The Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 2, 2025 / 18:37 pm (CNA).

An organization encouraging the presence of “the Catholic intellectual tradition” in universities across the globe has a new leader.

Dominican Father Ambrose Little has been appointed the new director of the Thomistic Institute (TI), a position held for the past seven years by Father Dominic Legge, OP, who has now been named president of the Pontifical Faculty at the Dominican House of Studies.

“The Thomistic Institute is one of the most dynamic apostolates in the Church, and we are immensely proud that it is an institute of our Pontifical Faculty,” Legge said in a statement.

“It is very dear to my heart! Serving as the TI director has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. I am therefore delighted to announce that, as my first official act as president, I have appointed Father Ambrose Little, OP, as the new director of the Thomistic Institute,” Legge said. 

The Thomistic Institute was founded in 2009 “to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the Church, and in the wider public square,” according to the institute’s website. 

The institute pursues initiatives “focused on St. Thomas Aquinas’ thought, including academic lectures, student chapters, and online resources.”

An academic institute of the Pontifical Faculty of the Dominican House of Studies located in Washington, D.C., students have also founded campus chapters of the institute at more than 80 universities across the globe. 

The academic chapters organize lectures with Catholic scholars on philosophy and theology as well as hold reading groups, debates, and conferences to “expose students to the riches of the Catholic intellectual tradition and help them explore it further.”

Little is a Dominican friar of the Province of St. Joseph. He entered the Order of Preachers in 2007 after graduating from The Catholic University of America (CUA) with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Ordained a priest in 2013, he returned to CUA to complete a licentiate in philosophy and wrote a dissertation titled “Aristotelian Change and the Scala Naturae.” He taught for two years at Providence College in Rhode Island and was a visiting scholar at Boston College.

In 2014, Little began studying for a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Virginia and graduated in 2021. Afterward, he was appointed a lecturer in philosophy at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception.

“Father Ambrose is a superb teacher and scholar, an excellent leader, and a great brother and friend,” Legge said. “For the past three years, he has served as assistant director of the TI, and I’ve been deeply impressed by what I’ve seen.”

“Because the TI is an institute of our faculty … I will not be going far away,” Legge said, “I’m just down the hall.” He vowed to continue supporting the organization “as this vibrant outreach continues to grow and bear fruit.”

People gather at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family on Palm Sunday in al-Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on March 24, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. / Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Stockholm, Sweden, Jul 2, 2025 / 18:17 pm (CNA).

A United Nations delegation made a surprise visit on Tuesday to Holy Family Parish, the only Latin-rite Catholic Church in Gaza, which hosts hundreds of people displaced by the war. 

According to Servizio Informazione Religiosa (SIR), the news agency of the Italian bishops’ conference, representatives from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) visited the parish on July 1 to survey the current situation there. 

“It was their first visit here to the parish,” Argentine Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Parish, told SIR. “The delegation wanted to check on our conditions, greeted our displaced people, and gathered their testimonies of distress.”

Romanelli noted that the delegation members greeted displaced persons and “gathered their testimonies of distress.”

“Despite the critical situation, the U.N. representatives visited the parish facilities, toured the compound, and also dedicated time to the severely disabled children — all from Muslim families — who are lovingly cared for by the Missionaries of Charity,” Romanelli told SIR.

“We also had a prayer for peace in the church,” he said. “When they said goodbye, they thanked us for the work of solidarity and hospitality we carry out for the Christian community and the many Muslim families in need who live here in our neighborhood.”

Since the start of the war, the parish in Gaza has been aiding the local population since Israel began its war following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants. Since then, thousands of Palestinians in the enclave have been killed, wounded, or displaced.

In a separate interview with SIR, Romanelli said the international community’s silence to the humanitarian crisis Palestinians are facing was “as deadly as the weapons in Gaza.”

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) was criticized after soldiers allegedly fired on unarmed refugees awaiting humanitarian relief trucks. Furthermore, a recent exposé by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that soldiers were ordered to fire on unarmed civilians, prompting an inquiry into possible war crimes. 

