Read & Reflect
Articles, reflections, news, and homilies — thoughtful Catholic content for the faithful, published regularly.
World News
World News
Moroccan archbishop says surprise Ceuta crossing reflects complex landscape
An estimated 80,000 people flooded across the border from Morocco to Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in Morocco, in a matter of hours on July 30, overwhelming the city of just under 83,000 inhabitants.It is not entirely clear what caused the mass border crossing. The vast majority of the undocumented migra...
World News
Sheriff: Baltimore deacon arrest was part of ‘Takedown’ TV effort
A Baltimore deacon charged with sexually soliciting a minor was discovered in a partnership between local sheriffs and a streaming predator investigation television program.Kenneth Goedeke. Credit: Harford County Sheriff’s Office. Subscribe now“We heard that there are rumors that Chris Hansen of ‘Ta...
World News
Italian bishops cancel Masonic funerals
Two Italian bishops have intervened in the last week to cancel funerals for senior Freemasons scheduled to be held in Catholic churches. The interventions are the latest in a series of moves by bishops around the world to reinforce the Church’s centuries-old opposition to Freemasonry and its canonic...
World News
‘In the ocean, you can see the beauty of God’
It’s lunch time on a summer Monday, and yet another group of foreigners is putting on wetsuits at one of the many surfing schools that dot the Praia Grande beach on the coastline of Sintra, Portugal. A lot of European groups come to ride the waves in Portugal’s surfing hotspot. But there is somethin...
World News
Germany sees increase in adult baptisms amid overall baptism decline
Adult baptisms in Germany rose significantly last year, while overall baptism numbers dropped, the German bishops’ conference said this month.Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Dresden. Credit: Diego Grandi / Alamy.Subscribe nowThere were 2,650 adults and young adults baptized in Germany in 2025, accord...
World News
Fr. Maurice, the news, and going mufti
Hey everybody,Two things can be true at once.Take Tibet.Tibetan people have a litany of legitimate grievances against the Chinese Communist Party, and Beijing’s human rights record in Tibet is deeply troubling, especially where freedom of religion, culture, speech, and conscience are concerned. Ther...
World News
In complex dispute, Armenian bishop faces criminal trial
The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church faced a courtroom last week, as Catholicos Karekin II faces obstruction of justice charges alongside five other Armenian bishops, as the latest in a long-running and complex dispute between Armenian Apostolic prelates and Armenia’s prime minister.Catholicos...
World News
Migrant ‘invasion’ in Ceuta divides Spanish bishops
The Spanish bishops are sharply divided in their responses to the recent influx of undocumented migrants from Morocco into the autonomous Spanish city of Ceuta.The president of the Spanish bishops’ conference called last week’s migrant surge “an invasion,” a striking contrast to the local diocese’s...
World News
Good as gold or paper profits? What to make of APSA’s annual report
The Administration for the Patrimony of the Apostolic See released its annual report last week, hailing strong and stabilizing results for 2025 and what it called a “return to ordinary operating conditions” after a change in investment strategy yielded extraordinary returns the previous year.Credit:...
World News
Learning to fly, catching up, and buying books
Pillar paid subscribers can listen to Ed read this Pillar Post here: The Pillar TL;DRHappy Friday friends,I am back. It was a truly restful vacation and I thank you all for letting me have it.It was the first time I have taken two weeks off — actually not working as opposed to working from somewhere...
World News
Apostolic administrator appointed for Rabat during cardinal’s investigation
The Archdiocese of Rabat, Morocco, announced Aug. 2 the temporary appointment of Msgr. Mario León Dorado, OMI, as apostolic administrator while the Holy See investigates allegations of sexual misconduct against Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, SDB.Monsignor Mario León Dorado, OMI. Credit: Missionary...
World News
Request for 'white bishop' sparks outrage and debate in Angola
Catholics in the African nation of Angola are locked in a controversy centered on a historically significant diocese, which claims to have been the see of the first black Catholic bishop appointed in sub-Saharan Africa.The controversy stems from an anonymous July 2 letter to Pope Leo XIV — seemingly...