Forest fires in Spain: ‘Providence is taking super good care of us,’ priest says
The territory of the Diocese of Getafe, south of Madrid, Spain, is being especially hard hit by wildfires that have forced thousands of people to shelter in place or evacuate. The natural disaster finds the diocese’s priests on the front lines, welcoming, accompanying, consoling, and praying.
In the central area of Spain alone, 12 towns have been evacuated and another three are under a shelter-in-place order due to the wave of forest fires that in recent days have devastated thousands of acres. At least 50,000 people have been affected in the area.
Faced with this human tragedy, the Catholic Church has set to work providing material aid, shelter, a listening ear, and the sacraments in efforts overseen by the auxiliary bishop of Getafe, José María Avendaño.
Father Álvaro Piñero is the vicar of the parish in Villaviciosa de Odón, one of the towns serving as a place of refuge for those fleeing the fires who had nowhere else to go. Throughout the weekend, he has been coordinating the aid provided by the parish to the more than 300 displaced people arriving from Chapinería, Pelayos de la Presa, Navas del Rey, and other towns.
Along with the residents, the parish priests from those towns are also being sheltered because as Piñero explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, “even when displaced, one remains a priest and continues to minister to the people of oneʼs town.”
“Many of the volunteers helping at the sports center are from Caritas or local confraternities from the town; they have ties to the parish,” noted Piñero, who is from Valdemoro, a nearby town where he has gone to pick up hosts for Mass.
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In addition to providing food and meeting material needs, the Church offers the treasure of the faith and the sacraments: “At the sports center, we have been attending to people, listening to them, hearing their confessions and above all, listening to so many suffering people. At the end of the day, the people here are extremely vulnerable.”
The authorities specifically entrusted the care of the children to the parish. The youngsters are kept entertained with games and activities, so much so that when asked if they want to return home, some say no, “because it feels like camp.”
Despite the magnitude of the tragedy, heart-wrenching from a purely human perspective, a supernatural outlook and a shepherd’s heart keep hope alive.
“As St. Paul said in the reading: We hold this treasure in earthen vessels so that not only death but the glory of the Lord may be manifested in our lives. That is somewhat what we are experiencing; while we are keenly feeling the drama of so many very difficult situations, Providence is also taking super good care of us,” Piñero emphasized.
“If God is looking after us now in this situation, why would he fail me tomorrow? If he is doing so now, then I believe trust is what sustains us in these moments, and not blind trust, but a trust we can tangibly feel here and now,” he explained, referring to the help provided by so many volunteers and donors.
‘The Lord is going through this evacuation with us’
One of the areas hardest hit by the fire is the Tiétar Valley, home to the town of Rozas de Puerto Real and the minor seminary of the Diocese of Getafe, where 130 students, 35 of whom are seminarians, normally study.
The facility, currently spared by the flames, is in grave danger. A summer camp was taking place there until participants had to be evacuated on July 25, the feast of St. James the Apostle.
“We were already surrounded by smoke and had to evacuate all the young people; it was done very quickly. In less than 25 minutes, the entire seminary had been cleared, and although there was great fear, everyoneʼs efforts made it possible,” Father Eliert Jerez, rector of the minor seminary, told ACI Prensa.
In addition to the people, they removed the statues of the Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph, the archives, and the tabernacles containing the Blessed Sacrament from the site; these were taken to Villaviciosa de Odón, where Jerez is currently taking shelter.
The moment the Body of Christ was being moved was captured on video. “I canʼt get that moment out of my head, and I donʼt want to let it go from my heart either,” the priest shared.
“When you hold the Blessed Sacrament in your hand, when you can’t wear a cope or liturgical vestments — you realize the Lord’s closeness in those moments. You realize that the Lord was going through this evacuation with us, and I imagine he was also in this prayer and this plea for it to end,” he added.
It’s precisely in prayer that they are finding great comfort: “Prayer is working real miracles such as the fact that the seminary has not yet been engulfed by the flames,” explained the rector, even as the burden of responsibility weighs heavily on him: “Many of our seminarians are going to be left homeless. Many of our seminarians will face immense difficulties in continuing their formation.”