Nevertheless, Romanelli said those living in Gaza don’t know what to expect, as often they are told “that a truce is imminent” only to receive evacuation orders “in anticipation of military operations” the following day. 

“One day, humanitarian aid is announced; the next, Israel blocks its entry. Everyone is under severe psychological strain,” the priest said. “All we know here is that the death toll is rising. People wander from one part of the [Gaza] Strip to another, dragging behind them whatever possessions they have left.”

As the only Latin-rite Catholic parish in the enclave, Holy Family Parish received particular attention from the late Pope Francis, who called Romanelli every day. Pope Francis made his final call to the parish two days before his death on April 21.

Pope Leo XIV greets Sviatoslav Shevchuk, primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, on July 2, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 2, 2025 / 17:47 pm (CNA).

Following last week’s meeting with pilgrims from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday received in audience the bishops who are members of the Ukrainian church’s synod.

Noting that the encounter is taking place in the context of the jubilee year, in the July 2 meeting Leo recalled the words of Pope Francis, who said that “hope does not disappoint, because it is founded on the love of God in Christ Jesus, Our Lord.”

In the context of the bloody war in Ukraine, the Holy Father acknowledged that “it is not easy to talk about hope to you.”

“It is not easy to find words of consolation for the families who have lost their loved ones in this senseless war,” he said.

Addressing the Ukrainian bishops, he noted that they are “in contact every day with people wounded in their heart and in their flesh.” Despite these wounds, the pope said he has received “many testimonies of faith and hope on the part of men and women of your people.”

For the pontiff, this is a sign of the power of God, “which manifests itself in the midst of the rubble of destruction.”

“I am aware that you have many needs to meet, in both the ecclesial and humanitarian spheres. You are called to serve Christ in every wounded and distressed person who turns to your communities asking for concrete help,” he noted.

In this context, Pope Leo expressed his closeness to the prelates of the region and to all the faithful of the Church and encouraged them to remain “united in the one faith and the one hope.”

“Our communion is a great mystery: It is also a real communion with all our brothers and sisters whose lives have been taken from this earth but are accepted in God. In him everything lives and finds fullness of meaning,” he emphasized.

Finally, he emphasized that “we are always comforted by the certainty that the holy Mother of God is with us, aids us, and guides us toward her Son, who is our peace.” Before concluding the audience, the pontiff invited those present to sing the Lord’s Prayer in Ukrainian.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV in Dolton, Illinois. / Credit: “EWTN News in Depth”/Screenshot

CNA Staff, Jul 2, 2025 / 17:17 pm (CNA).

In a unanimous vote at a special board meeting held on July 1, the village council of Dolton, Illinois, voted to purchase the childhood home of the first U.S.-born pope, Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV.

Newly-elected Dolton Mayor Jason House called for the vote, which was unanimous, after hearing from the trustees and allowing for comment from members of the public, several of whom opposed the home purchase by the cash-strapped village.

Amid the pushback from Dolton residents who complained about the dilapidated state of local roads and the village’s high debt, House said the purchase would eventually “pay for itself,” calling it a “historical opportunity.”

In Dolton, the per capita income is $29,776 and 20% of the residents live in poverty, according to census data.

Trustee Edward Steave referred to the “busloads of people” in and out of the village to see the house since the pope’s election, emphasizing the economic benefits visitors to the historic site would bring to the community.

Also acknowledging residents’ concerns, Trustee Kiana Belcher asked them to “stand with us as we make this decision because we know it will help all of us as a village.”

Trustee Stanley Brown said that while he is not a Catholic himself, he is a Christian who would like to “help out the Catholics.”

“I just believe in this opportunity that’s been given us, and I believe in waiting on the Lord,” Brown continued. “He’s here to strengthen our town, so don’t let this opportunity get away from us!”

“We have been put on the back row … and now we have the opportunity to get on the front row, and we don’t want to let this opportunity get away from us,” he said.

Dolton City Attorney Burt Odelson agreed, telling CNA that a “world of opportunity” has opened for the small suburb, which is like “no other place in the world.”

