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ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 14, 2025 / 15:27 pm (CNA).

Upon arriving at Castel Gandolfo on Aug. 13, Pope Leo XIV called for a peaceful resolution to the war between Russia and Ukraine ahead of the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The meeting, scheduled for Aug. 15 in Alaska, will address the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which the Russian army invaded three years ago.

The Holy Father stated: "We must always seek a ceasefire; the violence, the many deaths must stop. Let's see how they can reach an agreement. Because after all this time, what is the purpose of war? We must always rely on dialogue, on diplomatic work, and not on violence or weapons."

According to Vatican News, Pope Leo XIV also spoke about the possible deportation of the population of Gaza.

"The humanitarian crisis must be resolved. We cannot go on like this. We know the violence of terrorism, and we honor the many who have died, as well as the hostages — they must be freed. But we must also think of the many who are dying of hunger," the Holy Father said.

He noted that "the Holy See cannot stop" the conflicts, but, he said, "we are working, let's say, on 'soft diplomacy,' always inviting, encouraging the pursuit of nonviolence through dialogue and seeking solutions, because these problems cannot be resolved with war."

The Holy Father is in Castel Gandolfo for a second vacation. He will remain at the papal residence, located on the shores of Lake Albano, until Aug. 19.

On Friday, Aug. 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he will celebrate Mass at the pontifical parish in Castel Gandolfo.

On Sunday, Aug. 17, at 9:30 a.m. local time, the Holy Father will arrive at the shrine of Santa Maria della Rotonda in Albano, an Italian town bordering Castel Gandolfo, to celebrate Mass with a group of poor people receiving assistance from Caritas.

After Mass, he will head to Castel Gandolfo to pray the Angelus at noon from Liberty Plaza.

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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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 14, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A recent study has found an increase in the number of Americans Catholics leaving the Church. To combat the issue, the study's authors suggest creating stronger community ties among Catholics, especially among children. 

Michael Rota, philosophy professor at the University of St. Thomas, and Stephen Bullivant, theology and sociology professor at St. Mary's University, conducted the study examining the decline in religious practice among Catholic-born Americans using data from the General Social Survey (GSS). 

The GSS has asked a large representative sample of Americans a number of questions about religion for the past 50 years, which Rota and Bullivant analyzed to write "Religious Transmission: A Solution to the Church's Biggest Problem," published by Notre Dame's Church Life Journal.

The data revealed that in 1973, 84% of the participants raised Catholic still identified as Catholic when surveyed as adults, but in 2002 it was 74%. By 2022, it had dropped to 62%. 

In 1973, about 34% of participants raised Catholic were attending Mass weekly (or more often) when they were adults. By 2002, the number had fallen to 20%, and in 2022 it had fallen to 11%. 

The study reported the Church is losing 9 out of 10 cradle Catholics, and most are becoming religiously unaffiliated.

Overall, there has been a decline in the number of Americans who prioritize faith. In 2013, 72% of Americans considered religion to be the most important thing in their lives, or among many important things, but in 2023, only 53% said the same.

These declines are due to "weaker social connections among Catholics, the 'values gap' between Catholic morality and mainstream American morality, and the internet and smartphones," Rota told "EWTN News Nightly" in an Aug. 13 interview. 

"Before the 1950s, the average Catholic youth would have looked around in their social circle and seen a lot of consensus about faith [and] about the importance of worshipping God in some religion or denomination," Rota said. "Today, it's not like that."

Young Catholics are "much more likely to have many non-Catholic friends, probably non-Catholic family members. In the culture at large, there's many anti-Catholic and anti-religious voices. So that puts pressure on youth as they grow up."

Rota explained "the values gap" is a problem because "in the 1930s Catholic morality and mainstream American morality were very close. Now, on issues relating to sexuality, marriage, life issues, they're quite opposed."

The last issue the researchers looked at is the changes the internet has caused. Rota said: "When the internet hit the scene, in the late '90s, we [saw] a huge spike in the percentage of youth who don't identify with any religion." 

"Human beings are socialized by their families, their close social network, but also by the culture that they're in. And what the internet and smartphones have done is change the balance of what's doing more work."

