The Vatican’s statement on the Rupnik trial came a day after Laura Sgrò, a civil and canon lawyer who represents five women who have accused Father Rupnik of abuse, rebuked the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, saying she and her clients have no information about the case, and they had not been informed whether the trial even began. Sgrò told OSV News July 21 that she had not received confirmation from the Vatican as to whether the trial had begun. The July 22 Vatican press statement confirmed for her and her clients that the trial is indeed underway. “The Church, like the victims, needs transparency, justice, and truth,” Sgrò urged.
The former Catholic seminary and boarding school in Bay Shore, New York, is set to become a Muslim boarding school, reports LiBn.com on July 15. The United American Muslim Association (UAMA) purchased the building for $5.2 million. The 6,500-square-metre centre, founded in 1926 by the Montfort Missionaries, was used to train priests before later serving as a retreat house. Pending approval of a zoning change, the new owners intend to establish an Islamic boarding school for up to 120 boys. According to its website, UAMA aims to provide an education in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah. However, local residents have organised opposition to the proposal, with many displaying 'NO Boarding School' signs throughout the neighbourhood. Picture: Google street view, #newsAjnqxreavu
Locally, a former SSPX priest named William T. Welsh, who at least until recently had been living in the south suburbs, was the subject of an unusual federal court case in Chicago that began in 2020, as the government of Australia sought to have him extradited to face child sex charges. An American, Welsh once ministered in Australia for SSPX, and authorities there charged him with 11 counts of indecent assault and two counts of gross indecency with a person under 16 years, court records show. “Welsh was ordained a Catholic priest on 1 December 1985,” court records show. “In 1985 he was assigned as a collaborator in Hampton, Australia, until August 1986. After spending some time in different locations, Welsh was assigned as a prior in Hampton from January 1986 until July 1993.” While in that suburb of Melbourne, he repeatedly sexually assaulted a female parishioner when she was between 12 and 15 years old, including at times on the church property, authorities allege. The case was dropped …More
Abortion pills are every abuser’s dream. A few clicks. A package in the mail. A baby’s life is ended. A woman left to suffer alone. (Video from “Students for Life”—whose leaders earn enormous salaries)
Unconscionable and unthinkable that this used to be the land of the free and home of the brave. America is now the home of baby murder. I think the Students for Life leaders earn every penny they get and more.
Italian Bishop Celebrates Alpine Mass with Hosts in a Plastic Box: Worse than Germany: On 19 July, Bishop Derio Olivero, 65, of Pinerolo, Italy, celebrated at the Chisonetto Dam near the Italian ski resort Sestriere the annual "Mass in the Valley". Around 300 people attended lying on mats. Throughout the "liturgy" the hosts remained in a plastic storage container placed on the altar. The used cup was wooden.
La tradizionale "Messa in Valle" si è svolta il 19 luglio 2026 alla diga del Chisonetto (Sestriere), riunendo circa 300 fedeli. La Messa è stata celebrata dal vescovo di Pinerolo, Derio Olivero. VitaDiocesanaPinerolese.it
VaticanNews.va – the Vatican's costly news portal with a modest online audience – published the Article “Assisted Reproduction: When AI Is Used Against Humans” on July 21 about the ethical implications of artificial intelligence in in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The article treats the intrinsically evil IVF as an established form of "medically assisted reproduction" and focuses on the risks posed by automation. The author of the article is Davide Dionisi, who worked for more than 25 years at Radio Vaticana–Vatican News and is now Italy's Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion and the Protection of Religious Minorities. He relies throughout on comments from Laura Palazzani, a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Palazzani argues that technology should "support the clinical process" rather than replace the physician. She insists that doctors remain indispensable during procedures including "the retrieval and processing of gametes, in vitro fertilisation, and the culture …More
AI Overview According to Catholic theology, it is never better to stop praying for a person, and withholding prayer to induce "rock bottom" is not a licit or standard practice. Key principles include: Universal call to love: Christians are commanded to pray for all people, including sinners and enemies. Divine mercy: Prayer invites God’s grace, which is always good and needed, rather than causing spiritual harm. Prudent methods: While verbal attention or enabling behavior may be withheld for tough love, internal or secret intercessory prayer remains a duty of charity. The Role of Prayer in Catholic Teaching Perpetual Obligation: The Church teaches that intercessory prayer is an expression of charity. Saint Thomas Aquinas and general moral theology view praying for others as a spiritual work of mercy that should not be withheld out of a calculation to cause distress. Grace vs. Manipulation: Catholic thought holds that God uses grace to soften hearts. Intentionally withholding prayer so …More
James Martin SJ Wants the Church to Ordain [More] Homosexual Priests: Homosexual activist Fr James Martin SJ has called on Pope Leo XIV to remove the – largely unenforced – restrictions against "celibate homosexuals" to become priests. Fr Martin believes that "sexual orientation" alone should not stop a man from being ordained. He points to Pope Francis, who said there are already many "holy, healthy and celibate" homosexual priests. However, in 2005 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger concluded that men with deep-seated homosexual temptations should not enter the seminary because they lack the emotional maturity needed for lifelong celibacy.
Young Catholics in Brazil are expressing a desire for deeper faith formation, greater emphasis on holiness, and well-celebrated liturgy, while also voicing frustration with what they see as an excessive focus on sociopolitical issues in the Church, according to a national survey presented to the Brazilian Bishops' Conference (CNBB). The 2025 survey, conducted by the CNBB's Episcopal Commission for Youth with academic partners, gathered responses from more than 11,000 Catholics aged 12 to 29 across Brazil. It used a voluntary online questionnaire rather than a representative random sample. According to the partial results (document below), holiness and the Christian faith were the most frequently cited topics of interest among respondents. Many also expressed a desire for stronger formation in Catholic teaching, greater emphasis on Scripture and the Eucharist, and well-celebrated liturgy. Asked what makes participation in the Church more difficult, respondents most often pointed to a lack …More
Anecdotes about Pope Leo XIV's student years at the International College of St. Monica in Rome, belonging to the Augustinian Fathers, are published in the new Vatican News documentary Leone a Roma. An Augustinian friar recalls that fellow students played "so many jokes" on him—"so many." One night he woke convinced an airplane was circling outside his window. The brothers had hidden a ringing radio on top of his wardrobe, leaving him searching for the mysterious noise in the middle of the night. On another occasion, someone offered this friar what he thought was a candy. "They said to me, 'Here, I would like to offer you a candy.' So I thought it was a candy, but instead it was a laxative tablet. As a result, while I was in the chapel I had to run to the bathroom." The documentary accompanies the story with the photo of a smiling young Robert Prevost, without suggesting who was responsible. Another friar recalls that the future pope would squeeze into his room every single evening to …More
Pro-life political engagement is not optional; it is how informed Catholics defend the weakest and uphold the rule of law in a constitutional republic.
In places where elections are already compromised, discouraging turnout works to the cheaters’ advantage. Fewer voters mean it costs less to manipulate the outcome, and there is real money to be made in the fraud itself, including through bonds and related schemes. Pushing the attitude that voting is pointless is straight out of the Communist playbook. A constitutional republic rests on free and fair elections. Informed Catholics need to stay engaged rather than withdraw. Jeff Clark (@JeffClarkUS) on X