‘Soaked into the wood’: A visit to the birthplace of religious liberty

This year’s World Cup is supersizing evangelism efforts*
Christianity Today: Organizers from around the US see soccer as an “unfathomable” opening for ministry.

 

South Carolina’s AME church bails out Charleston’s historic Mt. Zion, which faced foreclosure
The Post and Courier: The statewide African Methodist Episcopal diocese has purchased beleaguered Mt. Zion AME Church on Glebe Street, bailing out the historic downtown house of worship that faced a foreclosure lawsuit.

 

How one news error shook Baltimore’s faith community
The AFRO: Faith leaders say The Baltimore Sun’s mistaken identification of a respected pastor raises larger questions about accountability, trust, and how Black Baltimoreans are portrayed.

 

Haitian immigrants revived a church. Now the pews are empty.
Religion News Service: With the Supreme Court set to rule on whether Haitians will lose Temporary Protected Status, fear is emptying church pews. At St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the Haitian immigrants who brought life to the congregation are gone.

 

‘Soaked into the wood’: A visit to the birthplace of religious liberty
NPR: Religious liberty was one of the founding pursuits of America. Rhode Island was founded on the idea that the intermingling of religion and government damages both church and state.

Religious Freedom Week kicks off in the U.S.

Bishop Burbidge approves FSSP Latin Mass chaplaincy in Arlington, Virginia diocese

The chaplaincy is being formed to help serve those attached to the Traditional Latin Mass, but does not change any policies, according to the diocese.

Archbishop Wenski, Ohio bishops call for action on Haitian TPS

The Senate is considering a House-passed bill that would designate Haiti for temporary protected status until 2029.

Religious Freedom Week kicks off in the U.S.

Catholics are invited to pray, reflect, and act on religious discrimination, education, immigration enforcement, Africa, gender ideology, political and anti-religious violence, and Nicaragua.   Peru passes law declaring June Life and Family Month The bill's author, Milagros Jáuregui de Aguayo, said the family is "the most important pillar of our society. Defending it means building a Peru with greater unity, solidarity, and hope."

Not selfish — and not really genes

Coalition of churches and charities calls for ‘urgent action’ to end occupation of Palestine

Christian Aid warns of ‘dangerous gap between commitments and action’ at Bonn climate talks

Low-income families are going without food, Bishops warn peers

Analysis with Andrew Brown: Not selfish — and not really genes 

Black music: Spirituality and sacred songs find a new voice

TV review: Hurricanes and Heatwaves, and Invasion of the Parakeets

Notebook   

The binding nature of Vatican II teaching

 

Written by Mike Lewis

[Editor’s Note: On June 16, Pope Leo XIV commented on the divisions between the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) and the Catholic Church, noting of the SSPX that “they refuse to accept certain fundamental elements of the Church, starting with various points of the Second Vatican Council.” Many SSPX sympathizers have resurrected favorite talking points about Vatican II — arguing that the teachings of the Council are not binding on the faithful due to its lack of solemn definitions and anathemas, its classification as a “pastoral council,” and the fact that none of the Council’s teachings were declared infallible. These arguments, however, ignore the clear teaching of popes and bishops on the magisterial weight of many of the Council’s teachings.

Perhaps the weight of the Council’s teachings were never taught more clearly than in Pope St. Paul VI in his general audience address of January 12, 1966. Unfortunately the Vatican website has only published this speech in Italian. What follows is an English translation of that address, originally published in volume 11, issue 2 of The Pope Speaks. It is being re-published here as a service to English-speaking Catholics.

The key teaching appears in the seventh paragraph: “Some people have asked what authority, what theological qualification the Council intended to attribute to its teaching, since it clearly avoided issuing solemn dogmatic definitions that would involve the infallibility of the magisterium. The answer is clear for anyone who recalls the Council declaration issued on March 6, 1964, and repeated on November 16, 1964.[4] In view of the pastoral nature of the Council, it avoided any extraordinary statement of dogmas that would be endowed with the note of infallibility, but it still provided its teaching with the authority of the supreme ordinary magisterium. This ordinary magisterium, which is so obviously official, has to be accepted with docility and sincerity by all the faithful, in accordance with the mind of the Council on the nature and aims of the individual documents.”—ML]

Why Are People Converting to Catholicism in 2026?

