St. Callistus Roman Catholic Church

Camp Mystic alumnae sing songs after a memorial service on July 7, 2025, for the young campers who perished in floods last week. / Credit: Amira Abuzeid/CNA

Houston, Texas, Jul 8, 2025 / 17:51 pm (CNA).

The faith communities of the Texas Hill Country flood victims are rallying in support of the families with Masses, rosaries, and memorial services. 

The Fourth of July flood disaster near the central Texas town of Kerrville, where the Guadalupe River rose 35 feet in the early morning hours, has claimed over 100 lives so far, including more than 30 young children, with many more still unaccounted for.

Especially affected was Camp Mystic, the 100-year-old Christian girls’ camp in Hunt, Texas. At least 27 campers there perished, with several more, including a counselor, not yet recovered.

Over the last few days, schools and churches in Houston, where many current and former Camp Mystic families reside, have held prayer services and Masses for the victims and their families.

In an email, Father Sean Horrigan, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, asked the community for prayers for the family of Anna Margaret Bellows, 8, a parishioner who was one of the 27 girls who died in the flood.

He said funeral details were forthcoming.

St. John Vianney Church held a memorial Mass on Monday, July 7, for Molly DeWitt, another of the young girls who passed away.

A filled-to-overflowing memorial service for Camp Mystic families took place on July 7 at the Church of St. John the Divine, an Episcopal church with deep ties to the camp. Buried there is Anne Eastland Spears, former Camp Mystic chairman of the board and mother of camp director Dick Eastland, who lost his life while rescuing campers from the flood.

The ministers spoke of Jesus’ love for his children, especially when they suffer. St. John’s rector, Rev. Leigh Spruill, encouraged those in mourning to “have hope. Keep talking to God … He may seem absent now, but he hears everything and he is present.”

Youth ministry director Rev. Sutton Lowe referred to the Gospel story of Jairus and his little girl, who died and whom Jesus raised from the dead. 

“When we die, Jesus is there to touch us and say ‘arise,’ and there is new life beyond our imagining,” he said.

Rev. Libby Garfield told mourners that “there is a path forward that is lined with the life and death and resurrection of Jesus.”

After the service, Camp Mystic alumnae of all ages gathered on the lawn north of the church, forming a large circle in the grass and singing camp songs, many of which were Christian hymns. 

Ashley Emshoff, an alumna who spoke to CNA after the memorial, told CNA that the camp forges bonds between campers that are lifelong and are “as strong as family.” 

Mystic alumna and St. John parishioner Alafair Hotze told CNA the Eastland family, who run the camp, became like family to generations of campers.

Emshoff and Hotze said that many Camp Mystic alumnae are so eager for their daughters to become part of the Mystic community that they write to the camp as soon as they find out they are pregnant with girls. The Eastlands respond with a Camp Mystic infant onesie for their newborn and a letter of congratulations (along with a place on the waitlist). 

Hotze said that Dick Eastland’s death, while tragic, aligned perfectly with the man he was: “He taught us to be selfless and love as Christ loves,” Hotze said.

“He died as he had lived,” Hotze said: “Giving his life for those he loved.”

The tragedy points to the urgent need to provide support and accompaniment to priests, who often bear great responsibilities and challenges, usually alone. / Credit: Africa Studio/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 8, 2025 / 16:18 pm (CNA).

The Catholic Church — especially in Italy — was profoundly shocked by the news of the death of Father Matteo Balzano, a 35-year-old priest who took his own life on Saturday, July 5.

Alarm was initially raised when he failed to celebrate Sunday Mass. Shortly after, his colleagues found the young priest dead in his parish residence in the town of Cannobio in the Italian region of Piedmont, part of the Diocese of Novara.

In a moving message, Father Franco Giudice, episcopal vicar for clergy and consecrated life in the Diocese of Novara, recalled that “only the Lord, he who scrutinizes and knows each one of us, knows how to understand the most impenetrable mysteries of the human soul.”

“We lift up to the God of mercy a prayer for Don Matteo, our brother in the priesthood, expressing our human closeness, in this dramatic moment, to his family and to the entire parish community of Cannobio,” Giudice wrote.

Balzano was born Jan. 3, 1990, in Borgomanero, Piedmont. He was a member of the parish in Grignasco and was ordained a priest on June 10, 2017, by Bishop Franco Giulio Brambilla of Novara. He served as parochial vicar in the community of Castelletto sopra Ticino from 2017 to early 2023. After a period of time at the Marian shrine in Re, a village in northern Italy, he enthusiastically resumed his mission among the young people of the oratory of the parish of Cannobio, also serving in the Cannobina Valley, according to the Diocese of Novara.

