Keiko Fujimori Visits the Peruvian Episcopate

 

Fulani Extremists Kill 25 Christians After Nigerian Army Ignores Early Warnings

Gay man arrested for threatening to kill nuns and children at a Catholic school “just for fun”

ZENIT Staff

According to investigators, the threatening message appeared on the school’s Facebook page on June 26 under the name «Bobby McGee.» Its language left little room for ambiguity, announcing plans to attack the Catholic school and murder members of the governor’s family «for fun.»

Indian Government Orders an Audit of Christian Properties

ZENIT Staff

This sweeping review has heightened concerns among Christian communities. Representatives of Christians have linked the timing of the audit to a broader climate of intimidation, like disruptions at prayer meetings by right-wing groups, hate speeches, etc., which are on the rise in Maharashtra

Special “León XIV” Award for Sustainability Established: It Will Be Presented in Rome in October 2026

ZENIT Staff

Created by Villanova University, the new international honor will recognize outstanding leadership in sustainability and integral human development. It will debut at the 2026 Villanova International Sustainability Conference in Rome and be presented by the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.

From the World Cup to the Family: Knights of Columbus Call Men to Be Captains

ZENIT Staff

At official FIFA Fan Fests and on social media, a single invitation stood out: every man is called to lead his family, strengthen his community, and live out his faith.

For the first time, a “practicing Catholic” has become the prime minister of the United Kingdom

ZENIT Staff

Unlike Tony Blair, who entered the Catholic Church only after leaving office, or Boris Johnson, who was baptized Catholic but later embraced Anglicanism, Burnham has consistently acknowledged that Catholicism shaped his upbringing and continues to influence his political outlook, even while admitting that he no longer considers himself particularly religious in terms of personal practice

Nicaragua: A Missing Bishop, a Report on Persecution of the Church, and a Dictator Who Announces There Will Be No More Elections

Enrique Villegas

His disappearance comes as a newly published Global Persecution Index by International Christian Concern portrays Nicaragua as one of the countries where conditions for Christians have deteriorated most significantly.

Fulani Extremists Kill 25 Christians After Nigerian Army Ignores Early Warnings

ZENIT Staff

Among those killed was the village’s leader. The local said the Fulani planned to kill their leader, occupy the land for grazing, and establish an Islamic caliphate in the region.

U.S., Catholic Relief Services send first Cuba aid flight

Caritas Venezuela adds recovery component to ongoing relief efforts

The Catholic Church’s social services arm in the country reports that its operations are in a transitional phase, as it shifts from immediate assistance to the recovery of those who lost everything.

Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel sees a resurgence with new shrine in Mexico City

Formerly served by the Discalced Carmelites, the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has been elevated to an archdiocesan shrine and has seen an increase in the number of pilgrims.

U.S., Catholic Relief Services send first Cuba aid flight under Rubio plan

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) will deliver kits of prepackaged food and hygiene kits for up to 700 Cuban families.

St. Mary Magdalene: The first witness to the Resurrection

Once known as a sinful woman, Mary Magdalene became the Apostle to the Apostles and the first witness to the Resurrection.

New study shows that fewer churches aim for racial diversity

Inside a Brooklyn church where immigration activism is the gospel
Religion News Service: From encrypted apps to legal clinics, how an immigrant-majority church is responding to protect its congregation.

 

New study shows that fewer churches aim for racial diversity
Religion Unplugged: A Lifeway Research study of U.S. Protestant pastors finds churches have seemingly grown more diverse, while pastors have grown less likely to see that diversity as a goal and preach about racial reconciliation.

 

SBC leaders called an abuse crisis a hoax. Abuse survivors want an apology.
Religion News Service: In an open letter, a group of survivors and advocates say that comments by SBC President Willy Rice and Texas pastor Jack Graham make it harder to address the issue of abuse in churches.

 

White House admits it used keywords to kill billions worth of California research grants
The Associated Press: Federal agencies that terminated more than a thousand research grants at the University of California last year admitted that they used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 to screen for projects that ran afoul of the Trump administration’s priorities.

 

Takeaways from the AP-NORC poll of more than 1,000 Jewish Americans
The Associated Press: The survey of 1,022 Jewish adults offers a rare detailed accounting of a key demographic that sits at the very center of some of the nation’s most divisive political debates.

A Word of Joyful News: My First Book Is on the Way

 

Dear friends,

With a full and grateful heart, I am overjoyed to announce the forthcoming publication of my first book — and I confess there is a particular delight in arriving at this milestone at the ripe old age of seventy-eight!

The Right Pope at the Right Time: An American Catholic Response to Pope Leo XIV will be published by ACTA Publications of Chicago, with publication anticipated this September.

I am moved, and not a little humbled, that ACTA has chosen to gather a selection of essays first written here at Liturgy and Truth and give them a more lasting home between two covers. Together we felt these pieces speak to precisely the moment we find ourselves in. Written across the first year of the pontificate of Robert Prevost of Chicago — our Pope Leo XIV — they take up his summons that no Catholic may stand absent from the great public questions of the day: artificial intelligence, refugees and immigration, race and gender, poverty and inequality, war and peace, and the sanctity of both human work and human life. To those already insisting that the Holy Father should “stay in his own lane,” the book offers a different and, I hope, more hopeful word.