The Wonderful Spiritual Testament of Cardinal Camillo Ruini and His Confession of Discomfort with Pope Francis Regarding Reopening Wounds Healed After the Council

ZENIT Staff

Spiritual Testament of Cardinal Camillo Ruini

NC school district pays $95K after censoring student’s Charlie Kirk tribute

ZENIT Staff

A family is suing the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education for censoring the speech of their high school daughter who painted a rock on school grounds with the words “Freedom 1776” and “Live Like Kirk—John 11:25” after the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Diocese, pregnancy center ask appeals court to protect right to hire consistent with faith

ZENIT Staff

An Illinois law forces religious organizations to hire employees who violate their religious beliefs on reproductive issues like abortion.

Nicaragua: Anti-Christian Persecution Continues While the US Imposes Sanctions on Some Politicians of the Regime

Rafael Manuel Tovar

“We received accusations that I prefer not to comment on because they were very unjust, and we were dismissed in a very bad way,” Sister Paola stated. Then, “they stopped our work, investigated all our papers, which were in order, and shortly afterward expelled us.” On Tuesday, July 6, 28 nuns from three different Communities left the country.

Chicago Archdiocese Takes Unusual Legal Stand Against Alleged Fraud Scheme in Clergy Abuse Cases

Tim Daniels

The archdiocese alleges that the operation functioned for years and involved individuals with criminal backgrounds, including gang members and convicted offenders. The alleged scheme reportedly came to light after a recorded prison telephone conversation surfaced in which one participant allegedly described false accusations as a source of «easy money.»

More than 1 million babies legally killed in the U.S. in 2025, according to a report: the killing of babies through medication is on the rise

Tim Daniels

According to the latest estimates released by the Society of Family Planning’s #WeCount project, approximately 1,126,760 abortions were performed in the formal U.S. healthcare system during 2025. That represents a 1.6 percent increase compared with 2024

From Ancient Manuscripts to Artificial Intelligence: The Vatican’s Ambitious Plan to Preserve a Century of Memory

Valentina di Giorgio

The project aims to convert an immense collection of documents, books, photographs, and historical records into a secure and searchable digital infrastructure capable of meeting the demands of modern information management.

China planning algorithm to control religions vs Magnifica Humanitas

ZENIT Staff

While Leo XIV raises the question of freedom in the age of data science, China’s National Religious Affairs Administration publishes an article about a new computing centre at Southeast University tasked with using generative artificial intelligence to uncover (and ban) any ideas that diverge from what the Party wants religions to say.

8 out of 10 Americans approve of Pope Leo XIV. They also disapprove of Trump’s attacks on the Pope

aolvera

The findings suggest that Pope Leo has largely succeeded in maintaining credibility among Catholics of different backgrounds, levels of religious practice, and political affiliations. In an era when both religious and political leaders frequently struggle to unite their constituencies, such a level of approval remains notable

U.S.: Sexual abuse of individuals under the pastoral care of a clergy member is classified as a specific crime in the Civil Penal Code

ZENIT Staff

Signed by Brian Kemp on May 11, 2026, Senate Bill 542 creates a specific criminal offense for clergy who engage in sexual misconduct with individuals over whom they exercise pastoral, spiritual, or religious authority

International Campaign Launched Against LGBT+ Indoctrination Promoted by International Football Organization in the Context of the The Global Festival of Sport

ZENIT Staff

The controversy centers on International Football Organization endorsement of a match-specific Pride designation, a move that many football supporters view as incompatible with the organization’s long-standing claims that football should remain free from political, religious, and ideological messaging.

Canada: Parliament Makes It a Crime to Speak Publicly About What the Bible Says Regarding Homosexuality

ZENIT Staff

The legislation, known as Bill C-9, has now cleared its final parliamentary hurdles after members of the House of Commons rejected a last-minute attempt to stop it. With Parliament’s approval secured, the bill is expected to receive Royal Assent and become law in the near future

What is the source of the apostolate’s strength? Pope Leo XIV answers

ZENIT Staff

Address on the Occasion of the Angelus Prayer on Sunday, June 21, 2026

Why Are People Converting to Catholicism in 2026? A Study Based on Surveys of Converts Reveals the Reasons (and Tradition Is One of Them)

Jorge Enrique Mújica

The study, conducted by the Archdiocese of Chicago in collaboration with 20 dioceses across the United States, gathered 2,127 responses between February and May. Its findings challenge some long-standing assumptions about conversion in contemporary America

Questions about liturgy: Rite of Communion Outside of Mass

Fr. Edward McNamara

Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and sacramental theology at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum university.

