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ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 3, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church in Vietnam welcomed with great joy and hope the ordination of 40 new priests during June, the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

According to the Vatican news agency Fides, the Diocese of Da Nang welcomed six new priests, "consecrated to be each an 'alter Christus' ['another Christ'], to become pastors of the people of God, not to live for themselves but to be all things to all people," said Archbishop Joseph Dang Duc Ngan, archbishop of Hu? and apostolic administrator of Da Nang, in his homily at the ordination Mass on June 24 in the local cathedral before numerous faithful.

"A priest does not become perfect from the day of his ordination. The priesthood is a journey of daily growth in Christ and constant strengthening in the Holy Spirit to fulfill the mission of God and the Church with joy and true love," the prelate emphasized.

Bishop Peter Le Tan Loi celebrated the ordination Mass of 13 new priests on June 25 at the Soc Trang Cathedral in the Diocese of Can Tho.

During the Eucharist, the prelate invited the faithful present to "unite in prayer and accompany the new priests, so that they may always lead a life faithful to their pastoral identity: humble, holy, and dedicated to the flock."

On June 27, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Day for the Sanctification of Priests, 21 new priests were ordained for the Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).

Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Nang said in his homily that "the priest is not like a robot of the modern age. In his ministry, the priest takes God's will seriously so that, in every action — liturgical, pastoral, and charitable — he may transmit the good news."

Fides also reported that at the Shrine of Our Lady of Bai Dau in the Diocese of Ba Ria, Bishop Emmanuel Nguyen Hong Son ordained six new deacons, also on June 27.

Pope Leo XIV's meets with country's vice president 

On Monday, June 30, Pope Leo XIV received the vice president of Vietnam, Vo Thi Anh Xuan, in an audience at the Vatican, a gesture that confirms the positive development of relations between the southeast Asian country and the Holy See.

A statement from the Vatican press office reported that "great appreciation was expressed for the positive development of relations between the Holy See and Vietnam." 

In particular, the implementation of the historic 2023 agreement on the pontifical representative resident in Vietnam was highlighted, which allowed the Holy See to once again have a representative in the country, something that had not happened since 1975, when the communist government expelled the apostolic delegate.

Vietnam has nearly 93 million inhabitants. Of these, approximately 6.8 million, or 7.4% of the population, are Catholics, according to statistics published by the Holy See. 

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 2, 2025 / 17:17 pm (CNA).

In a unanimous vote at a special board meeting held on July 1, the village council of Dolton, Illinois, voted to purchase the childhood home of the first U.S.-born pope, Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV.

Newly-elected Dolton Mayor Jason House called for the vote, which was unanimous, after hearing from the trustees and allowing for comment from members of the public, several of whom opposed the home purchase by the cash-strapped village.

Amid the pushback from Dolton residents who complained about the dilapidated state of local roads and the village's high debt, House said the purchase would eventually "pay for itself," calling it a "historical opportunity."

In Dolton, the per capita income is $29,776 and 20% of the residents live in poverty, according to census data.

Trustee Edward Steave referred to the "busloads of people" in and out of the village to see the house since the pope's election, emphasizing the economic benefits visitors to the historic site would bring to the community.

Also acknowledging residents' concerns, Trustee Kiana Belcher asked them to "stand with us as we make this decision because we know it will help all of us as a village."

Trustee Stanley Brown said that while he is not a Catholic himself, he is a Christian who would like to "help out the Catholics."

"I just believe in this opportunity that's been given us, and I believe in waiting on the Lord," Brown continued. "He's here to strengthen our town, so don't let this opportunity get away from us!"

"We have been put on the back row … and now we have the opportunity to get on the front row, and we don't want to let this opportunity get away from us," he said.

Dolton City Attorney Burt Odelson agreed, telling CNA that a "world of opportunity" has opened for the small suburb, which is like "no other place in the world."

"Things are just going to get better and better for the people of Dolton," he said. 

On the Village of Dolton's Facebook page on July 1, the village posted photos of the house getting a new roof, paid for by a donor, according to Odelson.

