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  6.    <description>ACI Prensa&#039;s latest initiative is the Catholic News Agency (CNA), aimed at serving
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  19.        <title><![CDATA[ New palliative care hospital brings ‘sweetness of Mary’ to poorest in Peru ]]></title>
  20.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257568/new-palliative-care-hospital-brings-the-sweetness-of-mary-to-the-poorest-in-peru</link>
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  23.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/hospital.patient.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  24.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">A patient at the new Misky María Palliative Care Hospital located on the outskirts of Lima, Perú. / Credit: Asociación de las Bienaventuranzas (Association of the Beatitudes)</span>
  25. </div>
  26. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, May 4, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).</p>
  27. <p>In the context of the recent news of the death of <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257494/in-wake-of-euthanasia-case-in-peru-physician-priest-makes-case-for-palliative-care" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Ana Estrada</a>, 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.</p><h2>The beginning of the ‘Misky María’ Hospital</h2><p>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 <a href="https://asociacionbienaventuranzas.org.pe" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Association of the Beatitudes</a>, 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.</p><p>“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.</p><p>In a virtual meeting with Bishop Carlos García of the Diocese of Lurín, Peru, Sánchez and the bishop told the philanthropist about this dream.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/hospital.altar.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Image of &quot;Misky María&quot; that belongs to Bishop Carlos García of the Diocese of Lurín, Perú. Credit: Vanessa Diaz Koechlin"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Image of "Misky María" that belongs to Bishop Carlos García of the Diocese of Lurín, Perú. Credit: Vanessa Diaz Koechlin</figcaption></figure><p>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.”</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/hospital.father.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Father Omar Sánchez Portillo walks through the &quot;Sweet Mary&quot; Hospital following its inaugural ceremony. Crédit: Asociación de las Bienaventuranzas (Association of Beatitudes)"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Father Omar Sánchez Portillo walks through the "Sweet Mary" Hospital following its inaugural ceremony. Crédit: Asociación de las Bienaventuranzas (Association of Beatitudes)</figcaption></figure><p>“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.</p><p>According to the priest, “a truly dignified death is one that occurs in peace and, if possible, in communion with God.” </p><p>“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.</p><p>“We cannot miss the opportunity to save souls,” Sánchez further emphasized.</p><h2>The importance of a spiritual approach</h2><p>Sánchez explained that when a patient arrives at the hospital, the staff first provides basic hygienic and medical care. </p><p>“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.”</p><p>“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. </p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/hospital.patient.2.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="A patient at Misky María Palliative Care Hospital on the outskirts of Lima, Perú. Credit: Asociación de las Bienaventuranzas (Association of the Beatitudes)"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">A patient at Misky María Palliative Care Hospital on the outskirts of Lima, Perú. Credit: Asociación de las Bienaventuranzas (Association of the Beatitudes)</figcaption></figure><p>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.</p><p>“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.</p><p>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.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/hospital.staff.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Father Omar Sánchez Portillo and the staff at &quot;Misky Maria&quot; (&quot;Sweet Mary&quot;) Hospital in Peru. Credit: Asociación de las Bienaventuranzas (Association of the Beatitudes)"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Father Omar Sánchez Portillo and the staff at "Misky Maria" ("Sweet Mary") Hospital in Peru. Credit: Asociación de las Bienaventuranzas (Association of the Beatitudes)</figcaption></figure><h2>Stories that touch the heart</h2><p>Sánchez also shared some of the most difficult, moving stories of abandonment of the people who have passed through the Misky María Hospital.</p><p>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.”</p><p>“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. </p><p>“He lived four days with us, days full of love and attention,” Sánchez continued.</p><p>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.”</p><p>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.</p><p>“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.</p><p>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.</p><p>“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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.”</p><p>“This case moved me deeply. He was a child convinced of his holiness, wasn’t he?” Sánchez said.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/hospital.aerial.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Aerial view of Misky María Palliative Care Hospital outside of Lima, Peru. Credit: Asociación de las Bienaventuranzas (Association of the Beatitudes)"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Aerial view of Misky María Palliative Care Hospital outside of Lima, Peru. Credit: Asociación de las Bienaventuranzas (Association of the Beatitudes)</figcaption></figure><h2>‘A caress from God for the poor’</h2><p>Misky María Hospital is one of the works of the <a href="https://asociacionbienaventuranzas.org.pe" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Association of the Beatitudes</a>, 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.</p><p>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.”</p><p>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.</p><p>However, he called on people to continue collaborating with the association’s multiple initiatives each year.</p><p>“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.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104221/misky-maria-el-hospital-de-cuidados-paliativos-que-lleva-la-dulzura-de-la-virgen-a-los-mas-pobres-en-peru" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published</em></a><em> by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.</em></p>
  28. ]]></description>
  29.        <category>Americas</category>
  30.        <pubDate>Sat, 04 May 2024 08:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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  34.        <title><![CDATA[ First Arab Christian woman to lead Israel’s University of Haifa ]]></title>
  35.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257575/arab-christian-woman-appointed-to-lead-the-university-of-haifa-in-israel</link>
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  38.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/dsc-8676.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  39.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Professor Mouna Maroun is the first Arab to be elected as the rector of an Israeli university, the University of Haifa. Maroun belongs to the Arab minority in Israel, the Christian minority among Arabs, and the Maronite minority among Christians. She says she is proud of her religious affiliation and wears a golden crucifix around her neck. &quot;My election is an important message that everything is possible in the Israeli academia,&quot; she told CNA. / Credit: Marinella Bandini</span>
  40. </div>
  41. <p>Haifa, Israel, May 4, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).</p>
  42. <p>For the first time, an Arab Christian woman has been elected as the rector of an Israeli university — the <a href="https://www.haifa.ac.il/?lang=en" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">University of Haifa</a>. The <a href="https://www.haifa.ac.il/2024/04/11/%d7%a4%d7%a8%d7%95%d7%a4-%d7%9e%d7%95%d7%a0%d7%90-%d7%9e%d7%90%d7%a8%d7%95%d7%9f-%d7%a0%d7%91%d7%97%d7%a8%d7%94-%d7%9c%d7%a8%d7%a7%d7%98%d7%95%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%aa-%d7%94%d7%90%d7%95%d7%a0%d7%99%d7%91/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announcement</a> 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.</p><p>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.)</p><p>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.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/dsc-8707.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="The headquarters of the Faculty of Social Sciences within the University of Haifa complex in April 2024. During class breaks, students gather at recreational areas. The University of Haifa is one of the most diverse and inclusive universities in Israel: 45% of the 17,000 students come from Arab society and 50% of all the students are first generation of higher education. Credit: Marinella Bandini"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">The headquarters of the Faculty of Social Sciences within the University of Haifa complex in April 2024. During class breaks, students gather at recreational areas. The University of Haifa is one of the most diverse and inclusive universities in Israel: 45% of the 17,000 students come from Arab society and 50% of all the students are first generation of higher education. Credit: Marinella Bandini</figcaption></figure><p>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.”</p><p>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.”&nbsp;</p><p>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.”</p><p>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.</p><p>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.”&nbsp;</p><p>“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.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/photo-1.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Professor Mouna Maroun with her parents on her graduation day in 2000. “I think the lack of expectations from me to succeed was the secret of my success,&quot; she told CNA. &quot;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.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Professor Mouna Maroun"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Professor Mouna Maroun with her parents on her graduation day in 2000. “I think the lack of expectations from me to succeed was the secret of my success," she told CNA. "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.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Professor Mouna Maroun</figcaption></figure><p>Excellence will be a theme of her tenure as rector, Maroun said.&nbsp;</p><p>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.</p><p>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.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/dsc-8712.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="An Orthodox Jewish female student walks with Muslim students wearing headscarves visible in the background, alongside other students without specific religious attire in the corridors of the University of Haifa. In the campus classrooms, there are Jews, Muslims, Druze, and Christians comprising 15-20 different religious denominations. Credit: Marinella Bandini"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">An Orthodox Jewish female student walks with Muslim students wearing headscarves visible in the background, alongside other students without specific religious attire in the corridors of the University of Haifa. In the campus classrooms, there are Jews, Muslims, Druze, and Christians comprising 15-20 different religious denominations. Credit: Marinella Bandini</figcaption></figure><p>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.</p><p>“We have what is called a natural laboratory, having all the religions coexisting and living without tensions,” she said.&nbsp;</p><p>Additionally, the <a href="https://pr.haifa.ac.il/2022/03/17/haifa-laboratory-for-religious-studies/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Laboratory for Religious Studies</a> is part of the University of Haifa, with a focus on interfaith dialogue.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/dsc-8698.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="The University of Haifa's library, named after Younes and Soraya Nazarian, is one of the largest academic libraries in Israel and one of the most progressive Israeli libraries in the realm of services, technology, and library information systems. Credit: Marinella Bandini"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">The University of Haifa's library, named after Younes and Soraya Nazarian, is one of the largest academic libraries in Israel and one of the most progressive Israeli libraries in the realm of services, technology, and library information systems. Credit: Marinella Bandini</figcaption></figure><p>Becoming the Arab rector of an Israeli university after Oct. 7, 2023, is a challenging task, she said.</p><p>“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.”</p><p>Maroun shared her opinion of the anti-Israel protests currently happening at some American universities.</p><p>“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.”</p><p>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.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/dsc-8705.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="A view of Haifa Bay and port from the University of Haifa campus on Mount Carmel, April 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">A view of Haifa Bay and port from the University of Haifa campus on Mount Carmel, April 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini</figcaption></figure><p>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.</p><p>“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.”</p>
  43. ]]></description>
  44.        <category>Middle East - Africa</category>
  45.        <pubDate>Sat, 04 May 2024 07:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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  49.        <title><![CDATA[ From the Washington Post to the Maronite convent: Meet Mother Marla Marie ]]></title>
  50.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257556/from-the-washington-post-to-the-maronite-convent-meet-mother-marla-marie</link>
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  53.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/img-0181.jpeg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  54.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Mother Marla Marie stands on the front porch of the sisters’ Mother of the Light convent in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. / Credit: Joe Bukuras/CNA</span>
  55. </div>
  56. <p>Boston, Mass., May 4, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).</p>
  57. <p>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.</p><p>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&nbsp;on April&nbsp;22.</p><p>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 “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/herblock.html" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">unrepentant liberal</a>,” the late Herbert Block, commonly known as “Herblock.”</p><p>“I felt like an accomplice,” she said.</p><p>It wasn’t only Block’s criticism of Pope John Paul II that bothered Mother Marla, it was also his cartoons in support&nbsp;of&nbsp;abortion.&nbsp;</p><p>“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.</p><p>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.</p><p>After that day, her decision was made. She was going to apply.</p><p>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.&nbsp;</p><p>“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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.&nbsp;</p><p>Mother Marla recounted their response: “‘You’re getting married?’”&nbsp;</p><p>“Well...” Mother Marla said back to them. “Sort of. I’m marrying Jesus.”</p><p>She said both of their jaws “dropped open” and they looked at her with “almost horror and disbelief.”</p><p>“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.</p><p>She made her first vows in 1986 and her final vows in 1993.&nbsp;</p><p>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&nbsp;contemplative-missionaries&nbsp;to the home.</p><p>But it was during her time in Pennsylvania she began deepening her awareness and affection for her Lebanese heritage as a Maronite Catholic.</p><p>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.&nbsp;</p><p>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.</p><p>“I was very impressed with his spiritual teachings and I said, ‘This is a man of prayer. This man&nbsp;really&nbsp;practices his priesthood.’ And we struck up a friendship that God used,” she said.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.&nbsp;</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>“And I said, ‘Oh Father, I’m here for other reasons.’”</p><p>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.&nbsp;</p><p>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.</p><p>He agreed.</p><p>Just a few weeks after she accepted the position, Mother Marla again crossed paths with Bishop Mansour while the prelate was visiting the parish.&nbsp;</p><p>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.</p><p>“He said to me, ‘Sister Marla Marie, would you help me found a Maronite congregation of sisters for our Church?”</p><p>“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?’”</p><p>Mother Marla was “startled.” But at the same time, she felt “a deep abiding peace.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“It was the same peace I had 25 years&nbsp;prior,&nbsp;when I realized my call to be a religious,” she said.</p><p>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.</p><p>On June 1, 2008, Sister Marla became Mother Marla Marie, foundress of the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light.</p><p>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."</p><p>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.</p><p>Sister Therese Touma, 40, joined the congregation in 2010 and Sister Emily Lattouf, 29, joined in 2019.</p><p>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.&nbsp;</p><p>Sister Emily, who took her first vows in 2023, said&nbsp;that “Mother Marla Marie is an amazing and courageous woman.”</p><p>“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.</p><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.maroniteservants.org/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Maronite Servants</a>&nbsp;are now located in suburban Dartmouth, Massachusetts, located&nbsp;in close proximity to&nbsp;several Maronite parishes and dozens of Roman Catholic parishes where they serve in ministry.</p><p>“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.</p>
  58. ]]></description>
  59.        <category>US</category>
  60.        <pubDate>Sat, 04 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  61.      </item>
  62.    
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  64.        <title><![CDATA[ Columbia’s Catholic chaplain: Campus protests were pushed by ‘explicitly communist’ outsiders ]]></title>
  65.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257581/columbias-catholic-chaplain-campus-protests-were-pushed-by-explicitly-communist-outsiders</link>
  66.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257581/columbias-catholic-chaplain-campus-protests-were-pushed-by-explicitly-communist-outsiders</guid>
  67.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  68.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/fr.landry.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  69.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Father Roger Landry, Catholic chaplain at Columbia University, discusses the protests at Columbia University in New York City on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” on May 2, 2024. / Credit: EWTN News The World Over / Screenshot</span>
  70. </div>
  71. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 3, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).</p>
  72. <p>Father Roger Landry, a Catholic chaplain at Columbia University, said on Thursday that the protests making national headlines at the New York City school are being organized in part by “explicitly communist” outside forces.&nbsp;</p><p>“There is an instrumentalization of what’s going on in Gaza to advance an agenda,” he said. “And that is to deconstruct our present world order at which the United States is considered the top of that order.”</p><p>Speaking on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,”&nbsp;Landry said that he had been walking through the encampment nearly daily, conversing with student protesters and other “outside agitators.”&nbsp;</p><p>While he said he believes that many of the protesters were genuinely concerned for Gazan civilians, there was a sizable percentage of whom were “explicitly in favor of Hamas” and “definitely antisemitic by their language and their actions.”&nbsp;</p><h2>What is going on at Columbia?</h2><p>The Columbia demonstration began on April 17 when a large group of students set up dozens of tents to occupy the university’s main quad. Protesters at the encampment said they were standing against Israel’s “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza.&nbsp;</p><p>Many videos circulated online of protesters shouting antisemitic chants and calling for the destruction of Israel, and some Jewish students have reported being threatened by protesters.&nbsp;</p><div class="twitter-wrapper"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">One Jewish student’s perspective from Columbia University 👇 ⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/NewsNationComms?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NewsNationComms</a>⁩ <a href="https://t.co/X7307dW2EJ">pic.twitter.com/X7307dW2EJ</a></p>— Elizabeth Vargas (@EVargasTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/EVargasTV/status/1784335152967024741?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2024</a></blockquote><script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><div class="drag-handle" data-drag-handle="true"> </div></div><p>Clad in riot gear, officers from the New York City Police Department cleared the encampment in a Wednesday raid that resulted in several hundred arrests.&nbsp;</p><p>Similar protests and encampments on campuses across the country, many of which are still ongoing, have taken place since the demonstration at Columbia began.&nbsp;</p><h2>Marxist ideology at&nbsp;heart&nbsp;of protest</h2><p>According to Landry, nearly half of the approximately 300 protesters arrested were non-student activists.&nbsp;</p><p>He said these outside forces are “explicitly communist groups” who have been distributing Marxist materials attacking the state of Israel since the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack.&nbsp;</p><p>Landry said that these materials attempt to justify the Hamas attack “out of this neo-Marxist, ‘oppressor versus oppressed’ ideology that says whatever somebody in the category of ‘oppressed’ wants to do against a so-called ‘oppressor’ is justified, even killing way more than a thousand innocent people at a party.”&nbsp;</p><p>“This divide and conquer class warfare that comes from Marx and Lenin is the exact antithesis of what Jesus Christ himself taught,” he continued. “So, I try to get the Catholic students aware of that problem so at least they’re inoculated to that intellectual virus.”&nbsp;</p><h2>Catholic students act as peacemakers&nbsp;</h2><p>Landry said he was proud of the many Catholic students who have “stepped up” to be peacemakers amid all the hatred on campus.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>He said that student Mass attendance has increased on campus. A Catholic student group sent symbolic olive plants to both Jewish and Muslim leaders at Columbia to show the “solidarity and peace of Christ,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>“Transcending the moment but also incarnating ourselves in the moment, [we] are trying to bring the peace we have received from Christ that our world and our campus very much need,” he said.</p><p>Watch the full interview with Landry on “The World Over” below.</p><div style="width:100%" class="mx-auto embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vh9-psh18m4?list=PL0B89A05F9F6D3E47" class="embed-responsive-item " frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  73. ]]></description>
  74.        <category>US</category>
  75.        <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 17:05:00 -0400</pubDate>
  76.      </item>
  77.    
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  79.        <title><![CDATA[ Biden awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jesuit priest for work with youth ]]></title>
  80.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257580/biden-to-award-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-jesuit-priest-for-work-with-youth</link>
  81.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257580/biden-to-award-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-jesuit-priest-for-work-with-youth</guid>
  82.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  83.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screen-shot-2024-05-03-at-4.39.35-pm.png?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  84.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jesuit Father Greg Boyle on May 3, 2024. / Screenshot/public domain</span>
  85. </div>
  86. <p>CNA Staff, May 3, 2024 / 15:30 pm (CNA).</p>
  87. <p>The White House on Friday <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/03/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom-2/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announced</a> that Jesuit Father Greg Boyle, the founder of a prominent ministry dedicated to rehabilitating gang-affiliated youth, will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom alongside 18 other recipients this afternoon.&nbsp;</p><p>Boyle, ordained a priest in 1984, founded <a href="https://homeboyindustries.org/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Homeboy Industries</a> in 1992 while pastor of Dolores Mission, a Catholic church <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252253/los-angeles-catholic-school-thrives-area-marked-gang-violence" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">and school</a> in an area that at one time had one of the highest concentrations of gang activity in Los Angeles.&nbsp;</p><p>Today, Homeboy Industries claims to be the largest gang-intervention program in the United States.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/38087/for-former-inmates-returning-to-society-comes-with-challenges" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">successful ministry,</a> which now operates nationwide, offers training and job skills to those formerly involved in gangs or in jail, as well as case management, tattoo removal, mental health and legal services, and GED completion.</p><p>While the group has said it is “not affiliated with any particular religion,” it also notes that many of its works are “in line with the Jesuit practice of social justice,” and Boyle has said that the organization does not seek to “downplay” its Catholic identity.</p><p>Boyle described the ministry <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/27569/gang-intervention-ministry-is-living-the-gospel-priest-says" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">several years ago to CNA</a> as “soaked with the Gospel.”</p><p>The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, is presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public, or private endeavors, the White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/03/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom-2/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">says.</a></p><p>In announcing this year’s recipients, the White House noted that the honorees “built teams, coalitions, movements, organizations, and businesses that shaped America for the better.”</p><p>“They are the pinnacle of leadership in their fields. They consistently demonstrated over their careers the power of community, hard work, and service,” the announcement says.&nbsp;</p><p>Biden, who is Catholic, announced that among the honorees is former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and former Secretary of State John Kerry, both fellow Catholics known for their pro-abortion advocacy.</p><p>Other honorees this year include former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Vice President Al Gore, Olympian Katie Ledecky, and actress Michelle Yeoh.</p><p>In 2020, Boyle was one of several hundred religious leaders who signed an<a href="https://www.faith2020.org/biden-harris" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> endorsement of Biden’s campaign</a>. The priest has <a href="https://outreach.faith/2022/12/jesuit-father-greg-boyle-our-lgbtq-sisters-and-brothers-are-unshakably-good/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">called</a> for the Church to “include with more compassion our LGBTQ sisters and brothers.”</p><p>In 2021, meanwhile, Homeboy Industries received $20 million in grants from prominent progressive backers Mackenzie Scott and Dan Jewett.</p>
  88. ]]></description>
  89.        <category>US</category>
  90.        <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 15:30:00 -0400</pubDate>
  91.      </item>
  92.    
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  94.        <title><![CDATA[ The prayer of a holy journalist before dying for the freedom of the Catholic press ]]></title>
  95.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257578/the-prayer-of-a-holy-journalist-before-dying-for-the-freedom-of-the-catholic-press</link>
  96.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257578/the-prayer-of-a-holy-journalist-before-dying-for-the-freedom-of-the-catholic-press</guid>
  97.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  98.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/saint.tito.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  99.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Martyred by the Nazis, Dutch St. Titus Brandsma was a journalist who gave his life so that the truths of the faith would not be silenced. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons</span>
  100. </div>
  101. <p>CNA Newsroom, May 3, 2024 / 13:45 pm (CNA).</p>
  102. <p>World Press Freedom Day is celebrated every May 3, drawing attention to the importance of free and independent news media.&nbsp;</p><p>Among modern-day saints, there is a journalist-priest who suffered martyrdom by the Nazis for his work in Catholic media: St. Titus Brandsma.</p><p>St. Titus (1881–1942), canonized by Pope Francis in 2022, was a Carmelite priest and native of the Netherlands. During the Nazi occupation of that country, the Nazi public relations bureau informed Dutch newspapers that they had to accept advertisements and press releases emanating from official sources.</p><p>The cardinal-archbishop of Ultrecht, Johannes de Jong, <a href="https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/titus-brandsma-5906" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">commissioned</a> Brandsma, in his capacity as a journalist and spiritual director of the country’s Catholic journalists, to convey the hierarchy’s response to the Nazis’ mandate to all the Catholic editors in the country.</p><p>Brandsma concluded each visit to the editors with remarks along these lines: “We have reached our limit. We cannot serve them. It will be our duty to refuse Nazi propaganda definitely if we wish to remain Catholic newspapers. Even if they threaten us with severe penalties, suspension, or discontinuance of our newspapers, we cannot conform with their orders.”</p><p>Brandsma visited 14 editors before the Gestapo arrested him. He was arrested and taken to the Amersfoort penal camp, where he was made to work in inhumane conditions. Later, he ended up in the terrifying Dachau concentration camp in Germany, where the regime carried out experiments on prisoners. He was ultimately killed with a lethal injection of carbolic acid.</p><p>Before dying, he gave his rosary to the nurse who injected him with the deadly substance. She told him that she did not know how to pray, and he replied that she should only say: “Pray for us sinners.” Some time later the young woman converted and was a witness in the canonization process of Brandsma.</p><p>His body was never found and it is believed that he was cremated in the ovens of the Nazi extermination center. St. John Paul II approved the decree recognizing his martyrdom, and he was beatified in 1985. Pope Francis canonized him on May 22, 2022.</p><p>According to the Dutch newspaper Nederlands Dagblad, dozens of international journalists and the 520-member German Association of Catholic Journalists signed a letter to Pope Francis asking him to name St. Titus Brandsma as patron of journalism.</p><p>For their part, the Carmelites indicate that the saint wrote a special prayer between Feb. 12–13, 1942, when he was in prison titled “<a href="https://carmelites.org.au/tbcarmelitemartyr/23/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Before an Image of Christ</a>”:</p><p>O Jesus, when I gaze on you</p><p>Once more alive, that I love you</p><p>And that your heart loves me too</p><p>Moreover as your special friend.</p><p><br>Although that calls me to suffer more</p><p>Oh, for me all suffering is good,</p><p>For in this way I resemble you</p><p>And this is the way to your kingdom.</p><p><br>I am blissful in my suffering</p><p>For I know it no more as sorrow</p><p>But the most ultimate elected lot</p><p>That unites me with you, O God.</p><p><br>O, just leave me here silently alone,</p><p>The chill and cold around me</p><p>And let no people be with me</p><p>Here alone I grow not weary.</p><p></p><p>For thou, O Jesus, art with me</p><p>I have never been so close to you.</p><p>Stay with me, with me, Jesus sweet,</p><p>Your presence makes all things good for me.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/99319/la-oracion-de-un-santo-periodista-antes-de-morir-por-la-libertad-de-prensa-catolica" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published</em></a><em> by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.</em></p>
  103. ]]></description>
  104.        <category>US</category>
  105.        <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 13:45:00 -0400</pubDate>
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  109.        <title><![CDATA[ Chicago priest blesses same-sex ‘spouses,’ says Fiducia Supplicans allows it ]]></title>
  110.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257576/chicago-priest-blesses-same-sex-spouses-says-fiducia-supplicans-allows-it</link>
  111.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257576/chicago-priest-blesses-same-sex-spouses-says-fiducia-supplicans-allows-it</guid>
  112.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  113.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/shutterstock-451634179.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  114.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / Gutzemberg / Shutterstock</span>
  115. </div>
  116. <p>CNA Staff, May 3, 2024 / 13:00 pm (CNA).</p>
  117. <p>A priest in Chicago last month blessed a same-sex couple, saying that the Vatican’s recent document <em>Fiducia Supplicans </em>authorized such blessings.&nbsp;</p><p>Father Joseph Williams, the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish near downtown Chicago, is seen in an April 22 video <a href="https://www.instagram.com/citygrrl76/p/C6Ee3Fuu1VP/?img_index=2" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">shared on Instagram by Kelli Knight</a>, a Methodist minister and self-identified “queer” community organizer.&nbsp;</p><p>In the video, Williams is seen in the parish with Kelli and Myah Knight. “Myah always wanted to get married at the chapel of her alma mater, so I surprised her with a blessing of our marriage!” Kelli wrote in the post. The parish is affiliated with the Catholic DePaul University in Chicago.&nbsp;</p><p>In the video, Williams can be seen asking the couple: “Kelli and Myah, do you freely recommit yourselves to love each other as holy spouses and to live in peace and harmony together forever?” The two women respond, “I do.”</p><p>“Loving God, increase and consecrate the love which Kelly and Myah have for one another,” the pastor then says. “The rings that they have exchanged are the sign of their fidelity and commitment.”&nbsp;</p><p>“May they continue to prosper in your grace and blessing,” he added.&nbsp;</p><p>“May God’s blessing be yours, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen,” the priest finished.&nbsp;</p><p>Neither the priest nor the Archdiocese of Chicago immediately responded to requests for comment from CNA on Friday morning. The pastor <a href="https://www.osvnews.com/2024/05/01/former-methodist-minister-partner-receive-same-sex-blessing-from-chicago-parish-in-video/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">told OSV News</a> that his understanding of <em>Fiducia Supplicans </em>is that “same-sex couples can be blessed as long as it does not reflect a marriage situation … as long as it’s clear that it’s not a marriage.”</p><p>He reportedly told Knight when she first inquired about the blessing: “Please understand that this is not in any way a marriage, a wedding, anything like that. This is just simply a blessing of persons.”</p><p><em>Fiducia Supplicans </em>has generated global controversy since it was <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256308/vatican-says-priests-can-bless-same-sex-couples-without-condoning-their-lifestyles" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">first promulgated last December.</a> The Vatican at the time directed that Catholic priests can bless same-sex couples as an expression of pastoral closeness without condoning their sexual relations.&nbsp;</p><p>Bishops around the world in the subsequent months have been <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256333/bishops-around-the-world-are-divided-over-vaticans-same-sex-blessing-declaration" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">deeply divided</a> over the declaration. Some prelates have responded warmly to the directive, while others have said they will not implement the practice.</p>
  118. ]]></description>
  119.        <category>US</category>
  120.        <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 13:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  121.      </item>
  122.    