‘No one knows the hell one has inside’

One of Balzano’s parishioners, Maria Grazia, told the newspaper Il Secolo d’Italia that before taking his own life that he had commented to her regarding the death of another person who was close to the parish that “no one knows the hell one has inside to commit such an extreme act.”

On the afternoon of Monday, July 7, a prayer vigil was held at St. Victor Church in Cannobio. On Tuesday, July 8, at 10:30 a.m. local time, Bishop Franco Giulio Brambilla offered the funeral Mass.

After the service, burial took place in the cemetery church of Grignasco, about 55 miles southwest of Cannobio.

The human heart of priests

The tragic event points to the urgent need to provide support and accompaniment to priests, who often bear great responsibilities and challenges, usually alone.

Father Omar Buenaventura, a Peruvian priest widely recognized for his work in solidarity with those most in need, reflected on this vulnerability — inseparable from the human condition.

“Like any man, I feel, I suffer, I laugh, I cry, I get anxious, I get sad, and many, many times I feel that the weight on my shoulders is too great and is going to crush me,” he wrote on Facebook.

Buenaventura noted that “inside every priest there is a human heart, with feelings, joys, wounds, traumas, and histories that few people know. And when this happens, I can’t help but stop and ask myself about my own life.”

“It’s true, God is our strength, but we are made of flesh and blood. And in the face of a situation as painful as this, there are no words. Only faith,” he added.

After emphasizing that God is his strength, he acknowledged that he too needs “to be embraced, listened to, supported, loved, forgiven, and cared for. We need to be treated like men, not like machines. Seriously, sometimes the weight is enormous, and without God, I would be crushed too.”

‘We are not the functionaries of the rite’

Along these lines, Father Francisco Javier Bronchalo, a priest of the Diocese of Getafe in Spain, emphasized that priests “are not superheroes” and that the vocation does not alleviate suffering.

He explained that “the loneliness of priests is not so much physical but emotional” and emphasized the need for support.

Bronchalo also stated that “indifference kills more than hatred” and lamented that many priests live “in a climate of indifference, judgment, and excessive demands. If we make a mistake, they point it out. If we do something right, no one usually says anything.”

In this context, the Spanish priest noted that the suicide “is not an isolated case” but rather a symptom that brings to light “communities that demand much but offer little support. Who receive but don’t give [support]. A symptom of priests who silence their pain out of fear or shame and then fall ill and go through an ordeal.” 

Bronchalo therefore insisted on the need to “rediscover the humanity of the priest”: “We are not the functionaries of the rite. We are poor men with fragile souls who have left everything and have been ordained full of hope. We don’t need pity but truth, prayer, affection, community. God sustains us, but none of us are immune from such a tragedy,” he added.

Not an isolated case

A study published in 2020 revealed that at least seven priests died by suicide in France over a four-year period.

In the case of Ireland, according to the Association of Catholic Priests, at least eight priests have taken their own lives in the last 10 years. Another worrying example is Brazil, where 40 priests died by suicide between 2016 and 2023.

These incidents are often associated with overwork and too many responsibilities, poor mental health including anxiety and depression, as well as a culture of being over-demanding of oneself and clericalism.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The Brompton Oratory in London, with which the London Oratory School is associated. / Credit: James Grey via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Dublin, Ireland, Jul 8, 2025 / 15:38 pm (CNA).

At Sunday Mass at the Brompton Oratory in Knightsbridge, London, Provost Father Julian Large pleaded with members of Parliament (MPs) who voted in favor of abortion up until birth or assisted suicide not to present themselves for Communion.

During his July 6 homily at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Large referred to the recent and widely reported situation in which Chris Coghlan, a Catholic MP, voted in favor of assisted suicide and then publicly criticized his parish priest for refusing him Communion.

Ahead of the vote on the Terminally Ill Adults Bill, the Liberal Democratic MP had been told by his parish priest Father Ian Vane that if he voted for assisted suicide, he would be an obstinate public sinner and be denied Communion.

Subsequently, at Mass the weekend following the Westminster vote, Vane publicly announced that Coghlan had broken canon law and was being denied Communion.

Coghlan subsequently took to social media and complained to the press that his parish priest had tried to coerce him when all he was doing was representing the views of his constituents.

An Oratory Mass-goer told the Catholic Herald that Large commended Vane for his courage and charity in calling the MP to repentance. And, while the provost acknowledged that he did not recognize any of the names of the Catholic MPs who voted in favor of either of the bills, and therefore would not be in any position to refuse them Communion, he pleaded that if any were present at Mass, they first repent of their sins and receive absolution in the sacrament of penance before presenting themselves at the altar rail.

Large also encouraged Catholics more broadly to reflect on whether they were receiving Communion worthily and to approach Communion as though it were their first and their last. 

Indeed, in his June 30 parish newsletter, Large lamented the lack of piety and seriousness among the parents of young Catholics receiving their first holy Communion in the oratory.

