U.S.
Report: U.S. abortions continue post-Dobbs rise in part due to telehealth
WASHINGTON — The rate of abortions in the U.S. continued to increase in 2024 following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, according to a report by #WeCount, a research project by the Society of Family Planning, a group that supports legal abortion. The report, released shortly before the third anniversary of the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, said that in 2024, there were about 1.14 million abortions by licensed clinicians across the U.S., an increase from the previous year’s findings of 1.06 million in 2023. A quarter of the tallied abortions in 2024 were conducted via telehealth, it said. That marks a significant jump from a similar report from the second quarter of 2022, when telehealth accounted for just 5% of U.S. abortions. Also, on July 7, a federal judge placed a temporary restraining order on a provision in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law July 4, that would have stopped Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid payments for a year. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston ordered the block July 7 when New York-based Planned Parenthood Federation of America, joined by its Massachusetts and Utah affiliates, filed a lawsuit against the heads of the U.S. departments of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and their agencies. On July 2, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court struck down a ban on abortion Wisconsin had in place since 1849. The 4-3 ruling held that the past 50 years of “comprehensive legislation” on abortion regulation had implicitly repealed the law. (OSV News)
Town officials vote to buy, renovate Pope Leo’s childhood home
DOLTON, Ill. — An Illinois town intends to purchase the childhood home of Pope Leo XIV, hoping to turn the property and its surroundings into a historical site. The board of trustees of the Village of Dolton voted unanimously July 1 to buy the modest, one-story brick dwelling located at 212 E. 141st Place in Dolton. Since the election of the first U.S.-born pope, the 75-year-old home — in which the former Robert Prevost was raised — has become a tourist attraction and even a place of pilgrimage. “So many people are coming to the block,” said Nakita Cloud, spokesperson for the Village of Dolton. “You see tour buses (here).” (OSV News)
California diocese files for bankruptcy to help reconcile with abuse survivors
FRESNO, Calif. — The Diocese of Fresno has filed for bankruptcy to address more than 150 abuse claims filed under a California lookback law and create a genuine path of reconciliation for the Church and abuse survivors. Bishop Joseph V. Brennan wrote “Addressing the Grievous Fault of Clergy Abuse,” a July 1 letter to faithful that was posted in both English and Spanish to the diocesan website. He wrote, “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.” Bishop Brennan had initially announced the Chapter 11 plans in May 2024, with the claims prompted by California’s enactment of a 2020-2022 lookback window for previously time-bound claims. (OSV News)
Pope Leo XIV names California bishop as new bishop of Austin, Texas
WASHINGTON — Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Daniel E. Garcia of Monterey, California, as the bishop of Austin, Texas. The appointment was publicized in Washington July 2 by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the U.S. Earlier this year, on Jan. 20, Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, who was serving as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Austin since March 8, 2010, was named by Pope Francis as archbishop of Galveston-Houston, where he was installed on March 25. Bishop Garcia was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Austin on May 28, 1988. In 2018, Pope Francis named him bishop of the Diocese of Monterey, California. (OSV News)
WORLD
Synod office provides guidelines to help local Churches, bishops implement synodality
VATICAN CITY — Local Churches and bishops worldwide will be instrumental in helping implement the proposals and foster the spirit of the 2024 final document of the Synod of Bishops on synodality, the Vatican synod office said. To more effectively carry out the mission of evangelization, the implementation phase of the synod “aims to examine new practices and structures that will make the life of the Church more synodal,” the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops said in a new set of guidelines released July 7. “Concretely, the priority is to offer the people of God new opportunities to walk together and reflect on these experiences in order to reap their fruits for the mission and share them,” the text said. The 24-page text, titled “Pathways for the Implementation Phase of the Synod,” is a guide for bishops and synodal teams, and an invitation to them to share their initiatives as they apply the synod’s final proposals locally. (CNS)
Vatican officially names panel of judges for canonical trial of Father Rupnik
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has officially named the judges who will oversee the canonical trial of Father Marko Rupnik, the disgraced Slovenian priest and artist accused of sexually, spiritually and psychologically abusing more than two dozen women. Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, confirmed July 3 in Rome that the panel is made up of independent, external judges to ensure impartiality. He declined to say when the trial would begin. Victims’ lawyer Laura Sgrò welcomed the news, saying it marks a step toward justice, transparency and healing. Father Rupnik was expelled from the Jesuits in 2023 after decades of abuse allegations but remains incardinated in his home diocese in Slovenia. Pope Francis personally lifted the statute of limitations to allow the trial to proceed, as survivors and advocates continue pressing for accountability. (OSV News)
Archbishop arrested, second cleric sought, amid Armenian government crackdown on opposition
ECHMIADZIN, Armenia — A struggle between Church and government continues to deepen in Armenia, with one bishop in custody and crowds preventing a second bishop sought by authorities from being detained. On June 25, Armenia’s security forces arrested Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the dominant faith community of the Caucasus nation and part of the ancient Eastern Orthodox family of churches. The country’s investigative committee accused the archbishop and 13 others of plotting to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan through attacks on power supplies and transportation, charges the archbishop’s legal counsel, Sergei Harutyunyan, has denied. Archbishop Galstanyan leads the Sacred Struggle opposition movement, which has seen tens of thousands protest territorial concessions by Pashinyan to Azerbaijan, among other issues.(OSV News)
