Northwoods Catholic Churches -- St. Anne, Boulder Junction; St. Mary, Sayner; St. Rita, Presque Isle

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Vatican City, Jul 10, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday said developers and users of artificial intelligence (AI) are jointly responsible for ensuring innovations uphold human dignity and the common good in his message to participants of the 2025 AI for Good Summit taking place in Geneva, Switzerland.

"Although responsibility for the ethical use of AI systems begins with those who develop, manage and oversee them, those who use them also share in this responsibility,” the Holy Father said in a message to participants at the July 8-11 global meeting. 

The letter, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, expressed the pope’s call for “regulatory frameworks centered on the human person” and “proper ethical management” of AI technologies on local and global levels.

“Humanity is at a crossroads, facing the immense potential generated by the digital revolution driven by artificial intelligence,” the pope said. “The impact of this revolution is far-reaching, transforming areas such as education, work, art, healthcare, governance, the military, and communication.”

In spite of these global advancements, Leo commented that approximately 2.6 billion persons living in rural and low-income areas do not even have access to basic communication technologies.

“This epochal transformation requires responsibility and discernment to ensure that AI is developed and utilized for the common good, building bridges of dialogue and fostering fraternity, and ensuring it serves the interests of humanity as a whole,” he said.

While AI can perform specific tasks, “simulate” human reasoning, or technically enhance global cooperation with speed and efficiency, Leo said it “cannot replicate moral discernment or the ability to form genuine relationships.   

“Ultimately, we must never lose sight of the common goal of contributing to that ‘tranquillitas ordinis — the tranquility of order,’ as St. Augustine called it,” he said, “and fostering a more humane order of social relations, and peaceful and just societies in the service of integral human development and the good of the human family.” 

Just days into his pontificate, at his first meeting with the College of Cardinals on May 10, Pope Leo identified AI as “another industrial revolution” that can “pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labor.”

Built in 1578, Mar Hormizd Cathedral is the Syro-Malabar cathedral church in Angamaly, India. / Credit: St. Hormizd's Cathedral, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Vatican City, Jul 10, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

The specter of schism has hovered in recent years over the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabar Church in India—one of the 24 Eastern Churches in full communion with the Catholic Church.

Part of the clergy and faithful of Ernakulam-Angamaly, the largest Indian episcopal see in terms of the number of priests as well as the see presided over by the bishop in charge of the entire Syro-Malabar Church, did not accept the 1999 reform of the liturgical rite, which was later confirmed at the 2021 Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church.

Pope Leo XIV appears to have resolved the controversy by terminating the 2023 appointment of Archbishop Cyril Vasil' as papal delegate to the Syro-Malabar Church to mediate the dispute.

According to Vatican News, the official Vatican website, this decision by the pope "concludes the Holy See's mediation work among the Syro-Malabars."

Martin Bräuer, an expert at the Ecumenical Research Institute in Bensheim, Germany, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that "Rome now considers the conflict over and therefore no longer needs a papal representative. Secondly, the agreement reached within the [Syro-Malabar] Church without the direct mediation of Archbishop Vasil' is recognized."

Indeed, the news comes after new measures to implement the liturgical reform approved by the 2021 Synod came into effect on July 3, the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle—patron saint of the Syro-Malabar Church.

The compromise now reached allows the parishes of Ernakulam-Angamaly to celebrate the liturgy with the priest facing the faithful (versus populum), adhering to the practice of the Roman Rite, provided that at least one Sunday or feast day Mass is celebrated according to the traditional form, that is, with the priest facing the altar (ad orientem) during the consecration.

According to the 2021 reform of the rite, during Mass the priest was required to address the people during the first part of the celebration, but the liturgy of the Eucharist was celebrated facing the altar.

Prior to the reform that sparked the dispute, all solemnities had to be celebrated in line with the directives issued by the Syro-Malabar Synod four years ago. Now, however, the Syro-Malabar Church accepts as sufficient that all churches celebrate just one of their Masses on Sundays and feast days according to those directives.

“This rule also applies to parishes with ongoing civil proceedings, provided they do not contravene the decisions of state courts,” the academic explained.

