBI not only used its federal law enforcement resources to surveil certain Catholic Americans, but it also used these resources to investigate a clergy member," the report states.

Richmond FBI briefings on 'radical traditional Catholics'

The new committee report also details Richmond FBI briefings on traditionalist Catholics and the questionable sources from which they drew their concerns. 

An official Richmond FBI presentation document titled "Traditionalist Catholicism Overview" discussed the "core ideology and beliefs" of traditionalist Catholics and what they view as being "radical-traditionalist Catholicism," which they abbreviate as RTC. 

Some "core concepts" of traditionalist Catholicism, according to the Richmond FBI presentation, include the Traditional Latin Mass, "conservative family values/roles," a "rejection of modernity," and a "tendency toward isolationism."

The Richmond FBI categorized "radical-traditionalist Catholicism" beliefs to include "belief that mainline Catholicism is illegitimate" and "hardline positions on abortion, LGBTQ matters, and interreligious dialogue."

It also allegedly includes "apocalyptic overtones," "rigid fundamentalism [and] integralism," and an "undertone of antisemitism."

Some of the sources that FBI analysts cited regarding their concerns include an article in the Atlantic titled "How Extremist Gun Culture Is Trying to Co-opt the Rosary" and another article in Sojourners Magazine titled "The Catholic Church Has a Visible White-Power Faction." 

The report noted that some of the sources disparage Catholics and the pro-life movement. In the Atlantic article, the author states "the convergence within Christian nationalism is cemented in common causes such as hostility toward abortion-rights advocates." 

"The FBI analysts who developed the Richmond memorandum relied on literature with an inherent prejudice against people of faith and those with widely-held, deeply personal views of the sanctity of life," the report notes.

Richmond FBI employees also worked with the FBI national headquarters to develop a "Strategic Perspective Executive Analytic Report" for external use. It notes that the Richmond FBI interacted with the national office about the possibility as early as December 2022, just a month after the Richmond office began to produce the now-retracted memo. Ultimately, this effort was abandoned after the Richmond memo became public. 

The report stated that current FBI Director Kash Patel, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, provided the committee with the documents. It accused the Biden administration and former FBI Director Christopher Wray of withholding information from the public and misleading Congress about the extent of the investigation into Catholics. 

"Under the Biden-Harris administration, the FBI disrespected and potentially violated the constitutionally protected religious liberties of faithful Americans," the report states. 

"Throughout the committee's oversight in the 118th Congress, the Biden-Harris administration refused to provide relevant information to the committee," it adds.

Jordan in a statement to CNA said lawmakers "knew the Biden-Wray FBI was targeting Catholics, but new documents obtained by the committee — thanks to the leadership of FBI Director Patel — shows that it was worse than anyone thought."

"Contrary to Director Wray's statements, the targeting of Catholics went beyond the Richmond Field Office and extended not to just offices across the country but around the world," Jordan said.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 22, 2025 / 15:46 pm (CNA).

Massachusetts federal judge Indira Talwani on Tuesday issued a ruling blocking the provision in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" that stopped taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood and other abortion centers.

In the July 21 ruling, Talwani unilaterally decided that the law does not apply to abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood and granted the organization's request for a temporary injunction while the lawsuit progresses.

Planned Parenthood sued the administration in the Planned Parenthood v. Kennedy lawsuit challenging the provision in the recent reconciliation bill that sought to prohibit abortion centers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for one year. The case stated the "Defund Provision" violates the First Amendment, the equal protection clause, and the bill of attainder clause of the Constitution. 

Another affected abortion center, Maine Family Planning, also filed a similar lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking to restore Medicaid funding.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the political group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the decision "a desperate attempt to run out the clock and a shameful abuse of our tax dollars."

In a statement, SBA Pro-Life America slammed the ruling, reporting that "every day the order remains in effect, Planned Parenthood continues to rake in millions from American taxpayers."

"Every day her decision remains in effect, millions are funneled into a business that profits from ending unborn lives and putting women at risk," Dannenfelser said. "Planned Parenthood's desperate ploy for our tax dollars only underscores why the One Big Beautiful Bill is such a historic win. It halted, for the first time, over half a billion taxpayer dollars from propping up the corrupt abortion industry."

"Life is winning. And Big Abortions' death grip is slipping. With community health centers outnumbering Planned Parenthood facilities 15 to 1, women have better and more comprehensive alternatives. We look forward to the Trump administration swiftly ending this lawfare and restoring the historic victory secured through the One Big Beautiful Bill," Dannenfelser concluded. 