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  124.        <title><![CDATA[ Cardinal Pizzaballa: Peace in Holy Land built on dialogue, action ]]></title>
  125.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257574/cardinal-pizzaballa-peace-in-holy-land-built-on-dialogue-action</link>
  126.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257574/cardinal-pizzaballa-peace-in-holy-land-built-on-dialogue-action</guid>
  127.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  128.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/cardinalpizzaballa050324.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  129.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa gives the homily at a Mass in which he took possession of his titular church, St. Onuphrius, in Rome on May 1, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media</span>
  130. </div>
  131. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 3, 2024 / 12:21 pm (CNA).</p>
  132. <p>The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem delivered an impassioned lecture on Thursday at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome detailing the process of peace in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, noting that it is an integral part of the Church’s universal mission and one that must not be conflated with overtly temporal or political aims.&nbsp;</p><p>“Peace needs the testimony of clear and strong gestures on the part of all believers, but it also needs to be announced and defended by equally clear words. We cannot remain silent in the face of injustices or invite people to live peacefully and disengage,” Cardinal&nbsp;Pierbattista Pizzaballa remarked during his “lectio magistralis” on Thursday at the pontifical university.</p><p>“The preferential option for the poor and the weak, however, does not make us a political party,” he added.</p><p>The hourlong lecture, titled “Characteristics and Criteria for a Pastoral Care of Peace,” was the latest installment in the university’s ongoing series of studies in peace sciences and international cooperation launched by the school’s Pontifical Pastoral Institute Redemptor Hominis.</p><p>The cardinal stressed that the Israel-Hamas conflict is not just an issue for the local Church but also an issue for the universal Church.&nbsp;</p><p>“What I tend to say is that conflict is not a temporary and secondary issue in the life of our Church,” the cardinal continued; rather, he said, it “is now an integral and constitutive part of our identity as a Church.”</p><p>Pizzaballa underlined that “talking about peace, therefore, is not talking about an abstract topic but of a deep wound in the life of the Christian that causes suffering and tiredness, a lot of tiredness, and deeply touches the human and spiritual life of all of us.”</p><p>Stressing the universality of the conflict, he added it “involves the life of everyone in our diocese and is therefore an integral part of the life of the Church, of its pastoral care.”</p><p>The day before the lecture, Pizzaballa <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257561/latin-patriarch-of-jerusalem-takes-possession-of-rome-titular-church-after-delays-due-to-war" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">took possession of his titular church in Rome</a>, St. Onuphrius, where he spoke on the historic, symbolic, and theological links between the Church in the Holy Land and Rome, again expressing the importance of the Holy Land for the universal Church.</p><p>“The Church of Jerusalem is the mother Church of the Church, where the roots of the entire universal Church lie, and it is a place that still retains a local and universal character today,” he said during his May 1 homily.</p><p>In his lecture on Thursday, Pizzaballa made overtures to the historical roots of the conflict in order to stress the “plurirelgious” and “pluricultural” nature of the Holy Land and to open a reflection on the importance of narrative in the process of peace.&nbsp;</p><p>“These problems of memory cannot be solved by reading one’s own history,” he said. “Intercultural conflicts will not be overcome if we do not reread different readings of the strong religious and cultural histories.”</p><p>While arguing that “peace is not the exclusive responsibility of the pastor,” he noted that religious leaders must work to “create contexts in which communities can express themselves.”</p><p>“Today, especially in the Holy Land, everyone has their own little story to tell,” he added.&nbsp;</p><p>Pizzaballa stressed the importance of dialogue as a critical underpinning of the peace process, noting that through the promotion of “continuous dialogue” and “mutual listening” that “a serious pastoral care in peace is born and developed.”&nbsp;</p><p>The cardinal also noted religious leaders must work to promote both “a new culture of legality” as well as to “become a living and prophetic voice of justice, human rights, and peace.”&nbsp;</p><p>While acknowledging that there has always been “a close relationship” between ecclesial and civic leaders, playing a delicate role in the “function[ing] in the life of national communities,” Pizzaballa warned that the Church’s call for peace must exist “without entering into logics of competition and division” in order to offer “credible witnesses.”</p>
  133. ]]></description>
  134.        <category>Europe</category>
  135.        <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 12:21:00 -0400</pubDate>
  136.      </item>
  137.    
  138.      <item>
  139.        <title><![CDATA[ Cardinal Goh of Singapore: ‘Deep encounter with Jesus’ is key to passing on the faith ]]></title>
  140.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257565/cardinal-william-goh-of-singapore-deep-encounter-with-jesus-is-key-to-passing-on-the-faith</link>
  141.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257565/cardinal-william-goh-of-singapore-deep-encounter-with-jesus-is-key-to-passing-on-the-faith</guid>
  142.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  143.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/20240430130456-16fe8324e7b2ad7a1a991ce816065565d3942136abbd6915af8e543bf2554162.webp?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  144.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">The spiritual shepherd of the Church in Singapore is Cardinal William Goh, archbishop since early 2013 and a cardinal since 2022. / Credit: Sean Boyce/EWTN News</span>
  145. </div>
  146. <p>National Catholic Register, May 3, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).</p>
  147. <p>Pope Francis recently announced his intention to travel to Southeast Asia in September to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore. The island nation of Singapore is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse regions in Asia and is home to about 395,000 Catholics. The small but strategically important nation also has the highest urban density in Asia but is ranked as the country with the highest quality of life. Like everywhere else, it also faces the threats of secularism and relativism and a loss of traditional values, especially a commitment to family and respect for the elderly.&nbsp;</p><p>The spiritual shepherd of the Church in Singapore is Cardinal William Goh, archbishop since early 2013 and a cardinal since 2022. He sat down in his residence in Singapore on April 19 with Matthew Bunson, EWTN News’ vice president and editorial director, to discuss the Holy Father’s upcoming trip, the College of Cardinals, the synodal process, and the challenges and opportunities for the Church in Asia.</p><p>In the following edited transcript, Goh, 66, observes that “most of us” in the College of Cardinals “do not know each other,” a disadvantage for a body that will one day be called upon to choose a successor to Pope Francis. The cardinal also suggests the need for “another level” to the Synod on Synodality beyond its second and final assembly this October — namely a bishops-only synod. The existing synod, which includes bishops, clergy, and laypeople, “cannot really be considered a theological dogmatic synod,” he says, because not all of the delegates are theologically trained.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/20240430140436-e35b223beae9b9cfb27090005c878fcc4a829b1ece9fb46406817230474515db.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Pope Francis speaks to Archbishop William Seng Chye Goh (left) after he elevated him to cardinal during a consistory to create 20 new cardinals on Aug. 27, 2022, at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Credit: Alberto Pizzoli"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Pope Francis speaks to Archbishop William Seng Chye Goh (left) after he elevated him to cardinal during a consistory to create 20 new cardinals on Aug. 27, 2022, at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Credit: Alberto Pizzoli</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Your Eminence, I’m so grateful for your time. I know that you’re a very busy man, even busier now with the announcement that Pope Francis is going to be visiting Singapore. I’d like to start with a question about yourself. You are a native Singaporean?</strong></p><p>Yes.</p><p><strong>Could you talk about your faith journey, especially leading to the priesthood, to being a bishop, and now to being a member of the College of Cardinals?</strong></p><p>My faith journey is really from hindsight. When I look at my life, it’s really a faith-filled journey, but truly a grace of God. My family is not extremely religious, except perhaps for my mother. But when I was young, being an introvert, instead of joining my fellow classmates to play before class, I would go to the church to pray the rosary, at the age of 7. At the age of 12, I was bringing the Divine Office, although I didn’t know what it was all about. And then I joined the altar servers. I was also in the Crusaders. And then we started the Rosary Club, where 100 young people would come every evening in the school. … During the recess, they would come to pray the rosary, 60 of them; instead of going for their recess, for their food, they came to pray. And then later on, I was very much attracted to this vocation, and I joined the seminary; and then I was ordained, and then I was assistant priest for a few years, and then they sent me to Rome for further studies. [When] I came back, I taught in the seminary for 22 years.&nbsp;</p><p>I held all the different positions in the seminary, from dean of studies right up to rector. That was my last position, and then I was appointed bishop. But parallel to what I was doing, I was also appointed as the spiritual director of the Catholic Spirituality Center; this was the Charismatic Renewal. So I’m very much in the renewal movement. And so I conducted conversion-experience retreats. This will be the 60th session I’ve been conducting, and one retreat is about five days.&nbsp;</p><p>.... So my own conversion experience, I must say, came about because I conducted the conversion-experience retreat, because I came to really be in touch with the sufferings of people, the real life, the struggles as Catholics; because during that retreat, they all make, I always call [it] “deathbed confession.” They are properly prepared for confession, and it is really heartwarming, and it changed my whole perspective on life, very different from my life in the seminary. As a professor, you are always teaching, you are always reading, and it is more theoretical; but, here, it really helps me to put theology into practice. On hindsight, really, when I look back at my life, God has always been guiding me.</p><p><strong>How did you learn that you had been named a member of the College of Cardinals?</strong></p><p>Just like all the other cardinals, because [of] Pope Francis, his way of announcement at the Angelus. And so somebody sent me an SMS, “Your name has been mentioned.” I couldn’t be bothered, you know; I was so busy preparing a homily. Then a few more SMS messages came in. Then I realized…</p><p><strong>You had no idea that this was coming, obviously. What has the experience been like to be a member of the college, with all of the responsibilities, but that particular relationship with the Diocese of Rome?</strong></p><p>Well, certainly as a cardinal, we have a greater responsibility to the universal Church. But so far, I’ve just attended only two consistories and one meeting because I belong to, I’m a member of the Dicastery for Family and Life. That is the connection so far. So I think to be chosen as a cardinal, and I think what Pope Francis has been doing, I mean, it’s a good idea. … The Church should be inclusive, to be universal. We have cardinals from all over the world. But I think the difficulty, the challenge would be getting the cardinals together to know each other well, especially when the time comes for voting for the pope for the conclave. That would be necessary. But, presently, I think most of us do not know each other and not all speak Italian, as well. So I think that area of rapport among the cardinals would be necessary for greater communion.</p><p><strong>You mentioned Pope Francis. He’s coming to Singapore. What does his visit here mean? I know that John Paul II was here very briefly in 1986. First, what was that experience like? And what are your hopes for Francis’ visit?</strong></p><p>Well, Francis is always popular with many of our Catholics, and I think he is a beacon of hope, a beacon of mercy and compassion. That is his forte, really, to try to continue the work of Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict. The theme of evangelization is very dear to the heart of Pope Francis, but his way of evangelization is really to proclaim the joy of the Gospel, which includes welcoming people, being with the poor, with the marginalized. So, in that sense, he will be able to promote greater unity and strengthen the faith of our Catholics and also to inspire people of other faiths, that the Church is not inward-looking, but we are actually at the service of humanity. So I believe that his coming will certainly not just inspire and renew the faith of our Catholics, but also people who listen to him and people who are very appreciative of Pope Francis. In fact, the religious, the non-Catholic religious, leaders here, they are all very appreciative of Pope Francis, and they speak highly of him.</p><p><strong>We’re reaching the conclusion of this long process of synodality. I know that you attended the Synod of Bishops last October. What was that experience like?</strong></p><p>What I like about that synod was the retreat and the small-group sharing — in that group sharing, we truly were able to journey with each other, listen to each other, without judgment, and accompany each other, especially when we are among bishops. It’s much easier because we understand our own struggles and difficulties and challenges and also aspirations. That’s the good thing about the synod. And I think that is the way, not just for the universal Church, but also for the particular Church, local Church, that we need to listen to, journey with each other. I think that is very helpful, so that there will be a greater understanding and communion between the clergy and the laity, so that we walk as one, so that we will truly be coming together as one Church.</p><p>But the synod, I think that, for me, is really great. That is the most important thing. I benefit from the synod. But when you have a plenary assembly where everybody is giving intervention [talks], that becomes a little bit more sensitive, because we are not able to be as open or direct as you wish to be … for fear that you might offend people who have other views.</p><p>So it needs a lot of courage to state what you need to say and be open about it. But I suppose there is also a subtle pressure that what we say, if it is not appreciated by some quarters, may not go very well. So I think that is also a subtle pressure. And I think, most of all … at the end of the day, although it has been underscored that the synod is not a parliamentary session, which it is not, but there is voting at the end. So the voting, so in the mind of people, although it is not a parliamentary session, but I think most people would take the votes as a kind of consensus making. Of course, at the end of the day, it’s the Holy Father who takes the decision; that’s what he has done. So I think, in the area of consultation, it is helpful for the Church, and I think it’s very important also for the prelates to listen also to the laity. But as has often been said, or some bishops are suggesting, perhaps there should be another level where it is really a Synod of Bishops, after hearing the laypeople, after journeying with them; there should be that level of bishop synods, where the bishops can come together, because that synod [with laity] cannot really be considered a theological dogmatic synod, because not all are theologically trained.</p><p>All those who vote are not theologically trained. So you might need to have another level, where it is just basically bishops, with the Holy Father, to determine certain doctrinal issues. In terms of pastoral outreach, I think for that kind of synod, it would be helpful; but when it comes to doctrines, I think it’s a bit different.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/20240430140432-667ca0502d421f4d28e65aef6c5506a010590444a8f2068daf58e894d8ebf98d.png" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Cardinal William Goh sits down with Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director of EWTN News, on April 19, 2024. Credit: Sean Boyce/EWTN News"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Cardinal William Goh sits down with Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director of EWTN News, on April 19, 2024. Credit: Sean Boyce/EWTN News</figcaption></figure><p><strong>And the Christian population here makes, I think, about 19%, 20% of the total population. Is that right? What are the opportunities for ecumenical outreach for Catholics, but then also interreligious dialogue here? This seems a very rich place for that.</strong></p><p>Yes, this is something unique in Singapore. We try to make Singapore an icon for ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. But I think, and I did share with many people, that it’s a bit difficult for other countries to duplicate what we are doing in Singapore. We have excellent religious, harmonious relationship with all the other religions. We know the religious leaders all by name, and we know them as friends. And so we do not have any issues. Anything we have, we will speak to them. We are all very friendly and supportive of each other. We visit each other for their religious celebrations. We are present for meetings quite often, and we share, and there is a lot of mutual respect, appreciation — and also the fact that, in Singapore, we have a law that forbids anyone to speak ill of another religion. That helps a lot, and so that makes everybody respectful because it is very sensitive. So, in that sense, there is already a lot of interfaith sharing among Catholics, among religious leaders. In terms of ecumenism, we are on very good terms with the Christians, and we are supportive of each other. So, of course, we could do more, you know, but I started an office … an archdiocesan [office] for interreligious dialogue and also ecumenism. But our resources are limited. And also my time is limited. I cannot be everywhere. I try my best, according to whatever time that I have to reach out to the Christians and especially to the non-Christians.</p><p><strong>The Church here, like the Church everywhere, is facing pressures from secularism, relativism. You’ve spoken about the importance of defending … I think you use the phrase “truth and justice.” What does that mean?</strong></p><p>It’s important for us that, in the face of this secularism or the -isms, individualisms and so on, I think the Church has to be truthful in what we proclaim. I do not believe that we should make the Gospel message [different] or dilute the Gospel message. The truth has to be spoken because the truth sets us free. But, of course, truth has to be spoken with charity. That is very important. But I don’t believe that we should try to compromise the Gospel. And that is my fear: that, today, even Church leaders are compromising the Gospel. I don’t think Jesus ever compromised the Gospel, even for the adulterous woman. He says, “I do not judge you, I do not condemn you, but please sin no more.” I think that has to be mentioned. This is where the importance of truthfulness, mercy, and compassion [comes in].&nbsp;</p><p>You look at the world today: There is so much injustice. So what can we do? In some countries, not in Singapore, because I am a member of the FABC [Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences], in some countries, they are being persecuted because of their religion, sometimes because of their race, by political authority.</p><p>So how do we speak with those people in authority? How do we dialogue? So I think this is where, again, I think Pope Francis, I think his direction is certainly the direction we need to follow. Dialogue. We need to dialogue. We need to listen; we need to dialogue. We need to strengthen trust because, at the end of the day, we are all for the same goal. Humanity is all for the same goal: We want happiness, but not happiness, only true happiness. We don’t want just love. We want fruitful love.</p><p><strong>Singapore has been described as a kind of bridge between the West and the East. What can Singapore show, and what can this region show, to the wider Church, in terms of harmony, but also the direction that you think we need to go?</strong></p><p>Actually, Singapore is more in the first world [as a] country than the rest. That’s why, when I attend FABC meetings, FABC, although it’s a Federation of Asian Bishops conference, but actually the whole world is there, because countries are very affluent, … and some are poor; some [there is] a political issue, some religious suppression. So it’s very diverse. So, in that sense, a bit difficult. But for us as a Church, I think Singapore can be a model, in terms of: How do we remain faithful in our faith in an affluent country? Because the challenges facing Singapore is basically a first-world problem. So we could identify very much with Europe; whereas the problems that Europe is facing is not the problem of Africa or Asia, in general. So it is sometimes a continental issue rather than the issue of the universal Church. So, like in Singapore, what I think we can do is really help to promote religious harmony. That is our strength because of the work that we have been doing — and especially to help governments. In Singapore, the beautiful thing about our government is we see ourselves as a multiracial, multireligious country. We are not a secular country.</p><p>We have a secular government, yes, to ensure fairness, impartiality; and even most of the members in the government, they belong to some faith, and they are very staunch in their faith. But I think this is where Singapore can show the way: how, even in a very cosmopolitan country, very diversely religious country, we can live together. So long as there is respect, sensitivity to each other, then I think we can work together. And Singapore has so many races, as well, so many ethnic groups of people; we can live together as one, so that, for us, I think [we have] a forte [to model] for other countries in the world, [showing] how to live harmoniously. I think you need to have a good government, a strong government to be able to support the work of the religions and all the NGOs.</p><p><strong>So that relationship between the Church and state has to be respectful.</strong></p><p>Yes. And in Singapore, the state sees us as partners, which is true. We are partners with the government for the same reason, because it’s for the common good of the people. We take care of their spiritual needs; we help the government to make sure that they rule justly. We express our views, and the government is very grateful. When they have certain issues, moral, social issues, they will consult the religious leaders. Of course, at the end of the day, they have to make the decision. I mean, it is a multireligious country.</p><p><strong>Asia is one of those parts of the Church, like Africa, where the Catholic population is growing. Do you see the importance of Asia increasing in this century? And, if so, what can the rest of the Church learn from Asia as an experience? I know that we’re talking about a very diverse set of cultures and countries, but the Church does seem to be growing here, and it’s very vibrant.</strong></p><p>I would say that, and this is my assessment, I think the problem with established Christian countries, like Europe, for example, faith, I think, has become too institutional. Religion has become ritualized. It becomes routine; it becomes a custom, even. It is not a personal faith. They don’t have this personal encounter with Jesus. In Asia, because many of us are converts, at least for the last two, three generations — and to convert from one faith to another, it’s not an easy thing; you will be marginalized initially — and so these people, not only have they studied about the faith, most of all, they have encountered Jesus. And that is what my conversion-experience retreat tries to do. Actually, the conversion-experience retreat, at first, [when] I started, it was meant for lapsed Catholics. I wanted to bring back the lost sheep. Then, after that, a lot of members in the Church [say], ‘We also never experience God. We also want to join,’ so it becomes for all now. But I believe that when we get a person to encounter Jesus personally, Jesus is real; Jesus is alive. They can encounter his mercy, his love, his forgiveness. Their life will change.</p><p>And I honestly believe all these ideological struggles, whether it’s gender ideology, same-sex, all this abortion, euthanasia — all this comes about because you are operating on the level of the head. On the level of the head, you can twist and turn. You can argue from every side. For us who are Catholics, if you encounter Jesus, you know he is your Lord and Savior. You will accept whatever is taught in the Scriptures. You will live your life according to what Jesus has lived and has taught, even though you might not agree — because we have faith in Jesus. So, my pastoral approach in dealing with people who are disagreeable with the Church is … we cannot force our doctrines on these people. I invite them to know Jesus. I invite them to fall in love with Jesus. And I believe Jesus will take care of them — and Jesus will. Because if you love Jesus so deeply, surely you want to live like him. … Who are those people who are grumbling about certain moral issues of the Church? These are all … nominal Catholics, because they have no faith.</p><p><strong>So your message to them is: Jesus?</strong></p><p>Yes. We need to have a personal relationship, and the Church has to provide the opportunity, so it’s not just preaching, teaching; that is important, but that comes after. So even in the early Church, what do we do in the early Church? “Didache” comes after being evangelized. So the “kerygma” has to be preached first; then “Didache”; then the teaching. But we are putting the cart before the horse. We are teaching, and hopefully they receive the “kerygma.” … That is also my fear that the young people today, they don’t … because if they are brought up from a traditional Catholic family and if the parents are weak in their faith after confirmation, as Pope Francis will always say, it’s a farewell [to faith] — bye-bye. Because they have no faith; we call it a routine faith. It is not real faith. So what we try to do now, even for young people, is also to give them a deep encounter with Jesus. And we have the office of young people doing parallel to what I’m doing for the adults. We give them a good experience of Jesus. Their lives change.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/20240430140432-5cfe4c6f1aad2a36ab14fa218172f9dcb83344c752f3e8cd85ca9d00f58f6f0f.png" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Cardinal William Goh speaks during an interview with EWTN News on April 19, 2024, in Singapore. Credit: Sean Boyce/EWTN News"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Cardinal William Goh speaks during an interview with EWTN News on April 19, 2024, in Singapore. Credit: Sean Boyce/EWTN News</figcaption></figure><p><strong>With so many influences on young people, you’ve mentioned this office being developed. Your message to young people today, what is your immediate message to somebody who’s being challenged by social media, by the secular influences?</strong></p><p>What I feel that is most important for young people: We need to build faith communities. They need to be supported in their faith. And that is the reason why, in order to keep the young people within the faith, we need to help them to form faith communities where they can support each other. So two things for me are critical in helping our young people to deal with all the challenges in the world: an encounter with Jesus; belonging to a faith community. And they will grow. As their faith grows, they will know what to do and how to deal with all these, you can say, challenges, in society. And, of course, I think there is also an important part to play … after “kerygma”<em> </em>is “Didache.” But then also we need to continue to preach and to teach. One of the reasons why young people have left the Church is because they feel that they cannot connect with the Church; they cannot connect with the doctrines of the Church. And we need to have more theologians, lay theologians perhaps, to be able to be the bridge between the ecclesiastical language and the ordinary language.</p><p>The problem is that we are trained in theology and Scripture. We tend to use this kind of ecclesiastical language. For us, it’s our — what do you call it? — our cup of tea. You know, we use that language so often that we don’t realize the people in the world don’t understand what we’re talking about. And so we cannot connect with the young people. So I think we need to have a bridge. And this is where all the social media and all these things will try to make it more palatable for young people to understand, to appreciate, and to be able to share with their friends.</p><p><strong>Your Eminence, the last question I have is on one of the things that’s very clear in Singapore: the importance of family. Pope Francis talks about respecting the generations, of having those bridges from the old to the young. What is the secret here? Why is that still so much a part of life here? And what is a lesson there for other cultures to learn?</strong></p><p>I think generally, not only within the Catholic Church definitely, generally Asian society, we tend to be focused more on the family. Family piety, filial piety, all these are very important. But that is also being eroded away because of the Western influence; because of affluence, because people want to have a better life, they will live, they will migrate, and parents both are working, in order to have a better life. Cost of living is high. So there are a lot of threats against the family, even in Singapore, although we are trying to protect the family. We have many — I think we have 11 — organizations that deal with family life. So we have to work hard at it. I won’t say that we are doing extremely well, but because we belong to this Asian culture, that family dimension is always important; but we need to protect it, because I think, with affluence, that family is being threatened. And because parents are all working, and the children, we have small families. In fact, we are below replacement of the population, as well. And then the younger people, they are not interested in having families. ...</p><p>So we are promoting [family life]. And the beautiful part is this, the government is working with us all. We have a ministry; we call it the Ministry of Social and Family. And this ministry, they try to promote family life. The programs that they have are very good programs, so we complement each other. And so we are grateful that the government also sees the importance of growing the family, strengthening our family, and healing people who are divorced and those from dysfunctional families.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/interview/exclusive-interview-with-cardinal-william-goh" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published</em></a><em> by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.</em></p>
  148. ]]></description>
  149.        <category>Asia - Pacific</category>
  150.        <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  151.      </item>
  152.    