Furthermore, he said, it is made explicit that the synod will only address future liturgical changes “if they are discussed in a spirit of synodality with the canonical bodies of the archeparchy.”

Other points include “the use of the sanctuary in accordance with liturgical norms, the possibility of outside bishops celebrating the unified form in all churches, and that any internal conflicts be resolved in an atmosphere of respect and friendship,” Bräuer emphasized.

What was the liturgical dispute about?

While the 2021 synod promoted a return to the liturgy facing the altar as the traditional form of the Syro-Oriental rite, many priests and faithful in Ernakulam-Angamaly defended the practice of facing the people that had become widespread after the Second Vatican Council.

The Vatican then asked the 35 dioceses of the Syro-Malabar Church to eliminate elements of the Roman rite and return to their original traditions, in this case the pure Chaldean rite, present today especially in Iraq.

For Bräuer, what is remarkable is that "this agreement was reached by means of synodality, that is, through dialogue and mutual listening," which gives legitimacy and hope to its practical application.

This case has been, according to the expert, an acid test of the delicate balance between papal authority and the autonomy of the Eastern Churches. It was St. John Paul II who, in 1998, gave the Syro-Malabar bishops authority to resolve liturgical conflicts.

According to Bräuer, “the Syro-Malabar Church first attempted to resolve the conflict internally. When that failed, Rome intervened, but that too was unsuccessful.”

The papal delegate, Archbishop Vasil’, who belongs to the Byzantine rite and had worked in the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, was widely criticized for his authoritarian style. “He didn’t know how to find the right tone with the parties in conflict,” Bräuer commented.

However, it was not an easy task. When Archbishop Vasil' traveled to India on Aug. 4, 2023, at the beginning of his mission, some priests publicly burned photos of him and he was greeted with a shower of eggs.

In this regard, it was the metropolitan vicar, Archbishop Joseph Pamplany, successor to the apostolic administrator Bishop Bosco Puthur, who managed to move toward a solution thanks to a strategy of open communication and active listening.

Finally, the consensus—which relaxed the norms that the communities of this rite in the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly were required to adopt a year ago, following an ultimatum from Pope Francis—was forged in a meeting between Archbishop Pamplany and the Major Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Archdiocese, Raphael Thattil.

Another new rule that has softened positions is that deacons may be ordained without having to commit in writing not to celebrate according to the previous form of the rite.

Is the ghost of schism laid to rest forever?

Although the threat of schism has been dispelled for now, there is still work to be done. According to Bräuer, even priests who opposed the unified liturgy have accepted the agreement, although not without reservations.

Their spokesman, Father Kuriakose Mundadan, expressed in a letter his willingness to support the agreement, although he harshly criticized both the way in which the liturgical reform was adopted and the repressive attitude of some of those previously in authority. 

“In addition to criticizing the way the synod imposed the liturgical reform, he also criticized the treatment of those opposed to the reform. He also felt that the papal delegate exacerbated the situation,” Bräuer noted.

 “Pope Francis constantly called for unity, but ultimately did not succeed in resolving the conflict. It became clear that the problem could not be resolved solely by means of authority and discipline. Now a synodal solution has been found, which we hope will be lasting,” the expert added.

Bräuer emphasized that how the agreement is implemented in the coming months will be decisive: “Only then will we see if the agreement is stable and lasting.”

For priests currently facing disciplinary proceedings, amicable solutions will be sought, and the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly will also undertake to resolve disputes in civil courts.

Those who prefer the Roman Rite practice of facing the people to the traditional one are a minority: they represent only about 450,000 people, or 10% of Syro-Malabar believers, who total about five million. However, they are quite vocal. Videos of attacks on bishops and clashes between groups of Catholics circulate online.

The special tribunal created to resolve these types of liturgical disputes will not be dissolved, at least for now.

Lessons for the entire Catholic Church

Asked about the value of this experience for other liturgical conflicts in the Church, Bräuer said that the liturgy is “prayed dogma,” that is, an “expression of the Church’s faith” that can take many forms, as seen in the Catholic Church: for example, “in the West, with the ancient Mozarabic rite, and also with inculturated forms of the Mass in the Congo, Australia, or Mexico.”

