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‘Jesus, I trust in you’: National Eucharistic Congress opens with a powerful holy hour

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INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) — Absolute silence filled Lucas Oil Stadium as tens of thousands of people dropped to their knees to adore Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament as the long-anticipated National Eucharistic Congress officially got underway on the evening of July 17 in Indianapolis. More than 100 spotlights trained on a large, golden monstrance on an altar in the center of the stadium as a powerful holy hour — which took place before any talks, music or greeting by the evening’s three emcees — began the congress’s first revival night filled with prayer, powerful speakers and praise-and-worship music.

Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress, Inc., kneels in prayer before the monstrance during Eucharistic adoration at the opening revival night July 17, 2024, of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

Just before Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota — the driving episcopal force behind the congress — walked onto the floor carrying the monstrance, the 30 perpetual pilgrims who had walked the four National Eucharistic Pilgrimage routes entered the stadium. Carrying icons of each route’s respective patron saints — St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, St. Junipero Serra, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Blessed Virgin Mary — the pilgrims took the final steps that officially completed their eight-week journey from points north, south, east and west across the U.S. to the July 17-21 congress in Indiana’s capital city.

After a time of silent prayer and praise and worship, Bishop Cozzens knelt for a second time in front of the monstrance.

“Lord, we wanted to give you the first words of our National Eucharistic Congress,” he said. Kneeling before Jesus in the Eucharist, Bishop Cozzens recounted how the National Eucharistic Revival — launched in 2022 — has led Catholics to gather to study, teach and pray with the Eucharist, spending countless hours in adoration and small groups, and in parish and diocesan initiatives.

“Lord, we made a National Eucharistic Pilgrimage for you,” he prayed. “For the last 65 days we brought your living presence across this land, across the East, West, North and South. We visited large churches and small churches. We had large processions in cities and small processions in prisons. We visited nursing homes and homeless shelters. Lord, we tried to share with everyone we met along the way your unspeakable love.”

He said the pilgrimage prayed for the country and the church and brought those prayers to the congress. He thanked Jesus for the miracles the pilgrims saw along the way: conversion, people return to the faith, physical and spiritual healings.

“We hope to see more,” he said.

He told Jesus that the tens of thousands of Catholics in the stadium had gathered there to give him thanks and praise and to be changed into “missionary disciples, people filled with the joy of the Gospel, people so grateful for the salvation you purchased for us.”

He prayed for deeper conversion for individuals, peace in wartorn countries, those affected by abuse, and unity in both the country and the church. Bishop Cozzens invited attendees to share in silence their own desires with Jesus, and then asked them to pray that the Lord would also reveal his desires for them.

“Jesus, I trust in you,” he prayed, and the stadium resounded as people echoed his prayer.

“Lord, we have come here because we want a revival, a Eucharistic revival, and we want every Catholic to realize that you are alive in the Eucharist, and to encounter your love,” he said. “And Lord, we know that this revival, it has to begin with us.”

After the holy hour concluded and Bishop Cozzens processed out with the Eucharist, the revival’s emcees then took the stage: Father Joshua Johnson, vocations director for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Montse Alvarado, president of EWTN News — who greeted the attendees in Spanish and English — and Sister Miriam James Heidland, a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. The three talked about their own personal experiences with the Eucharist and what the congress meant to them before introducing the other speakers that evening.

Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio to the U.S., was the night’s keynote speaker. He opened with the reflection that “perhaps our main prayer for this Eucharistic congress should be this: that we as a church may grow in our unity so that we become more fruitful in our mission.”

Perpetual pilgrim MacKenzie Warrens with the Juan Diego Route processes in with other members of the group during the opening revival night of the National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis July 17, 2024. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

He invited those present to reflect on the basic question of “what is Eucharistic revival?” and “how will we know that we are experiencing Eucharistic revival?”

Revival is “always accompanied by sacramental devotion,” he said, but it “must extend beyond devotional practices as well.”

“When we are truly revived by the Eucharist,” he said, “then our encounter with Christ’s real presence in the sacrament opens us to an encounter with him in the rest of our life. This means seeing him everywhere we go.”

He reminded those gathered that Christ “is also present in our encounters with people from whom we would otherwise consider ourselves divided” including “people from a different economic class or race, people who challenge our way of thinking.”

Living “a truly Eucharistic life,” he emphasized, means that adoration “spills over in our daily life, a life of relating to others, our way of seeing others.”

He encouraged those gathered to use their time in adoration over the week of the Eucharistic Congress to ask the Lord to reveal the places where they are resistant to surrendering to his will.

“He is the only one who can lead us to new life,” he concluded, “by following him, we can become true apostles of his Kingdom.”

Sister Bethany Madonna, local superior of the new Phoenix mission of the Sisters of Life, talked about how Jesus, crucified and risen, “wants to reveal himself” and bring his grace because of his love for each person.

“God knows you. God loves you. And chooses you … He has entrusted you with a mission that he has entrusted to no one else,” she said.

She said that Jesus “knows that we are hungry for love, and he chooses to give himself to us as food and drink.”

“We have this unquenchable thirst to be loved that no one and nothing can ever satisfy” but God, she explained.

Sister Bethany Madonna reminded people that when fear or failure can prevent them from drawing close to God’s love, “Jesus redeems everything.”

She shared the testimony of a woman who was terrified to go to confession because of two abortions she had when she was younger. She lived in shame and silence for 29 years, and when she made the appointment for the sacrament of reconciliation and drove to see the priest, she heard a whisper saying, “You don’t have to do it,” and, “This is too difficult … turn back.”

Praying Hail Marys all the way, she got to confession in tears; and after listening to her, the priest made the motion of picking up a lamb and said, “All of heaven rejoices … welcome home.”

Sister Bethany Madonna said that when the woman received Communion the next day, she said that “my life would be a ‘yes’ to God.”

The opening revival night of the National Eucharistic Congress already had a profound effect on participants who spoke with OSV News.

Belen Munoz, 18, of Rosa Park, New Jersey, said it was “encouraging” to see so many Catholics gathered for the congress.

Pilgrims pray during the opening revival night July 17, 2024, of the National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

“Growing up in a secular community, it’s a totally different experience,” she said. “Getting just a taste of what we’re encountering here is amazing, and I can’t wait for the rest of the week.”

“Tonight just showed me that Jesus is just so alive in the Eucharist and that it’s just so obvious that he’s working through so many people,” said Molly Quinn, 18, from Naperville, Illinois. She added the experience “just made me realize that we’re not alone in this world and there are so many people who are searching for Christ like I am.”

“I’ve been having a rough patch in my life and so coming here to this and seeing how God can work through everyone is truly inspiring and powerful and makes me feel revived personally,” added 18-year-old Michelle Jurec, also from Naperville. “I can’t wait for the rest of the days.”

Lotty Cantrelle, 63, a nurse from Lockport, Louisiana, stood and sang to a praise and worship song near the end of the evening. She said her pastor “volun-told” her to come to the congress — but after experiencing the opening revival session, “I know that my priest knew I needed this,” she said.

“A person’s heart would have to be made of stone not to be changed by that,” she said, noting Sister Bethany Madonna’s words about trusting Jesus.