“Judging by the comportment of many of the adults in church at the first holy Communion Masses, however, it seems that in many cases it will be down to the children to set a good example to the grown-ups. The roar of chatter, and the marching backwards and forwards in front of the high altar before and after the Mass without any sign of acknowledgment for the King of Kings who is present in the tabernacle give the impression that many of the adults (including those once educated at expensive Catholic schools) treat the event more like a summer cocktail party.”

Coghlan wrote on X: “I thought an MP could keep their religion private but there’s been some discussion about mine. If there isn’t space in the Catholic Church for those who don’t subscribe to all of it, that’s a shame.”

The Brompton Oratory in London is a community of 10 priests who are part of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. It has emerged as a significant focus and location of renewal of Catholicism in the United Kingdom. Thousands attend Mass there each weekend, including many young people. This trend reflects a growing interest in traditional practices within the Church.

A Planned Parenthood facility in Minneapolis. / Credit: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 8, 2025 / 14:24 pm (CNA).

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the government’s effort to defund Planned Parenthood by ordering President Donald Trump’s administration to continue funding to the nation’s largest abortion provider for at least the next 14 days.

The court order, signed by Judge Indira Talwani, partially halts a provision in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that would have cut off Medicaid reimbursements for certain organizations that perform abortions. Trump signed the bill on Friday, July 4, after it passed both chambers of Congress with support from most Republicans and no Democrats.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America sued the administration just three days after Trump signed the bill into law and asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement against the organization while its litigation continues. Talwani signed the order on the same day.

In a statement shortly after the order was signed, Planned Parenthood thanked the judge for acting quickly “to block this unconstitutional law attacking Planned Parenthood providers and patients.”

According to the statement, Planned Parenthood staffers had “been forced to turn away patients who use Medicaid to get basic sexual and reproductive health care.”

The lawsuit asserts the defunding effort targets Planned Parenthood “for punishment” and that even though the organization isn’t singled out by name, it is “the target of the law.” 

It claims the bill denies Planned Parenthood equal protection under the law and that the network has been targeted because of “its unique role in providing abortions and advocating for abortion rights and access across the country.”

In a statement provided to CNA, a White House official did not get into specific legal arguments but stated that the provision to defund organizations that perform abortion is in line with public opinion.

“The Trump administration is ending the forced use of federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion — a commonsense position that the overwhelming majority of Americans agree with,” the official said.

Katie Glenn Daniel, the director of legal affairs and policy counsel at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, told CNA that Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit is “brazen defiance of elected leaders, both the president and Congress, who had every right to act on the will of the people to stop forced taxpayer funding of Big Abortion.”

“Before the ink was even dry on President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, abortion giant Planned Parenthood ran to court to protect their cash flow of over $2 million a day from American taxpayers, and an activist federal judge obliged by ordering the spigot turned back on,” Glenn Daniel added.

Glenn Daniel thanked the Trump administration for “standing firm on principle” and accused Planned Parenthood of trying to “run out the clock and rake in every last tax dollar they can.”

“We’re confident [the Trump administration] will prevail and the abortion industry’s last-ditch money grab will fail,” she said.

Under long-standing federal law, taxpayer money cannot be used to fund most abortions. Federal funds have historically still covered non-abortive services at abortion clinics through Medicaid reimbursements.

Planned Parenthood’s annual report for July 2023 to June 2024 disclosed that the abortion network received nearly $800 million in taxpayer funding in that period, which accounted for almost 40% of its total revenue. A large portion of these funds come from state and federal Medicaid reimbursements.

Pro-life organizations for decades have urged the federal government and state governments to end all taxpayer funds for organizations that perform abortions. The legislation signed by Trump halts federal Medicaid reimbursements to those organizations for one year, but activists hope to make the policy shift permanent.

The issue came before the Supreme Court in its last term after South Carolina halted state-level Medicaid reimbursement funding for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic facilities. Two patients who received non-abortive services at those facilities sued the state, claiming that the policy violated their right to receive services at the provider of their choosing.

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court sided with South Carolina, finding that the patients did not have a legal right to sue. However, the current case against the federal government is distinctly different because the abortion network — rather than the patients — filed the lawsuit on different grounds.

A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building in downtown Washington, D.C. / Credit: Rob Crandall/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jul 8, 2025 / 13:54 pm (CNA).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this week backed off a decades-old rule first established during the Eisenhower administration, declaring for the first time since the 1950s that churches and other nonprofits can openly endorse political candidates without risking their tax-exempt status.

The order resolves a lawsuit launched in August 2024 by a coalition of religious broadcasters, one that challenged the 1954 Johnson Amendment, which says that 501(c)(3) nonprofits may not “participate in or intervene in” political campaigns.

