U.S.

Supreme Court to hear challenge to state law banning transgender interventions for minors

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on June 24 agreed to hear a challenge to a Tennessee state law banning certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender, its first major step toward weighing in on the issue. The high court agreed to hear in the fall the Biden administration’s challenge to a law in Tennessee restricting gender transition treatments including puberty blockers for minors. Supporters of prohibitions on gender transition surgeries or hormones for minors who identify as transgender say such efforts will prevent them from making irreversible decisions as children that they may later come to regret as adults. Critics of such bans argue that preventing those interventions could cause other harm to minors, such as mental health issues or physical self-harm. In guidance on health care policy and practices released in March 2023, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine opposed interventions that “involve the use of surgical or chemical techniques that aim to exchange the sex characteristics of a patient’s body for those of the opposite sex or for simulations thereof.” (OSV News)

Pope appoints new bishops for Davenport, Iowa, and Rapid City, S.D.

Pope Francis has appointed Father Dennis G. Walsh, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Delphos, Ohio, to be bishop of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa. He also appointed Father Scott E. Bullock, pastor of St. Edward Parish in Waterloo, Iowa, as bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota. The appointments were publicized in Washington June 25 by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Bishop-designate Walsh, who turns 59 July 16, is native of Lima, Ohio, and a priest of the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio. Bishop-designate Bullock, 60, is a native of Royal Oak, Michigan, who was ordained to the priesthood June 22, 1991, for the Archdiocese of Dubuque. (OSV News)

WORLD

France’s ‘night of churches’ an opportunity to understand Christian culture through art

PARIS — “La nuit des églises” has become a must-go-to event in recent years for many French Catholics and those wanting to experience the beauty of the country’s Christian heritage. From June 22 to July 7, many of France’s churches will open their doors in the evenings, after dark, for artistic and cultural events of “The night of churches,” organized by the French bishops since 2011. Under the law separating Church and state, church buildings in France have been owned by the municipalities since 1905, while the state owns the cathedrals. Places of worship are only allocated to dioceses and their clergy. So “La nuit des églises” is organized through the collaboration of parishes and town halls, with the help of heritage preservation associations. (OSV News)

Vatican begins schism trial of former U.S. nuncio Abp. Viganò

VATICAN CITY — The Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith has begun an extrajudicial penal trial to determine if Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former nuncio to the United States, is guilty of schism, the archbishop said on social media. In a June 20 post on X, the archbishop published a letter he said he received from the dicastery over email informing him of the trial. The letter said the archbishop was summoned to appear at the dicastery’s office June 20 to hear “the accusations and evidence against him regarding the crime of schism of which he is accused.” It continued to detail the specific elements of schism, accusing the archbishop of “public statements which result in a denial of the elements necessary to maintain communion with the Catholic Church: denial of the legitimacy of Pope Francis, rupture of communion with Him, and rejection of the Second Vatican Council.” Archbishop Viganò is active on social media and writes often on the blog of his association, “Exsurge Domine,” where he has continued to be vocal about his opposition to Pope Francis and Vatican II. (CNS)

Pope advances sainthood causes of Albanian martyrs, four others

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of three women and three men, including two priests who were killed in hatred of the faith in Albania in the early 20th century. After the pope met June 20 with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the Vatican published the list of decrees the pope approved. The pope recognized the martyrdom for the beatification of Franciscan Father Luigi Paliq, killed in 1913, and Father Gjon Gazulli, hanged in 1927. Martyrs do not need a miracle attributed to their intercession for beatification. However, a miracle must be recognized by the Vatican for them to become saints. The pope recognized the heroic virtues of Father Columbro. Pope Francis also recognized the heroic virtues of Sister Zauli, who, the dicastery said, nurtured her faith during many “painful trials she endured” and was fervently devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, referring to it as “‘the sun’ that illuminates all of existence.” Other decrees signed by the pope attested to the heroic virtues lived by: Ascensión Sacramento Sánchez Sánchez, who was a Spanish consecrated laywoman, who lived from 1911 to 1946 and was an early member of the secular institute Cruzada Evangélica; and Sister Vicenta Guilarte Alonso, a member of the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus, who was born in Spain in 1879 and died in Brazil in 1960. (CNS)

Interfaith alliance calls on Canada to protect places of worship from vandalism

OTTAWA, Ontario — A deepening polarization in Canadian society and increased vandalism against houses of worship has led to an interfaith call for the federal government to provide more robust protection of religious institutions. At a June 18 news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the Canadian Interfaith Conversation, or CIC, an alliance of faith communities working to combat hate based on religious identity, issued an urgent call to action for the protection of all faith groups from such attacks. Highlighting the role of religious communities in building bridges, Aakash Maharaj, ambassador-at-large of the Ottawa-based Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption and member of the executive council of CIC, said: “Faith communities share a deep reverence for and commitment to the dignity of every human being and for the sacredness of humanity and creation. Hate ignores and undermines that dignity and sacredness, and has no place in Canada.” Such attacks are not “only a Jewish community problem. … All other faith institutions deserve as much protection,” said Richard Marceau of the Center for Jewish and Israeli Affairs. Shaila Carter, co-chair of CIC and interfaith specialist at Islamic Relief Canada, said Canada should be a safe environment for people to practice their faith freely and happily. (OSV News)