The Antilles Episcopal Conference published a Pastoral Letter on Sexual and Gender Identity on 26 July (full text below). Main quotes. - We must resist narratives that suggest the human person is a self-made project, detached from biological reality or moral order. - The human body is not an accessory to identity. - The confusion of our times - driven by ideologies that detach the body from identity, treat desire as destiny, and blur sexual difference - compels us to offer the light of the Gospel and the wisdom of Christian anthropology. - The body is not a barrier to identity but a revelation of it. It is through our male or female embodiment that our unique personhood and our capacity for relationship are revealed. - It is a scientific fact, not a social construct, that human beings are sexually dimorphic. - Sex, then, is not arbitrarily 'assigned' at birth; it is determined at conception through the presence or absence of the SRY gene. If activated, the gene initiates the development …Doliwat
Saint of the Day, December 26, 1969 By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira “The Most Holy Virgin had more faith than all men and angels put together. She saw Her son in the stable of Bethlehem and believed He was the Creator of the world. She saw Him flee Herod and still believed He was the King of kings. She saw Him being born and believed He was eternal. She saw Him poor and in need of food and believed He was the Lord of the universe; lying on hay and believed He was Almighty. She noticed He would not speak but believed He was Infinite Wisdom. She heard him cry and believed He was the Joy of Paradise. Finally, She saw Him in death, crushed and crucified; and while others might hesitate in their faith, Our Lady remained always firm in Her belief that He was God. About the words, “and His Mother stood by the Cross of Jesus,” St. Antoninus commented: “Mary remained firm and preserved Her immutable Faith in the divinity of Christ.” This really is a very beautiful passage from St. Alphonse Liguori, …Doliwat
Beach Mass During Jesuits' Retreat Worse than Germany: A photograph published by Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian Bishops' Conference, shows a Mass celebrated on the beach during "100 Pinne – Mare e Bibbia," a Jesuit summer retreat founded in 2010. The programme offers a week-long holiday including daily Eucharists, Bible study, prayer, community life, excursions, time at the beach. The 2026 edition is taking place in Ragusa (Sicily), Briatico (Calabria), Cagliari (Sardinia), and Vlorë (Albania).
Messa celebrata sulla spiaggia nell'ambito di "100 Pinne – Mare e Bibbia", il programma estivo dei gesuiti nato nel 2010, che propone a giovani e adulti una settimana di ritiro spirituale, con studio quotidiano della Bibbia, preghiera, vita comunitaria, escursioni e tempo trascorso al mare.
High Altar for Church of FSSP: In September 2025, the stately church of the Immaculate Conception in Lobith, the Netherlands, was already closed. The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) acquired the church with the consent of the Archdiocese of Utrecht. Since November, the Mass in the Roman rite has been celebrated there. Dutch priest Paolo D'Angona reports that in recent days, the church received this magnificent high altar from another church that had to be closed.
Fr. Paolo D'Angona: "In recent days, the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Lobith (NL), which was entrusted by the Archdiocese of Utrecht to the FSSP, received this magnificent high altar from another church that had to be closed"
The Prisoner Who Returned to Celebrate the Eucharist On 31 July 2026, Cardinal Ernest Simoni celebrated the Eucharist at the former communist prison camp of Spaç in Albania. There, he spent years imprisoned and subjected to forced labor after his arrest (1963). He remained imprisoned until 1981. In a message for the occasion, Pope Leo XIV wrote that "no prison can separate a person from the love of Christ."
Albanian Cardinal Simoni returns to former prison camp, Spaç, to celebrate a Eucharist there.
