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Catholic News Agency

ACI Prensa's latest initiative is the Catholic News Agency (CNA), aimed at serving the English-speaking Catholic audience. ACI Prensa (www.aciprensa.com) is currently the largest provider of Catholic news in Spanish and Portuguese.

How Christ’s ascension takes the training wheels off our faith
Thu, 09 May 2024 04:00:00 -0400

National Catholic Register, May 9, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Christ’s ascension is meant to help us to grow to full stature in Christ as we respond to his confidence in making us his missionaries, together with the Holy Spirit, to renew the face of the earth.

The celebration of the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is an annual opportunity for us not only to focus on heaven, where the Lord Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us (Jn 14:1-6) and on the joy that “eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor the human heart conceived,” which “God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9; Is 64:4), but also on the implications Jesus’ return to the Father means for each of his followers.

Jesus could have stayed on earth until the end of time as the Good Shepherd, crisscrossing the globe after every lost sheep, saving them one by one. As he ascended, however, he placed his own mission in our hands, commanding us to “go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15).

He took the training wheels off our discipleship and removed any excuses we might have to pass the buck of sharing and spreading the faith. “You will be my witnesses,” he told us, “in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

His confidence and trust in us, despite all our weaknesses, is astonishing. He wanted to incorporate us into — actually entrust to us — his mission of the redemption of the world.

But he didn’t leave us orphans (cf. Jn 14:18).

St. Luke gives us a beautiful image and detail, that Jesus “led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he was blessing them, he parted from them and was taken up to heaven” (Lk 24:50-51).

Jesus departed in the very act of blessing us. Pope Benedict in his trilogy “Jesus of Nazareth” commented on how the risen Jesus in heaven is perpetually blessing us.

“Jesus departs in the act of blessing,” he states. “He goes while blessing, and he remains in that gesture of blessing. His hands remain, stretched out over this world … [which] expresses Jesus’ continuing relationship to his disciples, to the world. … That is why the disciples could return home from Bethany rejoicing. In faith we know that Jesus holds his hands stretched out in blessing over us. That is the lasting motive of Christian joy.”

Jesus is continuously blessing us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens (cf. Eph 1:3). He’s seeking to transform us into his incarnate benediction of the world.

The great manifestation of that blessing is the descent of the Holy Spirit, for whose renewed coming we pray in the annual decenarium from the 40th to 50th days of Easter. St. Luke recalls Jesus’ words: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). That’s the power, the blessing, that came down upon the Church on Pentecost.

During the Last Supper, Jesus said something startling: “I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (Jn 16:7). He was describing the incredible gift of the Holy Spirit’s presence as a blessing even greater than his own. That’s what the Church, huddling around the Blessed Virgin Mary, incessantly begs for after the Ascension.

The Holy Spirit helps us to fulfill, and not shirk, the awe-inspiring responsibility Christ has given us. This is the duty to give witness that Christ is alive, that he is the Way, the Truth, the Resurrection, and the Life, that he came to give us life to the full, so that his joy may be in us and our joy may be complete; he came to give and leave us the peace of his kingdom in a war-torn world; he came to help us and others to change our lives, to believe wholeheartedly in the Good News, and to follow him, so that where he is we also may be and so that we might recognize that God the Father loves us just as much as he loves Jesus (cf. Jn 14:6; 11:25; 10:10; 15:11; 14:27; Mk 1:15; Jn 16:27; 15:9).

That’s a message and a mission that many no longer easily receive.

Whether they think erroneously that science has disproven faith, or the problem of evil has refuted the possibility of a good God, or the clergy sex-abuse scandals have invalidated the Church’s witness, or the frigidity with which so many secularized Christians live their faith has revealed its incapacity to inspire, or a score of other possible reasons people cite to deaden the appeal of Christian faith and life, it’s clear that proclaiming the Gospel effectively to every creature is challenging work — but so was trying to convince down-to-earth first-century pagans and Jews that a crucified carpenter had not only risen from the dead but was the Savior of the world. The same blessing of the Holy Spirit that made their joint witness fruitful desires to give tandem testimony with us.

One of the most effective ways to do so is through charity.

Back in 1985, the future Pope Benedict XVI gave a radio address in which he focused on the “delightfully naïve pictures” of the Ascension in which the disciples are looking upward as Jesus is passing through the clouds and all we see are Jesus’ feet, the same feet the women wanted to grasp onto after the Resurrection. Cardinal Ratzinger commented that we need to recognize his feet and reverence them in disguise in the feet around us as we follow Christ’s example of washing the feet of others just as he cleansed the apostles’ feet in the Upper Room.

“The true ascent of mankind,” he stated, “takes place precisely when a man learns to turn in humility to another person, bowing deeply at his feet in the position of one who would wash the feet of the other. It is only in the humility that knows how to bow down that can raise a person up.”

In order to ascend, we need first to descend humbly in acts of corporal and spiritual works of mercy, including passing on the faith to those who don’t know it or who reject what they mistakenly believe it to be.

Christ’s ascension is meant to lead us on an exodus not merely in the future, but here and now: an exodus from the self toward God and others, a journey from fear to trust, a passover from the flat earth of a world without God to the multidimensional reality of Christ’s kingdom.

Christ’s ascension is meant to lift up our hearts as it helps us to drop to our knees. It is meant to help us to grow to full stature in Christ as we respond to his confidence in making us his missionaries, together with the Holy Spirit, to renew the face of the earth. It is meant to fill us, even now, with lasting joy.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

Botswana diocese mourns loss of bishop who collapsed during Mass
Wed, 08 May 2024 18:28:00 -0400

ACI Africa, May 8, 2024 / 18:28 pm (CNA).

Bishop Anthony Pascal Rebello of the Diocese of Francistown in Botswana has died after he “collapsed during Mass” on Saturday, May 4, the diocese has confirmed.

The Kenyan-born member of Society of the Divine Word of Indian origin turned 74 on March 18.

A statement published by Batswana Catholics said Rebello died later at the hospital. “We are all shocked and we await to hear further arrangements from the [Society of the Divine Word] and the vicar general of the diocese,” the statement said.

Rebello was appointed local ordinary of the Francistown Diocese in July 2021. He was ordained a priest of the Society of the Divine Word in May 1977.

Rebello was among the three pioneer Society of the Divine Word members in Kenya in 1984; they opened their first mission in Kayole in Kenya’s Archdiocese of Nairobi and later the Galba Tulla mission in the country’s Diocese of Meru.

An alumnus of the Rome-based Pontifical Gregorian University, Rebello previously served as the provincial superior of the Society of the Divine Word in Kenya and parish vicar in Angola.

Prior to his appointment as bishop, he served as the parish priest of Holy Cross Mogoditshane Parish of the Diocese of Gaborone in Botswana.

In a May 4 statement, members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) shared their “heartfelt condolences.”

“The news of the unexpected passing away of bishop Anthony Rebello reached us. We are shocked and sad about this news,” said SACBC president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka. “On behalf of the SACBC, I extend heartfelt condolences to the Diocese of Francistown, the Society of Divine Word, and his biological family.”

“May all be consoled by the fact that Bishop Rebello was a humble man of strong and exemplary faith who we believe is now in the company of his risen Lord. May you all be consoled and may Bishop Rebello rest in peace,” Sipuka said.

In April 2022, Rebello was “badly injured” following an attack by robbers. He reportedly recovered from the attack after days in the hospital.

In Botswana, Rebello was known for his ministry to migrants and refugees.

In an interview with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, Rebello spoke about the refugees his episcopal see was hosting, who he said were natives of “Burundi, Angola, Zimbabwe, and Uganda.”

“This diocese is a welcoming diocese; the sisters and the priests are welcoming, and they have been visiting the detention center and the refugee center,” he said. “I personally have visited both the centers and they are in my heart.”

In the interview, Rebello highlighted the kind of apostolate at the detention and refugee centers, including undocumented people on the move detained at Dukwi Refugee Camp.

“The Church is doing a lot of work in assisting the migrants and refugees,” he said. “We see to their spiritual, emotional, and physical needs. We are also working toward offering spiritual help.”

Rebello lamented that the human rights of migrants and refugees in the Southern African nation were “being violated, because all children have the right to go to school.”

He went on to caution against “discrimination and xenophobic sentiments toward migrants and refugees,” saying: “We should pay attention to our language; we should not call others with bad names that can exclude them.”

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Cause for canonization of quadriplegic lay evangelist advances 
Wed, 08 May 2024 17:53:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, May 8, 2024 / 17:53 pm (CNA).

The diocesan phase of the cause of beatification of the Servant of God Nino Baglieri has been closed in Modica, a town in southern Sicily. Overcoming his bitterness due to his quadriplegic condition, Baglieri gave himself to the mission of evangelizing through the means available to him.

The closing of the diocesan phase, according to the Salesian News Agency, took place on Sunday, May 5, in Mother of St. Peter church, where a solemn Eucharist was celebrated by Salvatore Rumeo, the bishop of Noto. In his homily, the prelate related that on May 5, 1951, Baglieri received baptism, “becoming a Christian.”

Regarding the servant of God, he emphasized that “prayer for Nino was everything: Despite his suffering, like a light that shines and burns, he managed to infect others with the meaning of true prayer.”

Addressing the servant of God in prayer, Rumeo said: “We are grateful to you for your evangelical teaching, because in your life we see the movement of God’s grace that continues to speak to us about holiness.”

The diocesan phase concluded with the sealing of eight packets containing all the information and testimonies compiled about the life and work of Baglieri. Also present were the ninth successor of Don Bosco, Father Pascual Chávez, and the Salesian postulator, Father Pierluigi Cameroni.

All documentation now goes to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican for analysis.

Who was Nino Baglieri?

According to the Salesians, Baglieri was born in Modica in 1951. In his youth he worked as a bricklayer until on May 6, 1968, the feast of St. Dominic Savio, at the age of 17, he fell from a scaffold and became completely paralyzed. He then spent many dark years full of bitterness, only able to move his head.

The Salesian Bulletin Don Bosco in Central America indicates that it was suggested to his mother that she have her son euthanized with “a simple injection” to end his suffering, but she responded: “As long as I live I will take care of him.”

On Good Friday 1978, some members of a group called Renewal in the Spirit came to his house to pray for him. As he felt a warmth flooding his body, ”a new force entered me and something old came out. I accepted my cross and said yes to the Lord,” he said, knowing that there would be no physical healing but rather a spiritual one. Baglieri then began a process of conversion, accepting his cross and reading the Bible.

He learned to write using his mouth and began to write his memoirs as well as letters that he sent to people in various parts of the world.

“Thanks to a stick, he dials telephone numbers and comes into direct contact with many sick people, and his calm and convincing words console them,” the Salesians related.

Nino joined the Salesian Cooperators but then decided to be part of the Volunteers with Don Bosco, consecrated laymen who profess vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity, living their Salesian mission in their homes, work, and the everyday things of this world.

Baglieri was characterized by proclaiming with his life testimony joy and hope in the Lord. After suffering for a long time, which he bore with a smile, he died on March 2, 2007.

According to his wish, he was buried wearing sneakers because, as he said: “On my last journey to God I will be able to run to him.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Catholic radio stations push back on new race and gender reporting rules 
Wed, 08 May 2024 17:23:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 8, 2024 / 17:23 pm (CNA).

A trio of Catholic radio networks has filed a petition against the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over new requirements that will soon mandate that all U.S. radio and television stations publish information about the race and gender of their employees.

In a 3-2 ruling in February, the commissioners of the FCC reinstated a requirement that radio stations must annually file a document, known as Form 395-B, that lists the race and gender of their employees.

The FCC governs radio stations transmitting on AM or FM frequencies, satellite radio and TV stations, cable networks, and broadcast TV stations. These entities are required to maintain a summary of publicly accessible information known as a public file, with varying requirements among the types of stations regarding what must be contained in the file.

The FCC had not required Form 395-B since 2004, following a 2001 ruling by the ​​U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

In an April 29 complaint filed with the FCC and shared with CNA, three Catholic broadcasters — Ave Maria Radio, Armor of God Catholic Radio, and La Promesa Foundation — argued that the new regulations would “adversely affect them as well as all religious broadcasters generally.”

La Promesa Foundation operates Guadalupe Radio Network, a major EWTN affiliate, as are Ave Maria Radio and Armor of God Catholic Radio. (EWTN also owns Catholic News Agency.)

The FCC in its February ruling introduced a mandate that stations must make the 395-B forms public, because “doing so will ensure maximum accuracy of the submitted data, is consistent with Congress’ goal to maximize the utility of the data an agency collects for the benefit of the public, allows us to produce the most useful reports possible for the benefit of Congress and the public, and allows for third-party testing of the accuracy of our data analyses.”

“Collection, analysis, and availability of this information will support greater understanding of this important industry,” the FCC ruling says.

In their joint complaint, the radio stations argue that the new rule “would advance the interests of the LGBTQ lobby and would chill the religious freedoms … enshrined in the First Amendment of the federal Constitution.”

Mike Jones, vice president and general manager at Ave Maria Radio, called the FCC’s action “pernicious” and said that their attorney offered to file a complaint with the FCC on their behalf and on behalf of the other stations.

Jones told CNA that he foresees activists opposed to the stations’ Catholic mission weaponizing the public gender and race data, and also reiterated that the radio stations believe the FCC’s actions to be unconstitutional.

“I don’t think [the FCC] is going to win,” he added.

The radio stations’ complaint also argues that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to soon rule on two cases that could limit the FCC’s ability to make decisions, giving that power instead to Congress.

“The United States Supreme Court will soon release opinions in the cases of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (No. 22-451) and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce (No. 22-1219), which were argued on Jan. 17, 2024,” the complaint says.

“If the court sides with the appellants, there is a substantial likelihood that the opinions will limit the ability of the FCC to legislate and will recognize the primacy of Congress in this area pursuant to Article I, Section 1.”

Brendan Carr, the senior Republican among the five FCC commissioners, said in a statement dissenting from the ruling that he would not have opposed a new 395-B requirement if the filings remained confidential. The fact that such filings will be made public, he said, means that the FCC will soon “post a race and gender scorecard for each and every TV and radio broadcast station in the country.”

“This is no benign disclosure regime. The record makes clear that the FCC is choosing to publish these scorecards for one and only one reason: to ensure that individual businesses are targeted and pressured into making decisions based on race and gender,” Carr asserted.

Two other major Christian broadcasting groups, the National Religious Broadcasters Association and the American Family Association, have also announced lawsuits challenging the ruling.

The first 395-B filings will be due Sept. 30, the FCC says.

Why did Pope Francis invoke St. Stanislaus for peace in Ukraine and Israel?
Wed, 08 May 2024 16:53:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 16:53 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis during his Wednesday general audience invoked the intercession of St. Stanislaus, patron saint of Poland, for peace in Ukraine and Israel.

Addressing Polish pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, the pope said: “Today you celebrate the solemnity of St. Stanislaus, bishop and martyr, patron of your homeland.”

“St. John Paul II wrote of him,” Francis went on, “that from high in heaven, he shared in the sufferings and hopes of your nation, sustaining its survival, especially during the Second World War.”

Francis prayed that the intercession of St. Stanislaus “obtain, even today, the gift of peace in Europe and throughout the world, especially in Ukraine and the Middle East.”

What does Poland have to do with these wars?

This comes as the wars in Ukraine and Israel continue to drag on, currently with no end in sight. With both wars raging in highly populated areas, civilians, including children, have had to suffer the effects of bombings, drone strikes, and starvation.

The Polish people, meanwhile, have been instrumental in bringing humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine as well as in helping to feed, clothe, and shelter the nearly 20 million Ukrainian refugees who have crossed the Polish border since the start of the war.

Francis has previously praised Poland as an example of charity in response to tragedies for their efforts to help the Ukrainian people.

“You were the first to support Ukraine, opening your borders, your hearts, and the doors of your homes to Ukrainians fleeing the war,” the pope told Polish pilgrims in a 2022 audience. “You are generously offering them everything they need to live in dignity, despite the current tragic situation. I am deeply grateful to you, and I bless you!”

Why St. Stanislaus?

Poland, a country that is known for its religious fervor (it is 85% Roman Catholic), has a deep devotion to St. Stanislaus.

St. Stanislaus was born Stanislaus Szczepanowski near Krakow in 1030. After his parents’ deaths, Stanislaus gave away his wealth to the poor and became a priest.

As a priest and then bishop of Krakow, Stanislaus became known as a vigorous preacher against immorality at all levels of society. He was an early spreader of the faith in Poland, encouraging Polish King Boleslaus to establish more monasteries throughout the country.

Eventually, he incurred the wrath of Boleslaus for speaking out against his sexual immorality and occasional cruelty toward his people. Enraged, the king is said to have personally killed Stanislaus, striking him down while he was celebrating Mass. Stanislaus was proclaimed a martyr and canonized in 1253, becoming the first native-born Pole to be made a saint.

Before becoming pope, then-Archbishop Karol Wojtyla filled the “See of Stanislaus” as head of the Archdiocese of Krakow. St. John Paul II often praised Stanislaus and hailed him as a “champion of true freedom” and a saint for “turbulent times.”

“There is a deep spiritual bond between the figure of this great patron of Poland and the multitude of saints and blesseds who made an immense contribution of goodness and holiness in the history of our homeland,” John Paul II said.

In a letter to the people of the Archdiocese of Krakow on the 750th anniversary of Stanislaus’ canonization, John Paul II said: “At the dawn of our history God, Father of peoples and nations, showed us through this holy patron that the moral order, respect for the law of God and the just rights of every person, are fundamental conditions for the existence and development of every society.”

Today, Stanislaus continues to be an inspiration of bravery in pursuit of human rights and service to God. His burial site, within the Archcathedral Basilica of Saint Stanislaus and Saint Wenceslaus in Krakow, is a popular pilgrimage site and a symbol of Polish identity.

Court backs Catholic school sued by teacher in same-sex union who was denied rehire
Wed, 08 May 2024 16:08:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 16:08 pm (CNA).

A federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit from an aggrieved substitute teacher who was not rehired by a Catholic school after it was revealed he had entered into a same-sex union, violating the school’s moral code.

The ruling affirmed that religious schools can hold employees to the moral teachings of the Church.

“Religious groups have the freedom to choose who carries out their religious mission,” Luke Goodrich, a vice president and senior counsel at Becket Law — the group that represented the school in court — said in a post on X.

“This ruling is a win for people of all faiths who cherish the freedom to pass on their faith to the next generation,” Goodrich added.

Charlotte Catholic High School ended its relationship with teacher Lonnie Billard in 2014 after he posted on Facebook that he was engaged to another man and planned to enter into a civil “marriage” with this man. This violated the Church’s teachings about marriage and sexual morality and put Billard at odds with the school’s code of conduct, which prohibits employees from engaging in conduct contrary to the Catholic faith.

Billard had previously taught English and drama full time but had become a substitute teacher by 2014. He sued the school in 2017, when the school stopped asking him to work, claiming that the school engaged in sex discrimination.

