Vigil preparing for first World Youth Day

Australian Catholic University student Bryce Kathage, pictured in an undated photo, will make his first pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Lisbon four months after becoming Catholic. The third-year nursing student based at ACU Banyo was received into the Catholic Church at Easter in the same chapel where he experienced his first Mass. OSV News photo/ courtesy Australian Catholic University

Catholic aid workers see huge needs for flooded Kherson, people ‘die on own rooftops’

BANYO, Australia (OSV News) – In less than two months an expected 1.5 million young Catholics will descend on the capital city of Portugal for World Youth Day. Bryce Kathage will likely be the “youngest” in the crowd. The third-year nursing student at Australian Catholic University (ACU), who also has served in the Australian military’s infantry corps, became a Catholic at Easter, inside the chapel where he experienced his first Mass. The World Youth Day in Lisbon will be his first international Catholic encounter. “At the start of the year I didn’t even know what World Youth Day was,” Kathage said. “Admittedly, I still have a lot to learn about the Catholic faith, I’ve really only learnt the basics, but hopefully I can come back from World Youth Day with a lot more knowledge to share with the community here at ACU.” World Youth Day in Lisbon Aug. 1-6 will be the Catholic Church’s first global event since the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

BRIEF: KHERSON, Ukraine (OSV News) -- Delivering aid in Ukraine’s flooded Kherson area has become a lifethreatening task. Aid workers of Caritas and other organizations told OSV News they cannot go on rescue boats without bulletproof vests and military helmets, as Russian troops have continued to fire on civilian victims and rescuers. In some towns that are still under Russian occupation, sources say the situation is so dire that people die on their own rooftops. On June 6, damage to the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant in Kherson released some 4.3 cubic miles of water (a single cubic mile of water equals 1.1 trillion gallons) from the Kakhovka Reservoir, one of the world’s largest capacity reservoirs. Dozens of towns and villages along the Dnipro River have been flooded so far, with tens of thousands at flood risk, according to Ukrainian government officials. The Institute for the Study of War, based in Washington, has assessed that “the balance of evidence, reasoning, and rhetoric suggests that the Russians deliberately damaged the dam.” Father Piotr Rosochacki, director of Caritas-Spes Ukraine since 2015, told OSV News the flooded terrain is now being “regularly shelled” by Russian troops, lamenting the attacks as “never-ending.” He appealed to Catholics around the globe not to forget about Ukraine and not to become indifferent. “The water will go away and in a month, two, others will live their own lives and forget about the dam. But people here will remain without basics like drinking water,” he said, adding that long-term help is needed “so that those people can live again.”

Flood victims receive hot meals at a humanitarian aid center in Kherson, Ukraine, June 12, after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached. —OSV News photo/ Ivan Antypenko, Reuters

Catholics concerned as U.S. child labor violations increase and lawmakers seek to weaken laws

While Canada is fighting wildfires from western Alberta province to eastern Nova Scotia, Father Gerald Mendoza (third from left) is on the frontlines of the battle in firefighter uniform. Father Mendoza is among the more than 3,000 men and women combatting the flames. He has served the Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan for over a decade, first became immersed in the 2023 wildfire battle at the beginning of May. OSV News photo/courtesy Fr. Mendoza

CHATEH, Alberta -- While Canada is fighting wildfires from western Alberta province to eastern Nova Scotia, at least one priest is on the frontlines of the battle in firefighter uniform. Father Gerald Mendoza, pastor at Our Lady of Assumption Parish in Chateh and St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Rainbow Lake, both located in Alberta province, is also a volunteer firefighter. He assisted in the putting out of blazes in both of his communities – and he helps out around the fire hall. Though mindful of not appearing to be “showy,” Father Mendoza said he tries to bring a “priestly presence” to the fire hall by praying the rosary in his firefighting gear. Around 16,400 people had to evacuate their homes near Halifax, Nova Scotia’s largest city, on May 29. Drier than normal weather conditions have already caused nearly 550 wildfires in the province – over 100 more wildfires than in 2022. The blaze led officials to declare a local state of emergency in Halifax late May 28, according to the BBC. Justin Trudeau, Canadian prime minister tweeted May 29 that “the wildfire situation in Nova Scotia is incredibly serious,” adding that he is “keeping everyone affected in our thoughts, and we’re thanking those who are working hard to keep people safe.” Meanwhile, heavy rainfall throughout the province of Alberta over the Canadian long weekend May 20-22 potentially signaled a hopeful turning point in the effort to quell the 2023 wildfire state of emergency.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) -- According to recently published reports and investigations, children are toiling in some of the most dangerous conditions in American industry, such as construction, slaughterhouses and assembly lines, drawing concern from Catholics and labor leaders. In one of the largest child labor cases in its history, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division discovered 102 children from ages 13 to 17 were employed by Kieler, Wisconsin-based Packers Sanitation Services, Inc., at their client facilities in eight states. According to the department, the children worked overnight shifts, and at least three suffered injuries while cleaning back saws, brisket saw and head splitters. The company was fined $1.5 million in civil penalties. The case is hardly isolated, as the Labor De- partment says illegal child labor has risen 69% since 2018, and it has 600 ongoing child labor investigations. Employers frequently cite an ongoing worker shortage among their challenges, which has motivated some state legislators, such as in Minnesota and Iowa, to introduce bills that would weaken child labor law age regulations and safety protections.

“When I hear an employer say that there’s a worker shortage, what they’re actually saying is there are no workers available to work at the price I’m willing to pay,” Clayton Sinyai, executive director of the Catholic Labor Network told OSV News.

“They don’t like the current labor market, and would like to pay people less. And children will work for less.”

June 12 was World Day Against Child Labor.

A file photo shows a mural depicting child labor. Catholics and labor leaders are voicing concern that young workers are all too easily exploited in a difficult economy, as some state legislators move to weaken child labor laws. OSV News photo/ Shanshan Chen, Reuters