Advocates have argued that the rule shields the nonprofit industry from caustic politics. The National Religious Broadcasters, meanwhile, said in its suit that the tax rule punished churches by “silenc[ing] their speech while providing no realistic alternative for operating in any other fashion.”

In a filing on Monday with the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Texas, the IRS agreed with the religious broadcasters in that “communications internal to a house of worship, between the house of worship and its congregation, in connection with religious services” do not run afoul of the amendment’s prohibition on “participating in” campaigns.

The rule “imposes a substantial burden on plaintiffs’ free exercise of religion,” the filing states.

The document points to numerous nonprofits that are allowed to opine on political candidacies even as churches remain barred from doing so. The Johnson Amendment is “not a neutral rule of general applicability,” it says.

Religious entities “cannot fulfill their spiritual duties to teach the full counsel of the Word of God if they fail to address such issues and to inform their listeners how the views of various political candidates compare to the Bible’s position on such matters,” it states.

The Monday filing asked the court to accept the agreement, which will bar the IRS from enforcing the rule. The court accepted the decision shortly after its filing.

The National Religious Broadcasters did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump said at the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast that he aspired to “get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution."

When proposed in 1954, the Johnson Amendment was passed with no debate, according to the congressional record.

A 2017 effort in the House of Representatives to repeal the amendment died at committee.

A new multimedia museum dedicated to the life of Pier Giorgio Frassati opened in Turin, Italy, on Juy 5, 2025, offering pilgrims and visitors an immersive look at the soon-to-be saint’s vibrant faith, political engagement, and Marian devotion. / Credit: Archdiocese of Turin

Turin, Italy, Jul 8, 2025 / 13:24 pm (CNA).

A new multimedia museum dedicated to the life of Pier Giorgio Frassati has opened in Turin, Italy, offering pilgrims and visitors an immersive look at the soon-to-be saint’s vibrant faith, political engagement, and Marian devotion.

Housed in the former rectory of the Church of Santa Maria di Piazza — where Frassati used to spend hours in Eucharistic adoration — the permanent exhibition, titled “Verso l’altro” is an initiative of the Archdiocese of Turin and opened its doors on July 5.

Cardinal Archbishop Roberto Repole of Turin and Mayor Stefano Lo Russo presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The unveiling capped three days of commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of Frassati’s death.

In an interview with CNA, the cardinal expressed his hopes for the future of the small museum.  

“[Frassati] tells us that at any age of life you can live a full life, a holy life,” Repole said. 

“My hope is that this will be a place that brings together many dimensions of our city,” he added. “That it can also become a place of connection between people belonging to different cultures and peoples because it could really be visited by so many tourists and that it will be a testimony especially to the world of youth.”

While small in size, the exhibition houses multiple rooms with large video projections, historical photos, and some of Frassati’s belongings to tell the story of his life.  

The name of the museum plays off Frassati’s famous words, “Verso l’alto” (“To the heights”). By adding one letter to the phrase, the title of the exhibition, “Verso l’altro” (“Toward the other”) also draws attention to his works of charity with the poor and marginalized. 

The exhibition arrives just in time for the influx of visitors expected for the Vatican’s Jubilee of Youth in late July and for Frassati’s canonization, which will take place alongside that of Blessed Carlo Acutis on Sept. 7.

Christine Wohar, executive director of Frassati USA, a Nashville, Tennessee-based nonprofit apostolate dedicated to spreading awareness of his life, welcomed the museum as a long-overdue tribute in Frassati’s hometown.

“There are several significant social saints from the Turin area — Don Bosco, Caffaso, Allamano to name a few — not to mention the holy shroud,” Wohar said. “So Pier Giorgio Frassati is just one among many in the area. This is frustrating if you have a devotion to him and cannot find any information about him anywhere.”

Frassati’s tomb is located in Turin’s Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, which also houses the Shroud of Turin, a sacred relic believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus.

“The first time I visited the cathedral, I walked right past his side altar and didn’t even know his coffin was there,” Wohar said. “There was no explanation that it is located behind the floral display painted by his mother.”

“I am very excited that there will be an exhibition space dedicated just to him and hope it will be something permanent for future pilgrims to enjoy, especially after he is canonized,” she added.

The exhibition includes excerpts from Frassati’s letters, videos showcasing the places that shaped him — Turin, its suburbs, European cities he visited, and the countryside of Pollone — and brings special focus to the mountains he used to climb as a symbol of his spiritual ascent.

Next to Frassati’s snowshoes mounted on a wall of the museum is a quote from one of his letters written to a friend in 1923. “Every day I fall more and more in love with the mountains and would like to spend whole days in the mountains contemplating in that pure air the greatness of the Creator,” Frassati wrote. 

Repole emphasized that Frassati is an important witness for young people today as “a young man full of vitality and joy.” 