“That gave me a lot of comfort,” she said. “I think this is a journey to my healing and to becoming my former self, who used to be more joyful. So I am ready.”

(OSV News Editor-in-Chief Gretchen R. Crowe, National News Editor Peter Jesserer Smith, Senior Writer Maria Wiering, Culture Editor Lauretta Brown and Spanish Editor Maria Pia Negro Chin contributed to this report.)

Pro-life advocates mark 2 years since Dobbs:‘We have a challenge on our hands’

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By Kate Scanlon
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Prior to the second anniversary of a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its prior abortion precedent, pro-life activists said much of their work remains to be done.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, told OSV News in a June 10 interview “we realized quickly we have a challenge on our hands,” pointing to losses at the ballot box after the Dobbs ruling, with more such contests on the horizon.

“So after two years, there is still reason to celebrate because we know God’s grace is more powerful than all this, but also, we have to embrace the challenge that faces us,” he said.

The Supreme Court issued its historic decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization June 24, 2022, a little over a month after Politico published a leaked draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion in the case. The leak caused a public firestorm before the court issued its official ruling and is seen as the most significant breach of the court’s confidentiality in its history.

Pro-life demonstrators in Washington celebrate outside the Supreme Court June 24, 2022, as the court overruled the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision. (OSV News photo/Evelyn Hockstein, Reuters)

The Dobbs case involved a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks, in which the state directly challenged the high court’s previous abortion-related precedents in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). The Supreme Court ultimately overturned its own prior rulings, undoing nearly a half-century of its own precedent on the issue and returning it to legislatures.

While Roe and its ensuing precedents were in place, states were generally barred from restricting abortion prior to viability, or the point at which a child could survive outside the womb. When Roe was issued in 1973, fetal viability was considered to be 28 weeks gestation, but current estimates are generally considered to be 23-24 weeks, with some estimates as low as 22 weeks as medical technology continues to improve. After the Dobbs ruling, states across the country quickly moved to either restrict or expand access to abortion.

While supporters often described Roe as settled law, opponents argued the court in 1973 improperly legalized abortion nationwide, a matter opponents said should have been left to Congress or state governments. Many, including the Catholic Church, opposed the ruling on moral grounds that the practice takes the life of an unborn child. Opponents of the ruling challenged it for decades, both in courts and in the public square, such as the national March for Life held annually in Washington.

Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life organization, told OSV News that after Dobbs, there was “so much confusion about what that means and anger and frustration from people who are confused about the inherent dignity of the unborn child and how abortion impacts women. So, I think that we’re still very much in the middle of that reverberation.”

When discussing abortion policy, Mancini said, pro-life advocates should strive “to get very clear” on the specific state, law or situations involved “because there’s a lot of misinformation out there right now.”
In the years following Dobbs, some women in states that restricted abortion said they were denied timely care for miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies or experienced other adverse pregnancy outcomes as a result of medical professionals’ hesitation due to unclear abortion legislation. But pro-life activists said laws restricting abortion contained exceptions for such circumstances. Their opponents claimed bill texts insufficiently addressed those circumstances or lacked clarity on exceptions.

Public support for legal abortion also increased after Roe was overturned, according to multiple polls conducted in the years following the Dobbs ruling. In multiple elections since the ruling, ballot measures on abortion have so far proven elusive for the pro-life movement. In elections in both 2022 and 2023, voters in Ohio, California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont and Kansas either rejected new limitations on abortion or expanded legal protections for it.

Kelsey Pritchard, state public affairs director for SBA Pro-Life America, told OSV News in an interview that since the Dobbs decision, “we’ve gained major ground in the fight for life.”

“And you look at the states, and today we have 24 states that have laws defending life at 15 weeks or sooner, and 20 of those states have a law that protects babies with a heartbeat,” she said.

Pritchard said pro-life advocates must respond to “fear-mongering” about state abortion restrictions, including arguing that “there is a life of the mother exception in every single state” with restrictions.
Asked about how pro-life advocates should approach ballot initiatives on abortion, Bishop Burbidge said that efforts have been made, and should continue to be made, “to win minds by proclaiming the truth and proclaiming the Gospel of Life.”

“We have to speak to the hearts of people who love women and love children. So do we. So do we, and we want to be there for every woman and every child,” he added.

Bishop Burbidge said that those seeking to aid the pro-life cause should offer their prayers, and they can sign up for alerts and resources on the committee’s work by visiting respectlife.org.

“I think beyond our role in advocacy too, the Catholic Church has long offered hope, healing, and material support to vulnerable mothers and children,” he said, noting that Walking with Moms in Need and Project Rachel are a means of such support.

Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington.

Traversing the U.S., eucharistic pilgrimage plants seeds of mission on Gulf Coast

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By Terry Dickson, Gulf Pine Catholic
BILOXI – After more than two years of prayer, planning and anticipation, pilgrims on the St. Juan Diego Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage recently made their way across the Mississippi Gulf Coast. For organizers and participants, it was truly a week to remember.

“This has been an amazing week. I think the Holy Spirit has had a humongous hand in it,” said seminarian Ricky Molsbee, a member of the Eucharistic Revival Committee for the Diocese of Biloxi. “Listening to the pilgrims’ testimonies has been one of the biggest gifts. To see the youth of our church mixed in with members of the religious communities and how they are filled with the Holy Spirit and how they want to share and evangelize with everybody has been an incredible thing to witness. You can just feel their love for the Eucharist.”

BILOXI – The St. Juan Diego Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage traveled through the Mississippi Gulf Coast between June 10-14. A group of parishioners and Knights of Columbus from St. Francis of Assisi in Madison traveled down to participate in the event on Thursday, June 13. (Photo by Michael Barrett Photography)

Molsbee highlighted walking all three days of the route as the pinnacle of his experience, spanning from Our Lady of the Gulf Church in Bay St. Louis to Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral in Biloxi.
“I was privileged to walk all 22 miles,” he said. It was tough. It wasn’t easy. We baked a lot in the hot sun, but having the opportunity to walk with our Lord was something that I will never forget for the rest of my life.”

Deacon William Stentz, who a part of the committee, agreed with Molsbee’s sentiments.“Our church is alive,” he said. “Beyond the beauty of the people who attended all the special Masses and especially those who processed – some were with walkers and canes, some were children, some were parents, some were single people, some were from religious orders, and some were clergy – what was most surprising was the number of passersby who would just fall to their knees when they got a glimpse of the Monstrance containing Jesus.

“Cars would stop in turn lanes or park on the grass along Highway 90. People would honk their horns lovingly as they passed by, people would just stand and stare from their yards, people would stare from their windows, construction workers and delivery truck drivers would stop and try to take it all in. If they didn’t know what was going on, we have to pray that the Holy Spirit has sparked curiosity in them and they’ll reach out, wondering what do those Catholics have that I don’t have?”

Chantel Normand, a parishioner of Our Mother of Mercy Parish in Pass Christian, said she felt “a sense of wonder” as she saw Jesus being carried in procession along the Gulf Coast, comparing it to the thrill she gets when she rides her favorite Disney ride, Animal Kingdom’s Avatar Flight of Passage.