It’s not just for their sake that Jerez is aware of how this situation will transform life in the region for years to come: “So many towns have been affected. Many people will not get their jobs back because they make their living from the land, and that is very difficult to recover from. Many people have lost not only their homes but also their prospects for the future, and this is a reality that will stay with us in the years ahead.”
Indeed, he admitted to his deep unease: “I have had trouble sleeping ever since the first flames appeared.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
White House marks 45th anniversary of martyrdom of Blessed Stanley Rother
The White House issued a presidential message commemorating the 45th anniversary of the martyrdom of Blessed Stanley Rother, continuing the administrationʼs pattern of recognizing prominent Catholic feast days and observances.
“Today, Melania and I join with American Catholics and people of faith all across the world in honoring the towering legacy of Father Stanley Rother — an Oklahoma farm boy, the first American-born martyr beatified by the Catholic Church, and a champion of human dignity who heroically laid down his life to bring the light of Jesus Christ to a people plagued by horrific darkness,” President Donald Trump, who is not Catholic, said in the July 28 message.
Rother was an Oklahoma native who became a missionary priest in 1968, serving in “the war-torn highlands of Guatemala, then ravaged by conflict,” the message said.
“Though thousands of Catholics were forcibly disappeared and viciously murdered during the Guatemalan Civil War, Father Rother nonetheless spent 13 years bringing the Gospel to those devastated by poverty and violence — translating sacred Scripture and helping to build a school, a hospital, and the region’s first Catholic radio station — fearlessly embodying Christ’s commission to ‘make disciples of all nations,’” the message said.
In the late 1970s, Guatemalaʼs civil war intensified. Rother was surrounded by extreme poverty and saw parishioners murdered for their faith.
Amid the conflict, Rother’s name appeared on a hit list, which prompted him to seek refuge in Oklahoma. Despite the dangers, he insisted on returning to Guatemala, “refusing to abandon his flock in their hour of need.”
On July 28, 1981, three men entered Rother’s rectory and fatally shot him. He was 46 years old.
Rother was declared blessed by Pope Francis, and in 2017 a beatification Mass was said in Oklahoma City, which houses the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine.
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City said in a homily July 28 at the Rother Shrine that he was surprised “to wake up to an email that contained a special message from the White House. I don’t know if you’ve seen it or heard about it, but the White House acknowledged this day in honoring the 45th anniversary of the death of Father Stanley Rother. I didn’t know we were on their radar screen.”
“But what a … tremendous honor it is for the Church, for Oklahoma, for our nation, to have this distinction and this recognition of this ordinary martyr, this parish priest, this missionary martyr: Blessed Stanley Rother,” said Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
A story of religious liberty
The presidential statement highlighted that Rother’s story is a reminder of “America’s rich tradition of religious liberty.”
“In his honor, we recommit to remaining vigilant so that our birthright of freedom endures in the face of every trial,” Trump’s statement said. “Above all, we pray that every soul of faith, every lover of freedom, and every seeker of truth will forever remember the name and treasure the story of Father Stanley Rother.”
Since his martyrdom, “Rother has stood as a living testament to the power of courage, sacrificial service, and fidelity to God,” the message said. “He has inspired widespread devotion among Catholics.”
“And every day, countless priests, pastors, chaplains, and spiritual leaders faithfully look to Father Rother as they strive to carry out his immortal legacy of fortitude, charity, humility, service, generosity, and perseverance.”
Marking Catholic observances
Trump has established a pattern of releasing White House statements addressing significant commemorative Catholic days, along with messages marking observances by other faith traditions such as Judaism and Islam.
Since Trump began his second term, the White House has released Catholic-focused celebratory statements on the feast of St. Joseph, the birthday of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, and St. Patrick’s Day, acknowledging the saints’ lives and legacies.
It also released a message on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, which appeared to be the first time a U.S. president formally recognized the holy day “honoring the faith, humility, and love of Mary, mother of Jesus and one of the greatest figures in the Bible,” the statement said.