“I think this can be very fruitful and helpful for young people today who sometimes are struck by anxieties and sadness,” Repole said.  

“Above all I would say that he is a man of faith, someone who really staked his existence on faith in Jesus Christ, finding in him a full meaning of life that made him live it to the fullest even though he died young, and of this meaning I think young people today have a great need,” he added. 

“What strikes me most is his Eucharistic devotion,” the cardinal noted. 

Sister Carmela Busìa, the archdiocese’s pastoral coordinator for youth and children, described the exhibit as an invitation to discover how “to live youth intensely.” 

“We are very excited about the opening of this place dedicated to Pier Giorgio Frassati: His witness is truly precious and encouraging for young people,” she said. 

“He was able to find time for everything: friendships, study, prayer, commitment, and fun. In ‘Verso l’altro’ young people will find a companion on the road, to understand how to dedicate themselves to others.” 

Admission to the museum, located at Via Santa Maria, 4, is by reservation only via email at prenotazioni@versolaltro.it or on the website versoaltro.it.  

Currently, the video installations are only in Italian, but English, Spanish, and Polish versions will be available beginning Sept. 1 for international visitors attending the canonization. 

Pilgrims can also visit the Frassati family home in Pollone, about 50 miles north of Turin, where with special permission they can see Pier Giorgio’s bedroom, preserved with his original furniture and offering views of the Alpine peaks he loved.

“Humility marches” are prayerful citywide Eucharistic processions and public acts of reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Philippines. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Humilitas for the Sacred Heart; public domain

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 8, 2025 / 12:29 pm (CNA).

Hundreds of young Catholics across the Philippines gathered in June for public acts of penance and prayer, participating in what organizers called “humility marches” in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Raven Castañeda told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, that he witnessed an LGBT “pride” event at his Catholic school, Ateneo de Davao University.

“I could not understand how it was possible for a Catholic university to allow an event that promotes vice and pushes for an ideology that is contrary to the truths of our faith,” he said.

After Castañeda saw the event he went to the school’s Our Lady of the Assumption Chapel and prayed. At that point, he said he was moved by the Spirit to take a vow: “I will publicly wave the banner of his most humble and most Sacred Heart to remind people that in his heart is the love that saves.”

Castañeda helped lead volunteers door to door to different parishes to promote their event to reclaim the LGBT-centric “pride month” for God. Young volunteers have coordinated with parishes across the country to organize similar marches and Eucharistic processions, the Register reported.

Catholic groups including the Missionary Families of Christ, Singles for Christ, Youth for Christ, Pro-Life Philippines, and the Philippine Social Conservative Movement joined efforts to promote and support the marches.

In some cases, former “pride” marchers have joined the humility marches. One attendee, Xyril — who previously identified as a lesbian — told the Register that she converted to the Catholic faith from Protestantism amid her feelings of “emptiness.” 

After seeing a vision of a “glowing heart of Jesus” during transubstantiation, the experience moved her toward the Catholic Church.

She characterized the humility marches as “reverent and sacred,” adding that it felt like a “homecoming to the heart of Christ.”

Leo, another attendee, told the Register: “I used to struggle with sexual sins, and even try to excuse it or justify it, telling myself it’s not really wrong because ‘everyone’s doing it anyway.’”

“But then I realized that’s what pride is. Pride says, ‘I will follow my own will, make my own rules, redefine gender, marriage, and sexuality the way I want it’ — rather than following God’s will and God’s design for sexuality. It’s ‘My will be done’ not ‘Thy will be done.’”

“Jesus must be Lord over every aspect of my life — including my sexuality — [or] else he is not Lord at all,” Leo told the Register.

Father Joel Jason, a Filipino priest who promotes St. John Paul II’s theology of the body teachings, told the Register that pride is the product of original sin. 

“Pride says, ‘I am not a creature; I am my own creator.’ It is the original sin of the first man and woman that separated them from God,” the priest said. 

After the march, youths signed a promise statement that reads: “We are the young Church of the Philippines. We are committed to promote and grow in our devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Eucharist; to walk with the poor, finding ways to serve them and champion their cause — for, in them, we see the Sacred Heart; to build a society where truth reigns and is guided by Christ’s teachings; and to evangelize boldly, even when it’s uncomfortable, strengthening communities that are formed in the orthodox Catholic faith.” 

Organizers told the Register they plan to continue expanding the event annually and hope it will encourage more young Filipinos to live lives of humility, reparation, and faithfulness to Church teachings.

Summertime vacations can also be very spiritually beneficial. / Credit: Egor Pasko from Moscow, Russia, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 8, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

With the arrival of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, many people take a vacation, a period of rest away from their routine but also a unique opportunity to reconnect with their faith.

A bishop, a mother, and a priest shared some tips from their own experiences for “sanctifying vacations” and evangelizing at vacation spots.

