Two bishops of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) — Spaniard Alfonso de Galarreta and Swiss Bernard Fellay — incurred automatic excommunication by committing the canonical offense of schism following the ordination of four bishops without the permission of Pope Leo XIV. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on July 2 declared…

ABUJA, Nigeria — A new six-year study released by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) is challenging long-held assumptions about the drivers of violence in Nigeria and the religious identity of its victims, with Christians bearing the larger burden. Released on June 30, the report, “Killings and Abductions in Nigeria (2020–2025),” analyzes violence…

Pope Leo XIV will follow in his predecessor Pope Francis’ footsteps with a visit to a major migrant landing point, the Italian island of Lampedusa, on July 4. Continuing his summer of day trips in Italy, the first U.S.-born pope will spend the U.S. Independence Day greeting immigrants, celebrating Mass, and visiting the tombs of…

Editor’s Note: The following is the keynote address delivered by Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization, to young Catholic media professionals and guests during the closing dinner of the 2026 EWTN Summer Academy on July 1 in Rome. Gratitude and hope Allow me to begin by expressing my heartfelt gratitude for the…

The Vatican has released a new documentary, “Leone a Roma,” about Pope Leo XIV’s early years in Rome before his election to the papacy. Following its previous documentaries, “León de Perú” and “Leo from Chicago,” the documentary premiered July 1 on the Vatican News YouTube channels in English, Italian, and Spanish. The documentary covers the then-Father Robert Prevost’s…

Appearing before the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions on June 23, French activist Charlène Bernard, who had launched a petition on maternity protection, recounted the ordeal that led her to undergo a forced abortion. Bernard’s petition asks whether European institutions and member states are doing enough to protect women who wish to continue their pregnancies…