“You’re Out of Here”

“You’re Out of Here”

Pablum or Prophecy: on preaching the whole of the Catholic moral tradition to a congregation that has decided in advance which parts it will tolerate

Msgr. Arthur Holquin, S.T.L.

Jun 22, 2026

When the full spectrum of Catholic teaching no longer informs homiletic reflection, the priest who attempts to preach prophetically finds himself in an unenviable position. He is not introducing novelty; he is recovering what has been quietly amputated. Yet he will invariably encounter the vocal wrath of a number of parishioners who are, in practice, more devoted to the narrow ethics of a particular administration than to the catholicity and breadth of the moral tradition the magisterium actually teaches. The grievance is rarely that the homilist has said something false. The grievance is that he has said something true that they had not been told was theirs to believe.

Jon Ossoff Torches Trump Using Biblical Warning From Amos

 

Jun 22, 2026

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff delivered a fiery and politically charged speech targeting Donald Trump, invoking a Biblical warning from the Book of Amos to criticize leadership, power, and accountability in American politics. Ossoff accused political leadership of moral failure and warned about the erosion of democratic values, voting rights, and public trust. The remarks, framed through scripture and political rhetoric, quickly gained attention and sparked debate across party lines.

Justice department says it will investigate MLB amid Pride hats controversy

Which Bible passages are in Texas’ proposed student reading list? Here’s what the selections reveal.
Texas Tribune: The chosen readings, to be voted on soon by the State Board of Education, draw heavily from Christian perspectives.

 

These nuns spent a lifetime helping others. In their last years, who will help them?
NPR: The problem of caring for elderly nuns is particularly dire in African orders, which already are underfunded in comparison to American and European ones.

 

Justice department says it will investigate MLB amid Pride hats controversy
The Guardian: The US justice department has launched a civil rights investigation into Major League Baseball after the league criticized three San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on their hats during the team’s Pride Night.

 

Tell the stories of women in church leadership, Vanderbilt dean urges
Baptist News Global: Women have served in ministry throughout the history of the church even as their courage and tenacity have been mostly overlooked and forgotten, said theologian Yolanda Pierce, dean of the Vanderbilt University Divinity School.

 

Sitting by Dorothy Day’s grave, her granddaughter reflects on faith, family and war
National Catholic Reporter: She is Dorothy Day’s granddaughter, one of the best-known voices in the Catholic Worker movement, an anti-nuclear activist who has gone to prison for acts of civil disobedience, a mother, a grandmother, an occupational therapist and a woman who spent decades finding her way back to the Catholic faith she once left behind.

Theology matters: ‘The holy Catholic Church’

Archbishop of Canterbury pays tribute to Sir Keir Starmer after his resignation

Mullally makes first pastoral visit to Holy Land since taking office 

Ombudsman called in by priest after community centre hit by £17k bill

Priest blesses boat for siblings’ Atlantic race

Strangers in our own country: football, faith, and what it really means to belong in England

Retirement: The Church of England depends on retired clergy

Theology matters: ‘The holy Catholic Church’     

Quotes of the week 

‘The Church needs her sons’

Rare Holy Sepulchre treasures bring Jerusalem’s history to Fort Worth, Texas

A relic of the true cross and a decorative silver panel that hung in Christ’s tomb are among the ancient items on display until July 12 at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

Pope Leo XIV: Contemplation makes Christians credible witnesses

At the Angelus, the pope urged the faithful to make room for silence before God and said "no one can turn a blind eye" to refugees seeking safety.

‘The Church needs her sons’: Catholic podcast hosts call men to embrace fatherhood and faith

Samuel Blair and Jason Angelette are fathers and husbands who share their knowledge and experiences on navigating life as Catholic men and leaders of their families on "The Point Man Podcast."

Cleveland father and son live out sacrificial faith after mother’s near-death illness

The pair spoke with EWTN News about how their faith inspires them to be men who make it their mission to love as Jesus loves, and about how they hope to inspire others to do the same.