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  154.        <title><![CDATA[ Spanish archbishop slams government’s obsession with the Catholic Church ]]></title>
  155.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257571/spanish-archbishop-slams-government-s-obsession-with-the-catholic-church</link>
  156.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257571/spanish-archbishop-slams-government-s-obsession-with-the-catholic-church</guid>
  157.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  158.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/sanz.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  159.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Oviedo Archbishop Jesús Sanz Montes accused the government of focusing &quot;in a biased and manipulative way on the problem of pedophilia as something attributable only to the Catholic Church.&quot; / Credit: Archdiocese of Oviedo</span>
  160. </div>
  161. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, May 2, 2024 / 18:50 pm (CNA).</p>
  162. <p>“They have done it again. It is a kind of obsessive mantra every time they need a smokescreen to distract from the real problems we have and to which they so clumsily and insidiously apply their tortuous governance.”</p><p>That is how the archbishop of Oviedo, Jesús Sanz Montes, began a letter released this week titled “<a href="https://www.iglesiadeasturias.org/carta/la-matraca-acusadora/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The Accusing Rattle</a>” in which he responds to the socialist government’s announcement of an exclusive <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257476/bishops-catholic-church-in-spain-unjustly-singled-out-in-plan-to-address-sexual-abuse" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">plan</a> to address sexual and power abuses committed within the Catholic Church.</p><p>In the opinion of the prelate, the country’s executive “has tried to focus in a biased and manipulative way on the problem of pedophilia as something attributable only to the Catholic Church, which represents an exclusive and improper singling out and leaves unprotected the majority of those who have suffered this terrible scourge.”</p><p>The Franciscan archbishop encouraged people to denounce “the deceitful, biased, or false information and to humbly say how much good we do as a Christian community,” while at the same time acknowledging errors, asking for forgiveness, and accompanying victims.</p><p>The archbishop said Christians are called to defend abuse victims, “assuming our responsibility in what concerns us, but urging that the entire society also adopt appropriate measures, starting with government leaders,” he added.</p><p>Sanz criticized the executive for falsifying “the identity of the human person” and destroying “anthropology in its masculine and feminine identity.”&nbsp;</p><p>He added that the government propagates a version of feminism that not only fails to eradicate unjust sexist violence against women but “actually exacerbates it” along with “a perverse pornographic and obscene manipulation that confuses and harms children and young people based on gender ideology.”</p><p>If such policies are maintained, the archbishop predicts, “the society thus poisoned and confused will be more manipulable by those who, from their narcissistic and fallacious amorality, seek to perpetuate themselves in power.”</p><p>The prelate has described as “clear” the <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257476/bishops-catholic-church-in-spain-unjustly-singled-out-in-plan-to-address-sexual-abuse" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">statement</a> from the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) in which it rejected the government’s plan and denounced that the plan “parts from a condemnatory judgment of the entire Church, carried out without any type of legal guarantee, a public and discriminatory accusation by the state.”</p><p>Sanz emphasized that “we must not allow ourselves to be identified with this false story that disfigures the true work of the Church” and, turning the tables on the subject, asked: “Which institution of those affected by this crime has taken the matter seriously? Which ones have created offices of shelter and support, have preventively educated their members, and have actively collaborated with the prosecutor’s office?”</p><h2>‘The arbitrary imputation is unacceptable’</h2><p>The prelate reminded the faithful that the problem of the sexual abuse of minors in Spain is one in which Catholic clergy and religious account for a miniscule <a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/86452/nuevo-estudio-revela-la-realidad-sobre-los-abusos-sexuales-y-los-sacerdotes-en-espana" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">0.2% part</a>. That figure comes from a study by the Anar Foundation, specialized in the protection of children, which details that between 2008 and 2009, 0.2% of the more than 6,000 reported cases of abuse can be attributed to priests and religious.</p><p>According to the cited foundation that works on the prevention of child abuse, parents represented the largest number of aggressors, totaling 23.3%. Companions occupied second place among perpetrators against minors, with 8.7%, while friends represent 5.7% and partners, boyfriends, or girlfriends represent 5.6%.</p><p>The archbishop of Oviedo concluded by rejecting as unacceptable “the arbitrary accusation that only focuses on us, having such a low criminal percentage, with a whole series of legal, fiscal, economic, and social measures,” adding: “What do those who continue in this foul play want to cover up or distract from? ‘Cui prodest?’ said Seneca [‘Who benefits?’].”</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104191/arzobispo-de-oviedo-denuncia-la-obsesion-del-gobierno-contra-la-iglesia-catolica" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published </em></a><em>by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.</em></p>
  163. ]]></description>
  164.        <category>Europe</category>
  165.        <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 18:50:00 -0400</pubDate>
  166.      </item>
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  169.        <title><![CDATA[ Florida issues emergency rules to combat Biden abortion ‘misinformation’  ]]></title>
  170.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257572/florida-issues-emergency-rules-to-combat-biden-abortion-misinformation</link>
  171.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257572/florida-issues-emergency-rules-to-combat-biden-abortion-misinformation</guid>
  172.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  173.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/shutterstock-1968250909.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  174.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / Credit: Shutterstock</span>
  175. </div>
  176. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 2, 2024 / 18:20 pm (CNA).</p>
  177. <p>The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) released a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flrules.org/notice/resultAdvance.asp?string=a&amp;ChkFAW=on&amp;keyword=&amp;orgid=59&amp;orid=&amp;sid=&amp;iid=4132&amp;date3=05%2F02%2F2023&amp;date4=07%2F02%2F2024&amp;date1=05%2F02%2F2023&amp;date2=05%2F02%2F2024&amp;submit=++Search++" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pair of emergency rules</a>&nbsp;that it said are aimed at combating “misinformation” and a “deeply dishonest scare campaign” by the Biden administration about the state’s new six-week pro-life law.&nbsp;</p><p>The rules, published on May 1, establish guidance for lifesaving measures and clarify that&nbsp;certain&nbsp;procedures, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies, are not considered abortion and remain legal under the Florida Heartbeat Protection Act, which went into effect on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257562/pro-life-roundup-here-s-what-happened-with-abortion-at-the-state-level-this-week" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Wednesday</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>This&nbsp;comes amid significant criticism over the state’s pro-life law that prohibits abortions on women after six weeks of pregnancy except for in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger. The new AHCA rules further clarify those exceptions.&nbsp;</p><p>“The agency finds there is an immediate danger to the health, safety, and welfare of pregnant women and babies due to a deeply dishonest scare campaign and disinformation&nbsp;being perpetuated&nbsp;by the media, the Biden administration, and advocacy groups to misrepresent the Heartbeat Protection Act and the state’s efforts to protect life, moms, and families,” the AHCA wrote in both rules. “The agency is initiating rulemaking to safeguard against any immediate harm that could come to pregnant women due to disinformation.”&nbsp;</p><p>“This rulemaking,” the AHCA goes on, “will ensure health care providers establish medical records procedures that will adequately protect the care and safety of both mothers and their unborn babies during medical emergencies.”</p><p>The rules state that “regardless of gestational&nbsp;age,” treatment for ectopic pregnancies, premature rupture of membranes, trophoblastic tumors, and “other life-threatening conditions” is “not to be considered an abortion and shall not be reported [as such]” even if those procedures inadvertently result in the death of the unborn child.&nbsp;</p><p>In a “Myth vs. Fact” sheet published the same day, the AHCA also clarified that “Florida law does not prohibit the removal of the pregnancy for women who experience a miscarriage in any circumstance.”&nbsp;</p><div class="twitter-wrapper"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In an effort to combat the lies and misinformation surrounding Florida’s Heartbeat Protection Act, please read the Agency for Health Care Administration’s Myth vs Fact below. ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/D1n7USigFh">pic.twitter.com/D1n7USigFh</a></p>— Florida AHCA (@AHCA_FL) <a href="https://twitter.com/AHCA_FL/status/1785784419149648289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2024</a></blockquote><script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><div class="drag-handle" data-drag-handle="true"> </div></div><p>The Biden administration has been outspoken about its opposition to Florida’s six-week law. Vice President Kamala Harris gave a speech in Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday in which she condemned the Florida pro-life law as “extreme” and dangerous for the health and safety of women.&nbsp;</p><p>President Joe Biden also attacked Florida’s six-week law in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257479/biden-targets-trump-in-florida-speech-on-abortion" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">campaign speech</a>&nbsp;in Tampa on April 23. He blamed former President Donald Trump and Republicans for unleashing a “nightmare” on American women.&nbsp;</p><p>Florida state Sen. Lauren Book&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/state-senator-lauren-book-explains-impact-of-floridas-6-week-abortion-ban/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a>&nbsp;that “women and girls will die” because of the law.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>AHCA Secretary Jason Weida issued a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/JasonWeidaFL/status/1785803416763035865" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">statement</a>&nbsp;the same as the rule in which he said: “The pro-abortion left is lying for political gain. The attempts to demonize standard health care for women make a physician’s job more difficult and can put a pregnant woman’s life at risk. The Heartbeat Protection Act protects women from life-threatening complications while protecting the life of the unborn.”&nbsp;</p>
  178. ]]></description>
  179.        <category>US</category>
  180.        <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 18:20:00 -0400</pubDate>
  181.      </item>
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  184.        <title><![CDATA[ What is causing our fertility crisis? Catholic experts weigh in ]]></title>
  185.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257570/what-is-causing-our-fertility-crisis-catholic-experts-weigh-in</link>
  186.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257570/what-is-causing-our-fertility-crisis-catholic-experts-weigh-in</guid>
  187.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  188.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/1950s-family-gloucester-massachusetts-usa-5336436883.jpeg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  189.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Fertility rose at the end of the Depression and the end of World War II with the baby boom, to more than 3.5 births for every woman by 1960 — then plummeted immediately thereafter. / Credit: Glenn|Wikimedia|CC BY-SA 2.0</span>
  190. </div>
  191. <p>Washington D.C., May 2, 2024 / 17:55 pm (CNA).</p>
  192. <p>The record-low fertility rates in the United States and the decline in fertility globally are driven by both social and economic factors,&nbsp;according to Catholic panelists speaking at an event hosted by the Institute for Human Ecology (IHE).</p><p>According to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257514/us-birth-and-fertility-rates-drop-to-record-lows-according-to-cdc-report" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">provisional data</a>&nbsp;published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week, the 2023 American fertility rate fell to 54.4 births per 1,000 women,&nbsp;which is&nbsp;the lowest in recorded history. The total fertility rate, which estimates how many children the average woman will have over her&nbsp;lifetime,&nbsp;fell to just over 1.6 — well below the replacement rate of 2.1.</p><p>The&nbsp;panel, titled&nbsp;“<a href="https://ihe.catholic.edu/events/the-population-bust/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The Population Bust</a>,” took place at the Catholic University of America.&nbsp;The institute&nbsp;is affiliated&nbsp;with the&nbsp;university’s&nbsp;Department of Politics.&nbsp;The panel was moderated by Catholic New York Times columnist Ross Douthat.</p><h2>How fertility began to trend downward</h2><p>In 1800, the fertility rate was more than four times the current rate, standing&nbsp;strong&nbsp;at more than seven births for every woman over her lifetime.&nbsp;</p><p>The rate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1033027/fertility-rate-us-1800-2020/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">steadily decreased</a>&nbsp;to just over three births for every woman in 1925, until taking a&nbsp;large&nbsp;dip to 2.06 during the Great Depression. Fertility rose again at the end of the Depression and the end of World War II with the baby boom, to more than 3.5 births for every woman by 1960 — then plummeted immediately&nbsp;thereafter.&nbsp;</p><p>Apart from a few small short-term bumps, the&nbsp;country’s&nbsp;fertility rate has never recovered from the post-1960 downward trajectory.&nbsp;</p><p>Catherine Pakaluk, an IHE scholar, mother of eight, and author of the recently published book&nbsp;“<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hannahs-Children-Quietly-Defying-Dearth/dp/1684514576" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Hannah’s&nbsp;Children</a>,”&nbsp;said the gradual decline since 1800 was primarily a result of industrialization. When the country was more&nbsp;agrarian, children were an economic necessity to help with work and to provide care for their parents as they aged. But industrialization and the social safety nets ended that incentive.&nbsp;</p><p>Before industrialization, Pakaluk noted, the mindset was,&nbsp;“You’re&nbsp;going to do this&nbsp;really hard&nbsp;thing because&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;the sort of thing you need to do.”</p><p>Yet fertility&nbsp;had&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;remained above the 2.1 replacement rate until the 1960s when there were significant&nbsp;shifts in the culture.&nbsp;In 1960, just before birth rates began to plummet again, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first birth control pill&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;women’s&nbsp;liberation movement began to take hold of the country.</p><p>When the&nbsp;“contraceptive revolution”&nbsp;occurred, along with a rise in feminism, Pakaluk said many women still wanted to have children but began to prioritize professional goals instead.&nbsp;</p><p>“They also want to have jobs and careers,”&nbsp;Pakaluk added.&nbsp;“Literally,&nbsp;that’s&nbsp;the problem. They want to have two things that are in conflict.&nbsp;… Women’s&nbsp;large-scale entry into the paid workforce is the thing&nbsp;that’s&nbsp;in tension with having the children they want to have.”</p><p>Timothy Carney, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, father of eight, and author of the recently published book&nbsp;“<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Family-Unfriendly-Culture-Raising-Harder/dp/006323646X" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Family Unfriendly</a>,”&nbsp;said the United States has become&nbsp;“a contraceptive society.”&nbsp;He lamented the social view that children are&nbsp;simply&nbsp;“your individual deliberate choice,”&nbsp;which he said&nbsp;emboldens&nbsp;the mindset that this&nbsp;“freed up everybody else from having to help out.”</p><p>“Our society is failing to make people want to have kids,”&nbsp;Carney said.&nbsp;“Our society is falling short in all these ways.&nbsp;… It is our culture that is family-unfriendly.”</p><p>Carney said&nbsp;that having&nbsp;children used&nbsp;to&nbsp;simply&nbsp;be a part of life, but now people postpone and agonize over the decision. He criticized&nbsp;“helicopter parenting”&nbsp;as one of the reasons people are afraid to have more children.</p><p>“Millennials were more helicoptered as kids, and so their view of&nbsp;what parenting is&nbsp;was much more daunting than [Generation] X, where it was&nbsp;‘come home when the street lights turn on’&nbsp;when we were little,”&nbsp;Carney said.</p><p>“It’s&nbsp;our&nbsp;culture’s&nbsp;values that&nbsp;are off,”&nbsp;Carney added.&nbsp;“And&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;all tied to the overparenting [and] the strange new mating and dating norms, which [are based on] a belief in hyper-individualism.”</p><h2>Complexities in fixing these trends</h2><p>For her recent book, Pakaluk interviewed women who have defied these trends and built large families with their husbands. The reasons that those women decided to have large families, she noted, were rooted in religious faith.</p><p>According to Pakaluk, these women believed that&nbsp;“children are blessings from God, expressions of&nbsp;God’s&nbsp;goodness and the purpose of my marriage.”</p><p>“Churches and religious people are&nbsp;actually&nbsp;holding the one thing that can make the biggest difference because&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;either true or&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;not true that children are blessings [and] that&nbsp;they’re&nbsp;always valuable,”&nbsp;Pakaluk said.&nbsp;“... If&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;true,&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;not propaganda to say it.&nbsp;… If&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;true and&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;not propaganda, people can begin to believe this.”</p><p>Pakaluk said the central assertion of Christianity is that&nbsp;“God became Man as a human infant and that reality is supposed to color the way we see the value of human infancy.”&nbsp;Although the women she spoke to have goals and responsibilities apart from their roles as mothers, she said the faith component ensures that they prioritize building a family first.</p><p>“To get more children, you have to find some way … to argue that this particular good — the&nbsp;‘children’&nbsp;good — is of greater value or more importance,”&nbsp;Pakaluk added.</p><p>Carney suggested that&nbsp;some of the cultural difficulties could be mitigated&nbsp;through economic incentives. He criticized the failure to pass a child tax credit and rebuked the mindset that society has no role in supporting families.&nbsp;</p><p>“People have less community support,”&nbsp;he said.</p><p>Still, Carney cited the importance of a resurgence in faith as a fundamental component of raising fertility rates.&nbsp;</p><p>“The secular story — the godless story — ends up being too sad to want to continue the human race,”&nbsp;Carney said.</p>
  193. ]]></description>
  194.        <category>US</category>
  195.        <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 17:55:00 -0400</pubDate>
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  199.        <title><![CDATA[ Trump polls ahead of Biden among Catholic voters with shift in Hispanic vote ]]></title>
  200.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257569/trump-polls-ahead-of-biden-among-catholic-voters-with-shift-in-hispanic-vote</link>
  201.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257569/trump-polls-ahead-of-biden-among-catholic-voters-with-shift-in-hispanic-vote</guid>
  202.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  203.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/shutterstock-2361937955.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  204.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / Credit: Shutterstock</span>
  205. </div>
  206. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 2, 2024 / 15:26 pm (CNA).</p>
  207. <p>Former President Donald Trump is polling more than 10 points ahead of President Joe Biden among Catholic voters, thanks in part to increasing support from Hispanic Catholic voters, according to a recent Pew survey.</p><p>Overall, Pew has Trump leading by only 1% among the general voter population. His support among the Catholic demographic, however, shows noteworthy signs of growth compared with 2020.</p><p>According to the latest Pew Research Center <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/30/voters-views-of-trump-and-biden-differ-sharply-by-religion/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">poll</a>, which was taken April 8–14, Trump leads Biden among Catholics 55% to 43%. The 12% lead is a significant increase from <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/08/30/most-white-americans-who-regularly-attend-worship-services-voted-for-trump-in-2020/ft_2021-08-30_validatedvotersreligion_04-png/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">2020</a>, when Catholics voted in favor of Trump by just 1%, 50% to 49%.&nbsp;</p><p>Chad Pecknold, a theology professor at the Catholic University of America and an expert on the American Church, told CNA the Hispanic Catholic shift is what stands out most in Pew’s latest poll.&nbsp;</p><p>Hispanic Catholics, who make up<a href="https://vencuentro.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2021-Catholics-National-Regional-and-Diocesan-.pdf" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> approximately 40%</a> of the U.S. Church, continue to favor Biden, but at a much smaller margin, 49% to 47%. This is a serious decline in Hispanic Catholic support for Biden. A <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/10/13/white-christians-continue-to-favor-trump-over-biden-but-support-has-slipped/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">similar Pew poll</a> taken a month before the 2020 election showed Hispanics favored Biden by an overwhelming margin of 67% to 26%.&nbsp;</p><p>This comes as Pew <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/01/10/key-facts-about-hispanic-eligible-voters-in-2024/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">projects</a> Hispanics to make up a record-high 14.7% of all eligible U.S. voters this election season.&nbsp;</p><p>“Democrats are experts at harvesting ‘identities’ for votes, so it’s important to pay close attention when they fail,” Pecknold said.&nbsp;</p><p>“They [Hispanic Catholics] were once reliable votes for Democrats, but they are now splitting down the middle. What this suggests is that, despite their best attempts at buying their votes through political favors, Democrats are losing one of the identity groups they’ve worked hardest at keeping.”&nbsp;</p><p>Meanwhile, Trump’s lead among White Catholics has also grown, currently at 61% in favor of Trump to 38% for Biden, compared with 57% to 42% in 2020.&nbsp;</p><p>Nevertheless, both Biden and Trump currently hold <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257457/pew-research-biden-in-most-trouble-among-catholic-voters" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">high unfavorability</a> ratings among Catholics. According to Pew, only 35% of Catholics hold a favorable view of Biden while 64% have an unfavorable view. Trump, meanwhile, is also viewed unfavorably by a majority of Catholics (57%) and favorably by 42%.&nbsp;</p><p>Though he is the second Catholic president in U.S. history, Biden has sparked outrage among many Catholics for invoking his Catholic faith to support abortion. <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257246/washington-archbishop-biden-picks-and-chooses-parts-of-catholic-faith" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Cardinal Wilton Gregory</a>, archbishop of Washington, D.C., recently criticized Biden on national television, saying he “picks and chooses” elements of the Catholic faith to follow.</p><p>Pew’s data reveals a marked difference in political affiliation between Catholics who attend Mass at least monthly or more and those who do not.</p><p>Regardless of ethnicity, among all Catholics who attend Mass monthly or more often, 61% identify with the Republican Party or lean Republican. This includes a majority (67%) of both white Catholics and Hispanic Catholics (52%).</p><p>Biden’s most significant polling lead is among atheist voters, a demographic he leads by 76 percentage points, 87% to 11%. He also holds very large leads among Black Protestants (77% to 18%) and agnostics (82% to 17%). Biden leads among religiously unaffiliated voters 69% to 28%, which is very similar to his support in this demographic in 2020.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  208. ]]></description>
  209.        <category>US</category>
  210.        <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 15:26:00 -0400</pubDate>
  211.      </item>
  212.    
