Outgoing custos of the Holy Land proposes a path to peace

Friar Francesco Patton, outgoing custos of the Holy Land. / Credit: Franciscan Custody of the Holy LandACI Prensa Staff, Jul 15, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).Friar Francesco Patton, the outgoing Franciscan custos of the Holy Land, reflected on his nine years in office and proposed a path to achieving peace in the face of war in the region. He also noted that being a Christian in the holy places, as a minority, is a special vocation and mission.Patton, 61, is leaving the position entrusted to him in 2016. Friar Francesco Ielpo has now been appointed to the position, confirmed as the new custos of the Holy Land by Pope Leo XIV on June 24.In an interview published July 11 on the website of the Custody of the Holy Land, the Italian Franciscan explained that, in the face of the war between Israel and Hamas, "peace requires mutual acceptance between the two peoples who have been in conflict for decades, and the overcoming of ideological readings of history, geography, and even of the Bible....

Catholic influencer denies claims of 'grooming' underage girl: 'Complete fabrication'

Catholic apologist Alex Jurado, known as Voice of Reason on social media. / Credit: Courtesy of Alexandro JuradoCNA Staff, Jul 15, 2025 / 15:28 pm (CNA).Alex Jurado, a popular Catholic apologist known for his social media ministry Voice of Reason, is denying allegations in a bombshell report that he sexually groomed an underage teenage girl when he was 21 years old.The Protestant website Protestia on Monday published a report alleging that "whistleblowers within the Catholic community" had revealed sexually explicit texts Jurado, now 28, allegedly sent to a girl possibly as young as 14 years old.The website shared screenshots of the alleged conversations between Jurado and the young girl. The site further alleged that Jurado had sent "sexually explicit messages" to several other women. Jurado sharply denied the allegations on Tuesday. The influencer said in a statement on his Instagram page that the claims were untrue and that he is "voluntarily cooperating in an investiga...

Pope Leo XIV: God's love is so great that Jesus does not keep even his mother for himself

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in the chapel at the Carabinieri station in Castel Gandolfo on July 15, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Jul 15, 2025 / 14:58 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass on July 15 in the chapel at the Carabinieri station in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, where he is on vacation. The Carabinieri are the national gendarmerie of Italy, a form of military police. Reflecting in his homily on the day's Gospel (Matthew 11:20-24), the pontiff emphasized that there is a bond "stronger than blood" that unites every man and woman who is in Christ. In this regard, he explained that "we are truly brothers and sisters of Jesus when we do the will of God," that is, "when we live loving one another, as God has loved us.""Every relationship that God lives, in himself and for us," the pope continued, "thus becomes a gift: when his only Son becomes our brother, his Father becomes our Father, and the Holy Spirit, who unites the Father and the Son, comes to dwel...

Vatican says Diocese of Green Bay can close down historic Wisconsin parish

The exterior of St. Boniface Catholic Church in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. / Credit: John MaurerCNA Staff, Jul 15, 2025 / 14:10 pm (CNA).The Diocese of Green Bay can close down a historic parish in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the Vatican has ruled, bringing an end to efforts by a small group of parishioners to prevent the permanent shuttering of the church.The Apostolic Signatura, the highest court at the Holy See, ruled against parishioner efforts to save St. Boniface Church from closure. The ruling affirms Bishop David Ricken's 2023 order relegating the parish building to "profane but not sordid use.""Planning for the disposition of the church, contents, and property is underway," the diocese said in a statement announcing the Vatican's decision."Please continue to pray for the parish and community," the diocese added.The interior of St. Boniface Church in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Credit: John Maurer The order brings an end to a multiyear, multimillion-dollar effort to save St. Bonifa...

Tennessee priest will serve 7 years in prison after pleading guilty to sex crimes

Father Juan Carlos Garcia-Mendoza, a priest in the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, will serve seven years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of sex abuse. / Credit: Courtesy of the Franklin Police DepartmentCNA Staff, Jul 15, 2025 / 13:23 pm (CNA).A priest in the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, will serve seven years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of sex abuse.Father Juan Carlos Garcia-Mendoza was indicted last year on several counts of sexual battery and other crimes, some of which involved children and some adults. The priest was charged with eight crimes in February 2024 and two more in June of that year.The Diocese of Nashville said in the Nashville Catholic this week that Garcia had pleaded guilty to the February charges. Those crimes include "continuous sexual abuse of a child," aggravated sexual battery, and "sexual battery by an authority figure." In addition to the prison sentence, the priest will be listed in the state sex of...