"The pope's house continues to draw in people, bringing new energy and attention to our village. This increased traffic represents a new day in Dolton — full of potential, progress, and promise," the village wrote on its Facebook page.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, House said he hopes to close the deal on the house purchase within two weeks and hopes the house can be "converted into its ultimate form" within 30-60 days.

House said the village will have the help of a "number of partnerships," possibly referring to the Archdiocese of Chicago.

As it considers next steps, Odelson said the village has done research on how former popes' homes are preserved around the world. Last month, he told CNA that he was speaking with someone "high up" in the archdiocese who was helping "guide" the village in its goal to preserve the historic home.

The Archdiocese of Chicago did not respond to CNA's request for comment by the time of publication.

Odelson told CNA in June that once the house has been purchased, the village will set up a nonprofit charity to help fundraise for the preservation of the house and the revitalization of the neighborhood.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to preserve what many people believe is a sacred" place, Odelson told CNA about the pope's former home. "We need to do it right and we don't have the funds to do it right. We have to lean on others."

People from "all over the U.S. have already offered to help preserve the house," Odelson said, "and the charity will enable them to do so."

On the heels of the pope's election in May, Odelson and House said at the time that the city intended to purchase the modest three-bedroom, 1,050-square-foot brick home, which had been listed for sale since January.

Realtor Steve Budzik told CNA in May that as soon as the owner, house renovator Pawel Radzik, found out the house he had updated and listed for sale once belonged to the newly elected pope, he removed it from the market to "reassess" the situation.

Radzik relisted it for sale by auction through Paramount Realty auction house. The auction was originally set to close on June 17 but was extended "to finalize negotiations with the village of Dolton," Odelson told CNA in June.

Odelson told CNA that he hopes to close on the property in the coming week. While he did not disclose the final sale price, he said it was much lower than the $1 million Budzik had said he thought the house might sell for at auction.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 2, 2025 / 17:47 pm (CNA).

Following last week's meeting with pilgrims from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday received in audience the bishops who are members of the Ukrainian church's synod.

Noting that the encounter is taking place in the context of the jubilee year, in the July 2 meeting Leo recalled the words of Pope Francis, who said that "hope does not disappoint, because it is founded on the love of God in Christ Jesus, Our Lord."

In the context of the bloody war in Ukraine, the Holy Father acknowledged that "it is not easy to talk about hope to you."

"It is not easy to find words of consolation for the families who have lost their loved ones in this senseless war," he said.

Addressing the Ukrainian bishops, he noted that they are "in contact every day with people wounded in their heart and in their flesh." Despite these wounds, the pope said he has received "many testimonies of faith and hope on the part of men and women of your people."

For the pontiff, this is a sign of the power of God, "which manifests itself in the midst of the rubble of destruction."

"I am aware that you have many needs to meet, in both the ecclesial and humanitarian spheres. You are called to serve Christ in every wounded and distressed person who turns to your communities asking for concrete help," he noted.

In this context, Pope Leo expressed his closeness to the prelates of the region and to all the faithful of the Church and encouraged them to remain "united in the one faith and the one hope."

"Our communion is a great mystery: It is also a real communion with all our brothers and sisters whose lives have been taken from this earth but are accepted in God. In him everything lives and finds fullness of meaning," he emphasized.

Finally, he emphasized that "we are always comforted by the certainty that the holy Mother of God is with us, aids us, and guides us toward her Son, who is our peace." Before concluding the audience, the pontiff invited those present to sing the Lord's Prayer in Ukrainian.

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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Stockholm, Sweden, Jul 2, 2025 / 18:17 pm (CNA).

A United Nations delegation made a surprise visit on Tuesday to Holy Family Parish, the only Latin-rite Catholic Church in Gaza, which hosts hundreds of people displaced by the war. 

According to Servizio Informazione Religiosa (SIR), the news agency of the Italian bishops' conference, representatives from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) visited the parish on July 1 to survey the current situation there. 

"It was their first visit here to the parish," Argentine Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Parish, told SIR. "The delegation wanted to check on our conditions, greeted our displaced people, and gathered their testimonies of distress."