  213.      <item>
  214.        <title><![CDATA[ Pope Francis tells world’s parish priests: The Church could not go on without you ]]></title>
  215.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257567/pope-francis-tells-worlds-parish-priests-the-church-could-not-go-on-without-you</link>
  216.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257567/pope-francis-tells-worlds-parish-priests-the-church-could-not-go-on-without-you</guid>
  217.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  218.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/popefrancislettertopriests1050224.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  219.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Pope Francis meets with 300 priests taking part in the World Meeting of Parish Priests on May 2, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media</span>
  220. </div>
  221. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 2, 2024 / 12:41 pm (CNA).</p>
  222. <p>Pope Francis published a letter on Thursday addressed to all parish priests in the world with his advice for building a missionary Church in which all the baptized share in the mission of proclaiming the Gospel.</p><p>“Parish communities increasingly need to become places from which the baptized set out as missionary disciples and to which they return, full of joy, in order to share the wonders worked by the Lord through their witness,” Pope Francis wrote in the letter published on May 2.</p><p>The pope presented <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2024/documents/20240502-lettera-parroci.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the letter</a> to 300 priests participating in the Synod on Synodality’s “World Meeting of Parish Priests” during an audience at the Vatican, saying that their meeting is “an opportunity to remember in my prayers all of the parish priests in the world to whom I address these words with great affection.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/popefrancislettertopriests2050224.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="" alt="Pope Francis meets with 300 priests taking part in the World Meeting of Parish Priests on May 2, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Pope Francis meets with 300 priests taking part in the World Meeting of Parish Priests on May 2, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media</figcaption></figure><p>“Before all else, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for the generous work that you do each day, sowing seeds of the Gospel in every kind of soil,” Pope Francis wrote.</p><p>“It is so obvious as to sound almost banal, but that does not make it less true: the Church could&nbsp; not go on without your dedication and your pastoral service,” he added.</p><p>In the letter, Pope Francis offered three suggestions to parish priests for building “a synodal and missionary Church.”</p><p>The first is for priests to live out their “specific ministerial charism in ever greater service to the varied gifts that the Spirit sows in the people of God.”&nbsp;</p><p>He said that by nurturing the many and varied charismatic gifts of the laity, priests will “feel less alone in the demanding task of&nbsp;evangelization” and “will experience the joy of being true fathers, who do not dominate others but&nbsp;rather bring out in them, men and women alike, great and precious possibilities.”</p><p>The second suggestion is to “learn to practice the art of communal discernment” by using the “conversation in the Spirit” practiced during last October’s Synod on Synodality assembly.</p><p>Lastly, Pope Francis encouraged priests to base everything they do “in a spirit of sharing and fraternity” both among themselves and with their bishops.</p><p>“We cannot be authentic fathers unless we are first sons and brothers. And we cannot foster communion and participation in the communities entrusted to our care unless, before all else,&nbsp; we live out those realities among ourselves,” the pope explained.</p><p>The audience with the pope concluded the four-day World Meeting of Parish Priests, which took place from April 29 to May 2 at the Fraterna Domus retreat house in Sacrofano, Italy, just north of Rome.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256733/synod-on-synodality-organizers-invite-300-parish-priests-to-a-listening-session-in-rome" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">gathering of 300 priests</a> was jointly organized by the Dicastery for the Clergy and by the General Secretariat of the Synod in response to the first synod assembly’s synthesis report, which identified a need to “develop ways for a more active involvement of deacons, priests, and bishops in the synodal process during the coming year.”</p><p>Father Clinton Ressler, a priest from the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, was <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257147/five-us-catholic-priests-chosen-to-attend-synod-on-synodality-meeting-at-the-vatican" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">one of five American priests</a> who traveled to Rome for the meeting.</p><p>Ressler told EWTN that a highlight from the meeting was “the experience of being together with brother priests from around the world.”</p><p>He said that he has learned that despite the diverse realities in which priests in different parts of the world find themselves, “the experience of being a priest on the front lines and in the trenches is kind of a universal experience — the joy, the sorrow, the hope.”</p>
  223. ]]></description>
  224.        <category>Vatican</category>
  225.        <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 12:41:00 -0400</pubDate>
  226.      </item>
  227.    
  228.      <item>
  229.        <title><![CDATA[ Priest shot dead in South Africa; Catholic bishops there decry ‘pandemic’ of murder ]]></title>
  230.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257564/priest-shot-dead-in-south-africa-catholic-bishops-there-decry-pandemic-of-murder</link>
  231.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257564/priest-shot-dead-in-south-africa-catholic-bishops-there-decry-pandemic-of-murder</guid>
  232.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  233.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/dimension-2024-04-30t211218-1714508033.jpg.webp?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  234.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Father Paul Tatu Mothobi, a member the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata (CSS/ Stigmatines) and former Media and Communications Officer of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), was found dead of gunshot wounds in South Africa, on April 27, 2024. / Credit: SACBC</span>
  235. </div>
  236. <p>ACI Africa, May 2, 2024 / 11:00 am (CNA).</p>
  237. <p>Father Paul Tatu Mothobi, a member the <a href="http://stigmatines.com/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata</a> (CSS/Stigmatines) and former media and communications officer of the <a href="https://sacbc.org.za/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference</a> (SACBC), was reportedly murdered last weekend in South Africa.</p><p>According to a notice from the congregation’s South Africa-based provincial secretary, Father Jeremia Thami Mkhwanazi, Tatu died on Saturday, April 27, “after sustaining a gunshot.”</p><p>Tatu, a native of Lesotho’s<a href="https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dmase.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Archdiocese of Maseru</a>, was ministering in South Africa’s<a href="https://www.facebook.com/archdioceseofpretoria/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Archdiocese of Pretoria</a>. According to reports, his lifeless body was found with gunshot wounds in his car on a national road in South Africa, which runs from Cape Town through Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Polokwane to Beit Bridge, a border town with Zimbabwe.</p><p>In a Monday, April 29, statement, SACBC members expressed condolences, describing his killing as “not an isolated incident,” recalling the <a href="https://www.aciafrica.org/news/10480/catholic-priest-shot-dead-in-holy-trinity-cathedral-of-tzaneen-diocese-south-africa" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">March 13 murder</a> of Father William Banda, the Zambian-born member of <a href="https://www.spms.org/history" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">St. Patrick’s Missionary Society</a> (Kiltegan Fathers), who was shot in the sacristy of the <a href="http://tzaneencatholicchurch.co.za/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Holy Trinity Cathedral</a> of South Africa’s Tzaneen Diocese.</p><p>“Father Tatu worked for several years as the SACBC media and communications officer with dedication; we are saddened by his tragic death. We extend our condolences to the Stigmatine congregation, to which he belonged, and to his family,” bishops from Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa said in the one-page statement signed by SACBC president Bishop <a href="https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bsipuka.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Sithembele Sipuka</a>.</p><p>“It must be noted that the death of Father Paul Tatu is not an isolated incident but rather a distressing example of the deteriorating state of security and morality in South Africa,” the Church leaders added.</p><p>The murder of Tatu and that of Banda, SACBC members lamented, “occurs amid growing concerns about the increasing disregard for the value of life, where people are wantonly killed.”&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/paultatu-1714508418.jpg.webp" class="img-fluid" alt="Father Paul Tatu Mothobi was found dead of gunshot wounds on April 27, 2024, in his car on a national road in South Africa. A native of Lesotho’s Catholic Archdiocese of Maseru, he was ministering in South Africa’s Catholic Archdiocese of Pretoria. Credit: SACBC"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Father Paul Tatu Mothobi was found dead of gunshot wounds on April 27, 2024, in his car on a national road in South Africa. A native of Lesotho’s Catholic Archdiocese of Maseru, he was ministering in South Africa’s Catholic Archdiocese of Pretoria. Credit: SACBC</figcaption></figure><p>Born in 1979 in Teyateyaneng, a town in Lesotho’s district of Berea, Tatu joined the Stigmatines in 1998. He studied philosophy at St. Francis House of Studies in Pretoria from 1999 to 2000 and moved to Botswana for his novitiate.</p><p>Before theological studies, the late priest took a year off from priestly formation to live with and teach miners in South Africa’s Free State. He later resumed his studies, joining Pretoria-based St. John Vianney Seminary, under the Stigmatines, for theology. He was ordained a priest in 2008. </p><p>The Stigmatines later sent him to Tanzania as a missionary, where he pursued media and communication studies at Mwanza-based <a href="https://www.saut.ac.tz/pages/background.php" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">St. Augustine University of Tanzania</a> of the <a href="https://tec.or.tz/index.php/about-us/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Tanzania Episcopal Conference</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Tatu was also a collaborator of ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, more recently assisting with an <a href="https://www.aciafrica.org/news/10702/catholic-widow-in-lesotho-leading-campaign-to-address-youth-addiction-to-drugs" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">April 9 story</a> about an initiative to address drug addiction in youth.</p><p>In the April 29 statement, the bishops underscored the need for authorities in South Africa to protect human life.</p><p>“On behalf of the bishops, I appeal to all people responsible for these murders to refrain from thinking that they can do what they like with people’s lives. Life belongs to God, and no one has a right to take it as one pleases,” the statement said.&nbsp;</p><p>The bishops decried lawlessness in South Africa, addressing President <a href="https://twitter.com/cyrilramaphosa?lang=en" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Cyril Ramaphosa</a>’s government: “Mr. President and Police Minister, there is a growing impression among South Africans that criminals are freely murdering the citizens with no fear of consequences.”</p><p>“A deliberate termination of the life of one person affects not only the person killed but a whole network of relationships of that person,” the SACBC statement continued. “… Killing one person brings about pain and misery to many people.”</p><p>The statement called on the government to put in place “immediate and effective measures to ensure the security of law-abiding citizens who work hard to support their families and for our Catholic priests who spend their lives serving the people of this country.”</p><p>“We appeal to you to make the well-being and safety of our people a top priority,” the bishops said. “As a Church, we are at your disposal for discussion and strategies to stop the murder of innocent people, which is now becoming a pandemic in this country.” </p><p><em>This story was </em><a href="https://www.aciafrica.org/news/10846/another-religious-priest-shot-dead-in-south-africa-southern-african-catholic-bishops-decry-pandemic-of-murder" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>first published by ACI Africa</em></a><em>, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.</em></p>
  238. ]]></description>
  239.        <category>Middle East - Africa</category>
  240.        <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 11:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  241.      </item>
  242.    
  243.      <item>
  244.        <title><![CDATA[ Pope Francis to speak at event on Italy’s record-low birth rate ]]></title>
  245.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257563/pope-francis-to-speak-at-event-on-italy-s-record-low-birth-rate</link>
  246.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257563/pope-francis-to-speak-at-event-on-italy-s-record-low-birth-rate</guid>
  247.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  248.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/230512-states-general-of-natality-daniel-ibanez-8.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  249.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Pope Francis shared a stage with Italy&#039;s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on May 12, 2023, to speak at a two-day conference on “The General State of the Birth Rate,” held at Conciliazione Auditorium close to the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA</span>
  250. </div>
  251. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 2, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).</p>
  252. <p>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.</p><p>Pope Francis will address “The General State of the Birth Rate” conference on May 10 at the <a href="http://www.auditoriumconciliazione.it/lauditorium/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Conciliazione Auditorium</a> close to the Vatican.</p><p>The<a href="https://www.statigeneralidellanatalita.it/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> two-day event</a> organized by the <a href="https://www.forumfamiglie.org/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Forum of Family Associations</a> and the Foundation for Births seeks to address the 50 years of steady decline in births across Europe, and especially in Italy, and what can be done to reverse it.&nbsp;</p><p>Births in Italy dropped to a historic low in 2023. Italy’s national statistics bureau recorded 379,000 births last year, a 3.6% decline from 2022 and a 34.2% drop from 2008.</p><p>Italy’s overall population has been falling since 2014 with 282,000 more deaths than births in Italy in 2023. The country has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe: 1.2 births per woman.</p><p>Pope Francis has described the low number of births as “a figure that reveals a great concern for tomorrow.” He lamented last year 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.”</p><p>“The General State of the Birth Rate” will feature Italian government ministers, business leaders, and media personalities who will give talks on the family, including Eugenia Roccella, Italy’s family minister.</p><p>It will be the third time that Pope Francis has participated in the conference, which is supported by the Italian Ministry for Family, Birth, and Equal Opportunity.&nbsp;</p><p>Last year, Pope Francis shared the stage with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.</p><p>“The birth of children, in fact, is the main indicator for measuring the hope of a people,” Pope Francis said at the conference in 2023.</p><p>“If few are born it means there is little hope. And this not only has repercussions from an economic and social point of view but also undermines confidence in the future.”</p><p>The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported last week that the U.S. birth rate also hit a record low in 2023 and that the total number of births was the lowest it’s been in decades.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr035.pdf" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">According to the report</a>, slightly fewer than 3.6 million babies were born in 2023, or 54.4 births per 1,000 women aged 15 through 44. This was a 2% decline in total births and a 3% decline in births per 1,000 women when compared with the previous year.</p><p>“The birth rate challenge is a matter of hope,” Pope Francis said.</p><p>Hope, the pope said, “is not an illusion or an emotion that you feel, no; it is a concrete virtue, a life attitude. And it has to do with concrete choices. Hope is nourished by each person’s commitment to the good, it grows when we feel we are participating and involved in making meaning of our own and others’ lives.”</p>
  253. ]]></description>
  254.        <category>Vatican</category>
  255.        <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 09:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  256.      </item>
  257.    
  258.      <item>
  259.        <title><![CDATA[ Walk to Mary pilgrimage brings thousands to ‘grounds where Mary appeared’ ]]></title>
  260.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257555/walk-to-mary-pilgrimage-brings-thousands-to-grounds-where-mary-appeared</link>
  261.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257555/walk-to-mary-pilgrimage-brings-thousands-to-grounds-where-mary-appeared</guid>
  262.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  263.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/walktomaryphoto21.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  264.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual Walk to Mary, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin. / Credit: The Shrine of Our Lady of Champion</span>
  265. </div>
  266. <p>CNA Staff, May 2, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).</p>
  267. <p>Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual <a href="https://walktomary.com/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Walk to Mary</a>, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the <a href="https://championshrine.org/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion</a>, Wisconsin.</p><p>The Walk to Mary will take place on May 4 this year and includes several “join in” points along the route that offer participants unable to walk the entire distance to participate. These locations shorten the pilgrimage length, allowing pilgrims of all ages to take part in what is a spiritual and physical test in perseverance.</p><p>This year’s pilgrimage is particularly special as the participants will be walking similar stretches that the perpetual pilgrims and Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament on the Marian Route will be walking during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage this June.</p><p>The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will be making a stop at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion on June 16, where there will be a Mass celebrated and a large Eucharistic rosary procession.</p><p>Father Joseph Aytona, CPM, rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, told CNA in an interview that the Marian Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage was actually named in honor of Our Lady of Champion.</p><p>“It is an honor to pray over this path during the Walk to Mary and, in a real way, ‘prepare the way of the Lord and make straight his paths’ for when he arrives in June through the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage,” he said.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/walktomarybussesandcrowd.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual Walk to Mary, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin. Credit: National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual Walk to Mary, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin. Credit: National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion</figcaption></figure><p>Since 2023, a segment of the Walk to Mary has been designed to accommodate children, families, and anyone who wants to participate in the pilgrimage but is challenged by the longer distances. This 1.7-mile route, called “The Walk With the Children,” merges into the last&nbsp;half a mile of the longer route.</p><p>Aytona shared that they are expecting more than 6,000 pilgrims from around the world to attend this year’s Walk to Mary.&nbsp;</p><p>“Participants walk down everyday streets and trails through the Green Bay area, led by a carried statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” he explained. “They pray the rosary, sing hymns, and silently reflect on the intentions they are walking for. It’s always a beautiful display of faith for the world to see.”</p><p>Aytona compared the walk to a “mini-version of the Camino de Santiago in Europe,”&nbsp;adding that “the Walk to Mary draws people to the heart of pilgrimage — the opportunity for one to draw closer to the Lord and for him to draw closer to you — but all through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph.”</p><p>The final destination of the walk is also particularly special as the <a href="https://championshrine.org/our-story/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Shrine of Our Lady of Champion</a> is the first and only approved Marian apparition in the United States.&nbsp;</p><p>On Oct. 9, 1859, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a young Belgian woman named Adele Brise in the woods near present-day Champion, Wisconsin. Seeing the beautiful lady dressed in dazzling white with a crown of stars around her head, Brise asked the woman who she was.</p><p>The lady replied: “I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same.”</p><p>The Blessed Mother then told the young girl to “gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation. Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do.”</p><p>The apparition was approved by Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay in 2010.&nbsp;</p><p>Karmen Lemke, executive director of Catholic Charities at the Diocese of Green Bay, called the 21-mile pilgrimage “absolutely life-changing.”</p><p>This year marks Lemke’s third time participating in the Walk to Mary; however, her first two experiences hold a special place in her heart.&nbsp;</p><p>“My first walk, the full 21 miles, was in 2022, and my inspiration for participating was to join my friend Doris Lamers, who was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer,” Lemke shared with CNA in an interview.&nbsp;</p><p>“The Blessed Mother has been an important person in her life and the Walk to Mary was something she really wanted to do. A few days before I asked again if she wanted to walk, even if we did the short version, and she quickly replied: ‘I want to walk and I want to do the whole thing,’” she recalled.</p><p>Lemke said that will be a day she will “forever treasure.”</p><p>“The weather was perfect, but our conversations along the walk were priceless,” she said. “We prayed the rosary and talked about life in general.&nbsp;We met so many wonderful people along the way, sharing stories of why they walk.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/walktomary72.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Karmen Lemke (right, kneeling), along with a group of friends and family, assist Doris Lamers on what would be her final Walk to Mary pilgrimage experience. Credit: Karmen Lemke"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Karmen Lemke (right, kneeling), along with a group of friends and family, assist Doris Lamers on what would be her final Walk to Mary pilgrimage experience. Credit: Karmen Lemke</figcaption></figure><p>In 2023, Lemke and Lamers participated in the walk again, along with Lamers’ sister and niece; however, due to the progression of the cancer, Lemke pushed Lamers in a wheelchair for the last seven miles of the walk.</p><p>“Upon our arrival at the shrine, Doris received a special blessing from Father Joseph [Aytona]. It was wonderful. I know that Doris knew exactly what was going on and was grateful for the day.”</p><p>Lamers passed away on Sept. 20, 2023.</p><p>“This year will hold a different meaning for us,” Lemke said. “We know that Doris will be with us and she’ll be saying, ‘Come on girls, you can do the whole route!’”</p><p>As for what Lemke has taken away from participating in the Walk to Mary, she said she has come to see “that anyone can do it with a little encouragement and not a lot of necessary training. I was moved by the number of people and their love for Mary and the love for their faith. It was a true sense of community.”</p><p>Aytona said he hopes that participants “are led to a deeper devotion to Our Lord Jesus.”</p><p>“True devotion to Mary always brings us to Jesus, and when people step foot on the grounds where Mary appeared, I hope they have an encounter with her that ultimately leads them to profound encounters with the merciful and divine love of Christ,” he added.</p>
  268. ]]></description>
  269.        <category>US</category>
  270.        <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 07:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  271.      </item>
  272.    
  273.      <item>
  274.        <title><![CDATA[ Colombian bishops call for day of prayer for peace, reconciliation in violence-torn country ]]></title>
  275.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257545/colombian-bishops-call-for-day-of-prayer-for-peace-reconciliation-in-violence-torn-country</link>
  276.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257545/colombian-bishops-call-for-day-of-prayer-for-peace-reconciliation-in-violence-torn-country</guid>
  277.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  278.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/rueda.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  279.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">God “is our peace” and “prayer leads us to meet him,” said the archbishop of Bogotá, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio. / Credit: Colombian Bishops Conference / Screenshot</span>
  280. </div>
  281. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, May 2, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).</p>
  282. <p>The Colombian Bishops’ Conference&nbsp; (CEC by its Spanish acronym) has called on all Catholics to join on May 3, Day of the Holy Cross, in a day of prayer for peace and reconciliation in the country.</p><p>“The call is made directly by the bishops and is based on recognizing the serious humanitarian crisis that multiple territories face amid armed conflict and other types of violence, as well as the complex sociopolitical panorama that the nation is experiencing today, permeated by division and polarization,” the CEC announced on its website.</p><p>Since Pope Francis’ visit to Colombia in September 2017 and his meeting with victims of the armed conflict, the Church in that country has established a National Day of Prayer for Reconciliation and Peace to be celebrated every May 3.</p><p>Inspired by a saying of Jesus Christ from Matthew 23:8, the motto for this year’s day of prayer is “All Brothers.”&nbsp;</p><p>In a video message, the president of the CEC and archbishop of Bogotá, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio, invites people to recognize that “beyond our differences, we are all children of God and, therefore, brothers.”</p><p>God “is our peace” and “prayer leads us to meet him,” the cardinal said, expressing his conviction that “reconciliation is the path we need to travel to experience true hope for change in the country.”</p><div style="width:100%" class="mx-auto embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5ev7xJlGQRA?feature=oembed" class="embed-responsive-item null" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="null" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div><p>“Let us pray for our country, that the Lord shows us with his Holy Spirit the paths of reconciliation,” the cardinal continued. “Reconciliation requires the ability to see the other as a brother. Jesus has told us: We are all children of the same Father.”</p><p>Rueda went on to cite Pope Francis, who “in a graphic way” has reminded us that “we are all in the same boat. The Colombian boat requires that you open your heart to reconciliation, to forgiveness. To look at the other, not as an enemy to be eliminated but as a friend, as a member of the same Colombian family.”</p><p>“That is what we want on May 3, for there to be a full day of prayer in parish churches, in the oratories of schools, universities, and women’s and men’s religious houses,” Rueda concluded.&nbsp;</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104168/la-iglesia-catolica-en-colombia-convoca-a-los-fieles-a-rezar-por-la-paz-el-3-de-mayo" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published </em></a><em>by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.</em></p>
  283. ]]></description>
  284.        <category>Americas</category>
  285.        <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  286.      </item>
  287.    
  288.      <item>
  289.        <title><![CDATA[ Pro-life roundup: Here’s what happened with abortion at the state level this week ]]></title>
  290.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257562/pro-life-roundup-here-s-what-happened-with-abortion-at-the-state-level-this-week</link>
  291.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257562/pro-life-roundup-here-s-what-happened-with-abortion-at-the-state-level-this-week</guid>
  292.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  293.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/prolifeflag042524.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  294.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">The pro-life flag from the Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com). / Credit: Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com)</span>
  295. </div>
  296. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 18:50 pm (CNA).</p>
  297. <p>Here’s a look at abortion-related developments that took place in various U.S. states this week.&nbsp;</p><h2>Florida’s six-week pro-life law takes effect</h2><p>Florida’s Heartbeat Protection Act took effect on Wednesday, May 1. The law protects unborn babies from abortion starting at six weeks of pregnancy. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law back in April 2023, but it remained blocked until an April decision by the state Supreme Court that cleared the way for it to take effect.&nbsp;</p><p>This comes as a high-stakes abortion amendment, effectively legalizing the procedure through all nine months of pregnancy, is set to be included on the ballot this November.&nbsp;</p><h2>Arizona Senate votes to repeal&nbsp;law&nbsp;protecting life at conception</h2><p>In a 16-14 vote the Arizona Senate voted to repeal a law protecting unborn babies from abortion beginning at conception. The so-called “abortion ban repeal” bill passed the Arizona Senate despite a narrow Republican majority, due to two Republicans joining all Democrats to repeal the pro-life law. The Arizona House already passed the repeal bill in a similarly close vote last week. Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has already said she plans to quickly sign the bill, which will return the state to limiting abortion after 15 weeks.&nbsp;</p><h2>South Dakota abortion amendment reaches required signatures</h2><p>Dakotans for Health, a pro-abortion group in South Dakota, announced on Wednesday that it has exceeded the required number of signatures to add an abortion&nbsp;<a href="https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/assets/2024CAAGRickWeilandabortionfinal.pdf" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">amendment</a>&nbsp;to the state’s November ballot. The amendment proposal and signatures will need to be vetted by state authorities. If passed, the amendment would override the state’s existing pro-life laws and enshrine abortion into the state constitution. Currently, abortion is only legal in South Dakota if the life of the mother is at risk.</p><h2>Tennessee governor signs ‘Baby Olivia’ pro-life bill</h2><p>Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill on Tuesday to increase education on fetal development in public schools. The bill mandates that the state’s family life curricula include a three-minute video titled “Baby Olivia,” which was produced by the pro-life group Live Action and shows an unborn baby’s development from conception till birth.&nbsp;</p><p>Several other states — Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, and West Virginia — are also considering passing bills to add the Baby Olivia video to their curriculum.</p><div style="width:100%" class="mx-auto embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S-lQOooYAs8?feature=oembed" class="embed-responsive-item null" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="null" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div><h2>Maine governor signs out-of-state abortion law</h2><p>Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed a law last week that seeks to shield out-of-state patients who are seeking abortions or so-called “gender-affirming care” in Maine from possible prosecution. The legislation would prevent their medical records from being shared with law enforcement agencies in other states where such practices have been banned. The law also gives abortionists in the state immunity from any prosecutions on abortions performed on out-of-state women.&nbsp;</p>
  298. ]]></description>
  299.        <category>US</category>
  300.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 18:50:00 -0400</pubDate>
  301.      </item>
  302.    
