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Gaza's only Catholic priest among injured in Israeli attack

Father Gabriel Romanelli with Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, celebrating Christmas Mass at Holy Family Parish in Gaza, in December 2024. / Credit: Courtesy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Vatican City, Jul 17, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

The Holy Family Church in Gaza was hit Thursday amid a new wave of Israeli bombings, leaving several people dead and injured, including the church’s pastor, Gabriel Romanelli, a native of Argentina.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem confirmed the incident in an official statement. The attack left three dead, according to Caritas Jerusalem.

One of the victims was Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, 60, the parish's maintenance manager who was in the courtyard at the time of the explosion. The other two fatalities were Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, an 84-year-old woman, and Najwa Abu Daoud, 70, who were receiving psychological care at the time inside the tent of Caritas' psycho-social support project.

According to Avvenire, the Italian Bishops’ Conference newspaper, Romanelli suffered injuries to his leg and was hospitalized, although his condition is not reported as critical. In addition to the Argentine priest from the Institute of the Incarnate Word, eight other people were injured and rushed to Al Mamadami Hospital, just one kilometer (.62 miles) from the church.

The parish building, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, was converted at the beginning of the war into a makeshift shelter where more than 500 people now live. The majority are Orthodox Christians, Protestants, and Catholics, but it also serves as a refuge for more than 50 Muslim children with disabilities and their families.

For weeks, the 541 people sheltering in the parish complex have endured the daily roar of bombs falling in the surrounding area, especially in the residential neighborhood of al-Zaytun in Gaza City.

Despite the insecurity, the priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) has remained in Gaza accompanying the local Catholic community in the midst of the conflict. In 2023 (when the Israel-Hamas war started) he was evacuated to Jerusalem, but decided to return in a gesture that demonstrates his pastoral commitment and spiritual resilience.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the incident. “The Israeli attacks on Gaza also hit the Holy Family church,” she wrote on X. “The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such deportment,” she added. 

This is not the first time that Holy Family parish, which has been a location for humanitarian assistance since the start of the war in October 2023, has been attacked. In December of that same year, two women were killed by an Israeli sniper inside the compound.

In addition, seven people were injured during the shooting that hit several Gazans. On that occasion, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned the "cold-blooded" attack on the perimeter of the parish, where there were "no combatants."

This latest attack on a place of worship raises new concerns about the situation of civilians and religious communities trapped in the conflict. The Catholic Church in the Holy Land has repeatedly called for respect for sacred sites and the protection of the civilian population, regardless of faith.

A United Nations delegation made a surprise visit to the parish on July 1, the only Latin-rite Catholic church in Gaza, which houses hundreds of people displaced by the war.

According to Servizio Informazione Religiosa (SIR), the news agency of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) visited the church to assess the current situation there.

The Catholic enclave had previously received special attention from the late Pope Francis, who called Father Romanelli every day. His last call to the parish was two days before his death, on April 21.

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

Pope Leo XIV meets with U.S. Orthodox-Catholic pilgrim group at Castel Gandolfo

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday met with a U.S. ecumenical group, led by Cardinal Joseph Tobin and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, encouraging them to “return to the roots of our faith” in their pilgrimage to Italy and Turkey. July 17, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Jul 17, 2025 / 12:31 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday met with a U.S. ecumenical group, led by Cardinal Joseph Tobin and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, encouraging them to “return to the roots of our faith” in their pilgrimage to Italy and Turkey.    

Welcoming the group from his “native country” to his papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, located 15 miles southeast of Rome, the Holy Father said their visits to various holy sites in both countries are a “concrete way” of renewing their faith in the “Gospel handed down to us by the apostles.”

He said: “Your pilgrimage is one of the abundant fruits of the ecumenical movement aimed at restoring full unity among all Christ’s disciples in accordance with the Lord’s prayer at the Last Supper, when Jesus said, ‘that they may all be one.’”

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday met with a U.S. ecumenical group, led by Cardinal Joseph Tobin and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, encouraging them to “return to the roots of our faith” in their pilgrimage to Italy and Turkey. July 17, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday met with a U.S. ecumenical group, led by Cardinal Joseph Tobin and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, encouraging them to “return to the roots of our faith” in their pilgrimage to Italy and Turkey. July 17, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

Leo reiterated the importance of Christian unity — a key theme of his pontificate — during the meeting, saying Rome, Constantinople, and other episcopal sees “are not called to vie for primacy” but to pursue a path of “fraternal charity” through the Holy Spirit.

“It is significant that your pilgrimage is taking place this year, in which we celebrate one thousand seven hundred years of the Council of Nicaea,” he said. 

“The symbol of faith adopted by the assembled Fathers remains – together with the additions made at the Council of Constantinople in 381 – the common patrimony of all Christians, for many of whom the creed is an integral part of their liturgical celebrations,” he continued.