1. Take time to connect with God.

Speaking with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, the bishop of Matamoros-Reynosa in Mexico, Eugenio Lira, emphasized that summer is a time of rest to “recreate” ourselves, that is, to “completely renew ourselves.”

The prelate thus advised “dedicating time to prayer and contemplation” to “connect” with God and “better see the great gifts he gives us,” being aware “that we are unconditionally and infinitely loved.”

In this context, the Mexican bishop invited the faithful to value more and be aware that “we must responsibly care for our lives.” He also advised dedicating time to reading good books, “talking with family and friends, and doing something for others, such as evangelizing, going on a mission trip, visiting the sick, prisoners, a retirement home or a nursing home.”

Lira even encouraged people to use social media to “share a Gospel message that conveys faith, love, and hope. We can always do something to improve and help make the lives of others better.”

2. Strengthen family ties.

Leticia Sánchez de León lives in Rome with her husband and four children. Although she studied law in Madrid, she has been working in strategic communications since 2016. She currently has a blog on family communication and education and moderates family counseling courses.

Sánchez de León shared several tips for “living a Christian summer, healthy, joyful, generous with others, where God is found in the small details and where all family members can recharge to return to their daily routine in September.

For the mother, by putting these small things into practice, “we will go deeper into what it means for the family to be a domestic church in the midst of the society of our time and from which the individual can set out to build a more just, more welcoming, more peaceful, more convivial, and more deeply human humanity.”

First, she advised strengthening family ties and rediscovering “harmony” among family members: “During vacation, we have more time to relate face-to-face with our spouse and our children and to listen more closely,” she said.

To this end, Sánchez de León emphasized, it can be very helpful to “pray for them before the vacation begins.” She also encouraged spouses to maintain good communication and maintain harmony between them, since “on vacation people often get upset.” 

She also encouraged them to enjoy simple family plans: “Those memories will remain firmly fixed in their hearts, and tomorrow, what they will remember about what it is to be a family will be those plans together, where everyone had a voice, where everyone could choose, where everyone did things for each other.”

3. Instill detachment and generosity.

Sánchez de León also noted that sometimes we have a “distorted idea of ​​vacation.” She consequently reminded everyone that vacation is a time “to instill some values ​​that we struggle to transmit during the year, due to the lack of downtime.”

In this sense, she highlighted two family values: detachment and generosity. Although during vacation “rules and schedules are relaxed,” she advised parents to say “no” from time to time, so that their children appreciate things more. “The virtues of detachment and austerity are not very fashionable these days and therefore attract a lot of attention when seen in other people,” she noted.

“In families,” she added, “everyone has to pitch in and collaborate, always assigning small tasks appropriate to their age and helping them if we see they aren’t capable or need a push: taking out the trash, unloading the dishwasher, setting the table, watering the plants, emptying the beach bag, hanging up swimsuits, etc.”

4. Take a vacation, but with God.

All of these ideas, Sánchez de León clarified, “really stem from the intention to live out our vacation with a Christian sense of purpose,” since “everything is deeply connected to our life with God.”

“How are we going to give meaning to vacation, plans, and moments of connection if we are distracted from the ultimate meaning of our lives? How can we bring Jesus to others during vacation if we don’t have him within us and within our summer home, between the beach towels and bags of potato chips?” she asked.

“God also wants to be with us in the summer. He wants us to enjoy ourselves, and he wants to see us enjoying ourselves with him. God wants to be in our family plans and in the ice cream drippings on our children’s T-shirts; we can share everything with him,” she pointed out.

To achieve this, she advised “not forgetting the small spiritual or devotional practices” that are usually practiced during the academic year, such as praying the rosary, some spiritual reading, the Angelus at noon, or saying grace before meals.

“By practicing these things, we elevate our souls to God and can give thanks for what we are receiving this summer. Vacation is also a great opportunity to pray more serenely, dive into reading, and deepen our relationship with God,” she affirmed.

Finally, the mother of four noted that, “if we maintain this harmony, we will also be more able to look upon others better, help them, serve them, overcome friction, and have more patience. Putting God into our daily lives will help us live a more Christian summer that will give us rest and deeply fill our souls. We will also be creating unforgettable memories for ourselves to continue building upon in the years to come.”

5. Preach by example.

Father Héctor Razo, an Opus Dei Mexican priest, pointed out in a conversation with ACI Prensa that evangelization during vacation “can be done through one’s own life and one’s own example of a life lived united with Jesus.”

“Sometimes we Christians can think that changing the world in which we live — this world that is increasingly secularized — is a feat that would take years, or perhaps centuries, when in reality that is not the case,” he explained.