  303.      <item>
  304.        <title><![CDATA[ Latin patriarch of Jerusalem takes possession of Rome titular church after delays due to war ]]></title>
  305.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257561/latin-patriarch-of-jerusalem-takes-possession-of-rome-titular-church-after-delays-due-to-war</link>
  306.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257561/latin-patriarch-of-jerusalem-takes-possession-of-rome-titular-church-after-delays-due-to-war</guid>
  307.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  308.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/cardinalpizzaballa050124.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  309.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa gives the homily at a Mass in which he took possession of his titular church, St. Onuphrius, in Rome on May 1, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/ACI Prensa</span>
  310. </div>
  311. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, May 1, 2024 / 18:30 pm (CNA).</p>
  312. <p>Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem, finally took possession on May 1 of his assigned titular church in Rome after having postponed the ceremony due to the war in the Holy Land.</p><p>Part of the process of becoming a cardinal is being assigned a titular church in Rome known as his “title” or “deaconry” in accordance with his role in assisting the pope, the bishop of Rome.</p><p>The ceremony at St. Onuphrius, the titular church of the papal order of the Holy Sepulchre, was scheduled for April 15 when the conflict in the Middle East worsened with the Iranian attack on Israel.</p><p>On the night of April 13, the Israeli army reported that Iran launched dozens of missiles and drones from its territory, most of which were intercepted outside Israeli territory by the country’s air defense systems.</p><p>Consequently, the patriarch, who had planned to travel to Rome, had to cancel the trip at the last minute and reschedule the ceremony.</p><p>Pizzaballa was created a cardinal by Pope Francis at the Sept. 30, 2023, consistory along with 21 other cardinals.</p><p>In his May 1 homily, which he gave at St. Onuphrius Church in Rome, the Italian cardinal noted that the Church of Jerusalem is “the mother Church” in which “the roots of the universal Church” are found.</p><p>He also said that it is the “central heart” of the life of the Church, although this universality “is not complete without Peter.”</p><p>Along these lines, the prelate stated that being made a cardinal “is not a coincidence” and that united with Peter, and Rome united with Jerusalem, “they complete this picture with their roots in the Holy Land.”</p><p>“Being a cardinal is not only a title or an honor, it is also a responsibility,” the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem remarked.</p><p>He also reflected on true joy, which is born “from the deep, serene, and conscious” union with the Lord.</p><h2>‘We are going through the most difficult moments in our history’</h2><p>Referring to the war ravaging the Holy Land, the cardinal lamented: “We are going through the most difficult moments in our recent history” and stressed that the impact of this conflict on the population “is enormous, more than any other war or conflict.”</p><p>The cardinal added that “we would like the United States to resolve the problem, as well as the peace negotiations,” although he regretted that at the moment “nothing is happening.”</p><p>The patriarch explained that conflict “is not the way in which the kingdom of God grows” but rather “it grows in community, peacefully.”</p><p>“The kingdom of God is not a miracle but the seed in the earth that grows and bears fruit, which is born from the heart of God’s love,” he said. For the cardinal, the kingdom of God “can also be experienced within war.”</p><p>Pizzaballa said that “the Lamb of God is the light that illuminates the city of Jerusalem” and that “we are called to be able to see the reality of the world through the paschal light of Christ, who died out of love and was raised by the power of the Holy Spirit.”</p><p>Finally, he urged “seeking ways of reconciliation” and that the words “truth, justice, and forgiveness” never be separated from one another.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104226/pierbattista-pizzaballa-toma-posesion-de-su-titulo-cardenalicio-en-roma" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published</em></a><em> by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.</em></p>
  313. ]]></description>
  314.        <category>Europe</category>
  315.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 18:30:00 -0400</pubDate>
  316.      </item>
  317.    
  318.      <item>
  319.        <title><![CDATA[ Archdiocese of Baltimore concludes traumatic ‘listening sessions’ around restructuring plan ]]></title>
  320.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257558/archdiocese-of-baltimore-concludes-traumatic-listening-sessions-around-restructuring-plan</link>
  321.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257558/archdiocese-of-baltimore-concludes-traumatic-listening-sessions-around-restructuring-plan</guid>
  322.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  323.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/listening.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  324.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Catholics in the Archdiocese of Baltimore pack the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen during a concluding listening session on the archdiocese&#039;s major parish restructuring plan on April 30, 2024. / Credit: Matthew Balan</span>
  325. </div>
  326. <p>Baltimore, Md., May 1, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).</p>
  327. <p>Hundreds of Catholic residents of Baltimore packed the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Tuesday evening to give their often-impassioned reactions to a process that could lead to the closure of nearly two-thirds of the city’s parishes.</p><p>Several parishes from the state’s largest city organized large contingents to attend the April 30 meeting, which was the final of three listening sessions for the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s <a href="https://www.archbalt.org/seek-the-city-proposal/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">“Seek the City” parish restructuring proposal</a>. They made their presence known with custom-made T-shirts or ethnic attire, with some even carrying large banners that begged Archbishop William Lori to spare their churches.</p><p>Parishioners from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in the Mount Washington neighborhood of the city printed a banner that proclaimed: “SOS! Save Our Shrine.” The group from the largely-Filipino parish also participated vocally in the session, including an emotional plea from John Tagle, a high school student. Tagle worried that his parish would be gone when he returned home from college.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/save.shrine.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Parishioners from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Baltimore's Mount Washington neighborhood display an “SOS! Save Our Shrine” banner at an April 30, 2024, listening session. Credit: Matthew Balan"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Parishioners from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Baltimore's Mount Washington neighborhood display an “SOS! Save Our Shrine” banner at an April 30, 2024, listening session. Credit: Matthew Balan</figcaption></figure><p>A non-Filipino member of the shrine, David Bender, bluntly stated: “The proposal does not make spiritual sense.”&nbsp;</p><p>Many of those wearing custom T-shirts came from Holy Rosary, a parish in the Fells Point neighborhood that has connections to two Polish canonized saints. Some of their group wore ethnic attire and waved the white and red flag of their Eastern European homeland.&nbsp;</p><p>A young woman from Holy Rosary wondered why the archdiocese would shutter a place that was visited by St. John Paul II (when he was Cardinal Karol Wojytla in 1976). The parish is also directly tied to the canonization process of St. Faustina Kowalska, as it was the site of a <a href="http://www.holyrosarypl.org/en/shrine/miracle/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">documented miraculous healing</a> attributed to the Polish sister.</p><p>Auxiliary Bishop Bruce Lewandowski gave a grim assessment as he spoke to local media before presiding over the listening session. “This is difficult. It’s heart-wrenching,” he emphasized. “But we’re at a pivotal moment in the city Church. We need to do this.”</p><p>Lewandowski led the attendees in prayer before starting the main presentation about the parish closure/consolidation proposal under “Seek the City.” He, along with two lay consultants, began a slideshow that first gave an overview of the two-year process leading up to the current juncture.</p><p>The trio then unveiled several slides that outlined the proposal to shrink the city’s parishes from 61 parishes to 26 parishes. The City of Baltimore, along with some immediate surrounding parts of neighboring Baltimore County, was divided into five regions (center, east, west, north, and south). While the first four regions would have three to five consolidated parishes, the south region would be reduced to only two.&nbsp;</p><p>An additional two parishes have been designated “personal parishes”: St. Ignatius, which is administered by the Jesuits, and St. Alphonsus, the home of the Traditional Latin Mass in Baltimore. During the listening session, the archdiocese disclosed that a final decision on the “Seek the City” proposal would be made by mid-June.</p><p>The slideshow spotlighted that four of the merged parishes would specifically minister to Hispanic communities. It also noted that the Filipino community — currently centered at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart — would move to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/auxiliary.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="“This is difficult. It’s heart-wrenching,&quot; Auxiliary Bishop Bruce Lewandowski said. &quot;But we’re at a pivotal moment in the city Church. We need to do this.&quot; Credit: Matthew Balan"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">“This is difficult. It’s heart-wrenching," Auxiliary Bishop Bruce Lewandowski said. "But we’re at a pivotal moment in the city Church. We need to do this." Credit: Matthew Balan</figcaption></figure><p>Other parishoners with deep roots in Baltimore City also bewailed the spiritual devastation the proposed restructuring would cause. A representative from St. Rita’s in Dundalk (a community that was directly impacted by the <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257197/baltimore-archbishop-calls-for-prayers-after-catastrophic-bridge-collapse" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">recent collapse of the Key Bridge</a> at the mouth of Baltimore Harbor) begged: “Don’t let the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ leave Old Dundalk!”</p><p>Sue Jones, who has lived her entire life in the region, reflected on entering her eighth decade as a Catholic in the primatial see of the United States. Jones, who attends St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in the Hampden neighborhood, underlined that “killing [the parishes], or turning them into unrecognizable hubs, ... is the final nail in the coffin for the Church in Baltimore City.” Her parish would be closed under the current proposal.</p><p>The lifelong Baltimore resident added that she remained hopeful. </p><p>“I’m so proud, because the remaining Catholics are here in spite of the archdiocese’s leadership,” she said after the listening session.</p>
  328. ]]></description>
  329.        <category>US</category>
  330.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 18:10:00 -0400</pubDate>
  331.      </item>
  332.    
  333.      <item>
  334.        <title><![CDATA[ Archdiocese of New Orleans suspected of child sex trafficking, warrant shows ]]></title>
  335.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257560/archdiocese-of-new-orleans-suspected-of-child-sex-trafficking-warrant-shows</link>
  336.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257560/archdiocese-of-new-orleans-suspected-of-child-sex-trafficking-warrant-shows</guid>
  337.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  338.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/neworleanscathedral043024.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  339.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">The St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States, on April 9, 2020, in New Orleans. / Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images</span>
  340. </div>
  341. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).</p>
  342. <p>A criminal investigation into the Archdiocese of New Orleans&nbsp;is based&nbsp;on a suspicion that it may&nbsp;be linked&nbsp;to child sex trafficking, according to allegations presented in&nbsp;<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j-pYFiidibqcmbhto5RBiZ4Hghf0ZgKF/view" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a search warrant</a>&nbsp;granted to Louisiana State Police.</p><p>The affidavit requesting the search warrant,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.audacy.com/wwl/news/local/warrant-lsp-investigating-archdiocese-for-sex-trafficking" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">first obtained by the New Orleans-based WWL Radio</a>, alleges that multiple sex abuse victims provided statements that claim they were transported to other parishes and outside of Louisiana, where they&nbsp;were sexually abused. It further alleges&nbsp;a scheme within the archdiocese in which abused children were instructed&nbsp;to provide “gifts” to certain priests, which&nbsp;were meant&nbsp;to signal that the children were targets for sexual abuse.</p><p>According to the allegations in the affidavit, multiple victims reported that&nbsp;they were brought&nbsp;to the New Orleans Seminary, where they were instructed to “swim naked in the pool and would be sexually assaulted or abused.” It also alleges that investigators found&nbsp;that this&nbsp;was “a common occurrence” and that other members of the archdiocese were present.&nbsp;</p><p>“Based on these findings, as well as the allegations of previous widespread child sexual abuse,&nbsp;it was determined&nbsp;that further investigation into the Archdiocese of New Orleans was necessary,” investigator Scott Rodrigue wrote in the affidavit.&nbsp;</p><p>Judge Juana Lombard&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257499/louisiana-police-obtain-new-search-warrant-in-new-orleans-archdiocese-abuse-investigation" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">granted police the search warrant</a>&nbsp;last week, but the allegations in the warrant were not made public until Tuesday, April 30. It allows police to search personnel files, financial records, communications, and other documents related to allegations of sexual abuse.</p><p>The warrant acknowledges that the police have probable cause to suspect felony violations of the law that prohibits the “trafficking of children for a sexual purpose.”</p><p>Although the allegations contained in the warrant do not indicate when the alleged trafficking occurred, the information that led to a suspicion of sex trafficking&nbsp;was obtained&nbsp;by police during an earlier investigation into a retired priest named Lawrence Hecker,&nbsp;who is accused&nbsp;of raping an underage teenage boy in the 1970s. Hecker&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255336/91-year-old-ex-priest-indicted-in-new-orleans-for-alleged-rape-of-boy-in-the-1970s" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">was indicted</a>&nbsp;for the alleged crime but has not yet&nbsp;been tried.</p><p>The affidavit alleges that documents obtained during the Hecker investigation show that “previous archbishops … not only knew of the [widespread] sexual abuse and failed to report all the claims to law enforcement, but [also] spent archdiocese funding to support the accused.”</p><p>One document cited in the affidavit states that one specific archbishop “was aware of rampant sexual abuse throughout the archdiocese,” but the affidavit leaves out the archbishop’s name.&nbsp;</p><p>The affidavit alleges, without stating the exact time frame, that the archdiocese “disregarded” or “covered up” claims of widespread sexual abuse. It&nbsp;alleges&nbsp;that in many cases, abuse claims “were not reported to law enforcement.”&nbsp;In some instances, the archdiocese&nbsp;provided “monetary payments” to victims or their families “to dismiss the allegations,” according to the affidavit.</p><p>Investigators conducted “a large number of interviews” of individuals who allege widespread sexual abuse against children in the archdiocese, according to the affidavit. Interviews are still&nbsp;being conducted.&nbsp;</p><p>The Archdiocese of New Orleans&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/44394/archdiocese-of-new-orleans-files-for-bankruptcy" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">filed for bankruptcy</a>&nbsp;in May 2020 amid financial problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the costs of litigation and settlements related to alleged sexual abuse.</p><p>CNA&nbsp;reached out to&nbsp;the archdiocese for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.&nbsp;</p>
  343. ]]></description>
  344.        <category>US</category>
  345.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 17:50:00 -0400</pubDate>
  346.      </item>
  347.    
  348.      <item>
  349.        <title><![CDATA[ Here are the countries that rank worst in the world in religious freedom  ]]></title>
  350.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257559/here-are-the-countries-that-rank-worst-in-the-world-in-religious-freedom</link>
  351.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257559/here-are-the-countries-that-rank-worst-in-the-world-in-religious-freedom</guid>
  352.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  353.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/images/Candles_religious_freedom_Credit_Juthamat8899_Shutterstock_CNA.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  354.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / Credit: Juthamat8899/Shutterstock</span>
  355. </div>
  356. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).</p>
  357. <p>The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/2024%20Annual%20Report.pdf" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">new report</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday highlighting the countries with the worst religious persecution in the world.</p><p>From this report, which is released annually, USCIRF&nbsp;makes recommendations&nbsp;to the State Department&nbsp;on&nbsp;how to best advocate for religious freedom.&nbsp;The suggestions typically translate into sanctions from the U.S. against violating countries to pressure them to improve their religious tolerance.&nbsp;</p><p>This year, the countries topping&nbsp;USCIRF’s&nbsp;list of the&nbsp;world’s&nbsp;most egregious religious freedom violators were Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.</p><p>USCIRF recommends these nations&nbsp;be designated&nbsp;as&nbsp;“countries of particular&nbsp;concern,”&nbsp;or&nbsp;“CPCs,”&nbsp;a label that has&nbsp;been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253083/africa-s-leaders-gather-in-dc-as-religious-persecution-in-nigeria-is-still-being-ignored" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">called</a> America’s&nbsp;“most powerful tool”&nbsp;to advocate for religious freedom.</p><p>Here are some&nbsp;of the&nbsp;countries with the most concerning religious freedom trends in the last year.</p><h2>Afghanistan&nbsp;</h2><p>Religious freedom and free expression have continued to deteriorate in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, according to the report. The country is violently enforcing an apostasy law that bans conversions from Islam. The report also said that in the last year, the Taliban implemented a series of measures to seriously restrict&nbsp;women’s&nbsp;dress, movement, access to education, and employment. Despite&nbsp;USCIRF’s&nbsp;recommendation, Afghanistan is not currently a CPC,&nbsp;although&nbsp;the Taliban&nbsp;is designated&nbsp;as an&nbsp;“entity of particular concern”&nbsp;(EPC).</p><h2>Azerbaijan</h2><p>A majority Muslim country, Azerbaijan was included in&nbsp;USCIRF’s&nbsp;CPC list this year for the first time. The&nbsp;country&nbsp;has been increasingly encroaching on the religious rights of both Azerbaijani Muslims as well as of ethnic minorities, such as the Armenian Christians. According to the report, Azerbaijani citizens are&nbsp;“routinely”&nbsp;harassed, fined, and imprisoned based on their religious activities. The report said that 183&nbsp;“peaceful believers”&nbsp;were unjustly imprisoned in Azerbaijan in 2023 because of their religious beliefs or activities.&nbsp;</p><p>After a violent Azerbaijani takeover of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and a subsequent mass exodus of Armenian Christians, USCIRF reported that several historic Christian sites have&nbsp;been damaged and&nbsp;there remain serious concerns about further threats to the&nbsp;region’s&nbsp;ancient religious sites. Azerbaijan also evicted Armenian Apostolic priests from the historic Dadivank Monastery in the Kalbajar region along the Armenian border.&nbsp;</p><h2>China</h2><p>The most populous country in the world, China is a mainstay of&nbsp;USCIRF’s&nbsp;CPC list because of its continued&nbsp;“sinicization”&nbsp;program,&nbsp;which&nbsp;subjects all its citizens and all religions in the country to the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).&nbsp;Under&nbsp;China’s&nbsp;communist government, all religions are strictly controlled by the state&nbsp;and&nbsp;any unauthorized religious activity is dealt with severely.&nbsp;In 2023, the report said, Chinese authorities continued to&nbsp;“forcibly disappear”&nbsp;and convict underground Catholic priests, including two bishops. The government also continues to subject the Muslim Uyghurs to forced labor and indoctrination camps and to persecute and imprison thousands of members of the Falun Gong religious movement.&nbsp;</p><h2>India&nbsp;</h2><p>The second-most populous country in the world, India is increasingly emerging as a leader on the world stage. Despite this, India, run by Prime Minister Narendra&nbsp;Modi’s Hindu Nationalist government,&nbsp;has witnessed deteriorating religious freedom conditions. Though the&nbsp;country’s&nbsp;constitution protects the right to practice&nbsp;one’s&nbsp;faith, much of the country enforces anti-conversion laws. According to the report, thousands of Christians and Muslims were subjected to attacks and intimidation in&nbsp;2023&nbsp;while hundreds of churches and mosques&nbsp;were destroyed.&nbsp;</p><h2>Iran</h2><p>Citizens in the Islamic Republic of Iran continue to suffer&nbsp;“extremely poor”&nbsp;religious freedom conditions,&nbsp;according&nbsp;to the report. In 2023, protesters against the&nbsp;government’s&nbsp;mandatory hijab laws and other restrictions on religion were systematically harassed, arrested, raped, tortured, and, in some cases, executed. Religious minorities, including Sunni Muslims, were severely punished, sometimes executed, whenever&nbsp;caught&nbsp;violating the&nbsp;country’s&nbsp;strict Islamic law.&nbsp;</p><h2>Nicaragua</h2><p>Nicaraguan dictators Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo intensified their persecution of the Catholic Church and other religious groups in 2023. In the last year, the dictatorship seized the assets and properties of Catholic churches, monasteries, and schools and arbitrarily imprisoned and exiled hundreds of Catholics and political dissidents. Bishop Rolando Alvarez, a longtime critic of the Ortega-Murillo regime, was sentenced to 26 years in&nbsp;prison,&nbsp;where he spent all of 2023 with little to no contact with the outside world. This January&nbsp;he&nbsp;was exiled from Nicaragua to the Vatican.</p><h2>Nigeria</h2><p>More than 8,000 Christians were killed across Nigeria last year, according to the report. On Christmas weekend alone, a series of attacks resulted in the deaths of 190 Christians in&nbsp;Nigeria’s&nbsp;Plateau state.&nbsp;</p><p>Nigerian Christians, who make up 46% of the population, were the victims of widespread attacks, kidnappings, torture, and acts of intimidation by criminal elements that were largely ignored by the Nigerian government.</p><p>Despite continued persecution and consistent recommendations from USCIRF to designate Nigeria a CPC, the State Department under the Biden administration has excluded this country&nbsp;from the list&nbsp;since 2021.</p><h2>Pakistan</h2><p>Terrorist attacks against religious minorities and places of worship increased significantly in Pakistan in 2023, according to the report. The government moved&nbsp;to further strengthen&nbsp;prohibitions against&nbsp;“blasphemy,”&nbsp;which observers say is a method of targeting religious minorities. In&nbsp;August&nbsp;a mob attacked a Christian community in Jaranwala over an accusation of blasphemy. The mob destroyed and looted many homes in the community and damaged at least 24 churches.</p><h2>Other concerning trends</h2><p><strong>Transnational persecution on the rise:&nbsp;</strong>USCIRF reported that in addition to carrying out persecutions within their borders, several governments&nbsp;“engaged in transnational repression to silence religious minorities.”&nbsp;Chief among these were the governments of China and India, both of whom increased their international efforts to target religious minorities who had fled their borders. Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan also engaged in transnational repression as well.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Blasphemy laws:</strong>&nbsp;According to the report, blasphemy laws are one of the most significant challenges to religious freedom in the world. These laws work by punishing acts that are deemed offensive to the prevailing religion or ideology. There are 96 countries with active blasphemy laws, many of which are used to&nbsp;foment&nbsp;violence toward religious minorities, according to USCIRF.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Europe:</strong>&nbsp;Some European countries&nbsp;were also mentioned&nbsp;in the report as exhibiting concerning trends regarding religious freedom. The report highlighted how U.K. citizen Isabel Vaughan-Spruce&nbsp;was arrested&nbsp;for silently praying outside an abortion clinic in Birmingham, England. Additionally, the report mentioned Finnish member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen,&nbsp;who&nbsp;has faced multiple human rights violation charges for expressing her religious views on sexuality and marriage.&nbsp;</p>
  358. ]]></description>
  359.        <category>US</category>
  360.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 17:05:00 -0400</pubDate>
  361.      </item>
  362.    