“Liturgical diversity enriches the Church, but fidelity to tradition does not mean stubbornly clinging to the past, but rather accepting change with discernment,” he stated.

This story was first publishedby ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Father Thomas Hennen, vicar general of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV to be the next bishop of Baker, a mission diocese in eastern Oregon. / Courtesy of Diocese of Davenport

Rome Newsroom, Jul 10, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has tapped Father Thomas Hennen, vicar general of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, to be the next bishop of Baker, a mission diocese in eastern Oregon.

The bishop-elect, who celebrates 21 years as a priest on July 10, is a former vocations director. He has also been rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport since 2021. 

A moral theologian, Hennen has over 10 years of experience in pastoral outreach to people with same-sex attraction, as diocesan coordinator and chaplain for the local chapter of the Catholic organization Courage International, which offers support to men and women who experience same-sex attraction and have chosen to live a chaste life.

The 47-year-old priest, who goes by “Fr. Thom,” also has experience as a parochial vicar, university and high school chaplain, campus minister, and theology teacher.

For the last almost four years, he has also been the Davenport diocese’s leader for the Synod on Synodality, which he described in a 2021 homily as “about how we go about listening to each other, how we go about our mission as the Church, the Body of Christ, in our present age, to better communicate and better embody the Kingdom of God on earth.”

Born on July 4, 1978, in Ottumwa, a town in southeast Iowa, Hennen’s hobbies include strategy board games, reading, and playing the tin whistle and the violin, according to a 2009 interview. He has also said he first felt a call to the priesthood in the fourth grade.

He completed his studies for the priesthood at Saint Ambrose University in Davenport and the Pontifical North American College in Rome, earning a bachelor’s in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. A year after his 2004 ordination to the priesthood, he also earned a licentiate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Alphonsian Academy in Rome.

The bishop-elect speaks Spanish and Italian in addition to his native English.

The Diocese of Baker covers 66,800 square miles in eastern Oregon. Considered a mission territory, the diocese’s landscape includes mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, lakes, and plains, and has a population of approximately 12,500 Catholic households across 57 parishes and missions.

In 1987, the Baker diocesan offices were moved to Bend, in central Oregon, while the Cathedral Church of St. Francis de Sales is over 200 miles east in Baker City.

Hennen succeeds Bishop Liam Cary, who has led the Baker diocese since 2012. Cary will turn 78 in August, making him nearly three years past the usual age of retirement for Catholic bishops.

Bishops Rudolf Voderholzer and Stefan Oster / Credit: Diocese of Regensburg / Diocese of Passau

CNA Newsroom, Jul 10, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

Amid a heated debate over appointments to Germany’s constitutional court, two Bavarian bishops have issued an urgent call to uphold human life and dignity, warning “there must never again be second-class people” in Germany as the country faces a contentious parliamentary vote.

Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg declared that anyone who relativizes human dignity protections should be disqualified from Germany’s highest judicial body, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

The bishops’ intervention comes as the German parliament prepares to vote Friday on three candidates for the court that serves as the nation’s supreme judicial authority and final arbiter on fundamental rights questions.

The debate over nominations has focused on views publicly expressed by Social Democratic Party nominee Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf. The constitutional law professor served as deputy coordinator of the government commission on abortion law reform. She argued that legalizing abortion within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy would be constitutionally permissible.

Most contentious was her widely criticized assertion that “whether the embryo and later fetus is entitled to the protection of the Basic Law’s guarantee of human dignity is indeed very controversial in constitutional law scholarship. In my view, there are good reasons why the guarantee of human dignity only applies from birth.”

Without naming names, the two bishops characterized such constitutional interpretation this week as fundamentally disqualifying, emphasizing the state’s duty to guarantee human dignity protections without exception.

The Bavarian bishops — who have also risen to prominence for their resistance to the controversial Synodal Way — are not the only ones raising concerns.

Some Christian Democratic Union (CDU) parliamentarians took to social media to call Brosius-Gersdorf “unelectable.”

The bishops’ statement establishes what they describe as non-negotiable criteria for constitutional judges as the country grapples with fundamental questions about the protection of human life, particularly regarding abortion law.

