Brian Bergkamp, a seminarian from the Diocese of Wichita who was studying at a Maryland seminary, is believed dead after saving the life of a woman who fell into the Arkansas River July 9.
National News
Together 2016’ Aims to Draw 1 Million People of Faith to National Mall July 16
Nick Hall hopes to see 1 million Americans of all faiths come together around Jesus on the National Mall in Washington July 16. Through social media, PULSE has shared a video of Pope Francis inviting people to attend “Together 2016.”
At Candlelight Vigil, Bishop Leads Prayers For Peace and Justice
More than 1,500 people participated in a candlelight vigil of prayer and peace Tuesday evening, July 11 at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. Led by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, leaders of various religions offered prayers and called for calm in the wake of the assassination of five police officers in Dallas, Texas, and the deaths of two black men by white police officers in Baton Rouge, La., and St. Paul, Minn.
Bishops Pray For End to Violence
The shooting of police officers July 7 near the end of a demonstration in Dallas to protest fatal shootings by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier in the week “calls us to a moment of national reflection,” said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
At Closing Mass, People Encouraged to Pray, Act for Religious Freedom
The theme for the 2016 Fortnight for Freedom, “Witnesses to Freedom,” unfolded as 1,500 people spent part of their July 4 holiday in Washington attending the observance’s closing Mass and venerating the relics of two saints martyred for their Catholic faith.
Relics of Sts. Thomas More, John Fisher draw crowds in Minnesota
Relics of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, whose lives spanned the 15th and 16th centuries, were viewed at the Cathedral of St. Paul June 26 as part of a national tour coinciding with the Fortnight for Freedom.
For God and Country: Priests Navigate US Armed Forces as Military Chaplains
At first glance, it’s difficult to distinguish Father Lukasz J. Willenberg, 34, as a Catholic priest as he gathers with U.S. Army paratroopers preparing for a training jump near Fayetteville, North Carolina. Instead of traditional black clerics, he sports fatigues, a camouflage helmet and a parachute.
Lebanese Cardinal: Peace Needs Justice, Repatriation
A permanent solution to the refugee crises in the Middle East requires lasting peace and the repatriation of refugees, not resettlement to third countries, said Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, on a pastoral visit to the U.S.
Bishops Oppose Assault Rifles
In light of recent incidents in which attackers have used semi-automatic rifles to kill people, Archbishop Blase J. Cupich of Chicago and Bishop Kevin J. Farrell of Dallas, Texas, have called for a ban on the sale of military-style assault weapons, saying they have no place in the hands of civilians.
Bishops Decry Calif. Health Plans
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared, contrary to the plain meaning of current federal law, that the California Dept. of Managed Health Care can continue to force all health plans under its jurisdiction to cover elective abortions. The USCCB is calling for an immediate federal legislative remedy.