Parish priest: Israeli settlers’ push to drive Christians from Taybeh continues
Attacks by Israeli settlers against the population of Taybeh have intensified significantly in recent months, according to the local parish priest, Father Bashar Fawadleh, who also urged the faithful worldwide to not forget this small Christian enclave in the Holy Land.
Taybeh is the modern name of the biblical town of Ephraim, which the Lord Jesus visited shortly before his passion (see John 11:54). In addition to being the only remaining entirely Christian village in the region, it is also globally renowned for its beer.
“The situation in Taybeh has deteriorated drastically in recent months,” Fawadleh said in a statement sent to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. “We are facing settler attacks almost daily, repeated incursions onto private property, the destruction of agricultural land, restrictions on movement due to road closures, military barriers, checkpoints, and growing fear among the population,” the parish priest indicated.
Fawadleh explained that this week, settlers broke into a Christian family’s property, a situation he described as “very alarming.” The home, which had recently been prepared for the family to move into, has become a target of repeated attacks by settlers.
“Settlers have entered the property several times, cut the fence, and even brought their sheep inside the house and onto the surrounding grounds. This is not an isolated incident. It is part of a pattern of intimidation intended to make Palestinian families feel unsafe and to force them to abandon their homes and land,” he stated.
The parish priest reported that the affected family is out of danger, as they were not in the home at the time of the attacks. However, he lamented the immense psychological suffering they have endured.
“Imagine preparing your home for your future, only to find strangers repeatedly entering it without fear or accountability,” he said.
“In addition, several new settler outposts have been established around the village, increasing pressure on our community and putting the future of the Christian presence in this land at risk,” Fawadleh added.
A message to Christians around the world
“We ask you not to forget us,” the priest said. While highlighting the miraculous power of prayer, he noted that Taybeh needs more from Christians worldwide. “We ask you to raise your voices, speak the truth, visit us, and stand with the Christian community of the Holy Land,” he emphasized.
He pointed out that the solidarity of Christians across the globe “gives us hope” and “reminds us that we are all one body in Christ.”
“Together, we can help protect these Christians — living witnesses and ‘living stones’ in the land where our faith was born and where the first generation of Christianity was raised up. May God bless you all and keep you safe. Keep praying, and continue the work and the struggles you are engaged in. We are praying for you, too,” Fawadleh concluded.
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.
Vatican releases schedule for Pope Leo’s September trip to France
The Vatican on Aug. 7 published the official schedule for Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to France, where he will visit Paris, Lourdes, and Metz from Sept. 25–28.
The Vatican also announced that, as he did during his recent journey to Spain, he will meet with victims of clerical sexual abuse during his France trip. The victims themselves will help organize the meeting, with further details to be announced later.
The motto for Leo’s trip, “Pour que le monde ait la vie" (“That the World May Have Life”), is drawn from the Gospel of John 6:51. According to the official Vatican News outlet, the motto “resonates with” the debate over the assisted-dying legislation recently approved by Franceʼs National Assembly.
As announced by the Holy See Press Office, the pontiff will begin his journey by departing Rome on Sept. 25 at 7:50 a.m. and arriving at Paris Orly International Airport at 10 a.m.
Paris
At 11 a.m., Leo will pay a courtesy visit to French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, followed by meetings with authorities, where he will deliver his first address. Then, at 3 p.m., he will visit the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
That evening, at 5:15 p.m., the pope will celebrate vespers with clergy and religious at the Notre Dame Cathedral. It will be the first time a pope has visited the cathedral since the 2019 fire. A prayer vigil with young people will follow at the Stade de France at 9 p.m.
The next day, Sept. 26, Leo will visit the Maison Bakhita Center for Social Support and Integration and meet with members of the provincial synod assembly at the Institut Catholique de Paris.
At 3 p.m., Leo will celebrate his first Mass of the trip at Place de la Concorde before traveling to Lourdes at 5:45 p.m.
Lourdes
The pontiff is scheduled to arrive in Lourdes at 7:05 p.m. From there, he will visit the renowned grotto at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes for a prayer service.