“Witnessing the magic of the Holy Spirit bringing families, parishes, and cultures together in solidarity was truly profound,” she said. “To witness the pleasure of seeing Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and experience the same feelings I felt as a child took me to a new level of magic, a magic that could only be found in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Father Rofinus Jas, SVD, pastor of Our Mother of Mercy Pass Christian, found the pilgrimage deeply moving. “It was very moving for me to witness Jesus … walking, holding, touching, talking, praying, chanting, singing, and reflecting that our Lord Jesus was with us,” he said. “It was a joyful experience for me to see Jesus personally by touching and holding Him in my hands during procession.”

Reflecting on the impact of the event, Father Jas was moved by the strong sense of community.
“Along the way, we walked with Jesus; we united with one heart and many faces in praying and thanksgiving and believing with our whole hearts that God never abandons us.”

Ann Hale, a parishioner of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Long Beach, shared her perspective: “To feel like a disciple from 2,000 years ago following our precious Lord was an experience like no other. It was a privilege to show the world the beautiful sacrifice of Jesus’ love.”

Looking forward, Molsbee outlined the next steps for the Eucharistic Revival movement. “Year three of the Eucharistic Revival begins after the Eucharistic Congress, which takes place this month in Indianapolis. After that, we are going to be going out on mission,” he said.

“This is a grassroots movement. It starts with everybody in the pews. … But, when you have the love of the Eucharist, you can’t shut up about it. … It’s like what Peter says to Jesus after the Bread of Life Discourse when He asks the 12 apostles, ‘Are you going to leave too?’ and Peter says, ‘To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’”

The pilgrimage on the St. Juan Diego Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage was not just a physical journey but a spiritual awakening for many. It brought together a diverse community in profound unity and renewed their commitment to the Eucharistic faith, echoing the words of St. Francis of Assisi: ‘Preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words.’”

Catholic, civic leaders call for peace, unity following Trump assassination attempt

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By Maria Wiering

(OSV News) — Catholic and civic leaders called for peace and unity in the hours after former President Donald Trump was grazed by a bullet and a spectator was killed July 13 in an assassination attempt during the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The Holy See expressed “concern about last night’s episode of violence, which wounds people and democracy, causing suffering and death” in a July 14 statement in Italian. The Holy See is “united in the prayer of the U.S. bishops for America, for the victims, and for peace in the country, so that the motives of the violent may never prevail,” according to Catholic News Service.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts during a campaign rally after shots were reportedly fired at the Butler Farm Show in Pennsylvania July 13, 2024. A local prosecutor says the suspected gunman and at least one attendee are dead. (OSV News photo/Brendan McDermid, Reuters)

On July 14, Trump thanked “everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” on his social media platform Truth Social.

“We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness. Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed,” he continued. “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win. I truly love our County, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin.”

The Republican National Convention is scheduled to take place July 15-18 in Milwaukee.

President Joe Biden condemned the attack, calling it “sick” in Saturday evening remarks shortly after the incident. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee returned to the White House from his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and addressed the American public again July 14.

“Jill and I are keeping him (Trump) and his family in our prayers,” said Biden, a Catholic. “We also extend our deepest condolences to the family of the victim who was killed. He was a father. He was protecting his family from the bullets that were being fired, and he lost his life. God love him.”

That victim has been identified as Corey Comperatore, a firefighter from Pennsylvania who was among the thousands attending Saturday’s rally.

Biden said he is also praying for the full recovery of those who were injured and are grateful for the response of the Secret Service agents, other law enforcement and individuals who risked their lives.

“As I said last night, there is no place in America for this kind of violence, or any violence for that matter,” he said. “The assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. Everything. It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s not American, and we cannot allow this to happen.”

“Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is more important than that right now,” he said.

He said the FBI is leading the investigation, which is in its early stages. Biden encouraged the American public not to make assumptions about the motive or affiliations of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who was named as the gunman killed by the Secret Service at the rally.

Biden also emphasized that Trump has had and will continue to have “a heightened level” of security protection, that he’s asked the head of the Secret Service to review all security measures for the Republican National Convention, and he has ordered an independent review of the July 13 incident and will share its results with the public.

Biden plans to speak more about the situation the evening of July 14 in an Oval Office address. “We must unite as one nation,” Biden said, repeating the phrase, “to demonstrate who we are.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro described Comperatore as a husband and father with two daughters “who died a hero.”

“Corey was a girl dad. Corey was a firefighter. Corey went to church every Sunday. Corey loved his community. Most especially, Corey loved his family,” Shapiro said July 14 during a press conference.

On Facebook July 13, Father Kevin Fazio, pastor All Saints Parish in Butler — a Catholic parish with five churches, one of which is located across from where the rally took place — wrote to parishioners that “We are shocked and saddened by the tragic shooting and act of violence that occurred at the Farm Show grounds on Saturday, July 13.”

“There are feelings of fear, hurt, anger, and sorrow in our community right now,” he wrote. “As Christians, we need to remember that during times of darkness, we are called to reflect the light of Christ. May we continue to pray for peace in our world, in our country, and right here at home. Our prayers to God today for everyone involved in, and all of the victims of this violent act, their families, and friends. God our Father, watch over us. Jesus our Savior, heal us. Holy Spirit, guide us.”

The assassination attempt occurred the weekend before the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, a five-day gathering of Catholics across the country in Indianapolis that begins July 17. In a July 14 statement, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, the congress’s board chairman, offered prayers for Trump and those killed or injured in the July 13 violence. He also assured congress attendees that they can expect a secure event.

“We feel privileged to gather in prayer at a time with Our Eucharistic Lord when our country and our world need this peace which comes only from him,” he said. “We will pray for healing of all divisions in our land and an end to violence.”

Other bishops, including Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, archbishop of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Bishop David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh, which includes Butler, issued statements July 13 calling for prayers and peace.

“We are grateful for the swift actions of the Secret Service and our local first responders,” Bishop Zubik said. “Let us join together in prayer for the health and safety of all, for healing and peace, and for an end to this climate of violence in our world. May God guide and protect us all.”

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, posted July 13, “I would like to offer prayers for President Trump and all those who were injured at the rally in Pennsylvania. We must turn from the path of violence. May the Lord bless our troubled nation.”

The same day, Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston lamented that “our nation has once again witnessed another deadly and tragic shooting today” and joined in prayer for the families of those killed and the recovery of Trump and the injure

“As a nation, we must come to grips with the incessant violence that has too often become the norm. It must stop,” he continued in his social media post. “We must find peaceful ways to resolve our differences & avoid all political violence.”

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia also prayed for consolation for “those mourning the loss of a loved one” and for a swift recovery for Trump and those injured.

“Americans must join in solidarity to condemn today’s act of political violence and violence in all forms,” he said in a multipart message on X. “Working together, we can resolve our differences through peaceful dialogue and conquer the sin of hatred.”

Other bishops who offered prayers for those affected included Bishop Michael T. Martin of Charlotte, North Carolina; Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger of Tucson, Arizona; and Bishop Larry J. Kulick of Greenburg, Pennsylvania.

In addition to prayers, Bishop Martin also called the violent incident “a call of conscience to all people of goodwill” and a time for self-reflection to bring an end to all violence

“Let us not simply condemn today’s attack but root out the anger in our own hearts that can affect our words and our actions,” he said in a statement shared by diocesan media.