Romanelli noted that the delegation members greeted displaced persons and "gathered their testimonies of distress."

"Despite the critical situation, the U.N. representatives visited the parish facilities, toured the compound, and also dedicated time to the severely disabled children — all from Muslim families — who are lovingly cared for by the Missionaries of Charity," Romanelli told SIR.

"We also had a prayer for peace in the church," he said. "When they said goodbye, they thanked us for the work of solidarity and hospitality we carry out for the Christian community and the many Muslim families in need who live here in our neighborhood."

Since the start of the war, the parish in Gaza has been aiding the local population since Israel began its war following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants. Since then, thousands of Palestinians in the enclave have been killed, wounded, or displaced.

In a separate interview with SIR, Romanelli said the international community's silence to the humanitarian crisis Palestinians are facing was "as deadly as the weapons in Gaza."

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) was criticized after soldiers allegedly fired on unarmed refugees awaiting humanitarian relief trucks. Furthermore, a recent exposé by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that soldiers were ordered to fire on unarmed civilians, prompting an inquiry into possible war crimes. 

Nevertheless, Romanelli said those living in Gaza don't know what to expect, as often they are told "that a truce is imminent" only to receive evacuation orders "in anticipation of military operations" the following day. 

"One day, humanitarian aid is announced; the next, Israel blocks its entry. Everyone is under severe psychological strain," the priest said. "All we know here is that the death toll is rising. People wander from one part of the [Gaza] Strip to another, dragging behind them whatever possessions they have left."

As the only Latin-rite Catholic parish in the enclave, Holy Family Parish received particular attention from the late Pope Francis, who called Romanelli every day. Pope Francis made his final call to the parish two days before his death on April 21.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 2, 2025 / 18:37 pm (CNA).

An organization encouraging the presence of "the Catholic intellectual tradition" in universities across the globe has a new leader.

Dominican Father Ambrose Little has been appointed the new director of the Thomistic Institute (TI), a position held for the past seven years by Father Dominic Legge, OP, who has now been named president of the Pontifical Faculty at the Dominican House of Studies.

"The Thomistic Institute is one of the most dynamic apostolates in the Church, and we are immensely proud that it is an institute of our Pontifical Faculty," Legge said in a statement.

"It is very dear to my heart! Serving as the TI director has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. I am therefore delighted to announce that, as my first official act as president, I have appointed Father Ambrose Little, OP, as the new director of the Thomistic Institute," Legge said. 

The Thomistic Institute was founded in 2009 "to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the Church, and in the wider public square," according to the institute's website. 

The institute pursues initiatives "focused on St. Thomas Aquinas' thought, including academic lectures, student chapters, and online resources."

An academic institute of the Pontifical Faculty of the Dominican House of Studies located in Washington, D.C., students have also founded campus chapters of the institute at more than 80 universities across the globe. 

The academic chapters organize lectures with Catholic scholars on philosophy and theology as well as hold reading groups, debates, and conferences to "expose students to the riches of the Catholic intellectual tradition and help them explore it further."

Little is a Dominican friar of the Province of St. Joseph. He entered the Order of Preachers in 2007 after graduating from The Catholic University of America (CUA) with a bachelor's degree in philosophy. Ordained a priest in 2013, he returned to CUA to complete a licentiate in philosophy and wrote a dissertation titled "Aristotelian Change and the Scala Naturae." He taught for two years at Providence College in Rhode Island and was a visiting scholar at Boston College.

In 2014, Little began studying for a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Virginia and graduated in 2021. Afterward, he was appointed a lecturer in philosophy at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception.

"Father Ambrose is a superb teacher and scholar, an excellent leader, and a great brother and friend," Legge said. "For the past three years, he has served as assistant director of the TI, and I've been deeply impressed by what I've seen."

"Because the TI is an institute of our faculty … I will not be going far away," Legge said, "I'm just down the hall." He vowed to continue supporting the organization "as this vibrant outreach continues to grow and bear fruit."

