Read & Reflect
Articles, reflections, news, and homilies — thoughtful Catholic content for the faithful, published regularly.
World News
World News
Hong Kong crackdown continues with new convictions, increased harassment
Two civil rights advocates were convicted Friday of national security crimes by a special court in Hong Kong, and now face up to a decade in prison. The convictions come as local clergy warn of increased harassment of Church officials in the territory.Image credit: Hong Kong government.Chow Hang-tun...
World News
The Friday Pillar Post - August 21, 2026
Written by Ed Condon and published August 21, 2026.ShareAre you a paying subscriber?Visit pillarcatholic.com/listen on your phoneCheck the top right corner of the webpage to ensure you are logged into your Substack account.Tap ‘set up podcast’ next to The Pillar TL;DRHaving issues? Email our produce...
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NSW Catholic schools chief fired amid corruption inquiry
An organization overseeing almost 600 Catholic schools in the Australian state of New South Wales announced Friday that it had fired its chief executive, days after he appeared before a state corruption watchdog inquiry, and erased his phone and iPhone hard drives amid the corruption probe.Dallas Mc...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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‘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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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:...