The next day, Sept. 27, he will meet with the French bishops at the shrine at 9 a.m. before celebrating there the second Mass of his trip at 11 a.m.
Leo is scheduled that afternoon to meet at the shrine with the staff and sick community of the Accueil Notre Dame. He will then privately meet with Carmelite nuns at their monastery in Lourdes.
At 9 p.m., Leo will lead a rosary and a candlelit procession at the Lourdes grotto.
Metz
For the final day of his trip on Sept. 28, Leo will depart Lourdes at 7:40 a.m. and arrive in Metz at 9:20 a.m., becoming the first pope to visit the city since St. John Paul II in 1988.
There, at 10 a.m., he will join an interreligious meeting at the Robert Schuman Conference Center and then attend another meeting, “To the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity.”
The pope will then celebrate the third and final Mass of his trip at the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Metz. He will then depart Metz at 7 p.m. to arrive in Rome at 8:50 p.m.
Beatification cause of Tanzania’s first president now at witness interrogation stage
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — The beatification cause of Servant of God Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Tanzaniaʼs first president, has reached the stage of interrogating witnesses, a Tanzanian Catholic bishop involved in the process said, describing the phase as critical in establishing the late leaderʼs reputation for holiness and heroic virtue.
In an interview with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, Bishop Henry Mchamungu, the episcopal delegate in Nyerereʼs cause, said the diocesan inquiry is currently gathering testimony about the late presidentʼs life, faith, and virtues.
"We are in the process of interrogating witnesses,” Mchamungu said. “This is a very important stage because we have to ask people many questions to obtain sufficient information about the life, virtues, and faith of Mwalimu Nyerere.”
The bishop, who spoke to ACI Africa on the sidelines of the 21st AMECEA Plenary Assembly of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) July 19–26 in Nairobi, Kenya, explained that the tribunal conducts detailed interviews with each witness.
“Each witness is asked many questions — sometimes one person can be asked 30 or even 40 questions. We have to listen to many witnesses because we need to gather enough evidence concerning his life and his virtues,” Mchamungu said.
Nyerereʼs cause was initiated in 2005 after the late Bishop Justin Samba of the Diocese of Musoma, together with the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), petitioned the Holy See to open the canonization process.
Pope Benedict XVI declared the former president a servant of God on May 13, 2005.
Mchamungu explained that the cause was later transferred from the Diocese of Musoma to the Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam.
"The president of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference informed the archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, who at that time was Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, that the cause should be transferred from Musoma to Dar-es-Salaam," he explained.
On May 2, 2014, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued a rescript authorizing the transfer of the competent forum for the diocesan inquiry from Musoma to Dar es Salaam.
According to Mchamungu, progress slowed after the transfer because Pengo experienced prolonged health challenges.
The process was revived in 2023 when the president of TEC appointed a new postulator to oversee the cause.
"In 2023, it became necessary to revive the cause again,” Mchamungu told ACI Africa. “The president of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference appointed a postulator, who is the person responsible for guiding the cause.”
He noted that the process required further reorganization after the first postulator stepped down for personal reasons.
“We had to look for another person. After some time, we found another postulator who accepted the responsibility. Although he does not live in Tanzania, he agreed to help us continue with the cause,” Mchamungu said, referring to Nairobi-based Brother Reginald D. Cruz.
He acknowledged that the work of the diocesan tribunal remains demanding because its members also carry pastoral responsibilities.
“Everyone has other pastoral duties. Therefore, finding time to meet and conduct the sessions is not easy. However, the cause is continuing after having remained inactive for a long time,” he said.
Mchamungu appealed to Catholics to pray for the progress of the cause, expressing hope that Nyerere may one day be declared blessed.
“We continue asking God that the cause may continue,” he said. “The day will come, God willing, when he will be declared blessed.”
Mchamungu encouraged those who believe they have received extraordinary graces through Nyerereʼs intercession to report them to the tribunal.
“If someone receives a grace through his intercession, that person should inform the tribunal so that it can be investigated and recorded. Later, it can help in the process of declaring him blessed and, God willing, later a saint,” the bishop said.