A federal court ruled in favor of Billard back in 2021, but an appellate court overturned that ruling on Wednesday and found that the school was protected under the First Amendment’s right to religious freedom.

“Faith infused [the school’s] classes — and not only the expressly religious ones,” the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in its decision.

“Even as a teacher of English and drama, Billard’s duties included conforming his instruction to Christian thought and providing a classroom environment consistent with Catholicism,” the decision read. “Billard may have been teaching ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ but he was doing so after consultation with religious teachers to ensure that he was teaching through a faith-based lens.”

In addressing discrimination laws, the court found that the school is constitutionally protected under the “ministerial exception” in its hiring and firing decisions for that position because the role requires the person to minister the faith to students. The exception, set by the United States Supreme Court, exempts religious institutions from certain discrimination laws in ministerial roles when such laws would prevent them from adhering to their mission of ministering the faith.

“The ministerial exception protects religious institutions in their dealings with individuals who perform tasks so central to their religious missions — even if the tasks themselves do not advertise their religious nature,” the court found.

“The ministerial exception remains just that — an exception — and each case must be judged on its own facts to determine whether a ‘particular position’ falls within the exception’s scope,” the court stated. “But when the exception does apply, it unambiguously commands that [the courts] ‘stay out’ [of these decisions].”

Billard was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU issued a statement criticizing the court’s decision.

“This is a heartbreaking decision for our client who wanted nothing more than the freedom to perform his duties as an educator without hiding who he is or who he loves,” the statement read. “Every worker should be entitled to equal protection under the law, and the Supreme Court held as recently as 2020 that this fundamental freedom extends to LGBTQ workers.”

Goodrich said in a post on X that the court’s decision is in line with long-standing precedent on religious freedom.

“The court’s ruling is consistent with a long line of Supreme Court precedent upholding the freedom of religious schools to select teachers who uphold their faith,” he said.

Texas priest arrested over allegations of inappropriate contact with minors
Wed, 08 May 2024 14:27:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 8, 2024 / 14:27 pm (CNA).

Police in Texas this week announced the arrest of a priest with the Diocese of Dallas over allegations of inappropriate contact with two minors.

The Garland Police Department said on its Facebook page that officers had arrested Father Ricardo Mata on Monday “on two counts of indecency with a child, a second-degree felony.”

“The allegations are based on reports of inappropriate contact with two juvenile victims, which occurred during a visit to a residence in Garland,” the police said. Investigators are in contact with the Diocese of Dallas, the police said.

Mata’s bonds were set at $75,000 and $100,000, the police department said.

In a Tuesday statement on its website, meanwhile, the Diocese of Dallas said that it had been “recently made aware of an allegation by a juvenile girl of inappropriate touching involving a priest.”

“Upon learning of the allegation last week, diocesan officials immediately filed a report with Child Protective Services and law enforcement,” the diocese said.

Mata “was immediately removed from all public ministry when the Diocese of Dallas learned of the allegation,” the statement continued.

“We are grateful for law enforcement’s thorough response,” Dallas Bishop Edward Burns said in the statement.

“Let us come together in prayer, respecting the dignity of all involved, seeking strength and guidance from our faith during this challenging time.”

Until recently Mata had been listed as the vicar at the Dallas-area Cathedral Guadalupe. That listing had been removed from the cathedral’s website as of Wednesday.

The priest was born in Mexico and raised in Dallas; he was ordained in 2022.

Cincinnati archbishop diagnosed with cancer, will begin chemotherapy treatment
Wed, 08 May 2024 12:55:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 8, 2024 / 12:55 pm (CNA).

Archbishop of Cincinnati Dennis Schnurr has been diagnosed with cancer, the archdiocese revealed this week, with the prelate set to begin preparing for chemotherapy treatment this week.

An archdiocesan spokesman told CNA on Wednesday morning that on Friday the archbishop “received a post-operation diagnosis of stage 3 small bowel cancer.”

“His doctor noted that, generally speaking, the archbishop’s health is excellent, and that is certainly a source of optimism for the success of the treatment,” the archdiocese said.

“The treatment plan includes a regimen of chemotherapy over the next six months, preparation for which will begin this week,” the statement continued.

“We ask all Catholics and people of goodwill to please keep Archbishop Schnurr in their prayers,” the archdiocese added.

Schnurr was installed as the Cincinnati archbishop in 2009; he had served as the coadjutor archbishop there from 2008. Before that, he served as the bishop of the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, from 2001.

Schnurr turned 75 last year, the traditional age at which a bishop submits his resignation to Pope Francis.

The archdiocese this week indicated that Schnurr’s retirement may not be imminent; the archbishop ​​“plans on continuing to work while receiving treatments,” the Wednesday statement said.

Vatican prepares for summer Olympics with conference on faith and sports
Wed, 08 May 2024 11:52:00 -0400

Rome Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 11:52 am (CNA).

As 206 countries prepare to send their top athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, the Vatican is organizing an event to look at the relationship between the Catholic Church and sports, through both a spiritual and anthropological lens.

“In the current context of wars tearing our world apart, Olympism is first and foremost a message of peace, and the commitment of the universal Church, like that of France, is essential. The role of the Church in promoting Olympism is well known,” said Florence Mangin, the ambassador of France to the Holy See, during a press conference held on Monday at the Vatican.

The three-day international conference on sport and spirituality, titled “Putting Our Lives on the Line,” is a joint effort between the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education and the Embassy of France to the Holy See. It will be held May 16-18 at the Institut Français Centre Saint Louis (the French cultural institute of Rome), which sits adjacent to the Piazza Navona.

“At first glance, observing a conference on sport organized by a Dicastery of the Holy See seems a bit eccentric,” said Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, during the press conference.

“But starting from the words of Pope Francis, when he compares sport to holiness, we realize the many points of connection that exist between sport and spirituality.”

Mendonça noted that the conference will look at sports today in order to “understand why it is so popular,” as well as to “identify its risks” and “assess its relevance for building a more fraternal, tolerant, and equitable society.”

The conference will bring together some 200 participants, including representatives from the Vatican, athletes, sports club managers, journalists, academics, pastoral representatives from different European dioceses, and philosophers for a series of roundtable discussions.

“In essence, there are two fundamental questions that we want to answer with this conference: What does sport have to say to the Church? What does the Church have to say to sport?” Mendonça said.

The first day, based on the theme “Church and Sport: A Relationship We Need to Deepen,” will include a series of discussions on these fundamental questions, including: “The Church at the Olympic Games,” “Sport in the Parish,” and “Catholic Schools and Sport.”

“If we look at the history of sport in parallel with the history of the Church, there have been many moments in which sport has been an inspiration and a metaphor for the life of Christians, or Christianity itself has enriched sport with its humanistic vision,” Mendonça said.

The second day will take a philosophical and anthropological approach, aimed at understanding the connection between mind, body, and sport through a different panel discussions such as “Sport: A Challenge for Humanization,” “Resurrection of the Body through Sport,” and “Disappearance of the Self and the Body.”

“We will address the implications of a certain technicalization of sports practice, brought forward by the constant search for performance if not for records,” Mangin said.

“The dazzling progress of Paralympic athletes, increasingly better equipped, provides an exceptional vision of the evolution of the human body, which some already wish to increase,” she said.

The event will close on Saturday, May 18, with “The Relay Race of Solidarity” held at Rome’s iconic Circus Maximus at 4 p.m.

Pope Benedict’s pectoral cross still missing as thief faces prison sentence
Wed, 08 May 2024 11:07:00 -0400

CNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 11:07 am (CNA).

The man arrested for the theft of a pectoral cross bequeathed by the late Pope Benedict XVI to a parish in his native Bavaria is now facing time behind bars.

According to CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, the Traunstein district court on Monday sentenced a 53-year-old Czech citizen to two years and six months in prison.

The perpetrator, whom authorities described as a serial thief with a history of crimes across several European countries, left traces at the crime scene that led to his identification and arrest.

However, local media reported that the cross is still missing, and the verdict may yet be appealed.

The court heard from the accused’s lawyer that his client had stolen the pectoral cross because he felt it was “worth stealing” and selling on due to its appearance: The cross, measuring approximately 5.9 inches in length, is crafted from gold-plated silver and adorned with a gemstone.

Despite the judge interrupting the trial twice to give the defendant and his lawyer time to call an associate to whom he allegedly had given the cross “for safekeeping,” all attempts to contact the associate were unsuccessful — leaving the cross’ whereabouts still unknown.

Before the verdict was announced, the defendant personally addressed the court, saying he knew that the list of his previous convictions was so long that he did not appear credible. Nevertheless, he promised that the cross would come back to Traunstein, Bavarian state media reported.

The value of the cross to the Catholic Church is “not quantifiable,” the police said at the time of the theft.

Former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was born in the small Bavarian community of Marktl am Inn. When Joseph was 2 years old, his father moved the family to Traunstein, where he studied at the seminary.

The late pontiff celebrated his first Mass as a newly ordained priest at St. Oswald’s in 1951. After the renovation in 2020, the cross was exhibited in the now-broken display case.

From Australia to the Vatican: ‘Aboriginal Mass’ seeks official recognition
Wed, 08 May 2024 10:22:00 -0400

CNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 10:22 am (CNA).

On Tuesday, Australia’s Catholic bishops officially approved a liturgy used in a remote Western Australian diocese that incorporates elements of Aboriginal language and culture.

The liturgy has been celebrated for over 50 years in the Diocese of Broome, where some 13,000 Catholics live in nine parishes across an area about the size of Texas, with a total population of just over 50,000.

The Mass of the Land of the Holy Spirit — in Latin, “Missa Terra Spiritus Sancti” — now awaits the Vatican’s official recognition after the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference passed the motion at its plenary meeting in Sydney on May 7.

Bishop Administrator Michael Morrissey of Broome said the decision was a milestone. “After a lengthy period of engagement, it’s a significant acknowledgment by the Australian bishops.”

Two Indigenous elders, Maureen Yanawana and Madeleine Jadai, presented the Mass to the bishops and shared its impact on their community. “Singing at the top of our voices brings us peace,” Yanawana shared during the presentation at the bishops’ meeting in Sydney’s Mary MacKillop Place, highlighting the spiritual enrichment it brings.

This Mass features multiple local Aboriginal languages and has been a fixture in the Diocese of Broome since it was first authorized for use on an experimental basis in 1973.

Originating from Bidyadanga, the largest remote community in Western Australia, it was developed when Father Kevin McKelson collaborated with local elders to translate and adapt the Roman rite to resonate with Indigenous cultural and linguistic contexts.

After rigorous refinement, the current version of the Mass was published in 2018.

According to the Australian Bishops’ Conference, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council described the Mass as a harmonious blend of Catholic and Aboriginal traditions. In a letter of endorsement, the council praised the Mass as a concrete demonstration of the Church’s dedication to embracing Indigenous peoples’ spiritual and cultural dimensions, promoting an environment of inclusivity and respect.

This development echoes St. John Paul II’s words during his historic 1986 visit to Alice Springs, when he emphasized the essential contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the Church in Australia.

“You are part of Australia and Australia is part of you,” the pope wrote at the time. “And the Church herself in Australia will not be fully the Church that Jesus wants her to be until you have made your contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others.”

Pope Francis: Hope ‘is a gift that comes directly from God’
Wed, 08 May 2024 09:13:00 -0400

Rome Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 09:13 am (CNA).

During the papal general audience on Wednesday Pope Francis focused on the importance of the theological virtue of hope, noting that it is both a fundamental building block of the Christian life, orienting believers toward the future, as well as a powerful antidote to nihilism.

“Christians have hope not through their own merit. If they believe in the future, it is because Christ died and rose again and gave us his Spirit,” the pope said to thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

“We say that hope is a theological virtue. It does not emanate from us, it is not an obstinacy we want to convince ourselves of, but it is a gift that comes directly from God,” he continued.

Looking to St. Paul as an example, Francis observed that the apostle established a “new logic of the Christian experience” for many “doubting Christians” when he explained that the “resurrection of Christ” is a bedrock upon which a new life is born, and that “no defeat and no death is forever.”

The pope reflected on the central role hope plays in the daily lives of Christians, noting that it is an “answer offered to our heart,” thereby enabling Christians to confront pressing existential questions such as: “What will become of me? What is the purpose of the journey? What is the destiny of the world?”

The pope cautioned that the absence of hope “produces sadness,” which, in turn, could impress a nihilistic attitude where one falls into the belief that there is “no meaning to the journey of life,” a tendency the pope sharply rebuked as antithetical to Christian life.

“If hope is missing, all the other virtues risk crumbling and ending up as ashes,” Francis warned.

He added that the sins against hope can manifest in “bad nostalgia,” “in our melancholy,” “when we think that the happiness of the past is buried forever,” or when “we become despondent.”

Looking up from his prepared remarks, the Holy Father repeated twice the affirmation: “God forgives everything; God always forgives.”

“The world today is in great need of this Christian virtue,” Francis declared, noting that the virtue of hope is closely linked with patience, which, when both are taken together, form the fundamental attributes of those seeking peace.

“Patient men are weavers of goodness. They stubbornly desire peace,” the pope said. “Those who are inspired by hope and are patient are able to get through the darkest of nights.”

Montana Catholic bishops oppose abortion ballot initiative
Wed, 08 May 2024 08:00:00 -0400

CNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Montana’s Catholic bishops have issued a joint letter denouncing a proposed pro-abortion constitutional amendment they say would pave the way for late-term abortions, partial-birth abortions, and an elimination of the state’s parental notification requirement for minors in Montana.

In their May 3 letter, the bishops called the initiative an attack on the “recognition of the infinite dignity enjoyed by all persons” that fails to respect “life as a precious gift from God and recognize our sacred duty to nurture and protect every human life.”

“This recognition of the infinite dignity enjoyed by all persons informs our understanding of the basic rights and protections to which all human beings are entitled,” the letter stated. “When those rights are threatened, the Church must speak up with clarity and boldness.”

The statement — signed by Bishop Austin Vetter of Helena and Bishop Jeffrey Fleming and Bishop Emeritus Michael Warfel of Great Falls-Billings — urged Catholics in the state to refrain from signing the petition and to pray for the initiative’s defeat.

The proposed amendment, officially called Constitutional Initiative 128 (CI-128), would “provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion,” according to the language approved by Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, and would “prohibit the government from denying or burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability,” which is generally interpreted to mean at about 22 weeks.

Jacobsen on April 5 authorized supporters of the initiative to begin collecting the more than 60,000 signatures of registered voters required to place the measure on the Nov. 5 ballot.

In a separate video statement, the bishops emphasized that the proposed amendment would eliminate the existing requirement for parents to be notified before a minor has an abortion. Fleming said this move would foster a “culture of secrecy” and “undermine families.”

Montana’s initiative comes as pro-abortion groups in more than a dozen states seek to have measures placed on the November ballot.

Ireland’s March for Life draws thousands amid ‘soaring’ abortions
Wed, 08 May 2024 07:00:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Thousands of pro-life activists participated in the Ireland March for Life on Monday, marching from St. Stephen’s Green in central Dublin to the Irish Parliament.

The Irish Catholic, a Dublin-based news source, reported that thousands of pro-lifers attended the march. Video of the event posted online shows large crowds of pro-life activists, many of whom appear high school and college age, holding balloons, banners, and signs with pro-life messages.

The crowds appear joyful with many marchers smiling and cheering.

Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, head of the Irish Episcopal Conference, participated in the march along with several other Catholic leaders. He called the event “uplifting and positive” in “contrast to the dismal, negative messages of aggression, violence, and death that threaten to overwhelm us at times.”

Ahead of Ireland’s elections, speakers urged march attendees to “think pro-life” this year.

This comes just days after Ireland passed a “Safe Access Zones” bill that mandated 100-meter (about 300 feet) zones around abortion provider entrances and exits in which “certain conduct aimed at impeding access or influencing decisions in relation to termination of pregnancy services will be prohibited.”

Eilís Mulroy, one of the march organizers and speakers, urged Irish citizens to prioritize voting for pro-life candidates and parties amid abortion rates he said are currently “soaring” and having a “devastating” effect on Irish society.

Abortion became legal in Ireland in 2018 and is currently allowed until 12 weeks of pregnancy. Before 2018, Ireland’s eighth amendment allowed abortions only in cases in which the mother’s life was in danger.

A commission set up to review legislation introduced after the 2018 referendum passed is considering eliminating a three-day waiting period, removing criminal penalties for medical professionals performing abortions, and changing the legal definition of fatal fetal anomalies.

According to Irish news source Offaly Independent, Ireland saw an all-time high of 9,218 abortions in 2023. This is up from 8,876 abortions in 2022 and approximately 7,000 abortions each year from 2019 through 2021. In total, there have been approximately 38,018 babies killed by abortion in Ireland since the procedure was legalized in 2018.

Shortly before the march, Martin and several other bishops and priests celebrated a Mass at nearby Newman University Church.

Bishop Kevin Doran of the Diocese of Elphin, chairman of the Irish bishops’ Council for Life, gave the homily in which he said: “We are called — in whatever we do or whatever we say — to be witnesses to the love of God made present in Jesus Christ. For us, that inevitably means bearing witness to the inherent value of every human life.”

Alluding to the Safe Access Zones law, Doran added that “nothing — no law, no public policy, and no peer pressure from neighbors or colleagues can remove our right and indeed our responsibility to advocate publicly for those who are most vulnerable, especially at the beginning and at the end of life.”

Children and youth to play central role in Pope Francis visit to Papua New Guinea
Wed, 08 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400

CNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Children and youth will be central to Pope Francis’ visit to Papua New Guinea from Sept. 6–9, according to Father Giorgio Licini, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Solomon Islands.

Licini, who is on the organizing committee of the Holy Father’s 2024 visit, said young people are central in the planning of the papal trip to Papua New Guinea. In the Catholic Church, “the level of participation by laity and youth is high,” he said. “Everything is ‘young’ in PNG: church, country, modern civilization.”

“It was only in early October 2023 that our bishops’ conference was told that the pope still had a great desire to visit Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea in Oceania,” Licini told CNA.

As part of his apostolic journey, Pope Francis is expected to visit a safe house for young girls in Vanimo and then, in the nearby village of Baro, greet missionaries, staff, and students of a school he helped develop. In Port Moresby, the Holy Father intends to meet with children supported by the archdiocese’s ministries for the care of street children.

“The youth here greatly suffer for lack of education and employment opportunities. The breakdown of the family adds to neglect, poverty, and micro-criminality,” Licini explained. “Besides education and health, nowadays the social services of the Catholic Church focus on family life, child protection and promotion, domestic violence, and sorcery accusations related [to] violence, corruption awareness, and justice, peace, and reconciliation, mainly in [areas affected by tribal violence].”

The last appointment of the papal visit in Papua New Guinea will be a youth festival at the city stadium in Port Moresby.