I am especially grateful for the early and generous praise the manuscript has received:

“Careful, earnest, well-considered words… People of goodwill everywhere, please read what he has to say, especially if you don’t think you’ll agree. We cannot afford to be absent from this conversation.” — Alice Camille, author of God’s Word Is Alive and Invitation to Catholicism

“Holquin is, you might say, ‘the right priest at the right time.’ … A model for teaching and learning about the signs of the times — engaging and critical without demonizing.” — David Gibson, Director, Center on Religion and Culture, Fordham University

“His typically lucid, well-informed, and faithful observations on our beloved new pope and what he means, and will mean, for our Church and our world.” — James Martin, SJ, author of Learning to Pray

The book, a 260-page paperback, will retail for $19.95 and is available now at the pre-publication price of $15 each at www.actapublications.com or 800-397-2282. If you buy two or more copies you’ll receive free shipping as well. This offer is good through August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption.

For now, I simply want to say thank you — to ACTA, to those who lent their kind words, and above all to you, the readers of this Substack, whose engagement made this book possible. What began as a series of posts has become something I never quite imagined at seventy-eight. Deo gratias.

Blessings!

Monsignor Arthur Holquin, S.T.L.

Coffee hour and the beauty of lingering with one another

Fear, anger and protest: A look inside the immigration crackdown in New York City

Coffee hour and the beauty of lingering with one another

An organization working with immigrants cultivates joy and hope while offering support services 

When the river rises in the Hill Country: Memory, belonging and the work of repair

Working collectively to stop the harm done to migrants

Churches and immigration: The clarity of Jesus’ call

Making something with your hands can be a kind of Sabbath BY CHRISTINE HRIBAR What we gain by being neither quick nor efficient BY EMILY LUND

Why I take bird photos: Wildlife photography offers a respite from the stresses of academic life BY RICHARD TOPPING

    

Tradition and Synodality: One Reality, Two Names

 

A word on timing. This essay was written more than a month ago and then set aside, awaiting the right occasion to appear — which has now presented itself, and fortuitously so. In the very days these pages were being prepared for posting, a cardinal of the Roman Church declared that synodality “has to stop.” What follows was composed well before that interview and in complete independence of it; yet I can imagine no more fitting reply. The claim it answers — that tradition and synodality are rivals, that one must be chosen against the other — is precisely the confusion these pages were written to dispel. I offer them now not as rebuttal but as clarification long in the making.

Half of Gen Z says Trump support keeps them out of church

Half of Gen Z says Trump support keeps them out of church
Religion News Service: A new study found that, even among Gen Z Christians, the strong alliance between Trump and Christianity has had a negative impact on churchgoing for many.

 

Burnham set to become Britain’s first openly Roman Catholic Prime Minister*
The New York Times: Andy Burnham has spoken of Catholicism as part of his cultural identity rather than as a fervent religious faith.

 

A faithful call to abolish ICE
Religion News Service: As people of faith, we must call for the end of this ICE army, which has grown beyond legal accountability or moral control.

 

Making sense of polls about religion
Gallup: Reports about religion in America often seem to tell different stories. In many cases, the differences don’t reflect conflicting realities, but rather significant dissimilarities in how researchers measure and report religion in America today.

 

Some World Cup fans are blaming Brazil’s loss on evangelicals
Religion News Service: “If we pray like a gringo, then we play like a gringo,” fans claim in the debate over whether Catholic or Protestant faith favors football champions.

U.S. bishops demand justice and transparency following migrant deaths in ICE custody

Earthquake in Peru: statue of Mary untouched as church roof caves in

The walls of the colonial era church are still standing, but the roof collapsed into the nave. The parish priest estimated restoring the church will cost $2 million.

Forced disappearance of Nicaraguan bishop denounced as crime against humanity

80-year-old Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata has been missing for 19 days.

U.S. bishops demand justice and transparency following migrant deaths in ICE custody

In a joint statement, Bishops Daniel García and Brendan Cahill called for the application of immigration law in a humane manner and with respect for fundamental human rights.

Bishop Barres, Catholic sisters sue New York over assisted suicide mandates

The bishop said "we will never submit" to "the culture of death" as the Catholic diocese and religious sisters argue that their faith prevents them from participating in physician-assisted suicide.

France Legalizes Euthanasia

Dom Robert Igo OSB Elected President of the English Benedictine Congregation at Historic 100th General Chapter

ZENIT Staff

Dom Robert, who will also continue to serve as Abbot of Ampleforth Abbey, succeeds Abbot Christopher Jamison OSB of Worth Abbey, who completed nine years of dedicated service as President of the Congregation.

Launches Magnifica Humanitas Ambassador Programme During the Global Nobel Laureates Assembly at Borgo Laudato Si’ (Vaticano)

ZENIT Staff

New Global Initiative to Give a First-Ever Meaningful Voice to People and Communities Worldwide Most Impacted by the Rapid Development and Deployment of AI

France Legalizes Euthanasia: High Alert for Catholic Hospitals That May Be Forced to Kill Patients

Covadonga Asturias

The final decision now belongs to the Constitutional Council. The deeper cultural question, however, will remain long after the judges have ruled