SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hello, I'm Gina Christian, and you're listening to our OSV Newscast for Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026, the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. According to St. Mark's Gospel, she was the first to see the risen Christ. And you can read a wonderful reflection on her by St. Gregory the Great in today's Office of Readings. St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us. Now let's catch you up on the Catholic news of the day, and here we go. The Vatican has pushed back against reports that former Jesuit Father Marco Rupnik has been acquitted in his Vatican criminal trial. In a statement today, the Holy See press office said rumors of an acquittal are completely unfounded and confirmed the canonical trial is still under review. Officials said judges continue examining evidence from diocese, the Jesuit order, alleged victims, and media reports. The statement followed a rebuke of the Vatican's silence from attorney Laura Skrh, who represents several women accusing Father Rupnik of sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse. Scro said victims have received little information about the proceedings, and she called the lack of communication further violence against her clients. The Vatican described the case as a canonical criminal proceeding of a judicial nature, and said that no statute of limitations applies under canon law. Father Rupnik, whose mosaics appear in churches worldwide, was expelled from the Jesuits in 2023 after decades-long abuse allegations involving more than two dozen women. Catholic leaders in Peru are rallying emergency aid to those affected by two earthquakes that struck the mountainous region of Junin. They're also working to safeguard national heritage sites damaged as a result. The July 18th quakes, measuring magnitudes 5.1 and 3.7, hit the province of Chupaca, less than 200 miles east of Lima. Civil defense officials say at least five people were killed and 32 injured, with dozens of homes destroyed. In a July 19th statement, the Peruvian Catholic Bishops Conference expressed deep sorrow, offering prayers for the victims and calling for solidarity. Relief efforts have been underway. Archbishop Luis Alberto Uaman Camayo of Juancayo traveled to damaged areas like Pupunya to direct aid. Through Caritas Juancayo, the church is distributing food, water, and emergency supplies to families who lost their homes. Church and civil leaders are also assessing historic properties, including the 16th-century church of St. James the Apostle, which suffered a partial roof collapse and structural damage. The recent sentencing of a convicted online child predator in San Antonio to a 40-year prison term, plus renewed safety warnings from federal officials, mark a call for parents to double down on protecting their kids in the digital sphere. That's what a Catholic legal scholar told OSV News. I spoke with Mary Graw Leary, a professor of law at the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. She's also the director of that school's program in modern prosecution, a former federal prosecutor, and an expert on human trafficking and victimization. And Leary told me that the federal sentencing is, as she put it, yet another recognition of the growing threat posed by sadistic online exploitation. She stressed that nihilistic violent extremism continues to threaten kids online, with perpetrators engaging in sextortion to compel self-harm and other violent behavior. Without meaningful regulation to rein in technology companies who spend millions lobbying Congress, Mary stressed the need for parents to comprehensively increase their vigilance over children's online activities. She told me, You absolutely just can't know too much about what your child is doing online, because it is open season on your children without any effective regulation. The Diocese of El Paso's legal aid ministry, Estrella del Paso, has exhausted its financial reserves after going seven months without federal reimbursement for its work in representing unaccompanied immigrant children. Executive Director Melisa Lopez said on July 20th that the organization's reserves have been completely depleted by the funding laps. The ministry provides legal services across West Texas and New Mexico, serving tens of thousands of clients, most of them from Latin America. In March of 2025, Estreda del Paso joined other legal service providers, ensuing the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of the Interior, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement, after funding for legal representation was withdrawn. The federal judge later issued a temporary injunction requiring the government to continue paying for the services. Lopez said the government now owes Estrege del Paso approximately $900,000. On July 16th, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez Olguin directed the plaintiffs and the federal government to meet and negotiate the unpaid reimbursements before the next court hearing, which is scheduled for tomorrow as the funding dispute continues. And finally, Pope Leo XIV made a surprise visit to the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino on July 20th, spending nearly four hours with the monastery's Benedictine monks. The Benedictine community learned of the visit only that morning and was asked to keep it confidential until after the Pope's departure. Inside the Abbey Basilica, the Pope prayed at the tombs of Saint Benedict of Nurcia, the patron saint of Europe, and Saint Scholastica. According to the Holy See Press Office, the Pope paused to pray at the tomb of Saint Benedict, entrusting to him his plea for peace in those regions of the world marked by bloodshed and conflict. He also joined the monks for midday prayer and lunch, toured the Abbey's archive, library, and museum, and stopped at the exhibit recalling the monastery's destruction during the Second World War. Before leaving, Pope Leo greeted and blessed surprised pilgrims visiting the historic abbey, which was founded by Saint Benedict in the year 529. 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. Make sure to subscribe to this podcast. Give us a follow on social media and bookmark osvnews.com. As always, a shout out to our listeners in the U.S., Canada, and all over the world. Let's see who is checking in. We have Australia, Poland, Trinidad, and Tobago, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Spain, Kenya, the Philippines, and Sweden. Good to see you all. Drop us a line and let us know what you think. Thanks so much for listening and God bless.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

This has been an OSV News production. To learn more, visit OSVnews.