Isabella Saleu, a young laywoman working for Caritas Papua New Guinea — the justice, peace, relief, and development agency of the Catholic Church in the country — said she looks forward to the youth festival planned with the pope and believes his visit will be a “spiritually enriching experience” that will reinforce the Catholic identity in the country.

“The world needs us young people and all the enthusiasm we have to make it better, safer, happier and more Christ-like,” Saleu told CNA. “Over the years, the Church has not only evangelized but [also] has contributed immensely to delivering basic services by providing schools and institutions, hospitals, clinics and aid posts, safe houses, and facilities for pastoral and social services.”

“Considering also the recent fateful events of ‘Black Wednesday’ on Jan. 10 that resulted in deaths and hospitalization, as the country came to a standstill when thugs took over the streets of the capital city Port Moresby who looted and burned down shops and caused the city to tremble in fear as police ceased duties, we hope that the papal visit raises our spirits to continue to move forward as a nation,” she added.

To date, over 98% of Papua New Guinea citizens identify as Christian. Catholicism represents the largest Christian denomination in the country with an estimated 4 million people — about 25% of the total population.

Pope Francis’ visit to Papua New Guinea will be his first trip to the country as part of his 11-day Asia Pacific apostolic journey in September. Pope John Paul II visited Papua New Guinea in 1984 and 1995.

Judge blocks referendum to enshrine abortion in New York Constitution; state to appeal
Tue, 07 May 2024 18:00:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

A New York Supreme Court judge ruled that a referendum to enshrine a right to abortion in the state’s constitution cannot appear on the ballot in November because the state did not follow the proper procedure — but the state plans to appeal the decision.

The proposed “Equal Rights” amendment would have established broad rights to “reproductive health care” by prohibiting discrimination based on “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health care and autonomy.”

Although the text avoids use of the word “abortion,” the proposal was widely seen as creating a constitutional protection for women to access abortion.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Judge Daniel J. Doyle ordered that the referendum be removed from the Nov. 5 ballot because lawmakers did not follow the procedure laid out in the state constitution.

According to the New York Constitution, lawmakers must submit proposed amendments to the attorney general for review before they can adopt the language. The attorney general must respond within 20 days of the submission, but if the attorney general does not respond in that time frame, the lawmakers can proceed without that official’s input.

Even though the lawmakers referred the language to the attorney general, the lawmakers voted on the referendum on the same day that they referred it to the attorney general. They had not received a response, nor had they waited 20 days. According to the judge’s ruling, this vote was in violation of the New York Constitution because it bypassed the proper procedure.

“The constitution is the supreme will of the people,” Doyle said in his ruling.

“This court cannot condone the actions taken by the Legislature in derogation of the expressed will of the people,” Doyle continued. “The Legislature’s vote … prior to receiving the opinion of the attorney general frustrated the deliberative process intended by the people in [the state constitution].”

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a post on X that she intends to appeal the ruling.

“In New York, the Equal Rights Amendment was advanced to protect people’s fundamental rights like reproductive freedom and access to abortion care,” James said. “The decision to strike the ERA from the ballot in November is disappointing, and we’re appealing to defend New Yorkers’ rights.”

If the judge’s decision stands, it would force lawmakers to start the amendment process from the beginning. To approve an amendment to the constitution in New York, both chambers of the Legislature must approve the proposed language two years in a row — and then it can be placed on the ballot for a vote by the public.

Current abortion laws in New York allow women to abort their preborn children through the 24th week of pregnancy.

It’s unclear whether the proposed amendment would have extended this limit until birth. The language would have also promised equal protection under the law and prohibit any person, corporation, institution, or government agency from discriminating against a person covered under the law.

The proposed amendment would have also prohibited discrimination based on a person’s “sexual orientation, gender identity, [and] gender expression.”

Voters in various states are slated to vote on abortion-related referendums in November. In some states, petitioners are still working to get proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot.

In conjunction with her efforts to get abortion on the New York ballot, James is also suing pro-life pregnancy centers that offer resources to pregnant women without providing abortions. In her lawsuit, she accused these centers of providing false information about abortion pill reversal drugs.

Pope Francis welcomes Vatican’s new Swiss Guard recruits
Tue, 07 May 2024 17:30:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, May 7, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis received the Vatican’s Swiss Guard Corps on the occasion of the swearing-in of the new guards on May 6.

After participating in a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, 34 new recruits and their families were received by Pope Francis at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. At 5 p.m. local time, the young men pledged their loyalty and absolute resolve to serve the successor of Peter.

‘Thank you for your generous service’

Addressing the new recruits and their families, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude for their presence and their “daily service, always generous and diligent.”

The pope especially greeted Commander Christoph Graf, as well as the guard chaplain, whom he referred to as “an excellent Benedictine.”

After expressing his gratitude, the pontiff noted that among the guards there is “a positive and respectful atmosphere in the barracks, a courteous behavior with your superiors and guests, despite the sometimes long periods of intense and exhausting service.”

“You demonstrate a high level of motivation and willingness to serve, and also — this pleases me greatly — good relations among yourselves: You go on excursions together, you spend holidays together, you go out together often. And that’s very good,” he remarked.

Pope Francis pointed out that “relationship is the key experience for us Christians: Jesus revealed and witnessed to us that God is love, he is in himself a relationship, and in this mystery we find the goal and the fullness of our existence.”

‘The great family of the Swiss Guard’

For Pope Francis, “good relationships are the path to our human and Christian growth and maturation.”

He reiterated that much of what characterizes our personality we have learned through relationships with our loved ones and noted that “life in the great family of the Swiss Guard, for at least two years of service, is such an important and formative period.”

The Holy Father assured them that “it is not just a period of work but a time of life and relationship” and highlighted that “this diversity and intensity of community and relationships among you in your daily barracks environment is an essential and qualifying aspect.”

The pope encouraged the new Swiss Guards to “actively cultivate community life.”

He lamented that many young people spend their free time alone with their cellphone or computer and therefore urged them to go “against the flow.”

“It’s better to use your free time for common activities, to get to know Rome, for moments of fraternity in which to relate and share, to play sports... these experiences build your inner self and will accompany you throughout your life,” the Holy Father said.

Oath of the new Swiss Guards

Following an ancient tradition, on the afternoon of May 6, 34 new recruits of the Swiss Guard took their oath to serve the pope and the Church at the St. Damasus Cloister in the Vatican.

The ceremony takes place on the day that commemorates the death of 189 Swiss soldiers in defense of Pope Clement VII in 1527 during the Sack of Rome.

Through their oath, the new Swiss Guards expressed their loyalty and absolute resolve to serve Peter’s successor.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

U.S. abortion law is ‘far more permissive than the vast majority of the world’
Tue, 07 May 2024 17:00:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

United States abortion law is “far more permissive than the vast majority of the world,” according to a study recently released by the pro-life research group the Charlotte Lozier Institute.

Released on April 30, the study found that out of the nearly 200 members of the United Nations (U.N.), the U.S. is one of only eight with no federal limit on abortion. The study also found that the U.S. is one of just 15 countries to allow abortion past 15 weeks of pregnancy, the point at which a baby can feel pain.

This comes as the Biden administration has been criticizing pro-life state laws limiting abortion as “extreme” and “bizarre” while pushing for a federal law enshrining unrestricted abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

Mia Steupert, a research associate at Charlotte Lozier Institute, told CNA that “while pro-abortion activists disparage heartbeat protection laws, like in Florida, they turn a blind eye to the real global extremism in our own country.”

She pointed out that seven states plus Washington, D.C., allow abortion for any reason up to the ninth month of pregnancy. U.S. abortion law makes it “a global outlier in a shared category with human rights abusers like China and Vietnam,” Steupert said.

“We should be an international leader when it comes to the human right to life, but instead we are one of eight countries in the United Nations that allows abortion on demand without any gestational limits.”

What did the study find?

The Lozier Institute’s study found that with no federal limit on abortion, the U.S. is more permissive than over 95% of all U.N. member nations and on the same level as communist China and Vietnam.

According to the study, the “clear norm among countries that permit elective abortion is to limit abortion to before 20 weeks’ gestation, and elective abortion is more commonly limited to 12 weeks (the first trimester).”

Gestational age marks the duration of a pregnancy, measured from the first day of the mother’s last menstrual period, which occurs about two weeks before conception.

According to the study, only 70 U.N. countries allow abortion “on demand,” that is, for any reason. Of these, only the U.S., China, Vietnam, Australia, Canada, Guinea-Bissau, Mexico, and South Korea have no national limitation on abortion.

Of the 70 countries allowing abortion on demand, more than three-quarters — 55 nations — limit abortion to the first 15 weeks of gestation. Over half — 45 nations — do not allow abortion past 12 weeks.

The remaining 139 U.N. countries protect all unborn life at all stages of pregnancy and only allow abortion for specific reasons, ranging from the life of the mother to socioeconomic difficulties.

Based on these findings, the Lozier Institute concluded that a national 15-week abortion limit would “move the United States away from the fringe, ultra-permissive end of the spectrum.”

Prioritize a culture of life

Steupert told CNA that the study shows Americans need to prioritize creating a “culture of life” by supporting pregnancy resource centers, alternatives to abortion programs, and giving aid to mothers in need.

She said that the report demonstrates that with no federal abortion restrictions, the U.S. “has some of the most extreme abortion laws in the world.”

“This reality,” she said, “should alarm Americans and motivate them to protect life and push back against the radical, pro-abortion lobby that has infested our culture.”

Conference in Rome addresses dangers of AI and child pornography
Tue, 07 May 2024 16:30:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, May 7, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).

“What dangers does artificial intelligence (AI) present for the safety of children in digital environments?” was the topic addressed by a conference organized by the S.O.S Il Telefono Azzurro Foundation and the Italian Embassy at the Holy See as part of the National Day against Pedophilia and Child Pornography, which is observed in Italy every May 5.

According to its website, Il Telefono Azzuro (“The Blue Telephone”) “offers a hotline service, managed by 114 Children’s Emergency, through which it is possible to report illicit or potentially harmful content for children and adolescents.”

Disturbing statistics were reported at the event: In 2023 there were more than 275,000 child pornography websites on the internet with approximately 11,000 photos generated by AI in just one month. However, these figures could be even higher, Vatican News noted, given that this new phenomenon “is difficult to quantify concretely.”

The conference, titled “The Dignity of Children in the Digital World,” was held at the Borromeo Palace in Rome. Ernesto Caffo, president of Telefono Azzurro, noted that children and adolescents are increasingly exposed to platforms that contain tools “that can lead to risky behavior.”

For Caffo, this represents a new and important challenge, because it impacts all the control mechanisms that have been implemented in recent years. Although new technologies can be wonderful tools, any weak points can also “be a source of increasing risks for new generations,” he said.

This serious situation, said the president of the Italian foundation — whose mission is to protect children and adolescents from any abuse and violence — must be addressed at the highest international level, such as at the next G7 summit, in order to present proposals on the issue.

Caffo also highlighted the important role of Pope Francis, who can contribute to the effort by addressing the issue of “the dignity of the person as a key element to which we all must be committed.”

Cardinal Seán O’Malley, archbishop of Boston and president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, pointed out during his talk that technological advances require and demand “a balance between technological progress and human values.”

O’Malley emphasized that Pope Francis has stated on several occasions that “technology must serve to improve human life, and not the other way around.”

“The Church’s commitment to new technologies, particularly AI, is rooted in its mission to protect people, in line with the Gospel,” the cardinal said.

He further added that the Catholic Church is “actively contributing to the global conversation on the responsible use of AI, in line with human values and ethical standards.”

Carla Garlatti, who heads an Italian government agency for the protection of children and adolescents, said it is possible to promote initiatives and tools to control the access of children and adolescents to platforms with inappropriate content.

However, jurist Guido Scorza stated that controls are “difficult to apply at this time” because young people tend to use content designed for older persons.

Lastly, Father Hans Zollner, dean of the Pontifical Gregorian University’s Institute of Anthropology, warned of the risk of smartphones, which “make us [believe] we have everything under control, but that’s not the case.”

Zollner also reiterated Pope Francis’ call for “creating and adopting an international treaty on AI,” a crucial issue for the future of humanity.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Florida sues Biden administration over rule requiring ‘dangerous, irreversible’ gender procedures
Tue, 07 May 2024 16:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 7, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

The attorney general of Florida on Tuesday announced a lawsuit against the Biden administration over new federal rules requiring insurers to cover gender-based surgeries and medical procedures.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, is meant to halt the White House’s attempt to “force the state to pay for puberty blockers and gender-transition surgery for children,” Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a press release.

The administration’s recently promulgated rule, filed in the Federal Register on Monday and set to go into effect in July, amends the nondiscrimination clause in Section 1557 of the federal Affordable Care Act by expanding the definition of “sex” to include “gender identity,” among other new additions.

The change means that any insurer or physician receiving federal financial assistance must cover or provide sex-reassignment surgeries and therapies on the grounds that refusal to do so would constitute discrimination based on sex.

Florida is among the numerous states that in recent months and years have passed bans on extremist gender surgeries and drug prescriptions for minors. Moody in her press release said Florida state law “protect[s] our children from dangerous, irreversible gender-transition drugs and surgeries.”

But, she argued, the Biden administration is “trying to go around our child-protection law to force the state to pay for puberty blockers and gender-transition surgery for children.”

“These rules trample states’ power to protect their own citizens and we will not stand by as Biden tries, yet again, to use the force of the federal government to unlawfully stifle Florida’s effort to protect children,” Moody said.

Moody said the state was asking the court to “vacate the 2024 rules,” issue a permanent injunction against them, order that the rules “are contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious,” and several other requests.

The attorney general’s office said they were joined by several other parties in the suit, including the Catholic Medical Association.

In addition to its revision of federal medical rules, the Biden administration last month issued a major revision to federal Title IX education rules that implements similar transgender-reflated requirements.

The new education policy redefines the prohibition on sex discrimination for schools and education programs that receive federal funding, directing that the rules apply to any form of discrimination that is based on a person’s self-purported “gender identity.”

Those revisions could jeopardize state laws that restrict women’s sports and women’s locker rooms to only women, legal scholars told CNA last month.

Federal grant fund for security at houses of worship boosted by $400 million
Tue, 07 May 2024 15:30:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

A federal grant program that provides security funding for houses of worship and other nonprofits will receive $400 million more than it had the previous year amid rising threats, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“The fear, the trauma, when synagogues and other houses of worship have to be evacuated … stays with the congregants and people who go the next day wonder, ‘Is it going to happen again? Am I safe?’” Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said in a Sunday news conference announcing the increased funding.

“So this is vicious, aimed of course at synagogues above all, but also at mosques and churches and temples, and it has to stop,” he added.

The Nonprofit Security Grant Program was created in 2004. Although all nonprofit organizations are eligible for funding, nearly all of the money is allocated to religious institutions.

The program received $305 million in federal funding last year, but with the $400 million addition it will receive more than $700 million in 2024.

The money can be used to set up security cameras, build fences, strengthen windows, and hire security guards, among other things.

The deadline to apply is May 21.

“You don’t have to have been threatened [to apply for funding],” Schumer said on Sunday. “Just the fact that so many people who go to a house of worship are worried that that house of worship may be a target is enough.”

Schumer said applicants should receive funding “within a period of months” after they apply, with the senator noting that the money is already available for distribution.

He also said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will assist small houses of worship with filling out the grant applications if they require assistance.

Schumer cited numbers from the Anti-Defamation League, which says there was a significant rise in antisemitic incidents in 2023, jumping to more than 8,800 from about 3,700 in 2022.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, meanwhile, says anti-Muslim incidents have been on the rise, citing more than 8,000 incidents in 2023, which it said constituted “a 56% jump over the previous year.”

In both cases, the organizations attribute the rise to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Catholic churches have also experienced security concerns ever since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, allowing states and the federal government to restrict abortion.

Dozens of Catholic churches have been subject to vandalism, which has included the beheading of statues and satanic graffiti, among other attacks.

In December, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) urged lawmakers to include more funding for security for houses of worship.

The USCCB says there have been more than 300 acts of destruction at Catholic churches since May 2020.

According to the USCCB’s annual religious liberty report published in January of this year, the top threat to religious liberty in the U.S. includes “attacks against houses of worship, especially in relation to the Israel-Hamas conflict.”

Minnesota bishops urge opposition to ‘Equal Rights Amendment’
Tue, 07 May 2024 15:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 7, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis this week urged Catholics to join a rally to oppose a proposed constitutional amendment that they say “fails to protect Minnesotans from discrimination based on religion, could constitutionally mandate legal abortion up to the moment of birth, and promotes harmful gender ideology.”

The proposed amendment, sponsored by St. Paul Rep. Kaohly Her of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), adds several protected categories to the state’s constitution, in part saying the state cannot discriminate against a person on the basis of sex.

Within the category of sex, the proposal includes “making and effectuating decisions about all matters relating to one’s own pregnancy​ or decision whether to become or remain pregnant,” as well as “gender identity or gender expression” and “sexual orientation.”

Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, speaking in a May 6 video message on behalf of the state’s bishops, warned that the proposal constitutes “an imposition of the sexual revolution on the people of our state.”

The so-called right to abortion, which the Church has always opposed, would become in Minnesota law “so fundamental that we can’t even legislate against it,” Barron said. In addition, he noted that the proposal lacks the possibility of conscientious objection, meaning churches, schools, and health care institutions guided by faith could be mandated to endorse practices or speech that violate their beliefs.

“All are welcome” to attend a rally in the Rotunda of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul on Wednesday, May 8, at 3 p.m. The rally will “feature inspiring speakers who will exhort those assembled to prayer and action, and offer prayers for unity, understanding, and religious freedom.” The St. Paul and Minneapolis Archdiocese asked those wanting to participate in the rally to register online.

“In a state where diversity is celebrated, we must stand united in safeguarding the rights of individuals to practice their beliefs freely and without fear,” the archdiocese said in an announcement.

“Specifically, we will be coming together to pray for and urge legislators to oppose the so-called ‘Equal Rights Amendment’ that fails to protect Minnesotans from discrimination based on religion, could constitutionally mandate legal abortion up to the moment of birth, and promotes harmful gender ideology.”

The proposed language was passed by Minnesota’s House Rules and Legislative Administration committee on May 6, MPR News reported. The proposal heads next to a vote of the full House and, if approved, would need to be reconciled with a companion Senate bill, which does not include the language related to pregnancy.

The proposed amendment must be submitted to the people at the 2026 general election, and if ratified by a simple majority, the amendment will be effective Jan. 1, 2027.

Abortion is already legal up to birth in Minnesota following the 2023 passage of the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act, which enshrined a constitutional right to “reproductive freedom,” ensuring the right to abortion in Minnesota up to birth for any reason, as well as the right to contraception and sterilization.

Prayers, processions, and seminars mark first anniversary of bloodshed in Manipur, India
Tue, 07 May 2024 14:31:00 -0400

New Delhi, India, May 7, 2024 / 14:31 pm (CNA).

