Catholic News

• Catholic dioceses, other organizations received at least $1.4 billion in federal CO19 loans (AP)
  “By aggressively promoting the payroll program and marshaling resources to help affiliates navigate its shifting rules, Catholic dioceses, parishes, schools and other ministries have so far received approval for at least 3,500 forgivable loans,” according to the report.
• Hagia Sophia becomes a mosque again (CNA)
  Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has decreed that the Hagia Sophia is to be used as a mosque. The Turkish leader took that step immediately after a court ruled that the conversion of the building into a museum, as part of the drive to secularize Turkey in the 1930s, was illegal. The renowned building, originally constructed by Christians for the Patriarchate of Constantinople, became a mosque in the 15th century when Muslims conquered the city.
• Biden says he would rescind exemption for Little Sisters of the Poor (National Review)
  The candidate’s reaction to the Little Sisters’ Supreme Court victory prompted a Wall Street Journal editorial: Joe Biden vs. the Nuns.
• Bishops offer action steps to address issues of racism (Chicago Catholic)
  The US bishops’ Subcommittee of African American Affairs has published “nine action steps to help diocesan bishops and parish communities look at the issue of racism and to encourage change.”
• Survey finds 30% of German Catholics are considering leaving the Church (CNA)
  A record 272,771 people left the Church in Germany in 2019.
• Pakistan's bishops concerned about increasing violence against religious minorities (Fides)
  Islam is the official religion of the South Asian nation of 211 million (map), the fifth most populous in the world. 96% of Pakistan’s people are Muslim, 2% are Christian, and 1% are Hindu.
• Bishops join 1,000 other faith leaders to oppose federal executions (National Catholic Register)
  “As faith leaders from a diverse range of traditions, we call on President Trump and Attorney General Barr to stop the scheduled federal executions,” the signatories said in their statement (Google doc). “As our country grapples with the COVID 19 pandemic, an economic crisis, and systemic racism in the criminal legal system, we should be focused on protecting and preserving life, not carrying out executions.”
• Respect the dignity of internally displaced persons with disabilities, Vatican diplomat urges (Holy See Mission)
  “The Holy See wishes to emphasize that as much as they are urgent and essential, international mechanisms and frameworks alone, however, will only be effective when we overcome the prejudices of a culture that continues to produce inequalities and leaves many people behind,” Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, said at a July 9 meeting of the UN Human Rights Council.
• In Bangladesh, Church leaders plead for peace after massacre spreads panic (UCANews)
  The violence “spreads panic among priests who travel to villages under the surveillance of various political parties, and our people also live in fear,” said Father Albert Soren of the Archdiocese of Chittagong.
• Pope Francis: Seek the face of the Lord, encounter Christ in suffering refugees (Vatican Press Office)
  On July 8, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the Santa Marta Chapel (video) to commemorate the 7th anniversary of his first apostolic journey to the Italian island of Lampedusa (map).
• Former National Review Board chairman cites 'mixed progress' on clergy sex abuse (Our Sunday Visitor)
  “While there’s been progress with Vos estis, what the National Review Board was looking for was a greater role for the laity in the process of holding bishops accountable,” said Francesco Cesareo. “We were not supportive of the metropolitan model that was actually adopted.”
• In wake of pandemic, 26 New York City Catholic schools to close (WPIX-TV)
  Twenty schools in the Archdiocese of New York, and six in the Diocese of Brooklyn, are closing.
• Holy See renews call for 'concrete solutions' to refugee crisis (Holy See Mission)
  Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, addressed a UN refugee agency meeting devoted to “Resettlement and Complementary Pathways.”
• USCCB: Urge your Senators to prioritize the poor and vulnerable in the next CO19 relief package (USCCB)
  The action alert advises the faithful to “tell your Senators to act now to support those who are poor and vulnerable during this pandemic by: providing resources to meet the needs of those who are homeless and those struggling to keep a roof over their heads; increasing SNAP benefit amounts; enacting policies that encourage and support employers to retain and rehire workers and considering additional stimulus payments ...”
• White House Catholics are concerned about Trump's Catholic tweets (CNA)
  “Officials working in the Trump administration have told CNA that they have been frustrated by recent presidential tweets elevating controversial Catholic figures, saying the tweets undermine the work many Catholics in the administration hope to accomplish,” the report begins.
• EU bishops' commission outlines vision for Europe's recovery (COMECE)
  The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU (COMECE) issued its 11-page statement as Germany began its rotating 6-month EU presidency. COMECE was joined by the Conference of European Churches (CEC), a fellowship of over 100 Orthodox and Protestant communities.
• Cardinal Pell: 'My time in prison' (First Things)
  “There is a lot of goodness in prisons,” he begins. “At times, I am sure, prisons may be hell on earth. I was fortunate to be kept safe and treated well. I was impressed by the professionalism of the warders, the faith of the prisoners, and the existence of a moral sense even in the darkest places.”
• 'This is a saga that did not need to occur': US bishops welcome Little Sisters' Supreme Court victory (USCCB)
  “Contraception is not health care, and the government should never have mandated that employers provide it in the first place,” said the chairmen of the bishops’ committees on religious liberty and pro-life activities, following the Supreme Court decision in Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania (CWN coverage). “Even after the federal government expanded religious exemptions to the HHS contraceptive mandate, Pennsylvania and other states chose to continue this attack on conscience.”
• 'Deeply regrettable': Catholic Health Association rues President Trump's WHO decision (Catholic Health Association)
  The United States notified the United Nations that it is withdrawing from the World Health Organization.
• Almost 30% of regular Mass-goers never go to Confession, Philadelphia survey finds (CatholicPhilly.com)
  “Seventy-five percent of them reported that they go to confession once or twice a year or never, and that ‘never’ portion was almost 30%,” said Meghan Cokeley, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s evangelization director, following a survey of 17,000 area Catholics. “These are regular Mass-goers … our ministry leaders, parish council members, finance council people.”
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