The president also released a statement on the anniversary of the death of St. John Paul II, calling him “one the fiercest defenders of human dignity to ever live” and encouraging “every American to keep the memory of Pope Saint John Paul II alive for generations to come.”
Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the U.S., the president also released a statement regarding the USCCB’s Mass consecrating the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which the president called “a powerful moment in our national story.”
While releasing the formal presidential messages on Catholic matters, Trump has also criticized Pope Leo XIV, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” on his social media accounts amid the Iran conflict.
The president gained widespread attention in April when he made the comments.
Despite the online criticism and falsely suggesting that Pope Leo wants Iran to develop nuclear weapons, the president later told reporters he has “nothing against the pope.”
Bishop calls for week of prayer for victims of fireworks explosion in Mexico
Bishop José de Jesús González Hernández of the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa in the Mexican state of Guerrero called for a week of prayer for the victims of a fireworks explosion that occurred during the patronal festival for the municipality of Cocula.
The accident took place on the night of July 25 while residents were celebrating the feast of St. James the Apostle in front of the Our Lady of Guadalupe parish church. A video circulating on social media shows the moment of the explosion.
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According to the media outlet El Horizonte, the explosion killed three women, including a young woman who was eight months pregnant. Some victims suffered severe burns, including minors who required specialized care.
Speaking to the media on July 26, Francisco Rodríguez Cisneros, Guerrero state’s undersecretary for political and social development, explained that the incident occurred because those responsible for the fireworks display “failed to keep them at a safe distance from where they were being used.”
According to the official, a rocket was propelled toward the area where the fireworks were stored, triggering the explosion. Rodríguez reported that as of Sunday, July 26, there were 12 injuries and four fatalities.
Prayers requested for the victims
In a July 26 statement, González expressed his “deep sorrow and dismay” regarding the incident.
“As a particular Church, we offer our prayers for the eternal rest of those who have been called to the Father’s House. We entrust their souls to the infinite mercy of God, with the firm hope of the Resurrection promised by Our Lord Jesus Christ,” he stated.
The prelate invited priests, deacons, men and women religious, and the lay faithful to offer special prayers during the week for the eternal rest of the deceased, the recovery of the injured, the consolation of their families, and for peace.
He particularly urged that, during the celebration of holy Mass and the recitation of the rosary, prayers be offered for the specific intention of all the victims of the tragedy.
Finally, he entrusted those affected to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. James the Apostle, asking God to pour out “upon them the balm of his love and peace.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
South Texas nun still at risk of third-country removal following ICE check-in, attorney says
HARLINGEN, Texas — In the most recent development in an immigration case that has gained national attention, Sister Leticia Ugboaja, the Nigerian Catholic nun and nurse who was briefly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in south Texas in June, was informed today that third-country removal was not off the table, which her attorney called “very concerning.”
After a July 28 check-in with ICE officials in Harlingen, Texas, Carlos M. Garcia, Ugboaja’s lawyer, told reporters gathered outside the ICE field office that the possibility of third-country removal “is very concerning for us ... That is obviously not what we want. And that’s why we are exploring all our legal alternatives.”
Garcia said he and his client have not yet decided on a specific legal path.
At a July 23 press conference, he said an immigration judge denied Ugboaja’s application for asylum in 2019 but did grant her protection from removal to Nigeria under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, finding it was likely she would be tortured if she returned there.
Garcia said this protection legally bars the U.S. government from deporting her to Nigeria, though she remains under a final order of removal and could be sent to a third country.
After Ugboaja’s July 28 check-in, her attorney expressed gratitude that the nun, who has lived in the United States for nearly two decades and has never missed an immigration appointment, was not detained and not required to wear an ankle monitor, possibilities he discussed last week. The nun has another check-in scheduled for Jan. 28, 2027.
“We’re happy that she’s continuing to be able to live her life the way she’s been living it, which is a life of service to the community and to her church family,” Garcia said.
“Today was just a check-in,” he said, and ICE officials “determined that [Ugboaja] was able to continue [living] based on the conditions that they had given her before, which is really released on her own word, her own recognizance.”