Pope Leo specially thanked Elpidophoros for leading the ecumenical group alongside Tobin, saying such “signs of sharing and fellowship” among Catholics and Orthodox should not be taken for granted.

“On December 7th, 1965, on the eve of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, my predecessor Saint Paul VI and the Patriarch, Athenagoras signed a Joint Declaration removing from memory and the midst of the Church the sentences of excommunication that followed the events of the year 1054,” he said.

“Before then, a pilgrimage like your own would probably not even have been possible,” he added. 

Pope Leo specially thanked Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America Elpidophoros for leading the ecumenical group alongside Cardinal Joseph Tobin, saying such “signs of sharing and fellowship” among Catholics and Orthodox should not be taken for granted. July 17, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo specially thanked Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America Elpidophoros for leading the ecumenical group alongside Cardinal Joseph Tobin, saying such “signs of sharing and fellowship” among Catholics and Orthodox should not be taken for granted. July 17, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media

The pope asked both religious leaders to bring his greetings and “an embrace of peace” to Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, who attended his May 18 inauguration Mass, when in Turkey to continue their pilgrimage. 

While encouraging the U.S. delegation to be “witnesses and bearers of hope” during the 2025 Jubilee Year, Leo asked pilgrims to look forward to 2033, when Christians will commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of “the redemption won by the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.”

“Spiritually, all of us need to return to Jerusalem, the City of Peace, where Peter, Andrew and all the Apostles, after the days of the Lord’s passion and resurrection, received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and from there bore witness to Christ to the ends of the earth,” he said.

Before concluding the audience, the Holy Father expressed his hope to meet the group again “in a few months” for an “ecumenical commemoration” to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. 

He did not specify if he would or would not undertake an apostolic journey to Turkey this year to celebrate the occasion in İznik, modern day Nicaea, during the meeting.

Korean spirituality gives new insights into environmental justice

The world is facing record-breaking temperatures year after year, and an increase in climate-related catastrophes. Since scientists have made it abundantly clear that this crisis is the result of human actions, denial is not a morally responsible option. We must accept that how we live, consume, and govern has everything to do with the state […]

The post Korean spirituality gives new insights into environmental justice appeared first on U.S. Catholic.

Abortions in Ireland up 300% since 2018 referendum

Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin, chairman of the Irish bishops’ Council for Life (far left), and Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, primate of all Ireland (second from left), stand with young pro-life activists at the 2024 Ireland March for Life in Dublin on May 6, 2024. / Credit: Courtesy of Pro Life Campaign

Dublin, Ireland, Jul 17, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

One in 6 unborn children’s lives now end in abortion in the Republic of Ireland.

In Wake of Strike on Church in Gaza, Archbishop Broglio Calls for Immediate Ceasefire and Dialogue Towards Peace

WASHINGTON – Reacting to the military strike of Holy Family Church in Gaza this morning, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops joined the prayers of Pope Leo XIV for those killed and to those injured and emphasized the need for immediate ceasefire and dialogue for peace.

“With the Holy Father, the Catholic bishops of the United States are deeply saddened to learn about the deaths and injuries at Holy Family Church in Gaza caused by a military strike. Our first concern, naturally, goes out to Father Gabriele Romanelli and all his parishioners, most especially to the families of those killed. Our prayers are for them during these tragic times. With the Holy Father, we also continue to pray and advocate for dialogue and an immediate ceasefire. Yesterday was the memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, through her intercession, may there be peace in Gaza.”

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Contemplating a crucifix led to conversion of young Chinese atheist 

Shushu, with her husband Josemi and their son Emmanuel during JEMJ at the Covadonga shrine. / Credit: Almudena Martínez-Bordiú/EWTN News

Vatican City, Jul 16, 2025 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

A young Chinese mother shares the testimony of her conversion from atheism to Catholicism.

Small business agency launches ‘Center for Faith,’ ends ban on relief for faith groups

U.S. Small Business Administration, Washington, D.C. / Jer123/Shutterstock

CNA Newsroom, Jul 16, 2025 / 16:35 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is opening a “Center for Faith” and eliminating a regulation that banned faith-based groups from receiving disaster loans. 

The SBA, a branch of the federal government established to bolster the economy by supporting small businesses, announced they would remove the longstanding regulation as part of the agency’s efforts to end faith-based discrimination by the government. 

The SBA previously prohibited any group “principally engaged in teaching, instructing, counseling, or indoctrinating religion” from applying for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), a regulation which the SBA is now nixing under the Trump administration. 

The SBA argues that the regulation is unconstitutional, citing the 2017 U.S. Supreme Court decision Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer

In the ruling, the court found that a Missouri state agency violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution when it refused to let a church participate in a state-funded program because of its religious affiliation. 

“We're rooting out religious discrimination — and embracing religious freedom,”  SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said in a post on X.

