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Cardinals Meeting in Rome, Rape Charges for English Bishop, Catholic Reaction to SCOTUS on Haiti & Syria TPS, and More

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Hello, I'm Gina Christian, and you're listening to our OSV Newscast for Friday, June 26, 2026. Let's catch you up on the Catholic news of the day, and here we go. Today, Pope Leo XIV opened the second extraordinary consistory or special meeting of cardinals during his pontificate, and he urged the cardinals to help him discern what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church today. He reminded them as well that they're not guardians of particular interests, but disciples called to communion in Christ. The Pope told them, I am counting on you to help me discern what the Spirit is saying to the Church today. And he added that sincere advice is always an act of communion. The two-day special meeting brings together cardinals from around the world, and they'll discuss evangelization, synodality, peace, and the common good, along with the Pope's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which looks at safeguarding human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence. The cardinals will use a small group discussion format similar to that during the Synod on Synodality, speaking to each other at round tables rather than addressing the entire college of cardinals. Pope Leo acknowledged the approach is not the usual way of conducting a consistory, but he said, We too learn synodality by practicing it. We learn to grow together in communion. The Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales has issued an unreserved apology and renewed its commitment to a zero-tolerance policy for abuse following the arrest and charging of a local bishop. Staffordshire police confirmed that 70-year-old Bishop David James Oakley of Northampton faces two counts of rape against a female under age 16. Authorities said the alleged crimes occurred between February of 2000 and February of 2001, while then Father Oakley was serving as a parish priest in Cheadle. Bishop Oakley was arrested last September and previously went on a leave of absence for what were described as personal reasons. He scheduled to appear at Cannock Magistrates Court on August 14th. The bishops said they are cooperating fully with the statutory authorities, and they stressed their focus on ensuring safety and transparency across all Catholic parishes and schools. In their statement, the bishop said that anybody who comes to our parishes, schools, and communities must be safe, and we are resolute in our commitment to safeguarding. They also invited victims to meet with them so that, as they said, we can learn from them and be guided by their experiences as we continue to make our communities safe places. Four U.S. Archbishops are in Rome to receive the pallium from Pope Leo XIV during the June 29th Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. The pallium is a band made of white wool with six black crosses, and it symbolizes unity with the Pope and a shepherd's service to the faithful. Pope Leo revived the tradition in which the Pope personally places the pallium on newly appointed Metropolitan Archbishops. Among those receiving it are Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York, Archbishop James Chechio of New Orleans, Archbishop James Golka of Denver, and Archbishop Mark Rivetusso of Mobile, Alabama. Each Archbishop is accompanied by pilgrims from their respective archdiocese. Ahead of the ceremony, Archbishop Hicks said, As I prepare to go to Rome to receive this pallium, I'm doing so with a sense of wonder and awe and humility. Archbishop Checchio asked Catholics to pray for me this week, while Archbishopso called the pallium a blessed reminder that I bear and live the yoke of Christ's shepherding love for each one of you. In his homily at a Mass for Denver faithful with him in Rome, Archbishop Golka said, We are here because God called us to be here. That means something much different than I just decided to go on my own. Catholic leaders are warning the Supreme Court's decision yesterday, allowing the Trump administration to deport more than 330,000 Haitians and some 6,100 Syrians currently under protected status in the U.S. will have dire consequences, including for the U.S. itself. Two bishops have called on Congress to extend those deportation protections. In a statement released today, Bishop Brendan Cahill of Victoria, Texas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration, said, Revoking the legal status of hundreds of thousands of people residing in our country creates a moral crisis when returning to their country of origin is not a safe or reasonable option. Archbishop Thomas Wensky of Miami, whose archdiocese is home to an extensive Haitian community, held a press conference hours after the court announced its ruling, and he said Haitians now face the possibility of being returned to a country on the brink, one that for decades has endured one calamity after another. I spoke with Haitian native Father Eugene Almanor, an oblate of Mary Immaculate Priest and chaplain of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's Haitian Catholic community. He told me, the situation in Haiti is very, very critical. Father Almanor is now a U.S. citizen, and he said that asking someone to return to Haiti is exposing your life to danger. Above all, he said, it is a question of humanity. And finally, the relics of the French nun to whom Christ revealed his sacred heart will be available for public veneration in the U.S. at a number of locations, as the nation, which has just been consecrated to the Sacred Heart, marks its 250th anniversary. The Knights of Columbus announced on June 23rd that major relics of St. Margaret Mary Alicoque will travel to Washington and Baltimore from June 29th through July 5th. The relics include the saint's clavicles, two of her ribs, and a small piece of her brain, and they arrived in the U.S. in early June, ahead of the U.S. Catholic Bishop's formal consecration of the nation to the Sacred Heart during their annual spring meeting in Orlando, Florida. The Saints' relics are currently on display from June 24th through the 27th at the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center in New Haven, Connecticut. From June 29th through July 4th, they'll be available for public veneration at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington. Then from July 5th through 6th, the relics will be at Baltimore's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Following public veneration in Baltimore, the relics will return to the Blessed Michael McGivney Center for viewing from July 8th through 11th and again from July 15th through 18th. Then in August, the relics will travel to Denver for the night's annual convention. After that, they'll go back to New Haven for public veneration in September. And that's your OSV Newscast for today. I'm Gina Christian. Check out the show notes for a link to our website where you can find the stories in this episode. As always, please do make sure to subscribe to this podcast. Give us a follow on social media and wait for it. Bookmark Osvnews.com. Shout out to our listeners in the U.S., Canada, and all over the world, Sweden and Italy. Nice to see you checking in. We'll be back on Monday. Thanks so much for listening. God bless. This has been an OSV News production. To learn more, visit osvnews.com.

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