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Hello, I'm Gina Christian, and you're listening to our OSV newscast for Wednesday, July 15th, 2026. Today is the feast of Saint Bonaventure, a 13th-century Franciscan theologian, philosopher, and doctor of the church. A passage from his book, Journey of the Mind to God, is featured in today's Office of Readings. The book focuses on using both the mind and the spirit to love God through Christ, just as St. Francis of Assisi did. Saint Bonaventure, pray for us. Now let's catch you up on the Catholic news of the day, and here we go. Franciscan leaders in the U.S. are urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take decisive diplomatic action against rising Israeli settler violence targeting West Bank Christians. In a July 9th statement representing 12 Franciscan provinces in the U.S., provincial ministers expressed frustration with a brief State Department reply to their June 24th letter. The Franciscans warned that nearly 2,000 years of continuous Christian presence in the Holy Land is heading toward eradication. The appeal follows a series of June attacks in Taipei, the last entirely Christian village in the West Bank. Settlers reportedly set fire to local farmland, assaulted residents, and began constructing an illegal outpost. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered a violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that an occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. The Franciscan leaders lamented the apparent inaction of Israeli Defense Force soldiers, who they said seem unable or perhaps unwilling to curtail the expansion and violence. The Franciscan leaders warned that a holy land without a mediating Christian community would have dire implications for peace. The Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico is asking for a jury trial as it challenges the Trump administration's effort to seize land at Mount Cristo Rey, a historic Catholic pilgrimage site in southern New Mexico, for the construction of a border wall. The diocesan request was filed July 6th in federal court, and it marks the latest step in a legal dispute over a 14-acre property in Sunland Park that includes the shrine, which is nearly a century old. The mountain is topped by a 29-foot limestone statue of Christ the King and its long-drawn pilgrims from across the region. On June 28th, Bishop Peter Baldecino led more than 500 faithful in prayer to protect the site. The federal court previously set compensation for the land at just over $183,000, but the diocese argues the government never inspected the property and paid significantly more for a smaller nearby parcel that's owned by the state. Beyond compensation, the diocese also contends the proposed land seizure violates First Amendment protections and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, that latter of which expands protections for religious exercise beyond those covered under the former. Pope Leo XIV recently hosted lunch at his summer residence, Castel Gandalfo, with people experiencing homelessness and poverty. And the meal has inspired a model that one Catholic organization hopes parishes around the world will adopt. Fratello, a French nonprofit founded after the 2016 Jubilee of Mercy, helps dioceses and parishes organize World Day of the Poor celebrations that place people in need at the center of parish life. For the observance's 10th anniversary this November, Fratello is encouraging communities to host prayer vigils, masses celebrated with the poor, shared friendship banquets, and a global online prayer gathering. The organization provides logistical support and resources to help parishes participate. Now active in about 40 countries, Fratello also coordinates a worldwide pilgrimage of replicas of the Our Lady of Tenderness statue that was blessed by Pope Francis in 2023. About 30 replicas of the statue are visiting prisons, elder care homes, schools, and parishes, offering communities a chance to gather in prayer even when a Fratello representative cannot visit in person. Pope Leo's call to build a church that truly knows how to open its doors reflects the organization's mission of fostering encounter, prayer, and hope with the poor. Friar Pedro de Corpa and four fellow Franciscan missionaries, known as the Georgia Martyrs, continue to inspire Catholics more than four centuries after their deaths, as devotion grows ahead of their October beatification in Savannah, Georgia. The friars served among the indigenous Guale people in Spanish missions along Georgia's coast, and they were killed in 1597 in hatred of the faith. Friar de Corpa was slain after refusing a converted chief's demand to approve a second wife. Bishop Stephen Parks of Savannah said the martyr's witness remains relevant, particularly for marriage and family life. He encouraged families to seek the friar's intercession, praying that Jesus is a welcome guest at our dinner table every night, and that the church's teaching on marriage is something that we uphold, we believe in, we embrace, and we live. Pilgrims can visit several sites linked to the martyrs, although only St. Catherine's Island, where Friars Miguel de Arnon and Antonio de Barajos were killed, has been definitively identified. Other probable locations include Fort King George and the lost missions of Tolomato and Tupui. Father Pablo Millone, a priest of the Diocese of Savannah who's closely connected to the Friars' Beatification cause, said the martyr's story offers an opportunity to highlight the Church's teaching on marriage while encouraging Catholics to follow their example of courageous, joyful witness to the faith. And finally, a special moment marked the July 11th ordination and installation of Bishop Emilio Biosca Aguero as the third shepherd of the Diocese of Venice, Florida. Ahead of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, his family brought up the gifts. His father and mother, who uses a walker, came down the aisle, and in front of the altar they laid their hands upon their son's cheek and forehead. Bishop Biosca put his hands upon each of his parents' shoulders, and with their heads bowed, they stayed like that for a minute, as tears filled the eyes of many in the pews. Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who was the homilist and co-consecrator of the new bishop and a fellow Capuchin Franciscan, said Bishop Biasca's deep love for Jesus crucified and the Franciscan virtues of simplicity, solidarity, and joy will prepare him for his service in the Diocese of Venice. The former Father Biosca, a one-time missionary to Papua New Guinea and Cuba, was serving as pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington when Pope Leo XIV named him to the Diocese of Venice to succeed the retiring Bishop Frank Duane, who is 76. 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 because you wouldn't want to miss an episode, right? Give us a follow on social media and bookmark osvnews.com. Shout out to our listeners in the US, Canada, and all over the world. Let's see who is checking in. 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