In addition to cutting the restriction against faith-based groups, the SBA is launching the Center for Faith under the agency’s Office of Economic Development. 

Set to be headed by Director of Faith Outreach Janna Bowman, the center will “focus on building partnerships with faith-driven organizations to increase awareness and access to capital, business counseling, contracting opportunities, and disaster recovery,” according to a SBA press release. 

The agency, Loeffler said, “is committed to ending the era of weaponized government that has systematically discriminated against Americans of faith – even denying them access to vital disaster relief in times of tragedy.”  

The new faith center was announced in the wake of President Donald Trump’s Feb. 7 executive order establishing the White House Faith Office, according to the SBA

Other federal agencies have also launched centers for faith, including the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and others. 

SBA’s first-ever faith center is designed to “improve access to agency resources for the faith community, ensuring that all SBA programs are accessible to eligible Americans regardless of their religious affiliation,” Loeffler said. 

“We are proud to uphold the principles of religious freedom that our nation was founded on — and look forward to forging lasting relationships that bring new small businesses into the SBA ecosystem,” she added.

Irish team begins search for children's remains at former home for unwed mothers

View of the mass grave at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in the town of Tuam, County Galway. / Credit: AugusteBlanqui, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rome Newsroom, Jul 16, 2025 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

A team of archaeologists, anthropologists, and forensic scientists have begun excavating an old septic tank this week at the former St. Mary's Mother and Baby Home run by the Bon Secours Sisters

CARA study: Mary’s role strongly shapes vocational paths in U.S. Church

Mosaic of Mary, Virgin Immaculate, in the Chapel of the Choir in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome. / Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 16, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

A new study has found that “reciting the rosary privately” is the most popular Marian devotion among those discerning a religious vocation.

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University published its June 2025 report: “Impact of Mary, Mother of the Church, on Ecclesial Vocations,” which includes results from six surveys with 1,091 respondents, 65% of whom were diocesan personnel in the U.S. — including bishops (9%), diocesan priests (40%), permanent deacons (10%), and deacon directors (7%). 

U.S. religious men and women accounted for the other 35% of respondents including religious priests (6%), major superiors of men (8%), and major superiors of women (21%). The majority of respondents are Latin Rite Catholic (95%), and 5% are Eastern Rite Catholic.

The surveys were conducted by CARA in collaboration with the Diocese of Saginaw from March to May 2025.

Marian devotions impact on vocational discernment

The study found that 59% of respondents reported that their devotion to Mary has had either “a meaningful impact” or “a great impact” on their “original sense of a vocation to serve Christ and the Church.” Religious priests (71%) were most likely to report so, while responding deacon directors (49%) were least likely.

The survey found that the most popular Marian devotion when discerning a vocation was “reciting the rosary privately.” Seven in 10 respondents reported that it “positively impacted them during their discernment period,” specifically among bishops, with 80% reporting that it did. 

When discerning a vocation to a particular religious community or diocese, 35% of respondents reported that a Marian dimension of that community was “significant" or "very significant.” 

Responding priests were found to be the most likely to report that the Marian dimension held some form of significance (47%) and deacon directors were the least likely (30%).

Of all survey respondents, 44% reported that they visited at least one apparition site before deciding on their current ecclesial vocation. Nearly three in 10 made pilgrimages to Guadalupe (29%) and Lourdes (28%), which were the two most common sites mentioned. 

Marian devotions related to Fátima, Lourdes, and Guadalupe were the most likely to have impacted a respondent’s “original sense of ecclesial vocation.” Of respondents, 44% reported Marian devotions related to Fatima had “a meaningful impact” or “a great impact” on their original sense of an ecclesial vocation, 43% to Lourdes, and 31% to Guadalupe. 

Influence of Marian devotions on those living out ecclesial vocations

When asked about their current devotion to Mary in a religious order, nearly all respondents (89%) reported they have a "strong devotion” (58%) or “some devotion” (31%).

An average of 75% of respondents reported that their devotion to Mary has either “strengthened” (34%) or “very much strengthened” (41%) them while living out their ecclesial vocation. A combined 80% reported that they turn to Mary for spiritual assistance “often” (36%) or “very often” (44%).

The study found that 80% of respondents indicated that their devotion to Mary has had either a “meaningful impact” (58%) or a “great impact” (22%) on their devotion to the Eucharist. 

Reciting the rosary alone (72%) was the most frequent Marian devotion that respondents reported doing “weekly” or “daily,” specifically among responding bishops with 87% answering that they do. Other popular Marian devotions included meditative or contemplative prayer with Our Lady (46%), reciting the rosary with others (37%), and reading spiritual writings on Mary (28%). 

Of respondents, 77% said at least one Marian site and its related devotions have strengthened them while living out their ecclesial vocation. Guadalupe (63%), Lourdes (59%), and Fátima (53%) were the most frequently mentioned. Responding bishops were most likely to report that Guadalupe (77%) and Lourdes (72%) have strengthened them.  

