Read &amp; Reflect

Spanish cardinal steps back over investigation

Spanish Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, SDB, Archbishop of Rabat, Morocco, said Monday that he will temporarily step back from public ministry, amid a Vatican investigation into allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior toward at least five women.Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, SDB. Credit: Vat...

Jul 14, 2026 45

‘No one really knows’ whereabouts of Nicaragua’s Bishop Mata

Nicaraguan human rights activists have raised alarm over the welfare and whereabouts of Bishop Abelardo Mata. The bishop was briefly detained by the Nicaraguan regime on June 29 and while authorities claim he was returned home later that day, no one outside the security forces has been able to estab...

Jul 14, 2026 47

July’s other illicit episcopal consecration

This month is likely to see in the Church not one but two sets of episcopal consecrations without a papal mandate, though taking place under very different circumstances.Fr. Michael Mary, F.SS.R., pictured in 2020. Credit: Screenshot from @TransalpineRedemptorists YouTube channel.The first, publiciz...

Jul 14, 2026 76

Paprocki: Charter revision included ‘opportunity for input’

When the U.S. bishops’ conference met in Orlando last month, bishops voted to pass a revision to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, the USCCB’s landmark safeguarding document, first issued in 2002.USCCB 2025 fall plenary assembly. Credit: Jack Figge / The Pillar.But while t...

Jul 14, 2026 62

Being free, private wars, and loony politics

Pillar paid subscribers can listen to Ed read this Pillar Post here: The Pillar TL;DRHappy Friday friends.If I am honest, I have been laboring under something of a lingering 4th of July hangover all week. I tried to shoot the festive moon last weekend: family in town, all day cook-out with friends f...

Catalonia poll suggests young adults are bucking secular trend

Young people aged 18 to 24 in the Spanish region of Catalonia are more likely to identify as Catholics than those aged 25 to 34, according to new research by a government public opinion research agency.The official flag of Catalonia flies in Barcelona. Credit: Darer101/wikimedia CC0 1.0 Universal Pu...

Caritas critical in Venezuela earthquake aftermath

Caritas Venezuela has received more than 14,700 tons of humanitarian aid for victims of the June 24 earthquakes, according to a July 7 announcement from the humanitarian arm of the Venezuelan bishops’ conference.Venezuelan citizens search destroyed buildings in La Guaira, Venezuela June 28, 2026. Cr...

Jul 14, 2026 42

Why has a Kenyan bishop imposed a curfew on clergy?

A Kenyan bishop issued a pastoral letter Sunday, announcing a canonical suspension for a significant proportion of his diocesan presbyterate, along with a slate of rules for his diocesan priests.Bishop Hieronymus Emusugut Joya of Maralal, Kenya. Credit: Screenshot from @ochiengzachary563 YouTube cha...

Are priestly ordinations rising or falling? Depends on where you are

Priestly ordinations in the United States are up slightly from last year, but are heavily concentrated in certain regions of the country.According to data gathered and analyzed by The Pillar, of the 342 men ordained to the diocesan priesthood in 2026, a little more than half were ordained in Midwest...

The weeds, the wheat, and the patient king

Dr. Scott Powell, JD Flynn, and Kate Olivera look ahead to the readings for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time— including a reading from Wisdom and Jesus’ telling of several subversive parables about the kingdom of God.ShareThis episode of Sunday School is brought to you by the Pillar’s exclusive...