“Things are just going to get better and better for the people of Dolton,” he said. 

On the Village of Dolton’s Facebook page on July 1, the village posted photos of the house getting a new roof, paid for by a donor, according to Odelson.

“The pope’s house continues to draw in people, bringing new energy and attention to our village. This increased traffic represents a new day in Dolton — full of potential, progress, and promise,” the village wrote on its Facebook page.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, House said he hopes to close the deal on the house purchase within two weeks and hopes the house can be “converted into its ultimate form” within 30-60 days.

House said the village will have the help of a “number of partnerships,” possibly referring to the Archdiocese of Chicago.

As it considers next steps, Odelson said the village has done research on how former popes’ homes are preserved around the world. Last month, he told CNA that he was speaking with someone “high up” in the archdiocese who was helping “guide” the village in its goal to preserve the historic home.

The Archdiocese of Chicago did not respond to CNA’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Odelson told CNA in June that once the house has been purchased, the village will set up a nonprofit charity to help fundraise for the preservation of the house and the revitalization of the neighborhood.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to preserve what many people believe is a sacred” place, Odelson told CNA about the pope’s former home. “We need to do it right and we don’t have the funds to do it right. We have to lean on others.”

People from “all over the U.S. have already offered to help preserve the house,” Odelson said, “and the charity will enable them to do so.”

On the heels of the pope’s election in May, Odelson and House said at the time that the city intended to purchase the modest three-bedroom, 1,050-square-foot brick home, which had been listed for sale since January.

Realtor Steve Budzik told CNA in May that as soon as the owner, house renovator Pawel Radzik, found out the house he had updated and listed for sale once belonged to the newly elected pope, he removed it from the market to “reassess” the situation.

Radzik relisted it for sale by auction through Paramount Realty auction house. The auction was originally set to close on June 17 but was extended “to finalize negotiations with the village of Dolton,” Odelson told CNA in June.

Odelson told CNA that he hopes to close on the property in the coming week. While he did not disclose the final sale price, he said it was much lower than the $1 million Budzik had said he thought the house might sell for at auction.

Representatives of the International Committee of the “Rome 25 - Santiago 27 - Jerusalem 33” initiative present their project on July 2, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 2, 2025 / 16:47 pm (CNA).

A project conceived as a true “spiritual revolution” was presented at the Vatican on July 2, promoted by young Christians from all over Europe who, in their search for meaning, aspire to place Christ at the center of their lives and, with hope, restore the soul of the Old Continent.

The initiative began to take shape two years ago when, acting on an inspiration, Bishop Mikel Garciandía — bishop of Palencia, Spain, and former rector of St. Michael Shrine in Navarre — saw the possibility of coordinating the participation of young people in a project through the Network of St. Michael Shrines in Europe.

However, what initially appeared would end with the Jubilee of Hope in 2025 has taken on an international dimension and a broader horizon, with its sights now set on the Jubilee of Redemption in 2033, to be celebrated in Jerusalem. “Things are happening that seemed impossible a month ago,” Garciandía commented during the July 2 presentation.

With the support of the Bishops’ Subcommission for Youth and Children of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference as well as the Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela, the Church in Jerusalem, and, more recently, the Vatican, a new proposal has taken shape, inviting young Christians across the continent to open up a pathway to faith and hope for a new European generation.

As a result, “Rome ‘25, the Way of James ‘27, Jerusalem ‘33” is underway. It’s a project created by young people for young people, including those who do not believe but who nonetheless seek meaning in their lives. Specifically, the initiative invites Christians to encounter the Lord through pilgrimage, healing, and evangelization.

In June, the project’s promoters presented the initiative to Pope Leo XIV. “We are convinced that he supports the project,” Garciandía stated Wednesday, adding that this conviction is what led them to officially present it today at the Vatican.

Foundational to the project has been the development of a manifesto, discerned and written by thousands of young Europeans: a “living voice” of a generation “that doesn’t give up, that believes, that dreams, and above all, that loves,” as stated in the document’s presentation.

