Leo XIV: Don't be discouraged in your faith journey, God is always there to sustain you

Pope Leo XIV greets a group of catechumens from France during an audience on July 29, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Jul 29, 2025 / 14:59 pm (CNA).Speaking to a group of catechumens from France, Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday explained that baptism "gives us life" to renounce a "culture of death," which is so prevalent in today's society.During the July 29 meeting at the Vatican with the catechumens, chaplains, and catechists of France, which also included the bishop of Nice, Jean-Philippe Nault, the Holy Father emphasized that baptism "makes us full members of the great family of God."He added that this sacrament "introduces us into communion with Christ and gives us life," committing those who receive it "to renounce a culture of death," which he said includes "indifference, contempt for others, drug use, the pursuit of an easy life, sexuality turned into entertainment and the objectification of the human person, injustice, etc.""Baptism makes us...

Catholic bishops to join pilgrimage of peace to Japan on anniversary of atomic bombings

The Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, Japan. / Credit: Oilstreet via Wikimedia (CC BY 2.5)CNA Staff, Jul 29, 2025 / 15:29 pm (CNA).Eighty years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, several Catholic cardinals and archbishops will visit Japan for a pilgrimage of peace this August.Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago; Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C.; Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle; and Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, will be part of the pilgrimage coordinated by the Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (PWNW).Throughout the five-day visit, the clergy, along with a delegation of pilgrims, will celebrate Mass, participate in dialogue on Catholic ethics and nuclear weapons, and visit historical sites and museums. The delegation will include staff and students from several U.S. universities.The pilgrimage will begin by bringing together Catholic bishops from Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. alongside "hibakusha," or atomic bomb survivors...

Canon law expert Edward Peters is third faculty member fired by Detroit archbishop

Canon law professor Edward Peters had taught at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit since 2005. / Credit: Photo courtesy of CanonLaw.infoNational Catholic Register, Jul 29, 2025 / 15:59 pm (CNA).Canon law professor Edward Peters is the third faculty member at Detroit's seminary to announce that he has been fired by Archbishop Edward Weisenburger in recent days.Peters, 68, had taught at Sacred Heart Major Seminary since 2005."My Sacred Heart Major Seminary teaching contract was terminated by Abp. Weisenburger this week. I have retained counsel," Peters wrote in a social media post Friday night."Except to offer my prayers for those affected by this news and to ask for theirs in return, I have no further comment at this time," Peters said.A representative of the Archdiocese of Detroit declined to comment Monday, telling the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, by email on Monday that "the Archdiocese of Detroit does not comment on archdiocesan or seminary pers...

Evangelizing on social media more than just gaining followers, Leo XIV reminds influencers

Pope Leo XIV blesses Elizabeth Busby and her baby on the way at the Mass for Digital Missionaries on July 29, 2025, at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. A family and marriage therapist, Busby hosts the "Discerning Marriage" podcast and developed the Next Step formation program for people who are discerning marriage. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Jul 29, 2025 / 16:29 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday participated in the Mass celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica on the occasion of the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers, encouraging them to create encounters "between hearts" regardless of the number of followers they have.The Holy Father arrived at the Vatican basilica at the end of the Mass, which was celebrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.More than a thousand Catholics from different countries participated in the event, which also coincided with the Jubilee of Youth, filling the basilica with yo...

Christian groups sue over Trump administration policy allowing ICE arrests at churches

Notre Dame Catholic Church in Kerrville, Texas. / Credit: Sophie AbuzeidWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 29, 2025 / 16:59 pm (CNA).A coalition of Protestant denominations filed a lawsuit on July 28 to challenge a policy from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration that makes it easier for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to arrest suspects at churches and other sensitive locations.The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in January rescinded the previous administration's guidelines that had prevented ICE agents from conducting immigration arrests at churches and other sensitive locations unless there is approval from a supervisor or there is an urgent need to take enforcement action, such as an imminent threat.The lawsuit brought by the Protestant coalition argues that the change in policy violates the First Amendment's right to the free exercise of religion and two federal laws: the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Administrative Procedure Act...

