The upcoming Synod of Bishops on the Amazon is an “urgent” gathering, not of scientists and politicians, but for the church whose main focus in discussions will be evangelization, Pope Francis said in a new interview.

However, the importance of the Amazon region’s biodiversity and current threats it faces also will be addressed because “together with the oceans, (the Amazon) contributes decisively to the survival of the planet. Much of the oxygen we breathe comes from there. That’s why deforestation means killing humanity,” he said.

The Pope also talked about the dangers of surging nationalism and isolationist sentiments, saying, “I am worried because you hear speeches that resemble those by Hitler in 1934. ‘Us first, We… We…’” Such thinking, he said, “is frightening.”

The Pope’s comments came in an interview posted on August 9 by “Vatican Insider,” the online news supplement to the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

Asked about the dangers of “sovereignism” or nationalism, the Pope said it represented an attitude of “isolation” and closure.

“A country must be sovereign, but not closed” inside itself, he said.

National sovereignty, he said, “must be defended, but relations with other countries, with the European community, must also be protected and promoted.”

“Sovereignism,” on the other hand, he continued, is something that goes “too far” and “always ends badly — it leads to war.”

When asked why he convened a Synod on the Amazon, Pope Francis said, “It is the ‘child’ of ‘Laudato si.’ Those who have not read it will never understand the Synod on the Amazon. ‘Laudato Si’ is not a green encyclical, it is a social encyclical, which is based on a ‘green’ reality, the safeguarding of creation.”

Among the environmental issues the Pope is concerned about, the one that “has shocked me the most,” he said, is the way resources are increasingly being consumed faster than they can be regenerated. Pope Francis was asked whether the possibility of ordaining older, married men to minister in remote areas would be one of the main topics of discussion. The Pope replied, “Absolutely not. It is simply one number” in the working document.

Leaders of the U.S. bishops’ conference on issues of immigration and racism denounced xenophobic and dehumanizing language in the United States, warning that it fosters discrimination and hatred.

“The tragic loss of life of 22 people were in El Paso demonstrates that hate-filled rhetoric and ideas can become the motivation for some to commit acts of violence,” the bishops said.

“The anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, anti-Muslim, and anti-Semitic sentiments that have been publicly proclaimed in our society in recent years have incited hatred in our communities.”

The statement was issued on August 8 by Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin, head of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee; Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Florida, chair of the domestic social development committee; and Bishop Shelton Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, head of the ad hoc committee against racism.

“Donald Trump has created plenty of space for hate,” said presidential hopeful Senator Elizabeth Warren. “He is a racist. He has made one racist remark after another. He has put in place racist policies. And we’ve seen the consequences of it.”

Senator Bernie Sanders, who is also running for president, tweeted at Trump after the shooting, “Your language creates a climate which emboldens violent extremists.”

Six Catholic bishops appealed to the Nigerian government to review its stand on a directive that houses of worship must obtain an annual license before performing marriages and issuing marriage certificates to newly wedded couples.

Archbishop Gabriel Abegunrin of Ibadan and Bishops Felix Ajakaye of Ekiti, Emmanuel Badejo of Oyo, Jude Arogundade of Ondo, John Oyejola of Osogbo, and Paul Olawoore of Ilorin made the appeal in a statement released at the end of their provincial meeting on August 6 in Ado Ekiti.

The bishops urged the government to review the Ministry of the Interior directive to all places of worship. “Presently, only about 4,689 licensed places of worship in Nigeria have updated their records with the Ministry of Interior of which only 314 have renewed their licenses to conduct statutory marriages,” she said.

“Many people, including Catholic Priests, have fallen victims to this tragically insecure environment,” the provincial bishops said. They attributed criminal activity to inconsistency in the prosecution of crimes. They said the government and law enforcement authorities had given “lip service” to their commitment to protect life and property.