Several cities across India on May 3 observed the first anniversary of the mayhem and bloodshed that took place in Manipur state in northeast India, which left hundreds of Christians dead, with special prayer meetings, candlelight processions, seminars, and even protests.

According to the government’s estimate, as many as 230 died in the bloody ethnic conflict that engulfed Manipur beginning on May 3, 2023, while some observers estimate the actual figure to be much higher.

Manipur, located east of Bangladesh and at the border with Myanmar, is home to 3.3 million people. For decades, members of the Meitei, Kuki, and Naga tribes have fought over land and religious differences.

Beginning in May of last year, a protracted violent clash between the majority Meiteis, most of whom are Hindus, and the minority Christian Kukis took place. More than 60,000 Kuki refugees along with 10,000 Meiteis were driven out from Kuki strongholds.

Violence continues to simmer in the state, which is governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Protests marking the anniversary have been largely led by the Christian community along with secular action networks.

Half a dozen bishops representing different denominations led by Delhi Archbishop Anil J. Couto, who is also the secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, took part in the hourlong interreligious prayer gathering. The event took place at the gate of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in downtown New Delhi on the evening of May 3.

Kuki refugees, dressed in black, began the somber service by singing poignant hymns. All of the other participants followed, holding lighted candles. Church leaders then offered prayers and appeals for peace while two dozen nuns from the Missionaries of Charity drew much attention at the televised event.

“The Church, the civil society, and others are trying their best to offer consolation and relief to the affected. We pray that the displaced can go back to their [native] lands. Let the lights we hold dispel darkness and hatred from the minds and inspire all to live in peace, harmony, and brotherhood,” Couto said in his brief address, which was followed by those of other church leaders.

“As we join together in this solemn candlelight prayer, our hearts are heavy with the burden of suffering endured by the people of Manipur,” said Divine Word Missionary priest Father Norbert Herman, who organized the program as the dialogue commission secretary of the Delhi Archdiocese.

“For a year now, violence has marred their lives, casting shadows of fear and uncertainty in their path. In this hour of darkness, we stand in solidarity, offering our prayers as beacons of hope to illuminate their journey toward healing and peace,” Herman said.

“The irony of the tragedy afflicted on us is that all that has happened and continues to happen are taking place in our democratic country,” lamented a Kuki woman from Manipur in her address.

Earlier in the day, several well-known social activists under the banner of the National Federation of Indian Women, led by its chief, Annie Raja, organized a seminar at the Press Club of India on “Against Forced Amnesia, Remember Manipur.”

“After I led an investigation team to study and document the plight of the women, children, and others, Manipur police filed a criminal case charging us with stoking violence,” Raja said.

The seminar began with the premiere of this correspondent’s 23-minute investigative documentary “Manipur — a Blot on Indian Democracy.”

Delhi police allowed hundreds of Meiteis to hold their protest on the evening of May 3, while nearly 2,000 Kukis wearing black clothes held a two-hour protest on the morning of May 4, under the protection of over 100 security personnel who limited entrance to Kukis and media personnel.

While several cities held processions to mark the anniversary, in the city of Shillong — known as the Vatican of northeast India — thousands took part in the candlelight procession organized by the Church and Christian groups.

However, in violence-hit Manipur, the anniversary was a day of protest. In Imphal, the capital of Manipur, without a single Kuki, Meiteis observed the anniversary with half a dozen Meiteis shaving their heads before marching to the historic Kangla Fort. In the Kuki heartland of Churuchandpur, a complete shutdown was observed to protest the targeting of the Kuki minority.

Uganda’s Catholic dioceses notified of limited stock of altar wine for Mass
Tue, 07 May 2024 13:32:00 -0400

ACI Africa, May 7, 2024 / 13:32 pm (CNA).

Catholic dioceses in Uganda have been notified of a limited stock of wine for Masses due to delays in shipping.

In an April 30 letter to financial administrators of Uganda’s various episcopal sees, the leadership of J.W. Interservices Ltd., a company under the auspices of the Uganda Episcopal Conference that is involved in the procurement and shipment of wine alongside other goods and services, provided details of the altar wine shortage.

“This is to inform you that due to the Middle East wars, the ship’s usual passage through the Mediterranean and the Red Sea were suspended and canceled,” wrote Father Asiku Alfred Tulu, the director of J.W. Interservices Ltd.

“The ships have been diverted to take longer and safer routes through the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, which has caused a major crisis and delays of their arrival to Mombasa Port [Kenya],” Tulu explained.

The diversion of the ships to longer and safer routes, he said, “has affected the arrival of Mass wine, which we had expected to be here at the beginning of April.”

“The information from our shippers indicates that wine will arrive in mid-May, and we hope to clear it through Uganda customs by the end of the month of May,” the priest said.

Catholic priests in Ugandan parishes and institutions have been urged to “regulate the use of wine as much as possible.”

Tulu apologized for “any inconveniences caused by this unforeseen situation.”

According to canon law, Mass must be celebrated with the use of wheat bread and grape wine to which a small quantity of water is to be added.

The wine that is used in the liturgy must be natural, from the fruit of the grape, pure and incorrupt, and not mixed with other substances.

In an interview with the Ugandan Monitor news outlet, Father Ronnie Mubiru of St. Jude Wakiso Parish in the Kampala Archdiocese said he had received the notification regarding the possible altar wine shortage in the country.

In the report of the interview published Monday, May 6, Mubiru is quoted as saying that while the parish has some stock that can last several weeks, “if the wine we have in stock gets finished, we shall talk to the diocese; they know better how that issue will be resolved.”

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Why Tom Brady and Garth Brooks will be at the Vatican this weekend
Tue, 07 May 2024 12:30:00 -0400

Rome Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

Garth Brooks may have friends in low places, but this Saturday he will perform at a high-level Vatican event with Nobel Peace Prize winners, business leaders, and professional athletes, including former NFL quarterback Tom Brady.

Brady, Brooks, and other celebrity guests will meet Pope Francis in an audience at the Apostolic Palace on the morning of May 11 as participants in the Vatican’s World Meeting on Human Fraternity.

It will be the second time that the longtime quarterback for the New England Patriots has met a pope. Brady met John Paul II in 2004 after winning the Super Bowl.

Brady will speak at a Vatican roundtable on sports titled “Competing in Mutual Esteem” on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Italian National Olympic Committee’s Hall of Honor.

It is one of 12 roundtables organized throughout Rome at the second annual World Meeting on Human Fraternity — called #BeHuman — on topics ranging from education to peace-building, with economist Jeffrey Sachs and New York Mayor Eric Adams among its speakers.

On Saturday night, Brooks will sing some of his country hits in St. Peter’s Square starting at 9:30 p.m. as the culminating concert of the two-day human fraternity event organized by the Fratelli Tutti Foundation.

When asked why Brooks was chosen to perform at the Vatican, Father Francesco Occhetta, the secretary general for the Fratelli Tutti Foundation organizing the event, told CNA that the foundation has built relationships in the United States, adding: “We did not have a lot of time to invite more artists.”

Last year, Grammy winner Andrea Bocelli performed at the World Meeting on Human Fraternity during which Pope Francis signed a document drafted by a dozen Nobel Peace Prize winners together with representatives of former Nobel Prize-winning organizations calling for a commitment to human fraternity.

Nobel Prize winners will return to the Vatican this year for a roundtable on peace on Friday, May 10. Cardinal Pietro Parolin will give the opening speech for the roundtable, which will include Russian journalist Dmitrji Muratov, American human rights activist Jody Williams, Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman, Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, Liberian pacifist Leymah Gbowee, Guatemalan activist Rigoberta Menchù Tum, and Bangladeshi economist and banker Muhammad Yunus.

Other participants in the peace roundtable include the former prime minister of Niger, Ibrahim Mayaki, and Graça Machel Mandela, the widow of the late Nelson Mandela.

Pope Francis appoints new bishop to Diocese of Knoxville
Tue, 07 May 2024 11:50:00 -0400

Rome Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 11:50 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed a new bishop to the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, following former Bishop Richard Stika’s resignation last year.

The Holy See Press Office announced that Father James Mark Beckman, 61, will be installed as the new bishop of the diocese. The installation will occur in July.

The bishopric since June 2023 has been under the care of Louisville Archbishop Shelton Fabre, who has served as apostolic administrator following Stika’s departure that month.

Beckman, a Tennessee native, has been a priest with the Diocese of Nashville since his ordination on July 13, 1990. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from St. Ambrose College in 1984 and a master’s degree in religious studies from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium in 1988.

Since his ordination to the priesthood Beckman has served in a variety of pastoral and educational roles in the Nashville Diocese.

He was assigned as associate pastor of Holy Rosary Church near Nashville and taught at the city’s Father Ryan High School, where he served as associate principal for pastoral affairs.

He subsequently served at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Springfield and St. Michael Mission Church in Cedar Hill. For several years he also served as director of the Diocesean Youth Office.

Beckman’s appointment comes after a tumultuous few years in the eastern Tennessee diocese.

Stika, who was appointed to the diocese in 2009, was at the center of a scandal over the purported cover-up of the alleged abuse of a seminarian. He was also criticized over his leadership of the diocese.

According to Catholic outlet the Pillar, in 2021 nearly a dozen Knoxville priests sent a letter to Cardinal (then Archbishop) Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, asking for “merciful relief” from Stika’s leadership, arguing that it was “detrimental to priestly fraternity and even to our personal well-being.”

Among other allegations, the priests alleged Stika had intimidated clergy in the diocese if he thought they spoke out publicly about misconduct.

In 2022 he was named in a lawsuit that accused him of protecting a seminarian accused of multiple counts of rape. The suit also claimed that the bishop attempted to intimidate an alleged victim, a parish organist, into keeping quiet about the alleged sexual assault and of having accused the alleged victim of being the perpetrator.

In November 2022 the Vatican sent two Virginia prelates — Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge and Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout — for an apostolic visitation to the diocese. While the findings of the visitation were not made public, the Pillar reported that unnamed sources close to the Dicastery for Bishops said Pope Francis had decided to ask Stika for his resignation in light of the results of the investigation.

Pope Francis accepted Stika’s resignation on June 27, 2023. In a subsequent statement Stika expressed his gratitude to the pope for accepting his request, suggesting that he was resigning due to “life-threatening health issues.”

Vatican to publish new document on Marian apparitions next week
Tue, 07 May 2024 09:02:00 -0400

Rome Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 09:02 am (CNA).

The Vatican’s doctrine office will publish a new document next week on discerning Marian apparitions and other supernatural events.

The Holy See Press Office announced on Tuesday that Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), will unveil new norms for discernment regarding “apparitions and other supernatural phenomena” on Friday, May 17.

In an interview with the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, last month, Fernandez said that the document will provide “clear guidelines and norms” for discernment.

The new norms will be the first time that the Vatican’s doctrinal office has issued a general document on apparitions in four decades. Pope Paul VI approved norms on “the discernment of presumed apparitions or revelations” in 1978.

Fernandez will speak at a livestreamed Vatican press conference at noon on the day of the document’s publication, along with Monsignor Armando Matteo, the secretary for the DDF’s doctrinal section.

The announcement comes after Fernández and Matteo met privately with Pope Francis on May 4, a meeting in which the pope likely reviewed the forthcoming document.

The Catholic Church calls for “great prudence” in examining the facts related to presumed apparitions of revelations. According to the 1978 norms, it is the Church’s responsibility to first judge the facts before permitting public devotion in the case of an alleged apparition.

Under Pope John Paul II, the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued a lengthy document on popular piety in 2001 that reiterated the Church’s teaching that private revelations do not belong to the deposit of faith.

“Throughout the ages, there have been so-called private revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith,” paragraph 67 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states.

“It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.”

Justice Samuel Alito to address record-breaking 2024 class at Franciscan University
Tue, 07 May 2024 08:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 7, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is scheduled to give the commencement address on May 11 to the record-breaking 896 students in the class of 2024 at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

On the occasion, Alito will also receive an honorary doctorate in Christian ethics “for his decades of exemplary public service and tireless efforts to protect and uphold justice and the rule of law,” according to Franciscan’s May 6 press release.

Alito is known for his majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the 2022 decision that reversed Roe v. Wade and determined that the Constitution could not confer a right to abortion. Alito is also known for backing religious liberty and gun rights.

Prior to the graduation ceremony, Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, is set to preside at the baccalaureate Mass and give a homily. In recognition of his distinguished service to the Church, Franciscan also announced it will confer upon Caggiano an honorary doctorate in catechetics and evangelization.

For the fourth year in a row, the graduating class at Fransiscan, a Catholic liberal arts university in Steubenville, Ohio, is larger than ever.

“We are deeply grateful and humbled by God’s continued blessings on Franciscan University as we look forward to celebrating the graduation of almost 900 incredible young men and women of faith,” said Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, a 1989 graduate and current president of Franciscan University.

“The education they have received has prepared them well to tackle the challenges ahead and to be successful in every facet of their personal and professional lives,” he continued. “As mature disciples of Jesus Christ, they will bring the light of joy, hope, and truth to all they encounter.”

Home to the largest undergraduate theology program in the U.S., Franciscan has been endorsed by the Cardinal Newman Society for being faithfully Catholic.

The university has taken a strong stance against the Biden administration’s use of Title IX for “gender identity” politics and last year invited Jewish students who feared for their safety on other college campuses to transfer to Steubenville.

Franciscan also offers a “Crossroads Pro-Life Scholarship” to undergraduate students who volunteer for pro-life organizations or life-affirming pregnancy centers. Last year’s commencement speaker, Lila Rose, heads the pro-life activist organization LiveAction.

With 2,500 on-campus students and 1,300 online students currently, the college has been growing, adding new academic programs including mechanical engineering, software engineering, and a criminal justice program. The first Franciscan students to major in software engineering will graduate this year.

Franciscan’s class of 2024 hail from 38 different states and 14 different countries. The top 10 majors are theology, business, psychology, nursing, communication arts, philosophy, education, English, catechetics, and history.

Deaf Catholic community in Maryland grows with new chaplain, retreat, Eucharistic Congress
Tue, 07 May 2024 07:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 7, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

One of the few Deaf Catholic priests in the United States is working to renew the Church’s ministry to the Deaf in Maryland and beyond through signed Masses, retreats, and an upcoming Eucharistic congress for the Deaf.

Father Michael Depcik, who last year became the chaplain for the Deaf Ministry in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, was born deaf and grew up in a Deaf Catholic family in Chicago. According to Depcik, being “culturally Deaf” (a culture signified by the uppercase Deaf) is vastly different than losing hearing later in life. The distinction is important, Depcik explained, because the Deaf community is its own culture, with its own language.

“We’re proud to be Deaf, and we identify as Deaf people, and we use American Sign Language as the primary language,” Depcik explained through sign language to an interpreter in a phone call with CNA.

While an estimated 11 million Americans are deaf, about 3.6% of the population, many Deaf Catholics go unreached. Some were never fully catechized when they were young and taught to attend a Mass that they didn’t understand. With just 10 Deaf priests and four Deaf permanent deacons in the U.S., going to confession and attending Mass is just one of many barriers for an estimated 2 million Deaf Catholics, and another 7.5 million Catholics with hearing loss, according to an estimate by the National Catholic Office for the Deaf (NCOD).

As chaplain, Depcik serves the “unique needs” of the Deaf community through serving in Deaf parishes. Being Deaf is a “linguistic difference,” meaning that creating accessibility requires a different approach than a disability such as blindness or mobility, he explained.

“The language is the problem, and so there is no access for [Deaf Catholics] because unfortunately, many churches do not provide [for] their needs appropriately,” he said. “So most of the time, they do not go to church. And so that’s always been my worry and my concern.”

Having an interpreter isn’t enough for most Deaf people — attending Mass in their first language, ASL, is essential, Depcik explained.

“There’s a void between the Deaf and the hearing,” he continued. “And so it’s the same idea as Spanish-speaking people; they prefer to go to a Spanish-speaking church for Mass. Vietnamese people prefer to go to Vietnamese church with a Vietnamese Mass, because of the language, the culture.”

“And so that’s the same idea with the Deaf,” Depcik continued. “But the problem is many [Church leaders] do not understand and think that it will save a lot of money by providing an interpreter, and that’s it. But that is not the case — and it doesn’t work.”

But the Deaf Catholic community is growing in Maryland, where there are more than 1.2 million Deaf or hard-of-hearing Marylanders, according to a 2021 survey. Meanwhile, a number of hearing priests and religious are learning ASL, while organizations like NCOD and Ascension Press are developing ASL catechetical resources.

“We try to do what other churches do,” he noted. “We have Bible study classes, we have RCIA classes for people who want to become Catholic. We have visitations in the hospitals, visiting senior citizens, encouraging people to get leadership in their churches, serving the church [on] council meetings, taking the commission and the religious education classes.”

It’s “starting to build up,” Depcik said. Baltimore was the first archdiocese in the country to ordain a Deaf priest — Trinitarian Father Thomas Coughlin in 1977.

While past bishops emphasized having interpreters at Masses, the ministry has grown since Depcik joined.

“In the past, the Deaf typically went to interpreted Masses, and it was very wonderful for the hearing Church to provide a sign language interpreter, but the Deaf always felt like outsiders,” he said. “They weren’t really a part of a full Church life. And so now that our community, our people can take a role in doing readings and usher[ing] and Christmas parties, things like that, they can be further a part of it, and I’m happy to see the progress that we’re making so far.”

Challenges facing Deaf Catholics

Even though ASL is the third most commonly used language in the U.S. after English and Spanish, fewer than 8 in 100 Deaf people attend church, suggesting that the population is underreached and under-evangelized.

Though a growing number of catechetical resources are being made available for Deaf Catholics, Catholic evangelism for the Deaf falls behind other Christian denominations.

Depcik said that many Deaf people will become Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses because they have more outreach to Deaf communities, while in the Catholic Church, budget cuts following the sexual abuse crisis have impacted smaller ministries such as the Deaf community the most, he explained.

Because of this, many Deaf Catholics will leave for a church where the pastor is learning sign language and “meeting their spiritual needs,” Depcik said.

In addition, most Deaf children are born to a hearing family that does not have an in-depth understanding of ASL.

“So, many of them grow up having no understanding of religion. They go to a hearing church, but they’re not understanding what’s happening,” Depcik explained.

“Ninety-eight percent of Deaf people do not go to church … because there is not accessibl[ity],” he explained. “Oftentimes, they are overlooked by the Church. And I always like to say, the people in the Church are the deaf to Deaf people, because the communication, there is no link there with other groups.”

In response, Depcik is organizing a Eucharistic Congress for the Deaf in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in April 2025. While the National Eucharistic Congress has partnered with NCOD to have interpreters and accessibility for Deaf Catholics, the Eucharistic Congress for the Deaf will “be spoken in sign language for people to come pray together,” Depcik said.

‘Inspiring’ retreat for the Deaf at Seton Shrine

Just a half hour away from the K-8 Maryland School for the Deaf is the small town of Emmitsburg, which is home to the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. The Seton Shrine hosts retreats, including a Lenten retreat for the Deaf in March.