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Vatican City, Jul 2, 2025 / 12:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV declared that nature should not be a "bargaining chip" in his message announcing the theme "Seeds of Peace and Hope" for the 10th World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, set for Sept. 1.

Drawing inspiration from Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si', released 10 years ago, the Holy Father said the "Bible provides no justification for us to exercise 'tyranny over creation'" and should therefore not be exploited.

"Nature itself is reduced at times to a bargaining chip, a commodity to be bartered for economic or political gain," Leo said. "As a result, God's creation turns into a battleground for the control of vital resources."

The pope said poor nations, marginalized societies, and Indigenous communities are destabilized and penalized as a result of conflicts over water and natural resources as well as the destruction of forests and agricultural areas.

"These various wounds are the effect of sin," he added. "This is surely not what God had in mind when he entrusted the earth to the men and women whom he created in his image."

In his July 2 message, the pope said three things are necessary for genuine environmental justice: prayer, determination, and concrete actions.

Leo invited Catholics to prayerfully consider the significance of seeds as a metaphor of coming of the kingdom of God in Scripture, saying: "Jesus often used the image of the seed."

"In Christ, we too are seeds, and indeed, 'seeds of peace and hope,'" he said. "The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Spirit of God can make an arid and parched desert into a garden, a place of rest and serenity."

Insisting that environmental justice is not an "abstract concept" or a "distant goal," the Holy Father said "now is the time to follow words with deeds" in his message dedicated to the care of creation.

"By working with love and perseverance, we can sow many seeds of justice and thus contribute to the growth of peace and the renewal of hope," he said.  

This year, Pope Leo has twice visited sites linked to the Holy See's integral ecology projects outside of Rome. In addition to visiting the Borgo Laudato Si' project at Castel Gandolfo in May, he toured the proposed Vatican solar energy project site in Santa Maria di Galeria in June.

The Holy Father praised these initiatives, which serve as examples of "how people can live, work, and build community by applying the principles of the encyclical Laudato Si'."

"I pray that Almighty God will send us in abundance his 'Spirit from on high,' so that these seeds, and others like them, may bring forth an abundant harvest of peace and hope," the pope said.

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Vatican City, Jul 2, 2025 / 13:49 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Daniel Garcia of Monterey, California, as the sixth bishop of Austin, Texas.

After leading the Diocese of Monterey for more than six years since 2018, Garcia, 64, has returned to his home state of Texas to serve the Austin Diocese as its leader.

At a July 2 press conference held by the Diocese of Austin, Garcia gave thanks to God for the local Church, which he described as "diverse in ethnicity, race, language, and way of life."

"I was ordained a priest for this local Church in May of 1988," he said on Wednesday. "It is filled with people of so many great gifts and talents and it is my hope to reacquaint myself with all of you whom I have known and get to know you whom I have not yet met."

During his address given in English and in Spanish, the bishop emphasized that the Church and civil society cannot forget the "poor, the weak, and those who live on the margins" in its policies and practices.

The bishop, who is also a board member of Catholic Relief Services, quoted St. Vincent de Paul during his speech, saying: "It will be the poor who will be our entrance into heaven."

Garcia, who celebrated the 10th anniversary of his episcopal consecration in January, was previously made auxiliary bishop of Austin and titular bishop of Capso by Pope Francis in 2015 before heading to Monterey.

Before becoming an auxiliary bishop for Austin, Garcia was parish vicar of St. Catherine of Siena there from 1988 to 1990, Cristo Rey from 1990 to 1991, St. Louis from 1991 to 1992, and St. Mary Magdalene from 1992 to 1995. Between 1995 and 2014, he was a parish priest at St. Vincent de Paul.

He is currently part of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' subcommittee on divine worship in Spanish.

While attending St. Mary's Seminary in the 1980s, Garcia obtained a liberal arts degree and a master's degree in divinity from the University of St. Thomas in Houston. He was awarded a master's degree in liturgy from St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, in 2007.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 2, 2025 / 14:51 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has granted a parish in Texas an exemption from restrictions to the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) imposed by Pope Francis' encyclical Traditionis Custodes. 

The exemption, requested by Bishop Michael Sis on Feb. 6, was granted to St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas.