“This text didn’t originate in an office or from an institutional strategy. It is born from the wound of a generation that has suffered, that is looking for meaning, and that, even so, believes. We believe that Christ is alive, that the Church remains a home, and that Europe can rediscover its soul if it dares to listen to it,” explained Fernando Moscardó, a spokesman and one of the project’s coordinators.

‘The revolution has begun’

Speaking before the media gathered at the Holy See Press Office, the young Spaniard emphasized that “we’re not coming to engage in politics” but to “proclaim the Gospel, to joyfully raise a banner that is not ideological but profoundly spiritual and ecclesial.”

“This manifesto is an act of faith and a call to hope. It’s the voice of young people who do not want to stay on the sidelines, who do not have to say forcefully, ‘We want more’; we want Christ at the center... The revolution has begun, the Spirit is blowing,” he said.

The document will be published on the project’s official website, and all those “who feel part of it” are encouraged to sign it. In addition, all information, updates, and progress on the initiative will be shared through social media under the name J2R2033 (Journey to Redemption 2033).

Also participating in the press conference was Father Antonio Ammirati, secretary-general of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, who reiterated his support for the initiative to accompany young people in their “search for meaning.”

The presentation included a video address by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, where the project will conclude. The cardinal said that the young people of the Church in the Holy Land “also want to be part of this beautiful project.”

After lamenting that due to the political situation and the war ravaging the region, many young people are unable to make the pilgrimage to Rome, he assured them of his prayers that “in 2033 the world will be different and there will be peace.”

The religious dimension of pilgrimage

Monsignor Graziano Borgonovo, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization, explained the meaning of the word “pilgrim” and emphasized that following Christ does not mean standing still but rather “setting out on a journey” to “proclaim the Gospel of Jesus, present and alive.”

Archbishop Paolo Giulietti of Lucca, Italy, representing the Italian Bishops’ Conference, emphasized the need to restore to pilgrimage sites and routes their “religious dimension,” sometimes obscured by consumerism and tourism.

“These places were established for spiritual quests and the celebration of faith,” the Italian prelate said.

Also participating in the extensive briefing — via remote connection — was the archbishop of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Francisco José Prieto Fernández, who recalled the invitation St. John Paul II extended to Europe to return to its roots: “Europe, be yourself,” the sainted pope exhorted in 1982.

The prelate highlighted the path toward the “horizon of transcendence” that this initiative presents, a “beautiful metaphor for following Christ” throughout life.

Finally, Monsignor Marco Gnavi, parish priest at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere and host of the upcoming Aug. 1 event, where the manifesto will be presented in the context of the July 28 to Aug. 3 Jubilee of Youth, said he was “surprised by the enthusiasm of young people,” especially in a time of “painful changes.”

“In a desperate world, full of conflict, it is important to be oriented toward the horizon,” remarked the prelate, who envisions this event as “a waystation of prayer and joy” for young people, who will return home “having received something more,” a special grace.

This story was first publishedby ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

An aerial view of Oxford, England, taken on Oct. 14, 2016. / Credit: Chensiyuan via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 2, 2025 / 16:17 pm (CNA).

A prominent Catholic bioethics center in Oxford, England, has shut down after nearly 50 years due to financial constraints, according to an announcement from its director, David Albert Jones. 

“It is with immense sadness we announce that staff have recently been informed of ‘the closure of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, Oxford’” Jones wrote in a statement on Anscombe’s website.  “This decision has been made on financial grounds by the center’s corporate trustee, the Catholic Trust for England and Wales.”

The center said it is no longer accepting donations and will no longer respond to queries after July 31. 

The Anscombe Bioethics Centre is an Oxford-based research institute dedicated to serving the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom and Ireland through its promotion of research on bioethics.

Bioethicists at the center have regularly engaged in global discussion on bioethics, publishing biomedical research and academic books as well as making frequent expert commentary on breaking news stories in the media, including for CNA. 

Anscombe is the oldest national institute in bioethics in the British and Irish Isles, according to its website. The center takes its name from Elizabeth Anscombe, a Catholic philosopher who “taught in Oxford and Cambridge, debated with C.S. Lewis, and studied with Wittgenstein [and] was well-known for her defense of human life and for sparking the contemporary revival of virtue ethics.” 