Other pro-life organizations have also spoken out following the decision. Students for Life of America reported in a post to social media platform X that the decision by the "unelected judge … forced Americans to hand $800 million to Planned Parenthood — the nation's largest abortion vendor."

"The courts are protecting death and the abortion industry, not the 402,000 innocent babies that Planned Parenthood kills each year," the post concluded.

Lila Rose, founder of global pro-life organization Live Action, called Talwani "a rogue district judge" who is "trying to force Americans to keep bankrolling killing children."

Rose called the ruling "blatant judicial abuse" and urged the Trump administration to "appeal immediately."

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CNA Newsroom, Jul 22, 2025 / 08:42 am (CNA).

Swiss prosecutors have filed criminal charges against a Zurich councillor and former Green Liberal Party leader after she posted images of herself firing approximately 20 shots at a Christian image depicting the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus.

According to the Swiss news outlet 20 Minuten, the Zurich public prosecutor's office accuses Sanija Ameti of publicly disparaging religious beliefs and disturbing religious peace under Article 261 of the Swiss Penal Code. 

The code penalizes anyone "who publicly and maliciously insults or mocks the religious convictions of others, and in particular their belief in God, or maliciously desecrates objects of religious veneration."

The incident occurred in September 2024, when Ameti used an air pistol to shoot at a reproduction of the 14th-century painting "Madonna with Child and the Archangel Michael" by the artist Tommaso del Mazza.

The politician reportedly fired from around 10 meters (about 33 feet), deliberately targeting the heads of Mary and Jesus.

Ameti, who identifies as a Muslim-born atheist, then posted photographs of the desecrated image on Instagram, captioning it with the word "abschalten" — a German term that means "switch off" but that, in the context of firing at the faces of Mary and Jesus, was understood by some as a symbolic act of erasure or elimination.

The images of the desecration, including a close-up of the bullet holes, sparked immediate and widespread outrage.

In total, 31 people filed criminal complaints. Ameti resigned from her leadership position in Zurich's Green Liberal Party and quit the party entirely in January. She still serves as an independent member of Zurich's municipal council, however.

At the time, Ameti reacted to the outrage on social media with a short post on X. 

"I ask for forgiveness from those hurt by my post," she wrote, claiming that she had not initially recognized the religious significance of the imagery and then deleted the images upon realizing it.

According to the indictment, the Zurich public prosecutor's office considers the act to have been a deliberate "public staging" that constituted a "needlessly disparaging and hurtful disregard" for the beliefs of Christians, with the potential to disturb religious peace.

Prosecutors are seeking a conditional fine of 10,000 Swiss francs (approximately $11,500) and a 2,500-franc penalty (roughly $2,900), as well as legal costs.

The Swiss civic movement Mass-Voll, which filed one of the original complaints, described the incident as "a clear incitement to violence against Christians."

Its president, Nicolas Rimoldi, noted that in light of rising violence against Christians across Europe, such acts "lower the threshold for further attacks," Swiss media reported.

The former Green Liberal Party politician has so far not publicly commented on the indictment.

Reaction of Swiss bishops

The Swiss Bishops' Conference at the time condemned the act as "unacceptable," stating that it expressed "violence and disrespect toward the human person" and caused "deep hurt among Catholic faithful."

The bishops emphasized that "even apart from the religious depiction of the Mother of God," the act revealed "a fundamental lack of respect for human dignity," the bishops said, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner.

Bishop Joseph Bonnemain of Chur, Switzerland, said Ameti had written to him personally to express remorse.

In response, he publicly offered his forgiveness and urged Catholics and other believers to do the same.

"How could I not forgive her?" he said, according to CNA Deutsch.

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Rome Newsroom, Jul 22, 2025 / 09:38 am (CNA).

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa spoke on Tuesday about the devastation of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, emphasizing that the Church "will never abandon" the city's long-suffering people.

Describing the extent of the destruction in Gaza at a press conference held at the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Centre, Pizzaballa said he and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem witnessed during their July 18 pastoral visit the inadequate living conditions families have been forced to live in.

"We walked through the dust of ruins, past collapsed buildings and tents everywhere: in courtyards, alleyways, on the streets and on the beach," he told journalists on Tuesday. "Tents that have become homes for those who have lost everything."

"The Church, the entire Christian community, will never abandon them," he said.

While expressing particular solidarity with Christian communities in Gaza, the cardinal emphasized that the Church's "mission" in Gaza is open to all people.

"Our hospitals, shelters, schools, parishes — St. Porphyrius, the Holy Family, the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, Caritas — are places of encounter and sharing for all: Christians, Muslims, believers, doubters, refugees, children," he said.