Reflecting on Nyerereʼs early life, the Tanzanian bishop recalled his close relationship with the Catholic Church before entering politics.
“Before becoming involved in politics, he was a teacher. He taught at St. Francis Secondary School in Pugu, a school that was run by the Holy Ghost Fathers,” he said.
Mchamungu added that the future presidentʼs experience within the Church helped shape his character and approach to public service.
“He was close to the Church and to the priests who managed that school. They knew him and saw that he was a special person, a young man with good values and commitment,” he told ACI Africa.
The Catholic Church leader continued: “Nyerere received many good values from the Church. Those values helped him become a leader who put people before his own interests. That is why many people continue to remember him as an example of leadership with integrity and service to society.”
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
Peruvian researcher: Big mistake to think ‘the Catholic faith was imposed on the Incas’
Peruvian researcher and author Rafael Aíta asserts that one of the most widespread beliefs about the evangelization of Peru is also one of the most mistaken: the belief that Catholicism was forcibly imposed upon the Incas.
The period of Inca rule in Peru spanned from 1200 to 1532, while Spanish rule began in 1532 and ended in 1821, the year of the country’s declaration of independence.
In an interview with “EWTN Noticias,” the network’s Spanish-language television news program, the author of the new book “The Catholic Incas” contended that the conversion of many members of the Inca nobility was a far more complex process, marked by dialogue and the discovery of common ground between their beliefs and Christianity.
“I believe the biggest mistake, even among us Catholics, is thinking that our faith was imposed upon us,” Aíta affirmed.
“The numbers donʼt add up, because a small handful of Spaniards cannot convince thousands or hundreds of thousands of people,” Aíta indicated. “What we find in this historic process is a series of convergences that are far removed from imposition and much closer to negotiation,” he explained.
According to Aíta, who is also known on social media as Capitán Perú (Captain Peru), the encounter with Christianity sparked interest among the panacas (the family clans of the Inca nobility), who found similarities between certain aspects of their worldview and the Christian message.
“The first to convert were Incas. I am not speaking only of Atahualpa, whom many would say was baptized to avoid being burned to death. After him, there were other Incas who voluntarily requested baptism,” he stated.
The historian also highlighted a little-known episode in Peruvian history: the founding of the first parish in Cusco.
“The San Cristóbal parish was founded by an Inca, the son of Huayna Capac. It was not founded by a Spaniard, nor even by a priest. An Inca founded the first chapel that later became the first parish in Cusco,” Aíta pointed out.
He recounted that his interest in reexamining Peruʼs history began during his first visit to Machu Picchu. “That was when I realized there was much more to it than what I had been taught in class,” he recalled.
Upon returning to Cusco, Aíta began reading historians such as María Rostworowski, José Antonio del Busto, and Donato Amado.
“I discovered an entire history that, unfortunately, is not taught. If what they wrote reached the schools, it would not only change the history of Peru; it would change the way we see our country,” Aíta asserted.
Corpus Christi and the Catholic Incas
A prime example Aíta presents in “The Catholic Incas” is the set of traditional Corpus Christi paintings housed in the Archbishopʼs Palace in Cusco.
Aíta explained that one of these paintings depicts the Incaʼs royal standard-bearer walking behind the monstrance carrying the Eucharist. Instead of wearing the traditional imperial tassel on his head, a servant carries it ahead of him on a cushion.
“He is placing the Incaʼs crown at the feet of Jesus Christ, who is the Eucharistic Sun,” he explained.
“The Incas worshipped the sun, but through the Gospel, they discovered that the true Sun is Jesus Christ. For them, the feast of Corpus Christi brought the ancient festival of the Sun to its fulfillment, because the Sun was now present among them,” he added.
Consequently, he noted that the solemnity of Corpus Christi became one of Cuscoʼs most important religious celebrations and continues to draw massive public participation to this day.
The historian noted that his book includes documents, paintings, and other historical evidence that demonstrates the presence of Inca nobility who fully embraced the Catholic faith.