Miami archbishop calls for administration, Congress to change course on immigration

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski serves on the Committee on Migration of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. / Credit: "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo"/EWTN News screenshotWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 15, 2025 / 12:53 pm (CNA).With the Trump administration having "effectively achieved control of the border," Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski is now urging the president and Congress to turn to expanding legal pathways for unlawfully present migrants who have committed no other crimes to obtain citizenship.In a statement and interview with archdiocesan media, Wenski argued that the U.S. "faces labor shortages in many industries, including health care, service, and agriculture. Removing immigrant workers will only exacerbate these shortages.""Rather than spending billions to deport people who are already contributing positively to our nation's well-being, it would be more financially sensible and more morally acceptable for Congress, working with the administration,...

Historic St. Kateri Tekakwitha shrine welcomes visitors to walk in her footsteps

St. Peter's Chapel and Native American Museum at Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site in Fonda, New York. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic SiteChicago, Ill., Jul 14, 2025 / 09:20 am (CNA).Shrines to various saints can be found in every part of the world, including every state in the U.S. Each one is dedicated to faith and prayer, but one shrine in the northeastern United States also has a distinct mission of connecting pilgrims with Native American culture and sharing the fascinating history of Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be canonized a saint.The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site in Fonda, New York, honors not only the life of St. Kateri, whose feast day is July 14, but also the life and history of the local Indigenous people to whom she belonged."We have cultivated strong ties to both the Catholic Mohawk community and the traditional Mohawk community," said Melissa ...

Rome readies for Jubilee of Youth: 'You will never experience anything like this again'

Pope Leo greets pilgrims during the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly on Sunday, June 1, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Jul 14, 2025 / 08:05 am (CNA).With less than a month to go before the Jubilee of Youth begins, the pope's diocese is making final preparations to welcome tens of thousands of young people from around the world who will participate in this event of great spiritual significance. "Young people will never experience this in their lives again. I'm sure of it. In practice, it will be like a World Youth Day," explained Father Alfredo Tedesco, director of youth ministry in Rome, the host diocese.The Italian priest was 18 when he participated in the Jubilee of 2000 with St. John Paul II: "For our generation, it was an indelible mark. For them, it can be a new beginning."The truly great challenge for the Diocese of Rome is accommodations. The parishes of Rome and 10 dioceses in the Lazio region, those closest to the Italian ca...

Security guard killed, 3 seminarians abducted from Nigerian seminary

A map of Nigeria. / Credit: SevenMaps/ShutterstockACI Africa, Jul 14, 2025 / 14:28 pm (CNA).Three seminarians were kidnapped and a security guard was killed in an armed attack on Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in the Diocese of Auchi in Nigeria on the night of July 10.In a statement issued July 11, Father Peter Egielewa, the director of communications of the Auchi Diocese, provided details about the attack. He said the 9 p.m. attack on the Catholic institution located in Ivhianokpodi, Etsako East Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo state, involved "several gunmen.""In the process, the Nigerian Civil Defense Security official, Mr. Christopher Aweneghieme, stationed at the seminary was killed, and three minor seminarians were abducted and led into the bush," Egielewa said.The other seminarians have been moved to what Egielewa described as "a safe area until security measures around the seminary are tightened.""Unfortunately, no communication has been had with the abductors y...

Ukraine visit leaves mark on Canada's military ordinariate

Bishop Scott McCaig of the Roman Catholic Military Ordinariate of Canada celebrates Divine Liturgy as part of the spiritual retreat for military chaplains in Lviv, Ukraine. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Bishop Scott McCaigOttawa, Canada, Jul 13, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Bishop Scott McCaig of the Roman Catholic Military Ordinariate of Canada returned home recently after leading a spiritual retreat for military chaplains in Ukraine, saying that the weight of what he witnessed during his week in Lviv still looms large in his mind. "?I'm still processing it, to be honest," McCaig told Canada's Catholic Register. "On the Eastern equivalent of ?All Souls' Day, I visited the graves of thousands upon thousands of fallen soldiers and prayed with their families, little children, people all grieving their fathers, children, brothers and sisters. The grief and senselessness of it all were heart-wrenching and made vivid how the destruction is so unnecessary. It was a trip that truly l...