“Scripture reminds us we are all made in the image and likeness of God. That means something, especially in our great democracy. It means we must treat other people — all people — with the sacredness that is due to all of God’s children. We must respectfully listen to each other, care about others’ welfare, and seek the common good — even and especially when we disagree on how that may be best achieved.”

In the USCCB statement, Archbishop Broglio said that the bishops “condemn political violence, and we offer our prayers for President Trump, and those who were killed or injured. We also pray for our country and for an end to political violence, which is never a solution to political disagreements. We ask all people of goodwill to join us in praying for peace in our country. Mary, Mother of God and Patroness of the Americas, pray for us.”

The USCCB statement also noted a statement the bishops released this summer about political violence that urged “all Christians and people of good will to abstain from political violence, and instead, ‘pursue what leads to peace and building up one another’ through dialogue, seeking justice.”

(Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.)

Vatican condemns violence at Trump rally, offers prayers for victims, peace

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By Carol Glatz , Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican expressed its concern about the violence waged at a political rally in the United States and it offered its prayers for the nation, the victims and peace.

In response to queries about the shootings at a rally involving former U.S. President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, the Vatican press office released a statement July 14 expressing its “concern about last night’s episode of violence, which wounds people and democracy, causing suffering and death.”

The Holy See is “united in the prayer of the U.S. bishops for America, for the victims, and for peace in the country, so that the motives of the violent may never prevail,” the statement said in Italian.

Gunshots were fired at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, injuring Trump who said on social media that a bullet “pierced” his right ear. One person attending the rally was killed and two others were critically injured, The Associated Press reported July 14.

The U.S. Secret Service said it killed the suspected shooter who had attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue.

Law enforcement was investigating the shooting as an attempted assassination of the former president and presumptive Republican presidential candidate, AP reported.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a written statement July 13, “Together with my brother bishops, we condemn political violence, and we offer our prayers for President Trump, and those who were killed or injured.”

“We also pray for our country and for an end to political violence, which is never a solution to political disagreements. We ask all people of goodwill to join us in praying for peace in our country. Mary, Mother of God and Patroness of the Americas, pray for us,” the archbishop said.

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LAFAYETTE, La. (OSV News) – Gov. Jeff Landry, R-La., vetoed $1 million in state funds for an emergency homeless shelter run by Catholic Charities of Acadiana over the organization’s work with migrants, he acknowledged in press statements. Landry, a Catholic, said that he vetoed the funds for the largest homeless shelter in Lafayette on the basis of his allegation that the shelter’s operator, Catholic Charities of Acadiana, facilitates illegal immigration, a charge the Catholic Church’s charitable arm denied. The move comes as some elected officials have grown increasingly hostile toward nongovernmental organizations, including Catholic ones, that provide resources such as food and shelter to migrants, including those at the U.S.-Mexico border. In July, a state judge denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s effort to shut down Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, a Catholic nonprofit serving migrants, finding his office “failed to establish probable grounds for the proceedings” and violated the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In February, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, issued a statement expressing solidarity with faith-driven ministries to migrants, saying it was the “strong tradition of religious liberty” that allows Catholics “to live out our faith in full.”

A mosaic by Father Marko Rupnik illustrating the Holy Family is pictured in a file photo at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington. The Knights of Columbus announced July 11, 2024, it will cover mosaics by ex-Jesuit Father Mark Rupnik at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington and the Holy Family Chapel at the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Conn. (OSV News photo/Julie Asher)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (OSV News) – The Knights of Columbus announced July 11 the organization will cover mosaics by ex-Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington and the Holy Family Chapel at the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut. In a statement, the Knights said the decision came at “the conclusion of a careful and thorough process.” The mosaics will be obscured by fabric “which will remain in place at least until the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) issues its decision on the pending sexual abuse cases against artist Father Marko Rupnik.” After that “a permanent plaster covering may be in order.” Father Rupnik, whose distinctive mosaics are known for their oversized black, almond-shaped eyes, was expelled from the Society of Jesus in 2023 after refusing to obey their measures imposed in response to credible accusations that he spiritually, psychologically or sexually abused some two dozen women and at least one man. He remains a priest living and working in Rome as the director of art and dean of theology at Centro Aletti, the religious art community he founded in 1991. Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly said in the statement that the Knights had to prioritize the needs of abuse victims, especially as “the allegations are current, unresolved and horrific.” He noted the Knights’ commitment to proclaim Jesus Christ’s Good News and said, “Shrines are places of healing, prayer and reconciliation. They should not cause victims further suffering.”

EXTON, Pa. (OSV News) – “The Bible in 10 Minutes,” a new viral video offering by Father Mike Schmitz and Ascension, earned 358,000 views in just 24 hours, according to a July 10 news release from Exton-based Ascension, a multimedia Catholic network and a leader in Catholic faith formation and digital content. The audience response makes this Father Schmitz’s most “viral video ever, more than doubling his previous one-day record of 160,000 views set with his 2022 review of ‘The Sound of Freedom,'” the release said. Father Schmitz, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, has gained a national following for, among other things, his popular “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year” podcasts from Ascension. He will be a featured keynote speaker during the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21 in Indianapolis. Father Schmitz and Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, founder and servant mother of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth in the Archdiocese of Boston, are scheduled to address the congress’s July 18 evening revival session 7-9:30 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium. “The Bible in 10 Minutes” can be found on the “Ascension Presents” YouTube channel.

VATICAN

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The working document for the October assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality called for responses to how all the baptized can better serve the Catholic Church and help heal humanity’s “deepest wounds.” The document said the synod should spur the church to become a “refuge” and “shelter” for those in need or distress and encourage Catholics to “allow themselves to be led by the Spirit of the Lord to horizons that they had not previously glimpsed” as brothers and sisters in Christ. “This is the ongoing conversion of the way of being the Church that the synodal process invites us to undertake,” the document said. The 30-page document, called an “instrumentum laboris,” was released at the Vatican July 9. It will serve as a discussion guideline for the synod’s second session Oct. 2-27, which reflects on the theme: “How to be a missionary synodal Church.” The reflections are the next step in the synod’s overarching theme: “For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission.” Synodal practice “calls us to mutual care, interdependence and co-responsibility for the common good,” it said, and it is willing to listen to everyone, in contrast to methods “in which the concentration of power shuts out the voices of the poorest, the marginalized and minorities.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis prayed in thanksgiving for the release of two Ukrainian Catholic priests who were held in Russian captivity for more than 19 months, calling on Christians to pray for the release of all prisoners of war. “I give thanks to God for the freeing of the two Greek Catholic priests,” he said after praying the Angelus June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. “May all the prisoners of this war soon return home.” The pope expressed his sorrow for all people suffering because of war around the world, asking Christians to “pray for all populations wounded and threatened by fighting, that God may free them and support them in the struggle for peace.” The two priests, Redemptorist Fathers Ivan Levytsky and Bohdan Geleta, were arrested in the occupied city of Berdyansk Nov. 16, 2022, according to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which said that after military items were placed in a church in the town the two priests were arrested for the “illegal possession of weapons.” Fathers Levystky and Geleta were among 10 prisoners who were released to Ukrainian authorities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a June 28 post on X. “I would also like to recognize the Holy See’s efforts to bring these people home,” the president said in his post.