Among these, he cited the portrait of Marcos Inca, a member of royal Lloque Yupanqui lineage, who is depicted bearing the symbols of Inca nobility alongside the inscription “Inca, Catholic knight by the grace of God.”
As Aíta sees it, this evidence helps explain why Catholicism remains deeply rooted in Peru.
“Faith remains so important in Peru to this day because it is part of our roots, not something imposed. Had it been imposed, we would have changed once the Spaniards left. Yet the Spaniards departed, and we carried on, perhaps even more Catholic than they were,” he concluded.
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.
Federal court hears arguments on Oklahoma’s ban for religious charter schools
A federal court heard oral arguments on Aug. 5 about whether an Oklahoma law banning religious charter schools violates the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion.
Oklahoma established a charter school system in 1999, which provides public funds for privately run K–12 schools to which parents can send their children instead of a public school operated by a school district. The law only allows “nonsectarian” applicants, which prevents any participation from schools that have a religious identity.
In 2023, the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board (SCSB) approved an application from a proposed Catholic charter school — St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School — which led to a legal challenge from Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who opposed religious charter schools.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court sided against the school, finding that charter schools are public schools and that public schools must be secular. St. Isidore appealed this to the U.S. Supreme Court, but that resulted in a 4-4 deadlock with no majority opinion because Justice Amy Coney Barrett had a conflict of interest and recused herself.
Amid no clear guidance from the federal courts, a Jewish organization — National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation — filed an application to set up a charter school, which was denied. The group, represented by lawyers at the Becket Fund, filed a new lawsuit and asked a federal district court to require the SCSB to consider religious applicants.
“Oklahoma makes room in its charter program for schools of all shapes and sizes, from those focused on science and fine arts to language immersion and classical education,” Daniel Chen, a Becket attorney representing the Jewish foundation, said in a statement.
“The one it refuses to make room for is a faith-based school,” Chen added. “That is religious discrimination, plain and simple, and the state deserves a failing grade for it.”
Chen told EWTN News that Becket is asking the federal court to immediately allow National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation to set up a charter school, citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent that requires government programs to allow religious institutions the same access as secular institutions.
“They’re private actors,” he said. “And because they’re private actors, they cannot be excluded from participating in a public benefits program.”
Chen said the federal district court is not bound by the precedent of the Oklahoma Supreme Court because that is a state court, so it could rule in favor of the school. He also said if the case goes to the U.S. Supreme Court, he hopes Barrett can weigh in to break the 4-4 deadlock.
“We’re hoping that [for] our case, there wouldn’t have to be any recusals,” he said.
School board’s hands are tied
Although the charter school board denied the application from the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation, one of its lawyers at First Liberty Institute explained to EWTN News that its hands are tied by the statute and the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision.
“They’re following that order,” said Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty and the lawyer representing SCSB. “But [they] would be happy if the federal court didn’t [require the school board] to engage in that kind of discrimination.”
Sasser said the SCSB does not want to exclude an applicant “simply because it’s religious” and would rather evaluate applicants “just based on the merits.” But he said the order “makes them exclude religious schools just because they’re religious.”
“They want to maximize all of the various choices and opportunities for parents,” he added.
Sasser said he hopes the question goes to the U.S. Supreme Court again so “we’ll get an answer — a real answer.” He said it would provide more clarity for the school board, which “needs an answer.”
John Meiser, director of the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic at the University of Notre Dame and the lawyer who represented St. Isidore at the Supreme Court, told EWTN News that the question ultimately comes down to whether charter schools are private or public institutions.
In Oklahoma, he said charter schools “are called public schools” and that label “introduces a confusion that I don’t think would be present if they chose any other word.”
He said Supreme Court precedent is clear that religious institutions must have equal access to government programs available to private institutions, but if a charter school is a “government school,” that “doesn’t apply” because the government “doesn’t and can’t run religious schools.”
In spite of the label, Meiser said charter schools in Oklahoma are “formed and designed and run by private groups” and people who work there “are private employees.” He said the structure “looks just like a government contract” and funding from the government “doesn’t turn all those private contractors into the government itself.”