Role of Mary in religious men and women’s lives

Out of 710 respondents who specified how they view Mary in their lives, 167 expressed experiencing Mary’s presence in their life as a “companion, friend, guide and comforter.”  One respondent said: “Mary stands by me each day as I celebrate holy Mass, just as she stood by Christ at the foot of the Cross,” while another said Mary "is my comfort whenever I am afraid.”

A total of 129 respondents expressed that Mary plays the role of “intercessor” in their lives. One specified: “I wouldn't be who I am today, or where I am today, if it were not for Mary's intercessory role in my life.”

A total of 121 respondents answered that Mary plays the role of a “mother” in their ecclesial vocation. A respondent wrote that Mary as a mother “has always been there and continues to be there. I love her even more as I grow in my awareness of her love for me.”

The majority of respondents (74%) said the Catholic Church places the “right amount of emphasis” on devotion to Mary. Among the others, 5% reported that there is “too much emphasis” and 21% said there is “not enough emphasis.” 

Australian bishops call on government to enforce country’s surrogacy ban

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference is urging lawmakers to prohibit surrogacy in all cases in a letter submitted on July 9, 2025. / Credit: Shutterstock

CNA Newsroom, Jul 16, 2025 / 12:05 pm (CNA).

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has urged the Australian Law Reform Commission to ban all forms of surrogacy, including “altruistic” arrangements, in a nine-page letter highlighting the “profound harms” of the practice. 

“The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference calls on the Law Reform Commission to recommend the prohibition of all forms of surrogacy in Australia,” the bishops write in the letter, which was shared with CNA. 

“A woman is not a machine for reproduction,” the bishops argue in the letter, “she is a person made in the image of God, called to bear life with love, freedom, and dignity.”

“Surrogacy reduces this sacred role [of motherhood] to a service contract—an arrangement that denies the women’s full humanity,” the letter says. “Surrogacy attempts to divide a woman's body from her identity, as though she could be a vessel without being a mother.” 

Submitted to the commission on July 9 by Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Tony Percy — the conference’s delegate for life issues — the letter asserts that current laws fail to protect women and children from exploitation and trauma, emphasizing that children "have no voice" in surrogacy arrangements and deserve to be "received in love, not produced as part of a contractual arrangement."

“While the pain of infertility is real and deserving of compassion, not all responses to suffering are just. Surrogacy introduces new and profound harms,” the bishops say in the letter, noting the practice places both women and children at heightened risk for medical and emotional trauma. 

“For children,” the letter continues, “it breaches core human rights, including identity, parentage, and protection from commodification, which are rights affirmed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.” 

Commercial surrogacy, where surrogate mothers are paid to carry the child, is illegal in Australia. Only “altruistic” surrogacy, where the mother’s pregnancy expenses are covered but she makes no profit, is considered lawful. 

Because commercial surrogacy is illegal, Australian state and territory courts will generally not recognize those who engage in a commercial surrogacy arrangement as the legal parents of the child born through it. 

Some states, however, including New South Wales, have passed laws that allow the granting of legal parentage in certain circumstances after a commercial arrangement. The pathways, however, “often require admitting criminal conduct to the court,” according to the Review of Surrogacy Laws being considered by the law commission

“It is concerning that although commercial surrogacy is banned in Australia, including overseas arrangements in several jurisdictions, these laws are rarely enforced,” the bishops point out in their letter. 

“As a result, Australians are continuing to commission children through international commercial surrogacy with little scrutiny or consequence, undermining the intent of the legal prohibitions which are to protect children.”

The bishops’ letter includes testimony from former surrogate mothers who experienced “deep emotional, physical, and spiritual harm” when participating in the practice. 

One mother, identified as Cathy, stated: "The pain never goes away. I am still an emotional basket case and struggle every day with this… When I signed the paper, I thought I could do it. I did not realize it would break my heart. The pain and emptiness I feel have been unbearable.”

Another woman, called Sherrie, said: “I can’t describe the depth of sadness I felt when I came home without the child I loved, carried within me, and gave birth to. It was as if I had a child die.” 

She continued: “I just couldn’t help but love this child like my own, because it was my own… As I watched their car driving away that day on the gravel road, I felt like the dust left behind to scatter in the corn fields.” 

Ultimately, the bishops in the letter express deep concern for the terms of the review conducted by the commission, which they say “appear[s] to prioritize easier access to surrogacy,” rather than promoting the “fundamental rights and dignity of women and children.” 

“We reject the idea that expanding surrogacy serves the best interests of children or respects human dignity,” they write. “Any legal reform must begin with a clear commitment to protect children from commodification, women from exploitation, and society from the normalization of contract-based human reproduction.”