  363.      <item>
  364.        <title><![CDATA[ Today begins May, the month dedicated to our spiritual mother, the Virgin Mary ]]></title>
  365.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257557/today-begins-may-month-dedicated-to-our-spiritual-mother-the-virgin-mary</link>
  366.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257557/today-begins-may-month-dedicated-to-our-spiritual-mother-the-virgin-mary</guid>
  367.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  368.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/ga-8.9.23.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  369.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Pilgrims at the Wednesday general audience Aug. 9, 2023, hold up an image of the Virgin Mary. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA</span>
  370. </div>
  371. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, May 1, 2024 / 16:02 pm (CNA).</p>
  372. <p>May will always be a special month, the month that the Church dedicates to the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God and our mother.</p><p>The month that begins today is just the right time to renew the love that all of us who are baptized ought to profess for the woman whom God chose — from eternity — to be the earthly mother of his Son, Jesus Christ, the word made flesh for the redemption of the human race.&nbsp;</p><p>How can we not turn our gaze toward her, who looks at us with sweetness and compassion! It’s no coincidence that the Son of God wanted to grow up in the warmth of a mother like Mary and receive her loving care.</p><h2>Let’s live this month ever close to Mary</h2><p>In the plan of salvation, the Blessed Virgin Mary holds a special place. By virtue of her role to be the mother of the Son of God by divine election, she was conceived immaculately — i.e., without the stain of original sin — and by fidelity to her son, she has been crowned queen of heaven and earth.&nbsp;</p><p>Everything Mary said and did leads to Christ. Who knows a child better than a mother? What good and noble child does not know his or her mother or love her with all his or her heart?</p><p>You would have to be a little or very foolish not to let yourself be embraced by that loving mother whom Jesus gave us. Consequently, how could we not dedicate some time to get to know her better and improve our relationship with her, who knew and loved Jesus like no one else on earth? And, let us not forget — she loves each of her children, human beings, with similar affection and tenderness.</p><p>The Church, in her wisdom, asks her children to be especially devoted to Mother Mary during this month and to be particularly grateful for all of her care.</p><h2>A model for every Christian</h2><p>Another aspect to consider and meditate on is that Mary, the most humble of all women, is a model for everyone, today, in the here and now. She is a model in a particular way for each woman, as expressed by Pope Francis.&nbsp;</p><p>“There is only one model for you, Mary: the woman of fidelity, the one who did not understand what was happening to her but obeyed. The one who, as soon as she knew what her cousin needed took off (to help her), the Virgin of Promptness. The one who escaped as a refugee in a foreign country to save the life of her son,” Pope Francis said during an April 2014 message to 20,000 young people gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a regional youth day.</p><h2>The first disciple</h2><p>Years later, during an Aug. 24, 2021, catechesis, Pope Francis called Mary “the first disciple of Jesus” and reminded us that “Mary is there, praying for us, praying for those who do not pray. Why? Because she is our mother.”</p><p>The Virgin, through Jesus, has brought heaven closer to us and her life is the best proof that it is possible to reach it. Pope Francis said it best: “She shows us that heaven is within reach, if we too do not give in to sin, we praise God with humility and we serve others with generosity” (Pope Francis, Angelus address on the solemnity of the Assumption, Aug. 15, 2022).&nbsp;</p><p>A holy month of May for everyone! Let’s walk hand in hand with Mary.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/50260/mayo-mes-dedicado-a-la-virgen-maria" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published</em></a><em> by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.</em></p>
  373. ]]></description>
  374.        <category>Americas</category>
  375.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 16:02:00 -0400</pubDate>
  376.      </item>
  377.    
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  379.        <title><![CDATA[ Hispanic Eucharistic Convention leads thousands to renewed faith in the Real Presence ]]></title>
  380.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257554/hispanic-eucharistic-convention-leads-thousands-to-renewed-faith-in-the-real-presence</link>
  381.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257554/hispanic-eucharistic-convention-leads-thousands-to-renewed-faith-in-the-real-presence</guid>
  382.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  383.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/hispaniceucharisticconvention050124.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  384.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Sandra Miley emcees the Hispanic Eucharistic Convention on April 27, 2024, at the Gaylord of the Rockies Convention Center in Denver. / Credit: Denver Catholic</span>
  385. </div>
  386. <p>Denver, Colo., May 1, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).</p>
  387. <p>In an environment filled with joy and hope, thousands of people met at the Gaylord of the Rockies Convention Center in Denver last Saturday to testify to and celebrate the Eucharist.</p><p>“I’m here because God called me to be here; I didn’t plan on coming,” Laura Paredes shared. “I had another event out of state. But God put some people in my path and my plans changed. This morning, as I entered the convention and saw the image on the screen, I said to myself, ‘What a waste it would have been if I didn’t come!’ I’m filled with joy, that soul-filling joy, in my heart, and I know I’m here because he wanted me to be here.”</p><p>For many, like María de Jesús Fernández, attending this convention was a way to draw nearer to God and enhance her relationship with him.</p><p>“I very much need to grow closer to God, and I hope that I will leave here renewed,” Fernández told the Denver Catholic.</p><p>“Just recently, I learned of a miracle in which the Eucharistic host became cardiac flesh and began to beat. God is calling us to reflect on how the world is doing right now. We have to lean on him, we have to draw closer to him, and it makes me so happy to see so many people here today,” she continued.</p><p>With a moving introduction, Monsignor Jorge de los Santos, pastor of Our Lady Mother of the Church Parish in Commerce City, Colorado, invited all participants to open their hearts to God and to participate in the convention as fully as possible to experience the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.</p><p>“Brothers and sisters, take advantage of this moment of grace, this day that the Lord has given us, this day to come together as brothers and sisters and be in the presence of Christ. May Christ the King reign!” de los Santos said, exhorting and encouraging those gathered.</p><p>From parish groups to individual participants who attended the convention to draw nearer to God and to get to know the Eucharistic Lord, the center quickly filled with the 2,500 participants who were able to get tickets for this one-of-a-kind event.</p><p>With the hope of learning more and strengthening his faith, Miguel traveled with his wife and children to be part of this event.</p><p>“More than anything, I came today to learn more about the Eucharist and Eucharistic miracles,” he said. “We’ve come today with open hearts to listen and learn from all the speakers.”</p><p>The convention began with a testimony from Daniel Rivas, a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Denver, who shared how God called him to his vocation after a profoundly difficult time in his life.</p><h2>Modern-day Eucharistic miracles</h2><p>Dr. Ricardo Castañón spoke on two themes of faith and his discoveries about the real presence of Christ through Eucharistic miracles, offering a powerful and moving testimony of how faith connects with science and the real presence of Jesus in the consecrated bread we receive at each Mass.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/castanon.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Dr. Ricardo Castañón speaks on two themes of faith and his discoveries about the real presence of Christ through Eucharistic miracles at the Hispanic Eucharistic Convention on April 27, 2024, in Denver. Credit: Denver Catholic"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Dr. Ricardo Castañón speaks on two themes of faith and his discoveries about the real presence of Christ through Eucharistic miracles at the Hispanic Eucharistic Convention on April 27, 2024, in Denver. Credit: Denver Catholic</figcaption></figure><p>“It has been phenomenal! I was shocked by all the miracles Dr. Castañón explained to us. I was seriously surprised. Now, I value the Eucharist so much more,” Virgilio Pedraza said. “Come closer, truly come closer to live with Christ present in your life.”</p><p>Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila celebrated a special Mass for those in attendance. In his homily, he stressed the importance of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist as well as the importance of keeping our hearts open to the Father.</p><p>“Our fervent hope as bishops is that love for the Eucharist and faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist might burn in the hearts of the faithful,” Aquila said, referencing the <a href="https://www.ewtn.com/eucharist" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">National Eucharistic Revival</a>, which will culminate in the National Eucharistic Congress this summer.</p><p>“When we come to Mass, we ought to prepare our hearts to adore the Father through, with, and in Jesus. In his one sacrifice we recognize and receive the love of the Father for us in Jesus and in the Eucharist,” he emphasized.</p><p>At the end of his homily, Aquila invited the faithful to pay extra attention to the prayers offered during each Mass and to carry the Eucharist to those in need through works of charity.</p><p>“I encourage you, my brothers and sisters here, as we continue this Mass, to be conscious of how we are adoring the Father. Listen attentively to the prayers offered during the Mass, especially the Eucharistic Prayer and the Our Father,” Aquila said. “Offer your lives to the Father with Jesus. Give yourself to the Father just as Jesus gave himself to the Father. Ask the Lord how we ought to bring the Eucharist to the world with our works of charity. By praying for those who are in need of our prayers, praying for those who do not know Jesus, now they come to know and love him more, especially in the breaking of the bread.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/denver.2.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila celebrates a special Mass for those in attendance at the Hispanic Eucharistic Convent on April 27, 2024, in Denver. Credit: Denver Catholic"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila celebrates a special Mass for those in attendance at the Hispanic Eucharistic Convent on April 27, 2024, in Denver. Credit: Denver Catholic</figcaption></figure><h2>Young people present</h2><p>Among those present at the Eucharistic Convention were numerous young people such as Giselle Chávez, who shared with the Denver Catholic her excitement over the opportunity God offered her to participate in this unique experience.</p><p>“I’m letting the Holy Spirit lead,” she said, adding an invitation to other young people to participate in events like these and encouraging them not to be afraid of drawing closer to God.</p><p>“Don’t be afraid,” she continued. “Don’t focus on the stereotypes or think that these sort of events are only for older people. It’s really beautiful to have faith and live a spiritual life as a young person so that we can carry it into adulthood and pass it on to our children and future generations.”</p><p>After lunch, the event continued with a concert with the religious music group Jeséd and a talk given by Luis Soto, director of Evangelization and Discipleship at the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. Following Soto’s talk, participants heard testimonies from Sister Isabel Muñoz de Lara of the Allied Discalced Carmelites of the Holy Trinity, Leopoldo Soto of the Apostles of the Word ministry, and Emma González.</p><p>“We are a Eucharistic Church; we are a Church that is born from the Eucharist and that lives for Christ,”  Soto shared with the Denver Catholic before his talk. “Today, in my talk, I will do my best to present a biblical account of the real presence of Christ, to try to understand the Mass and what it means, but above all to reinforce the idea, the understanding, and the certainty that Christ is present in a real way in the Eucharist.”</p><p>For San Juana, expanding her faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is as simple as coming to know the love of God.</p><p>“They say that no one loves what they do not know. So, it’s very important to get to know Jesus to love him more and reinforce our faith, coming to know him more through a bit of science,” she said, referring to Castañón’s talk. “We believe in this real presence more than anything by faith, but if we bolster that with science, it’s something even stronger.”</p><h2>Concluding adoration</h2><p>The Eucharistic Convention concluded with an emotional Holy Hour of Eucharistic adoration in which participants were able to open their hearts and experience the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.</p><p>Some of the participants who were present for the convention shared their emotion and satisfaction over being able to be a part of this unique experience and how the event marked a “before and after” in their faith lives.</p><p>“Today has been a blessing to reinforce the fact that Jesus Christ is present in the bread and the wine,” said Lucio Rodríguez, a parishioner of St. William Parish in Fort Lupton, Colorado.</p><p>“The Eucharistic miracles are the biggest gift that we have as Catholics. I’m really interested in making sure that people know what is actually happening in the Eucharist,” Flor Palafox, a parishioner of Queen of Peace Parish in Aurora, Colorado, told the Denver Catholic.</p><p>“I came to learn something new so that I can put it into practice in my life, in my service, with my family and with all those around me,” said Raúl Garcia, a parishioner of St. William Parish in Fort Lupton.</p><p>“I don’t even know how to explain what I’ve felt,” said Rosa Raudales, a parishioner of Our Lady of the Plains Parish in Byers, Colorado. “When I received the Eucharist, it was something that I needed. I needed the Lord!”</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://denvercatholic.org/first-ever-hispanic-eucharistic-convention-leads-thousands-to-a-renewed-faith-in-the-real-presence-of-jesus-in-the-eucharist/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published by the Denver Catholic</em></a><em> and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.</em></p>
  388. ]]></description>
  389.        <category>US</category>
  390.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 15:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  391.      </item>
  392.    
  393.      <item>
  394.        <title><![CDATA[ Orthodox rabbis in Jerusalem call on Jews to stand against spitting at Christians ]]></title>
  395.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257553/orthodox-rabbis-in-jerusalem-call-on-jews-to-stand-against-spitting-at-christians</link>
  396.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257553/orthodox-rabbis-in-jerusalem-call-on-jews-to-stand-against-spitting-at-christians</guid>
  397.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  398.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/dsc-8738.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  399.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">A family of religious Jews walks at the beginning of Armenian Quarter Street, the entry point to the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem in April 2024. Behind them stands the complex of the Tower of David Museum. / Credit: Marinella Bandini</span>
  400. </div>
  401. <p>Jerusalem, May 1, 2024 / 13:05 pm (CNA).</p>
  402. <p>During the Jewish Passover (Pesach) in late April, an unprecedented initiative took place in Jerusalem. </p><p>On the eve of the festivities, anticipating the arrival of numerous Jewish worshippers to fulfill religious precepts, several posters and pamphlets appeared in the streets of the Old City calling on the public to avoid offensive behavior and harassment toward Christians and non-Jews.</p><p>“We must together maintain ‘Derech Eretz’ (‘proper behavior precedes the Torah’) in regard to the respect of mankind, to non-Jews and those of a different religion, especially during Passover and throughout the entire year. We must prevent and prevent others from spitting in the direction of others who are not Jewish,” a short excerpt from the poster reads.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/dsc-8746.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="A religious Jewish family/group at the entrance of the Christian souk, from Jaffa Gate, in April 2024. Many Jews use this street to go to the Western Wall. Credit: Marinella Bandini"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">A religious Jewish family/group at the entrance of the Christian souk, from Jaffa Gate, in April 2024. Many Jews use this street to go to the Western Wall. Credit: Marinella Bandini</figcaption></figure><p>According to <a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/04/24/rabbis-take-stand-against-spitting-at-christians-in-jerusalems-old-city/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">local websites</a>, the initiative was promoted by Ahrale Friedman, a resident of the ultra-Orthodox Ramat Shlomo neighborhood located in the newer part of Jerusalem. A source with knowledge of the community but who is unauthorized to speak for it told CNA that the campaign is likely the effort of a broader Jewish organization with connections in the Orthodox world. Regardless, it is the first initiative of its kind.</p><p>Several highly publicized incidents involving ultra-Orthodox Jews harassing Christians in the Old City of Jerusalem have been reported. Among the most “hot” areas for this behavior are the Via Dolorosa, the Armenian quarter, and Mount Zion.&nbsp;</p><p>In the last year, a significant public opinion movement both locally and internationally has brought to light these types of incidents, including the controversial practice of spitting at Christians or their holy places as a sign of contempt.</p><p>The incidents have decreased in the last few months because of the war — due to the absence of Christian pilgrims and the reduced presence of Jews in the Old City in the early months of the conflict — but the phenomenon has never disappeared. </p><p>Just a couple of months ago, the attack on Benedictine Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel, captured live, caused a stir. And in recent days, a video filmed in the Armenian quarter has been circulating in which blasphemies against Jesus in Hebrew can be clearly heard.</p><p>On posters and flyers, one can find quotes on the matter from leading rabbinical authorities who have condemned such actions, such as the elder rabbi of the Council of Torah, Rabbi Meir Zvi Bergman. </p><p>“There is a new thing today that we should protest with all our might: spitting out on the street, and we are against it. It is blasphemy,” he said.</p><p>The Sephardic chief rabbi of Jerusalem, Shlomo Amer, is also quoted as saying: “This thing is absolutely forbidden, and it is also a blasphemy of God.”&nbsp;</p><p>A quote from Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, member of the Chief Rabbinate Council of Israel, is also present: “It’s so opposite of Judaism. I don’t know where these spits came from. It’s not ours.”</p><p>Yisca Harani, an Israeli lecturer, adviser, researcher, and guide in the field of Christian history who is involved in interfaith activities, told CNA that such an initiative against the behavior “is absolutely beneficial.”&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/na-191220-7073.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Yisca Harani at a conference in Ein Karem on Dec. 20, 2019, organized by the local Jewish community in collaboration with the Franciscan  convent of St. John. Credit: Nadim Asfour/Courtesy of Custody of the Holy Land"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Yisca Harani at a conference in Ein Karem on Dec. 20, 2019, organized by the local Jewish community in collaboration with the Franciscan  convent of St. John. Credit: Nadim Asfour/Courtesy of Custody of the Holy Land</figcaption></figure><p>Harani herself is involved in reporting cases of violence against Christians. In June 2023 she launched the <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/report-hotline-jlm/english?authuser=0" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Religious Freedom Data Center</a>, whose aim is “to document all such incidents, bring them to the attention of the relevant institutions, and demand they use the means and measures at their disposal to redress them.” She herself saw some people hanging posters, and she asked the volunteers of her association to distribute these flyers.</p><p>She explained that “all the rabbis quoted are very famous. The names of some very radical and very conservative rabbis were taken. It means that if they say not to spit, their audience will have to listen to it very carefully.”&nbsp;</p><p>Harani is convinced that reporting to the authorities is one of the paths to take. </p><p>“Only if [the attackers] are going to be treated very very harshly will we see a change,” she said. On the other hand, she believes that the “educational way” is the only one that can guarantee long-term results. </p><p>“Posters are a very good example of this,” she said.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/dsc-8723.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="An Orthodox Jew walks past the entrance of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, one of the places most affected by anti-Christian violence (both physical and verbal) in April 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">An Orthodox Jew walks past the entrance of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, one of the places most affected by anti-Christian violence (both physical and verbal) in April 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini</figcaption></figure><p>The posters clearly state that aggressive behavior toward Christians “will not benefit us and may even harm the global support for the war.” Furthermore, it is said that there were “wicked people” who have used videos in which young people were seen spitting “as an excuse to attack Jews abroad and slander the country and the people.”</p><p>“Even without the above-mentioned things,” the posters say, “we must be careful about this and preserve the honor of our Torah as the sons of Abraham our father, peace be upon him, who also received idolaters in his tent and taught us the Kiddush of God and the most distant ones even in days of peace and tranquility in our streets.”</p>
  403. ]]></description>
  404.        <category>Middle East - Africa</category>
  405.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 13:05:00 -0400</pubDate>
  406.      </item>
  407.    
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  409.        <title><![CDATA[ Supreme Court turns down porn group’s plea to block Texas age-verification law ]]></title>
  410.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257552/supreme-court-turns-down-porn-group-s-plea-to-block-texas-age-verification-law</link>
  411.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257552/supreme-court-turns-down-porn-group-s-plea-to-block-texas-age-verification-law</guid>
  412.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  413.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/shutterstock-1879881877.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  414.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / Credit: Shutterstock</span>
  415. </div>
  416. <p>CNA Staff, May 1, 2024 / 11:30 am (CNA).</p>
  417. <p>The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined a request from the porn industry to block a Texas age-verification rule, allowing the law to stand and temporarily derailing the efforts of porn creators to see the new safety measure scuttled.&nbsp;</p><p>The court&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/043024zr_8oka.pdf" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said in an unsigned order without comment</a>&nbsp;that it was denying a request from the Free Speech Coalition to issue a stay on the law. The Free Speech Coalition includes a porn trade association and several pornography creators.&nbsp;</p><p>Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has defended the law,&nbsp;<a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB01181F.pdf" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">HB 1181,</a>&nbsp;since its passage last summer. The measure requires porn websites to institute “reasonable age-verification methods” to ensure minors are not accessing explicit sexual content on their sites.&nbsp;</p><p>The attorney general has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-two-more-pornography-companies-violating-texas-age-verification-law" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">sued multiple pornography companies</a> in order to&nbsp;enforce the age-verification law. He argued earlier this year that pornography sites “are on the run because Texas has a law that aims to prevent them from showing harmful, obscene material to children.”&nbsp;</p><p>“In Texas, companies cannot get away with showing porn to children,” he said. “If they don’t want to comply, they should leave Texas.”</p><p>The porn industry has fought efforts to ensure that minors cannot access sexually explicit videos on their websites. Age-verification laws in Mississippi, Arkansas, Virginia, Montana, Utah, and North Carolina, for instance, have led Pornhub — one of the world’s most prolific porn websites — to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255048/report-age-verification-laws-have-driven-top-porn-site-to-shut-down-in-multiple-states" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">stop streaming its graphic sexual videos in those states.&nbsp;</a></p><p>The website earlier this year&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257104/pornhub-disables-website-in-texas-rather-than-comply-with-states-age-verification-law" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ceased offering its website in Texas</a>&nbsp;rather than comply with its age-verification law.</p><p>The U.S. crackdown on underage porn access comes as regulators in Europe have undertaken similar measures. The European Union in December announced that Pornhub, along with two other high-traffic pornography sites, would have to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256347/european-union-says-pornhub-must-comply-with-age-verification-safety-rules" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">comply with age-verification and safety laws</a>&nbsp;passed in 2022 by the governing body.&nbsp;</p><p>Church leaders have been warning about the dangers of pornography for years. In 2022 Pope Francis <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256347/european-union-says-pornhub-must-comply-with-age-verification-safety-rules" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">called pornography</a>&nbsp;“a permanent attack on the dignity of men and women,” arguing that it “is not only a matter of protecting children — an urgent task of the authorities and all of us — but also of declaring pornography a threat to public health.”</p><p>The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usccb.org/topics/natural-family-planning/pornography" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">called pornography</a>&nbsp;“a grave offense against God and his gifts to men and women” that offers “a means of selfish, lustful gratification” and which “attacks sexual desire and the conjugal act itself.”</p><p>In 2020, meanwhile, Catholic anti-porn advocates launched a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254122/new-online-platform-fights-porn-addiction-under-the-patronage-of-blessed-carlo-acutis" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">new online discussion and prayer platform</a>&nbsp;called SOS Porn Deliverance, which offers “the opportunity for those affected by [porn addiction] to chat confidentially with an e-missionary trained in this mission.”</p>
  418. ]]></description>
  419.        <category>US</category>
  420.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 11:30:00 -0400</pubDate>
  421.      </item>
  422.    
  423.      <item>
  424.        <title><![CDATA[ Pope Francis: We need to ‘welcome God into our daily lives’ and pray for ‘real peace’ ]]></title>
  425.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257551/pope-francis-we-need-to-welcome-god-into-our-daily-lives-and-pray-for-real-peace</link>
  426.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257551/pope-francis-we-need-to-welcome-god-into-our-daily-lives-and-pray-for-real-peace</guid>
  427.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  428.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/popefrancisgeneralaudiencespeech050124.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  429.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Pope Francis delivers a message during his general audience on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media</span>
  430. </div>
  431. <p>Vatican City, May 1, 2024 / 09:45 am (CNA).</p>
  432. <p>On Wednesday, May 1, Pope Francis addressed an international audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican and reiterated the importance of faith in the Christian life as well as the need to continually pray for “real peace” for the whole world.</p><p>The Holy Father also deplored war profiteering, decrying the actions of those “making money off death” through huge investments in the production of weapons.</p><p>Speaking to thousands of people gathered inside Vatican City on an overcast morning on the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker, the Holy Father spoke about the three theological virtues, beginning with faith, as part of his ongoing catechesis series on vices and virtues.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/3-img-6813.jpg" class="img-fluid" alt="Pope Francis greets pilgrims attending his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall on May 1, 2024. Credit: Elizabeth Alva/CNA"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Pope Francis greets pilgrims attending his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall on May 1, 2024. Credit: Elizabeth Alva/CNA</figcaption></figure><p>“What is faith?” Pope Francis asked his listeners. “Faith is the act by which the human being freely commits himself to God.”</p><p>Speaking of men and women who are role models of faith, such as Abraham, Moses, and the Virgin Mary, the pope urged his listeners to also welcome God into their daily&nbsp;lives — freely and completely — in spite of life’s difficulties, uncertainties, and tribulations.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/img-6703.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="" alt="Pope Francis smiles at pilgrims attending his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall on May 1, 2024. Credit: Elizabeth Alva/CNA"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Pope Francis smiles at pilgrims attending his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall on May 1, 2024. Credit: Elizabeth Alva/CNA</figcaption></figure><p>“Faith is the first gift to welcome in Christian life: a gift that must be welcomed and asked for daily so that it may be renewed in us. It is seemingly a small gift, yet it is the essential one,” he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The Holy Father also added that “the great enemy of faith” is fear and not intelligence or reason as many people believe.&nbsp;</p><p>Following his catechesis, Pope Francis greeted parish and religious groups from around the world packed into the crowded hall, many of whom brought flags and banners, and asked them to join him in prayer for peace in the world, particularly for those suffering due to natural disasters and conflict.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/popefrancisgeneralaudience2050124.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media</figcaption></figure><p>“Severe flooding has tragically taken the lives of many of our brothers and sisters, injured others, and caused widespread destruction,” he said about the severe flooding affecting the people of Kenya. “Even amid adversity we remember the joy of the risen Christ, and I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father.”</p><p>The Holy Father also reminded his audience to pray for those who are “victims of wars” in Ukraine, Palestine, and Israel, and to not forget the sufferings of the Rohingya refugees and to pray for peace in Myanmar.</p><p>“We cannot forget to pray for peace. War is always a defeat. Always,” he said. “We ask for real peace for these peoples and for the whole world. Unfortunately, today, the investments that earn the most income are weapons factories. Terrible. Making money off death. We ask for peace.”</p>
  433. ]]></description>
  434.        <category>Vatican</category>
  435.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 09:45:00 -0400</pubDate>
  436.      </item>
  437.    