WORLD

PARIS (OSV News) – The capital of France’s Normandy region held its breath on July 11 as reports and social media pictures spread that the Rouen Cathedral’s spire was on fire, causing the building to be evacuated. Around 70 firefighters brought the blaze under control in less than two hours, much to everyone’s relief. “In the end, there was more fear than harm,” Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen told OSV News on July 12. “Today, the cathedral is reopened,” he said. Rouen Cathedral is the tallest church in France. It was in Rouen that St. Joan of Arc was burned alive in 1431, during the Hundred Years’ War between France and England. As in Paris, the Seine River flows through the city. “The fire started inside the spire, right at the edge,” Archbishop Lebrun said. “But in the end it only burned a large plastic casing from the restoration work currently underway. The rest was untouched.” The origin of the fire, thought to be accidental, is not yet known. “I am very grateful to the entire rescue chain, including the sacristans, firefighters, contractors, police and civil authorities, who acted with great professionalism,” Archbishop Lebrun told OSV News. The spire of the cathedral, unlike Notre Dame’s in Paris, is made of cast iron, so the fire did not spread, but four construction site workers were injured by smoke inhalation and were psychologically shocked.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (OSV News) – The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem issued a strong condemnation after the Israeli military targeted a Catholic school in Gaza that killed four people, including a senior Hamas official. In a statement published July 7, the patriarchate said it was monitoring reports of a strike on Holy Family School, which “has, since the beginning of the war, been a place of refuge for hundreds of civilians.” “The Latin Patriarchate condemns, in the strongest terms, the targeting of civilians or any belligerent actions that fall short of ensuring that civilians remain outside the combat scene,” the statement read. The patriarchate called for a cease-fire agreement “that would put an immediate end to the horrifying bloodbath and humanitarian catastrophe in the region.” According to multiple news reports, including by The Associated Press, Israeli airstrikes took place overnight July 6-7 in Gaza, killing 13 Palestinians. The strike against Holy Family School, which was operating as a shelter, claimed the lives of four people, including Ihab al-Ghussein, Hamas’ undersecretary of labor. In a statement, Hamas mourned the death of al-Ghussein, whose wife and daughter were killed in strikes in the early days of the war, AP reported. Israeli military officials justified the attack on the school, arguing that the bombing struck a Hamas military building and a weapons-making facility “in the area of a school building.”

Women hold patients outside Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv
, Ukraine’s capital, July 8, 2024, after it was severely damaged during Russian missile strikes amid Russia’s war on Ukraine. At least 31 were killed and over 135 injured as Russian bombers pummeled Kyiv
 and numerous other cities throughout the nation that day with more than 40 missiles and guided aerial bombs, with one striking the large children’s hospital, where emergency crews searched the rubble for victims. (OSV News photo/Gleb Garanich, Reuters)

KYIV, Ukraine (OSV News) – A July 8 attack by Russia on a children’s hospital and other civilian targets throughout Ukraine is “a sin that cries out to heaven for revenge,” said the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. At least 42 have been killed and over 190 injured as Russian bombers pummeled Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and numerous cities throughout the nation with more than 40 missiles and guided aerial bombs. Among the sites struck was the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, where two adults died and about 50 were injured, including seven children. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, father and head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, released a July 8 statement denouncing the strike. “In the name of God, with all determination, we condemn this crime against humanity. … This is a sin that cries out to heaven for revenge,” he said. He noted that doctors, medical workers and volunteers bloodied in the strike were digging through the hospital’s wreckage “to save even those children whose hearts are beating there under the rubble.” “Today we cry with all the victims. Today we want to pray for all the dead … (and) wrap our Christian love around all the wounded,” said Major Archbishop Shevchuk. He concluded his statement with a prayer “for the protection and victory of the lives of our children and women.

US bishops discuss anti-poverty arm, pastoral frameworks, groundbreaking proposals at spring meeting

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By Peter Jesserer Smith
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (OSV News) – Gathered in Louisville for their spring plenary assembly, the U.S. bishops’ June 12-14 meeting saw a mix of important matters discussed – with some unexpected twists and moments of robust discussion – starting with how the bishops would continue to address the scourge of poverty in the U.S. and ending with a view to the future for the National Eucharistic Revival.

The first day of the bishops’ public session was June 13. Behind closed doors, the bishops discussed the future of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, their domestic anti-poverty initiative, which has suffered in recent years from declining donations and questions about grant-making decisions that had depleted its funding reserves.

In a June 13 press conference, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for Military Services USA, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told reporters that no decisions had been made yet. But he emphasized the bishops remain committed “to the vital work of fighting poverty in this country.”

In a shift from previous assemblies, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal ambassador to the U.S., did not focus his address to the bishops on the process of becoming a synodal church but instead focused on the National Eucharistic Revival, affirming the central importance of the bishops’ endeavor. He urged them to experience this revival as bishops, and emphasized Pope Francis’ insight that Eucharistic devotion is connected with the church’s mission of “washing the feet of wounded humanity.”

The U.S. bishops voted to send a message to Pope Francis, joining him in praying for peace in the world, calling for diplomatic solutions that affirm human fraternity, and thanking him for sending Cardinal Luis A. Tagle as his delegate to the National Eucharistic Congress in July.

Over the course of both days, the bishops also heard about the ongoing progress of the Synod on Synodality, and that its second session this October will zero in on what a synodal church should look like. The bishops heard that becoming a synodal church was about creating a place of encounter in the church, where tensions could be fruitfully transformed for the sake of the church’s health and holiness.
Bishop Daniel E. Flores, who served last year as a president delegate of the synod assembly and a member of the synod’s preparatory commission, emphasized it would help bishops “to think together with our people about how to be about what we should be about, which is the concerns of Christ the Lord.”

The bishops of the Latin Church also voted to approve all their agenda items related to English translation texts for the Liturgy of the Hours and the Roman Missal – a process which the bishops’ chair of the Committee on Divine Worship, Bishop Steven J. Lopes of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, said finally completed the work on the new English translation of the Liturgy of the Hours that the bishops began in 2012.

The U.S. bishops overwhelmingly voted June 14 to approve a pastoral framework for Indigenous Catholic ministry, which also included an apology for the church’s failures over the course of its history in North America “to nurture, strengthen, honor, recognize and appreciate those entrusted to our pastoral care.”
However, the bishops’ pastoral framework for youth and young adult ministry hit a snag that stunned the bishops and Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota – chair of the bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth – who had presented on it just the day before as a “watershed moment” in forming youth and young adults for “missionary discipleship” and “Christlike leadership in society.”

Initially falling short of the two-thirds threshold needed to pass by two votes at bishops’ assembly, the USCCB in Washington announced June 18 the framework passed with 188 votes in favor, four against, and four abstentions, following a canvass of bishops eligible to vote.

The aspect of the bishops’ meeting that most resembled a real debate was a vigorous discussion June 14 over creating a national directory of instituted ministries. The bishops had a lively exchange regarding lay ministries and whether they should together consider the ministries of acolyte, lector and catechist – the former two which Pope Francis expanded to include women and the latter which he formally instituted – or start work on guidelines for the catechist, an ancient office in the church and now an instituted lay ministry. They also expressed concern about proper formation, but also about a kind of “professionalization” that would exclude faithful people from living this ministry – particularly those who had valuable experience from Latin American contexts.