Initially, the retreat organizer, Sarah Heil, and Depcik thought the retreat would draw about 30-35 people. But as the date approached, the attendees became closer to 100, with attendees traveling from Virginia, D.C., New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia for the one-day retreat.

“We couldn’t get the group out of our visitor center because they were just so excited to see each other and to meet new people. … It was like the community formed up so quickly,” Heil told CNA in a phone call.

Depcik said it’s “always inspiring” to come together with Deaf Catholics from different areas because they share “the same faith, the same language, the same culture.”

“And it’s a good experience for local Deaf Catholic communities to be surprised that there [are] more deaf Catholic[s] out there,” he said. “And they always feel alone because the Church is in their own world, and when they see other groups getting together, they feel proud.”

Following the call of Pope Francis, the Seton Shrine is reaching out to the margins through its retreat program “Seeds of Hope,” which recently hosted a retreat for men recovering from drug addiction, and will host a mental health and wellness retreat this May.

Depcik said that the people at the shrine “really make us feel very welcomed and inspired to pray there and celebrate Mass there as well.”

“We take it for granted that we can hear Mass in our home language,” Heil said, “and we take for granted that we have the opportunity to go to confession with somebody that can understand us in the way that confession should be administered. [Deaf Catholics] don’t have that opportunity. And that was incredibly striking.”

Several hearing seminarians who were serving at the event were inspired after attending a Deaf Mass, Heil said. They “saw what an impact it had to have a priest who could sign” and were inspired to learn some sign language, she added.

“So this literally could have a life-changing impact on not only those gentlemen, but then the people that they will be serving, which I think long term, that is fantastic,” she said. “If that were the only thing that came out of this, that would be wonderful.”

Global fertility rates: Here’s how majority-Catholic countries rank against rest of world
Tue, 07 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 7, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

As global fertility rates continue to decline, even majority-Catholic and historically Catholic countries aren’t free from the demographic collapse, which increasingly threatens to shrink the populations of countries below the necessary rate of replacement.

Global fertility has been falling for decades, with the problem often most acute in industrialized nations with higher standards of living, even while the fertility rates in many developing nations with strained resources, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, continue to climb. Many of the world’s most developed countries are well below the “replacement rate” of fertility — generally about 2.1 births per woman over her lifetime — needed to keep a population stable, according to data gathered by the World Bank.

In the U.S. the overall fertility rate in 2021 was about 1.7, falling to 1.6 two years later; in the U.K. in 2021 it was about 1.6; in Greece about 1.4. Japan and South Korea have some of the lowest birth rates in the world at 1.3 and 0.81 respectively.

Catholic populations have for years been associated with high fertility rates, owing in part to the Church’s forbiddance of artificial contraception and its long-held teaching that children are, in the words of the Second Vatican Council, “the supreme gift of marriage.”

And yet fertility numbers below the replacement level can be seen even in countries with a majority Catholic population or with historically high levels of Catholics. A recent panel that took place at the Catholic University of America moderated by New York Times columnist Ross Douthat looked at the variety of reasons for this, which includes loss of religious faith and changing cultural values.

Some countries with high levels of Catholics are still reporting high levels of fertility: Angola, for instance, is more than 50% Catholic and reports a fertility rate of 5.6 — well above the global average. Paraguay, meanwhile, is about 90% Catholic and has a fertility rate of 2.5, which is above replacement level.

Yet other countries long known for high levels of Catholicism are nevertheless well below replacement levels: Poland, at more than 90% Catholic, has a fertility rate of 1.3; while Spain, at 75% Catholic, is even lower at 1.2. Mexico is more than 80% Catholic yet still falls below replacement level, at 1.8.

A National Bureau of Economic Research study from 2012 found that “strongly Catholic countries” in Europe at the start of the 1970s “had fertility almost a half child per woman higher” than surveyed non-Catholic countries. Yet by the end of the 20th century, those same Catholic countries had fertility rates considerably lower than non-Catholic countries.

The 2012 study argued that the decline could be attributed to the fact that the Catholic Church “retreated in the mid 1960s from providing a variety of family-friendly services,” including “education, health, welfare, and other social services,” thus making it more expensive to have children. Additionally, polling shows that large majorities of Catholics believe birth control is acceptable, while other data indicate large majorities of Catholic women are using some form of artificial contraception.

Church leaders, meanwhile, have been sounding the alarm bell of declining fertility rates in recent years.

The Vatican announced on Thursday that Pope Francis will speak at an event on Italy’s demographic crisis as the country’s birth rate sits at a historic low.

The Holy Father has in the past described the low number of births as “a figure that reveals a great concern for tomorrow.” He has criticized what he describes as the “social climate in which starting a family has turned into a titanic effort, instead of being a shared value that everyone recognizes and supports.”

Francis in 2022 also described cratering fertility rates as a “social emergency,” arguing that while the crisis was “not immediately perceptible, like other problems that occupy the news,” it is nevertheless “very urgent” insofar as low birth rates are “impoverishing everyone’s future.”

At a United Nations event this month, meanwhile, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia argued that contraception and population control are “not the key to sustainable development,” stating rather that it is “essential to guarantee that all men, women, and children are afforded the opportunity to actualize their full potential.”

In 2019, San Sebastián Bishop José Ignacio Munilla Aguirre warned of Spain’s “desolate panorama in terms of the birth rate,” a figure he said constituted “one of the most obvious signs of the crisis of values the West is suffering.”

Provisional data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month, meanwhile, showed that the fertility rate in the United States hit a record low in 2023, falling to just over 1.6 births per woman, a 2% decline from the previous year.

New study suggests rampant ‘cafeteria Catholicism’
Mon, 06 May 2024 18:37:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2024 / 18:37 pm (CNA).

Ryan Burge, a leading researcher on religion and politics, recently compiled data indicating that “cafeteria Catholicism” is rampant in the United States. Specifically, the country’s Catholics express widespread disagreement with the Church’s teaching on abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty.

The term “cafeteria Catholic” refers to a Catholic who picks and chooses which Church teachings he or she affirms and adheres to. Washington, D.C., Cardinal Wilton Gregory recently used the term to describe President Joe Biden, who as president has advocated for unrestricted abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

Burge found that only 0.9% of Catholics agree with Church teaching on all three of the issues. His conclusions were based on 2022 data collected by the Global Social Survey (GSS) and compiled by the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA). Burge told CNA that the 0.9% number is an all-time low since GSS started collecting data in 1972.

“It’s not just many Catholics who disagree with the teachings of the Church — in fact, if you look at the data, it’s nearly all of them,” said Burge, who teaches political science at Eastern Illinois University.

This coincides with an overall 12% decline in Church attendance among Catholics over the last two decades, as found by Gallup.

Abortion

Despite the Catholic Church’s clear teaching that abortion is gravely immoral, Burge said, there is “clear majority support for elective abortion in almost every circumstance.”

Over 50% of Catholics support abortion when the mother’s health is at risk, the child is the result of rape, if there is a “strong chance of serious defect in the baby,” and when the family or mother either does not want or cannot support another child.

Nearly 90% of Catholics support abortion in such cases in which the mother’s health is at risk. Over 80% of Catholics support abortion in cases of rape, and close to 80% of Catholics support abortion for serious defects.

ARDA also reports that 17.7% of Catholics believe abortion should be illegal in all cases.

Euthanasia

Regarding euthanasia, which the Church teaches is morally unacceptable, and suicide, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls “contrary to love for the living God,” most Catholics again are not in agreement with the Church’s teaching.

According to the data, 70% of Catholics support euthanasia, defined in the survey as a person’s ability to commit suicide in the case of an incurable disease. As pointed out by Burge, Catholics’ support for euthanasia and assisted suicide has been growing since the 1980s.

Death penalty

In recent decades, the Church has been increasingly voicing its opposition to the death penalty. In 2018, the Catechism of the Catholic Church was revised to reflect that opposition.

The catechism acknowledges that in the past “recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.”

“Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption,” the catechism indicates.

The catechism goes on to quote Pope Francis in stating that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.”

Despite this, ARDA found that 61% of Catholics are in favor of the death penalty for convicted murderers. Support for the death penalty among Catholics has waned in recent decades after reaching a high of 81% in 1990.

‘A lot of work to do’

Monsignor Charles Pope, a Catholic author and pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Church in the Archdiocese of Washington, told CNA that the 0.9% number does not accurately represent Catholics’ “buy-in” to the faith.

Pope called the study “very unfair” and said it is “bringing things together which need to be analyzed separately.” He pointed out that the Church is clear in its teaching that abortion is intrinsically evil, while there is more leeway when it comes to the death penalty, which he described as a “prudential” rather than a “doctrinal” matter.

He agreed, however, that there is still a disconnect between Church teaching and what many Catholics believe. This, he thinks, is due to what he called “the politicization of moral issues.”

“Politics, sadly, is driving the conversation more than faith, because we are very worldly in our outlook,” he said. “So, if there’s one positive thing to take from this study it’s that we certainly have a lot of work to do to convince our own faithful of our teachings.”

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, but it doesn’t mean our teachings are wrong,” he went on. “It’s not the job of the Church to reflect the public opinion polls of our people, it’s the job of the Church to say: ‘Here’s what Jesus says.’”

Catholic Charities to open ‘Compassion Corner’ to serve homeless, poor in Pittsburgh
Mon, 06 May 2024 17:40:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2024 / 17:40 pm (CNA).

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is expanding its social services offered to people who are homeless and those in poverty with a newly created “Compassion Corner” opening in August.

The nonprofit charity group is renovating a former office building located in downtown Pittsburgh to provide health care services, mental health services, job training programs, a place for the homeless population to eat, and a variety of other resources. The nearly 45,000-square-foot building is located at 111 Boulevard of the Allies, next to The Red Door (run by the Catholic Divine Mercy Parish), which provides services such as food for people who are homeless.

“I believe this is all divinely led,” Christopher Scoletti, a board member of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and previous president of the board, said during an official launch last week.

“I believe God is working and channeling the love that we all have for our communities, for our neighbors, for one another,” Scoletti added. “I believe God is channeling the pride that we have for the City of Pittsburgh to enforce a powerful change for a better future.”

Susan Rauscher, who serves as the charity’s executive director, told CNA that the new building will allow Catholic Charities to provide more medical and dental care, which it offers to those in poverty for free. She said this expansion will allow for more dental chairs and more medical services, among other things.

“[We’re] really excited about the increase in the number of people who can get health care services,” Rauscher said.

According to Rauscher, the added space will allow the nonprofit to provide mental wellness services, which will include anger management and therapy. The group will also provide job training services, which will include a free 12-week telecommunications course, and connect them with employers with whom the charity has existing relationships. The job programs will include training for five certifications.

“Moving into the new building gives us some additional space to move into new areas that help us bring holistic solutions to our clients,” Rauscher added.

Because of the Compassion Corner’s proximity to The Red Door, Catholic Charities will create a spot for people who are homeless to eat inside. Rauscher noted that those people will also receive access to these services.

“[Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is] pushing toward not only providing that emergency assistance and those basic needs but also incorporating case management and that long-term stability,” Rauscher said.

More than 100 elected officials, community leaders, and business leaders attended the official launch of the Compassion Corner, according to the diocesan Catholic Charities. This included Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, who praised the work of the nonprofit and said Christians “can’t just read the Bible and teach the Bible” but need to show their faith in Christ through the “works and deeds that we do.”

“That falls on all of us to do,” Gainey said during a speech at the launch. “It doesn’t just fall on government [and] nonprofit [organizations]. It falls on us.”

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh has raised about $12 million in donations for its Campaign for Compassion Corner to provide these services, which is more than 70% of its goal of $17 million. The group is trying to raise $13 million for Catholic Charities and $4 million for its partner, Gift of Mary, an emergency women’s shelter.

Rauscher told CNA that 100% of the staff at the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh has personally contributed to the fundraising effort. She praised the work of the staff, saying: “They can squeeze every penny out of every dollar that’s entrusted to us and turn it into solutions for the people they serve.”

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh serves about 20,000 people annually, according to Rauscher. She said the nonprofit served about 23,000 people last year.

Catholic bishop walks length of Gaza Strip in support of cease-fire
Mon, 06 May 2024 17:20:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

A Catholic bishop walked the length of the Gaza Strip on April 29 in support of those suffering due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Bishop Bart van Roijen of the Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador in Newfoundland, Canada, walked 42 kilometers, a little over 26 miles, from York Harbor to Corner Brook and ended his journey with a prayer service at the Cathedral of the Holy Redeemer.

People around the world are participating in similar walks to call for a cease-fire in Gaza and for peace in both Israel and Palestine.

Van Roijen told CNA in an interview that he felt called to do this walk because he wanted “to quietly witness to the sufferings of both citizenries and to make a strong statement that the atrocities, damage, and indignities that are being done must end.”

He explained that just a few days before being approached to take part in the walk, he was speaking with someone about the difficulties he was having with the “unresolved conflicts in the world and how they were perpetuated by endless justifications, open acts of aggression, and an unwillingness to dialogue in a meaningful way.”

“I expressed a tiredness with the whole idea of taking sides when it was clear that atrocities have, and continue to be, committed by both sides and that the civilian populations, on both sides of a conflict, are always the ones who pay the price,” van Roijen said.

He added: “The idea of a 42-kilometer walk helped me focus some of this energy on something constructive that was building greater awareness and solidarity with a civilian population that was forced to migrate 42 kilometers from the North to the South of Gaza, and helped me to appreciate how difficult this must be when dealing with possessions, children, infirmities, checkpoints, ongoing conflict, and the possibility of being targeted.”

Van Roijen emphasized that the walk allowed him to “move from my response to the atrocities committed by both sides to a spirit of offering it to God.”

The bishop completed the walk in six hours and 45 minutes. The weather hovered between 46 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit and, despite the rain and wind, the clergyman did not take any breaks and managed to stay dry thanks to his umbrella and rubber boots.

He credited his four-mile walk to and from his office each day during the winter months for being properly prepared.

“Walking along the Bay of Islands, from York Harbor to the Cathedral in Corner Brook, gave me some nice views of the bay and the surrounding hills and villages,” he said.

“It also gave me the sense of the Gaza Strip in its proximity to its own body of water and the narrowness of its borders,” he said, adding: “By walking and praying I was given a sense of peace — a peace that I was able to integrate into the prayer service that followed at the cathedral.”

As for what Catholics can do to aid in the current situation, van Roijen said: “Ours is a role of intercession, healing, and reconciliation, not of judgment or condemnation,” adding: “Though we should be strong in our insistence of the inviolable and inalienable dignity of all people, and that atrocities have been and are committed by both sides.”

“Catholics need to stand with the Palestinian and Israeli citizens who have had their human rights and dignity violated, to insist that all forms of violence cease, all hostages be released, and all channels of dialogue be opened,” he said.

“This conflict, like all conflicts big or small, is perpetuated by all those who contribute fuel to the fire, either in word or deed. The more resources and arguments that are provided to each side, and the more we divide ourselves into factions, the more conflict rages,” he expressed.

He urged the faithful to “be wiser in regards to conflict within our Church, communities, countries, and world.”

“Rather than perpetuate it by immediately taking sides,” he continued, “we need to challenge it and expose it for what it is: a failure to be truly human in word or deed, an affront to our dignity as humans and as brothers and sisters to one another.”

Blood of St. Januarius miraculously liquifies again
Mon, 06 May 2024 16:48:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, May 6, 2024 / 16:48 pm (CNA).

The miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius, bishop, martyr, and patron saint of Naples, Italy, was repeated in St. Clare Basilica on May 4.

The Archdiocese of Naples reported on its website that on May 4 at 6:38 p.m. local time, the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius occurred once again.

St. Januarius was martyred in the year 305, during the fierce persecution unleashed by the Roman emperor Diocletian.

The miraculous liquefaction occurred during the Mass offered by the archbishop of Naples, Domenico Battaglia, with Abbot Vincenzo De Gregorio participating and the mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, in attendance.

When the miracle is repeated, a white cloth is waved to indicate to the people that the miraculous sign has taken place. On this occasion, De Gregorio gave the sign.

‘It’s not an oracle’

Challenging the belief that when the blood does not liquefy some misfortune might occur, Battaglia told those present at the Mass that “this blood is the sign of a dream of salvation, of hope, of trust. It is not an oracle to consult but a compass to follow because it is always well oriented toward Christ, the origin and goal of our journey, our history and the history of the world.”

“The hagiographic sources and records of Bishop Januarius’ martyrdom tell us how he, without any fear, put the good of his brothers before his own safety, going to visit a brother imprisoned because of his faith in Christ,” Battaglia continued.

The prelate then prayed to the martyr: “Help us to walk along the paths of time and history, with our gaze fixed on the Lord whom you have loved and served, and may we always be with feet ready to go to our brothers and sisters who are in physical, interior, or social prisons.”

“May we be like you, who despite the danger and persecution, for the love of God and the brethren, were not afraid to set out and risk your life to spread the bread of the Word that restores the brothers imprisoned because of the Gospel and the violence of men,” he also prayed.

Still addressing the patron saint of Naples, the archbishop continued: “Witness of fruitful blood, pray with us and help us to pray without tiring so that in this your city innocent blood will not be shed again, so that in our Europe, in the Holy Land and the world, fratricidal conflicts cease” and may Jesus Christ “defeat all violence, wipe away the tears of pain and disarm with forgiveness all desire for revenge.”

The liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius

The miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of the martyred bishop St. Januarius usually occurs three times a year.

The first occasion is the day commemorating the transfer of his remains to Naples, the Saturday before the first Sunday in May; and the second is his liturgical feast day, Sept. 19.

The third occasion is Dec. 16, when devotees thank him for his intercession to lessen the effects of the eruption of the Mount Vesuvius volcano, which occurred in 1631.

Who is St. Januarius?

St. Januarius was the bishop of Benevento in the Campania region, an Italian diocese adjacent to Naples, where he was born in 272.

During the persecution of the Church by the Roman emperor Diocletian, known as the “Great Persecution” (303–313), Januarius was taken prisoner along with a group of other Christians and subjected to terrible tortures.

The bishop and his friends refused to renounce their faith and worship the pagan gods. Despite the cruelties they were subjected to, none of them gave in and all were sentenced to death.

They tried to burn them alive in a furnace, but the fire did not harm them. They were then thrown to the lions, but the animals did not come near them. So the Romans decided to behead them all. On Sept. 19, 305, St. Januarius and his friends were executed near Pozzuoli.

Every Sept. 19, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Januarius, bishop and martyr.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Catholic Olympic swimmer awarded presidential Medal of Freedom 
Mon, 06 May 2024 16:15:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

Katie Ledecky, Olympic swimmer, devout Catholic, and winner of 10 Olympic medals, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday.

“Thank you Mr. President for this honor, and thank you to everyone at the White House for an incredibly special day!” Ledecky wrote in a post on X.