Describing the announcement as being “in sorrow but with gratitude and steadfast hope,” Jones thanked Anscombe’s donors, noting that much of its funding had been provided through “the generosity of many thousands of parishioners” across the U.K. as well as the Catholic community in Ireland. 

“We would like to emphasize that, though the center is now being closed, these donations have not been wasted but have helped educate and support generations of conscientious health care professionals, clerics, and laypeople over almost 50 years,” Jones wrote. “This support has also helped prevent repeated attempts to legalize euthanasia or assisted suicide in Britain and Ireland from 1993 to the present.”

Even in instances where laws that go against Church teaching on human dignity have passed, Jones noted that “the center has maintained a witness [to] the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.”

“We give thanks to God, and to our patron St. Raphael, for all that has been done through our work,” he said. 

While Anscombe will soon no longer be able to provide expert witness on bioethics, Jones encouraged people to make use of its resources made available throughout the years and to continue to “engage with the Scottish Parliament and with the House of Lords as these bodies continue to debate dangerous and ill-thought-out legislation.”

“The burning issues of our day, from IVF to genetic manipulation of humans, to end-of-life decision-making, demand an expert voice to be able to explain the key moral and ethical concerns that are at stake, and to do so in a way that is convincing in the midst of our turbulent and confused culture,” Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a senior bioethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told CNA in reaction to the news.

“The Anscombe Bioethics Centre provided a much-needed voice in the midst of so many of these challenging public debates, not only in Britain but in Europe and beyond,” he continued. “We are all very grateful for the excellent work they offered. Their closing reminds us of the importance of assuring robust and ongoing support for the unique kind of ethical analysis offered by committed Catholics working together in the fields of medical ethics and bioethics.”

An exemption to the restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass has been granted to a parish in the Archdiocese of San Angelo, Texas. / Credit: James Bradley, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 2, 2025 / 14:51 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has granted a parish in Texas an exemption from restrictions to the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) imposed by Pope Francis’ decree Traditionis Custodes. 

The exemption, requested by Bishop Michael Sis on Feb. 6, was granted to St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas.

No other such exemption by Pope Leo XIV has been reported since the start of his pontificate. 

“The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments informed me in a decree of May 28, 2025, that my request has been granted for a further two years for a dispensation from article 3§2 of the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, so that Mass according to the ‘Missale Romanum’ of 1962 may be celebrated in the parish church of St. Margaret of Scotland in San Angelo,” Sis, who previously served as a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, said in a statement he shared with CNA. 

“Just as before,” he added, “the granting of this dispensation is based upon an ongoing effort to promote the full appreciation and acceptance of the liturgical books renewed by decree of the Second Vatican Council and promulgated by popes St. Paul VI and St. John Paul II.”

Sis noted further that when he submitted his request for the extension to the Vatican, he did so “with a spirit of total openness to whatever is the will of God.” 

He continued: “I trust the judgment of our Holy Father Pope Leo and those who assist him in his ministry of unity through the various dicasteries of the Holy See.”

The exemption was originally announced in a June 27 social media post by the diocese’s director of vocations, Father Ryan Rojo.

“I’m grateful to @Pontifex and to the Dicastery for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments for allowing the TLM to continue to exist in our parish church, extending permission for another two years,” Rojo wrote in the June 27 post. 

St. Margaret’s pastor, Father Freddy Perez, told CNA: “Now that we have the permission, the attitude is one of relief; I saw a lot of relief this past weekend.” Although the Vatican’s approval was dated May 28, Perez said he did not receive notification of the approval from his bishop until last week. 

Perez revealed that the letter from the Vatican praised St. Margaret’s for the steps it took to follow the Holy Father’s motu proprio. The Vatican “commended our efforts and our ‘pastoral concern to instill a clear appreciation for the Church as unique, lex orandi,’” Perez told CNA, adding: “That’s a direct quote from the letter we were sent.” 