Bishops establish disqualification criteria

The bishops’ statement, titled “Our Basic Law is maximally inclusive,” asserts that every human being is granted human dignity and the right to life regardless of their life situation. 

Oster and Voderholzer pointed to Germany’s Basic Law (Grundgesetz), the country’s constitution established in 1949, which enshrines the inviolability of human dignity in Article 1 as the foundation of all constitutional rights.

The Bavarian bishops warned that “anyone who holds the view that the embryo or fetus in the womb does not yet have dignity and only has a lesser right to life than the human being after the birth is carrying out a radical attack on the foundations of our constitution. 

“He or she must not be entrusted with the binding interpretation of the Basic Law,” they said.

Oster and Voderholzer added that there “must never again be second-class people in Germany.”

Catholic chancellor causes outrage

The bishops’ principled position comes as Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz — a Catholic and leader of the CDU — appeared to defend Brosius-Gersdorf despite her controversial constitutional views.

In a dramatic moment during Wednesday’s Bundestag debate, when asked by Alternative for Germany parliamentarian Beatrix von Storch whether he could reconcile with his conscience voting for a candidate “for whom human dignity does not apply if [the person] is not yet born,” Merz responded: “My straightforward answer to your question is: Yes!”

The chancellor’s words created significant tension within his own parliamentary faction, according to media reports.

The CDU's pro-life organization, Christian Democrats for Life, urged party leadership to reject the nominee based on her stance on the right to life.

Pro-life organizations have announced a demonstration outside the Reichstag building on Friday morning, CNA Deutsch reported.

Germany records more than 100,000 abortions annually, with approximately 1.8 million procedures performed between 1996 and 2023.

Currently, women in Germany can obtain an abortion from a doctor during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, following a compulsory counseling session.

Blessed Anacleto González Flores, martyr of the religious persecution that Mexico experienced in the 1920s. / Credit: Mexican Bishops’ Conference

Puebla, Mexico, Jul 10, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas, will hold a celebration in Spanish and English on Sunday, July 13, commemorating the 137th anniversary of the birth of Blessed Anacleto González Flores, a martyr of the religious persecution Mexico experienced in the 1920s and patron saint of the Mexican laity.

González was born in Tepatitlán, Jalisco state, Mexico, on July 13, 1888. He was a prominent layman, lawyer, and catechist, recognized for his profound faith and leadership during the religious persecution in Mexico in the 1920s. He founded associations for Christian formation and defended the rights of the Church, promoting peaceful resistance to the government’s anti-clerical laws.

For his commitment to faith and justice, he was arrested, tortured, and ultimately executed on April 1, 1927. Pope Benedict XVI approved his beatification on Nov. 15, 2005. In 2019, he was named patron saint of the Mexican laity.

The Archdiocese of San Antonio’s celebration will begin at noon CT on Sunday, July 13, with Mass at St. Andrew’s Church in Pleasanton, Texas.

At 1:15 p.m. there will be a talk in English about the Archdiocese of San Antonio’s support, often including providing refuge, for persecuted Mexican Catholics. This will be followed by a bilingual presentation of the Spanish-language book “Anacleto González Flores: From the Word to Social Transformation.”

The celebration will conclude with the veneration of the first-class relics of Blessed Anacleto starting at 2:15 p.m.

Archdiocese of San Antonio provided aid to persecuted Church in Mexico

During the years of religious persecution in Mexico, various dioceses and Catholic institutions in the United States provided assistance to Mexican bishops, priests, and laypeople, including the Archdiocese of San Antonio. 

Father Rafael Becerra, the priest organizing the celebration, shared with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that there are records that show that “some of the homes of the Josephite Sisters became a place for refugee priests.”

Also in the town of Castroville, just west of San Antonio, “a seminary was built and founded for seminarians from Mexico during the time of religious persecution.”

“It is known that seminarians from 13 different dioceses in Mexico came to study at that seminary” and that 59 priests were ordained after receiving their formation at that seminary, he noted.

Among other institutions, Becerra mentioned the important support of the Knights of Columbus, the largest Catholic fraternal service organization in the world. Six members of the Knights were martyred during the 1926–1929 Cristero War.