Americans, especially children, need more Catholic community. It has become harder to find community since "today ... our neighbors are more heterogeneous in terms of religion," but "parents need to intentionally seek out close relationships with other Catholics and put their children in situations where they make friendships with other Catholics."

There also needs to be "more religious activity," Rota said. "Just going to Sunday Mass and leaving … doesn't work anymore for handing on the faith to our children, because the wider culture will no longer guide them back to faith. Rather, it's more likely to take them away."

To help "cradle Catholic youth retain their Catholic identity as they grow into adulthood," Rota suggested that both parents share the same religion and that parents and children are religiously active. He said it is important for children to see that faith makes a difference in everyday life and that kids have both faith-supportive peers and adult mentors who are not their parents.

Parents should find "a vibrant parish or a Catholic lane movement, where they can walk the life of discipleship in fellowship," he said.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 13, 2025 / 15:19 pm (CNA).

After a lengthy session in Uruguay's Chamber of Representatives, legislators passed a bill this week that, if passed in the Senate, would legalize euthanasia in the country, making it the third in South America to permit the practice.

Introduced by the Broad Front political coalition at the beginning of the year and approved in July by the lower House's Committee on Health, the bill will now move to the Senate for consideration. It passed by a margin of 64-29 in a plenary session of the Chamber of Representatives on Aug. 12.

Nearly the entire ruling party bloc as well as members of the opposition voted for the bill, which states that any person over 18 years of age "who suffers from one or more chronic, incurable, and irreversible pathologies or health conditions that seriously impair their quality of life, causing unbearable suffering" may request assisted death.

If approved, Uruguay would become the third country in South America to permit the practice, along with Colombia and Ecuador.

The Catholic Church in Uruguay has spoken out against the bill on numerous occasions. In early August, the prelates of the Episcopal Conference of Uruguay posted a video message calling for a "firm no" to the bill because "causing the death of a patient is ethically unacceptable."

The bishops emphasized that "the dignity of every person is an absolute, inalienable gift that is never lost" and that "for God, every life is infinitely loved and worthy of all our care."

"Our society must welcome, protect, and accompany every person until the end of their earthly life," they affirmed, emphasizing the urgency of "implementing the palliative care law so that no Uruguayan suffers unnecessarily."

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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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 13, 2025 / 15:49 pm (CNA).

A report published by the Family Research Council (FRC) documented more than 400 cases of "acts of hostility" against Catholic and other Christian churches in the U.S. in 2024.

The report, published on Aug. 11, found 415 incidents, which included 284 acts of vandalism, 55 cases of arson, 28 gun-related incidents, 14 bomb threats, and 47 other hostile acts.

In every month, there were at least 20 hostile acts against churches, with the highest numbers occurring in June with 49 incidents and February with 45 incidents. The average was 35 incidents per month.

This is a slight downtick from FRC's 2023 numbers, when the evangelical nonprofit found 485 incidents. Yet, the number is still significantly higher than in previous years: 198 in 2022, 98 in 2021, 55 in 2020, 83 in 2019, and 50 in 2018, the year FRC began tracking hostile incidents.

Neither the perpetrator nor the motive is clear for most incidents, according to FRC. The report notes that some acts appeared to have been motivated by hatred toward Christianity, some by financial gain, and others seemed like they were perpetrated by teenagers "engaging in a destructive pastime."

There was only one instance in which a pro-abortion motive was found, which is much lower than in 2022, when at least 59 hostile acts were motivated by the perpetrator's support for abortion. The spike that year is likely related to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

The pro-abortion vandalism occurred at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Portland, Oregon, where the vandal defaced a church building with the phrase: "[expletive] you, my body my choice."

Arielle Del Turco, the director of FRC's Center for Religious Liberty, said in a statement that "no instance of vandalism or other crimes against churches is acceptable, and political leaders should be quick to condemn such actions and affirm the importance of religious freedom."

"Religious freedom does not rely on legal protections alone but also on cultural support," she added. "We must bolster cultural support for religious freedom and respect for our Christian heritage."

According to the report, there were also 33 instances in which the perpetrator targeted churches because the church embraced "LGBT" pride, which mostly came in the form of stealing the pride flags.