Since she began her Olympic career in 2012 as a 15-year-old in the London Olympics, Ledecky has earned seven Olympic gold medals and three silver medals. She also earned 26 world championship medals, 21 of which are gold, and she currently holds two world records in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events.

Ledecky finds herself among other iconic athletes including gymnast Simone Biles, golfer Tiger Woods, and baseball star Babe Ruth in receiving the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom.

But between the excitement of the Olympics, Ledecky is a regular parishioner of the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Maryland.

Raised in Washington, D.C., she attended Catholic high school and practices her faith by praying before her meets, according to her local diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Standard.

Ledecky was a student at the all-girls Catholic school Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart when she flew to London for her first Olympic competition. The Olympian has since returned to Stone Ridge to visit with the students and share her gratitude for the community’s support for her.

She’s not the only Catholic to receive the medal this year. Jesuit priest Father Gregory Boyle, who founded a rehabilitation program for gang members, was one of 19 who received the Medal of Freedom this year.

Biden also extended the award posthumously to Jim Thorpe, who in 1912 became the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal, as well as to his political allies such as former speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrat Party leaders.

President Joe Biden is himself Catholic, though he has received criticism from Church leaders for his pro-abortion stance.

Ledecky will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will begin July 26, while her memoir, “Just Add Water: My Swimming Life” is set to be released on June 11.

Colombians march simultaneously in multiple cities to demand end to abortion
Mon, 06 May 2024 15:45:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, May 6, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

Under the theme “Colombia, With Life There Is Hope,” tens of thousands of Colombians took to the streets May 4 in more than 110 cities and towns during the South American country’s 18th National March for Life, according to the United for Life platform, which organized the event.

The marchers called on Colombia’s Constitutional Court to annul its rulings that decriminalized and subsequently liberalized abortion.

United for Life was also joined by multiple pro-life organizations, including 40 Days for Life, the Men’s Rosary, and Rachel’s Vineyard, as well as dioceses, nuns, priests, families, and numerous laypeople.

The simultaneous pro-life demonstrations took place in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Cúcuta, Montería, Pereira, Cumaral, and scores of other cities.

In Bogotá, the marchers departed from the National Park and went down 7th Street until reaching Plaza Bolívar in the center of the Colombian capital.

In front of the thousands of people holding light blue flags and wearing blue neckerchiefs — the color of the pro-life movement — the president of United for Life, Jesús Magaña, read a manifesto in which he decried the “close to 20,000 abortions that have taken place in the city of Bogotá alone,” which amounts to “20 times more than other causes of violent deaths.”

Magaña also warned that the Constitutional Court intends to “say that abortion is a fundamental right, against the entire letter and spirit of our constitution, the feelings of the Colombian people, and signed international treaties.”

“We are unwilling to remain silent and stand by in the face of the largest massacre in the country,” he declared.

“Which is why,” he said, “as citizens of Colombia who love, respect, and defend life, we have mobilized in 114 cities throughout the country to fill the streets and squares and proclaim firmly, loudly, and clearly that life is sacred, that it must be respected and cared for from the moment of fertilization until natural death.”

In addition to abortion, the pro-life leader pointed out that Colombia’s survival is in danger from “euthanasia, suicide, and structural conditions that deny life.”

The United for Life manifesto demanded that the Constitutional Court annul its pro-abortion rulings C-355 of 2006 and C-055 of 2022, “which are producing a terrible holocaust.” In addition, the organization urged the Legislature to shelve “euthanasia bills” and pass “laws that protect life,” pregnancy, motherhood, and the family.

The manifesto also demanded the Legislature “defeat bill 270 of 2024 that prohibits parents from choosing the best psychological treatment for their children according to their convictions, values, and principles.”

The text also called for forceful action against child sexual exploitation and support for “women with crisis or unexpected pregnancies through well-funded public policies.”

‘The only lord of life is God’

Among those who addressed the participants was Father Laureano Barón, a priest of the Archdiocese of Bogotá who emphasized that “the only lord of life is God, from natural conception to natural death.”

“Let everyone know that Colombia is a pro-life country,” he said, encouraging prayers for the conversion of “all those who try to implement and carry forward projects that cause the death of the innocent.”

“We wish evil on no one. We ask that God touch their hearts,” Barón said.

United for Life noted that in 2023 alone, “according to figures, 52,000 elective abortions occurred in Colombia.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

New York attorney general sues pregnancy centers over abortion pill reversal statements
Mon, 06 May 2024 14:57:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 14:57 pm (CNA).

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday filed a lawsuit against multiple pregnancy resource centers and a pro-life group over what the prosecutor alleged were misleading statements about abortion pill reversal.

James said in the filing that the defendants — the group Heartbeat International and 11 crisis pregnancy centers affiliated with the nonprofit — have engaged in “repeated and persistent misleading and/or false claims” regarding the medical procedure of abortion pill reversal.

The abortion pill is a two-step procedure in which a pregnant woman first ingests the drug mifepristone, which cuts off the unborn baby’s supply of the hormone progesterone, leading to the baby’s death.

The woman then takes a second drug, misoprostol, which causes the uterus to contract, eventually expelling the baby’s body.

Abortion pill reversal works by administering progesterone in high doses after a woman has ingested mifepristone; the hormone is meant to counteract the effects of the abortive drug. Several surveys have found evidence that the drug can be effective at halting a medicated abortion.

Downplaying that evidence by pointing to scientific disputes over the studies in question, James in her filing alleged that there is “no competent and reliable scientific evidence” to support the abortion pill reversal procedure.

The defendants “distort the evidence and mislead New Yorkers” with claims about the effectiveness and safety of abortion pill reversal, James argued.

The filing asks that the defendants be ordered to “remove from their websites, social media accounts, and other promotional materials” their claims about abortion pill reversal, that they be fined thousands of dollars for their purported violations of state law, and that they be prohibited from making similar claims in the future about abortion pill reversal.

In a statement announcing the filing, James claimed that abortions “cannot be reversed.”

The state “must protect pregnant [women’s] right to make safe, well-informed decisions about their health,” she argued in the press release.

This is not the first time that abortion pill reversal has been targeted by pro-abortion politicians and government officials.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta in September 2023 sued five pro-life pregnancy centers and Heartbeat International, accusing them of utilizing fraudulent and misleading statements when advertising the abortion pill reversal drug.

In April 2023, meanwhile, Colorado enacted several new pro-abortion laws including a ban on abortion pill reversal treatments.

A mother-and-daughter team of Catholic nurse practitioners brought suit against the Colorado law in October in order to be allowed to continue their ministry helping women reverse unwanted chemical abortions.

A judge quickly issued an injunction against the reversal ban, allowing the women to continue their medical practice while the lawsuit plays out in court.

Armed priest arrested as he tried to enter the Vatican for Pope Francis’ Regina Caeli
Mon, 06 May 2024 14:07:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, May 6, 2024 / 14:07 pm (CNA).

A priest armed with several weapons and dressed in a cassock tried to enter St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican to participate in the Regina Caeli prayer with Pope Francis on Sunday, May 5.

According to the Italian news agency ANSA, the priest, who is from the Czech Republic, tried to pass through the metal detector carrying an air pistol, two knives, a cutter, and a screwdriver.

After being arrested, the priest was reported to the authorities for illegal possession of weapons. When questioned, the priest said he carried the weapons for personal defense.

According to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the priest is 59-year-old Father Milan Palkovic.

According to Europa Press, the weapons were in a bag that belonged to another man, a 60-year-old Czech who accompanied the priest and who was also detained.

Neither has a criminal record and both came to Rome on a pilgrimage from the Czech Republic.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Francis appoints new bishop of Burlington, Vermont
Mon, 06 May 2024 11:52:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 11:52 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has appointed Vermont priest John McDermott as the bishop of the Diocese of Burlington in that state, the Vatican announced Monday.

The Burlington bishopric was previously headed by Bishop Christopher Coyne, whom Pope Francis named as coadjutor archbishop of Hartford, Connecticut, last year and who on May 1 took over as archbishop there.

McDermott has been serving as administrator of the Burlington Diocese since October of last year.

The bishop-elect was born in New Jersey in 1963. He attended Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina and obtained a master’s degree in divinity, as well as a master’s in theology and Scripture, from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland. He also holds a licentiate in canon law from the Catholic University of America.

He was ordained to the priesthood in the Burlington Diocese in 1989. He has served a variety of pastoral and administrative roles in the diocese since then, including as chaplain at Middlebury College. He has also held the positions of both vice chancellor and chancellor of the diocese, as well as diocesan vicar general and moderator of the curia.

McDermott is one of 10 siblings, according to the Diocese of Burlington. He was named a Prelate of Honor in 2012, granting him the title Monsignor.

The Burlington Diocese is the only diocese in the state of Vermont. It consists of approximately 75 parishes of about 100,000 Catholics.

Could Edith Stein be declared the next doctor of the Church?
Mon, 06 May 2024 11:12:00 -0400

Rome Newsroom, May 6, 2024 / 11:12 am (CNA).

Edith Stein could be declared a doctor of the Church with the title “doctor veritatis,” or “doctor of truth,” following a petition from the Discalced Carmelites.

Pope Francis received an official request from the superior general of the Discalced Carmelites, Father Miguel Márquez Calle, on April 18 in a private audience at the Vatican to recognize the theological legacy of the saint who was martyred in Auschwitz.

If accepted, Stein, also known by her religious name St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, could become the fifth woman to be declared a doctor of the Church, a title that recognizes a substantial contribution to the Church’s theology and moral life.

With the petition, the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints can officially begin the required process to grant Stein the title.

The Carmelites first launched an international commission to gather the necessary documentation required by the Vatican in 2022, a year that marked both the 100th anniversary of Stein’s baptism and the 80th anniversary of her martyrdom.

A title that was proposed for her at the time was “doctor veritatis” because of her relentless intellectual pursuit of truth, which after her conversion she recognized in the person of Jesus Christ.

Stein was born in 1891 into a Jewish family in what is now Wrocław, southwestern Poland. The city was then known as Breslau and located in the German Empire.

After declaring herself to be an atheist at the age of 20, she went on to earn a doctorate in philosophy.

She decided to convert to Catholicism after spending a night reading the autobiography of the 16th-century Carmelite nun St. Teresa of Avila while staying at a friend’s house in 1921.

“When I had finished the book,” she later recalled, “I said to myself: This is the truth.”

Stein was baptized on Jan. 1, 1922, at the age of 30. She took the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross when she became a novice Carmelite nun 12 years later.

Ten years after Stein entered the Carmelite convent, she was arrested along with her sister Rosa, who had also become a Catholic, and the members of her religious community.

She had just finished writing a study of St. John of the Cross titled “The Science of the Cross.”

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross died in the Auschwitz concentration camp on Aug. 9, 1942. Pope John Paul II canonized her in 1998 and proclaimed her a co-patroness of Europe the following year.

“God is truth,” Stein wrote after her conversion. “Anyone who seeks truth seeks God, whether or not he is aware of it.”

‘Love of neighbor at a global scale’: Dioceses launch faith-driven environmental programs
Mon, 06 May 2024 07:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Catholic dioceses around the U.S. are setting ambitious goals and launching environmental programs inspired in part by the Pope Francis-led effort to make ecological care a priority for the global Church.

The Holy Father has made environmentalism a major focus of his pontificate. His 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ was heralded at the time of its publication as a revolutionary papal document for its emphasis on Catholic ecological responsibility and for its call for “swift and unified global action” in the “care for our common home.”

In October of last year, Francis published a new apostolic exhortation titled Laudate Deum, meant as a further call to address what he called the “global social issue” of climate change. The pope said that in the eight years since Laudato Si’ was published, “our responses have not been adequate” to address ongoing ecological concerns.

‘Our brothers and sisters around the world are impacted by this’

In the Diocese of San Diego, the diocese’s Creation Care program says it seeks to “spread the Catholic teaching” concerning “our duty to be good stewards of our common home.”

Christina Slentz, the director of the program, told CNA that the diocese launched Creation Care in 2022 using the pastoral guidelines of “See, Discern, Act” to guide its undertakings.

Among its offerings, the program promotes the movie “The Letter” — a 2022 film that “tells the story of a journey to Rome of front-line leaders” to discuss Laudato Si’ with Pope Francis.

Slentz said the San Diego program has offered workshops on the film and also offers twice-yearly workshops that present “the ecclesial context, the science, and the eco-spirituality of Laudato Si’.”

The diocese further gives “Laudato Si’ Action Planning Hands-On” workshops at which “parishes, schools, families, businesses, and universities” are guided through “the Vatican’s online platform for taking action to lessen your impact” on the earth.

Slentz said the diocese also hosts an annual Feast of St. Francis Tree Festival at which saplings are distributed for planting. “I think we planted 730 acorns last year,” Slentz told CNA with a laugh. She noted that the overall program is “not about just some abstract love for trees.”

“This is love of neighbor at a global scale,” she said. “Our brothers and sisters around the world are impacted by this so much more seriously than any of us.”

‘Excited and encouraged by Laudato Si‘’

Laudato Si’ has had a major effect on Catholic environmental awareness around the world and in the U.S. The Archdiocese of Seattle, for instance, last month announced the launch of a new Care for Creation Ministry that will be based on the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ action platform.

That initiative, launched by the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, promotes seven goals that “provide guidance on urgent and immediate actions each one of us can take in the care of our common home.” Among those goals is the “adoption of sustainable lifestyles,” the promotion of “ecological spirituality,” and a “response to the cry of the poor.”

Terri Nelson, the director of the Seattle Archdiocese’s Integral Human Development and the new leader of the creation ministry, said last month that the archdiocese would “use the foundation of the Laudato Si’ action platform … so that our parishes, schools, and the people of God can learn more about this urgent crisis and take action.”

The initiative will “develop and execute a strategic plan to educate and inspire people to act — at home, in their communities, workplaces, parishes, and more.”

Similar programs have been launched in the Archdiocese of Washington, the Archdiocese of Atlanta, the Diocese of Syracuse, and other bishoprics around the country.

‘Not just environmentally sound but financially so’

In New York, meanwhile, Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens is using its affordable housing portfolio to develop green energy infrastructure in line with the Church’s environmental goals.

The diocese said the effort works to reduce carbon footprints and provide affordable and energy-efficient homes to low-income seniors and families.

Tim McManus, the senior vice president of the charity’s Progress of Peoples Development Corporation, which oversees the affordable housing program, told CNA that several years ago the charity “created a sustainable nonprofit entity [the Laudato Si’ Corporation] that is under the housing arm, from which we are launching and leading the sustainable initiatives.”

David Downs, the director of the Laudato Si’ Corporation, told CNA that the mission-aligned sustainability program is currently “utilizing our existing portfolio of affordable multifamily housing in Brooklyn and Queens by leveraging public financing resources to create new forms of renewable energy for our residents and New York City as a whole.”

About 75% of the charity’s portfolio is senior housing, typically subsidized voucher programs that assist elderly residents with rent. The charity also offers supportive housing for individuals coming from facilities such as shelters; the portfolio also includes traditional family housing.

McManus said he and Downs “had always been looking at figuring out how to work [environmental care] into the affordable housing work we do.”

The developers said making more of their properties environmentally friendly also coincided with increased green requirements in New York City itself. “We were trying to identify strategies and get ahead of new building requirements,” McManus said.

Much of the effort, Downs said, is “really focusing on retrofit work on existing buildings.”

“We’re thinking about solar,” he said. “We’re also really excited about exploring adding battery or backup power options with those solar arrays. That’s something we’ve not done to this point.”

“The goal here is producing income, credits from the solar itself — that money and those proceeds help to keep self-investing in the project as it grows,” he said.

Then-Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio said in 2021 that the affordable housing initiative “rests upon the Church’s teaching and reflects the dignity of the human person and the value of the family,” while the new environmental initiative “reflects our commitment to the planet and our future.”

McManus said it was clear when the program launched that the newest green energy measures were not just environmentally sound but financially so. “From a bottom line perspective, some of these technologies started to really pencil out across our portfolio,” he said.

The Church’s new vigorous devotion to the environment underscores the sustainability work, McManus said.

“We were very excited and encouraged by Laudato Si’, to see the pope and the Catholic Church recognize and acknowledge the importance of bringing sustainability efforts to the people we serve,” he said.

Not all Catholic AI bots are creepy: Some new tools for learning about the faith
Mon, 06 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

If you have a question about a teaching of the Catholic Church in 2024, where do you go for a solid answer? You can crack open the catechism yourself, ask a trusted personal source like a priest or theologian, or you can delve into that famously infallible repository of knowledge — Google.

A friendly arms race of sorts has arisen among Catholics around the world to provide Catholics with another option, however — one based around artificial intelligence (AI). In the past year or so, several online AI tools have been released that generate authoritative-sounding answers about Catholic teaching based on users’ questions.

You may also have heard about one recent and unfortunate misfire: an AI “priest” created and unveiled last week by the California-based apologetics apostolate Catholic Answers, which was criticized by some users for its video game-like priestly avatar.

Moreover, at least one user managed to goad the character into providing “absolution,” prompting a statement from the apostolate in which it promised to replace the priest character with a lay character named “Justin.” Catholic Answers’ leaders have expressed optimism about the project, despite the initial public setback.

Meanwhile, Catholics looking for AI-powered answers have other, avatar-less options, like CatéGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot designed to provide accurate and thorough answers to questions about Catholic teaching by drawing on authoritative documents.

Nicolas Torcheboeuf, a 31-year-old Swiss engineer and a Catholic, developed CatéGPT in his spare time and launched it in the late spring of 2023. (“Caté” is French for catechism, and the name is also a play on the name of the groundbreaking secular chatbot “ChatGPT.”)

The simple online tool accepts a user’s question related to the Church’s teaching — “Why is baptism necessary?” for example — and provides a succinct summary of the answer, citing sources and categorizing the sources by type, making distinctions between encyclicals, Scripture, canon law, various writings of popes and Church Fathers, and other authoritative Catholic sources.

This concept might sound familiar — Torcheboeuf concocted the idea for CatéGPT around the same time that the similar U.S.-based Magisterium AI made its debut. Also in the online ether is Catholic.chat, an interactive platform that allows users to engage with the catechism in a natural, conversational format. The similarities between the various projects, Torcheboeuf said, “goes to show that our intuition was right and meets a real need.”

Despite the free tool’s impressive ability to summarize answers to complex questions about the Church’s teaching, Torcheboeuf said his invention primarily aims to encourage Catholics to read the relevant Church documents for themselves.

“In addition to providing clear answers, [CatéGPT provides] a list of reference documents to encourage the user to read them,” he explained.

“The main aim is above all to invite the user to rediscover the wealth of documents that the Church has produced over the course of its existence, and which constitute a formidable heritage for understanding the world in which we live,” Torcheboeuf said.

Torcheboeuf presented his invention, which is available in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Polish, and Portuguese, at the 58th World Day of Social Communications at the Vatican in February. He said the project was initially “born out of the craze surrounding ChatGPT,” OpenAI’s powerful chatbot that burst onto the scene in late 2022.

