Armed robbers attack religious sisters' home for girls in Mozambique

The Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in the Diocese of Pemba, Mozambique. / Credit: ACNACI Africa, Jul 5, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Armed robbers attacked a girls' home in the Diocese of Pemba in northern Mozambique run by the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (HMSS) in early June. Violent incidents are reportedly on the rise there, according to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International. In a report ACN shared with ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, on July 1, HMSS members recalled the traumatic experience of June 8 when the girls' home under their care was broken into by a group of men armed with guns and machetes.In a message to ACN, Sister Ofélia Robledo Alvarado described the terror they felt during the break-in. "A group of 18 men entered our mission, armed with machetes, iron bars, and weapons. Eight men came into the house, while the others stayed outside, controlling the gates and subduing the guards," Alvarado said in the ACN rep...

Nigerian bishop: Displaced families in need of spiritual and material help

Bishop Mark Maigida Nzukwein of Nigeria's Catholic Diocese of Wukari. / Credit: Courtesy of Diocese of Wukari, NigeriaVatican City, Jul 5, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).Bishop Mark Maigida Nzukwein says displaced families and communities who daily face threats of violence in Nigeria are in great need of spiritual and material support.Since being appointed the first bishop of the Diocese of Wukari, located in Nigeria's Taraba state, by Pope Francis in 2022, Nzukwein has seen the destruction of at least 325 Catholic places of worship by Islamic extremists."Christians here are really suffering," the bishop told CNA in an interview. "The first thing we need from people is their prayerful support.""Secondly, definitely we need material support to help rehabilitate some of our people who are traumatized from the violence that has been very recurrent," he added.Reports released this year by the organizations Aid to the Church in Need and Open Doors have shown that violent attacks against unar...

Pope Leo XIV appoints new president to lead Vatican's child safeguarding commission

Speaking to over 400 bishops from 38 countries on June 25, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of pastoral prudence, poverty, and synodality in the ministry of a bishop. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Jul 5, 2025 / 10:35 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry as the new president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.The prelate succeeds U.S.-born Cardinal Seán O'Malley, 81, the founding president of the safeguarding commission established by Pope Francis in 2014.  "I thank the Holy Father for my appointment as president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors," Verny said in a statement released on July 5. "I am honoured by the trust he has placed in me, fully aware of the grave and sacred task entrusted to the commission: to help the Church become ever more vigilant, accountable, and compassionate in her mission to protect the most vul...

Pope Leo XIV moves to the 'second Vatican City,' Castel Gandolfo

An aerial view of the papal palace of Castel Gandolfo near Rome. The apostolic palace is a complex of buildings served for centuries as a summer residence for the pope and overlooks Lake Albano. / Credit: Stefano Tammaro/ShutterstockVatican City, Jul 5, 2025 / 08:30 am (CNA).Two months into his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV will leave Rome to spend two weeks on a pontifical estate in the lakeside town of Castel Gandolfo, 18 miles south of the city, and sometimes known as the "second Vatican City."The pontiff will stay on the hilltop Vatican property "for a period of rest" from the afternoon of July 6 to the afternoon of July 20, the Vatican announced last month. Leo is scheduled to make public appearances from Castel Gandolfo on two Sundays, but otherwise, his public audiences and private audiences will be suspended during that time.Leo will also spend three days in Castel Gandolfo over the holiday weekend for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary Aug. 15-17. Pope Leo's stay...

New campaign launches to protect Catholics from online scams and fraud

null / Credit: A and I Kruk/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Jul 5, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).As more Catholic parishes and notable Catholic figures become the targets of scammers, a new initiative has been launched to help Catholics spot a scam and avoid becoming victims.Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions and former White House chief information officer, is spearheading the initiative, called "Protecting the Faithful." The campaign is being actively rolled out in parishes across the country through bulletin announcements and the distribution of infographics, videos, and guides highlighting the red flags of a scam.Many of these scams come in the form of emails sent to parishioners that look to be from their pastor asking them to donate to parish charities or ministries. Scammers are also targeting the fans of notable Catholic figures.For instance, there have been several incidents where scammers impersonated Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie. The scammers have messaged Roumie's follower...

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...

Bishop Barron urges court to strike down Washington law that targets seal of confession

Bishop Robert Barron is the founder of Word on Fire, a media apostolate focused on evangelization. / Credit: Word on FireCNA Newsroom, Jul 4, 2025 / 15:29 pm (CNA).Bishop Robert Barron on July 4 urged a federal court to strike down a Washington state law that would force priests to violate the seal of confession, telling the court that the law is "manifestly" disrespectful of the ancient and vital Church practice. Barron, the bishop of Winona-Rochester and a member of the White House Religious Liberty Commission, made the argument in a proposed amicus brief filed in U.S. district court in Washington State. The filing comes on behalf of the bishops of Washington State, who in May of this year sued the state government over its new mandatory reporting law that requires priests to report child abuse learned during the sacrament of confession or face jail time and fines. The law has drawn criticism from religious liberty advocates who say it unjustly targets Catholics. The Dep...