One of the hostile acts documented against Catholic churches was an incident in South San Francisco, California, in January. A man fired gunshots toward St. Augustine Catholic Church, but no one was injured in the attack.

In another incident, a person desecrated a processional crucifix and a statue of the Blessed Mother in a Georgetown University chapel. St. Leo Church in Hartford, Arkansas, was attacked once in 2023 and twice in 2024, which included a vandal destroying statues. Another vandal decapitated a statue of Jesus Christ at Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Fresh Meadows, New York.

At St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, a person discarded about 100 Communion wafers in the church parking lot during an Easter Mass. The priest said at the time that he believed they were likely not consecrated.

FRC President Tony Perkins, a former chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said in a statement the report "clearly shows religious freedom faces substantial threats here at home."

"Religious freedom is seldom handed to the passive; it is claimed by those who exercise it even when a hostile culture says they may not," Perkins said.

The report notes that the federal government has grown aware of anti-Christian sentiments within American society, with President Donald Trump signing an executive order to create a task force to eradicate anti-Christian bias within federal government policies, regulations, and practices.

"The American woke Left has been intentional in spreading its hostility toward the Christian faith throughout every corner of America," Perkins said. "We applaud the efforts of the Trump administration, but efforts must be taken at every level of government to protect and promote this fundamental human right."

"Christians must expect and demand more from their government leaders when it comes to prosecuting and preventing criminal acts targeting religious freedom," he added.

California, which is the country's most populous state, recorded 40 hostile acts, which were more than any other state. The second-highest number occurred in Pennsylvania with 29, followed by Florida and New York with 25 each, Texas with 23, and Tennessee and Ohio with 19 each.

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CNA Staff, Aug 13, 2025 / 16:25 pm (CNA).

A federal court has ruled against the Little Sisters of the Poor in their long-running legal dispute over government contraception mandates, dealing a blow to the religious order of sisters even after multiple court victories, including at the Supreme Court.

The legal advocacy group Becket said on Aug. 13 that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of both New Jersey and Pennsylvania in finding that the federal government had not followed protocol when issuing exemptions to contraceptive requirements, including for the Little Sisters.

The district court said that a set of religious exemptions granted by the federal government during the first Trump administration were "arbitrary [and] capricious" and failed to adhere to the requirements of the federal Administrative Procedure Act.

The court has vacated those exemptions "in their entirety," the Aug. 13 ruling said.

Diana Thomson, a senior attorney with Becket, told CNA that the case is the same one that saw the Little Sisters win a victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020 when a majority of the court's justices said the exemptions to the contraceptive mandate were legal.

She described the procedural questions in the Aug. 13 ruling as "cutting-floor arguments" that the states had largely ignored several years ago.

"Instead of dropping the case, Pennsylvania and New Jersey revitalized their cutting-floor arguments that they chose not to pursue at the Supreme Court last time and brought them in the district court," she said.

The district court accepted those arguments "even though the Supreme Court already blessed the rules," Thomson said.

The court is "trying to find a loophole" to the 2020 Supreme Court ruling, she said.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania had brought the lawsuit against multiple federal agencies and officials, though the Little Sisters of the Poor were attached to the lawsuit as "defendant-intervenors."

The sisters will appeal the ruling, Thomson said.

"I assume the Trump administration will appeal also," she said. "But the Little Sisters' appeal is already on file."

"We will appeal all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to," she said.

In a separate statement, Mark Rienzi, the president of Becket and the lead attorney for the Little Sisters, said it was "bad enough that the district court issued a nationwide ruling invalidating federal religious conscience rules."

"But even worse is that the district court simply ducked the glaring constitutional issues in this case after waiting five years and not even holding a hearing," he argued.

"It is absurd to think the Little Sisters might need yet another trip to the Supreme Court to end what has now been more than a dozen years of litigation over the same issue," he said, adding: "We will fight as far as we need to fight to protect the Little Sisters' right to care for the elderly in peace."

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ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 13, 2025 / 16:55 pm (CNA).

