Pope appoints Pizzaballa and Mathieu to Vatican's interreligious dialogue office

Cardinal Dominique Mathieu, archbishop of Tehran, Iran (left), and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 4, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Here's a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:Pope appoints Pizzaballa and Mathieu to Vatican's interreligious dialogue officePope Leo XIV on July 3 appointed two prominent cardinals, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Dominique Mathieu, archbishop of Tehran, Iran, to the Vatican's Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, according to ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner.Their appointment comes amid a broad reshuffle that also brought in cardinals from Japan and Canada as well as bishops and experts with experience in fostering relations among faiths. The two newly named members are already active in Vatican circles: Pizzaballa also serves in the Eastern Churches and Christian unity offices, while M...

July Fourth celebration prompts Catholic reflection on religion and U.S. founding

The National Catholic Bioethics Center's Edward J. Furton speaks at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C., on June 25, 2025. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNAWashington D.C., Jul 4, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).Ahead of the celebration of Independence Day, Edward Furton, publications director for The National Catholic Bioethics Center, spoke in a lecture in the nation's capital about the country's founders and their desire for a republic open to all faiths but one in which no citizen would be compelled to profess any particular religious doctrine.In a presentation titled "Natural Religion and the American Founding" at the Catholic Information Center, Furton referenced James J. Walsh's book "Scholasticism in the Colonial Colleges" to discuss church and state separation and how the Declaration of Independence is "the founding truth of the United States" and should be "at the center of American public life."Furton, who received his doctoral degree in philosophy from The Catholi...

U.S. embassy in Rome honors first American-born pope as U.S.-Vatican diplomatic milestone

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican Secretary for Relations of States, and Laura Hochla, chargé d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, addressed the crowd at Villa Richardson on June 30, 2025, in Rome, where Fourth of July was celebrated this year with a special milestone: the recent election of the first pope born and raised in the United States. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the U.S. Embassy to the Holy SeeVatican City, Jul 4, 2025 / 05:00 am (CNA).Beneath a canopy of Roman pines, Americans in Rome celebrated the Fourth of July this year with something more than barbecue and fireworks: the historic election of the first pope born and raised in the United States."Let us celebrate the milestone of an American pope on the Fourth of July, in the spirit of friendship, freedom, and shared purpose," said Laura Hochla, chargé d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, addressing the crowd at Villa Richardson, the U.S. ambassador's residence.The embassy's a...

Andrea Picciotti-Bayer named religious freedom award winner

Attorney and columnist Andrea Picciotti-Bayer was named the winner of the Religious Freedom Impact Award by the Religious Freedom Institute on July 2, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of Andrea Picciotti-BayerCNA Staff, Jul 4, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).Andrea Picciotti-Bayer is the 2025 recipient of the Religious Freedom Impact Award, the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) announced July 2.The Religious Freedom Impact Award honors leaders who demonstrate "consistent, effective, and innovative leadership in advancing religious freedom" through law, policy, or culture. It will be presented at the RFI Annual Dinner on Nov. 6 in Washington, D.C. Picciotti-Bayer is an accomplished attorney, policy expert, political commentator, and mother who has spent her career defending the conscience rights and religious liberty of individuals and institutions, particularly in the areas of education, parental rights, and health care.A Catholic mother of 10, Picciotti-Bayer told CNA that she sees God's h...

40 new priests ordained in Vietnam      

Sacred Heart Cathedral in Da Nang, Vietnam. / Credit: Andreas Bossard via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)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 prela...

Notre Dame Law School recognizes scholars for religious liberty work

Professor Michael McConnell speaks after winning the Notre Dame Prize for Religious Liberty on June 25, 2025. / Credit: Casey Patrick/Notre Dame Law SchoolWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 3, 2025 / 09:45 am (CNA).During its recently concluded fifth annual Religious Liberty Summit, Notre Dame Law School recognized two scholars for their contributions to the promotion and protection of religious liberty around the world.The Notre Dame Prize for Religious Liberty, which is awarded to one person each year for his or her achievements in preserving religious liberty, was presented at last week's summit to former federal judge and constitutional scholar Professor Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School. Meanwhile, professor and author Dr. Russell Hittinger of The Catholic University of America (CUA) received the Religious Liberty Scholarship Award, which is given annually to an individual for accomplishments in advancing the understanding of how law protects freedom of religion.&n...

Vatican downplays leaked documents on Latin Mass

The Confiteor at a Traditional Latin Mass. / Credit: James Bradley, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsVatican City, Jul 3, 2025 / 09:15 am (CNA).A Vatican spokesman has played down the significance of recently leaked Vatican documents that appear to cast doubt on Pope Francis' rationale for restricting the Latin Mass, calling the documents "partial and incomplete."The documents appear to show that bishops had a more favorable outlook on the Traditional Latin Mass than Pope Francis suggested when he issued controversial restrictions on its celebration in 2021.Vatican journalist Diane Montagna published two excerpts from an internal Vatican report on the global consultation of bishops in a Substack newsletter July 1. The publication of the texts has sparked renewed controversy over Francis' decision to restrict the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass at a time when some liturgical traditionalists are voicing hopes that Pope Leo will reverse or moderate his predecessor's ...

Pope Leo XIV speaks about war with visiting children from Ukraine

Pope Leo XIV receives a drawing from a girl participating in the "Estate Ragazzi in Vatican" summer camp on July 3, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Jul 3, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV visited the Paul VI Hall on Thursday to meet with about 310 children and adolescents participating in the "Estate Ragazzi in Vaticano" (summer camp for kids at the Vatican).In addition, another 300 children and adolescents from Ukraine, hosted by Caritas Italy during the summer, participated in the encounter with Pope Leo XIV.Pope Leo XIV meets with children and adolescents participating in the "Estate Ragazzi in Vatican" summer camp on July 3, 2025, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican MediaThis is the sixth edition of this summer camp for the children of employees of the Holy See. The theme this year is "When the Other Person Is Everything."On July 3, shortly before noon, at the end of the audiences, the Holy Father continued with the tradition of visiting these l...

Michigan's Siena Heights University announces closure after 105 years

Sacred Heart Hall at Siena Heights University in Adrian Michigan. / Credit: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 3, 2025 / 13:32 pm (CNA).Siena Heights University will close at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 academic year following an assessment of the school's "financial situation, operational challenges, and long-term sustainability," the school said this week.The small Catholic institution of about 2,300 students located in Adrian, Michigan, reported that "despite the dedication of our board, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and supporters, continuing operations beyond the coming academic year is no longer feasible."In a June 30 announcement, the university's president, Douglas Palmer, said the school "has been a beacon of light in a world sometimes cast in darkness.""The spirit of Siena Heights will continue long after the institution itself closes its doors because it lives in every graduate, faculty member, and staff person who...

Cardinal Fernández says judges selected to hear Rupnik sexual abuse trial

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, speaks during a press conference about a new Vatican document on human dignity on April 8, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAVatican City, Jul 3, 2025 / 13:02 pm (CNA).Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said Thursday that judges have been selected to hear the trial of Father Marko Rupnik, a former Jesuit accused of sexual abuse against women.The cardinal told journalists that the judges chosen are "independent and external" to the dicastery but did not indicate when the Slovenian priest's trial is set to take place in the Vatican."The idea was, if possible, to eliminate the idea that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith or the Holy See had any interest or were subjected to pressure," he said.Rupnik, whose religious artworks can be found in shrines and churches around the world, has been accused by at least a dozen women, mostly f...