No other such exemption by Pope Leo XIV has been reported since the start of his pontificate. 

"The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments informed me in a decree of May 28, 2025, that my request has been granted for a further two years for a dispensation from article 3§2 of the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, so that Mass according to the 'Missale Romanum' of 1962 may be celebrated in the parish church of St. Margaret of Scotland in San Angelo," Sis, who previously served as a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Doctrine, said in a statement he shared with CNA. 

"Just as before," he added, "the granting of this dispensation is based upon an ongoing effort to promote the full appreciation and acceptance of the liturgical books renewed by decree of the Second Vatican Council and promulgated by popes St. Paul VI and St. John Paul II."

Sis noted further that when he submitted his request for the extension to the Vatican, he did so "with a spirit of total openness to whatever is the will of God." 

He continued: "I trust the judgment of our Holy Father Pope Leo and those who assist him in his ministry of unity through the various dicasteries of the Holy See."

The exemption was originally announced in a June 27 social media post by the diocese's director of vocations, Father Ryan Rojo.

"I'm grateful to @Pontifex and to the Dicastery for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments for allowing the TLM to continue to exist in our parish church, extending permission for another two years," Rojo wrote in the June 27 post. 

St. Margaret's pastor, Father Freddy Perez, told CNA: "Now that we have the permission, the attitude is one of relief; I saw a lot of relief this past weekend." Although the Vatican's approval was dated May 28, Perez said he did not receive notification of the approval from his bishop until last week. 

Perez revealed that the letter from the Vatican praised St. Margaret's for the steps it took to follow the Holy Father's motu proprio. The Vatican "commended our efforts and our 'pastoral concern to instill a clear appreciation for the Church as unique, lex orandi,'" Perez told CNA, adding: "That's a direct quote from the letter we were sent." 

Though the pastor noted some negativity from parishioners about having to ask permission to celebrate the TLM, his approach is to explain that "this is where the Church is right now, and is where we have to be obedient." 

Beyond the two-year extension, Perez said, "my hopes are just to continue to bring a positive experience of the liturgy to all of my people, to try to bring them into the Gospel, into the teachings of the Church, as we're taught, and to try to teach them that the Mass gets us ready for heaven." 

Though the parish experienced uncertainty over whether it would be allowed to continue celebrating the TLM, Perez said the advice of Auxiliary Bishop Mario Avilés helped guide him. "The advice he gave me was very simple," the pastor recalled. "He said: 'Just be obedient, son." 

"And I think just putting my eyes on the Lord has satisfied everything that I wouldn't be able to do through my own spirit of protest or my spirit of just being angry about not getting my way, by conforming my will to the will of Our Lord," Perez reflected. "We're in this world temporarily, and at the end of the day, we are asked to be faithful to Our Lord Jesus Christ and his holy mother Church." 

According to Perez, St. Margaret's has been offering the TLM for just over five years, currently on Sunday afternoons and Thursday mornings. 

The TLM community, he said, consists mostly of young families as well as curious people who are interested in experiencing the liturgy. The small parish consists of about 200 families, he said, noting that attendance at the TLM is usually on the larger side for the parish, with about 140 to 200 people each week.

News of St. Margaret's exemption comes after the Archdiocese of Detroit announced earlier this month that non-parish churches in the archdiocese will be allowed to continue celebrating the TLM despite an earlier statement saying that most of the TLM celebrated in the area would be suspended.

The archdiocese reported that permissions given to parish church priests to carry out the TLM would expire and they could not be renewed, but Detroit Archbishop Edward Weisenburger said he would recognize at least four non-parish locations in the archdiocese where the TLM could still be celebrated.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, a champion of the traditional liturgy, has said he asked Pope Leo to remove measures restricting the celebration of TLM, stating at a conference in London recently: "It is my hope that he will, as soon as is reasonably possible, take up the study of this question."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 2, 2025 / 09:29 am (CNA).

Russia continues to perpetuate "particularly severe" religious liberty violations against minority groups within its own country and the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, according to a new report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

The June 30 report, which detailed religious liberty violations throughout 2024 and the beginning of 2025, found continued "intense persecution" of Ukrainian Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant Christians.

