Before leaving for the Korean War, Father Emil Kapaun visited his family in Kansas one last time, and he revealed something no one expected.

Miraculous healings and conversions are attached to this sacramental dedicated to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart.

WASHINGTON – “Parents have a right to direct their children’s education, especially regarding subjects that touch on faith and morals,” said Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty. Following the 6-3 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Mahmoud v. Taylor, he offered the following statement: 

“Public schools in our diverse country include families from many communities with a variety of deep-seated convictions about faith and morals. When these schools address issues that touch on these matters, they ought to respect all families. Parents do not forfeit their rights as primary educators of their children when they send their kids to public schools. The parents in Montgomery County did not seek to impose their religious viewpoints on others; they simply asked to opt out of a program that was offensive to their faith. 

“To be sure, children should not be learning that their personal identity as male or female can be separated from their bodies. But if a public school chooses to offer these kinds of programs, it ought to respect those who choose not to participate. The school board was wrong to interfere with the rights of the parents, and I am grateful that the Supreme Court has moved to rectify this injustice.”

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Priests are called to be embraced and shaped by God's boundless love, and to realize that there is no place for division and hatred of any kind, Pope Leo XIV said.

"Reconciled with one another, united and transformed by the love that flows abundantly from the Heart of Christ, let us walk together humbly and resolutely in his footsteps, firm in faith and open to all in charity," he told priests from all over the world.

"Let us bring the peace of the risen Lord to our world, with the freedom born of the knowledge that we have been loved, chosen and sent by the Father," he said in his homily during Mass in St. Peter's Basilica June 27, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.

The Mass marked the conclusion of a week of Jubilee celebrations for seminarians, bishops and priests, where Pope Leo reiterated the need to ground one's vocation in God's love, Jesus' friendship and the Holy Spirit's transformative power, as well as the need to be united and missionary in a world thirsting for meaning and hope.

During the Mass, the pope also ordained 32 priests from Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and Oceania. 

In his homily, he told the ordinands, "What I have to say is simple, but I consider it important for your future and for the future of the souls entrusted to your care."

"Love God and your brothers and sisters, and give yourselves to them generously. Be fervent in your celebration of the sacraments, in prayer, especially in adoration before the Eucharist, and in your ministry," he told them. "Keep close to your flock, give freely of your time and energy to everyone, without reserve and without partiality, as the pierced side of the crucified Jesus and the example of the saints teach us to do."

He encouraged them to look among the many examples of holy priests in the church's history. "Learn their stories, study their lives and work, imitate their virtues, be inspired by their zeal and invoke their intercession often and insistently!" he exhorted.

"All too often, today's world offers models of success and prestige that are dubious and short-lived. Do not let yourselves be taken in by them!" he said.

Instead, look to those who, "frequently hidden and unassuming," have spent their lives in service of the Lord and their brothers and sisters, he said. "Keep their memory alive by your own example of fidelity."

Pope Leo told priests that the Sacred Heart of Jesus "is entrusted in a special way to us, so that we can make it present in our world." 

They contribute to the work of salvation in several ways, he said, first, by imitating the Good Shepherd who watches over his flock, seeks the lost, helps the wounded and strengthens the weak and sick.

"In this age of vast and devastating conflicts," he said, "the love of God has no limits. We are called to let ourselves be embraced and shaped by that love, and to realize that in God's eyes -- and our own as well -- there is no place for division and hatred of any kind."

God also exhorts his priests to "entrust ourselves, along a daily path of conversion, to the transforming power of his Spirit who dwells in our hearts," he said.

"We are called to exercise pastoral charity with a generous love, like that of the Father, and to foster in our hearts the desire that no one be lost but that everyone, also through our ministry, may come to know Christ and have eternal life in him," the pope said.

"We are called to deepen our closeness to Jesus and to be a source of harmony in the midst of our brother priests," he said. "We do so by bearing on our shoulders those who are lost, granting forgiveness to those who have erred, seeking out those who have gone astray or been left behind and caring for those who suffer in body or spirit."

Every priest must seek to "remain united with their bishop and within the presbyterate," Pope Leo said. "For the more we are united among ourselves, the more we will be able to lead others to the fold of the Good Shepherd and to live as brothers and sisters in the one house of the Father."

 

Catechism of the Catholic Church 478:

"Lord Jesus, let my heart never rest until it finds You, who are its center, its love, and its happiness."

After Countess Matilda of Tuscany dropped her wedding ring into the water, she turned to the Blessed Virgin Mary for help. This was the unexpected beginning of the Orval Abbey.

ROME (CNS) -- When a priest has experienced the joy of truly believing in Jesus Christ and embracing him as a friend, it shows, Pope Leo XIV told priests.

"The priest's happiness reflects his encounter with Christ, sustaining him in mission and service," he said during a meeting that was part of the Jubilee of Priests.

Hundreds of priests and people involved in priestly formation and vocations took part in a gathering at the Conciliazione Auditorium in Rome June 26, titled, "Happy Priests: 'I have called you friends,'" referring to Jesus' union with his disciples in the Gospel of St. John (15:15).

Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, welcomed the pope, saying, "We are here because we know that a happy priest is the best proclamation of the Gospel."  

"In the heart of the Holy Year, we want to testify together that it is possible to be happy priests," the pope said to applause. Their joy is rooted in Christ calling them and making them his friends: "a grace we want to welcome with gratitude and responsibility."

Jesus' words, "I have called you friends," are the key to understanding priestly ministry, Pope Leo said.

"The priest is a friend of the Lord, called to live with him in a personal and trusting relationship, nourished by the Word, the celebration of the sacraments and daily prayer," he said.

