Georg Ratzinger, Benedict’s brother, dies at 96 (Vatican News) Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of the Pope emeritus, has died, aged 96. He had been hospitalized in Regensburg, the city where he lived the greater part of his long life. With his death, Joseph Ratzinger – who had desired to make the journey by plane to see his dying brother one last time – remains the only member of the family still alive. The two brothers – one a musician and kappellmeister of a famous choir, the other first a theologian and then a bishop, cardinal, and finally pope – were ordained together on the same day, and were always closely united…

Bishop asks pastor to clarify description of BLM organizers as ‘maggots’ and ‘parasites’ (AP) A bishop asked a suburban Indianapolis Catholic pastor Tuesday to clarify remarks in which he compared the Black Lives Matter movement and its organizers to “maggots and parasites.” Bishop Timothy Doherty of the Diocese of Lafayette, in Indiana, said the Rev. Theodore Rothrock of St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Carmel should issue a clarification of comments that the pastor wrote Sunday in a weekly bulletin message…

Former deacon dies while awaiting trial for rape (WVUE-TV) Former Catholic deacon George Brignac died Monday at the age of 85, according to his attorney Martin Regan. Brignac was removed from the Catholic ministry in 1988 after he was accused of sexually abusing young boys in the 1970s and 80s…

Vatican prosecutors seize data from St. Peter’s (AP) Vatican prosecutors have ordered the seizure of documents and computers from the administrative offices of St. Peter’s Basilica in an apparently new investigation into financial irregularities in the Holy See.The Vatican said Tuesday that Pope Francis also named a special commissioner to run the basilica, reorganize its offices, update its statutes to comply with new Vatican norms on procurement and contracting, and to “clarify its administration…”

Vatican communications head urges Catholic media to promote unity (CNA) The head of the Vatican’s communications office told Catholic journalists on Tuesday that Catholic media should focus on promoting unity within the Church, especially amid the global coronavirus pandemic. “Catholic communication is not only providing information about the Church…it is the capacity of building communion,” Paolo Ruffini, the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communications, said during the June 30 opening session of a virtual conference conducted by the Catholic Press Association…