It was a coming-out story that turned into a nightmare. The film “Boy Erased,” released on March 27 in France, is based on the true story of the teenage son of a Baptist pastor from Arkansas. When he revealed his sexuality to his parents, they reacted by enrolling him in a “masculinisation” programme to “heal” him of his homosexuality. He found himself in group therapy in a detention centre where he felt he was “trapped in hell.” He did not emerge “cured.”

In the United States, it is estimated that 700,000 young people have been sent to this type of rehabilitation centre. But it might come as a surprise to learn that they also exist in Europe – particularly in France.

In France, these “sexual reorientations” are practiced by some Christian evangelical groups inspired by the American model and by some Muslim preachers. Young people undergo “internships” that combine prayers, readings, exorcism sessions and sometimes even complete isolation. “We had the case of a teenage Jehovah’s Witness whose homosexuality had been publicly disclosed in the community. His parents had then seized his phone and his computer, and he was forbidden from interacting with the outside world,” says Lesage.

At Le Refuge, it is estimated that 3.5%  of LGBT calls are reactions to conversion therapies. This amounts to three calls every month.

“There was a distinctive change of attitude at the time of ‘La Manif pour tous’ (a collective formed in 2012 to protest against the legalisation of same-sex marriage), it was as if homophobic speech was suddenly liberated and it caused much abuse,” says Lesage. “Some churches at the time went so far as to organise prayer sessions to prevent the law from passing.” Anthony Favier, president of the Christian LGBT association David & Jonathan, agrees. He says that the phenomenon has grown with the explosion of the evangelical movement in France in recent years. “It is a modern movement in form but very conservative in substance,” says Favier. “And there is no interpretation of religious texts.”

French conversion therapies currently exist in a legal limbo. The practice of sexually redirecting or ‘curing’ homosexuals is legal but there have been European directives to change this. France may be dragging its feet, but things are progressing in the rest of Europe. A year ago, the European Parliament adopted a text calling on member states to ban conversion therapies. So far, only Malta and some autonomous regions of Spain have passed laws. But several countries are actively working on the issue, including Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom, who last year launched a major governmental initiative to ban the practice.

Neil Armstrong will be remembered at Washington National Cathedral today. It’s a good moment to look at one eccentric Apollo story: the tale of Aldrin’s hushed-up communion on the moon.

Before Armstrong and Aldrin stepped out of the lunar module on July 20, 1969, Aldrin Unstowed a small plastic container of wine and some bread. He had brought them to the moon from Webster Presbyterian church near Houston, where he was an elder. Aldrin had received permission from the Presbyterian church’s general assembly to administer it to himself. In his book Magnificent Desolation he shares the message he then radioed to Nasa: “I would like to request a few moments of silence … and to invite each person listening in, wherever and whomever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way.”

He then ate and drank the elements. The surreal ceremony is described in an article by Aldrin in a 1970 copy of Guideposts magazine: “I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon the wine curled slowly and gracefully up the side of the cup. It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements.”

He also read a section of the gospel of John. During it all, Armstrong, reportedly a deist, is said to have watched respectfully but without making any comment.

The story of the secret communion service only emerged after the mission. Aldrin had originally planned to share the event with the world over the radio. However, at the time Nasa was still reeling from a lawsuit filed by the firebrand atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, resulting in the ceremony never being broadcast. The founder of American Atheists and self-titled “most hated woman in America” had taken on Nasa, as well as many other public organisation. Most famously, she successfully fought mandatory school prayer and bible recitation in US public schools.

Seventy activists were arrest-ed in Washington, D.C., on July 18 while protesting the government’s treatment of undocumented immigrant children, organizers confirmed to Huff Post.

The group of Catholic sisters, priests, brothers and lay Catholic advocates recited the rosary as they gathered inside the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill for what organizers dubbed the “Catholic Day of Action for Immigrant Children.” Some of the participants held photos of children who have died in federal custody since 2018, while others lay on the floor of the building’s rotunda, forming the shape of a cross with their bodies.

The 70 individuals were arrested for unlawfully demonstrating, and were charged with obstructing a public place, U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman Eva Malecki confirmed to HuffPost.

