Father Alphonsus Afina, a Nigerian priest kidnapped by Boko Haram in June has been released; Father Afina served in several Alaska parishes from September 2017 through 2024.
Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami and some 25 Knights of Columbus saddled up their motorcycles July 20 to pray a rosary at the entrance of Alligator Alcatraz, the controversial migrant detention center recently opened in the Florida Everglades. Archbishop Wenski noted that the Archdiocese of Miami “is still waiting for approval to access” Alligator Alcatraz “to provide Mass for detainees.”
A federal judge on July 21 extended an order blocking enforcement of a provision in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which President Donald Trump signed into law July 4, that would have stopped Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid payments for a year.
In a story blending faith, art and providence, a Chicago woman’s chance encounter in Assisi, Italy, has brought a striking mosaic of Blessed Carlo Acutis to a parish named for him. Blessed Carlo Acutis is scheduled to be canonized along with Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati on Sept. 7.
An exterior statue of Mary, as well as commemorative plaques on a bell tower and convent door, were spray-painted with anti-Catholic and antisemitic graffiti between July 8 and 9 at a Pennsylvania parish; Bishop Mark A. Eckman said “the FBI is leading the investigation.” Meanwhile, law enforcement are closing in on suspects who ravaged a Kansas parish with neo-Nazi graffiti and set several small fires.
The Trump administration on July 22 said the United States would withdraw from the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO; among the agency’s most well-known work is the UNESCO World Heritage Sites program, which recognizes significant historic and cultural landmarks for protection and preservation, including the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon, Vatican City and the Notre Dame Cathedral.
The Diocese of Galway has quietly removed the remains of former Bishop Eamonn Casey from Galway Cathedral, following mounting outrage over child abuse allegations revealed in July 2024. The disgraced prelate is the first Irish bishop to face such posthumous censure.
In southern Syria, Christian and Druze leaders are pleading for international protection after a week of sectarian violence killed over 1,000 people in Sweida. Father Toni Butros, a Greek Catholic priest, posted a video on July 20 describing “massacres” against civilians and demanding help from the U.S., Europe and the Vatican.
As the church prepares to mark the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly July 27, meet 88-year-old Andrew Goh — a scooter-riding catechist in Singapore who has spent 34 years bringing the faith to the elderly and housebound. After his baptism in 1991, Goh began ministering to elderly Singaporeans — many of whom speak only Chinese dialects and had been left out of formal catechesis.
Pope Leo XIV had a phone call with U.S. astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin July 20, marking the anniversary of Aldrin and Neil Armstrong becoming the first humans to land and walk on the moon. The pope also had a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza and the need for urgent assistance, and released a message for the celebration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees Oct. 4-5.
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