The week saw renewed calls to defend persecuted Christians, tragedy among Polish pilgrims and continuing debate over assisted suicide, abortion and religious freedom.

Religious freedom

Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster has called on Catholics to support a petition urging the United Nations and national governments to do more to support people oppressed for their faith.

The petition, organised by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), is intended to put pressure on governments that fail to uphold Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which defends the right to freedom of religion and belief. Among the signatories to the petition was Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, Eparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London.

The release of the statement came ahead of the UN International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief on August 22.

Violence in the Holy Land

Pope Leo XIV has called for an end “to the repeated acts of violence against the Palestinian population” as the Christian village of Taybeh suffers attacks by Israeli settlers.

The Pope, speaking following his Sunday recitation of the Angelus, urged the international community to work towards a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, adding that it should be done “for a just and lasting peace”.

The day before the Pope’s appeal for peace, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, visited the village of Taybeh, which is the last remaining Christian village in Palestine. The village has suffered repeated attacks by Israeli settlers, including arson and home break-ins.

Poland’s tallest Marian statue

Poland is now home to Europe’s tallest Marian statue. The statue of Our Lady of Mercy is more than 55 metres tall, making it taller than Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.

It was funded by the Polish millionaire Roman Karkosik and his wife, Grażyna, who previously told the Financial Times that he did so out of “gratitude to Mary”. It is believed the statue cost around €23 million to construct.

The blessing of the towering structure was attended in the front row by former Polish President Lech Wałęsa, who led anti-communist efforts as the head of the trade union Solidarity.

Reflecting at the event on his involvement in Poland’s transition from communism to democracy and the role of the Church, he said: “I started with the Virgin Mary and I end with the Virgin Mary.”

Pilgrims killed in Hungary

The bishops of Poland and Hungary have offered prayers for the 12 Polish pilgrims who died while returning from Medjugorje after the bus they were travelling on crashed overnight from August 15 to 16.

Police stated that the bus, which was carrying 57 passengers and two drivers, drove off a straight stretch of road on the Hungarian M3 motorway into a ditch and overturned.

An investigation is currently under way and the driver was taken into custody on suspicion of negligently causing a road accident resulting in mass fatalities. A Hungarian court ordered on August 18 that the driver remain in detention. Prosecutors alleged the driver fell asleep due to fatigue.

Assisted suicide in France

The Archbishop of Paris has said that the adoption of assisted suicide in France is “not the end of the fight”, stating that “nothing should force us to make them as realities in our lives”.

The new law legalising the practice was promulgated by French President Emmanuel Macron on August 19. Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris said opposition to assisted suicide was one for “fraternity to prevail”, urging Catholics to “continue to pray, hope and act creatively and consistently”.

Macron welcomed its implementation, which formed a modest part of his re-election campaign, stating that it completed “an exemplary democratic debate”.

However, the law was beset by repeated defeats in the Senate, which prompted Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to bypass the upper house, allowing the National Assembly to proceed with the bill.

Church and public life in the US

The Archdiocese of San Antonio announced that a priest of the archdiocese had been laicised for schismatic behaviour and denying that Pope Leo XIV was a legitimate pope.

In Massachusetts, a judge ruled against the city of Quincy, saying that the mayor’s plan to install two 10-foot bronze statues of Catholic saints would be a violation of the state’s constitution.

Mayor Tom Koch spent US$850,000 in taxpayer funds to commission the statues of St Michael and St Florian, the patron saints of police officers and firefighters, respectively. Koch argued that this was not an endorsement of religion, but rather a way to support and honour first responders.

Florida’s bishops responded to a letter from the state’s attorney general, who threatened Catholic schools’ access to public scholarship funds if they do not accept religious exemptions for vaccination requirements.

The bishops defended their current vaccine requirements and regretted that the situation had been exacerbated into a public news story.

Abortion and the ‘Baby Gabriel’ case

There were many updates in the “Baby Gabriel” story this past week.

“Baby Gabriel”, who was born to surrogate mother McKenna West on August 12, underwent his first of three major heart surgeries aimed at correcting hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). HLHS is a serious and life-threatening heart defect.

The child’s biological parents agreed to allow him to undergo surgery, which was successful. A lawsuit filed by the biological parents was revealed this week. The pair are suing West for more than US$100,000, saying she broke the terms of the surrogacy agreement by refusing to have an abortion after they asked.

In other legal news, the state of Idaho is appealing a recent decision concerning the state’s pro-life laws.

Attorney General Raul Labrador filed the appeal on Thursday, saying that it was the state’s job, not the judiciary’s, to form abortion laws.

Fr Michael Pfleger

Parishioners from a Chicago parish rallied multiple times this week outside of the cathedral and offices of the Archdiocese of Chicago in support of their priest, Fr Michael Pfleger.

Fr Pfleger has been suspended from public ministry since mid-July after a historical allegation of sexual abuse. Parishioners say the process to clear Fr Pfleger’s name has gone on for too long and they would like their priest back.

St Bernadette’s relics to tour US

The relics of St Bernadette will be going on a yearlong tour of the United States, beginning in Washington, DC, in September.

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