“The dispute is really just about, ‘Well is a charter school in some way different?’” he said.
Although Meiser said he is not aware of any ongoing Catholic efforts to recreate a charter school, he said that a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation’s constitutional arguments for equal access “would presumably apply to all religious operators of schools, and so it would open the door to a Catholic charter school or other religiously based charter school.”
Attorney general stands firm
Drummond, who remains Oklahoma’s attorney general, is standing firm in opposing the creation of religious charter schools and is fighting against National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation’s efforts.
"This matter was resolved when the state Supreme Courtʼs ruling to prevent taxpayer funded religious charter schools was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year,” Leslie Berger, press secretary for the attorney general’s office, told EWTN News.
Drummond has also criticized the charter school board in public statements surrounding this legal battle in March, accusing the SCSB of “playing politics with the taxpayers' money” and alleged it “manipulated the record [about why National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation’s application was rejected] to make that lawsuit easier to lose — not win.”
"A state agency that deliberately hobbles its own legal position is not doing its job — it is betraying Oklahoma taxpayers,” he said. “I will not allow that.”
Drummond has garnered support from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) for opposing the creation of religious charter schools.
Attorneys for FFRF are representing seven Oklahomans who oppose their tax money being used to support religious charter schools.
“The federal court should rule according to constitutional principles,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement. “A religious public charter school has no place in our secular public education system.”
It’s unclear when the federal court will issue its ruling, but National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation has asked the judge to issue a preliminary injunction against the state so it can begin operating a school while the litigation plays out.
Family learns hospice bed opened as father faced scheduled assisted suicide
As New Yorkʼs Medical Aid in Dying Act takes effect amid legal challenges, one Canadian woman is sharing her familyʼs experience with physician-assisted suicide, saying it convinced her that vulnerable patients need greater access to hospice and palliative care — not assisted death.
Speaking with “EWTN News Nightly” in an Aug. 5 interview with anchor Veronica Dudo, Colleen De Vos recounted the final months of her father’s life. He died through Canadaʼs medical assistance in dying (MAID) program in 2023 at age 85 after being diagnosed with terminal chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
“My father wasnʼt very forthcoming with his intentions, unfortunately,” De Vos said. “We did see some very fragile moments during the course of his illness.”
As his condition worsened, De Vos said her family worked to arrange hospice or in-home palliative care, believing those services would provide the compassionate support he needed.
“We were advocating very strongly for hospice care or at-home palliative program,” she said. “He seemed to agree with that.”
But the familyʼs efforts were unsuccessful.
“He was turned down on two occasions, deeming that his diagnosis wasnʼt enough to warrant hospice care,” De Vos said. “That was a surprise to us because we could see he was deteriorating very quickly.”
Instead, she said, a nurse practitioner overseeing his care at home spoke privately with her father about pursuing MAID as his symptoms worsened.
De Vos said the contrast between accessing hospice and obtaining assisted suicide was striking.
“The irony of the availability of MAID that could be arranged very quickly ... sidelined us very much,” she said.
She recalled receiving “literally the cardboard box in the mail” containing the drugs and supplies needed for the procedure.
“Obtaining [hospice care] was very difficult,” she said. “And this was very simple.”
On the day her father was scheduled to die, De Vos said the family finally learned that a hospice bed had become available.
She called it “very heartbreaking” that he declined the hospice bed.
“I think he proceeded because of his loss of hope,” she said. “We absolutely were prepared to provide him with round-the-clock care.”
Religious freedom challenge in New York
De Vos' story comes as Catholic ministries in New York are challenging the stateʼs new assisted suicide law in federal court.
Speaking on Aug. 5 with “EWTN News Nightly,” Adele Keim, senior counsel at Becket Fund, said New Yorkʼs law differs significantly from those in states such as Oregon and Washington.
“New York has created an opt-out law,” Keim said. “The presumption is youʼre in unless you opt out.”