“We also know that several priests were here in San Antonio. There are about 40 refugees, some Claretians, other priests, and some bishops like [the archbishop of Mexico City] José Mora,” he commented.

Among other Mexican prelates who also passed through the Archdiocese of San Antonio during the years of persecution were St. Rafael Guízar y Valencia — today the patron saint of the bishops of Mexico — and his brother, Antonio, who was archbishop of Chihuahua.

These and other historical materials will be presented this Sunday, July 13, as part of the celebration of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

For more information on how to participate in the celebration, click here.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan, announced on June 29, 2025, a restructuring plan that will merge parishes in the face of a priest shortage. / Credit: Snehit Photo/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 10, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has announced a restructuring process as it faces a shortage of priests.  

The announcement of the “Rooted in Christ Pastoral Planning Process” comes a year after Bishop David John Walkowiak issued an urgent diocesan-wide appeal to pray for an increase in vocations in the diocese, which has had just one ordination to the priesthood in the last two years. 

“In 2024, we had one priestly ordination. In 2025, seven pastors were either granted senior priest status or reassigned outside the Diocese of Grand Rapids, and there were no priestly ordinations,” the diocese said in a June 29 statement. “Given this reality, the Presbyteral Council and priests of the diocese urged Bishop Walkowiak to take a hard look at what is required for the well-being of our parish communities and priests.”

The priest shortage has forced many priests to take on the responsibility of shepherding two to three parishes at a time, according to the diocese.

In a video message, Walkowiak said that while he is “grateful to our pastors who have generously taken on the responsibility,” the situation is ultimately not sustainable.

It has been more than a decade since the diocese — which spans 11 counties, 79 parishes, and 31 Catholic schools — last underwent a pastoral planning process.

According to the restructuring plan, 13 parishes across the diocese will merge, forming new parishes, while 8 parishes will form clusters in which two or more parishes will be made to collaborate to varying degrees on ministries, resources, and personnel. Parishes in clusters retain their buildings and finances, unlike in cases where parishes merge. 

While he noted the change can be “difficult and often painful,” the bishop expressed faith that the changes would ultimately be beneficial to parish communities. 

“We risk stagnation and decline if we fail to adapt,” he said, adding: “We need to remember that a parish is a communion of persons, one that extends beyond the confines of parish buildings. Sometimes in order for that communion of persons to remain healthy and continue to grow, the administrative and physical structures that support it must be reassessed.” 

Six of the mergers were kicked off with the promulgation of the plan on June 29, while other mergers and clusters are set to take place in accordance with the end of pastors’ terms and priestly assignments.

Walkowiak has appointed Vicar General Father Colin J. Mulhall to oversee the implementation of the pastoral plan.

In addition to the merging of parishes and formation of parish clusters, the diocese also announced that land for a new parish in the West Deanery would be purchased between the cities of Zeeland and Hudsonville due to projected population growth. A new parish will also be established on land already owned by the diocese in the townships of Robinson and West Olive, also due to projected population growth.

“We must adjust administrative duties so that pastors can encourage their parish communities to become centers of evangelization, where all are invited into a relationship with Christ through worship, participation, and outreach to those in need,” the bishop said.

Diogo Jota of the Liverpool soccer team. / Credit: Spanish-language edition of EWTN News

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 9, 2025 / 20:19 pm (CNA).

In an atmosphere of deep recollection and sadness, but also of hope, the funeral of Portuguese soccer players Diogo Jota of the Liverpool Football Club and his brother André Silva, who died last Thursday in a traffic accident in Zamora, Spain, was held on July 5. Jota’s marriage to Rute Cardoso had been solemnized in the Church just 11 days prior. They have three children.

At the funeral, which took place in the town of Gondomar’s main church on the outskirts of Porto, Portugal, the coffins were brought in as the church bells rang. The funeral was attended by several of Jota’s teammates, including Liverpool soccer club captain Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Argentine Alexis MacAllister, Uruguayan Darwin Nuñez, and coach Arne Slot.

Father Alípio Germano Barbosa, who was the pastor of the church in Gondomar for more than 18 years and who gave Diogo and André their first Communion, fondly recalled the time the brothers were part of his parish community.

