World News

An Indonesian rebel group is targeting the Catholic Church, according to a report published today by an Australian think tank. The Lowy Institute said that the West Papua National Liberation Army, which operates in Western New Guinea, has attacked a Church-run air service and Catholic schools because of the Church’s collaboration with ... read more

An American living in Scotland said that she was fired from her high school teaching position after she replied to student questions about her views on abortion. “Government guidelines on political impartiality in the classroom do not prohibit the mention of a teacher’s legally protected beliefs, provided there is no attempt to persuade,” said ... read more

The Vatican newspaper devoted the most prominent front-page article in its July 14 edition to the ongoing European heat waves. “While June 2026 will be remembered as one of the hottest months on record, the data for July are equally concerning so far,” Davide Dionisi reported in “Nella morsa del caldo” (In ... read more

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, traveled to Nigeria from July 2-7 to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Africa’s most populous nation. In a detailed article on the trip, published on July 14, the Vatican newspaper reported on ... read more

Karachi – The fruitful collaboration between Muslim and Christian religious leaders, civil authorities and security forces prevented an outbreak of sectarian violence, ensuring that a highly sensitive alleged blasphemy case was handled through the principles of justice, goodwill and truth rather than revenge. This is the key message emerging from events that unfolded in recent ... read more

(Image: Emilio Garcia / Unsplash.com) CRACOW. I usually find the quadrennial FIFA World Cup aggravating for the five reasons enumerated below, plus one other: my students here in the Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society are sometimes so obsessed with the competition that it becomes challenging to keep our community of learners focused ... read more

In this time of crisis, when the Ordinary Form of the Mass is often celebrated with irreverence, informality, and banality, the needed response, as we all know, is a liturgical renaissance. Despite the hopes of traditional Catholics, a return to the Latin Mass for the whole Church is highly unlikely, at least in our current ... read more

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted $235 million in food aid to Catholic Relief Services, for use in Ethiopia and Sudan. “This agreement with USDA comes at a critical moment for struggling families in Sudan and Ethiopia,” said Sean Callahan, president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services. “The scale of humanitarian need in ... read more

Cardinal Fabio Baggio, C.S., pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Cardinal Silvano Tomasi, C.S., a retired Vatican diplomat, addressed over 200 Nobel laureates, scholars, AI experts, and former heads of state on July 14. The assembly has gathered to draft the Rome Declaration for a Disarmed and ... read more

At Pope Leo XIV’s behest, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi of Bologna, Italy, traveled to Ukraine and gave holy cards to Russian prisoners of war near Lviv. Cardinal Zuppi, accompanied by the apostolic nuncio and the Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See, also gave the prisoners keychains, telling them that he hoped that “soon ... read more

A Kenyan bishop urged women who intend to tempt priests not to do so. “For those intending to tempt priests and force them into affairs that go against their beliefs and priestly calling, please stop,” Bishop Hieronymus Emusugut Joya, I.M.C., of Maralal said yesterday. “These priests are human and have feelings. If you ... read more

(Image: everythingpossible | us.fotolia.com) Magnificent Humanity, Poor Economics (Law & Liberty): “Magnifica Humanitas could address contemporary questions more effectively if it had sounder economics.” “Blame the Rooster for the Sunrise”: The post hoc fallacy at the heart of the traditionalist case against Vatican II (TraddyLand Group): “The core traditionalist indictment of the ... read more

The 2022 final between France and Argentina, widely considered one of the greatest World Cup games ever played, was decided by a penalty kick shootout. So if it happens again this year, spare a prayer for the pressure these players are under — and ask yourself how you would respond, whatever the outcome. ... read more

Arguably the most influential Catholic monk since Thomas Merton, Brother David Steindl-Rast has carried Benedictine spirituality into the modern world. This week, he turned 100 years old. ... read more

In the last two weeks, venture tech capitalist Peter Thiel has accused Pope Leo XIV of being a Chinese communist agent because of his teaching on AI, and has insinuated that Pope Francis was an Antichrist figure. ... read more