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...

Catholics mobilize aid after historic flash floods devastate Texas Hill Country

Trees emerge from flood waters along the Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025 in Kerrville, Texas. Heavy rainfall caused flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas with multiple fatalities reported. / Credit: Eric Vryn/Getty ImagesSan Antonio, Texas, Jul 5, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).Catholics are responding with prayers and aid after record-breaking flash floods in central Texas devastated communities along the area's rivers and killed multiple people. The flash flooding began in the early hours of July 4. Heavy rainfall filled the creeks that emptied into the several rivers that wind through the normally arid hills known as the Texas Hill Country, located north and west of San Antonio and Austin."At this time it is unknown how many have been affected by rising water levels along rivers and creeks," the Archdiocese of San Antonio said in a Friday statement.  "It is our prayer that those impacted by the floods will find the strength to rebuild. We pledge to be wit...

Italy marks 100 years since death of Pier Giorgio Frassati as canonization nears

A choir poses before an image of Pier Giorgio Frassati during a celebration of the centenary of his death, Turin, Italy, Friday, July 4, 2025 / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNATurin, Italy, Jul 5, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).On the 100th anniversary of Pier Giorgio Frassati's death this week, crowds packed into the Turin Cathedral to pray at the tomb of the charismatic young man who is set to be canonized as a saint in September. The three-day celebration of the centenary, dubbed "Frassati Days," drew pilgrims from the United States, Poland, and Switzerland to Piedmont, the northern Italian region where Frassati lived and left a lasting legacy of faith and charity. Concelebrating priests preside at Mass in Turin's Cathedral of St John the Baptist celebrating the centenary of Pier Giorgio Frassati's death, Friday, July 4, 2025. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA "These 100 years made Frassati a popular young man. Not only in Turin, not only in Piedmont, not only in Italy, but all ove...

Pope Leo XIV: Pilgrimages are 'vital' for a Christian's life of faith

Pope Leo XIV greets a young pilgrim in Rome during a meeting with group of teachers and young people from Denmark, England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, Saturday, July 5, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Jul 5, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Saturday said pilgrimages play an essential role in the life of faith as they help a Christian to be better united to Jesus Christ and discern God's purpose for us in life.The Holy Father invited a large group of teachers and young people from Denmark, England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales to the Vatican on Saturday and encouraged them to come closer to God during their summer pilgrimage in Rome for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.Pilgrims present Pope Leo XIV with a bottle of Irish whisky at the Vatican, Saturday, July 5, 2025. Credit: Vatican MediaDuring the meeting, the pope said: "A pilgrimage has a vital part to play in our life of faith for it removes us from our homes and our daily routines and gives us time and space...

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...