“I was quickly impressed by the power of artificial intelligence and the number of tools that could be developed using this technology,” he said.

Tinkering with the tech, he started creating chatbots that used customized databases to provide answers within specific fields.

“That’s when I came up with the idea of creating a chatbot that uses the teachings of the Catholic catechism and the texts of the magisterium: These texts exist completely freely and don’t change too much over time, which means that the answers are reliable and stable over time,” he noted.

The idea for CatéGPT, which is kept afloat entirely by donations, didn’t come out of nowhere — Torcheboeuf said his motivation for the project “corresponds to a concern I’ve had for a long time.” He said the area where he lives in Switzerland, while economically prosperous, lacks a vibrant practice of the Catholic faith.

“I’ve noticed that young Catholics today have a fairly low level of education; we’re often called upon to debate fairly complex social issues, and unfortunately we don’t have enough intellectual knowledge to do so properly,” Torcheboeuf said.

“Before trying to reform everything, we need to rediscover the fundamental texts of the Church. When we read these texts, we realize that many of the questions we ask ourselves are answered in encyclicals and catechisms.”

Torcheboeuf’s tool isn’t infallible, of course — no AI is. But the fact that CatéGPT makes use of publicly available documents on the Vatican website means that its curated sources are virtually guaranteed to be solid, and also that the tool’s database is far less complex than a massive AI like ChatGPT, which might be called on to opine on any topic imaginable.

Still, if the idea of asking an AI for guidance on the Church’s teaching makes you wary, you’re not alone — Catholic Answers’ AI, though well-intentioned, was less than favorably received.

Catholic Answers’ “Father Justin” — clearly an attempt to give a Catholic AI a more pastoral, human face — may have misfired, at least in its initial form. But the idea of making AI more pastoral is one that Torcheboeuf endorses. After all, he said, AI in its current form can be great as a training tool, but “it won’t be able to fully assist the Church in the way that priests, religious, or people fully invested in the Church can.” He said he is in the process of integrating video clips from “Catholic influencers” into CatéGPT’s answers in an attempt to “put a human face behind the theoretical answers.”

The Church under Pope Francis has been engaging with the idea of AI long before the release of ChatGPT. The pontiff, on numerous occasions, has called for the ethical use of the technology and is scheduled to speak at the G7 summit in June in Italy about the ethics of artificial intelligence, amid much talk in the wider world about the threats that AI could pose to humanity.

The explosion of generative AI tools and applications in recent years constitutes a revolution, Torcheboeuf said — and like any revolution, “it can be dangerous.”

Still, Torcheboeuf is quick to point out that “artificial intelligence is only intelligent if there’s a real human intelligence behind it.”

“I think that rather than being afraid of this technology, let’s try to be a player in this field and exploit its positive aspects. Right now, this technology is in full expansion, and there are places [for it] to be taken while remaining careful of course.”

Torcheboeuf said he expects that CatéGPT users will be surprised by the answers they get, in the sense that they will realize, perhaps for the first time, that “the Church has already asked itself most of the contemporary questions and answered them, with great wisdom and coherence.”

“Little by little, we hope that with the help of the references given at the end of the answers, they will read the fundamental texts of the Church and come to understand and reappropriate this heritage,” he said.

An afternoon with the new Swiss Guards: Preparing for a mission of faith and service 
Sun, 05 May 2024 17:00:00 -0400

Vatican City, May 5, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

For the newest class of 34 Swiss Guards who will be sworn in on Monday, their service is based on faith and a love for the Church and the pope as storied as the uniform itself.

“For me it was something, first and foremost, to give something to the Church, because the Catholic Church gave us a lot when I was a child and with this service, I can give something back,” explained Nicolas Hirt, one of the new guards who hails from the Swiss canton of Fribourg.

The cadets, joined by their instructors, gathered for a media event on April 30 in the courtyard behind the barracks adjacent to the Sant’Anna entrance, which was adorned with the flags from each of the Swiss cantons.

The Swiss Guard’s annual swearing-in ceremony will take place on Monday, May 6, in the San Damaso courtyard of the Apostolic Palace. There, the new guards will solemnly raise their right hands, with three fingers extended, representing the Holy Trinity, and proclaim their oath: “I swear I will faithfully, loyally, and honorably serve the Supreme Pontiff and his legitimate successors and I dedicate myself to them with all my strength. I assume this same commitment with regard to the Sacred College of Cardinals whenever the Apostolic See is vacant.”

There was a palpable sense of pride, perhaps even a hint of nervousness, as the young men marched last week in the storied corridors, perfecting the ancient rites ahead of a day that will mark a milestone in their lives.

Renato Peter, who comes from a small village near St. Gallen (the first from his village to enter the guards), said he first developed a desire to enter into the service of the papal guards after a trip to Rome in 2012 with his diocese.

“When you work in the Vatican, you have to feel like you go back in history because a lot of European history has been made here,” said Peter, who is mindful that those who wear the iconic tricolor uniform bear a great responsibility and represent a connection to the history of the Church.

“We are the smallest military in the world,” Peter continued, emphasizing that service in the Swiss Guards is like no other. “But, we are not training to make war. We are like the military, yes, but we’re for the security of the pope.”

The Swiss Guard is indeed the smallest standing army in the world, numbering only 135 members (Pope Francis increased its ranks from 110 in 2018), protecting not only the smallest sovereign territory in the world, Vatican City State, but also acting as the personal security force of the Holy Father.

This year the Swiss Guard celebrated 518 years of service to the Apostolic See. Its history dates back to Jan. 22, 1506, when 150 Swiss mercenaries, led by Captain Kasper von Silenen from the central Swiss canton of Uri, arrived in Rome at the request of Pope Julius II.

But the swearing-in ceremony takes place on May 6, marking the anniversary of the Sack of Rome in 1527 by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V when 147 guards died protecting Pope Clement VII.

The Swiss Guards form an integral part of the history of the papacy and a core component of the security apparatus of the Vatican, but they also occupy a special palace in the popular imagination, one underscored by a profound spirituality.

“It’s another world, another culture, and above all doing a fairly unique job, that is to say, there is the protection of the Holy Father,” said Vice-Corporal Eliah Cinotti, spokesman for the guards.

“I don’t think there are many of us who are lucky enough to have the opportunity to serve the Holy Father in that way, therefore the Swiss Guard is a quite unique institution.”

Cinotti observed that for many of the pilgrims coming to Rome, which is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the guards act as a point of encounter between the people and the Church, shedding light on an evangelical dimension of their mission.

“Since we are Swiss Guards and represent the pope, we are also there to be Christians, to listen to these people. There is no specific training for this because it already comes from our Christian character to help others.”

Service in the Swiss Guards is both physically and psychologically demanding, and the entry requirements are strict, even though the guards do not face deployment to active war zones like conventional soldiers.

A prospective guard must hold Swiss citizenship, be Catholic, single, and male (after five years in service the guards are allowed to marry), and be at least 1.74 meters tall (approximately 5’8”). They are required to have completed secondary school (or the equivalent) and have completed mandatory military service.

Despite what some may consider prohibitive entry restrictions, Cinotti noted, during the annual call for applications there are anywhere from 45-50 applicants, and there has not been a problem with recruitment.

During the first round, prospective candidates go through a preliminary screening and, if selected, they will sit with a recruitment officer in Switzerland for an initial interview, which generally lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour. Candidates also have to undergo an intensive psychological test to assess whether they can withstand the demands of the job.

Should their candidacy proceed, they are then sent to Rome where, for the first two months, they are exposed to the working environment of the Vatican and receive approximately 56 hours of intensive instruction in Italian. Their instruction also includes an emphasis on their cultural and spiritual formation.

The cadets are then sent to the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in Switzerland, where they are instructed in self-defense and the use of firearms by local police. While the guards carry medieval halberds — an ax blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft — during official papal events, each is equipped with a 9mm GLOCK 19 Gen4 pistol, taser, and pepper spray.

There is also a two-year minimum service requirement after which they can decide to remain or return to Switzerland.

“About 80% return to Switzerland and 20% stay,” Cinotti said. “And the 80% who return to Switzerland go to the police or the army or return to their basic profession or go to study at university.”

He also noted there have been some years where a guard will discern a vocation to the priesthood. “And we also had a certain point, people who entered the seminary at the time, one per year more or less.”

He added: “We haven’t had anyone for two years, but I think they will arrive, or rather it’s a question of vocations.”

Cinotti spoke on the myriad security challenges that a guard will have to face in his day-to-day work, which can last anywhere from six to 12 hours of continuous duty, noting that there has been an uptick in the number of people coming to the Vatican for help.

Cinotti also noted that for all of the guards, there has been the additional learning curve of adapting to Pope Francis’ pastoral style, which has brought him in close proximity to the faithful during his audiences in Rome and his travels abroad.

“Pope Francis is like every pope,” Cinotti remarked. “He has his own style, and we must adapt to the pope.”

“If he wants to go to contact the people of God, we must guarantee that, of course, everything is fine, but we cannot prevent it. He does what he wants, he is the pope,” he added.

While this can raise some logistical problems, Cinotti reassured that the guards have been trained to respond to possible threats. He said they have developed a symbiotic, and always professional, relationship with Francis.

“He transmits a certain serenity and a certain awareness that we are there next to him, we are there, like the gendarmerie, which allows us to operate in complete tranquility on the ground without being disturbed,” he said.

“He likes to change plans and will change plans throughout the day,” Cinotti added, “but it suits us very well because we adapt to him and we do this service and for us, it is still important to guarantee his safety.”

Special remembrance of Baltimore bridge collapse victims to take place on National Maritime Day
Sun, 05 May 2024 14:00:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, May 5, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Bishop Brendan Cahill of Victoria, Texas, is inviting Catholics throughout the United States to join the May 22 “National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Sailors and People of the Sea,” which this year will include a special prayer in memory of those affected by the catastrophic March 26 Baltimore bridge collapse.

“Each year, we pray for those who work on the high seas and the ports. In a special way this year, we remember those who have been impacted by the collapse of the Key Bridge, particularly the six construction workers who perished in the bridge collapse, and for their families as they mourn the loss of their loved ones,” Cahill said.

On March 26, the container ship Dali suffered a power failure and collided with one of the bridge pillars, causing the collapse of most of the bridge while a group of eight construction workers were doing maintenance work on the structure. The six fatalities were immigrants to the United States from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

Immediately following the tragedy, the Stella Maris network of port chaplains and volunteers mobilized to provide pastoral care and support to crew members of the Dali and for crew members of other vessels in the Port of Baltimore.

Cahill, who is also the bishop promoter of the Apostleship of the Sea “Stella Maris,” solicited prayers “for the captain and crew of the cargo ship and for the countless people who have been working in the aftermath of the tragedy.” He also remembered the longshoremen and those who depend on the Port of Baltimore to make a living.

Around the world, Cahill noted, “there are countless men and women who labor on the high seas for their livelihood. Let us seek the intercession of Our Lady, Stella Maris, that she protect and guide us,” he emphasized.

As part of this commemoration, a Mass will be celebrated on May 18 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., at 12:10 p.m. local time.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Francis: Let us thank the Lord for our friends
Sun, 05 May 2024 09:30:00 -0400

Vatican City, May 5, 2024 / 09:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis asked for a moment of silence as he spoke from the window of the Apostolic Palace on Sunday for people to thank the Lord for their friends.

The pope reflected on the gift of friendship during his Regina Caeli address on May 5.

“Since childhood, we learn how beautiful this experience is: We offer friends our toys and the most beautiful gifts; then, growing up, as teenagers, we confide our first secrets to them; as young people we offer loyalty; as adults, we share satisfactions and worries; as seniors, the memories, considerations, and silences of long days,” the 87-year-old pope said.

“The word of God, in the Book of Proverbs, tells us that ‘Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel’ (Prv 27:9). Let us think a moment of our friends and thank the Lord for them.”

Speaking to the crowd gathered below in St. Peter’s Square on a sunny Sunday in Rome, the pope remarked that Jesus desires to share in this great gift of friendship with us.

“Today the Gospel tells us about Jesus’ words to the apostles: ‘I do not call you servants any longer, but friends,’” he said.

“And today Jesus, in the Bible, tells us that for him we are precisely this, friends: dear people beyond all merit and expectation, to whom he extends his hand and offers his love, his grace, his Word; with whom he shares what is dearest to him, all that he has heard from the Father (cf. Jn 15:15),” he added.

Pope Francis asked people to reflect on whether they feel loved by the Lord as a beloved friend or if Jesus seems like more of a stranger.

“May Mary help us to grow in friendship with her Son and to spread it around us,” the pope said as he began to pray the Regina Caeli prayer in Latin.

At the end of his address, the pope prayed for peace in Ukraine and the Holy Land and offered his solidarity to people affected by the heavy flooding in southern Brazil that has killed at least 60 people.

Pope Francis gave a shoutout to pilgrims visiting Rome from Texas, Chicago, Berlin, and Paris, as well as to the Pontifical Swiss Guards, who will celebrate their swearing-in ceremony on Monday.

The pope also wished a happy Easter to Orthodox Christians and Eastern-rite Catholics who are celebrating Easter this weekend according to the Julian calendar.

“May the risen Lord fill all communities with joy and peace and comfort those who are in trial,” Pope Francis said.

‘Holy Fire’ ceremony at Jesus’ tomb marks beginning of Orthodox Easter celebrations
Sun, 05 May 2024 09:00:00 -0400

Jerusalem, May 5, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem on Saturday for the annual “Holy Fire” ceremony at the revered site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection, an ancient custom considered by many believers to be a miraculous event that takes place the day before the Orthodox Christian celebration of Easter.

For safety reasons, attendance at the May 4 event was capped at 4,200 people inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, though the crowds were more manageable and somewhat subdued this year because of a lack of pilgrims from the Palestinian territories and abroad due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Access to the Old City where the basilica is located was restricted beginning on Friday night amid a heavy police presence. Numerous medical personnel and firefighters were present inside the basilica.

Though its authenticity is disputed by some, the “Holy Fire” or “Holy Light” refers to a fire of purported divine origin that ignites inside Jesus’ tomb while only the Greek Orthodox patriarch is present. Pilgrims then light their candles by extending them through a small opening in the tomb, producing a dramatic scene of flickering flames and joyous celebration.

The Orthodox Christian ceremony, which is attended by Catholics and other Christians as well, has been held continuously since at least 1106, though accounts dating to the fourth century relate that the apostle Peter saw the holy light himself inside the tomb.

The doors of the Holy Sepulcher were opened at 9 a.m. by Greek Orthodox representatives and again at 9:30 a.m. by representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church — the two Orthodox communities that serve with Catholic Franciscans as the custodians of the site. Only then did the faithful begin to enter the basilica.

Around 11 a.m., those present began to sing traditional hymns in the loudest voice possible. These chants date back to the Turkish occupation of Jerusalem in the 13th century when Christians were not allowed to chant anywhere but in the churches.

The heart of the ceremony was between 1 and 2 p.m. After the solemn entrances of the other Orthodox patriarchs of Jerusalem, the Greek Orthodox patriarch, Theophilos III, entered the basilica.

Previously, the doors of the edicule (the small shrine that houses the tomb of Jesus Christ) had been sealed with a large wax seal — signifying that the tomb had been inspected and that nothing was present that could be used to start a fire. Shortly before the arrival of the Greek patriarch, the seal was removed, and a large oil lamp was carried into the tomb.

After completing three rounds around the edicule, leading a procession of monks and priests, Patriarch Theophilos III entered the edicule, followed by a delegate of the Armenian patriarch (who could not attend due to an internal dispute) and several bishops from various denominations.

Only the Greek Orthodox patriarch is allowed to enter the chamber that houses the tomb of Jesus, while all the others remain in the Chapel of the Angel, a sort of antechamber that commemorates the appearance of a heavenly messenger to the women at the tomb announcing Jesus’ resurrection.

Before entering the tomb, the Greek patriarch was inspected by Israeli authorities to prove that he didn’t carry any technical means to light the fire.

All the lights and lamps in the basilica were extinguished, especially those inside the edicule, which was left in darkness.

What believers attest to be a miracle takes place after a brief time of prayer: A holy fire is said to descend from heaven and ignite an oil lamp inside the tomb.

On Saturday, after the lamp was lit the Greek Orthodox patriarch emerged from the tomb and lit bundles of 33 candles (a number representing the age of Christ at the time of his crucifixion and resurrection). Meanwhile, pilgrims lit their candles also from the small round windows on the sides of the edicule, creating a dramatic scene outside the tomb. It is said that the fire does not burn anything (or anyone) for the first 33 minutes after being lit.

For Orthodox believers, the lighting of the fire is a genuine miraculous event, although voices within the Orthodox world itself have repeatedly questioned the authenticity of the miracle, attributing the spontaneous lighting of the lamp to tricks or chemical methods.

In solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza and the victims of the war, the Orthodox Christians have chosen a more subdued celebration this year. To that end, the Holy Fire was not passed hand to hand through the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, as is the custom, but was brought directly into the homes of the faithful.

Special lanterns transport flames from the tomb to the main Orthodox churches in the Holy Land and around the world (via specially arranged flights). The arrival of the flames from Jerusalem will mark the beginning of the Easter celebrations.

Angola archdiocese announces monthly Eucharistic adoration ahead of Church’s 2025 Jubilee
Sun, 05 May 2024 07:00:00 -0400

ACI Africa, May 5, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Archbishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias of Angola’s Archdiocese of Luanda has asked the people of God under his pastoral care to dedicate the last Sunday of the month to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as part of the preparations for the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year.

Pope Francis on Jan. 21 announced the start of a Year of Prayer in preparation for the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, the second in his pontificate after the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2015.

“Following the Holy Father’s call, as an archdiocese, we will be holding adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the last Sunday of each month in all parishes and, in alternate months, a meditation on the importance of prayer in the life of the Church,” the archbishop said in his April 18 message.

Eucharistic adoration, he said, facilitates “a true encounter with Christ.”

The archbishop highlighted the link between prayer and holiness as important, saying: “Just as there is no true encounter with Christ that does not give rise to holiness, so there is no holiness without a deep life of prayer.”

Prayer provides “the space in which holiness takes shape,” Dias further said. “Holiness is the journey of discovering God’s beauty and truth in every man and woman of all times.”

“Holiness is fulfilled in the silent openness of one’s life to the totality of God’s love,” he added.

Referring to Pope Francis’ February 2022 letter to the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Archbishop Salvatore Rino Fisichella, Dias highlighted aspects of prayer that he considers essential as monthly Eucharistic adoration in all parishes is set to begin.

He encouraged “prayer, above all else, to renew our desire to be in the presence of the Lord, to listen to him and to adore him. Prayer, moreover, to thank God for the many gifts of his love for us and to praise his work in creation, which summons everyone to respect it and to take concrete and responsible steps to protect it.”

Referring more to the Holy Father’s letter, Dias encouraged “prayer as the expression of a single heart and soul, which then translates into solidarity and the sharing of our daily bread.”