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  439.        <title><![CDATA[ Virginia Catholic bishops urge Gov. Youngkin to veto contraception mandate bills ]]></title>
  440.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257547/virginia-catholic-bishops-urge-gov-youngkin-to-veto-contraception-mandate-bills</link>
  441.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257547/virginia-catholic-bishops-urge-gov-youngkin-to-veto-contraception-mandate-bills</guid>
  442.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  443.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/pildoras-simone-van-der-koelen-unsplash-260922.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  444.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / Image credit: Simone van der Koelen / Unsplash</span>
  445. </div>
  446. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).</p>
  447. <p>Both Roman Catholic dioceses in Virginia <a href="https://vacatholic.org/action-center/?vvsrc=/Campaigns/114993/Respond" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">are urging Gov. Glenn Youngkin</a> to veto bills that would establish a “right to contraception” and require health insurance companies to provide coverage for contraception — but do not contain any religious exemptions or parental rights protections.</p><p>“Taken together, these bills would end lives and undercut parental rights,” Jeff Caruso, the executive director of the Virginia Catholic Conference, which represents the Diocese of Richmond and the Diocese of Arlington, told CNA.</p><p>“They also completely disregard the fundamental rights of entities with sincerely and deeply held religious or moral objections to covering or providing abortion-inducing drugs, sterilizations, and contraceptives,” Caruso said. “We urge Gov. Youngkin to protect life, liberty, and parental rights by vetoing these extremely harmful bills.”</p><p>One of <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=241&amp;typ=bil&amp;val=sb238&amp;submit=GO" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the bills</a>, supported by most Democratic lawmakers and opposed by most Republicans, would require that all health insurance plans in the commonwealth include coverage for every contraceptive that has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).</p><p>These contraceptives include condoms, birth control pills, and some drugs that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/contraception/upload/Does-the-HHS-Mandate-Include-Abortifacients.pdf__;!!GfxeEQ!R3aowijbjODAfHV4cBZ82uIQ0r9wunQKuf1n24EOtcU_bbCWWPluatJOcJcGPA1tLRlaxcXEv_gz$" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">has warned can induce abortions</a> in early stages of pregnancy. It does not include mifepristone, which the FDA has approved for use to abort a child in utero up to 10 weeks into pregnancy.</p><p>Per the proposed legislation, no insurer, corporation, or health maintenance organization would be allowed to impose “burdensome restrictions or delays” on contraception. The language fails to include exemptions for religious employers who object to contraception and abortion, such as the Catholic Church.</p><p>The <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+sum+SB237" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">other piece of legislation</a> would establish a blanket “right” for every person to “obtain” and “use” contraception. The language does not limit this right to just adults but rather extends this right to every “person.” It does not include any protections for parental rights in these decisions.</p><p>This new “right” would include both FDA-approved drugs and surgical sterilization, such as castration.</p><p>According to the proposal, the right could “not be infringed upon by any law, regulation, or policy.”&nbsp;</p><p>The legislation also establishes a right to file civil lawsuits against “any person” who violates the “right to contraception.” Such lawsuits could be filed by the person who sought contraception, health care providers, or the attorney general.</p><p>The sponsors of the bill claimed during committee hearings on the legislation that the “right” does not impose any mandates on health care providers or doctors to provide contraception, but Republican opponents of the bill argued that the broad language could permit lawsuits against health care providers and doctors who do not provide contraception to someone who seeks it.</p><p>Youngkin had proposed amendments to both bills, which would have addressed many of the concerns brought up by the Catholic dioceses. However, Democratic lawmakers rejected his amendments and returned the bills back to him for reconsideration.</p><p>The governor’s <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+amd+SB238AG" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">proposed amendment</a> to the health insurance mandate would have added an exemption for “sincerely held religious or ethical beliefs.” His <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+SB237S2" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">proposed amendment</a> to the bill that would establish a “right to contraception” would have limited its scope to the contraception rights established by the United States Supreme Court in Griswold v. Connecticut.</p><p>Youngkin has until May 17 to act on the bills but has not yet said what he will do. When reached by CNA, Youngkin’s press secretary, Christian Martinez, highlighted the governor’s support for contraception access and religious freedom.</p><p>“Gov. Youngkin has been consistently clear that he supports access to contraception but desires to protect Virginians’ constitutional rights and religious liberties,” Martinez said.</p><p>Democratic lawmakers and lobbyist groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have voiced objections to the governor’s efforts to add religious freedom protections and limit the proposed “right” to contraception.&nbsp;</p><p>Sen. Ghazala Hashmi and Rep. Marcia Price, who sponsored their respective chamber’s version of the legislation to establish a right to contraception, accused Youngkin of trying to “play both sides of this issue because he doesn’t want to anger the loud extremists in his party” <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorHashmi/status/1783851412184576362/photo/1" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">in a joint statement</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>“Contraception cannot be played with: This bill is a matter of reproductive justice,” the statement read. “It is time for Gov. Youngkin to stop playing games and just sign the bill.”</p><p>Breanna Diaz, the legislative and policy counsel at the Virginia ACLU, accused Youngkin of trying to “water down” the bills with his recommendations.&nbsp;</p><p>“After the fall of Roe v. Wade, it’s become clear that extremists won’t stop at abortion but are after all reproductive health care — including contraception,” Diaz <a href="https://www.acluva.org/en/press-releases/lawmakers-did-right-thing-refusing-accept-gov-youngkins-attempt-undermine-right" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said in a statement</a>.</p><p>Alternatively, the Virginia Catholic Conference <a href="https://vacatholic.org/action-center/?vvsrc=/Campaigns/114993/Respond" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">is urging Catholics</a> to write to Youngkin to encourage him to veto the bills.</p>
  448. ]]></description>
  449.        <category>US</category>
  450.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 07:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  451.      </item>
  452.    
  453.      <item>
  454.        <title><![CDATA[ This is Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of May ]]></title>
  455.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257540/this-is-pope-francis-prayer-intention-for-the-month-of-may</link>
  456.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257540/this-is-pope-francis-prayer-intention-for-the-month-of-may</guid>
  457.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  458.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/sfo5037.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  459.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Pope Francis waves to pilgrims in St. Peter&#039;s Square gathered for his weekly general audience on April 3, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media</span>
  460. </div>
  461. <p>CNA Staff, May 1, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).</p>
  462. <p>Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of May is for the formation of men and women religious and for seminarians.</p><p>“Every vocation is a ‘diamond in the rough’ that needs to be polished, worked, shaped on every side,” the pope said in a video released April 30.</p><p>“A good priest, sister, or nun must above all else be a man, a woman who is formed, shaped by the Lord’s grace, people who are aware of their own limitations and willing to lead a life of prayer, of dedicated witness to the Gospel,” he said, adding: “Beginning in the seminary and the novitiate, their preparation must be developed integrally, in direct contact with the lives of other people. This is essential.”</p><p>The Holy Father pointed out that “formation does not end at a certain moment but continues throughout life, integrating the person intellectually, humanly, affectively, spiritually.”</p><p>“There’s also preparation to live in community — life in community is so enriching, even though it can be difficult at times. Living together is not the same as living in community.”</p><p>He concluded with a prayer: “Let us pray that men and women religious, and seminarians, grow in their own vocational journey through human, pastoral, spiritual, and community formation that leads them to be credible witnesses of the Gospel.”</p><p>Pope Francis’ prayer video is promoted by the <a href="https://www.popesprayer.va/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network</a>, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.</p>
  463. ]]></description>
  464.        <category>Vatican</category>
  465.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  466.      </item>
  467.    
  468.      <item>
  469.        <title><![CDATA[ Kansas Legislature enacts four pro-life bills over governor’s vetoes  ]]></title>
  470.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257550/kansas-legislature-enacts-four-pro-life-bills-over-governor-s-vetoes</link>
  471.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257550/kansas-legislature-enacts-four-pro-life-bills-over-governor-s-vetoes</guid>
  472.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  473.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/baby-july-3-2023.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  474.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / Shutterstock</span>
  475. </div>
  476. <p>CNA Staff, May 1, 2024 / 05:30 am (CNA).</p>
  477. <p>Kansas state legislators enacted four pro-life bills over the abortion-supporting governor’s vetoes but didn’t enact a bill that would have banned gender transitioning for children.&nbsp;</p><p>The abortion measures provide $2 million in state funding for pro-life crisis pregnancy centers, provide tax credits designed to encourage more donations to such centers, require abortion facilities to ask women why they are having an abortion, and create a new crime of coercing a woman to have an abortion.&nbsp;</p><p>Supporters put together the necessary two-thirds majorities to override the vetoes of Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat who supports legal abortion.&nbsp;</p><p>Crafters of the pro-life bills acknowledge that abortion is legally considered a fundamental right in Kansas, since the state’s supreme court<a href="https://www.ncregister.com/news/kansas-is-key-pro-life-amendment-referendum-likely-to-be-first-test-in-post-roe-landscape" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">&nbsp;declared that</a>&nbsp;in April 2019 and the state’s voters in August 2022<a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/kansas-abortion-vote-pro-life-amendment-fails-in-first-post-roe-vote" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">&nbsp;rejected a proposed constitutional amendment</a>&nbsp;that would have flipped the court’s decision.&nbsp;</p><p>Therefore, the bills enacted Monday do not attempt to restrict abortion but instead try to encourage women to choose life, said Chuck Weber, executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, which represents bishops in the state’s four dioceses on political and public policy matters.&nbsp;</p><p>“The abortion industry seems to want women to abort every baby that’s an unplanned pregnancy. Can we not at least give women in an unplanned pregnancy an authentic choice besides abortion?” Weber said in a telephone interview with CNA.&nbsp;</p><p>Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, a political action committee that advocates for abortion in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, opposed the measures. The give-a-reason and abortion coercion bills “directly interfere with the bodily autonomy of Kansans and their fundamental right to make their own decision about health care,” the organization said in a<a href="https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/planned-parenthood-great-plains-votes/press-releases/planned-parenthood-great-plains-votes-applauds-governor-laura-kelly-for-vetoing-bills-attacking-abortion-rights-and-reproductive-care-in-kansas" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">&nbsp;written statement</a>&nbsp;after Kelly vetoed the bills&nbsp;April&nbsp;12.&nbsp;</p><p>“These stigmatizing bills were not crafted to improve the health and well-being of Kansans; they were merely meant to shame reproductive care,” said Emily Wales, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes.&nbsp;</p><p>The give-a-reason bill would result in “invasive and unnecessary questions,” she said.&nbsp;</p><p>But Weber told CNA the point of the bill is to help figure out how to help pregnant women choose to give birth if they wish.&nbsp;</p><p>“The more data we have about why a woman chooses abortion will allow policymakers and social service agencies to help women to make an authentic choice for life if that’s what she chooses to do,” Weber said.&nbsp;</p><p>The abortion coercion bill “could further hurt or retraumatize survivors,” Wales said.&nbsp;</p><p>But Weber said the bill is meant to determine if women seeking an abortion are victims of sex trafficking or other kinds of coercion.</p><p>One of the abortion bills allows donors to crisis pregnancy centers a tax credit of 70% of what they give, with a total statewide cap of $10 million. It also gives a sales tax exemption for crisis pregnancy centers.</p><p>“They’re the front line,” Lucrecia Nold, policy specialist of the Kansas Catholic Conference, said of crisis pregnancy centers. “So let’s give them all of the resources that are available so that we can help these women.”</p><p>The bill also encourages adoption by offering a state adoption tax credit that matches the already-existing federal adoption tax credit and by allowing would-be adoptive parents to create an adoption savings account.</p><p>An effort to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would have banned gender transitioning for minors failed by two votes when two Republican state legislators flipped at the last minute.&nbsp;</p><p>Opponents of the bill argue that parents and children should decide whether a child who identifies with a gender other than the one that corresponds to the child’s sex should seek to transition.</p><p>But supporters say children should be protected from such transitioning, which they argue is harmful and may have permanent consequences.</p><p>Weber said supporters of the gender-transitioning ban will try again next legislative session.</p><p>“We’re going to continue to try to protect the children of Kansas from these life-changing, life-destructive practices that are both surgical and chemical,” Weber said.</p>
  478. ]]></description>
  479.        <category>US</category>
  480.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 05:30:00 -0400</pubDate>
  481.      </item>
  482.    
  483.      <item>
  484.        <title><![CDATA[ The story behind the feast of St. Joseph the Worker ]]></title>
  485.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257541/the-story-behind-the-feast-of-st-joseph-the-worker</link>
  486.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257541/the-story-behind-the-feast-of-st-joseph-the-worker</guid>
  487.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  488.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/lori-with-icon.jpeg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  489.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">In 2021, the Knights of Columbus announced the selection of this icon of St. Joseph holding the Child Jesus as the centerpiece of the current K of C pilgrim icon prayer program. The original icon was created (or &quot;written&quot;) by Élizabeth Bergeron, an iconographer in Montréal, based on a drawing by Alexandre Sobolev. / Credit: Courtesy of Knights of Columbus</span>
  490. </div>
  491. <p>CNA Staff, May 1, 2024 / 04:50 am (CNA).</p>
  492. <p>St. Joseph, the beloved spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and earthly father of Jesus, is celebrated twice by the Catholic Church every year — first on March 19 for the feast of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, and again on May 1 for the feast of St. Joseph the Worker.</p><p>While the saint’s March feast dates back to the 10th century, his May feast wasn’t instituted until 1955. What was behind it?</p><p>Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1, 1955, so that it would coincide with International Workers Day, also known as May Day — a secular celebration of labor and workers’ rights. During this time, the Soviet Union proclaimed themselves as the defender of workers and utilized May Day as an opportunity to exalt communism and parade its military prowess. Pope Pius XII chose the date specifically to ensure that workers did not lose the Christian understanding of work.</p><p>In his <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/it/speeches/1955/documents/hf_p-xii_spe_19550501_san-giuseppe.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">address</a> to the Catholic Association of Italian Workers on that day in 1955, Pius XII said: “There could not be a better protector to help you penetrate the spirit of the Gospel into your life … From the heart of the Man-God, Savior of the world, this spirit flows into you and into all men; but it is certain that no worker has ever been as perfectly and deeply penetrated by it as the putative father of Jesus, who lived with him in the closest intimacy and commonality of family and work.”</p><p>He added: “So, if you want to be close to Christ, we also today repeat to you ‘Ite ad Ioseph’: Go to Joseph!”</p><p>The Catholic Church has long placed an importance on the dignity of human work. By working, we fulfill the commands found in the Book of Genesis to care for the earth and be productive in our labors.</p><p>In his encyclical <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091981_laborem-exercens.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>Laborem Exercens</em></a>, Pope John Paul II wrote that “the Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated, and to help to guide [social] changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man and society.”</p><p>St. Joseph is considered a role model of this as he worked tirelessly to protect and provide for his family as he strove to listen to and obey God.</p><p>Even before the institution of this feast, many popes were beginning to spread a devotion to St. Joseph the Worker. One of these was Pope Leo XIII, who wrote on the subject in his encyclical <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15081889_quamquam-pluries.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>Quamquam Pluries</em></a><em> </em>in 1889.</p><p>He wrote: “Joseph became the guardian, the administrator, and the legal defender of the divine house whose chief he was. And during the whole course of his life he fulfilled those charges and those duties. He set himself to protect with a mighty love and a daily solicitude his spouse and the Divine Infant; regularly by his work he earned what was necessary for the one and the other for nourishment and clothing; he guarded from death the Child threatened by a monarch’s jealousy, and found for him a refuge; in the miseries of the journey and in the bitternesses of exile he was ever the companion, the assistance, and the upholder of the Virgin and of Jesus.”</p><p>In addition to being the patron of the universal Church and workers in general, St. Joseph is also the patron saint of several professions including craftsmen, carpenters, accountants, attorneys, bursars, cabinetmakers, cemetery workers, civil engineers, confectioners, educators, furniture makers, wheelwrights, and lawyers.</p>
  493. ]]></description>
  494.        <category>Vatican</category>
  495.        <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 04:50:00 -0400</pubDate>
  496.      </item>
  497.    
  498.      <item>
  499.        <title><![CDATA[ Hong Kong criticizes U.S. bill to rename street in honor of imprisoned human rights defender ]]></title>
  500.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257546/hong-kong-criticizes-us-bill-to-rename-street-in-honor-of-imprisoned-human-rights-defender-jimmy-lai</link>
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  502.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  503.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/the-hong-konger-1.png?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  504.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Jimmy Lai at a Hong Kong protest. / Credit: Courtesy of the Acton Institute</span>
  505. </div>
  506. <p>CNA Staff, Apr 30, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).</p>
  507. <p>An unnamed Hong Kong government spokesperson criticized a bill proposed by two U.S. congressmen that would rename the address of the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office in Washington, D.C., “Jimmy Lai Way,” honoring the 75-year-old democracy advocate who has been incarcerated in Hong Kong since 2020.</p><p>The spokesperson called on the U.S. to&nbsp;“stop maliciously interfering” in Hong Kong affairs, according to a Tuesday <a href="https://hongkongfp.com/2024/04/30/us-bill-seeks-to-rename-street-of-hong-kong-trade-office-jimmy-lai-way-as-city-condemns-malicious-interference/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">report by the Hong Kong Free Press</a>.</p><p>Representatives Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, and Tom Suozzi, D-New York, proposed the <a href="https://chrissmith.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hr_8125.pdf" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">bill</a> last week. </p><p>Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy businessman and convert to Catholicism, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256822/hong-kong-activist-proposed-law-could-worsen-religious-liberty-persecute-catholics" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">was arrested</a> on several charges under the controversial national security law, which was passed by China’s communist-controlled government in 2020. His newspaper, Apple Daily, published pro-democracy content and was often critical of the Chinese Communist Party.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/rep-chris-smith-chairs-hearing-on-may-11-2023.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Rep. Chris Smith chairs a hearing on May 11, 2023, titled &quot;One City, Two Legal Systems: Political Prisoners &amp; the Erosion of Rule of Law in Hong Kong.&quot; Credit: Courtesy of the office of Rep. Chris Smith"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Rep. Chris Smith chairs a hearing on May 11, 2023, titled "One City, Two Legal Systems: Political Prisoners &amp; the Erosion of Rule of Law in Hong Kong." Credit: Courtesy of the office of Rep. Chris Smith</figcaption></figure><p>Although the Chinese government charged Lai with colluding with foreign forces, critics of the prosecution claim that he — and hundreds of other political and religious dissidents — were arrested for their human rights activism.&nbsp;</p><p>“Jimmy Lai — a courageous man of deep faith who stands for democracy, human rights, and respect for the rule of law — exemplifies moral principle and defiance in the face of tyranny,” Smith said in a statement to CNA.&nbsp;</p><p>“The United States must make it absolutely clear that we stand with him and all other political prisoners in Hong Kong,” he continued. “Until we close it for good, the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office should have a new address that rightfully recognizes this champion of freedom.”</p><p>The spokesperson for the Hong Kong government quoted in the Hong Kong Free Press requested that the U.S. “respect the basic norms governing international relations and stop maliciously interfering in the affairs of the HKSAR [Hong Kong Special Administrative Region].”</p><p>“The HKSAR government must emphasize that all cases are handled strictly on the basis of evidence and in accordance with the law,” the spokesman said.&nbsp;“All defendants will receive fair trial strictly in accordance with laws applicable to Hong Kong (including the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance) and as protected by the Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights.”</p><p>After Lai’s arrest, the Hong Kong government closed the Apple Daily in June 2021, arresting top staff members and encouraging others to resign. Authorities forcibly removed Lai’s Next Media company from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Lai, who could face life in prison, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256416/jimmy-lai-pleads-not-guilty-in-hong-kong-national-security-trial" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pleaded not guilty</a> in January to conspiring to collude with a foreign power.</p><p>Authorities throughout the world have called for Lai’s freedom. The Congressional Executive Commission on China <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256312/congressional-commission-urges-sanctions-if-hong-kong-won-t-release-imprisoned-catholic-journalist" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">urged the U.S. government</a> last year to sanction Hong Kong prosecutors and judges if they fail to release Lai.</p><p>“The free world must continue calling attention to the Chinese Communist Party’s crimes in Xinjiang, erosion of democracy in Hong Kong, and saber-rattling against Taiwan,” Suozzi said in the <a href="https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=412134" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">April 25 statement</a>.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/sebastien-lai-testifies-at-smith-hearing-on-may-11-2023.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Sebastien Lai, son of political prisoner Jimmy Lai, testified at a hearing on May 11, 2023, headed by Rep. Chris Smith. Credit: Courtesy of the office of Rep. Chris Smith"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Sebastien Lai, son of political prisoner Jimmy Lai, testified at a hearing on May 11, 2023, headed by Rep. Chris Smith. Credit: Courtesy of the office of Rep. Chris Smith</figcaption></figure><p>Smith has advocated for Lai since his arrest, nominating him for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. As chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Smith chaired a <a href="https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=411453" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">congressional hearing</a> last year with testimony by Lai’s son, Sebastien Lai.&nbsp;</p><p>“Jimmy Lai is a man of faith and conviction, someone who fervently believed that Hong Kong’s prosperity and vitality were built on the rights promised to its citizens,” Smith said. “For peacefully acting on this belief, he is arbitrarily detained.”</p><p>“[Jimmy Lai Way] will signal to the entire world that the United States stands in solidarity with those who oppose the tyranny and repression of the Chinese government,” Suozzi added.</p><p>“For as long as the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office continues to operate in Washington, D.C., their new address will symbolize that this champion of freedom stands against their growing authoritarianism and human rights abuses,” Smith continued in the statement.</p><p>“We will continue to press for Jimmy Lai’s unconditional release and seek ways to raise the diplomatic and reputational costs globally for the Hong Kong government and their Chinese Communist Party masters for their rough dismantling of democratic freedoms and the rule of law in Hong Kong,” Smith said.</p><p>Smith has also <a href="https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=410209" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">authored legislation</a> (HR 1103) that would require the U.S. secretary of state to determine if the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in the United States merit the privileges and immunities granted to them by the International Organizations Immunities Act.&nbsp;</p><p>Both HR 1103 and its companion bill in the Senate (S 490) have been passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and are awaiting final consideration by both chambers.</p>
  508. ]]></description>
  509.        <category>Asia - Pacific</category>
  510.        <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 18:10:00 -0400</pubDate>
  511.      </item>
  512.    
  513.      <item>
  514.        <title><![CDATA[ Chaplains in public schools? Florida’s Catholic bishops ‘pleased’ by new law ]]></title>
  515.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257549/chaplains-in-public-schools-florida-s-catholic-bishops-pleased-by-new-law</link>
  516.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257549/chaplains-in-public-schools-florida-s-catholic-bishops-pleased-by-new-law</guid>
  517.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  518.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/shutterstock-642182779.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  519.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / Credit: Shutterstock</span>
  520. </div>
  521. <p>CNA Staff, Apr 30, 2024 / 17:45 pm (CNA).</p>
  522. <p>Florida’s bishops are welcoming a new law that allows public schools in the state to have volunteer chaplains.</p><p>The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, which represents bishops in the state’s seven dioceses on public policy matters, did not take a position on the bill while legislators debated it earlier this year.</p><p>“However, we recognize the good that chaplains can do in schools by helping students to address their spiritual and emotional needs. We are pleased that parents will determine the services their children will receive in districts that choose to establish chaplaincy programs,” said Michelle Taylor, associate director of communications for the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, in an email message to CNA on Tuesday.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/931/BillText/er/PDF" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">measure</a>, which takes effect July 1, requires public schools and charter schools that establish such a program to publish on their websites a list of volunteer school chaplains and their religious affiliation. It also requires that parents provide written consent before their child receives services from a chaplain or participates in programs provided by a chaplain.</p><p>Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the bill two weeks ago, said some school districts in Florida are already hosting chaplains, while school officials elsewhere were unsure whether it’s legal to do so.</p><p>The new statute clarifies the legal situation and explicitly enables school districts to provide a valuable aid to students, he said.</p><p>“Faith leaders and civic organizations are important additional resources for students who may be facing challenges or need to build community and camaraderie,”&nbsp;DeSantis said in a<strong> </strong><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.flgov.com/2024/04/18/governor-desantis-signs-legislation-to-provide-additional-resources-to-students/*:*:text=Governor*20DeSantis*20signed*20HB*20931,additional*20counseling*20support*20to*20students__;I34lJ" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">statement</a>. “I’m pleased to be able to expand the variety of options that students have at their disposal in school, and we have no doubt that these options will enhance the experiences of our students.”</p><p>The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida opposed the bill, saying it violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.</p><p>“Allowing chaplains to provide counseling and other support services in public schools would violate students’ and families’ religious-freedom rights by exposing all public school students to the risk of chaplains evangelizing them or imposing religion on them throughout their school day,” said Kara Gross, legislative director and senior policy counsel of the ACLU of Florida, in a <a href="https://www.aclufl.org/en/press-releases/aclu-florida-opposes-passage-public-school-chaplain-bill" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">statement</a> in March after the Florida House passed the bill.</p><p>The Florida House of Representatives <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/931/?Tab=VoteHistory" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">passed the bill</a> in February in a 89-25 vote. All the <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/931/Vote/HouseVote_h00931e1648.PDF" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">no votes</a> were Democrats. All Republicans voted for it, as did four Democrats.</p><p>The Florida Senate passed the bill in March in <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/931/Vote/SenateVote_h00931e1037.PDF" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a straight party-line 28-12 vote</a>, with Republicans for it and Democrats against it.</p><p>Texas <a href="https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/SB763/2023" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">enacted</a> a <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/html/SB00763F.htm" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">comparable bill</a> in June 2023. It took effect at the beginning of the current school year. The ACLU of Florida <a href="https://www.aclufl.org/en/press-releases/aclu-florida-opposes-passage-public-school-chaplain-bill" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">says</a> 13 other states have had similar bills introduced in the state legislature.</p><p>DeSantis signed the Florida chaplain bill April 18 during an appearance at a school in Kissimmee. He said having a chaplain available could help kids who are struggling.</p><p>“You’ve got a lot of these problems that kids go through — you know, there’s some students, you know, they need some soul-craft. And that can make all the difference in the world,” DeSantis <a href="https://youtu.be/B6C0qFXkdm8?t=451" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a>.</p>
  523. ]]></description>
  524.        <category>US</category>
  525.        <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:45:00 -0400</pubDate>
  526.      </item>
  527.    