Within Russia's borders, the report also found numerous religious liberty violations against human rights activists, independent media, anti-war protesters, and others who belong to minority religious groups.

"Russian authorities abuse vague and problematic laws to target religious communities that do not conform to state authority," USCIRF Chair Vicky Hartzler told CNA in a statement.

"They target Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Falun Gong Practitioners, Protestants, Ukrainian Christians, Crimean [Tatar] Muslims, and many others that Moscow thinks undermine its dictatorial control," the former six-term Missouri congresswoman added. "... There is no religious freedom in Russia or [the] territories it occupies."

About 72% of Russians are Orthodox, 7% are Muslim, 5% are atheist, and 13% do not have a religious affiliation. About 3% of Russians belong to a variety of other religious groups.

Persecution against Ukrainian Christians

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has led to the most egregious religious liberty violations by the Russian state.

According to the report, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have reported the killing of at least 47 religious leaders since the February 2022 invasion. It adds that 640 houses of worship and religious sites have either been damaged or destroyed in that time frame.

The report notes that "Russian de facto authorities have banned" several churches, such as the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, and several Protestant groups, including Baptists, Pentecostals, and Seventh-day Adventists.

According to the report, authorities have sought to pressure Orthodox Christian communities and leaders to submit to the Russian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate.

In some examples over the past year and a half, the report notes that "Russian forces allegedly abducted and tortured to death [Orthodox Church of Ukraine] priest Stepan Podolchak." It also notes that Russian authorities are accused of demolishing the last Orthodox Church of Ukraine church in Crimea in July 2024.

The report also referenced a United Nations human rights report that detailed the "torture and ill treatment of Ukrainian Greek Catholic priests Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta" while they were detained from November 2022 through June 2024.

"One of the priests had accused Russian forces of subjecting him to regular beatings, prolonged stress positions, and long-distance crawls on asphalt," the report notes.

Persecution within Russia

The report notes that Russia has employed laws against "so-called illegal missionary activities" to persecute religious minorities on the basis of faith. It states that Russian courts heard 431 cases regarding these laws in 2024, which resulted in fines totaling nearly $60,000. 

In one case, Russia deported an 85-year-old Polish Catholic priest "who had reportedly served in Russia for almost 30 years" after he lost his documentation that permitted him to preach. The courts have also shut down churches with these laws.

The report also details Russia's persecution of "anti-war protesters and religious leaders for expressing opposition to the war in religious terms."

Some examples include Pentecostal Pastor Nikolay Romanyuk, who was "reportedly physically assaulted and arrested" by Russian police for giving a sermon against the war. Another example listed was Apostolic Orthodox Church Archbishop Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko receiving a fine of $369 for posting "an anti-war video in which he discussed Russia's invasion of Ukraine using a biblical story."

In relation to the ongoing war, the report notes that Christians are frequently denied the ability to perform "alternative civilian service" when they have religious objections to military service.

The report lists numerous religious freedom violations against Russian Muslims. According to the report, Muslims who belong to the Hizb ut-Tahrir (or are accused of belonging to it) have been charged with terrorism "despite no evidence or even allegations that defendants called for or committed violence." 

The report notes that at least 352 people were prosecuted for alleged affiliation with Hizb ut-Tahrir, which includes Crimean Tatar Muslims. It states that out of 280 convicted, 119 were sentenced to 15 years or more and 131 were sentenced to between 10 and 14 years in prison.

According to the report, Russia has also prosecuted leaders and members of the Church of Scientology, which is labeled "extremist." They have also targeted leaders and members of the Jehovah's Witnesses, adherents of Falun Gong, and members of the Allya Ayat spiritual movement for similar reasons.

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Vatican City, Jul 2, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV recently offered marriage advice to a young American couple days after their wedding, sharing how he was blessed by the example of his own parents who prayed the rosary together every day.

Newlyweds Cole and Anna Stevens received Pope Leo's personal blessing for their marriage during one of the pope's first general audiences under the hot Roman summer sun on June 11, just four days after their wedding at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Birmingham, Alabama.