While some providers may decline to prescribe or administer the lethal drugs, Keim argued that Catholic ministries are still required to participate in other aspects of the process.
“You canʼt opt out of your obligations to counsel patients about assisted suicide and the ‘benefits’ it would provide,” she said. Nor can Catholic providers refuse to refer patients elsewhere if they object to assisted suicide on religious grounds, she said.
Keim said those requirements prompted the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne and other Catholic ministries to seek relief in federal court.
Hope, dignity, and the court’s decision
She also spoke with hope in a federal judgeʼs decision to temporarily block New York from enforcing the law against the Catholic plaintiffs while the case proceeds.
“The right to assisted suicide is not a fundamental right,” Keim said, noting that both the U.S. Supreme Court and New Yorkʼs highest court have ruled there is no constitutional right to assisted suicide. “But... there is a fundamental right to religious freedom.”
According to Keim, the injunction ensures the state cannot enforce the law against the Catholic ministries while their constitutional claims are considered.
The Catholic Church teaches that assisted suicide and euthanasia are gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person while encouraging compassionate palliative and hospice care that accompanies patients through natural death.
De Vos said she hopes lawmakers instead “think about the sacred gift of life that we are given by God,” adding: “I donʼt believe that itʼs up to the lawmakers... to give someone the autonomy to end their life.”
French government shuts down Paris-area mosque over alleged support for terrorism
French authorities on July 27 ordered the closure of a mosque in the Paris region for six months, citing sermons and social media posts by its imams that officials say glorified terrorism, legitimized jihad, and incited violence, hatred, and discrimination.
The closure occurred in the context of growing political debates around the challenges posed by the expansion of Islam in the country.
The order targeted the “Chanteloup” mosque in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a suburb northeast of the capital in the Seine-Saint-Denis department. It was announced by the local prefecture, the regional arm of the French state administration.
The closure was ordered under a provision enacted in October 2017 that allows prefects to shut down places of worship where preaching is found to “incite violence or hatred, promote terrorism, or provoke acts of terrorism.”
A communique by the local prefect claimed that both the mosque’s regular imams and the guest speakers it hosted spread a “radical Islamist ideology” that “echoes the rhetoric of terrorist organizations, legitimizes jihad, and glorifies death as a martyr.” The administration added that the closure was warranted given the gravity and repetition of statements it judged “capable of inciting terrorist acts.”
The French news agency AFP reported that a video circulating on the social platform X earlier in the year showed an imam who had lectured at least once at the mosque urged Muslims to strike their children aged 11 and older if they failed to pray.
The mosque’s management has contested the order. Its attorney, Rafik Chekkat, announced on social media that the association had filed an emergency appeal with the Montreuil administrative court, arguing the case rested on insufficient, imprecise, and unsubstantiated evidence involving faulty interpretations of Quranic verses.
“The prefect of Seine-Saint-Denis faults an imam for having cited the Surah Al-Baqara at the Chanteloup mosque in Aulnay-sous-Bois, in order to justify its administrative closure,” Chekkat said in a tweet. “If the order is upheld by the courts, the Quran itself becomes grounds for closure.”
He said the mosque had already removed the two imams responsible for what he described as roughly 90% of the complaints against it and that mosque leaders had asked to meet with the prefect beforehand but were refused.
Regional outlet Ici Paris Île-de-France reported the association is also contesting a freeze on its bank accounts and a separate move to dissolve the managing association itself.
A hearing before the Montreuil court was held on Aug. 4; the mosque remained open pending the ruling that should be made public in the coming days.
This is the second time the mosque has faced a shutdown. In 2019, the prefecture ordered its closure after an inspection found the premises did not meet public safety requirements.
Another mosque in the department, in Pantin, closed for six months in 2020 for publicly criticizing history teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded that year after showing pupils caricatures of Mohammed, the central figure of the Islamic faith.
Since 2017, the French Senate has ordered seven houses of worship closed under the same provision in its first two years alone, following 19 mosque and prayer-hall closures carried out under France’s 2015–2017 state of emergency after the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015. A further wave followed France’s 2021 law against Islamist “separatism.”