“I lived here for 18 and a half years, and closely followed the human and Christian growth of these two young men, with great affection for them and their family,” the priest who attended the funeral told AP.

“They were very well behaved, humble, and courageous boys. In fact, following in the steps of their parents and grandparents, they were deeply connected to the local community and, naturally, participated in community life, the sacraments, Christian fellowship, and communion,” Germano added.

Roberto Martínez, coach of the Portuguese national football team, told the press at the funeral: “These are very sad days, as you can imagine, but today we have shown that we are a large and united family.”

“We are Portugal, and it was essential for us to be together and the world will be united, and his spirit will be with us forever. Thank you so much for your messages, for your support, and for everything we have received from all over the world. It means a lot, and today we are all a football family,” he emphasized.

The bishop of Porto’s homily at the brothers’ funeral

The funeral Mass was celebrated by the bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, who first addressed the children of the late Liverpool player who did not attend the funeral:

“Right now you’re suffering immensely. Or maybe you’re not, because you don’t even realize the tragedy that has befallen your family. You will become aware of it later. And it will be terrible. But I will pray to Jesus for you.”

“The one who suffers deeply,” the prelate continued, “is your mother, Rute. She is heartbroken! Likewise, your grandparents, Isabel and Joaquim, and the rest of your family. Seeing before you a coffin containing the remains of a son must be the ultimate torment. But when it’s not just one coffin, but two, belonging to two brothers... there are no words.”

“We are here to say that we too suffer greatly,” the bishop continued. “We are here with you emotionally … Yes, tears! It’s human! It would be a shame for us if we didn’t.”

Linda encouraged having “faith and hope in the Resurrection.”

“This communion of life is achieved through baptism and good works … Your father, Diogo, was married in the Church 11 days before he died.”

After highlighting the importance of sports, the bishop of Porto said that “while it’s sad to see an adult cry, it’s even more painful when it’s a child… I send a special greeting to your mother, your grandparents, and other family members. I am with you. Jesus is also with you.”

Liverpool soccer club’s tribute to Diogo Jota

In addition to retiring Jota’s No. 20 jersey, the Liverpool soccer club chartered a plane to accommodate those members who wished to travel to the funeral in Portugal.

This was confirmed by the Portuguese newspaper Record. Liverpool will keep Jota’s contract in force and will pay his salary and all bonuses to his family.

The club decided to pay out the remaining two years of Jota’s contract, meaning his widow and his three young children will receive the corresponding sum of more than 17 million euros ($19.9 million).

English journalist Tom Harrington also said on X that Liverpool will establish a fund for the children of Jota and Cardoso, specifically for their education.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Canterbury Anglican Cathedral. / Credit: Antony McCallum WyrdLight.com/Wikimedia, CC BY SA 4.0

London, England, Jul 9, 2025 / 18:55 pm (CNA).

For the first time in modern history, the apostolic nuncio to the United Kingdom has celebrated Mass in England’s most celebrated Anglican cathedral.

On Monday, July 7, which marked the feast of the Translation of St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía celebrated the holy sacrifice of the Mass at Canterbury Cathedral with hundreds in attendance, including the Vatican’s cricket team.

During his homily, Maury Buendía said: “This Mass of pilgrimage takes place within the context of the jubilee year. It highlights the Christian life as a spiritual journey, moving through life’s trials and joys with hope anchored in Christ. Having traveled as pilgrims today, we do more than just honor a figure from history.”

He continued: “The stained-glass windows all around us illustrate the many miracles attributed to St. Thomas in the medieval period. This should be a living story, too. Our world, today as then, is in need of hope. We come in this jubilee year as ‘pilgrims of hope’ to be inspired by St. Thomas’ holiness and his courageous witness to Christ and his Church.”

Those in attendance on Monday also received a plenary indulgence because of the jubilee year and its customs.

While it is traditional for the Catholic Parish of St. Thomas of Canterbury to celebrate Mass at the cathedral every year on July 7, this is the first time the apostolic nuncio has presided.

St. Thomas Becket served as archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until he was murdered in 1170 by supporters of King Henry II, who clashed with Thomas over his defense of the Church and its rights.