Bishop Lopes suggested the bishops should continue by considering all three together, and work on clarifying their complementary roles in carrying out the local church’s mission, saying Pope Francis seemed to be inviting them to understand these ministries as not simply serving a liturgical function but encompassing a “larger reality” of lived discipleship.

Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes, archbishop emeritus of New Orleans, however, advocated an amendment to start some preliminary work on the ministry of catechist – making adjustments at a later date with respect to the ministry of acolyte and lector – that the bishops could examine at their meeting in November.

Speaking on behalf of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, he cited the urgency of catechesis given the high rates of Catholic adults disaffiliating from the church. The committee’s amendment ultimately carried the day, and the bishops approved the national directory proposal.
The bishops had another robust discussion the day before, June 13, following the update on their mental health campaign, which included presentations on how Catholic Charities can help the bishops form a “trauma-aware church,” and the vital importance of parish engagement and accompaniment in this effort to save lives.

The bishops’ exchange affirmed their view that ending the stigma surrounding mental health was not only good for the faithful, but also for clergy, allowing them to open up about their own mental health needs.
The bishops also voiced their unanimous approval for the plans of Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, to open a cause for the canonization of Adele Brise, a Belgian-born immigrant from the 19th-century, whose visions of the Virgin Mary Bishop Ricken had declared worthy of belief in 2010. The bishop suggested Brise provided a model for their evangelization and catechesis efforts.

Although the bishops’ public sessions had opened with matters that seemed routine, the June 14 session included presentations inviting the bishops to authorize groundbreaking efforts on combatting abuse and an urgent call to engage with lawmakers on immigration policy affecting religious workers from foreign countries.

Suzanne Healy, chair of the bishops’ National Review Board, introduced proposals toward combating sexual abuse, including the issuance of guidelines that would address the sexual or spiritual abuse of adults, a new John Jay College to study abuse allegations since 2011, and a 2027 national day of prayer as an act of restorative justice.

Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, chair of the bishops’ Committee on Migration, reported to the bishops that a foreign-born priest who applies for a green card has a 15-year wait – and current rules on the federal Temporary Religious Worker Visa Immigration program mean that priest would have to go back to another country every five years.

Bishops on the floor likewise expressed their concern about how confusing the rules were for religious workers to navigate. Bishop Seitz said a “partial fix” from the federal administration might shorten that time, but without Congress intervening, the situation is ultimately “simply not sustainable for our ministries.”

The bishops’ final agenda item June 14 was the matter of the National Eucharistic Congress. Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, board chair of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., told the bishops that they expect a sold-out stadium of 50,000 people for the weekend of July 17-21 at the National Eucharistic Congress.

But he emphasized that their eye was already toward the future, from initiatives to invite Catholics to “consider walking one person back to the faith,” along with forming “Eucharistic missionaries,” and planning future national Eucharistic congresses, similar to what takes place in other countries.

Peter Jesserer Smith is national news and features editor for OSV News. Follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) @peterjesserersmith.

Noticias Breves

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NACIÓN
LAFAYETTE, La. (OSV News) – El 24 de junio, el gobernador Jeff Landry, republicano de La., vetó un millón de dólares en fondos estatales para los servicios de refugios de emergencia para personas sin hogar gestionados por Caridades Católicas de Acadiana. Landry más tarde citó el trabajo más amplio de Caridades Católicas, el brazo caritativo doméstico de la Iglesia Católica en los EE.UU., en el servicio a los migrantes como su razón, sin embargo, el veto de línea artículo destripó financieramente los servicios sin hogar por Caridades Católicas abrumadoramente servir a los nativos de Luisiana. Caridades Católicas de Acadiana había solicitado financiación estatal para apoyar sus operaciones generales de refugio de emergencia en Lafayette. En una declaración facilitada al medio de comunicación local KATC, Landry, católico, no especificó la labor de Catholic Charities of Acadiana; sin embargo, hizo una acusación general de que Catholic Charities en EE.UU. apoya la inmigración no autorizada, lo que el brazo caritativo de la Iglesia católica ha negado enérgicamente. Caridades Católicas de Acadiana dijo en un comunicado a OSV News que estaba “profundamente entristecida” por el veto de la financiación, que “tendrá un impacto paralizante” en la “capacidad de mantener los servicios de refugio” de la agencia durante el próximo año fiscal, que comienza el 1 de julio. “Los créditos de refugio vetados son un revés significativo a nuestros esfuerzos pro-vida para cuidar a nuestros vecinos vulnerables que experimentan la falta de vivienda”, dijo el CEO Kim Boudreaux. La decisión de Landry se produce en un momento en que los obispos estadounidenses han empezado a manifestar que la creciente hostilidad de sectores políticos y sociales hacia la labor de Catholic Charities y otros ministerios católicos que atienden las necesidades básicas de los inmigrantes supone una amenaza para la libertad religiosa de la Iglesia.

VATICANO
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – El documento de trabajo para la asamblea de octubre del Sínodo de los Obispos sobre la sinodalidad pedía respuestas sobre cómo todos los bautizados pueden servir mejor a la Iglesia católica y ayudar a curar las “heridas más profundas de la humanidad”. El documento decía que el sínodo debería impulsar a la Iglesia a convertirse en “refugio” y “cobijo” para los necesitados o angustiados y animar a los católicos a “dejarse conducir por el Espíritu del Señor hacia horizontes que antes no habían vislumbrado” como hermanos y hermanas en Cristo. “Esta es la conversión permanente del modo de ser Iglesia que el proceso sinodal nos invita a emprender”, dice el documento. El documento de 30 páginas, denominado “instrumentum laboris”, se hizo público en el Vaticano el 9 de julio. Servirá como guía de debate para la segunda sesión del sínodo, del 2 al 27 de octubre, que reflexionará sobre el tema: “Cómo ser una Iglesia sinodal misionera”. Las reflexiones son el siguiente paso en el tema general del sínodo: “Por una Iglesia sinodal: comunión, participación y misión”. La práctica sinodal “nos llama al cuidado mutuo, la interdependencia y la corresponsabilidad por el bien común”, afirma, y está dispuesta a escuchar a todos, en contraste con los métodos “en los que la concentración de poder apaga las voces de los más pobres, los marginados y las minorías”.

