Catholic News

• Pro-Ortega militias in Nicaragua besiege another Catholic church, kill 2 students (Washington Post)
  The Washington Post’s Joshua Partlow offers an eyewitness account of the siege of the church at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua. Paramilitary forces attacked two other churches last week.
• Pope names cardinals to preside at Synod assembly (CWN)
  Pope Francis has named four cardinals to share the duties of "president-delegate" during the October meeting of the Synod of Bishops. They are:
• Pope planning major announcements for Thursday consistory? (CWN)
  Pope Francis has called an ordinary consistory—a meeting of the cardinals present in Rome—for Thursday, July 19. The announcement has prompted speculation that the Pope may announce key appointments.
• Holy See will not lodge formal diplomatic protest against Nicaragua (CWN)
  The Vatican’s Secretary of State said that the Holy See will not lodge a formal diplomatic protest against Nicaragua after masked paramilitary supporters of the Ortega regime stormed a basilica in which the apostolic nuncio was present.
• Pope Francis: all the baptized are called to be missionary disciples (Zenit)
  During his July 15 Sunday Angelus address (video), Pope Francis reflected on Mark 6:7-13, the Gospel reading of the day. The Pope emphasized that the person of Jesus is at the center of missionary proclamation and that poverty is the “face” of authentic missionary activity.
• 'Look to your roots,' Pope tells Caribbean youth (Vatican News)
  Pope Francis addressed his remarks to a youth assembly of the Antilles Episcopal Conference.
• Nicaragua's Cardinal Brenes decries desecration of basilica by pro-Ortega paramilitary forces (Fides)
  Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes and the apostolic nuncio were present at the Basilica of St. Sebastian in Diriamba when 200 masked paramilitary supporters of the Ortega regime raided the church, injuring a bishop and others. “We were attacked with a brutal force,” said Cardinal Brenes. “We have never seen anything like this in Nicaragua.”
• Pope Francis greets religious gathered for Angelus (Zenit)
  Pope Francis devoted his July 15 Angelus address to the call of the baptized to missionary discipleship.
• Maltese bishop criticizes European nations for 'criminal' attitude toward migrants (Times of Malta)
  Bishop Mario Grech said that the current lack of concern for migrants recalls the indifference to the plight of Jews persecuted by the Nazi regime. The prelate added, “My appeal to the government and the opposition is not to surrender to populism.”
• Masked government allies rough up bishop, priests in Nicaraguan church siege (AP)
  Auxiliary Bishop Silvio José Báez of Managua sustained cuts to his arm as he, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, and a group of priests sought to assist anti-government protesters trapped inside a church.
• Vatican Secretary of State: wars can be avoided if we make room for God (Servizio Informazione Religiosa)
  Cardinal Pietro Parolin made his remarks during a homily in Gorizia, which is located in northeastern Italy.
• New York Times recounts Cardinal McCarrick's years of abuse (New York Times)
  The New York Times has published an account of how Cardinal Theodore McCarrick targeted seminarians—and how other members of the hierarchy were aware of the cardinal’s behavior for years before his recent removal from ministry.
• Renewal is top priority, Vatican official tells African bishops (Vatican News)
  Speaking to an assembly of bishops from Eastern Africa, Archbishop Protase Rugambwa, the secretary of the Congregation for Evangelization, urged the group to “reassess its structures in compliance with Pope Francis’ call for ecclesial renewal, which cannot be deferred.”
• New Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue statement hailed as 'substantive step forward' (Catholic Church in England and Wales)
  The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, Phase 3 (ARCIC III) recently released a statement entitled “Walking Together on the Way: Learning to Be the Church – Local, Regional, Universal,” for which the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has released commentary. The English bishops’ conference characterized the ARCIC III statement as a “substantive step forward” and “important methodological shift.”
• Holy See nurtures high hopes for global migration compact (Holy See Mission)
  Archbishop Bernardito Auza, apostolic nuncio and permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said that “the Holy See nurtures the hope” that the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration will be “a significant step forward in the service of the person, not only of every migrant, but for all of humanity.” The Vatican diplomat made his remarks on July 13, during the final intergovernmental negotiations on the compact’s wording.
• Pope surprises couple by presiding at wedding (Vatican News)
  Pope Francis surprised a member of the Swiss Guard and his Brazilian bride by appearing in the sacristy, replacing the priest who had been ready to preside at their wedding.
• Bahrain's cathedral to become the heart of the Catholic community in Arabia (AsiaNews)
  The Arab nation of 1.4 million is 70% Muslim, 15% Christian, 10% Hindu, and 3% Buddhist, according to statistics from the Pew Research Center.
• Rwanda closes 700 churches under new government guidelines (RNS)
  The government of Rwanda has closed down 700 houses of worship—including Protestant churches and Muslim mosques—in line with new regulations requiring religious bodies to have qualified ministers and internal rules. The legislation is aimed at protecting the public from exploitation by extremist and/or unscrupulous preachers.
• Despite Trump's Kavanaugh nomination, overturning Roe remains difficult, pro-life analysts caution (National Catholic Register)
  
• Vatican cardinal: announcement of Jesus, not philanthropy, is at heart of missionary activity (Fides)
  Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, preached at the Mass that opened the 5th American Missionary Congress (Spanish-language link) in Bolivia.
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