The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) joined the International Union of Superiors General in its call to pray and fast for world peace on Aug. 14, the eve of the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In a statement released Aug. 13, Regina Lynch, executive president of ACN International, said: "Wherever there is conflict, women and children are marginalized, and it is often they who suffer most. Religious sisters are often on the front lines of wars, helping the innocent in whatever way they can, without regard for their own safety."

"It is therefore very commendable that this group of women should be leading the way in denouncing warfare and calling for peace and reconciliation," Lynch said. "ACN is happy to add its voice to the many which are responding to their brave call."

Pointing to the wars raging all over the world, including in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the International Union of Superiors General — made up of 1,903 female heads of religious congregations from around the world — called for the world to unite in a day of fasting and prayer on Aug. 14 ahead of the celebration of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The group said women religious "cannot remain silent spectators" and entrusted themselves to the Mother of God, Our Lady of Peace, "so that she may tenderly answer the cries of the peoples and teach us to be a humble and prophetic presence in places of suffering."

"Each day we see faces marked by pain, lives shattered, peoples deprived of dignity and peace, especially the women and children," the organization said.

Lynch emphasized that "Mary is the Queen of Peace. Let us pray that she may touch the hearts of decision-makers all over the world, that they may yearn for the peace of her son, Jesus Christ."

"On this feast of her assumption into heaven, we recall that there is a woman, in body and spirit, at the side of Our Lord. No doubt she will be sympathetic to the pain and anguish that the women religious are witnessing and shall intercede for an end to the conflicts," she stated.

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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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 12, 2025 / 17:07 pm (CNA).

Here's a roundup of some of the latest Catholic education news:

Catholic University Press will exclusively publish Pope Leo XIV's doctoral dissertation

The Catholic University of America has secured exclusive English-language editorial rights to Pope Leo XIV's doctoral dissertation, "The Office and Authority of the Local Prior in the Order of St. Augustine."

The book will be available in print and Kindle editions in October, according to an Aug. 11 press release, with a foreword by Dominican Father Thomas Joseph White, rector of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, also known as the Angelicum, where the Holy Father defended his dissertation in 1987.

"While the future pontiff's dissertation focuses on the role of the prior as the local superior in the Augustinians, his insights as a young priest in areas such as Church authority, the spiritual life following the way of St. Augustine, and the mission of the priesthood are of interest as they relate to contemporary Church leadership and Church life," the press release states.

Catholic high school in St. Louis playing 'the long game' to help rebuild city

Administrators at St. Mary's South Side Catholic High School are playing "the long game" to help revitalize St. Louis, and their neighborhood of Dutchtown, with the launch of a new HVAC and plumbing internship program for seniors.

"We believe in what our neighborhood and city can be, and we are all in on doing the work," the school's president, Mike England, said at an Aug. 12 press conference, according to the St. Louis Review. "There are no quick fixes. This is the long game, but each day, we will work to move the needle in a positive way to better support our young men, our families, and our community through our Catholic values and teaching." This comes after the school bought its Dutchtown campus from the Archdiocese of St. Louis last month.

Bishop Conley announces rollout of new theology curriculum for high school freshmen 

In a video posted to social media on Wednesday, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, announced a new theology curriculum for high school freshmen that will be implemented across the diocese's six high schools.

The new curriculum, which he said the diocese has been working on for the past four years, will be rolled out this upcoming school year and will eventually be built out for sophomores, juniors, and seniors over the next four years. 

"We hope to be able to put together a beautiful curriculum that integrates all of our subjects and is historically aligned and gives us this coherent and integrated view of the world and how everything fits together and is connected in a beautiful whole education," Conley said. 

Gonzaga teams up with Catholic Charities to launch small local business program 

Gonzaga University has partnered with Catholic Charities Eastern Washington to launch a new entrepreneurship program for low-income families to help grow their own small businesses, according to a local report.

The Spokane Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Network "will offer hands-on training, mentorship, and consulting to aspiring entrepreneurs, with a focus on small-scale businesses like housekeeping, pet care, skilled trades, and landscaping," according to the report.

Baltimore, Milwaukee Catholic colleges band together to address teacher shortage

Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore and Mount Mary University in Milwaukee are partnering to counteract staffing shortages by working to boost the number of students obtaining advanced degrees, according to the Catholic Review.