Nicaragüenses llevan una estatua de María durante una peregrinación el 14 de agosto de 2018 en León para exigir el fin de la violencia en el país. El 15 de agosto es la fiesta de la Asunción de María. (CNS photo/Oswaldo Rivas, Reuters)

MUNDO
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (OSV News) – El gobierno nicaragüense cerró la emisora de radio católica más importante del país, mientras el régimen sandinista sigue persiguiendo a la Iglesia y atentando cada vez más contra la libertad religiosa y de culto de los ciudadanos. El 9 de julio, el Ministerio del Interior de Nicaragua extinguió la personalidad jurídica de Radio María, que emitía contenidos católicos en todo el país centroamericano. Era un medio importante para los católicos que carecían de celebraciones eucarísticas después de que sus sacerdotes huyeran del país para evitar la persecución o se vieran obligados a exiliarse. El Ministerio del Interior afirmó que Radio María no entregó informes financieros entre 2019 y 2023 y alegó que el mandato de su junta directiva expiraba en 2021. Otras once organizaciones no gubernamentales también vieron revocada su personalidad jurídica el mismo día. Radio María Nicaragua operaba en Nicaragua desde el año 2000 y pertenecía a la Familia Mundial de Radio María, fundada por la Archidiócesis de Milán. En los últimos años se ha retirado la personalidad jurídica a más de 3.000 organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro en Nicaragua, entre ellas las Misioneras de la Caridad por supuestas irregularidades y por tener demasiados extranjeros en su patronato. El cierre de Radio María culminó una campaña de acoso del Régimen Sandinista en el poder. Sus cuentas bancarias fueron congeladas en abril y la emisora había estado emitiendo una programación limitada, aunque en directo por Internet las 24 horas del día. Radio María evitaba los contenidos polémicos transmitiendo únicamente misas y oraciones.

Briefs

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NATION
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The U.S. Catholic bishops’ latest annual report on child and youth protection shows abuse allegations are down, while safe environment protocols have taken root in the church – but guarding against complacency about abuse prevention is critical, as is providing ongoing support for survivors. On May 28, the bishops released their “2023 Annual Report – Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” For the period from July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023, the report found a more than 51% drop in historical allegations from those reported in the same period last year, from 2,704 in 2022 to 1,308 in 2023. The decrease was partly due to the resolution of allegations received as a result of lawsuits, said the report. Another milestone was the full participation of all 196 dioceses and eparchies in the Charter audit, a 100% response rate that was unprecedented. But the report found that over the past 10 years, the Catholic dioceses and eparchies in the U.S. alone have paid more than $2 billion in costs regarding abuse allegations. Total abuse allegation-related costs in fiscal year 2023 were up 99% over the previous year at more than $260.5 million. Suzanne Healy, chairwoman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Review Board, emphasized in the report that as the church moves forward, it cannot risk “fatigue or complacency. We must remain vigilant.”

VICTORIA, Texas (OSV News) – The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s perpetual pilgrims’ second week included already iconic events – such as when Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York blessed the city with the Eucharist from a boat near the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor May 27 – and hidden moments – like when a man got out of a truck in the middle of Oregon, far away from any towns, and genuflected as the Eucharistic caravan passed. On a May 29 media call, the pilgrims shared other stories of encounter and conversion: On the California side of Lake Tahoe, a photographer for a secular news outlet – amazed by the masses of people turning out for processions – told the perpetual pilgrims that he was inspired to learn more about the Eucharist and plans to begin the process for becoming Catholic. Meanwhile, a woman who isn’t able to walk with the pilgrims has been joining each procession along the St. Juan Diego Route since Brownsville, Texas, on a retrofitted tricycle. Also in Texas, some perpetual pilgrims helped bandage a woman’s wounded leg at a homeless shelter, and then the woman – whose name is Hope – asked the pilgrims to pray with her. On the May 29 media call, the perpetual pilgrims acknowledged that their packed days can sap their energy, but explained each “amazing encounter” along their routes also reveals to them the impact that the pilgrimage is having.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis announced that he is preparing a document on the Sacred Heart of Jesus to “illuminate the path of ecclesial renewal, but also to say something significant to a world that seems to have lost its heart.” The document is expected to be released in September, he said. The pope made the announcement during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square June 5. The Catholic Church traditionally dedicates the month of June to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The document will include reflections from “previous magisterial texts” and it will aim to “re-propose to the whole church this devotion laden with spiritual beauty. I believe it will do us much good to meditate on various aspects of the Lord’s love,” the pope said. Meanwhile, in his main audience talk, Pope Francis continued a new series on the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the church. He said the freedom Jesus offers with his Spirit has nothing to do with the selfishness of being free to do what one wants, but it is “the freedom to freely do what God wants! Not freedom to do good or evil, but freedom to do good and do it freely.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Although Pope Francis usually takes the month of July off – except for leading the recitation of the Angelus on Sundays – he will hold a consistory with cardinals in Rome July 1 for the final approval of the canonization of several sainthood candidates, according to the master of papal liturgical ceremonies. In late May, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints said Pope Francis would be convoking the meeting of cardinals to vote on approving the canonizations of Blessed Carlo Acutis, an Italian teen and computer whiz; Blessed Giuseppe Allamano, founder of the Consolata Missionaries; eight Franciscan friars and three Maronite laymen who were martyred in Syria in 1860; Canada-born Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis, founder of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family; and Blessed Elena Guerra, an Italian nun who founded the Oblates of the Holy Spirit. The date or dates for the canonizations could be announced during the ceremony.

WORLD
LOURDES, France (OSV News) – Surrounded by almost 15,000 military personnel from around the world, Airman 1st Class Quenton Cooper felt a deep sense of fraternity during a May 24-26 pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. Cooper was one of 183 American pilgrims who journeyed to Lourdes for the annual International Military Pilgrimage. Every year since 1958, the French army has invited soldiers from across the world to come together for three days of festivities, prayer, and fraternity in Lourdes, the frequented pilgrimage site where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858. “This trip has bolstered my spiritual life because it has reminded me that I’m not alone in my prayer life and that the church is not just located in one country, but it’s a community that extends all over the world,” Cooper said. “It is this reminder that no matter who we are, we need to thrive, and God will put us in.” For over 20 years, the Knights of Columbus and the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services have co-sponsored the Warriors to Lourdes pilgrimage, bringing both active-duty service members and veterans from across the world to seek healing through the pilgrimage. The pilgrimage also provides participants from a military background the opportunity to experience fraternity with the global church, said military chaplain Father Philip O’Neill.

SAN SALVADOR (OSV News) – A recent decision by officials in El Salvador to remove a painting of St. Óscar Romero from a prominent location in the nation’s main airport and move it to a secluded area, generated backlash from Catholics and opinion leaders, who have been critical of how the nation’s government is treating national symbols while trying to rebrand the country as a safe, tourist-friendly destination. The 18-foot-wide painting depicts scenes of St. Romero’s life, including a meeting that he had with people whose relatives had been abducted by the military. The painting was commissioned in 2010 to mark the 30th anniversary of St. Romero’s murder and it had been placed in a hallway of the airport’s departure hall, where it could be easily seen by passengers as they headed to their gates. It was passengers at the airport who noted that the painting was no longer at its original location and had been replaced with a poster that welcomes tourists to El Salvador, “the land of surfing, volcanoes and coffee.” Officials initially provided no explanation for the painting’s removal, sparking criticism from some Catholic leaders. Carlos Colorado, a Salvadoran-American lawyer who runs a blog about St. Romero, said that he was concerned that El Salvador’s current government was being dismissive of the bishop’s contribution to the nation’s history. St. Romero was the archbishop of San Salvador in the late 1970s, a turbulent period that led to a full-fledged civil war, in which more than 75,000 people were killed.

