Auxiliary vicar of Opus Dei charged with human trafficking and labor exploitation 

Monsignor Mariano Fazio is auxiliary vicar of the Prelature of Opus Dei. / Credit: Opus DeiBuenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 6, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).The Argentine justice system has added the auxiliary vicar of Opus Dei, the organization's second in command, Monsignor Mariano Fazio, as a defendant in the case involving the alleged human trafficking and the reduction to servitude of 43 women in Argentina.The case, which was formally filed in 2024 but had been reported in the media several years earlier, accuses Opus Dei authorities of allegedly recruiting 43 women while they were still minors and subjecting them to a regime of semi-slavery in their residences.Until now, the defendants were four priests who served as authorities at different times between 1991 and 2015: Carlos Nannei, Patricio Olmos, and Víctor Urrestarazu, former vicars of Opus Dei in Argentina, and the former director of the women's branch in the country, Gabriel Dondo.The case now includes another defendant: Fazio...

Archbishop in Zambia calls for responsible, ethical journalism ahead of 2026 elections

Archbishop Benjamin Phiri of Zambia's Archdiocese of Ndola. / Credit: Archdiocese of NdolaACI Africa, Jul 6, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).Archbishop Benjamin Phiri of Zambia's Archdiocese of Ndola has called on journalists and media in the South African nation to resist sensationalism and distorting of facts as the country prepares for general elections in August 2026.In his homily on Sunday, June 29, the solemnity of Apostles Peter and Paul, Phiri called for responsible and ethical journalism."When you report in order to educate, you do not tell lies. You tell the facts as they are," he said during a Mass marking the 40th anniversary of St. Peter the Apostle Mushili Parish of his metropolitan see.The archbishop faulted journalists, "whose narratives fuel more conflict than resolve issues because of the practice of pitting one against the other.""You want that political party to fight against that political party; you want that person there to be fighting the other person there. Is th...

Pope Leo XIV prays for victims, families of Texas flood disaster

Pope Leo XIV, speaking in English, expressed his "sincere condolences" to "families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters, who were at the summer camp, in the disaster caused by flooding of the Guadalupe river in Texas in the United States" after praying the Angelus with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square on July 6, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaRome Newsroom, Jul 6, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Sunday prayed for the victims and families affected by the recent flood disaster in Texas.The Holy Father, speaking in English, expressed his "sincere condolences" to "families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters, who were at the summer camp, in the disaster caused by flooding of the Guadalupe river in Texas in the United States" after praying the Angelus with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.More than 20 children attending the all-girls summer camp are currently missing after flash floods struck Texas Hill Country in the early h...

Catholic schools in spotlight as French abuse report fuels state oversight debate

A photo shows a view of the National Assembly in Paris on June 10, 2024, a day after the European Parliament elections. / Credit: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty ImagesCNA Newsroom, Jul 6, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).A French parliamentary report released on July 2 has shed light on disturbing cases of abuse in schools while also reigniting a longstanding national debate over the balance between state oversight and freedom of education.  The report, resulting from a five-month inquiry into violence within the school system, proposes a series of measures aimed at better protecting minors. However, its heavy focus on Catholic private institutions under state contract has raised concerns about potential political bias and the future of educational pluralism in France. The inquiry was led by parliamentarians Violette Spillebout, from President Macron's centrist party Renaissance, and Paul Vannier, from the far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI). While the report f...

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...