Reiterating Pope Leo XIV's July 20 Sunday Angelus appeal to the international community to observe international humanitarian law and protect civilians, the cardinal said delaying humanitarian aid to Gaza is "a matter of life and death."

"Every hour without food, water, medicine and shelter causes deep harm," he said.

"We have seen it: men holding out in the sun for hours in the hope of a simple meal," he continued. "This is a humiliation that is hard to bear when you see it with your own eyes."

Calling the deprivation of basic necessities "morally unacceptable and unjustifiable," Pizzaballa said he and Theophilos III support the work of all humanitarian actors — "local and international, Christian and Muslim, religious and secular" — to help the people of Gaza.

Besides highlighting the horrors of war, the cardinal said he also witnessed testimonies of faith and "the dignity of the human spirit" in those he and the Greek Orthodox patriarch encountered during their pastoral visit. 

"We met mothers preparing food for others, nurses treating wounds with gentleness, and people of all faiths still praying to the God who sees and never forgets," he recalled at the press conference.

"Christ is not absent from Gaza," he said. "He is there — crucified in the wounded, buried under rubble and yet present in every act of mercy, every candle in the darkness, every hand extended to the suffering."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 22, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Mississippi is promoting family, motherhood, and pro-life policies through its Mississippi Access to Maternal Assistance (MAMA) program. 

Established under Senate Bill 2781 in 2023, the MAMA program leverages state funds to connect women and families with resources that support motherhood and family stability. Mississippi prohibits state funds from going to abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, following the Dobbs decision. 

Faith-based organizations, however, play a strong role in the network of listed services. Catholic Charities of Southern Mississippi, Catholic Charities of Jackson, and Embrace Grace Ministry at Trinity Wesleyan Church are among the organizations that provide both spiritual and material assistance.

"The most important part about the MAMA program is it is comprised of public, private, and faith-based resources," said Attorney General Lynn Fitch in a recent interview on "EWTN Pro-Life Weekly." Fitch oversees the program and played a prominent role in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case.

A key component of the program is its mobile-friendly platform, mama.ms.gov, which centralizes information and referrals for essential services. 

The platform allows users to search for resources in their geographical area and is organized by categories that include health care, housing, parenting, mental health providers, and employment.

"What a God thing to have this available technology," Fitch told "EWTN Pro-Life Weekly."

Since its launch, the site has received "over 56,000 hits" and "served 23,000 women with their particular needs."

In addition to medical and mental health services, MAMA also connects users with providers of material support like diapers and car seats.

The Bare Needs Diaper Bank Warehouse, for instance, distributes diapers, menstrual supplies, and adult incontinence products to families in mid-south Mississippi. Employment services and job training programs are also featured on the platform.

For parents in crisis, the platform provides information about Mississippi's Safe Haven law, including a list of Safe Haven Baby Box locations where infants under 45 days old can be safely and anonymously surrendered for adoption.

The platform continues to grow its partner list and resource categories, helping ensure that families across Mississippi can locate and receive critical support at every stage of parenthood.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 21, 2025 / 16:43 pm (CNA).

The pastor of the only Catholic church in Gaza, Argentine priest Father Gabriel Romanelli, on Sunday described the current situation after the church was hit by Israeli fire on July 17, leaving three people dead and several injured, including a 19-year-old postulant who remains hospitalized.

In a video posted July 20 on his YouTube channel, Romanelli, a priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, began by sharing the bad news: "Unfortunately, the war continues," he said. "Today there were many deaths, people who were even waiting in the north, where there is a great need for humanitarian aid. The numbers are terrible; there is no final figure yet, but they're talking about dozens of deaths, many."

Furthermore, he continued, "the heat is oppressive. Today the heat index was 42 degrees [Celsius; 108 degrees Fahrenheit], and they say it will remain that way for days to come. There have been more evacuations in different places throughout the Gaza Strip, and the bombardment continues unabated. We have had nearby bombardment with some shrapnel falling, and unfortunately, we have come to understand what shrapnel means, which is not just something that makes noise but something that damages, wounds, and kills."

The priest mentioned that he, too, was injured on Thursday by shrapnel from Israeli fire, which was condemned by various Church leaders and by Pope Leo XIV himself, who spoke on Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and on Monday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The good news from Gaza

Romanelli then said there is good news: "We are in God's grace, we are persevering in the faith. Many have expressed their closeness in every way because of what has happened here: the attack on the Catholic Church here. The patriarchs have come to visit, as I told you."

