French Traditionalists Prepare for Pope's Visit, Nicaragua's Missing Bishop and Wisconsin Shrine Celebrates American Saints

Thanks for listening! Let us know what you think. God bless!Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for July 7, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.Read the stories in this episode:French traditionalist Catholics in communion with Rome are expressing grief over the SSPX schism while rallying behind Pope Leo XIV's September France visit, with the Association Notre-Dame de Chrétienté already providing volunteers and logistical support for events expected to draw nearly 500,000 people in Paris.Father Crepin Martial Monga, a Catholic priest who sheltered thousands of refugees and mediated among armed groups in the Central African Republic, was shot and killed June 29th near his residence in Zémio — a death Church leaders believe was directly linked to his courageous peacebuilding work.The U.S. State Department condemned the June 29th detention of 80-year-old Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata in Nicaragua, as Church observers and exiled advocates say the government's claim that he has returned home safely cannot be verified by anyone close to him.A one-year provision blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funding expired July 4th, allowing the nation's largest abortion provider to regain access to hundreds of millions of federal dollars as pro-life groups push for a similar measure in an upcoming Republican reconciliation bill.The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Wisconsin — the only church-approved Marian apparition site in the United States — hosted a Fourth of July celebration honoring 76 Catholic Saints of America, with shrine chaplain Father Nathan Mudd reminding the faithful that their Catholic identity always takes precedence over their American one.