Shock: tabernacle stolen from North Carolina church (The Watauga Democrat) According to Boone Police, an unknown suspect or suspects entered the St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country sometime between June 16 and June 17. Police stated that the tabernacle in the church was stolen from the altar. The tabernacle is roughly 2 feet tall by 1 foot wide, and made of yellow brass. The Diocese of Charlotte stated that it is calling for prayers and the safe return of the tabernacle, which contains the Eucharist. Buckler is requesting that those allegedly responsible return the sacred hosts kept inside the tabernacle, if not the tabernacle itself…

No new seminarians at Rome’s Irish seminary; school weighs program for deacons (Vatican Media) The Irish Catholic Bishops announce the Pontifical Irish College, Rome, will not be accepting seminarians from Ireland in the academic year 2020-2021. The Irish College is also considering formation programs for various forms of ministry in Ireland, included the permanent diaconate, parish catechists, and parish pastoral workers…

SCOTUS halts Texas execution over Catholic chaplain dispute  (CNA) The Supreme Court stayed the execution of a man in Texas after the state’s Department of Corrections refused to allow a Catholic priest to be with him in the final moments of his life…

Archbishop Gomez calls for national support to keep Catholic schools open (The LA Daily News) Archdiocese of Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gómez called Wednesday for nationwide support to keep Catholic schools open, saying many around the country face permanent closure because of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic…

Archbishop in critical condition with COVID-19 (CNS) Archbishop Moses Costa of Chittagong in Bangladesh has tested positive for COVID-19 and is in critical condition in a private hospital in Dhaka, reported ucanews.com. He was admitted to the hospital June 13, Father Leonard C. Rebeiro, vicar general of the archdiocese, said June 14…

Study reports dioceses with highest, lowest rates of COVID-19 (CNS) An analysis conducted by the staff of Catholic Extension found that dioceses it supports financially have the nation’s most — and least — severe COVID-19 infection rates…

Australian deacon honored by the Queen (The Catholic Leader) Gold Coast Deacon Gary Stone is among the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, receiving an Order of Australia Medal for service to veterans and their families. Deacon Stone, who served for decades in the army as chaplain, in the federal police, and six years ago founded the Veterans Care Association that he says has helped veterans find a purpose in life and brought them back “from the brink of suicide, addiction and hopelessness…”

Former Jean Vanier school renamed  (CBC) The Regina Catholic School Division has chosen St. Maria Faustina to be the new namesake of the former Jean Vanier School, the division announced Wednesday. Vanier, who died in Paris last year, was a once-respected Canadian religious figure who founded L’Arche, an organization that has people with and without intellectual disabilities live together in communities around the world. But an inquiry commissioned last year by L’Arche reported that its founder had sexually abused six adult women between 1970 and 2005…