Thomas was canonized soon after his death by Pope Alexander III and in 1220 his body was translated, or moved, from the cathedral’s crypt to the shrine behind the altar. It is believed that a papal legate was present at the time.

The crypt was destroyed by Henry VIII in 1538 in an attempt to suppress allegiance to St. Thomas Becket.

In correspondence with CNA on Wednesday, July 9, Father David Palmer, a member of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham (and a former Anglican priest), reflected on the significance of the event.

“Canterbury Cathedral is often referred to as the home of Anglicanism, the mother Church of the Anglican Communion. This obscures the fact that it is also (and originally) the mother Church of Catholicism in England. The seat of St. Augustine of Canterbury, the first archbishop of Canterbury, sent by Pope Gregory to bring the (Roman) Catholic faith to the ‘Angles,’” he said.

“For those of us who have made the journey from Anglicanism back to Rome this is an event of special significance and joy.”

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops headquarters in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 9, 2025 / 18:25 pm (CNA).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has confirmed that the Catholic Church will not endorse political candidates for public office in any elections, despite a tax code change that has opened the door for houses of worship to make such endorsements.

On July 7, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) signed a court agreement to allow churches and other houses of worship to endorse candidates without risking their tax-exempt status. This reversed a 70-year ban that was in place based on the IRS’ interpretation of the “Johnson Amendment,” which prohibits nonprofits in the tax bracket from engaging in political campaigns.

USCCB Director of Public Affairs Chieko Noguchi, however, released a statement this week to announce that the Catholic Church will not be endorsing political candidates, even if the tax code allows it.

“The IRS was addressing a specific case, and it doesn’t change how the Catholic Church engages in public debate,” Noguchi said.

“The Church seeks to help Catholics form their conscience in the Gospel so they might discern which candidates and policies would advance the common good,” she added. “The Catholic Church maintains its stance of not endorsing or opposing political candidates.”

Noguchi told CNA that if an individual member of the clergy were to endorse a candidate, “this is a matter that is best handled by the local bishop.”

Christopher Check, the president of Catholic Answers, told CNA that the USCCB’s decision to avoid endorsements is “a wise one for our time and place.”

“The Church is not one of several political organizations or NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] competing for public opinion on the cultural and civic playing fields,” Check added. “She is the primary and divine institution through which all that public activity must be understood.”

Check pointed out that avoiding endorsements is consistent with the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which he explained “[prohibits] clergy from engaging in active participation in political parties except in cases where the rights of the Church are threatened or the ‘promotion of the common good requires it,’ and then only in the judgment of ‘competent ecclesiastical authority.’”

There have been situations historically in which clergy rightly engaged in political campaigns, such as when Marxist parties in some countries sought to “eradicate the Church,” according to Check. Yet he also cautioned that there have been times in which members of the clergy have “misled the faithful” by involving themselves in campaigns.

“Today in the United States, neither political party offers a platform that would serve as a foundation for a true home for faithful Catholics,” Check said. “As such, the obligation for the clergy and the episcopacy to form the consciences of the faithful rightly is especially critical. It is in this realm that the Church, who very much in a sense is above partisan politics, is called to operate.”

Susan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas (a Catholic institution), told CNA she believes the IRS policy to not penalize churches for political endorsements is “wise” but said the USCCB commitment to not endorse candidates “is also prudent.”

“The IRS policy is wise to leave broad leeway to religious leaders to offer guidance, even on political matters that could shape the moral and cultural atmosphere within which religious life takes place,” Hanssen said.

Hanssen added that the Church hierarchy and the clergy can still be vocal on political issues that implicate Church teaching, noting that they “should give clear principles of action” but that “it is the moral responsibility of the laity to potentially apply those principles.” 

She added that clergy should also help correct Catholic politicians whose policies do not conform to “the principles of natural law, for example, with regard to abortion, parental rights over their children’s education and medical care, euthanasia, and same-sex marriage.” 

“Thus their action would be appropriately pastoral, rather than political — a concern for souls,” Hanssen said.

Ryan Tucker, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, told CNA that the IRS decision could still have an impact on churches that do not endorse candidates, saying those entities have a “constitutional right to speak freely” and the IRS change ensures “they can do so more boldly” now.