The moment, captured on video, became an unexpectedly intimate exchange with the American pope, who responded warmly to their question of how best to pray together as a married couple.

"First of all, it is very important to go slowly and to find the style of prayer that works for you and your spirituality," Pope Leo replied in English.

"My parents prayed the rosary together their whole lives every day," the pope said. "I found that I was always blessed by their love for one another and their faith in God … It's a wonderful thing." 

The Stevenses, who now live in Pensacola, Florida, approached the crowded general audience in their wedding attire unsure if they would even get the chance to meet the pope. They were one of about 65 newlywed couples in St. Peter's Square that day to receive the pope's "'sposi novelli' blessing," an opportunity that the Vatican offers each week to Catholics within six months of their wedding.

"We prayed a rosary while we were waiting for the audience [to begin] because we were in the square at 8 a.m.," Cole said. "And the question that really came to my heart while we were praying the rosary [was] how can we deepen our faith, our prayer life inside of our marriage?" 

Anna recalled how Pope Leo responded to Cole's question as if there was no one else in the crowd at that moment.

"There was no rush in his voice. There was no looking around… He was solely focused on the question that Cole asked and then how could he answer it to the best of his abilities," she said.

After the exchange, the couple gave the pope a prayer card from their wedding. "Then we asked for his personal blessing, which he gave to us … laying hands on us and blessing us."

"He just entrusted us to the Holy Family," Anna added, "and prayed over us that the Holy Family would watch over us, protect us, guide us, and lead us."

Unbeknownst to Pope Leo, Cole had been holding a relic of the Holy Family — cloth that had touched St. Joseph's staff, Our Lady's veil, and Jesus' manger — when he blessed them.

A match made in heaven

Cole, 24, originally from Colorado, and Anna, 25, a schoolteacher from Birmingham, Alabama, met on a blind date when Cole was pursuing his master's degree at the University of Alabama. 

"My good high school friend had met Cole and was asking Cole what kind of girl he was interested in," Anna said. "And Cole threw out there 'a Catholic volleyball player' and she said, 'Well, I have one girl for you.' And that was me."

"I played volleyball in college and I was her one Catholic friend. And so that was how we started off."

Their relationship grew through long-distance calls and visits between cities in Alabama. "He took me to the [adoration] chapel on our third date," Anna remembered. "And that's where he ended up proposing two years later."

They prayed novenas together for 90 days leading up to their wedding — to St. Joseph, Our Lady of Lourdes, and the Holy Family.

Their honeymoon, originally planned for the Amalfi coast, took a surprising turn when they realized the Vatican offered special blessings for newlyweds. "We were looking at Sorrento and we're like two hours away," Anna said. "Why would we skip out on the jubilee year and the Holy Doors? And then when we heard about the 'sposi novelli,' we were like, we have to go."

It was Cole's first time out of the country. "There's no other experience in my life that I can look back on and say it was truly life-changing and just awe-striking at the same," he said on meeting Pope Leo.

Romantic rosary walks to remember

Back in Pensacola, Florida, Pope Leo's advice has already shaped the young couple's routine. "It's funny," Anna said. "At the end of the night we're like, 'Oh my goodness, we haven't said the rosary. We have to say the rosary; Pope Leo told us to pray the rosary.' And so we've built it in." 

Their solution? Rosary walks after dinner. 

"Our new goal now is after dinner we go on rosary walks every night and that has been one of our favorite parts of the night," Anna said. "It has been so peaceful. It is usually right around sunset." 

"We use it as a chance to pray for individual intentions throughout the week," Cole added. 

Anna, reflecting on the papal advice, said it's important to work at "finding, like Pope Leo said, a way that works for you. So for us right now with our stage of life, it's been rosary walks. And every couple will have a different stage and life and how they can pray the rosary together." 

What struck Cole most about the pope's advice was its applicability. "I was surprised at how real it was… It was very practical in the sense of, here's what my parents did, and find out what works for you. … I can actually use this advice."

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