The partnership will allow Mount Mary master's students to transfer to one of Notre Dame of Maryland's two online doctorate in education programs, allowing students to transfer up to 12 credits from their master's programs, saving both time and money. The university's presidents celebrated the partnership in a signing ceremony on Aug. 1.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 12, 2025 / 17:38 pm (CNA).

At 76 years of age, and despite being wheelchair-bound, Reynaldo José Osorio Muñoz doesn't let these factors interfere with his desire to serve God at the altar of his parish in Colombia. With love and dedication, he participates as an altar server at Mass, dedicating his service to God, the Church, and his fellow parishioners.

Osorio lives at the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Senior Citizen Wellness Center, a Christian-inspired institution dedicated to the comprehensive care of vulnerable seniors.

According to its website, the center offers meals, medical care, recreational activities, and cultural and spiritual formation, "allowing them to meet their basic needs and improve their quality of life in a safe and harmonious environment, through medical and human care, with love and respect."

For a year, Osorio has been serving as an acolyte at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish in the Diocese of Santa Marta, capital of the Colombian district of Magdalena, located in the Caribbean region.

As he shared in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, his initial involvement began with ringing the bell to announce the start of Mass to his fellow residents at the center. Over time, and thanks to the trust of a priest, that small action transformed into a deeper commitment to the altar.

"For me, it's a very beautiful thing that I never expected because of my age. But thank God he placed me in this position. I appreciate it very much and I love [what I do] at the altar," he said.

According to the Colombian Bishops' Conference, the acolyte is called to "attend to service of the altar, assist the priest and deacon, and serve in the various processions" as well as assist with the incense, the liturgical book, the preparation of the altar, and the purification of the sacred vessels. He may also assist at the offertory, distribute Communion as an extraordinary minister, and expose and reserve the Blessed Sacrament, although without imparting the blessing.

Beyond these visible tasks, the ministry requires, as the same document points out, a "love of the sacraments, of Eucharistic worship, the offering of oneself, and the care of others, especially the most needy and the sick."

A service for the love of God

"I am very devout and I believe deeply in God, and I always ask him to enlighten me," Osorio said. In this regard, he said that even for this task, God "has enlightened me so that I may do it. That's why I do it with all the love and appreciation."

Since taking on this service, he said he feels "satisfied because I serve God, the Church, and all of us," referring to his fellow residents at the center. And although he acknowledges his physical limitations, he said that he carries out his ministry "with all the love, with all the enjoyment, with everything I can manage to do."

For the church's parish priest, Father Mario Rafael González García, Osorio is not defined by his physical "limitations." 

In an interview with ACI Prensa, he said he is a person "with a very good sense of humor, cheerful, dynamic, talkative, and with faith."

On the occasion of the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, celebrated on July 27, Pope Leo XIV called on every ecclesial community to be protagonists of a "revolution of gratitude and care" for the elderly.

The pope explained that this must be done "by regular visits to the elderly, the creation of networks of support and prayer for them and with them, and the forging of relationships that can restore hope and dignity to those who feel forgotten."

Osorio's testimony, according to González, is an example of this, and "we owe him gratitude for his witness of faith and care in his old age."

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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London, England, Aug 12, 2025 / 13:52 pm (CNA).

A bishop in the United Kingdom has expressed concern about a proposal to build a huge solar farm on the English stretch of the Camino de Santiago in the south of England.

The English leg of the highly popular and historic pilgrimage runs 68 miles from the city of Reading to the port of Southampton, which falls within the Diocese of Portsmouth and has been frequented by pilgrims for more than a thousand years.

The Camino de Santiago is made up of many different ancient routes across Europe that all lead to the tomb of St. James in Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain.

English pilgrims would traditionally take a boat from Portsmouth and sail to Spain before continuing their pilgrimage.

In an email exchange with CNA, Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth expressed his worries about the proposal.

"The proposal to build a large solar farm seems unfortunate and I can understand any villager, farmer, or lover of the South Downs feeling saddened at the loss of land and the potential blight on the landscape, even if there are several other areas of the South Downs given over to solar farms."

