Catholic News

• Los Angeles parishes encouraged to hold outdoor services amid new restrictions (Angelus News)
  California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered the shutdown of bars, indoor dining, and most gyms and churches.
• Abortion advocates win 4 court cases (Religion Clause)
  Federal courts barred enforcement of pro-life laws in Georgia and Tennessee, Maryland’s CO19 restriction on mail-order chemical abortions, and a Trump administration policy on abortion health insurance billing.
• US bishops renew call for prayer for peace, nuclear disarmament (USCCB)
  “A Renewed Call for Our Day” is a brief statement of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
• Statue of Virgin Mary beheaded at Chattanooga parish (@BishopStika)
  Statues of the Blessed Mother were also defaced in Boston and New York.
• Indian bishop, facing rape charges, reports positive CO19 test (UCANews)
  Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar, who is facing arrest on rape charges, has announced that he has tested positive for CO19. The bishop, who has failed to appear for court hearings, is still living in his official residence, apparently without restrictions.
• Polish president visits Czestochowa shrine after re-election victory (CNA)
  Polish President Andrzej Duda celebrated his re-election victory on July 13 by traveling to the shrine Our Lady of Czestochawa for evening prayer.
• Argentine bishops face charges for accepting sex-abuse complaints (Crux)
  An Argentine lawyer has filed criminal charges against two Catholic bishops who set up offices for receiving sex-abuse complaints. The complaint charges that Archbishops Eduardo Martin of Rosario and Sergio Fenoy of Santa Fe sought to “supplant the public prosecutor’s office” by encouraging complaints to another body.
• German bishops split over plans to cut number of seminaries (La Croix)
  “The number of candidates for the Catholic priesthood has gone from 594 in 2011 to 211 at present,” said Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers of Dresden-Meissen.
• Moroccan Christians have to practice their faith in secret (Aid to the Church in Need)
  Islam is the official religion of the North African nation of 34.6 million (map), and 99.7% of its citizens are Muslim. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2019.
• Canadian bishops rue lack of care for the elderly at some facilities (CCCB)
  “Reports by caregivers and military personnel providing emergency assistance, together with comparative studies as well as media accounts, help us recognize to what extent the circumstances are deemed ‘horrific,’ ‘cruel,’ and ‘abusive,’” the bishops said in their statement. “As followers of Christ, caring for one another must take on an ever greater imperative and meaning if we are truly being authentic in the witness of our faith and beliefs.”
• Mississippi priest asks parishioners to 'consecrate' Eucharist at home (LifeSite News)
  A Catholic priest in Biloxi, Mississippi, has distributed unconsecrated hosts to members of his parish, asking them to bless and distribute them while watching a livestreamed Mass. Father Tommy Conway provided parishioners with communion wafers and a “sacred vessel” to be used in their homes.
• San Gabriel mission church fire began in choir loft, official says (San Gabriel Valley Tribune)
  St. Junípero Serra founded Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in 1771. “Investigators have not yet determined what started the blaze,” according to the report, and the parish has vowed to rebuild.
• People with disabilities protest police violence, CO19 discrimination (USA Today)
  Michael Hickson, an African-American quadriplegic, died of CO19 after an Austin hospital “switched him from aggressive care to supportive care”—despite his wife’s objections.
• Italian bishop condemns mafia usury as 'new slavery' for families (CNA)
  “Under our eyes unthinkable things are happening,” said Bishop Giovanni D’Alise of Caserta: children, he explained, “are sent to work instead of adults, to pay off the debts incurred by parents.”
• Court denies priest's motion asking for delay of prisoner's execution (CNA)
  Father Mark O’Keefe, OSB, the former president-rector of Saint Meinrad School of Theology, unsuccessfully sought a delay of the execution until a CO19 vaccination is found, so that he could minister to the inmate without risking his health.
• Pope donates ventilator to Brazil hospital (Vatican News)
  “The Pope cares about indigenous peoples whose rights are often violated,” said ishop Vital Corbellini of Marabá. “Their lands, forests and rivers are occupied, so it is necessary to look after them with affection and help them live well.”
• Campaigns to discredit Church preceded '89 Jesuit murders, witness says (CNS)
  Suspects in the 1989 assassination of six Jesuits in El Salvador are on trial in Spain.
• Italy expects drop in births because of CO19 (Catholic Herald)
  The Italian government’s statistical agency predicts a drop in the number of births for 2019 as a result of the CO19 epidemic. The Istat agency expects a decrease of 10,000 births from last year’s figure—which was itself significantly down from the previous year. If unemployment continues to rise as expected, Istat predicts an even lower birth rate for 2021.
• Catholic Relief Services CEO urges support from Congress for worldwide pandemic fight (Relief Web)
  The US bishops founded Catholic Relief Services in 1943, and the majority of the members of its board of directors are bishops.
• NY Times feature reflects on McCarrick abuse (New York Times)
  The New York Times carries a feature story on the pattern of abuse by former cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The Vatican acknowledged McCarrick’s abuse two years ago, and has promised a full report—which has not yet appeared.
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