Though the pastor noted some negativity from parishioners about having to ask permission to celebrate the TLM, his approach is to explain that “this is where the Church is right now, and is where we have to be obedient.” 

Beyond the two-year extension, Perez said, “my hopes are just to continue to bring a positive experience of the liturgy to all of my people, to try to bring them into the Gospel, into the teachings of the Church, as we’re taught, and to try to teach them that the Mass gets us ready for heaven.” 

Though the parish experienced uncertainty over whether it would be allowed to continue celebrating the TLM, Perez said the advice of Auxiliary Bishop Mario Avilés helped guide him. “The advice he gave me was very simple,” the pastor recalled. “He said: ‘Just be obedient, son.” 

“And I think just putting my eyes on the Lord has satisfied everything that I wouldn’t be able to do through my own spirit of protest or my spirit of just being angry about not getting my way, by conforming my will to the will of Our Lord,” Perez reflected. “We’re in this world temporarily, and at the end of the day, we are asked to be faithful to Our Lord Jesus Christ and his holy mother Church.” 

According to Perez, St. Margaret’s has been offering the TLM for just over five years, currently on Sunday afternoons and Thursday mornings. 

The TLM community, he said, consists mostly of young families as well as curious people who are interested in experiencing the liturgy. The small parish consists of about 200 families, he said, noting that attendance at the TLM is usually on the larger side for the parish, with about 140 to 200 people each week.

News of St. Margaret’s exemption comes after the Archdiocese of Detroit announced earlier this month that non-parish churches in the archdiocese will be allowed to continue celebrating the TLM despite an earlier statement saying that most of the TLM celebrated in the area would be suspended.

The archdiocese reported that permissions given to parish church priests to carry out the TLM would expire and they could not be renewed, but Detroit Archbishop Edward Weisenburger said he would recognize at least four non-parish locations in the archdiocese where the TLM could still be celebrated.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, a champion of the traditional liturgy, has said he asked Pope Leo to remove measures restricting the celebration of TLM, stating at a conference in London recently: “It is my hope that he will, as soon as is reasonably possible, take up the study of this question.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the decree Traditionis Custodes as an encyclical. It is a motu proprio, a type of papal decree. (Published July 3, 2025)

Bishop Daniel E. Garcia. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Austin

Vatican City, Jul 2, 2025 / 13:49 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Daniel Garcia of Monterey, California, as the sixth bishop of Austin, Texas.

After leading the Diocese of Monterey for more than six years since 2018, Garcia, 64, has returned to his home state of Texas to serve the Austin Diocese as its leader.

At a July 2 press conference held by the Diocese of Austin, Garcia gave thanks to God for the local Church, which he described as “diverse in ethnicity, race, language, and way of life.”

“I was ordained a priest for this local Church in May of 1988,” he said on Wednesday. “It is filled with people of so many great gifts and talents and it is my hope to reacquaint myself with all of you whom I have known and get to know you whom I have not yet met.”

During his address given in English and in Spanish, the bishop emphasized that the Church and civil society cannot forget the “poor, the weak, and those who live on the margins” in its policies and practices.

The bishop, who is also a board member of Catholic Relief Services, quoted St. Vincent de Paul during his speech, saying: “It will be the poor who will be our entrance into heaven.”

Garcia, who celebrated the 10th anniversary of his episcopal consecration in January, was previously made auxiliary bishop of Austin and titular bishop of Capso by Pope Francis in 2015 before heading to Monterey.

Before becoming an auxiliary bishop for Austin, Garcia was parish vicar of St. Catherine of Siena there from 1988 to 1990, Cristo Rey from 1990 to 1991, St. Louis from 1991 to 1992, and St. Mary Magdalene from 1992 to 1995. Between 1995 and 2014, he was a parish priest at St. Vincent de Paul.

He is currently part of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ subcommittee on divine worship in Spanish.

While attending St. Mary’s Seminary in the 1980s, Garcia obtained a liberal arts degree and a master’s degree in divinity from the University of St. Thomas in Houston. He was awarded a master’s degree in liturgy from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, in 2007.

The Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo in Italy. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Vatican City, Jul 2, 2025 / 12:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV declared that nature should not be a “bargaining chip” in his message announcing the theme “Seeds of Peace and Hope” for the 10th World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, set for Sept. 1.

Drawing inspiration from Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, released 10 years ago, the Holy Father said the “Bible provides no justification for us to exercise ‘tyranny over creation’” and should therefore not be exploited.

“Nature itself is reduced at times to a bargaining chip, a commodity to be bartered for economic or political gain,” Leo said. “As a result, God’s creation turns into a battleground for the control of vital resources.”

The pope said poor nations, marginalized societies, and Indigenous communities are destabilized and penalized as a result of conflicts over water and natural resources as well as the destruction of forests and agricultural areas.

“These various wounds are the effect of sin,” he added. “This is surely not what God had in mind when he entrusted the earth to the men and women whom he created in his image.”

In his July 2 message, the pope said three things are necessary for genuine environmental justice: prayer, determination, and concrete actions.

Leo invited Catholics to prayerfully consider the significance of seeds as a metaphor of coming of the kingdom of God in Scripture, saying: “Jesus often used the image of the seed.”

“In Christ, we too are seeds, and indeed, ‘seeds of peace and hope,’” he said. “The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Spirit of God can make an arid and parched desert into a garden, a place of rest and serenity.”

Insisting that environmental justice is not an “abstract concept” or a “distant goal,” the Holy Father said “now is the time to follow words with deeds” in his message dedicated to the care of creation.

“By working with love and perseverance, we can sow many seeds of justice and thus contribute to the growth of peace and the renewal of hope,” he said.  

This year, Pope Leo has twice visited sites linked to the Holy See’s integral ecology projects outside of Rome. In addition to visiting the Borgo Laudato Si’ project at Castel Gandolfo in May, he toured the proposed Vatican solar energy project site in Santa Maria di Galeria in June.

The Holy Father praised these initiatives, which serve as examples of “how people can live, work, and build community by applying the principles of the encyclical Laudato Si’.”

“I pray that Almighty God will send us in abundance his ‘Spirit from on high,’ so that these seeds, and others like them, may bring forth an abundant harvest of peace and hope,” the pope said.

null / Credit: Minerva Studio/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jul 2, 2025 / 11:17 am (CNA).

The Diocese of Fresno in California filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 1, seeking to address more than 150 abuse claims filed there in what Bishop Joseph Brennan said was part of a “journey of conversion through contrition.”

Brennan announced the filing via a video message on Tuesday. The bishop’s message comes more than a year after he announced, in May 2024, that the diocese would seek the bankruptcy filing.

The prelate said the filing was “the only path that will allow us to handle claims of sexual abuse with compassion that is fair and equitable while simultaneously ensuring the continuation of ministry within our diocese.”

As with other dioceses in California and the U.S., the Fresno Diocese is facing a large number of allegations of clergy abuse. Brennan said last year that plaintiffs had lodged 154 sex abuse complaints against the Church there.

Those filings were made under a California law that temporarily relaxed the statute of limitations on sex abuse claims, allowing alleged victims a three-year window from 2019 to 2022 to file the complaints.

Brennan said the Fresno bankruptcy process will include allocating diocesan assets to “satisfy the claims against the diocese.” He added that a fund will also be established to pay abuse claims.

“Our Church must address the suffering that victims of clergy sexual abuse have endured,” he said.

“We know the sin. It will always be before us,” he continued. “Now that we have entered a journey of conversion through contrition and acknowledgement of the victims’ suffering, we must enter a path of reconciliation, which includes resolving the victims’ claims.”

The bishop urged the faithful to pray for abuse victims during the bankruptcy process.

In the bankruptcy petition, filed in U.S. bankruptcy court for the eastern district of California, Brennan authorized diocesan Chief Financial Officer Cynthia Martin and Vicar General Father Salvador Gonzalez to represent the diocese in the proceedings.

The bishop listed the diocese’s assets as between $50 million and $100 million, with between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors.