Dear Mr Walford,

I fondly recall you and your family’s visit on 27 July last. To me it felt like a concrete expression of Amoris Laetitia. Thank you! I would also like to thank you for your book on the communion of saints which I have begun reading.

In the letter you left for me, you asked if I could write some thoughts about Amoris Laetitia, and you proposed some questions. I will happily respond but I think it would be better for me to write freely what is in my heart. I hope this will be useful to you.

God, our Father,
We are brothers and sisters in Jesus your Son,
One family, in the Spirit of your love.

Bless us with the joy of love.

Make us patient and kind,
gentle and generous,
welcoming to those in need.
Help us to live your forgiveness and peace.

Protect all families with your loving care,
Especially those for whom we now pray:

Increase our faith,
Strengthen our hope,
Keep us safe in your love,
Make us always grateful for the gift of life that we share.

This we ask, through Christ our Lord,

The concerned authorities were quick in locating and responding to the terror cell which on Friday killed a security officer in an attack on a police patrol in the town of Fuheis, 12 kilometres west of Amman. On Saturday, the security forces surrounded a building where the suspected terrorists were believed to be hiding, resulting in a firefight in which at least three were killed and several others were injured.

The Patriarch of Moscow will go to Constantinople on the end of this month and he will try to mend the “Ukrainian issue”: a risky opportunity, if the parties at stake continue to focus on tactics of ecclesiastical politics, on buck-passing, and on trials by fire.

Is the blood of the Shroud too red to be true? No, according to a new research published in the scientific journal Applied Optics, which responds to one of the objections of the detractors of the Turin Shroud that supposedly wrapped Jesus, according to which it is common sense that blood turns brown, once coagulated.

It may seem something of no importance, but a lot of research on the most diverse aspects – and colour is one of them – could not stop the debate on the stains of the Shroud: a bloody confrontation, one could say.

Ladaria states the new revision “situates itself in continuity with the preceding Magisterium while bringing forth a coherent development of Catholic doctrine”.

The president of Russia points to “Christianisation” as the origin of the identity of the country, of its strength and its historical importance. Criticisms and warnings raised by those groups that in the past have firmly supported “cultural battles” to reaffirm the roots of the West.

The 30th of July is the United Nations’s international day dedicated to the 40 million victims of human trafficking around the world. “Social” campaign by the Holy See. The commitment comes from Catholic organisations such as the Salesians, female congregations, the Order of Malta and various charities.

Two years after the brutal assassination, Monsignor Dominique Lebrun, Pastor of Rouen, described the elderly priest as an "icon of martyrdom". The process of beatification pushed by Francis is ongoing. Celebrations today in the diocese.

The Apostolic Nuncio to Nicaragua appeals in Pope Francis’ name for peace in the country, where over 360 people have died and government forces have occupied the opposition bastion of Masaya near the capital, Managua.
By Devin Watkins

Pope Francis’ representative in Nicaragua, Archbishop Waldemar Stanisław Sommertag, has made a strong appeal for an end to the violence which has racked the country since April 18th.