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Italian Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, "is still here, so it's a blessing for the people to have him, to pray with him, to see him pray, to ask for his blessing, to listen to him, to console him. That he can console us is very gratifying. Everyone's gratitude is very good news."

"Other good news is that Nayib, one of our young men in a wheelchair with a lung injury, is doing better. He prays; he's always been a prayerful man, and he continues to pray and ask for prayers. He's still hospitalized," Romanelli said, although the situation at the hospital, so necessary now, "is deplorable."

"Most of the hospitals in the [Gaza] Strip were destroyed, but Nayib is doing better. His situation is delicate, but he's doing better," the priest added.

"Suheil is doing better. He had a major operation and will need to be patient during his recovery," he continued. "He's our postulant, whom you know, a great guy. He's 19 years old and very well-liked here. The young people, the teenagers, the children, the adults are all very moved by what happened, so, well, today we were able to have a conversation. He spoke on the phone, so he's doing better."

Praying and working for peace in Gaza and the entire region

The pastor of Holy Family Church also said that "people are still in shock: You can imagine how little time has passed since all of this. The good thing is that we prayed and sang. Although there were bombardments, there has been little flying debris these days, and the children wanted to go out, sing, and yell, so they were seen more in the yard, and they started playing with a soccer ball."

"And well, we continue to ask you, thanking you for your prayers, and asking you to work, let us all work, and convince the world that peace is possible and necessary," he continued.

The priest prayed "to the Prince of Peace, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Blessed Virgin Mary for the gift of peace, especially for Gaza and for the entire region."

This story was first publishedby ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 21, 2025 / 15:12 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday morning visited St. Martha Home for the Elderly in Castel Gandolfo, the Italian town where he is spending his vacation.

According to the Holy See Press Office, the pontiff arrived at the residence on July 20 at 10:30 a.m. local time and was welcomed by the community of nuns who run the facility.

The Sisters of St. Martha religious order was founded in 1946 by Blessed Tommaso Reggio. The sisters aim to be "humble presences of peace and hope" for those most in need and to pay "the utmost attention to the quality of relationships and the well-being" of the nursing home's residents, according to the order's website.

After spending time praying in the chapel, the Holy Father personally greeted approximately 20 elderly people, all between the ages of 80 and 101.

He also greeted a young nurse and after prayer along with some songs, the pope addressed everyone, highlighting some themes from the songs and referring to Sunday's Gospel reading from Luke.

The pope emphasized how in every person there is a part of Martha and a part of Mary and invited those present to take advantage of this time of life to live the dimension exemplified by Mary: to listen to the words of Jesus and to pray.

Pope Leo emphasized the importance of prayer, saying it is "so important, much greater than we can imagine," and told the residents that "age doesn't matter: It is Jesus who wants to draw near to us, who makes himself a guest for us, who invites us to be witnesses, young and not so young."

"You are signs of hope," he added. "You have given so much in life" and "continue to be that testimony of prayer, of faith," a family that offers to the Lord what it has.

After praying the Lord's Prayer together, Pope Leo XIV spent a while longer visiting the residence and returned to Villa Barberini, where he is residing during his stay at Castel Gandolfo, shortly before 11:30 a.m.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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CNA Staff, Jul 21, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

In the heart of New York City, nestled among the tall buildings of Times Square, sits a small tattoo shop with two 17-inch signs of the Miraculous Medal hanging outside the front door. Inside, walls of rosaries, crucifixes, and religious images greet visitors, while an old church pew serves as a place to sit and wait. A glass jar filled with blessed Miraculous Medals sits on the front desk. 

The tattoo parlor, Times Square Tattoo, is more than a tattoo parlor, according to owner Tommy Houlihan, who has a deep devotion to the Miraculous Medal and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The 55-year-old told CNA that he views his shop as a "ministry for the Miraculous Medal."

Houlihan has been a tattoo artist since 1990. He grew up in a Catholic household in Hell's Kitchen, a neighborhood on the west side of midtown Manhattan, and by the age of 18 began his career in body art.

In the early years of his tattoo career, Houlihan shared that he was making a lot of money — he wore expensive jewelry and tailored clothes, went to steakhouses every night, and "lived like a rock star."

"That's all gone now," he said. "It's all gone because I went and really cracked down on my faith."

About five years ago, Houlihan returned to the Catholic faith. A big factor was the powerful testimony of Zachary King, a former Satanist who had a powerful conversion to Catholicism after an encounter with the Miraculous Medal, a sacramental based on the vision of a French nun in 1830. St. Catherine Labouré, a young sister at the time, was instructed in an apparition of the Virgin Mary to have a special medal cast. Originally called the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, it became better known as the "Miraculous Medal."