Ugboaja, a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and a registered nurse at South Texas Health System, was detained by two ICE agents on Sunday, June 28, as she walked to Mass at a church where she serves as a Eucharistic minister.
At a press conference last week, the only time she has spoken publicly, she described weeks of “stress, anxiety, and fear” since the detainment.
Though she has felt afraid and hurt, she said she has been trusting in God, quoting Jesus’ admonition to “not be afraid, because I am with you always.”
The nun declined to speak with reporters after her check-in July 28.
Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley and a member of the Missionaries of Jesus in the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, told EWTN News this process has been very difficult for Ugboaja.
“She’s such a joyful, happy, and beautiful personality,” Pimentel said. “She goes to daily Mass, and receiving the Eucharist is so much a part of her strength and her force within her, but this disruption has scared her tremendously.”
Though Ugboaja was released the same day she was detained, in part through the efforts of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Pimentel said “it was a tough time for her to be in detention … it felt like an eternity for her.”
Pimentel said the nun “just broke down into tears, uncontrollably” upon her release.
Since then, the community has poured out its support, Pimentel said. During this morningʼs check-in at the ICE field office, Father Isaac E. Erondu, a priest from Mission, Texas, led a group of people, including Ugboaja, in prayer before she entered the building with her lawyer.
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Supporters then prayed the rosary together as they awaited news of Ugboaja’s fate.
“She’s trying to be strong,” Pimentel said. “She wants to continue just being herself … In seeing the support, the love, and so many people that are here for her, she knows she’s not alone.”
We want her to know “we are here with you, and you’ll be OK,” she said.
We were all thinking this was about picking up criminals, but there’s no criminal sense in all of this.”
Sister Norma Pimentel
In a message to Catholics and other supporters concerned with Ugboaja’s case, as well as the nature of ICE’s recent immigration enforcement measures, Pimentel, who has worked on behalf of immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border for more than 20 years, said: “I think that we must stand together strong, supporting the defense of good people that are here in our community … and not only [Ugboaja], but everybody, so many families who are hurting.”
“We must speak up and ask for … a process that is more respectful to human life and to the goodness of people,” she continued. “So many people are here in the community and are really contributing in a positive, good way. This should not be happening.”
Of ICE’s enforcement measures, Pimentel said: “We were all thinking this was about picking up criminals, but there’s no criminal sense in all of this, you know? And so all of us must truly stand up and defend the right way of who we are as Americans here in the United States.”
Ireland’s County Mayo breaks 75-year ‘curse’ in Gaelic football championship victory
In Dublin, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) All Ireland Football championship culminated this past weekend as County Mayo ended a 75-year “famine” by winning the Sam Maguire Cup, defeating the favored team to win, County Kerry, and putting to rest the supposed “curse” cast upon the Mayo by a priest in 1951.
Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends elements of rugby, soccer, and basketball.
Legend has it that after winning their last All Ireland in 1951, the victorious Mayo team disrupted a funeral procession during their open-top lorry celebrations. In response, according to lore, a furious priest “cursed” the team, declaring that Mayo would not win another All Ireland title until every member of the 1951 squad had passed away. The last two members, Paddy Prendergast and Mick Loftus, passed away in 2021 and 2023, and this year is the first final the county has played — and won — since.
The historic win also took place on Reek Sunday, a traditional day of pilgrimage in County Mayo when thousands of Catholics climb Croagh Patrick holy mountain — a site forever associated with Ireland’s patron saint. To mark a marvelous day for the Mayo faithful, GAA President Jarlath Burns even mentioned Our Lady of Knock in his presentation speech to Mayo captain Jack Coyne in Croke Park.
The victory attracted acclaim from around the world. Former U.S. President Joe Biden’s family hails from County Mayo and he posted on social media: “Today, the dream becomes reality. Congratulations to my friends in Mayo. You earned this victory. Enjoy every minute. Sam is coming home.”
For the rest of the world the sporting focus this summer has been on the FIFA World Cup, but in Mayo fans agonized over whether this would finally be the year to end the 75-year losing streak.
Every July, the GAA Gaelic Football and Hurling championship finals take center stage, each attended by 82,000 fans in Croke Park Dublin. The finals are the showpiece occasion for the GAA, which is the largest amateur sports organization in the world.
Hurling continues to attract the attention and admiration of a growing international audience. It’s a nonstop, full-contact game played with sticks made from ash and a ball slightly smaller and lighter than a baseball. It traces its origins back to Celtic myth and legend.
Historic connection between the GAA and the Catholic Church
The Catholic connection to Ireland’s Gaelic sports is not coincidental. From its foundation in 1884, the GAA has had an almost symbiotic relationship with the Catholic Church. It is still present but no longer as evident.
There are GAA clubs globally wherever there is an Irish community, but in Ireland clubs are traditionally organized on a parish basis, relying on unpaid volunteers, with the best players selected to represent their county.
“Parish life revolved around the GAA and the Catholic faith — the two real pillars of life in Ireland,” Mickey Harte, who managed (County) Tyrone for three All-Ireland Senior football titles, told EWTN News. "The local priest would have been very heavily involved in the structure of the GAA club in the parish. Itʼs still a very strong connection, although thereʼs more of a secular outlook now.”
In Ireland, the GAA is more than a sporting organization, providing essential social fabric and support.
The GAA’s founding patron was the archbishop of Cashel and Emly, Thomas William Croke, after whom the famous stadium in Dublin is named. It was there that Pope Francis hosted the World Meeting of Families in 2018, and the GAA made Croke Park available for the World Eucharistic Congress in 1932. In years gone by, a bishop threw the ball in ceremonially on All Ireland final day.
Father Derek Ryan, a Redemptorist priest based in Drogheda and a GAA referee, said he sees a lessening of the link between the Catholic faith and the GAA, but “in times of tragedy, you can see how organized, compassionate, and supportive the GAA club can be to a community.”
Ryan pointed to the importance of the parish.
“The traditional loyalty to the parish is still the basis of the GAA. Itʼs about where youʼre living, where youʼre from, and parish boundary lines mark the border lines between local GAA clubs,” he said. “Club identity is woven into parish identity.”
Ryan highlighted the value of GAA clubs that provide a sense of community for the Irish diaspora.
“My own experience of living abroad in Africa and over in the United States is that these clubs become much more than sporting organizations, they become supportive centers,” he said. “If we didnʼt have these GAA clubs and communities throughout the world, we would be very much less well off.”
Becoming Catholic at 98: World War II veteran joins the Church
A World War II Army veteran, Raymond “Ray” Martin Sr., has joined the Catholic Church at 98 years old.
Before finding his way to the Church in Tucson, Arizona, Martin served in Okinawa, Japan, and in the Philippines; he then spent 27 years as a police officer in Illinois.
Martin’s connection to Catholicism began with his late wife, Ann Marie.
When Deacon Jacinto “Jack” Trevino, a hospice chaplain and parochial associate at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in the Diocese of Tucson, met with Martin in December 2025, the two bonded over a shared background in law enforcement and spoke about his wife and her faith.
“Ray is an amazing person,” Trevino told EWTN News. “We hit it off from the beginning. We talked about the job a lot — and shared some laughs.”
It wasn’t all laughs, though. As they got to know each other, their conversations grew serious.
“Ray talked about his wife, who passed,” Trevino recalled. “He said she was Catholic and he would attend Mass with her and pray the rosary.”
“One day he mentioned that he was never baptized or had any of the sacraments and he wanted to be Catholic,” Trevino continued. “We began deeper discussions of the faith.”
Martin, it turned out, had a deep faith in Christ and in the Eucharist.
“He expressed true belief in Christ and the teaching of the Catholic Church,” Trevino said. “He expressed his belief in the Eucharist and the importance of baptism and confirmation. Ray said that even though he was not Catholic, he would always pray the act of contrition.”
At the edge of death, life
Trevino, along with Father Edson Elizarraras, pastor of St. Christopher in Marana, Arizona, had a sense of urgency in bringing those sacraments to Martin.
Martin has survived a stroke, multiple falls, and other health concerns in recent years, even bordering on the brink of death in May after he suffered another stroke.
“Remarkably, Ray pulled through,” Elizarraras told EWTN News. “It was after this stroke that he clearly expressed his desire to become Catholic and receive the sacraments of initiation.”
Trevino and Elizarraras approached the bishop about advancing Martin’s sacraments. Usually, would-be converts to Catholicism go through a one- to two-year Order of Christian Initiation of Adults before receiving the sacraments.
“Though he married a Catholic woman and faithfully attended holy Mass with her prior to her passing, Deacon Trevino noted that Ray always felt unworthy to receive the sacraments, despite believing in God,” Elizarraras said.
“Ray came to tears expressing his desire for the Catholic faith, sharing that throughout his life, he would pray the Act of Contrition and the rosary,” Elizarraras said. “The more Deacon Trevino visited him, the more questions Ray asked, showing he was fully convinced and willingly prepared to receive sacramental grace.”
One of the most important days
So the date was set for July 16; the location, the assisted living home where Martin resided. The facility manager had put up banners with crosses to prepare the living room for the celebration, according to Trevino.
On the day of the celebration, Elizarraras gave Martin the short-order form of OCIA, which is written for those in near danger of death.
“The moment I approached to greet him, he began to cry and smile; he knew this was one of the most important days of his life,” Elizarraras said.
Residents, caregivers, and Martin’s family attended the Mass.
“Beautifully, at the start of the liturgy, Mr. Raymond asked to be helped closer to the small, dignified altar we had prepared,” Elizarraras said. “He wanted to hear clearly and see God at work.”
“When I asked him, ‘Dear brother, Raymond, you have asked to be baptized because you wish, as Christians do, to have eternal life … This is the faith of Christians. Do you know this?’ He responded firmly, ‘I do, yes!’ and wept tears of joy,” Elizarraras recalled.
“Throughout the rite, he remained deeply attentive, smiling and occasionally meditating with his eyes closed,” Elizarraras continued. “When the moment came for his baptism, he opened his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, recognizing this supernatural encounter with God.”
Trevino described the day as “powerful.”
“I was so blessed to humbly participate and witness how Christ, the bridegroom, pours out his love and mercy through his bride, the Church, in the sacraments for his people,” Trevino said.
Afterward, they celebrated with cupcakes — and made plans for how Martin would practice his newfound faith from the assisted living home.
“First thing he asked me and my wife, Elena, was how he could receive Communion again since he can’t get around to go to Mass,” Trevino said. “We promised that we would bring him Communion directly and he could watch Mass on EWTN.”
Martin asked for a medal of St. Christopher; he’d “always wanted one,” he told Trevino, and St. Christopher was now, officially, his confirmation saint.
Encountering Christ
Elizarraras left the celebration that day “with immense joy and peace.”
“In Rayʼs response to grace, I saw a soul truly coming alive,” Elizarraras said.
The celebration brought to Elizarraras’ mind a line from Deus Caritas Est, “God Is Love,” an encyclical letter written by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
“Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction,” Elizarraras said, quoting Benedict.
“For Ray, at 98 years old, this sacrament was that very encounter, giving his final days a glorious new horizon,” Elizarraras said.
A week later, Trevino’s wife, Elena, a lay ecclesial minister, brought Martin Communion.
“She read the Gospel for the upcoming Mass, the parable of the buried treasure,” Trevino said. “She told Ray that he was the man in the parable who found the great treasure. He was very happy.”
‘Culture of death’: Florida bishops urge Catholics to work to end the death penalty
Florida’s Catholic bishops are urging state residents to work to bring about an end to the death penalty, describing it as a “culture of death” and incompatible with a full Catholic understanding of the value of human life.
The eight prelates — including Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Palm Beach Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, and several others throughout the state — issued the message amid large numbers of executions in Florida.
The state executed 19 condemned prisoners in 2025, helping drive a rise in capital punishment throughout the United States. Florida has executed 10 inmates thus far in 2026 and is scheduled to perform a rare double execution on July 28.
In their letter, Florida’s Catholic bishops, who regularly advocate on behalf of condemned prisoners there, urged Catholics toward a “renewed consideration” of capital punishment, one informed by “the teaching of the Church and her moral authority.”
“[W]e wish to remind Catholics of the teaching of our Church against the use
of the death penalty in situations — like our own — where bloodless means are sufficient to punish offenders and protect public safety,” the bishops said.
They pointed out that Jesus in his teaching revealed that “God desires to offer mercy to sinners who do not deserve it.”
While the prelates acknowledged that parts of Scripture “condone the death penalty at least in certain circumstances,” they argued that the “fullest development of God’s revelation of his will” points away from capital punishment.
In addition, they cited papal teachings such as Pope John Paul II’s Evangelium Vitae, in which the now-sainted pope urged that modern secure penal systems have made it “very rare, if not practically nonexistent” for the death penalty to be justified.
At the same time, the bishops also acknowledged the horrific nature of crimes and the need for “deep sympathy and compassion” for family members who have lost loved ones to murder.
“We agree that the perpetrators of such crimes should be brought to justice, but we disagree that justice is best served by yet another act of killing,” they said.
The bishops said they will continue to work to abolish the death penalty; they further urged both Catholics and “fellow citizens of goodwill” to work to end the practice as well.
Though executions in the U.S. were up in 2025, data indicate a growing public opposition to the death penalty, both in poll numbers and in the declining number of prisoners condemned to death in the United States.
Data from the Death Penalty Information Center indicates that new death sentences were down in 2025, declining to 22 from 24, with “only 14 juries nationwide” reaching unanimous death verdicts.
A Gallup poll in 2025, meanwhile, found that public support for the death penalty reached a 50-year low of 52%, while 44% of Americans oppose the death penalty, the highest level recorded since 1966.
Vatican to launch first conference of Christians and Confucians
The Vatican will launch its first conference of Christians and Confucians to expand the Catholic Church’s outreach to the Asian ethical tradition.
The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue will hold the colloquium “Dialogue on the Contribution of Christianity and Confucianism to an Ideal Society: New Heaven, New Earth, and Great Unity” in South Korea from Aug. 4–5. As reported by Union of Catholic Asian News, it will convene clergy and scholars at Sogang University in Seoul to discuss universal fraternity, virtuous leadership, and ecological responsibility.
Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, is expected to attend along with other dicastery officials.
The event is also organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea.
The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue has participated in similar conferences, including the 2025 workshop “Christians Fostering Dialogue with Confucians: Guidelines and Prospects” in Taiwan and the 2024 study group that developed guidelines for Confucian-Catholic dialogue.
Confucianism developed from the ethical teachings of the Chinese philosopher Kong Qiu, known in the West as Confucius. He emphasized filial piety, ancestor veneration, moral self-cultivation, and harmonious social relationships rather than devotion to a creator god.
According to 2025 estimates from the World Religion Database, approximately 8.75 million Confucianists live worldwide. The largest populations are in South Korea, with 5,616,520 people; China, with 1,737,191; Myanmar, with 813,322; Thailand, with 261,330; and Japan, with 162,179.
According to Vatican News, at the 2025 workshop, Father Paulin Batairwa Kubuya, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, explained that certain Confucian teachings are already consistent with Christianity.
“Christianity and Confucianism are wisdom traditions,” Kubuya said. “Confucian ethics is very strong on how people should comport themselves, how to be good citizens, and how to organize their lives. We find that these aspects correspond to Christianity.”
Kubaya also expressed his hope that the future of Confucian-Christian dialogue would help Christians “look at our Confucian neighbors, look at how we can develop a better way of living together, [and] how we can enrich one another.”
Explaining the Vatican’s engagement with contemporary art
The Vatican is participating in the international art exhibition “La Biennale di Venezia” in Italy for the fourth consecutive year. A senior Vatican official explained the Vatican’s support for the exhibition and its recent focus on contemporary art.
Irish Bishop Paul Tighe, secretary of the Culture Section at the Dicastery for Culture and Education, told EWTN News that contemporary artists can reach people in ways that the Church cannot.