He thus invited the faithful to reflect on the early Christians: “They had everything against them, and yet they managed to convert an entire society from pagan to Christian. How did they do it? By their example, because they belonged to Christ and that person had changed their hearts.”

In this regard, he recalled St. Josemaría Escrivá, “the saint who would preach the universal call to holiness through ordinary life,” who summed it up in one sentence: Know Jesus Christ, make him known, take him everywhere. That is, “be so in love with Christ that it becomes so natural for us to speak about him to those around us.”

To achieve this, he encouraged Catholics to “live our own faith wherever we are, without shame. If we say grace at home, we should also do so when we are on vacation with our friends and relatives.”

“Teach your children that God deserves a place even during vacations, by going to Sunday Mass and perhaps one more day during the week. By praying the rosary as a family a couple of days a week, with the intention of praying for something special and involving everyone in that prayer; that is, by having each child lead a mystery,” Razo suggested.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

(Left to right) Bishop Dennis Walsh of Davenport, Iowa; St. Ambrose University President Amy Novak; Mount Mercy University President Todd Olson; and Conference for Mercy Higher Education Executive Director Julia Cavallo at the June 27, 2025, Milestone Celebration. / Credit: Zyon Velázquez/St. Ambrose University

CNA Staff, Jul 8, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Two Midwest Catholic universities are merging in the hopes of making Catholic education more accessible — a “proactive” step amid decreasing enrollment numbers across the nation.

The small, historic institutions — St. Ambrose University in Davenport and Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids — have both had a presence in eastern Iowa for more than a century.

In what St. Ambrose University President Amy Novak called a “defining moment,” St. Ambrose has become the parent organization of Mount Mercy, according to a recent press release.

The plan, Mount Mercy media representative Taryn DeBoard explained, is a “proactive” one — not a reaction to financial challenges.

“Both institutions are currently in good financial standing and bring strong offerings to the partnership,” DeBoard told CNA, citing the universities’ “strong endowments, minimal debt, and wonderful community connections.”

Mount Mercy University President Todd Olson said this first step ensures the universities can “begin investing in a future that empowers our students, faculty, staff, and alumni communities across both universities.”

“Together, we are stronger, and together, we will be able to serve our missions in even more transformative ways,” Olson said in a June 27 statement. 

“By joining together, we are honoring the founding missions of both institutions while also building something more adaptive, more sustainable, and more student-centered,” Novak added.

The change takes place amid a national trend of decreasing enrollment, which has affected colleges of all sizes across the country — though some Catholic colleges have continued to grow in spite of the trend, as previously reported by CNA.

When the two presidents met to discuss challenges facing Catholic higher education in the region, they decided to address them through “collaboration rather than competition,” according to DeBoard.

“It was critical that this combination started from a point of strength and not from a point of desperation,” DeBoard said.

With this recent development, the universities look ahead to becoming fully integrated by mid-2026.

To preserve the character of the original institutions, not everything will be merged. For instance, the two universities will merge library systems but won’t combine sports teams. 

A big priority lies in preserving the unique Catholic identities of the two colleges. 

Leaders considered “Catholic roots” to be “extremely important” as the two colleges considered merging, DeBoard said.

“This combination is about specifically preserving Catholic higher education,” DeBoard noted. 

St. Ambrose — named for the Church father St. Ambrose of Milan — is a diocesan university, while Mount Mercy was “founded on the philosophies and teachings of the Sisters of Mercy,” DeBoard explained.  

“While we both have different foundations, we have found that we are much more alike than we are different, driven by similar missions, visions, and values,” she said. 

Throughout the merger, DeBoard said it is critical that the colleges “keep the foundation and values of each respective school at the forefront.”

Catholic leaders tied to the universities commended the decision, which was first announced in 2024.

The Sisters of Mercy in Cedar Rapids encouraged the colleges “to continue to preserve the nearly 100-year-old legacy of the Sisters of Mercy in Cedar Rapids,” while the archbishop of Dubuque also expressed his support for the “innovative spirit of cooperation.” 

DeBoard noted that the “new shared mission” will incorporate “aspects of both the diocesan and Mercy charisms.” 

Both the Diocese of Davenport and the Sisters of Mercy will be represented on the board of trustees, DeBoard said. 

“Our shared Catholic identity will remain the foundation, but the opportunities to collaborate, innovate, and serve even more students, especially those historically underrepresented in higher education, are what excite me most,” Novak said.

DeBoard said he hopes they will be a “model” for other Catholic colleges.

“We hope other institutions will look at this model and consider exploring similar partnerships as a way to sustain Catholic higher education for many years to come,” DeBoard said.

Austin Baron at the “American Ninja Warrior”course filming for Season 17 of the show. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Austin Baron

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 8, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

At just 19 years old, Austin Baron is taking college classes, competing on sports reality television, making handmade dog toys, and raising tens of thousands of dollars to feed the hungry. How does he do it all? According to him, it’s all thanks to “the gifts God’s given” him.