New Jersey hospital receives largest-ever gift to a U.S.-based Catholic health center

Left to right: Cathleen Davey, president, Holy Name Foundation; Jeffrey A. Brown, acting commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Health; Joan Noble, Douglas M. Noble Family Foundation; Michael Maron, president and CEO of Holy Name Medical Center; U.S. Rep. Nellie Pou; New Jersey state Sen. Paul A. Sarlo; and New Jersey state Sen. Joseph A. Lagana. / Credit: Holy NameWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 29, 2025 / 17:29 pm (CNA).Holy Name Medical Center, the only independent Catholic health system in New Jersey, announced it has received a $75 million gift, the largest-ever donation to a U.S.-based Catholic health system. "This transformational gift is not just about its remarkable size; it's about the profound impact it will have on Holy Name's ability to tackle some of the most critical health care challenges facing our community in the decades to come," the hospital's president and CEO, Michael Maron, said in a press release on Monday in which he announced the sizable do...

Cardinal Tagle at influencers jubilee: 'Love cannot be generated by an algorithm'

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, presides over the Mass for the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers on July 29, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAVatican City, Jul 29, 2025 / 13:52 pm (CNA).Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle urged Catholic content creators gathered in Rome for the first-ever Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers to "be discerning" in how they use their platforms, warning against the spiritual dangers of misinformation and manipulation online. "You are not only influencers, you are also missionaries," Tagle said during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on July 29, addressing more than 1,700 Catholic creators from 75 countries who came to the Vatican for the two-day event coinciding with the Jubilee of Youth.Attendees worship during a Mass at the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencer at St. Peter's Basilica on Tuesday, July 29, ...

Middle Eastern influencers join Church's first digital missionary jubilee

Digital missionaries and Catholic influencers participate in the Mass for the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers on July 29, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAACI MENA, Jul 29, 2025 / 14:23 pm (CNA).For the first time in its history, the Church is celebrating a jubilee dedicated to digital missionaries, recognizing the vital role they play in spreading the Gospel in today's digital world.Among them are Catholics influencers from the Middle East, from lands where evangelization first began, shaped by persecution yet marked by deep resilience, and carrying with them a witness born from both suffering and unshakable hope.Father Simon Esaki with Giovanni and Charbel Lteif during the pilgrimage through the Holy Door at the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries in Rome July 28-29, 2025. Credit: Photo courtesy of Charbel LteifA Chaldean voice for Christ onlineAmong the participants is Father Simon Esaki, a Chaldean Catholic priest...

Vatican permits exclusively private devotion for alleged apparitions at Italian mountain

The Palazzo del Sant'Uffizio, the seat of the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. / Credit: Jim McIntosh via Wikimedia (CC BY 2.0)Vatican City, Jul 29, 2025 / 10:47 am (CNA).The Vatican's doctrinal office has expressed reservations about an alleged Marian apparition site in southern Italy, permitting only private devotion and warning that claims that a deceased woman has communicated messages through a guardian angel "require further study."Sant'Onofrio is a mountain in the southern Italian region of Molise, close to the town of Agnone. Since 2009, a resident  of the area, Michelino Marcovecchio, has claimed to receive visions of the Virgin Mary and messages from her.He has also claimed to hear the voice of his deceased mother-in-law, Livia Casciano, through his guardian angel.The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) gave the alleged supernatural experiences at Mount Sant'Onofrio a judgment of "prae oculis habeatur" ("let it be held before the eyes"),...

Trump administration acts to protect religious expression of federal workers

U.S. Office of Personnel Management headquarters building in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has issued new guidance to safeguard the right of federal employees to express religion in the workplace, including the display of religious imagery on desks, voluntary conversations, and prayer.The new guidelines, issued by U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor, were sent to the heads of all federal departments and agencies on Monday, July 28. The guidance is meant to clarify the religious liberty protections guaranteed in the First Amendment and already enshrined in federal law."Federal employees should never have to choose between their faith and their career," Kupor said in a statement. "This guidance ensures the federal workplace is not just compliant with the law but welcoming to Americans of all faiths. Under Pres...