VATICAN CITY, July 15, 2010—On Thursday, the Holy See published new norms for the treatment of crimes considered to be "most serious" within the Church. In a press briefing, Vatican spokesman Fr.

LONDON, Ont., July 15, 2010—In light of the birth control pill's 50th anniversary this year, a group of Evangelical Christians released a documentary addressing the controversial claim that the pill acts as an abortifacient, and that women across North America are largely uninformed on what the drug actually does.

DENVER, Colo., July 16, 2010—Scripture is “the one story that really matters” because it is the story of God’s “new creation,” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has said in a lecture on Friday morning. Calling on Christians to live their lives “in Christ,” he said Catholics should allow God’s “new creation” to take root in themselves.

VATICAN CITY, July 16, 2010—The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano (LOR) will publish an article tomorrow in which it asserts that with the approval of homosexual "marriage" by the Argentinean senate, the future of the family in the country is "threatened." The people who suffer most from its passage, said one Argentinean archbishop, are children.

BOGOTA, Colombia, July 16, 2010—A top health official in Colombia said this week that three abortion clinics in the capital city of Bogota have been closed, with the latest case involving the trafficking of children.

ROME, Italy, July 16, 2010—Following Thursday's announcement from the Vatican updating the procedures of investigation and punishment of the most serious sins, including sexual abuse of minors and attempted women's ordination, several European bishops' conferences welcomed the changes.

CANARY ISLANDS, July 16, 2010—Spanish soccer star David Silva, who played on the nation's winning World Cup team is spending the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel thanking her for the victory last Sunday in South Africa.

VATICAN CITY, July 16, 2010—On Wednesday, Vatican Radio director Fr. Federico Lombardi countered a seemingly incriminating study that reports emission towers from the Holy See's radio station have damaged nearby residents' health. The Vatican spokesman said that a second study addressing the matter will soon be presented to the court.

VATICAN CITY, July 16, 2010—An annual meeting of the Populorum Progressio Foundation dedicated to allotting funds to projects for vulnerable people across Latin America and the Caribbean will take place later this month. During the meeting, a substantial donation will be made in the Pope's name for the rebuilding of a Haitian school damaged in January's earthquake.

NEW DELHI, India, July 16, 2010—An “unexpected” government order to expel a long-serving Catholic missionary priest from India caused dismay and protest among Catholics in the region he has served.

Fr. Jim Borst, a Mill Hill missionary originally from the Netherlands, has worked in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1963.

VATICAN CITY, July 17, 2010—Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said Saturday that the new norms on sexual abuse are an "important step," but, he warned, law "is not everything" in the battle against serious sins. He observed that the Church's path to a "purer and more evangelical witness" will not be short.

VATICAN CITY, July 17, 2010—On Friday, Pope Benedict XVI appointed a member of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor (O.F.M.), Fr. Francis Xavier Yu Soo-il, to the post of Korean military ordinary. He will be in charge of the pastoral care of soldiers in South Korea, where military service is mandatory for all men.

VATICAN CITY, July 17, 2010—Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt was appointed as the Holy See's permanent observer to the United Nations on Saturday. He comes into the role from years of diplomatic corps experience, including his most recent post as Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq and Jordan.

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, July 18, 2010—Before Sunday's Angelus prayer from the intimate courtyard of his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the need to listen to the Word of God. As Mary does in Sunday's Gospel, we must learn to choose the "best portion" in our relationship with the Lord.

ROME, Italy, July 18, 2010—The pastor of the Italian city of Pietrasanta, together with local Catholic associations, have lodged a complaint with city officials over a picture of the Virgin Mary holding a child-like Adolph Hitler in her arms.

MADRID, Spain, July 19, 2010—The Spanish daily La Razon reported this week that more than 1,300 teens between the ages of 12 and 18 are currently pursing a call to the priesthood by studying at the 53 diocesan minor seminaries that exist in the country.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, July 19, 2010—Bishop Martin de Elizalde of Nueve de Julio, Argentina said last week the passage of a law allowing same-sex “marriage” by the Senate has put the country “in a new and unexpected situation.”

ROME, Italy, Jul 19, 2010A summer course for religious sisters began on Monday at one of Rome's Pontifical Colleges which examines the approach of religious congregations to attracting interest for new vocations. The course takes a look at vocational pastoral ministry in a changing world.

ROME, Italy, Jul 19, 2010—An apparent glitch in Google's ranking system for web searches led the company to make a change over the weekend so that the Vatican's website was not placed below a site with information on pedophilia. According to an Italian technology website, the anomaly leaves many questions unanswered.

LIMA, Peru, July 20, 2010—The Archbishop of Lima, Cardinal Juan Cipriani Thorne, told Peruvians this week they must not imitate the bad examples of countries like Argentina, whose Senate recently approved so-called homosexual “marriage.” The Peruvian cardinal also called on candidates in the upcoming elections not to use this issue to win votes.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 20, 2010—Bishops from the eastern region of Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro urged the faithful this week to vote in the October elections for those candidates who defend life from conception to natural death, the family and freedom of education.

ST. LOUIS, Mo., July 20, 2010—Last Friday an evening prayer service marked the Archdiocese of St. Louis’ official closure of its investigation into an alleged miraculous cure attributed to Bl. William Chaminade, founder of the Marianist order.

The archdiocesan tribunal, established by Archbishop Robert J. Carlson to investigate the claim, will now send its findings to the Vatican.

ROME, Italy, July 21, 2010—Cardinal Joachim Meisner spoke to a large group of priests last month about the important role of the sacrament of Confession for their ministry. Sin, he said, is the greatest obstacle in our relationship with God.

