- 'The hope of the poor shall not perish for ever': theme of Pope's message for World Day of the Poor (Vatican Press Office)
“We can build any number of walls and close our doors in the vain effort to feel secure in our wealth, at the expense of those left outside,” Pope Francis wrote in his Message for the 3rd World Day of the Poor, which falls on the Sunday before the feast of Christ the King. “It will not be that way for ever. The ‘day of the Lord,’ as described by the prophets, will destroy the barriers created between nations and replace the arrogance of the few with the solidarity of many.” - US bishops vote in favor of bishop accountability measures (USCCB)
A new protocol imposes “limitations on former bishops who were removed from office for grave reasons”; a new series of commitments extends diocesan codes of conduct to include bishops (as well as priests and deacons). The bishops also approved directives that apply Pope Francis’s recent apostolic letter on sexual abuse to the US bishops. - Pope offers 'decalogue for nuncios' (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis addressed pontifical representatives as they took part in a four-day meeting at the Vatican. The “decalogue,” included in an address the Pope handed to nuncios, “in reality, is addressed through you also to your collaborators and, rather, to all the bishops, priests and consecrated persons you encounter in every part of the world.” - Indifference, tensions within Church: topics of Pope's discussion with Romanian Jesuits (La Civiltà Cattolica)
La Civiltà Cattolica has published the transcript of the Pope’s conversation with 22 Jesuits, a conversation that took place on May 31 during his apostolic journey to Romania. - Climate change threatens humanity, Pope says (Vatican News)
Effective action is urgently needed to stem a climate-change crisis that “threatens the very future of the human family,” Pope Francis said in a June 14 address to participants in a Vatican conference on energy production. He said that restrictions on carbon emissions are “essential.” The Pontiff also called for “open, transparent, science-based and standardized” reporting on climate change. - In Sri Lanka, St Anthony's Shrine reopens after the Easter Sunday attack (AsiaNews)
The Sri Lankan jihadist group National Thowheeth Jama’ath was responsible for the Sri Lanka Easter bombings. “Our Catholics did not attack any Muslims after these attacks on churches,” Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith preached on June 13. “We protected Muslims. That is called religion.” - Philippine bishops decry China's 'continuous bullying' (UCANews)
The Philippine defense secretary said that a Chinese vessel rammed into a Philippine boat, causing it to sink. - Sex-abuse accusations grow against Catholic clergy in Poland (Wall Street Journal)
Archbishop Stanislaw Gądecki, president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, apologized to abuse victims after a report found that 382 priests have abused 625 minors since 1990. - Myanmar bishops see massive dam as 'harbinger of catastrophe' (Fides)
China has pressured Myanmar to resume construction on one of the world’s largest dams; construction was approved in 2009 and suspended in 2011. - Illinois governor signs bill legalizing abortions up to birth (LifeNews.com)
The state’s bishops repeatedly spoke out against the legislation. The Illinois Catholic Conference stated, “The ‘Reproductive Health Act’ goes further than Roe v. Wade in stripping rights from the unborn child with this single sentence: ‘A fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights under the laws of this State.’” - Cardinal Parolin celebrates 25th anniversary of diplmatic relations with Israel (Vatican Press Office)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, spoke at a June 14 event in Rome marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Israel. Cardinal Parolin praised “the commitment of the State of Israel to ensure the Catholic Church the freedom to carry out her mission,” and said the Vatican and Israel will continue to cooperate in support of religious freedom and human dignity. - Judicial nominee withdraws after GOP senators accuse him of anti-Catholic bias (Washington Post)
Michael Bogren “came under intense scrutiny for a legal defense he provided the city of East Lansing [Michigan] when it was sued by a Catholic-owned farm that refused to allow same-sex marriages on its property,” the Post reported. “The city found the farm violated its anti-discrimination ordinance and barred it from participating in its farmers market. In his legal brief, Bogren compared the situation to a Ku Klux Klan-member-owned business refusing service to an interracial couple.” - Islamic State expands reach in Afghanistan, threatening West (AP)
“The Islamic State group has lost its caliphate in Syria and Iraq, but in the forbidding mountains of northeastern Afghanistan the group is expanding its footprint, recruiting new fighters and plotting attacks on the United States and other Western countries,” according to the report. “Nearly two decades after the US-led invasion, the extremist group is seen as an even greater threat than the Taliban.” - Church must use social media to bring 'nones' back, Bishop Barron says (CNS)
“Half the kids that we baptized and confirmed in the last 30 years are now ex-Catholics or unaffiliated,” Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles said at the June 2019 USCCB general assembly. “One out of six millennials in the US is now a former Catholic.” - US bishops lend support to sainthood cause of Michigan stigmatic (USCCB)
Bishop John Doerfler of Marquette (Michigan) recently began the diocesan phase of the sainthood cause of Irving C. “Francis” Houle (1925-2009). - Bishops approve revision of US Catechism's teaching on death penalty (USCCB)
In 2018, Pope Francis revised the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s teaching on the death penalty. In light of the change, the US bishops have revised the teaching of the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults. - Cardinal Zen: The Hong Kong government is driving young people to despair (AsiaNews)
Cardinal Joseph Zen, 87, was bishop of Hong Kong from 2002 until 2009. - Texas bishop calls for stronger defense of dignity of immigrants (CNS)
“I feel that as a (bishops’) conference, we must express ourselves more strongly when it comes to the dignity of immigrants, to say that they are not criminals, that they are vulnerable families and we need to invite all the governments involved, not just the US, to defend the migrant as a human being, to not cast the person aside as someone who doesn’t matter and is a problem,” Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville said. - Pope Francis praises Poland's march for life, recalls St. Anthony (Vatican Press Office)
“I know that many of you and thousands of your compatriots participated in the March for Life last Sunday, carrying the message that life is sacred as it is a gift from God,” Pope Francis said following his June 12 general audience. “We are called to defend and serve life, from conception in the womb until advanced age, when it is marked by disease and suffering. It is not permissible to destroy life, to make it the object of experiments or false conceptions. I ask you to pray that human life will always be respected, bearing witness to Gospel values, especially in the family.” - Thanking pilgrims, Pope praises nobility of Panamanian people (Vatican Press Office)
In January, Pope Francis made an apostolic journey to Panama for the 2019 World Youth Day. Five months later, he received Panamanian pilgrims in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace (photographs).