The closure lands amid an ongoing, and polarizing, public conversation in France about the growth of Islam. Government figures put the number of Muslim places of worship nationwide — mosques and smaller prayer rooms combined — at roughly 2,600 in 2024, up from about eight mosques in 1975.
Estimates of France’s Muslim population vary by methodology; INSEE-linked survey data suggest Muslims make up roughly 10% of the metropolitan population, or 6 to 7 million people. A widely covered November 2025 survey by the polling institute IFOP put the adult Muslim share at 7% in 2025, up from 0.5% in 1985.
The closure of the Chanteloup mosque came just one day after the 10th anniversary of the murder of 85-year-old parish priest Jacques Hamel by two Islamic State-inspired attackers inside his own church during Mass on July 26, 2016.
It was the first time in France a terrorist attack had targeted worshippers during a religious service. The local Diocese of Rouen and the town of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray — where Hamel was slaughtered — held two days of commemorations July 25 and 26.
A Mass was celebrated by the president of the French bishops’ conference, Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, with the homily delivered by Rouen’s Archbishop Dominique Lebrun, built explicitly around interreligious dialogue rather than security concerns.
Saturday’s program featured a roundtable titled “Muslims and Catholics: Educating Young People to Encounter One Another.” Organizers highlighted the public friendship between Roseline Hamel, the slain priest’s sister, and Nassera Kermiche, the mother of one of his killers, as the defining symbol of the decade since the attack.
Florida bishops urge senators to back bill extending Haitian temporary protected status to 2029
The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a letter to Florida lawmakers urging them to support legislation that would extend temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitian nationals living in the United States through 2029.
Eight Florida bishops, representing all six dioceses in the state, signed the Aug. 5 letter. They “urgently” asked Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, and Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Florida, “to bring about the passage of S. 4814.”
The legislation will “offer certainty to our Haitian brothers and sisters in the short-term, while also working toward broader legislative reforms that include opportunities for long-time residents of our communities to regularize their status,” they wrote.
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced the bill that would extend TPS for Haiti through 2029 in April, and the measure has stalled in the Senate.
The bishops further expressed “deep pastoral concern in response to the current state of our immigration system and the human realities involved.”
“The situation is especially daunting for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, Venezuelans, and others who have been relying on temporary protected status (TPS) to live and work lawfully in the United States,” they said.
“So many of these families are left without any legal status or a way to support themselves, all while returning to their country of origin remains unsafe, impractical, and unreasonable because of the ongoing conditions there.”
The letter follows Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski’s previous call for “compassionate” immigration protections for Haitians with TPS upon expiration of their automatic work‑permit extension on July 27.
Following the expiration, Wenski traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers and advocated on behalf of the estimated 353,000 Haitian nationals who hold TPS status in the U.S.
Additional call for broader immigration reform
The bishops also called for broader immigration reform, citing Pope Leo XIV’s message on the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
The Holy Father said “those who have arrived seeking freedom, opportunity, and a place to belong have helped to shape the nation’s character.” He added: “To receive them into the nation with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person.”
“We do not ask you to commit yourselves to immigration reform as a rejection of the national interest but as a means of promoting it,” the bishops said.
“Beyond even the positive economic and social contributions made by immigrants, including those in our own state of Florida, the considerations warranting meaningful improvements to our immigration system are profoundly moral in nature,” they wrote.
“The Catholic Church remains committed to working with you and your colleagues in Congress to bring about bipartisan reforms of our immigration system. Please be assured of our prayers for you and your service to our nation in this 250th year of its independence,” they concluded.
Bishop Valdivia: Ceuta represents ‘historic mission’ for Spain
The apostolic administrator of the Spanish Diocese of Cádiz and Ceuta, Bishop Ramón Valdivia, analyzed the situation in Ceuta following the mass crossing of the Tarajal border by approximately 70,000 people last week.
"We are aware of the historic mission that Ceuta represents for our entire nation; we are a bastion of faith that loudly proclaims the value of the faith in the building of a country,” Valdivia said.
