U.S
Kansas bishops: ‘Unnecessary raids, mass detentions’ betray Gospel, U.S. values
Three Kansas Catholic bishops Aug. 14 called on the faithful to remember the dignity of every person, “especially those fleeing hardship,” and urged public officials “to use existing legal discretion to treat undocumented migrants humanely.” “Unnecessary raids, mass detentions, and family separations betray the values of our nation and the Gospel,” they wrote in a joint pastoral letter on immigration. They urged the faithful “to encounter immigrants as neighbors and build welcoming parishes where politics never poisons compassion.” The letter was signed by Archbishop W. Shawn McKnight of Kansas City, Bishop Carl A. Kemme of Wichita and Bishop Gerald L. Vincke of Salina. “We speak with one voice to affirm the sacred dignity of every human person, especially those fleeing hardship, who now call our state home,” they said. The bishops said they support law enforcement “protecting public safety” from criminals, no matter their legal status, who “are taking advantage of our country’s broken immigration system” but “treating all migrants and refugees as if they were violent criminals is simply unjust.” Bishop John B. Brungardt of Dodge City, the state’s other Catholic diocese, did not sign on to the joint pastoral letter. (OSV News)
Following deadly steel plant explosion, Pittsburgh bishop calls for prayer
PITTSBURGH — Bishop Mark A. Eckman of Pittsburgh is calling for prayer following a deadly explosion at a U.S. Steel facility in Pennsylvania Aug. 11 that killed at least one and injured 10, with one person still unaccounted for. The blast rocked the Clairton Coke Works along the Monongahela River just south of Pittsburgh. The facility produces the carbon-rich coke from metallurgical coal for use in steel production. “It is with a heavy heart that I join our neighbors in mourning after the tragic explosions earlier today at the Clairton Coke Works,” Bishop Eckman said in a statement. “My deepest prayers are with the person who has died, with those who are injured, and with the workers who are still missing. I pray especially for their families, friends, co-workers, and all who are carrying heavy worry in their hearts.” He called for the diocese’s parish communities to be places of comfort for those affected. “At times like this, our faith calls us to stand together in compassion, in prayer, and in care for one another,” he said. (OSV News)
Petition filed at Supreme Court seeks overturn of landmark same-sex marriage ruling
WASHINGTON — About a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, the justices have been directly asked to overturn that ruling in a case they will have to decide whether or not to take up in the fall. Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who sparked a national controversy in the wake of that ruling in 2015 when she declined to issue marriage licenses to a same-sex couple on religious grounds, sought to appeal a federal jury’s decision that she should pay $100,000 in damages — and $260,000 for attorneys fees — to a couple to whom she denied a marriage license. In a petition for writ of certiorari filed in July, Davis and her attorneys argued the First Amendment should protect Davis from personal liability for denying marriage licenses, since the suit was filed in her personal rather than official capacity. If the Obergefell ruling were to be overturned, it would not render void existing marriage licenses due to the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act. (OSV News)
Judge blocks religious exemption to birth control coverage; Little Sisters of the Poor to appeal
WASHINGTON — A federal district court in Philadelphia on Aug. 13 struck down a religious conscience rule implemented by the first Trump administration exempting employers with religious or moral concerns from having to provide their employees with insurance coverage for contraceptives and other drugs or procedures to which they have an objection. The Little Sisters of the Poor, defendants in the suit, are expected to appeal. U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia found the rules, which expanded the parameters for the types of nonprofits that could use the exception, were not necessary to protect the conscience rights of religious employers. Becket, the religious liberty law firm representing the Little Sisters of the Poor in their ongoing legal efforts over their objections to paying for abortifacient drugs, sterilizations and contraceptives in their employee health plans, said the nuns would appeal the ruling “in the coming weeks.” (OSV News)
WORLD
Vatican pediatric hospital welcomes more patients from Gaza
ROME — As the Israeli-Hamas conflict continues, three more children arrived in Italy on a military transport plane late Aug. 13 for treatment at the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital. A 6-month-old baby boy, who already had undergone an amputation, was admitted to the Rome hospital’s general surgery ward; a 13-year-old boy was placed under the care of the neurology department for a brain injury; and a 2-year-old girl, who has celiac disease, was admitted to general pediatrics for treatment of malnutrition, the hospital said in a statement Aug. 14. The new arrivals bring to 20 the number of children from Gaza who have been treated at the pediatric hospital since the conflict began in October 2023. With medical care and supplies lacking in Gaza, the first patients arrived in Italy in January 2024 thanks to lobbying efforts by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land and negotiations involving the governments of Italy, Israel, Palestine and Egypt. (CNS)
As Hong Kong Catholic activist’s trial reaches final stretch, appeals grow to ‘save him’
HONG KONG — In Hong Kong, the landmark trial of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, a Catholic, resumed Aug. 18 after a week’s delay, with the 76-year-old provided a heart monitor and medication following health scares. Lai, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, has spent nearly 1,700 days in solitary confinement. He faces life in prison if convicted of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and publish seditious materials under China’s sweeping national security law. Western governments have pressed for his release, citing the erosion of freedoms once promised to Hong Kong under its Basic Law. The Hong Kong government said on Aug. 13 that it “strongly disapproved and rejected the slanderous remarks made by external forces” regarding Lai’s case, AFP reported. Chinese authorities maintain that Lai is receiving a fair trial. (OSV News)
Uruguay bishops express sadness over euthanasia vote
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Uruguay’s bishops expressed sorrow after the country’s lower house of Congress approved a bill decriminalizing euthanasia. The measure, known as the Dignified Death Law, passed Aug. 13 by a 64–29 vote with backing from most lawmakers in the Broad Front coalition and some from the Colorado Party. It now heads to the Senate for debate. In a statement signed by Bishop Milton Tróccoli of Maldonado-Punta del Este-Minas, Cardinal Daniel Sturla of Montevideo and Bishop Heriberto Bodeant of Canelones, the bishops reaffirmed support for palliative care, saying it allows patients to be accompanied with dignity, rather than hastening death. The bishops have consistently opposed euthanasia, calling it “unethical” and warning that it amounts to homicide in a medical setting. Public opinion, however, leans strongly in favor — a recent poll found 62% of Uruguayans support legalization. (OSV News)