“Contemporary artists have their fingers on the pulse of humanity,” Tighe told EWTN News. “We want to honor their lives, encourage them, and show them we are listening.”
“They use different idioms — sometimes strange, sometimes difficult — to communicate and alert us to profound realities. We want artists to know the Church’s engagement with art isnʼt just in the historical past tense; it’s an ongoing dialogue today.”
Why the Vatican is turning to contemporary artists
The Holy See, through the Dicastery for Culture and Education, has a pavilion at the Venice Biennale — which runs through Nov. 22 — featuring the work of American punk-rock singer Patti Smith and soft brutalist Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao.
This initiative is among several in recent years that reflect the Vatican’s focus on promoting contemporary art. On Sept. 14, Pope Leo XIV will inaugurate an exhibit on water at the Vatican Apostolic Library. In 2025, the Vatican hosted contemporary art exhibits during the jubilee year, including a gallery space on the main road leading to St. Peter’s Basilica, which still features works by contemporary artists.
Tighe defended the Vatican’s partnership with contemporary artists, saying that the Church has learned from them since its beginning.
“The Church has been both inspiring artists and encouraging artists, but also learning from artists,” Tighe said.
“If you think of something like the Biennale, there are lots of younger people from the worlds of the arts. Many of them are probably not overly engaged with religion or with faith. There is the kind of art that speaks the language of today because of the concepts the artists of today are using. We need to engage with them.”
In describing the Vatican’s focus on contemporary art, Tighe likened its appeal to that of sports, encouraging Catholics to use it to open conversations about faith.
“We have given a lot of attention and emphasis to sport because, in reality, there are more people on any given Sunday engaged with sport than are engaged with faith. [We Catholics] could lament that, or we can say, ‘Well, letʼs try and speak to them,’” he said.
Berlin archbishop after deadly attack on LGBT event: ‘Hatred must not win’
The archbishop of Berlin has condemned the deadly attack on an LGBT “Pride” event in the German capital after a minivan was driven into a crowd on Saturday evening, killing one woman and injuring at least 29 people, some of them seriously.
“How terrible! To brutally destroy such a joyful and moving celebration. In our prayers we are with all the victims and their relatives and friends, and also with all those whose joy hatred has taken away. Hatred must not win,” Archbishop Heiner Koch told the German Catholic news agency KNA.
The prelate said intercessions would be offered at Sunday Masses throughout the Archdiocese of Berlin for those affected and for peaceful coexistence in society.
What happened in the Tiergarten
According to media reports, a white minivan was driven at high speed into a densely packed crowd at Tiergarten park, the venue of the annual Christopher Street Day (CSD) event, at about 10 p.m. on July 25, roughly 1,300 feet outside the secured festival area, before crashing into a tree.
The driver then attacked bystanders with a machete and fled.
The suspect, identified in German media as Abdul B., was a 21-year-old German citizen of Lebanese background whom authorities had classified as a potential Islamist attacker.
According to NZZ, the Muslim attacker had previously attempted to join the Islamic State in Syria and was convicted in May of preparing a serious act of violence, receiving a suspended juvenile sentence.
The German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel reported that he had openly sympathized with the terrorist group.
The suspected terrorist was shot dead by police on Sunday evening in Berlin’s Spandau district after attacking officers with his bladed weapon.
Germany’s federal prosecutor has taken over the investigation, and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called the incident an “Islamist terrorist attack.”
‘We light a candle and pray’
Hundreds of thousands of people had taken part in the 48th Berlin CSD earlier on Saturday. The event was called off after the attack. On Sunday evening, hundreds attended an ecumenical memorial service at St. Mary’s Church in central Berlin, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz among those present.
The Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ), which took part in the LGBT parade through its Berlin diocesan association, said it was “shocked and saddened.”
“We light a candle and pray for all those affected by this terrible act,” the organization said.
The Catholic Church unequivocally condemns all violence and every form of unjust discrimination against persons living with same-sex attraction. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, they “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity” (No. 2358).
This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.