Study: lead poisoning from Notre Dame fire worse than first thought (CNS) When the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris went up in flames in April 2019, images were made even more dramatic by thick smoke tinged with yellow as the 460 tons of lead on the roof and spire melted. After the fire, French officials said the lead did not pose a health hazard, and relatively few families followed up on a government offer to test their children’s blood for the metal. But some environmental activists were sharply critical of the way officials handled the possible contamination. Now a new study has found that the amount of lead that settled to the ground and likely seeped into houses downwind of the fire and within about half a mile of the cathedral was far greater than officials indicated at the time…

Lourdes to host first online pilgrimage (Vatican News) The Marian Shrine at Lourdes will host the first ever online world pilgrimage on Thursday, 16 July, the anniversary of the final apparition to St Bernadette Soubirous…

Michigan store forced to close, new owner donates merchandise to Catholic Charities (ABC12) A local organization that gives and gives to the community is now on the receiving end of a very generous gift.  When a Flint business went under, the new owner of the inventory donated it to Catholic Charities of Genesee and Shiawassee Counties. They’re now selling those countless items in an effort to continue giving back…

Turkey to cover icons in Hagia Sophia (Al Jazeera) Mosaics in Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia will be covered by curtains or lasers during the Muslim prayers, the spokesman for Turkey’s governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has said. The Christian icons would be uncovered and be open to all visitors at other times, and admission would be free of charge, the AK Party’s Omer Celik said on Monday, without explaining further…

UN warns pandemic could push 130 million into hunger (Vatican News) Several UN agencies release a report forecasting the Covid-19 pandemic could push as many as 130 million people into chronic hunger by the end of the year…