ROME, Italy, Jul 21, 2010—Pope Benedict XVI officially erected a new diocese in the African nation of Malawi on Wednesday. According to the bishop who has overseen the area until now, the announcement represents a "moment of grace."

DENVER, Colo., July 21, 2010—Adding to the current debate on how to best present the teachings of John Paul II's Theology of the Body, Dr. Alice Von Hildebrand provided CNA with her latest essay contrasting the approach of her late husband, noted philosopher Dietrich Von Hildebrand, with the methods of the popular speaker Christopher West.

ROME, Italy, July 21, 2010—A new children's book has been published under Pope Benedict XVI's name. It presents a collection of the Holy Father's descriptions of Jesus' relationship with his "first companions," taken from his catecheses at general audiences over the past five years.

LONDON, England, July 21, 2010—A priest in England’s Catholic Diocese of Clifton says the upcoming papal visit has caused “great excitement” among those in the diocese, especially as more than 4,000 of its people will be able to see and hear Pope Benedict XVI. He also noted a “growing awareness” about how unique the beatification of Cardinal Newman will be.

MADRID, Spain, July 21, 2010—Organizers for World Youth Day Madrid 2011 announced a series of concerts featuring classical masterpieces which will be held to raise funds impoverished youths wanting to attend the global youth event next year.

ROME, Italy, July 22, 2010—Benedict XVI is now the seventh oldest Pope since reliable records began being collected in the year 1400, according to a U.S. statistician. In the words of Pope Benedict himself, however, age is not as important as wisdom.

MANASSAS, Virginia, July 20, 2010—A "spiritual bouquet" campaign collected more than 1 million prayers for Benedict XVI, which have been delivered to the Vatican, according to the apostolic nuncio in the United States.

The spiritual bouquet -- a pledge to offer a certain number of prayers for a specified intention -- was sponsored by the Cardinal Newman Society.

Donations Given for Pregnancy Counseling, Stem Cell Research

LONDON, July 22, 2010—On Sunday, Catholics in England and Wales will celebrate the annual Day for Life. Through collections taken up this day, the Church has given substantial donations to local pro-life initiatives.

Mayor Says It Will Be Best World Youth Day Ever

MADRID, Spain, July 22, 2010—The archbishop of Madrid signed an agreement of collaboration with the city's mayor for the hosting of the next World Youth Day, which 2 million are expected to attend.

VATICAN CITY, July 22, 2010—The Pope's $250,000 donation for the reconstruction of a Haitian school is to be delivered today. The large monetary gift constitutes just a small part of the aid the Holy Father distributes every year to those in need.

BANGLADESH, July 21, 2010—Catholics and other Christian young people in Bangladesh have combined their efforts to study faith challenges in the face of what they see as growing materialism and consumerism.

About 40 Christian students attended a day-long life sharing and faith advocacy seminar in Dhaka on July 16.

MUMBAI, India, July 21, 2010—More than 5 thousand Dalit Christians and Muslims from all over India, used the lush backdrop of the Jantar Mantar gardens in New Delhi to launch their protest demanding equal rights with Dalit Hindus and Buddhists.

SEOUL, South Korea, July 21, 2010—Religious leaders are to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to the North despite heightened tensions on the peninsula forcing the South Korean government to scale down their plans.

The Religious Solidarity for Reconciliation and Peace of Korea announced on July 19 that they will cross the border and deliver 300 tons of flour on July 26.

INDIA, July 22, 2010—A Church program in central India is harnessing government schemes to help jobless people find work and improve lives in poverty-stricken villages.

Dinesh Kumar Namdev, from the Syro-Malabar rite Sagar diocese in Madhya Pradesh state, said a year ago poverty forced him and several others to think of withdrawing their children from schools.

HANOI, Vietnam, July 22, 2010—More than a hundred young people attended a seminar in the diocese of Haiphong titled ‘Young people and faith’ as part of an effort by the Vietnamese Catholic Church to re-launch its youth ministry programme.

INDIA, July 22, 2010—A group of some 150 Hindu activists has attacked a Catholic school in central Indian Madhya Pradesh state after a student attempted suicide and broke his leg.

The mob stormed St. Gabriel Senior Secondary school in Jabalpur on July 21 and started smashing windows, less than an hour after an 11th-grade student jumped from a first-floor window.

BANGALORE, India, July 22, 2010—Sr. Nancy Pereira, foundress of a Fund for the Poor bank to help impoverished clients in Bangalore, India, died on July 14 at the age of 86. Her fellow sisters remembered her for her service to the poor with “joy” and “creative solidarity.”

ANTIPOLO City, July 23, 2010— Students from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City had created their “what-to-do” list to be submitted to Pres. Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III in order to guide him in resolving the problems of the youth sector.

MANILA, July 22, 2010— An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called on President Benigno Aquino III to publicly state his position on a measure that seeks to promote birth control.

MANILA, July 23, 2010— Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos called on the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to stop the operations of the small town lottery (STL) in the province.

The prelate made the appeal after the start of the STL operation in the provinces of Butuan and Cabadbaran last month without any consultations.

MANILA, July 23, 2010— One of the country’s oldest Catholic educational institutions reiterated its call for nominations to recognize outstanding organizations and individuals that have shown exemplary deeds in serving the poor and the marginalized sectors.

ANTIPOLO City, July 23, 2010— Fisherfolks in the Laguna Lake had assailed the plans of having the lake “privatized,” saying they will do anything to block the attempt to make the 94,000-hectare lake as water source for Metro Manila residents.

MANILA, July 23, 2010— At least two Catholic bishops called for sobriety Friday and urged the public to remain calm amid water shortage in Metro Manila.

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez said that resorting to any violence is not the best way to solve the problem of water shortage.