“The government shouldn’t be able to threaten a church with financial penalties based on a requirement that the church self-censor and surrender its constitutionally protected freedom,” he said. “Pastors and clergy members have been engaged in matters of the day that affect the members of their church body since our founding.”

The Vatican recognizes the pastoral value of the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary on Mount Zvir near the village of Litmanová in northwestern Slovakia from 1990 to 1995 and authorizes public worship, without commenting on the supernatural authenticity of the apparitions. / Credit: Courtesy of Michal Petriľak, Zvir Shrine

Vatican City, Jul 9, 2025 / 17:21 pm (CNA).

The Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith granted a “nihil obstat” — that is, nothing stands in the way — of Marian devotion surrounding the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary on Mount Zvir near the village of Litmanová in northwestern Slovakia from 1990 to 1995 — without recognizing their supernatural character.

The letter, signed by the dicastery’s prefect, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, and addressed to Archbishop Jonáš Jozef Maxim, hierarch of the Archeparchy of Prešov for Byzantine-rite Catholics, recognizes the pastoral value of the phenomenon and authorizes public worship without commenting on the supernatural authenticity of the apparitions.

The cardinal stated in the letter, published by the Vatican dicastery, that the discernment has taken into account “the many spiritual fruits” borne from this phenomenon.

The decision responds to the formal request by Maxim, who in letters sent to the Vatican in February and May highlighted “the countless sincere and heartfelt confessions and conversions experienced by pilgrims, which continue to take place at the shrine, despite the alleged apparitions ending three decades ago. The Slovak prelate also highlighted the constant flow of pilgrims who have continued to come to the site, manifesting an ongoing experience of faith.

Fernández noted several messages attributed to the Virgin that offer invitations to conversion, joy, and inner freedom. One of the most cited texts exhorts: “Let Jesus set you free. Let Jesus set you free. And do not allow your enemy to limit your freedom, for which Jesus shed so much blood. A soul that is free is the soul of a child” (Dec. 5, 1993).

On several occasions, the Marian figure presents herself as “happy” and repeats expressions of unconditional love: “I love you, just as you are. I love you. I love you! I want you to be happy, but this world will never make you happy” (Aug. 7, 1994). The faithful are also invited to live a simple and profound spirituality: “Begin to live simply, to think simply, and to act simply. Seek out silence so that the Spirit of Christ may be born anew within you” (June 5, 1994).

Some ambiguities

However, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith recognized that “some messages contain ambiguities or unclear formulations,” such as one that suggests that that nearly all people in one part of the world are condemned or one that states that “the cause of all illness is sin.”

These messages have not been deemed acceptable by the Vatican for publication. However, the Argentine cardinal recalled in the letter that, as early as 2011, a doctrinal commission dedicated to investigating these apparitions explained that the alleged visionaries did not hear messages in human language but rather had inner experiences that they then attempted to translate, which explains certain inaccuracies or personal interpretations.

For this reason, the cardinal of the Roman Curia asked the archbishop of Prešov to publish a compilation of these messages, excluding any statements that could lead to confusion or disturb the faith of ordinary people.

The Vatican made it clear that the “nihil obstat” does not equate to the recognition of supernatural intervention, but it does permit public worship and that the faithful can “safely approach this spiritual offering,” whose contents can help them live the Gospel of Christ more deeply.

A living shrine

Mount Zvir, less than two miles from the village of Litmanová, has been a place of pilgrimage for years, especially for those of the Byzantine rite. Three children were present at the alleged apparitions, which began on Aug. 5, 1990: Ivetka Korcáková, Katka Ceselková, and Mitko Ceselka.

This step by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is possible thanks to the new norms on supernatural phenomena, published in May 2024, which provide for varying degrees of discernment, from “nihil obstat” to negative judgments, allowing for a more flexible assessment of the spiritual experiences of communities.

Since they came into force just over a year ago, it is the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and not the local bishop that pronounces on these events, and the Catholic Church’s discernment process no longer ends “with a declaration of ‘supernaturalitate’ [supernaturalness]” of the events.

The objective of the reform of the regulations, approved by Pope Francis, was to prevent fraud and scams that take advantage of the goodwill of the faithful.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.