He also called for “prayer that makes it possible for every man and woman in this world to turn to the one God and to reveal to him what lies hidden in the depths of their heart.”

He went on to describe prayer as “the royal road to holiness, which enables us to be contemplative even in the midst of activity.”

“In a word, may it be an intense year of prayer in which hearts are opened to receive the outpouring of God’s grace and to make the ‘Our Father,’ the prayer Jesus taught us, the life program of each of his disciples,” he said.

“Let us, therefore, entrust ourselves to the intercession of Mama Muxima [‘Mother Heart’], the beloved mother, who taught us through her life that prayer, as the silent gaze of the soul toward God, is the first fruit of faith and the place in which Christians learn to keep the precious things of God in the sacred place of the heart, to meditate on them daily,” he said.

This article was originally published by ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner, and has been adapted for CNA.

New palliative care hospital brings ‘sweetness of Mary’ to poorest in Peru
Sat, 04 May 2024 08:00:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, May 4, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

In the context of the recent news of the death of Ana Estrada, the first person to request and receive euthanasia in Peru, there is a contrasting story to tell on care for the dying in that country: that of a new Catholic hospital on the outskirts of Lima that provides palliative care, which extends the love of Christ to those in extreme poverty who are in the final stages of their lives.

The beginning of the ‘Misky María’ Hospital

In 2021, Father Omar Sánchez Portillo, a priest known for his extensive charitable work in the district of Lurín (south of Lima) and founder of the Association of the Beatitudes, had the dream of building a center to serve, with the “sweetness of Mary,” people in situations of abandonment and extreme poverty who have terminal illnesses. After much prayer, he shared the idea with a German Catholic friend and philanthropist.

“We thought about it, we meditated on it, and we always present our great projects as they begin, as a dream of the heart that we offer to God. They are our guides. So, we dreamed of this and presented the initial project, a small project, to serve 10 people,” Sánchez said in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

In a virtual meeting with Bishop Carlos García of the Diocese of Lurín, Peru, Sánchez and the bishop told the philanthropist about this dream.

A painting of the Virgin Mary, dressed in a typical Peruvian, Cusco dress, adorned the meeting room. At one point, the German Catholic asked the bishop about the depiction of the Virgin. García responded that it was “Misky María,” which in the Indigenous Quechua means “Sweet Mary.”

Later, the German benefactor said: “That is going to be the perfect name for the palliative care hospital that I am going to give you, as a gift for the silver anniversary [25 years] of the Diocese of Lurín.” The bishop and priest, surprised, praised God and thanked the gentleman.

So it was that the hospital, with the capacity for 60 terminally ill patients, began to become a reality. It has an intensive care unit, palliative care, nursing, physical therapy, a kitchen, a chapel, and a funeral parlor. Care is provided free of charge and is provided by a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, volunteers, and priests.

Construction began on Sept. 6, 2021, and the complex was inaugurated on Nov. 20, 2022. So far in their facilities, they have treated more than 100 patients who have already passed on. The hospital is currently treating 60 people with different types of terminal illnesses, such as cancer, AIDS, and other degenerative diseases.

“The spirit of this work is to transmit the sweetness of Mary. I always tell the staff who work with me: ‘Imagine how Mary cared for Joseph in his last days, for her husband, St. Joseph, in his last days.’ That is why St. Joseph is the patron saint of a good death, because he was accompanied by Mary and Jesus. So, imagine that and that is the first attention we have to give them,” Sánchez explained to ACI Prensa.

According to the priest, “a truly dignified death is one that occurs in peace and, if possible, in communion with God.”

“As St. Francis said, we must receive sister death with open arms and without fear. This is what God asks of us: to perceive death as a companion that assists us on the journey toward life, preparing us for the last step toward meeting our full happiness, our eternal happiness,” he added.

“We cannot miss the opportunity to save souls,” Sánchez further emphasized.

The importance of a spiritual approach

Sánchez explained that when a patient arrives at the hospital, the staff first provides basic hygienic and medical care.

“Our first task is to serve [the patient],” he said. “We don’t talk to them about God or the future at that time. First, we assist them and notice how they open their hearts.”

“Those who can smile begin to do so, and for those who cannot communicate, we interpret their gestures, their gaze, and their smile as signs that they are feeling the love we give them,” he explained.

After the patient is stabilized, the volunteers sit to listen or talk, depending on the person’s ability. With those who can speak, a gradual conversation about faith is established. Some accept this process immediately, especially those who have had previous Catholic formation.

“Then comes the third part. They are asked if they are baptized. Many don’t know or don’t remember it. For those who do not have the ability to speak, we perform what the Church allows, known as conditional baptism. This guarantees the sacrament in case they are not sure if they have been baptized,” Sánchez continued.

Other sacraments are also administered. “No one is ever forced to receive them. For those who cannot make decisions for themselves, such as those who are unconscious, the sacraments are also given. It is considered that if the soul is open to receiving them, it constitutes an opportunity for salvation and eternal life,” the priest said.

Stories that touch the heart

Sánchez also shared some of the most difficult, moving stories of abandonment of the people who have passed through the Misky María Hospital.

He told the story of one young man who was imprisoned for having stolen a cellphone and who was released three years later from the Lurigancho prison, one of the most violent prisons in Latin America, “with all the diseases you can imagine.”

“He essentially left to die with his family. However, this family, which was very poor, told him: ‘You can’t stay here, because we have no possibility of taking care of you.’ He left and ended up living in the garbage dump of a market in the south section of Lima. A group of friends looked for him and found him. They brought him to Misky María.

“He lived four days with us, days full of love and attention,” Sánchez continued.

Sánchez shared that of his own volition the young man was baptized and received Communion, confirmation, and extreme unction. “He received all the sacraments and died in my arms four days later,” the priest said. “That was a truly dignified death, a dignified death in every respect.”

Sánchez also shared the story of a heroic young Catholic priest, Father Juan, who died in the hospital at the age of 39 as a result of a severe infection of COVID-19, which he contracted during his apostolic service.

“He worked hard for the Church, but the time came when he was no longer able to do so. He went to the hospital and had 90% of his lungs affected. There was nothing to do. He remained in a vegetative state and only moved his eyes. For a time his diocese was able to help him, but then we received him and he died with us,” Sánchez said.

The priest also remembers a young homosexual man who studied fashion and lived a life of debauchery for many years. He contracted AIDS and his family expelled him from their home.

“He was a young man who could work as a model, who loved to dress well, but he ended up abandoned and taken care of by us. He received love until the last of his days,” Sánchez said.

A story that moved Sánchez to tears is that of Jeffrey, a child with a slight mental disability whom he described as a “saint.” The little boy died in Misky María due to pulmonary fibrosis.

According to the priest, in the last weeks of his life, the little boy told him: “Father, give my toys to the other children because I am leaving. I’m going to Jesus. There I am not going to need these toys.”

“This case moved me deeply. He was a child convinced of his holiness, wasn’t he?” Sánchez said.

‘A caress from God for the poor’

Misky María Hospital is one of the works of the Association of the Beatitudes, an organization founded by Sánchez. The organization also currently serves 170 boys, girls, adolescents, young people, adults, and elderly who have been declared abandoned and who have various illnesses and needs.

When referring to the palliative care hospital, Sánchez recalled that “one way the Church has always had to help improve humanity is by filling in gaps and caring for the poorest, abandoned, and vulnerable.”

He also clarified that the charity does not charge money or establish conditions of any kind to receive people in the last stage of their lives. “Otherwise it would change the absolute meaning of the project that God placed in our hearts and that we are administering in his name,” he said.

However, he called on people to continue collaborating with the association’s multiple initiatives each year.

“Now you can understand why we sell panettone [sweet bread], why we have collection points to collect donations, why we look for godfathers and godmothers, why we constantly ask you for help for food, diapers, etc. Because only in this way can we continue to be a caress of God for the poor. Join us, help us, collaborate so we can continue making this world, our society, and our country better. God bless you,” Sánchez said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

First Arab Christian woman to lead Israel’s University of Haifa
Sat, 04 May 2024 07:00:00 -0400

Haifa, Israel, May 4, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

For the first time, an Arab Christian woman has been elected as the rector of an Israeli university — the University of Haifa. The announcement of Professor Mouna Maroun’s appointment was made on April 11 amid tensions with Iran and while anti-Israel protests were mounting at universities around the world.

Maroun belongs to the Arab minority in Israel, the Christian minority among Arabs, and the Maronite minority among Christians. No other Arab, Christian, or woman has held the position of rector before at the University of Haifa. (In the Israeli system, the rector is the head of the university.)

For this reason, Maroun said in an interview with CNA, “my election is an important message that everything is possible in the Israeli academia. It is a message for the Christian minority that we are rooted here, that we can succeed here; and it is also a message for the young Arab generations: If you have a dream you can really realize it within the Israel society and especially in universities.”

The University of Haifa is located on Mount Carmel, about six miles from the small village of Isfiya, where Maroun was born. Her grandparents arrived here from Lebanon in the early 20th century. Her parents are semi-literate because there were no schools for them at that time, but, she recounted, “they believed that only through higher education could their four daughters [succeed] to be integrated in Israeli society. That’s why they encouraged us to continue our studies.”

Maroun has embraced that belief as well. “My childhood was around being very active in the church and studying, knowing that only through studying I could have succeeded in Israel.”

Regarding this prestigious position in academia, she said: “I have always believed that the emancipation of the Arab minority in Israel is through higher education. I don’t believe in politics; I do believe in higher education.”

When Maroun arrived at the university, she didn’t know a word of Hebrew — Arabs and Jews have a separate education system — and she barely spoke English. At 54 years old, she is now a renowned neuroscientist and expert in post-traumatic stress disorder. She has been a faculty member of the university for more than 20 years and has served as chairwoman of the Department of Neurobiology and as a member of the academic senate, among other positions. She will officially assume her four-year role as rector beginning this October.

When asked about the key to her success, Maroun said: “I think the lack of expectations from me to succeed was the secret of my success.”

“No one expected me to succeed — being an Arab in Israel, a Christian, and on top of all of this, being a woman,” she added. “I could do what I believed in, I had a dream and I followed this dream without pressure — only my family encouraged me to continue in this pathway.”

Excellence will be a theme of her tenure as rector, Maroun said.

One of the first challenges she will face is integrating the faculties of medicine and engineering into the university — historically mainly composed of arts and humanities. The second aim is to rank as one of the top research universities, both in Israel and also internationally.

The University of Haifa is one of the most diverse and inclusive universities in Israel: 45% of the 17,000 students come from the Arab society and 50% of all the students are first-generation students receiving a higher education.

The student body is composed of Jews, Muslims, Druze, and Christians (totaling 15-20 different religious denominations). Maroun herself is proud of her religious affiliation and wears a golden crucifix around her neck.

“We have what is called a natural laboratory, having all the religions coexisting and living without tensions,” she said.

Additionally, the Laboratory for Religious Studies is part of the University of Haifa, with a focus on interfaith dialogue.

Becoming the Arab rector of an Israeli university after Oct. 7, 2023, is a challenging task, she said.

“I work on post-traumatic stress disorder,” she explained. “I usually ask my audience if they remember where they were on 9/11, but unfortunately I’m [now] going to ask where they were on Oct. 7. It was a trauma for everyone, and everyone will remember where she or he [was] at that moment. We are terrified as Israelis, as human beings, regarding what happened on Oct. 7 and at the same time we are also terrified about what’s going on in Gaza, where thousands of innocent children have been killed.”

Maroun shared her opinion of the anti-Israel protests currently happening at some American universities.

“The administration of the universities in the States should have a moral and ethical statement saying that they cannot deny what happened on Oct. 7 as well as what’s going on in Gaza, and they should take actions in order to promote [the] peace process without having a side, because academia cannot take a side in this conflict,” she said. “Academia worldwide should be a bridge for peace, for negotiation, and for interaction and not to be biased because this is very different from what science is.”

She went on to say that “academia means the freedom of speech, the freedom of action, the freedom of collaboration, the freedom to grow and to research, and the freedom of knowledge. I think you cannot really put ‘academia’ and ‘boycotting’ in the same sentence.”

Maroun explained that her expertise in trauma and the brain as well as her Christian background have led her to develop a particular sensitivity toward others and to seek paths of dialogue and reconciliation. This will be especially important in the days and months to come in Israel, she said.

“In order to overcome this trauma we need time, we need rehabilitation, and we need reconciliation between the two sides,” she said. “I do believe that with time, we can reconcile and start to establish bridges of empathy, of understanding, and of containing the emotions of each other. After all we are neighbors, we are living side by side, and I believe and I pray that it’s about time that kids from both sides will grow up to have dreams and maybe fulfill these dreams through higher education.”

From the Washington Post to the Maronite convent: Meet Mother Marla Marie
Sat, 04 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Boston, Mass., May 4, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

It was 1983, in the last years of the Cold War, when 21-year-old Marla Lucas’ eyes filled with tears at the sight of a political cartoon prepared to be printed in the Washington Post criticizing then-Pope John Paul II during his activism against communism in Poland.

Lucas, who is now known as Mother Marla, was fresh out of college at the time and had recently experienced a reversion to her Catholic faith and was “on fire” for Christ, she told CNA on April 22.

What hurt Mother Marla the most about the drawing was her own perceived involvement in its creation. She was a research assistant for the cartoonist who drew it, three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and “unrepentant liberal,” the late Herbert Block, commonly known as “Herblock.”

“I felt like an accomplice,” she said.

It wasn’t only Block’s criticism of Pope John Paul II that bothered Mother Marla, it was also his cartoons in support of abortion.

“I wanted to be a journalist to spread the truth. Mr. Block was a kind person and personable, but I just felt like this was against my faith,” she said.

Before the cartoon of the pope, Mother Marla had been discerning religious life and spent a day visiting the Daughters of St. Paul at their convent in Alexandria, Virginia.

After that day, her decision was made. She was going to apply.

But a short time following the application process, Mother Marla received news that she was not admitted by the Daughters of St. Paul because she is deaf in one ear.

“The provincial’s reasoning was that she didn’t want to jeopardize my good ear with the work that I would be doing,” Mother Marla said.

A friend then suggested Mother Marla look into the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate where, months later, she would say goodbye to her position at the Post and enter religious life in December 1983.

Recounting her last days at the newspaper in the fall of that year, Mother Marla said she went to her boss, Block, and his assistant and said she had some news to share.

Mother Marla recounted their response: “‘You’re getting married?’”

“Well...” Mother Marla said back to them. “Sort of. I’m marrying Jesus.”

She said both of their jaws “dropped open” and they looked at her with “almost horror and disbelief.”

“And that last month at the Post was agony because all of a sudden, whatever they had against the Catholic Church, I was absorbing it. They didn’t throw me a going away party,” she said with a chuckle.

She made her first vows in 1986 and her final vows in 1993.

Mother Marla “loved the life” in her religious community and had several assignments on the East Coast including in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. The Parish Visitors are a New York-based congregation that has the charism of being contemplative-missionaries to the home.

But it was during her time in Pennsylvania she began deepening her awareness and affection for her Lebanese heritage as a Maronite Catholic.

Mother Marla was always aware of her Maronite roots. Her mother was from Lebanon and her father’s parents were from Lebanon. There wasn’t a Maronite church near her childhood home in Poughkeepsie, New York, so her family attended a Latin-rite parish. But a Maronite priest would make his way up to the Lebanese community there a few times a year to minister to them.

During her assignment in Pennsylvania, Mother Marla attended a series of Lenten talks in Scranton at a Maronite church. The speaker for the week was Maronite priest Father Gregory Mansour.

“I was very impressed with his spiritual teachings and I said, ‘This is a man of prayer. This man really practices his priesthood.’ And we struck up a friendship that God used,” she said.

The two would occasionally cross paths and keep in touch over the years. Mother Marla sent Mansour a note of congratulations in 2004 when Pope John Paul II appointed him as bishop for the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn.

Mother Marla and Mansour wouldn’t reconnect again until a few years later, in Washington, D.C., where Mother Marla spent a year taking classes at the Dominican House of Studies.

Twenty-four years a nun at this point, Mother Marla was not on an assignment at a particular parish, so she chose to attend Mass at the Maronite church in the city, Our Lady of Lebanon Parish.

The priest at the parish approached Mother Marla and asked her if she would head the parish’s religious education program. In her previous assignment, she served as a director of religious education for several years.

“And I said, ‘Oh Father, I’m here for other reasons.’”

But the priest insisted, so Mother Marla took it to prayer, and with the permission of her superior, discerned that God was asking her to head the program.

She then asked the rector of the Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Seminary, adjacent to the parish, if she could take some classes to learn more about Maronite spirituality and liturgy to help her with catechesis.

He agreed.

Just a few weeks after she accepted the position, Mother Marla again crossed paths with Bishop Mansour while the prelate was visiting the parish.

Mansour was happy to hear that Mother Marla was heading the program. But the next thing he said to her would change the course of her life forever.

“He said to me, ‘Sister Marla Marie, would you help me found a Maronite congregation of sisters for our Church?”

“And it was just like that. He just said, ‘Hello, it’s nice to see you. How are you?’ And then the next thing was, ‘Would you found a religious community?’”

Mother Marla was “startled.” But at the same time, she felt “a deep abiding peace.”

“It was the same peace I had 25 years prior, when I realized my call to be a religious,” she said.

Mother Marla told Mansour she would take his request to prayer and discernment. In time, she agreed and requested leave from her congregation to pursue this vocation.

On June 1, 2008, Sister Marla became Mother Marla Marie, foundress of the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light.

The sisters were founded to “radiate Christ’s love and light to our people,” Mother Marla said. “Our life is rooted in Eucharistic prayer and devotion to the Mother of God."

Fast approaching the community’s 16-year anniversary — or “sweet 16” as Mother Marla calls it — the sisters are involved in a variety of ministries including facilitating conferences and parish missions, teaching catechism classes, leading youth and young adult ministry, bringing solace and prayer to those with grief, and accompanying those passing to the next life.

Sister Therese Touma, 40, joined the congregation in 2010 and Sister Emily Lattouf, 29, joined in 2019.

The sisters encounter and serve more than 1,000 people each year, including hundreds of children and young adults in their several ministries, Mother Marla said. Last year the sisters visited 10 parishes for missions across the Maronite Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, which spans from Maine to Florida.

Sister Emily, who took her first vows in 2023, said that “Mother Marla Marie is an amazing and courageous woman.”

“I admire her courage to leave the world she knew in her previous community to begin this new foundation. I am blessed to have her as a mother-servant, friend, and formator,” she said.

The Maronite Servants are now located in suburban Dartmouth, Massachusetts, located in close proximity to several Maronite parishes and dozens of Roman Catholic parishes where they serve in ministry.

“I keep looking at my life and thinking, ‘Wow, that happened to me?’ Isn’t it amazing how God works? And he does that in your life too, and in everybody’s life. If people stop to look and be attentive, we can see that the Holy Spirit is always acting. We just have to give him room,” Mother Marla said.