Baron is a rising sophomore at the University of Notre Dame and the founder of Knot Perfect, a nonprofit that has provided more than 100,000 meals to children and families across the globe. He is now using his participation on NBC’s reality television show “American Ninja Warrior” to help expand his outreach.

Discovering his mission

Baron was first moved to feed the hungry when he was 12 years old and volunteered at his parish, St. Theresa Catholic Church in Ashburn, Virginia, to pack meals for Cross Catholic Outreach’s food distribution ministry You(th) vs. Hunger. 

“I learned that a billion people go to bed hungry each night,” Baron told CNA. “The meals I was packing with my own hands would be the only food for someone else to eat.”

“That really inspired me to want to do something to help them. Billion is a big number, and I decided that I wanted to start collecting donations because that would be a way that we could pack more meals and feed more people.”

Baron began collecting donations and gave them to a number of organizations that help provide meals but primarily to You(th) vs. Hunger. In order to “excite people and to encourage them to donate,” he said, he decided to turn it into a fun experience by giving those who donated a handmade dog toy.

“I love animals — especially dogs,” Baron said. “And around the same time that I wanted to start feeding the hungry, I started making dog toys. I watched videos to learn how to make them.” Since then, Baron has made more than 1,500 knotted dog toys.

Around the time of the pandemic, it became more challenging for Baron to collect cash donations, so at 16 years old, with the help of his parents and brothers, Baron turned his project into a nonprofit that could collect online donations. He named the organization Knot Perfect to represent both the knotted toys and the imperfect world where hunger is an issue across the globe.

Using ‘American Ninja Warrior’ to feed the hungry 

After starting Knot Perfect, Baron had an inspiring rock-climbing experience that sparked his next big move.

“I went rock climbing on a cliff over the Atlantic Ocean, and I really had a wonderful experience doing that. And then ... around the same time I was doing that, I started watching ‘[American] Ninja Warrior.’” 

“American Ninja Warrior” is a sports-competition reality show that features athletes from around the country who compete on “the most difficult obstacle courses.” Participants compete for the fastest time and race to get a “button push” — pressing the buzzer at the end of the course indicating they completed the obstacle without falling off. 

After watching the series, Baron “went to a ‘Ninja Warrior’ gym to train and to try the obstacles that were on the show, and [I] just really fell in love with the sport, and especially the ninja community.”

“Everyone was super supportive, even though we’re all competing against each other on the course. Everyone helps each other and shares their tips and encourages them on all the obstacles … then a friend suggested that I apply for the show.”

“I didn’t know if I was going to get in,” Baron said. “[But] I feel like God really blessed me with the opportunity to be on the show and to use it to advocate for an end to world hunger and to encourage other people to do good in the world.”

Baron heard back that he was accepted for Season 15 of the show. In 2023, he participated and made it to the semifinal round. (Approximately 40,000 of the meals provided by Knot Perfect were a direct result of Baron’s appearance on “American Ninja Warrior.”)

Baron was invited to rejoin the show for Season 17, which is taking place in Las Vegas this summer. So far he has been a fierce competitor, hitting his first buzzer on the June 2 episode, which advanced him to the upcoming July 14 semifinals.

Wearing a shirt that says “Ninja Fighting Hunger” on the episode, Baron said he is “dedicating [his] summer to being the hands and feet of Christ for the 1 billion people around the world who go to bed hungry each night.” 

Knot Perfect’s next steps

As much as Baron enjoys the course and community of “American Ninja Warrior,” he said, “The whole reason I go on the show is to advocate for world hunger … As a result of being on the season this year, we’re trying to pack our 1-millionth meal as a community in northern Virginia. It’s our 10-year anniversary of packing meals, and we have a big goal of hitting that million-meal mark.”

The anniversary marks a milestone for You(th) vs. Hunger, and Baron said he hopes “American Ninja Warrior” can help the Catholic community reach its goal, as a donation of just $10 allows the organization to feed 30 people.

“My mission of feeding the hungry, starting a nonprofit, and then going to the University of Notre Dame and competing on [‘American Ninja Warrior’], I just felt that God has really blessed me with this opportunity,” Baron said. “I felt his hands, him walking me, and helping me throughout it.”

As he heads into his sophomore year, Baron will continue to study business analytics to continue his nonprofit and its mission after he graduates. He recently received two grants totaling $1,650 to help him reach his donation goals. 

He was also selected as the Virginia Young Man of the Year by the Knights of Columbus in 2024 for his work. But he gives all the credit to God. 

“I’m so grateful to God for the gifts he’s given me and to use it to do something good for other people. I couldn’t have done any of this without him,” Baron said. “It’s him, not me. I’m so grateful to him for that.”