"This friendship with Christ is the spiritual foundation of ordained ministry, the meaning of our celibacy and the energy of the ecclesial service to which we dedicate our lives," he said. "It sustains us in times of trial and enables us to renew each day the 'yes' uttered at the beginning of our vocation."

Pope Leo underlined the importance of Pope Francis' 2024 encyclical, "'Dilexit Nos' ('He Loved Us'): on the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ" for the whole church and for their vocation.

It is from this "burning" heart that "our vocation takes its origin; it is from this source of grace that we want to allow ourselves to be transformed," he said. 

"Many seem to have drifted away from faith, yet deep inside many people, especially young people, there is a thirst for the infinite and for salvation," he said.

"Therefore, we want to rediscover missionary momentum together," he said, in a mission that "boldly and lovingly proposes the Gospel of Jesus."

"Through our pastoral action, it is the Lord himself who cares for his flock, gathers those who are scattered, kneels before those who are wounded and supports those who are discouraged," the pope said. "Imitating the master's example, we grow in faith and thus become credible witnesses to the vocation we have received."

"When one believes, it shows," he said.

The pope thanked them "for who you are! For you remind everyone that it is good to be priests, and that every call from the Lord is first and foremost a call to his joy." 

"We are not perfect, but we are Christ's friends, brothers to one another and sons of his gentle Mother Mary, and that is enough for us," he said.

Speaking off-the-cuff before giving his final blessing, Pope Leo encouraged priests to know they are never alone, even if they are ministering in remote places.

Their spiritual life needs nurturing, so "when we need help, look for a good 'companion,' a spiritual director, a good confessor," he said.

"Try to live what Pope Francis so many times called 'closeness': closeness with the Lord, closeness with your bishop, or religious superior, and closeness among yourselves, too, because you really have to be friends, brothers," he said.

"Live this beautiful experience of walking together, knowing that we are called to be disciples of the Lord. We have a great mission, and together we can all do it. Let us always count on God's grace, closeness from me as well, and together we can really be this voice in the world," he said.

WASHINGTON – While commending the provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that promote the dignity of human life and support parental choice in education, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), implored Congress to be consistent in protecting human life and dignity and make changes to the bill to protect those most in need. 

Archbishop Broglio’s intervention comes as the U.S. Senate considers the budget reconciliation bill:

“The bishops are grateful that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes provisions that promote the dignity of human life and support parental choice in education. These are commendable provisions that are important priorities for the bishops. Still, Congress must be consistent in protecting human life and dignity and make drastic changes to the bill to protect those most in need. As Pope Leo XIV recently stated, it is the responsibility of politicians to promote and protect the common good, including by working to overcome great wealth inequality. This bill does not answer this call. It takes from the poor to give to the wealthy. It provides tax breaks for some while undermining the social safety net for others through major cuts to nutrition assistance and Medicaid. It fails to protect families and children by promoting an enforcement-only approach to immigration and eroding access to legal protections. It harms God’s creation and future generations through cuts to clean energy incentives and environmental programs.

“I underscore what my brother bishops said in their recent letter to find a better way forward and urge Senators to think and act with courage and creativity to protect human dignity for all, to uphold the common good, and to change provisions that undermine these fundamental values.”

The USCCB’s letter on the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” proposed by the Senate may be found here.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Too often, in the name of security, war is waged against the poor, Pope Leo XIV said.

The Holy Year instead indicates that safety is found in the culture of encounter, he said. The Jubilee "asks of us the restitution and redistribution of unjustly accumulated wealth, as the way to personal and civil reconciliation."

The pope made his comments during a meeting marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking June 26. Dozens of guests attended the gathering in the San Damaso Courtyard at the Vatican, including Italian government officials, individuals in recovery for substance abuse and those who assist them. 

"Today, brothers and sisters, we are engaged in a battle that cannot be abandoned as long as, around us, anyone is still imprisoned in the various forms of addiction," Pope Leo said.

"Our fight is against those who make their immense business out of drugs and every other addiction -- think of alcohol or gambling," he said. "There are huge concentrations of interest and extensive criminal organizations that states have a duty to dismantle."

However, he said, "it is easier to fight against their victims." 

"Too often, in the name of security, war is waged against the poor, filling prisons with those who are merely the final link in a chain of death. Those who hold the chain in their hands instead manage to gain influence and impunity," he said. 

"Our cities must not be freed of the marginalized, but of marginalization; they must be cleared not of the desperate, but of desperation," he said.

"The fight against drug trafficking, educational commitment among the poor, the defense of Indigenous communities and migrants, and fidelity to the social doctrine of the church are in many places considered subversive," he said.

"The Jubilee indicates the culture of encounter as the way to safety," he said, and challenges must be tackled together.

"We conquer evil together. Joy is found together. Injustice is fought together. The God who created and knows each one of us -- and is more intimate to me than I am to myself -- made us to be together," he said. 

"Of course, there are also bonds that hurt and human groups where freedom is lacking. But these, too, can only be overcome together, trusting those who do not profit from our suffering, those whom we can meet and who meet us with selfless attention," the pope said.

"Drugs and addiction are an invisible prison that you, in different ways, have known and fought, but we are all called to freedom," Pope Leo told his audience.

"St. Augustine confessed that only in Christ did the restlessness of his heart find peace. We seek peace and joy, we thirst for them. And many deceptions can delude and even imprison us in this quest," he said.

"The church needs you. Humanity needs you. Education and politics need you. Together, we will make the infinite dignity imprinted on each person prevail over every degrading addiction," the pope said.

"Let us go forward together, then, multiplying the places of healing, encounter and education: pastoral paths and social policies that start from the street and never give anyone up for lost," he said.