The South Downs is a highly popular national park through which the historic route runs.

"Since I became bishop of Portsmouth in 2012, I have been very aware of this venerable Camino route from Reading to Southampton," he said. "Our parish in Reading, dedicated to St. James and standing in the ruins of the pre-Reformation abbey, is the official starting point of the Camino."

"Indeed, only last year, I went out to greet four American bishops hiking the trail and who were staying in a farmhouse near Alton, Hampshire," he continued. "Much of the central part of the route through Hampshire is idyllic; it is very rural, and you feel far away from the hectivity of modern life. As you walk along, it is easy to feel part of a spiritual exercise that goes back to medieval times."

Egan said he hoped the ancient route would still be marked out in some way, adding: "I wonder too if they might install paneling and other measures to hide the solar cells and safeguard the most attractive views?"

According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, the proposed Stokes Lane Solar Farm will supply energy to 9,390 homes every year for 40 years.

A spokesperson for Solar2, the renewable energy company driving the proposal, said the plans were "necessary and urgent" in the context of the "the climate emergency, energy security, environmental degradation, and growing risks to U.K. food production," the Telegraph reported.

But Professor Joseph Shaw, head of the U.K. Latin Mass Society — which organizes an annual pilgrimage to the Marian shrine of Walsingham, England — said: "Solar farms already encroach on many areas of our countryside, including areas near where I walk regularly in Oxfordshire. It is no exaggeration to say that they have the power to turn an ancient pathway to a holy place into a track through an alien industrial wasteland. I hope that planners are mindful of this site's status as a World Heritage Site and preserve it for future generations."

The U.K. stretch of the Camino became the first pilgrimage route to be awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1993.

The area also boasts other gems of historic interest including the Grade-I-listed, 12th-century building of All Saints Church, located about a half a mile away. George Austen, brother to the author Jane Austen, is also buried there, adding further historic weight. 

The proposal has proved so controversial that the consultation period hosted by the local council has been extended by 20 days and will now close on Aug. 25.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 12, 2025 / 14:24 pm (CNA).

The French bishops' conference has issued a statement addressed to the archbishop of Toulouse, Guy de Kerimel, asking him to rescind the promotion of a priest who served time in prison for the rape of a minor boy.

In an Aug. 10 press release from the presidency of the Bishops' Conference of France, the French bishops revealed they had "engaged in constructive dialogue" with Kerimel, "inviting him to reconsider the decision he made regarding the appointment of the chancellor of his diocese."

"Such an appointment to such an important position, both canonically and symbolically, can only reopen wounds, reawaken suspicions, and disconcert the people of God," they wrote.

The French bishops further recalled the Church's efforts in the past several years to approach "the painful question of abuses committed within it."

"It is very important to continue this work in all sectors of ecclesial life," they said, emphasizing the need to reorient the Church's approach by listening more attentively to the experiences of abuse victims, a process they described as "a long and demanding work of conversion, which we are resolute to continue." 

The statement comes after Kerimel announced in June that Father Dominique Spina would be promoted to the position of chancellor and episcopal delegate for marriages, effective Sept. 1, for the Archdiocese of Toulouse. 

Spina was convicted in 2006 by the Tarbes Court of Appeals for raping a 16-year-old student in 1993 while serving as the boy's spiritual director at Notre-Dame de Bétharram school. The court sentenced him to five years' imprisonment, with four years to be served and one year suspended.

The decree announcing Spina's appointment was published on June 2 but did not become public knowledge until July 7, when the regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi broke the story. 

De Kerimel defended his controversial choice in a statement to Agence France-Presse, saying he had "taken the side of mercy" in promoting Spina, who had worked in diocesan archives for five years.

"It is true that Father Spina served a five-year prison sentence, including one year suspended, for very serious acts that took place nearly 30 years ago," the archbishop said, according to Le Monde.

He justified the appointment by arguing that Church officials "have nothing to reproach this priest for in the last 30 years." 

The archbishop added that Spina "no longer exercises pastoral responsibility, other than celebrating the Eucharist, alone or exceptionally for the faithful."

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