Retired Pope Benedict XVI followed the funeral of his brother, Georg Ratzinger, via livestreaming, reported the German Catholic news agency KNA.
New report says Iraqi Christians could face extinction
Without immediate action from the international community, Christians in northern Iraq could be endangered with extinction, warns a new report from the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need. The report, “Life after ISIS: New Challenges for Christianity in Iraq,” is based on a survey of Christians in the liberated Ninevah Plains. With anticipated […]
Soto: ‘Strenuous labor’ of ending racism shouldn’t be ‘toppled’ by looting
By defacing and toppling a statue of St. Junipero Serra in Sacramento, protesters may have meant “to draw attention to the sorrowful, angry memories over California’s past,” but “this act of vandalism does little to build the future,” Bishop Jaime Soto said July 5.
Cardinal Dolan: Broad criticism of NYPD unfairly tarnishes police officers
Utilizing personal stories from his interactions with the New York Police Department, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said in a newspaper column that the city’s police officers deserve better treatment and broad support on the job.
Concert honoring St. John Paul II centenary available online
An concert honoring the centennial of St. John Paul II’s birth is now available online.
Father Val Peter, Boys Town’s leader for 20 years, dies
Father Val Peter, who was executive director of Boys Town from 1985 to 2005, died June 30 at age 85. No cause of death was given.
Monsignor Ratzinger, retired pope’s brother, dies at 96
Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, a musician and retired Pope Benedict XVI’s elder brother, died July 1 at the age of 96.
San Francisco archbishop leads prayer, blesses site of toppled Serra statue
Several dozen people joined San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone as he led the rosary June 27 and recited the prayer of St. Michael the Archangel for protection from evil at the site of the now-toppled statue of St. Junipero Serra in the city’s Golden Gate Park.
Young people call DACA ruling good news, but know battle not over
On June 18, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling said President Donald Trump could not stop the program with his 2017 executive order.
Racial issues need ‘honest discussion,’ not destruction, says San Francisco archbishop
San Francisco’s archbishop said June 20 the “toppling and defacing” of a statue of St. Junipero Serra and other statues in the city’s Golden Gate Park is the latest example of some people using the current movement against racial injustice as a reason for violence, looting and vandalism.
USCCB president ‘deeply concerned’ about impact of court’s LGBT ruling
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said he is “deeply concerned” that by ruling federal law protects LGBT workers from discrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court “has effectively redefined the legal meaning of ‘sex’ in our nation’s civil rights law.”
State Department report: China among worst offenders of religious freedom
Top U.S. State Department officials singled out China as one of the world’s worst offenders of religious freedom because it had subjected religious minorities to imprisonment and forced labor.