Saint of the Day – June 22, 1965 – Tuesday by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira Saint Mary Magdalene was the first to see Our Lord resurrected (Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel, Italy) Mary Magdalene has the spirit of Jacob, Judas, that of Esau. The two crossing trajectories cause us to tremble before our own weakness, but we find in Our Lady a safe port. June, 22 is the feast of St. Mary Magdalene the penitent. The Martyrologium states that Our Lord expelled seven demons from her and she also merited being the first to contemplate the resurrected Savior. The famous episode of Mary Magdalene anointing the feet of Our Lord at the banquet has some collateral aspects that provide some insights into her life and soul and her position in the Church. Mary Magdalene was a sister of Lazarus and according to the traditions and documents from the Orient, she was a person of the high society. Lazarus was a very rich man and the prince of a small nation that had been incorporated into the Jewish nation through wars …Doliwat
The Spanish Diocese of Cádiz and Ceuta has issued a statement expressing concern over the situation in Ceuta following the mass arrival of young male migrants from Morocco. Its main initiative is to dedicate this weekend's collections in Ceuta's parishes to the Diocesan Migration Office. The funds will be distributed through the San Antonio Migrant Assistance Center to address the most urgent needs in coordination with the relevant civil authorities. Meanwhile, videos circulating on social media reportedly show knife attacks, the looting of private homes and supermarkets, and other crimes committed by some of the illegal migrants. Picture: AI, #newsGqwrwbjhwr
Never Forget God During Life's Trials The gospel reading emphasizes God’s care for us, highlighting that we are of greater value than sparrows. The true question is not whether God remembers us, but whether we remember Him, especially during difficult times. We should strive to acknowledge and glorify God in all circumstances, recognizing His will and trusting in His providence. Fr. Altier is a Priest at Holy Trinity Parish in South St. Paul: Home | Holy Trinity Parish You can also find Fr. Robert Altier’s homilies and talks on: catholicparents.org: Daily Homilies | Catholic Parents Online Rumble: rumble.com/user/CatholicParentsOnLine Twitter: Catholic Parents Online (@CatholicPa42753) on X For access to a library of talks by Fr. Robert Altier, go to: podia.com To order Fr. Altier's book, God's Plan for Your Marriage, go to the website: God's Plan For Your Marriage Book – God's Plan … An Exploration of Holy Matrimony from Genesis to the Wedding of the Lamb by Father Robert Altier.
Poland to Inaugurate Europe's Tallest Marian Statue: On August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, Poland will consecrate a 55.6-meter statue of the Virgin Mary in Konotopie, near Toruń, making it the tallest Marian statue in Europe. The project, launched in March 2025, is funded by Polish billionaire Roman Karkosik. Estimated to cost around 100 million zlotys (€22.85 million), local officials hope it will become a major pilgrimage and tourism destination.
The tallest statue dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Europe will be inaugurated on August 15: In Poland, the inauguration of an extraordinary Marian monument illustrates this commitment to making the Virgin Mary a visible sign of hope and fidelity to a deeply rooted Catholic tradition. Images excerpted from Świadoma Polska
The York Revolution is an American professional baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseball.
Florida’s MAGA Attorney Threatens to Defund Catholic Schools Over Vaccine Mandate Florida’s attorney general gave the bishops until August 7 to accept vaccine exemptions their own doctrine calls dishonest. Nearly nine in ten of the state’s Catholic school students sit downstream. Florida’s MAGA Attorney Threatens to Defund … gulfcoastnewsnow.com
Sama Hoole @SamaHoole 1918: they sold radioactive water as a health tonic. It was radium, and it dissolved men's jaws. 1898: they sold heroin as a children's cough syrup. It was heroin. 1863: they sold cocaine wine as a daily pick-me-up. Popes and presidents put their names to it. 1946: they sold cigarettes on a doctor's recommendation. Whole campaigns ran on which brand physicians preferred. 1960s: they sold margarine as the heart-healthy fat. It was loaded with the trans fat that actually stops hearts. Every one of these came with an expert's blessing and total confidence. The people telling you today which fat to fear are the institutional descendants of the ones who put radium in your water and a doctor's face on a cigarette packet. "The experts recommend it" has a body count going back a century.
One could, perhaps, add to these atrocities a pontificate stipulating that taking a certain recent, and now much medically questionable, 'vax' was an 'act of charity' and not taking it 'sinful'.