After hearing King's testimony, Houlihan began digging deeper into his faith and praying about what he should do with his tattoo shop. He also spoke to several priests, some of whom were exorcists, about his struggle of wanting to keep his tattoo shop open but also honoring his faith.

In one of his conversations, Houlihan told the priest about the kinds of places around his shop — a Wiccan coven to his right, a Masonic temple to his left, and a church of Scientology across the street — describing it as being "in a den of vipers." The priest told Houlihan that he was the "antivenom." This response moved Houlihan to hand his shop over to the Blessed Mother.

"I work almost exclusively on tourists from all over the world," Houlihan explained. "And every single person that comes in my shop gets a medal when they first walk in. And then they fly back to France, Germany, Argentina, Canada, wherever they're going back to, so that makes us a worldwide ministry."

Houlihan has implemented strict guidelines for the type of work he and his employees do.

Some of the images that Houlihan's shop declines to do include Satanic symbols, zodiac signs, anything related to witchcraft or sorcery (including shows like "Wicked" or "Harry Potter"), anything that desecrates a sacred image, anything related to the LGBT "pride" movement, and other things. He says he will also not tattoo on places on the body that are primarily meant to sexualize the individual.

"I cannot attach myself to anything in the occult and I can't put that image on you. One day I got to answer for that," he said.

Despite turning down many requests and handing out Miraculous Medals to those who are religious or not, Houlihan pointed out that "almost everybody gives a positive reaction."

"I think 60% of the people react really favorably; I'd say maybe 30% are indifferent. But I do get some that don't want it or people [who] are outright hostile to it," he said.

When asked how his guidelines have impacted the business, Houlihan said: "I definitely took a hit, but the Blessed Mother's making sure that I make enough money to get by."

Seeing his tattoo shop as a ministry, Houlihan said he hopes those he encounters experience a change in their lives and in their faith.

"I hope they have an instant conversion," he shared. "And if they're a bad Catholic, [that] they become a good Catholic, and if they're a good Catholic, [that] they become a great Catholic."

He added that not only has his shop helped to keep his own faith "in line," but it has also given him a way to evangelize and to "give the word of God" to all those who visit. 

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Rome Newsroom, Jul 21, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV marked the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with a video call to U.S. astronaut Buzz Aldrin and a visit to the Vatican Observatory, located on the papal estate of Castel Gandolfo, where he has been staying for two weeks.

According to the Vatican, the pontiff's July 20 call with the 95-year-old Buzz Aldrin, the last surviving Apollo 11 crew member, included reminiscing on the historic 1969 landing and meditating together on the "mystery, greatness, and fragility" of God's creation as described in Psalm 8.

Earlier in the day, Leo visited the Vatican's internationally-recognized observatory, called the Specola Vaticana, where he was able to look through the astronomical center's historic telescopes.

The Vatican Observatory has been located on the papal estate of Castel Gandolfo, around 18 miles southeast of Rome, since the 1930s, but the history of the institution dates to the 18th century. After several years of closure in the late 1800s, Leo's predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, re-founded the observatory in 1891.

In 1993, the Vatican Observatory Research Group (VORG), which opened a second research center at the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1981, completed construction of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope in Mount Graham, Arizona.

Pope Leo has been taking a break from the heat of Rome with a sojourn at the lakeside town of Castel Gandolfo, a revival of a tradition last observed by Pope Benedict XVI. The pontiff's stay was originally expected to end July 20, but the Vatican announced Sunday that Leo had extended the two-week stay an additional two days, through July 22.

A pope close to science

On June 16, Pope Leo XIV, who holds a degree in mathematics from the University of Villanova, expressed his appreciation for astronomy when he received the participants of this year's Vatican Observatory Summer School.

On that occasion, he asked the young scientists to never forget "that what they do is meant to benefit everyone."

"Be generous in sharing what you learn and what you experience, to the best of your ability and in any way possible," he added.

The pope also urged them not to hesitate to share "the joy and wonder born of your contemplation of the 'seeds' which, in the words of St. Augustine, God has sown in the harmony of the universe."

This summer program, held every two years, brings together young astronomers from different countries. The most recent edition hosted 24 students from 22 nations under the theme: "Exploring the Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope," an instrument that has revolutionized astronomical observation since 2022.

During his meeting with astronomy students, Pope Leo highlighted the importance of the advances made by the telescope: "For the first time we can deeply observe the atmosphere of exoplanets where life may be developing, and study the nebulae where the planetary systems themselves are forming", as well as trace "the ancient light of distant galaxies, which speaks of the very beginning of our universe".

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