One of the activists arrested was 90-year-old Patricia M.Murphy, a Chicago-based religious sister who has spent years fighting for the rights of undocumented and detained migrants.

Family and friends gathered on July 10 morning to pay tribute to famed auto executive Lee Iacocca.

Iacocca died recently at his home in Bel Air, California. He was 94.

The funeral mass, which took place at  St Hugo of the Hills Church in Bloomfield Hills, was celebrated by Monsignor Anthony Tocco.

Among the readings during the funeral service was “The souls of the just are in the hands of God” from the Book of Wisdom and “if I have all the eloquence of men or of angels but speak without love I am simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing” from the First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians.

The eulogy was delivered by Monsignor Howard Lincoln of Sacred Heart Church in Palm Desert, California, where Iacocca was a member of the parish.

“For decades, Lee’s feet and hands moved mountains,” Lincoln told those at the service. “Lee always seemed to me to never really be down,” he continued. “Somehow, even at the darkest hours, I think he knew somehow even Chrysler would work out.”

Lincoln continued, “Lee knew that this life was his once in a lifetime opportunity and he wanted his life to matter… He was an elevating influence for our parish. I think he saw the importance of being kind and courteous to everybody… ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I’ve had a wonderful and successful career but next to my family, it doesn’t matter at all.’”

After remarks by family members recalling Iacocca’s love of Christmas and family gatherings, the service concluded with the hymn “How Great Thou Art” with its refrain “Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee, how great Thou art! How great Thou art!”

During the height of his    career in the 1980s, Iacocca was arguably the most popular business figure in the world. Pictures of him, often with his trademark cigar, were on magazine covers and TV screens.

During his career, he was credited both with creating the iconic Ford Mustang and, later, for persuading Congress to bail out a bankruptcy Chrysler in the late 1970s.

In an unprecedented move, Eritrean bishops in the Orthodox Church have expelled their former patriarch, Abune Antonios. Antonios, who was the head of the church until 2006, was accused of heresy in a statement signed by a group of top bishops.

He has for a long time been a critic of the government and was deposed and put under house arrest 13 years ago. His followers accuse the government of interfering in church affairs.

He was deposed in 2006 after he refused to excommunicate 3,000 members of a Sunday school movement.

So-called “Christian” militias contradict the Christian approach of love, tolerance and peace, said the Chaldean Catholic Church.

Individual Christians who wish to help defend and maintain security in Iraq can best do so by enlisting with the country’s official army or joining the federal police force, said a statement from the Chaldean patriarchate, headed by Cardinal Louis Sako, in Baghdad.

Individuals who live in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq could join its local Peshmerga forces, said the statement, signed by the cardinal.

“We respect individual decisions” to join Iraq’s state-sponsored coalition of some 40 different militias called the Popular Mobilization Forces “or to get involved in politics, but not to form a Christian ‘brigade,’” it said, “since forming a Christian armed militia contradicts the Christian spirituality that calls for love, tolerance, forgiveness and peace.”

The patriarchate sent the official announcement to the Vatican news agency, Fides, and the Rome-based missionary news agency, AsiaNews, which both published reports about the statement on July 25.

The statement expressed full support for a decree Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi issued on July 1. The decree gave on a July 31 deadline to all militias in the country to operate fully within the nation’s armed forces and be subject to its regulations. The armed groups already answer to the Prime Minister, who is commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces.

The militias assisted the Iraqi- and U.S.-led coalition in pushing out the Islamic State group. But the new decree mandates each militia group to choose to fully integrate with the military and no longer be a political organization or to remain a political entity and disarm themselves; groups will no longer be allowed to operate as both a political and paramilitary body.

The Chaldean patriarchate said it supported the decree, saying it was “an important step in the right direction.”

“This decree would limit the weapons to the state, strengthen its institutions and reinforce national awareness among Iraqis, in terms of their national identity,” it said. It should also help “solidify the pillars of a strong government of law, citizenship and equality,” it added.