“That is why we wish to lift our gaze and see the Lord on our horizon — walking upon the waters of the Strait, approaching our boat, and saying to us: ‘Do not be afraid; it is I,’" he added in remarks released by the diocese in response to the numerous interview requests received in recent days.
Referring to the Ceuta’s patron saint festivities, Valdivia remarked that “centered around St. Mary of Africa, one can understand the faith of a people who have endured centuries of hardship” and that, following events like those of last week, “while it is true there is anger, fear, and at times even a desire to give up, we do not want to do so.”
“The presence of the Virgin Mary offers comfort, peace, and security in God and fosters compassion while simultaneously expressing faith in the God who, having become man, has conquered death. Offering this response entails responding with Godʼs love,” he added.
The Church has demonstrated its maturity amid an unprecedented crisis.”
Bishop Ramón Valdiviaapostolic administrator of the Diocese of Cádiz and Ceuta in Spain
The prelate further indicated that “the Church has demonstrated its maturity amid an unprecedented crisis,” even as it continues to “view with concern these events that disturb our peace,” bearing in mind that “this is the second time [such an event has occurred] since the mass influx of May 2021.”
“We feel vulnerable and, in a sense, in need of protection,” added the bishop, who, drawing inspiration from St. Paulʼs Second Letter to the Corinthians, observed: “We are troubled, but not in despair. We trust in God above all.”
Valdivia further noted that the task for the near future involves “rebuilding trust, encouraging those who have suffered fear and anxiety, and working toward a dignified solution for those who entered illegally,” bearing in mind that “feelings very difficult to root out have taken hold in peopleʼs hearts, stemming from the need to care for others while simultaneously protecting the shared space.”
Gratitude to Pope Leo XIV
Meanwhile, the prelate welcomed the words of Pope Leo XIV regarding the crisis — spoken during the Angelus on Sunday, Aug. 2 — as “a balm of comfort, knowing that we are close to the popeʼs heart.”
Leo XIV expressed that he was following “the alarming situation in Ceuta” with concern and asked, through the intercession of Our Lady of Africa, that “solutions of peace, stability, and justice might be found.” These words, the prelate stated, “have helped guide our public mission amid this difficulty, fostering peace, stability, and justice.”
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.
New York Catholic church suffers fourth vandalism attack in 2 years with destruction of Mary statue
A Catholic parish in New York has suffered what the Diocese of Brooklyn says is the fourth incident of vandalism in two years after a man destroyed a statue of the Blessed Mother in an early-morning attack.
The destructive episode at St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in the neighborhood of Long Island City in Queens occurred on Aug. 1 when a man jumped a fence around the courtyard of the parish and smashed a statue of the Virgin Mother with a hammer.
Photos of the attack showed the statue of Mary knocked off its pedestal and in pieces.
The Brooklyn Diocese said in a news release that the New York Police Department is investigating the incident as a hate crime. A diocesan spokesman told EWTN News that no arrests had yet been made in the case as of the morning of Aug. 6.
The diocese said the attack was the fourth of a series of incidents of vandalism at the parish since 2024. In previous attacks vandals smashed a stained-glass window and defaced statues of both St. Francis of Assisi and St. Jude.
Numerous other New York-area parishes have also been vandalized in recent years. Among them was an October 2024 incident at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church in Brooklyn in which a man vandalized two statues, one of the Blessed Mother and one of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
Similar incidents occurred at other churches in 2023, including at two parishes also located in Brooklyn. A February 2024 report by the Family Research Council found an uptick in hostility and vandalism against churches in the U.S., particularly Catholic parishes.
In January, New York State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton called for increased security for churches after multiple crimes at Catholic parishes on Staten Island.
Church, the state senator said at the time, “is a place of peace and reflection; nobody should feel unsafe where they pray.”
Recent data from the Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe, meanwhile, showed that church arson attacks across Europe nearly doubled in 2024.
The fire attacks were part of a broader surge in anti-Christian hate crimes that included 274 personal assaults against Christians and the killing of a 76-year-old Spanish monk, according to the report.