Civil Rights Pilgrimage gives Catholics new appreciation for African Americans’ freedom struggle

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By John Feister , OSV News

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (OSV News) — This Juneteenth holiday a group of Glenmary Home Missioners will have a deeper appreciation for the historic struggle of African Americans for freedom and equality in the United States. The federal holiday June 19 is a commemoration of the end of slavery in the U.S. at the conclusion of the Civil War.

The Glenmary group recently completed a mid-May pilgrimage through Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, stopping and praying at significant sites in the slavery era and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ’60s, and to meet with contemporary community workers.

Thirteen of the 31-member pilgrimage group were Kenyan and Ugandan students in Glenmary formation; others were priests, brothers and lay co-workers primarily from the U.S.

“The point was to have an encounter, an opportunity for them to gain a better understanding of the Southerners they’ll be working with,” Father Dan Dorsey, president of Glenmary, told OSV News. “But the most important thing for me was that the participants had a profoundly spiritual experience, where people see Christ in the experience of others, whether that’s in a museum or in the people who continue to struggle for justice.”

Trip coordinator Polly Duncan Collum, Glenmary’s director of justice, peace and integrity of creation, echoed that sentiment. “It was a tour, and a time of reflection. But also, it was a connection between the past and the present in the meeting community organizers and leaders working for racial and economic justice,” she said.

She offered the example of a meeting with Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz and a multiracial coalition in Jackson, Mississippi, of which the Diocese of Jackson is a member.

In Birmingham, Alabama, pilgrims visited sites commemorating the 1955-56 bus boycott, a key moment in civil rights history. The yearlong boycott, started by the act of defiance by civil rights activist Rosa Parks, brought newly minted preacher the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., into a leadership position that would persist until his murder in 1968. (Parks met with St. John Paul II during his 1999 pastoral visit to St. Louis.)

Participants in a Glenmary Civil Rights Pilgrimage take photos in Canton, Mississippi, of the bed where Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman spent her final days in 1990. Sister Thea, the first African American to be a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, lived in her childhood home with a fellow Franciscan sister at the end of her life. She died of cancer March 30, 1990, at age 52. (OSV News photo/John Feister, Glenmary)

The pilgrims also visited Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church, where a 1963 Ku Klux Klan bombing caused the death of four child congregants. Across the street was Kelly Ingram Park, where months later police, seen on national television, viciously attacked child protesters with police dogs, fire hoses and water cannons. Today, sculptures and a civil rights museum commemorate those events. Interpreters helped the pilgrims to see the strategy of Civil Rights activists to engage law enforcement in the public eye. Repeatedly, though, the racist reaction was more violent than the activists had anticipated.

Pilgrimage participants later walked across the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where marchers were viciously attacked by law enforcement in 1965 as the nation looked on. These were key events that eventually led to the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, championed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

In Mississippi, the group also stopped to pray at the Canton home of Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, whose cause for canonization is underway. Sister Thea (1937-1990), a key leader in the Black Catholic movement, worked for intercultural understanding in churches across the United States. She was the first African American to be a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

Moses Ngund’u, a Glenmary seminarian from Nakuru, Kenya, said what struck him most was listening to the stories of Parks and Rev. King, “especially the way he advocated for a peaceful resolution.”

Seminarian Evarist Mukama was moved by being in the 16th St. Baptist Church, “where the four little girls were killed, innocent as they were, and the scene for their parents and friends. I asked myself, ‘Will there be any point where there will be equality for all?'”

When he saw a museum display of KKK robes, seminarian Philip Langford, a Texan from a multiethnic family, was brought back to a childhood experience.

“I actually have a memory of encountering the KKK,” he said, recalling a 2004 cross-country family car trip from Texas to Florida, with a gas stop in Mississippi. “Coming down the road a group of Klansmen were carrying a cross. I remember my mother immediately told me to lie on the floorboard. I was just reminded of all of that today. I can imagine how somebody who went through the Civll Rights Era, with all of the lynchings, would have responded to that cross.”

Langford added, “The most jarring thing for me was all of the hatred, and I would argue that it’s still there today. And I don’t know if I would say quieter, because it’s getting louder and louder.”

“Very much!” was Deacon Joseph Maundu’s response when asked whether he thought this pilgrimage might have an impact on his ministry. The deacon spoke of prejudice today: “When you know the history of a place, and then experience things there, you know it’s not about you. It’s about the issue, about what happened there. And you stop your own prejudices. We can sympathize with other people. I think this (pilgrimage) experience will give us a positive approach.”

The Glenmary Civil Rights Pilgrimage stops in Money, Miss., May 18, 2024, at the site of Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market, where in 1995 Emmett Louis Till, a Black teenager visiting from out of town, was falsely accused of flirting with the white woman proprietor of the store. He was kidnapped, tortured and killed. His mother, Mamie Till Bradley, brought his body home to Chicago for an open-casket funeral, which gained attention worldwide. (OSV News photo/John Feister, Glenmary)

Another stop in Mississippi was the Jackson home, now National Historic Landmark, of slain civil rights activist Medgar Evars. He was targeted and killed in his driveway by an assassin, his wife and young children close at hand. Another stop, outside of Greenwood, Mississippi, was the site of Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market, where Emmett Till, a Black 14-year-old, was falsely accused of flirting with and touching a white woman. He was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by her relatives.

One evening the pilgrimage group was hosted by Resurrectionist Father Manuel Willams at the Resurrection Catholic Missions of the South. The 81-year-old ministry has included a variety of educational and health care services to the local community and recently hosted volunteers from various Catholic universities.

Father Willams told the pilgrims, “The root of all ‘isms’ is the lack of proximity.”

Then he invited those gathered, which included a group of student volunteers from Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania, to be closer to the Montgomery experience by listening to veteran civil rights activists. He introduced a small panel, including former Carter White House staffer Doris Crenshaw, who has a history in civil rights from the time in the 1950s when she was vice president of the NAACP Youth Council, under the advice of Rosa Parks. She was 12 at the time.

“Our lives are in your hands,” she told the young women from Misericordia. All of the rights movements in the world were compelled by the women and the youth.” It was the only time the pilgrims were joined by an outside group.

The Civil Rights Pilgrimage ended in Memphis, Tennessee, where the group attended Mass at Christian Brothers University. Earlier in the day the pilgrims had been at the National Civil Rights Museum, built around the Lorraine Motel, where Rev. King was assassinated.

Father Dorsey implored those at Mass, “Listen to our pain. Listen to our hope. Listen to who we are. And just be present.” It was a church-driven fight for rights, he had said earlier. He echoed that at the end: “We must always have a vision of hope. We must never give in to fear. Let’s always be those people, our heroes, who in the midst of it all, stood up to incredible violence. Fear did not give way.”

On the road back across Alabama to homeward-bound travel from Birmingham, Mukama looked back on the weeklong pilgrimage and said, “What stood out to me was the struggle for freedom. That first was started by the Blacks who came here as slaves, and who have been slaves in most other continents. One of the quotes that really comes out clear for me is, ‘No one is free until everyone is free.'”

“The slavery, or segregation, or whatever else happened to Blacks is not just limited to the Blacks, but to the wider community of humanity,” Mukama added. “I’ve walked all the steps on this pilgrimage from first up until the last and that’s what stands out for me: Humanity needs to be free.”

John Feister, editor of Glenmary Challenge magazine, writes for OSV News from Cincinnati.