  528.      <item>
  529.        <title><![CDATA[ Coast Guard chaplain reassigned after failure to report on sexual misconduct case ]]></title>
  530.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257548/coast-guard-chaplain-reassigned-after-failure-to-report-on-sexual-misconduct-case</link>
  531.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257548/coast-guard-chaplain-reassigned-after-failure-to-report-on-sexual-misconduct-case</guid>
  532.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  533.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screenshot-2024-04-30-at-4.31.31-pm.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  534.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Capt. (Father) Daniel Mode — who remains a priest in good standing — has been reassigned to an “administrative position” in the U.S. Navy Chief of Chaplains Office, according to the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. / Credit: Public Domain</span>
  535. </div>
  536. <p>CNA Staff, Apr 30, 2024 / 17:10 pm (CNA).</p>
  537. <p>The U.S. Coast Guard removed a Catholic priest Wednesday as its head chaplain over his failure to “take appropriate action” after being made aware of “pre-service sexual misconduct by another chaplain.”</p><p>Capt. (Father) Daniel Mode — who remains a priest in good standing — has been reassigned to an “administrative position” in the U.S. Navy Chief of Chaplains Office, according to the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.</p><p>The Coast Guard did not provide the identity of the unnamed chaplain involved in the sexual misconduct case. But the military branch said the individual “has already been removed from the Coast Guard and Navy,” according to&nbsp;<a href="http://stripes.com/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Stripes.com</a>.</p><p>In that statement, the Coast Guard said that an “administrative investigation found that Capt. Mode did not take appropriate action when made aware of pre-service sexual misconduct by another chaplain.”</p><p>Mode did not violate any laws or policies requiring punitive action, the Coast Guard said, but instead demonstrated a “failure in judgment below what is expected from his key leadership position.”</p><p>The priest has served as the branch’s head chaplain since 2022 and has been ministering and serving in the military since 1988.</p><p>Mode was the chaplain for the “Lone Survivor” SEAL team in Afghanistan and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253550/meet-the-lone-survivor-priest-and-grunt-padre-author-whos-now-the-head-chaplain-of-the-coast-guard" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">authored a book about the famed “Grunt Padre</a>,” Father Vincent Capodanno.</p><p>In a statement Friday, the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, said that Archbishop Timothy Broglio “is confident that within hours of receiving documentation of the 2011 incident of sexual misconduct, Father Mode ensured and directed that key Coast Guard personnel and chaplains responsible for advising and briefing their commanders were emailed all of the detailed and pertinent documents.”</p><p>The priest told Broglio that “he believed that his initial report in 2022 would be more broadly communicated,” the statement said.&nbsp;</p><p>“However, having reviewed the Coast Guard’s investigation findings, Father Mode now realizes that his presumption that all field commanders involved in the case were informed following the initial report was incorrect,” the statement said.&nbsp;</p><p>Mode told Broglio that he “fully embraces” the core values of the Coast Guard, the statement said. The priest “has earnestly worked to ensure his priorities were aligned with the commandant’s expectations,” the archdiocese said.</p><p>“[Mode] stressed the importance of recognizing ‘biases and barriers’ to intervention regarding allegations of sexual assault and apologized profoundly for the circumstances that led to his removal as chaplain of the Coast Guard, which he views as his&nbsp;own&nbsp;leadership failure,” the statement said.</p><p>Mode fully supports the Coast Guard’s efforts to address sexual assault “with full accountability and transparency,” the statement said.</p><p>“Archbishop Broglio expressed his continued confidence in Father Mode’s giftedness as a Catholic priest and chaplain and his dedication to building and maintaining a safe environment in the Church,” the statement concluded.&nbsp;</p>
  538. ]]></description>
  539.        <category>US</category>
  540.        <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:10:00 -0400</pubDate>
  541.      </item>
  542.    
  543.      <item>
  544.        <title><![CDATA[ 19-year-old Catholic woman dies attempting to flee Gaza with her mother ]]></title>
  545.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257544/19-year-old-catholic-woman-dies-in-attempt-to-flee-gaza-with-mother</link>
  546.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257544/19-year-old-catholic-woman-dies-in-attempt-to-flee-gaza-with-mother</guid>
  547.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  548.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/laraalsayegh050124.jpeg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  549.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Lara Al-Sayegh, a Catholic from Gaza, collapsed and died of heatstroke as she and her mother tried to leave Gaza and find safe haven in Egypt on April 24, 2024. The 19-year-old lived in northern Gaza and the family had already lost their father and husband after he died at Gaza’s Latin Holy Family Church due to a lack of adequate medical care. / Credit: Fady Al-Sayegh</span>
  550. </div>
  551. <p>ACI MENA, Apr 30, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).</p>
  552. <p>Among the heartbreaking stories to emerge from the war in Gaza is the death of a young Catholic woman named Lara Al-Sayegh. The 19-year-old Gazan perished while fleeing with her mother from the northern Gaza Strip to the south in a desperate attempt to reach Egypt and find safe haven.&nbsp;</p><p>Midway through their arduous journey, Al-Sayegh succumbed to severe fatigue, lack of water, and fatal heatstroke. Tragically, her father had already been lost during the war when he died at Gaza’s Latin Holy Family Church due to a lack of adequate medical care.</p><h2>A brother’s anguished testimony</h2><p>In an exclusive interview with ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, Al-Sayegh’s brother, Fady Al-Sayegh, who has resided in Egypt since earlier this year, shared his pain at&nbsp;receiving the devastating news about his sister.</p><p>“It was an unexpected moment when I got the heartbreaking update through Father Iusuf Assad, the pastor of the Holy Family Latin Church in Gaza,” Fady recounted. “He sent me a condolence message. I asked, ‘Condolences for whom?’ His answer was, ‘It’s Lara, your sister.’”</p><p>“I couldn’t believe it ... How could I believe it?” Fady said, his voice thick with grief. “I asked my brother Khalil, hoping against hope that the news was false. But the painful truth was inescapable. Just yesterday, it seems, Lara was here with us. We were talking, planning for a promising future together. I was waiting for her on the Egyptian side of the border. Everything we dreamed of was within our grasp, and suddenly ... we lost all that we had, as if it had never been.”&nbsp;</p><p>Fady’s sorrow is compounded by the plans they had made. “We had hopes of attending university together, as Lara aspired to study journalism and media in order to give voice to the untold stories,” he said.</p><h2>A journey cut tragically short</h2><p>According to the testimony of Lara’s mother, Fady explained that on Tuesday, April 23, both Lara and her mother’s names were included on a list of those permitted to cross into Egypt from Gaza. They decided to leave the following day, heading to the Netzarim Corridor, which separates northern Gaza from the south and remains under Israeli control.</p><p>“They were in a car driving them to a specific point in the south,” Fady explained. “From there, they had to walk on foot until reaching the Rafah Crossing into Egypt. Lara was walking briskly and quickly, but she suddenly stumbled and collapsed to the ground. Some people tried to revive her, thinking she had merely fainted due to the extreme heat. But the painful reality was that Lara had died.”</p><p>Their mother also fainted from the trauma and is now recovering. Fady noted with great sorrow that Lara was buried in southern Gaza, far from her church home, and her funeral has not yet been held.&nbsp;</p><p>Fady blamed some Arabic media outlets for ignoring the plight of Gaza’s small Christian minority amid their harsh living conditions, including killings, loss of property, displacement, and forced migration. The ancient Christian community there has endured continuous suffering and is on the brink of extinction due to migration, displacement, and now the war.&nbsp;</p><p>Fady also expressed hope that the world would work toward achieving justice and peace in the region. He called on churches around the globe to pray for Gaza, to be a voice for the oppressed, and to help raise awareness about the struggle of minority communities in the area.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.acimena.com/news/3564/fsl-gdyd-fy-ktab-alam-msyhywy-ghzw-rhl-lara-alsaygh-alakhyr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published</em></a><em> by ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.</em></p>
  553. ]]></description>
  554.        <category>Middle East - Africa</category>
  555.        <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 16:30:00 -0400</pubDate>
  556.      </item>
  557.    
  558.      <item>
  559.        <title><![CDATA[ Armed New York resident arrested in St. Peter’s in Rome was on ‘Most Wanted’ list ]]></title>
  560.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257543/armed-new-york-resident-arrested-in-st-peter-s-in-rome-was-on-most-wanted-list</link>
  561.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257543/armed-new-york-resident-arrested-in-st-peter-s-in-rome-was-on-most-wanted-list</guid>
  562.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  563.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/popefrancisga3041024.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  564.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Pope Francis receives a baby for a blessing as pilgrims gather in St. Peter’s Square for the pope’s general audience on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media</span>
  565. </div>
  566. <p>CNA Staff, Apr 30, 2024 / 16:03 pm (CNA).</p>
  567. <p>A man arrested earlier this month in St. Peter’s Square while carrying three 8-inch knives is a former convict and fugitive from the law in New York state.</p><p>Moises Tejada, 54, is on the<a href="https://doccs.ny.gov/osi-most-wanted" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">&nbsp;Most Wanted Fugitives</a>&nbsp;list of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision because, authorities there say, he violated the terms of parole from state prison on kidnapping and robbery convictions.&nbsp;</p><p>Tejada twice immobilized real estate agents and stole from them while posing as a home buyer, according to New York state authorities.</p><p>More recently, he was arrested on Wednesday, April 10, the same day Pope Francis gave a<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo-cY0fSIaM" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">&nbsp;general audience</a>&nbsp;in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. The man attracted the attention of authorities, who found the knives, Reuters<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italian-police-arrested-most-wanted-us-fugitive-st-peters-square-2024-04-18/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">&nbsp;reported</a>.</p><div class="twitter-wrapper"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The arrest of American Moisés Tejada in the vicinity of Saint Peter’s Square on Wednesday, April 10, has sparked shock and worry, given that the individual is sought by the NY Authorities for his alleged participation in a series of violent crimes.<br><br> ➡ <a href="https://t.co/ctVqFkNEwP">https://t.co/ctVqFkNEwP</a></p>— ZenitEnglish (@zenitenglish) <a href="https://twitter.com/zenitenglish/status/1783889272665436274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2024</a></blockquote><script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><div class="drag-handle" data-drag-handle="true"> </div></div><p>Tejada’s arrest was first<a href="https://roma.repubblica.it/cronaca/2024/04/18/news/moises_tejada_super_ricercato_usa_arrestato_san_pietro-422564372/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">&nbsp;reported</a>&nbsp;earlier this month by La Repubblica, a daily newspaper in Italy, with the lead sentence (in Italian):&nbsp;“What was an American armed like a butcher doing in Rome?”&nbsp;</p><p>Tejada, “posing as a potential customer of a realtor who was showing him the inside of a home, pointed a gun at the realtor, handcuffed him to a pole, and robbed him of personal property including his car” in Suffolk County, Long Island, according to a judge who summed up the case against him in a 2004<a href="https://casetext.com/case/people-v-tejada-40" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">&nbsp;appeal</a>&nbsp;of a 1999 conviction.&nbsp;</p><p>Tejada also committed “a nearly-identical crime … against another realtor” in Brooklyn, according to the appeals court decision upholding the Suffolk County conviction.&nbsp;</p><p>He was sentenced to 20 years to life.&nbsp;</p><p>Tejada began serving his time in state prison on the kidnapping and robbery convictions in March 2000, state corrections officials told CNA on Tuesday. He was released on parole in May 2018 but was returned to prison in January 2022 for violating the terms of release.&nbsp;</p><p>Tejada was subsequently released on parole from Sullivan Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Fallsburg, New York, in March 2022. But seven months later, in October 2022, state corrections officials issued a warrant for his arrest for failing to report to his parole officer.&nbsp;</p><p>Tejada recently arrived in Rome after spending time in Moldova, Italian authorities told La Repubblica. Tejada told Italian authorities that he had been fighting in Ukraine for that country against the Russians since 2022, which is also around the time he failed to report to his parole officer in New York state.&nbsp;</p><p>The Office of Special Investigations of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision is working with the U.S. Marshals Service to extradite Tejada from Italy to the United States. A spokesman for the U.S. Marshals said the agency does not usually comment on extradition cases until after they occur.&nbsp;</p><p>In April 2022, one month after his second release on parole and six months before he went missing, Tejada<a href="https://trellis.law/doc/131387025/summons-complaint" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">&nbsp;sued</a>&nbsp;the city of New York’s Department of Corrections, saying he sustained “severe and permanent injuries when he slipped and fell due to water which had accumulated and remained on the floor of the bathroom” at Rikers Island, a city jail, while he was detained there in January 2021 for reasons not stated in the complaint.&nbsp;</p>
  568. ]]></description>
  569.        <category>US</category>
  570.        <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 16:03:00 -0400</pubDate>
  571.      </item>
  572.    
  573.      <item>
  574.        <title><![CDATA[ Bishops: New Biden HHS Obamacare rule advances ‘ideological view of sex’ ]]></title>
  575.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257542/catholic-healthcare-leader-warns-of-transgender-mandate-in-change-to-obamacare-rule</link>
  576.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257542/catholic-healthcare-leader-warns-of-transgender-mandate-in-change-to-obamacare-rule</guid>
  577.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  578.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/HHS JHVEPhoto Shutterstock.png?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  579.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock</span>
  580. </div>
  581. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 30, 2024 / 15:30 pm (CNA).</p>
  582. <p>The U.S. bishops issued a statement criticizing a new Biden administration change to the Affordable Care Act that requires health providers to perform or cover sex-change surgeries and therapies.&nbsp;</p><p>“Health care that truly heals must be grounded in truth,” wrote Bishop Kevin Rhoades, head of the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty. “These regulations, however, advance an ideological view of sex that, as the Holy See has noted, denies the most beautiful and most powerful difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference.”</p><p>The administration’s <a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2024-08711.pdf" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">new rule</a> amends the nondiscrimination clause in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (also known as ACA or Obamacare), by removing the word “sex” and replacing it with the phrase “sex (including discrimination on the basis of sex characteristics, including intersex traits; pregnancy or related conditions; sexual orientation; gender identity; and sex stereotypes).”</p><p>This 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.</p><p>This reverses changes to ACA made under the Trump administration that excluded such procedures from mandated coverage.</p><p>The U.S. bishops <a href="https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/about/general-counsel/rulemaking/upload/2022.comments.1557.regulations.final_.pdf" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">argued</a> against the rule change when it was being considered in 2022 on the grounds that sex-reassignment surgeries “stunt human sexual development, mutilate the body, and cause sterilization.”</p><p>The bishops also flagged the rule as a “major threat” to religious freedom in their 2024 <a href="https://usccb.cld.bz/Religious-Liberty-Annual-Report" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">“State of Religious Liberty in the United States”</a> report.</p><p>Rhoades voiced the bishops’ disapproval of the rule, saying in a Tuesday statement that “the human right to health care flows from the sanctity of human life and the dignity that belongs to all human persons, who are made in the image of God.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“The same core beliefs about human dignity and the wisdom of God’s design that motivate Catholics to care for the sick also shape our convictions about care for preborn children and the immutable nature of the human person. These commitments are inseparable,” Rhoades wrote, adding: “I pray that health care workers will embrace the truth about the human person, a truth reflected in Catholic teaching, and that HHS will not substitute its judgment for their own.”</p><p>In responding to fears that the rule will violate religious and conscience rights, the Biden Health and Human Services Department (HHS) claims that it has included a provision within the rule that “respects federal protections for religious freedom and conscience.”&nbsp;</p><p>In the final rule, which is set to be filed in the Federal Register on May 6, HHS states that any part of the new guidance that violates “applicable” federal religious freedom and conscience protections “shall not be required.”</p><p>Meanwhile, Chris Faddis, president of the Arizona-based Catholic group Solidarity HealthShare, said that the rule means that “physicians and medical staff can no longer opt out of performing morally objectionable procedures, like transgender surgeries, without the risk of losing critical federal funding.”</p><p>Faddis told CNA that the rule’s wording is dangerously vague and would force hospitals and providers to “beg” for religious freedom exemptions that should be automatically afforded under the First Amendment.</p><p>“We should not have to request something that the Bill of Rights says is a God-given right … we should not have to request our religious freedom,” he said. “Even the fact that putting the burden on an individual doctor or health system to come beg for clemency is a problem. This is not who this country is.”&nbsp;</p><p>Given the Biden administration’s track record for prioritizing progressive gender ideology over religious freedom, Faddis believes that it is “very uncertain” that religious providers’ requests would be granted.&nbsp;</p><p>“How can we possibly trust that they’re going to be favorable and friendly and not target or avoid answering these waiver requests?” he asked.&nbsp;</p><p>To be clear, Solidarity HealthShare, which says on its website that it has served 55,000 patients since its founding in 2016, will not be impacted by the Biden administration’s change. This is because the rule specifically targets health insurers and providers. However, Faddis believes the new rule presents a broader danger to not just providers but also patients and the overall health care system.&nbsp;</p><p>One such problem Faddis foresees is the possibility that a Catholic or religious provider may not be eligible to receive Medicaid or Medicare funding while their exemption requests are being considered.</p><p>“If suddenly Catholic health care systems have to stop taking Medicare or Medicaid,” Faddis said, “not only would that drastically impact them and maybe even take them out of business, but it would also drastically impact the availability of care across the country, particularly in certain states that have a large percentage of their care is provided by Catholic systems.”&nbsp;</p><p>HHS did not immediately respond to CNA’s request for comment.</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/04/26/hhs-issues-new-rule-strengthen-nondiscrimination-protections-advance-civil-rights-health-care.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Friday statement</a> HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said that the new rule is a “giant step forward for this country toward a more equitable and inclusive health care system.”</p><p>According to Becerra, the rule “means that Americans across the country now have a clear way to act on their rights against discrimination when they go to the doctor, talk with their health plan, or engage with health programs run by HHS.”</p><p>HHS also clarifies in the rule that “nothing in section 1557 shall be construed to have any effect on federal laws regarding conscience protection; willingness or refusal to provide abortion; and discrimination on the basis of the willingness or refusal to provide, pay for, cover, or refer for abortion or to provide or participate in training to provide abortion.”</p><p>The rule will go into effect on July 5, 60 days after being filed in the Federal Register.</p><p><em>This article has been updated.</em></p>
  583. ]]></description>
  584.        <category>US</category>
  585.        <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 15:30:00 -0400</pubDate>
  586.      </item>
  587.    
  588.      <item>
  589.        <title><![CDATA[ Pope Francis to Regnum Christi: May the Spirit help you to make ‘mystery of Christ’ present ]]></title>
  590.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257539/pope-francis-to-regnum-christi-may-the-spirit-help-you-discern-how-to-make-the-mystery-of-christ-present</link>
  591.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257539/pope-francis-to-regnum-christi-may-the-spirit-help-you-discern-how-to-make-the-mystery-of-christ-present</guid>
  592.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  593.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/popefrancisgeneralaudience5042424.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  594.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media</span>
  595. </div>
  596. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 30, 2024 / 13:00 pm (CNA).</p>
  597. <p>On the occasion of its first general convention taking place in Rome this week, Pope Francis has addressed a message to the Regnum Christi Federation. </p><p>In his message, the Holy Father encouraged the organization’s membership to discern “how to make present in our days the mystery of Christ,” in keeping with the particular vocation of each individual.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257512/regnum-christi-it-was-easy-to-hide-but-the-church-purifies-us" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">convention</a>, the first to be held since the approval of the new statutes in 2019, is taking place after a long process of listening and purification that came in the wake of multiple abuses committed by various members, including the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, the late Mexican priest Father Marcial Maciel.</p><p>In the <a href="https://regnumchristi.es/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Carta-Papa-Francisco-a-I-Convencion-General-Regnum-Christi.jpeg" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">letter</a>, sent to Father John Lane Connor, LC, president of the federation’s general board of directors, the Holy Father asks “the Lord that the light of the Holy Spirit helps you discern, in fidelity to the Gospel and the magisterium of the Church, how to make the mystery of Christ present in our days, in accordance with the vocation to which each of you has been called.”</p><p>Pope Francis expressed his hope that “this new statute favors their aspiration to always be true apostles.” In addition, the Holy Father highlighted that “today more than ever, society demands that we be able to give reasons for our hope in the face of contemporary challenges.</p><p>During his homily at the inaugural Mass of the gathering, held under the motto “Apostles on Mission: Making the Kingdom of Christ Present Today,” Connor invited everyone to “walk in the light that is Christ” and recalled that “becoming small is one of the great secrets of the Gospel and evangelization: small so that he may be great.”</p><p>The general convention is a collegiate body and is responsible for “dealing with the purposes, progress, and development of the Regnum Christi Federation” as its highest authority as well as establishing mission priorities for each six-year term, among other functions established in the statutes.</p><h2>What is Regnum Christi?</h2><p>The Regnum Christi Federation is now defined as a spiritual family with four vocations: Legionaries of Christ, consecrated women, consecrated laypeople, and laypeople whose direction is given by a general board of directors formed by the general directors of the Legionaries of Christ, the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, and the Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, who are assisted by two laypersons with consultative voice and vote.</p><p>According to its statement, Regnum Christi is made up of the Legionaries of Christ (1,316), consecrated women (486), consecrated laymen (47), and laypersons (18,494 over 16 years of age, and 10,276 minors). It carries on educational work with 151,000 students in 154 schools and 14 universities and is present in 32 countries on five continents.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104204/vaticano-papa-francisco-envia-mensaje-al-regnum-cristi-de-legionarios-de-cristo" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published</em></a><em> by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.</em></p>
  598. ]]></description>
  599.        <category>Vatican</category>
  600.        <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 13:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  601.      </item>
  602.    
  603.      <item>
  604.        <title><![CDATA[ Nebraska parish mobilizes to help neighbors after massive tornado ]]></title>
  605.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257538/nebraska-parish-mobilizes-to-help-neighbors-after-massive-tornado</link>
  606.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257538/nebraska-parish-mobilizes-to-help-neighbors-after-massive-tornado</guid>
  607.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  608.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/elkhornnebraskatornado043024.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  609.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Aerial view of tornado damage in Elkhorn, Nebraska, taken on April 29, 2024. Tornadoes ripped through the Midwest over the weekend of April 26–28, 2024. / Credit: mpi34/MediaPunch/IPX/AP Photo</span>
  610. </div>
  611. <p>CNA Staff, Apr 30, 2024 / 12:15 pm (CNA).</p>
  612. <p>After a blockbuster night of severe weather that saw tornadoes touch down in at least six states on Friday, one Catholic parish in Nebraska is stepping up in a particular way to help their neighbors after a massive twister leveled parts of their community April 26.</p><p><a href="https://www.stpatselkhorn.org/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">St. Patrick’s Catholic Church</a>&nbsp;in Elkhorn, Nebraska, a suburb northwest of Omaha, mobilized volunteers in recent days to coordinate monetary donations and gift cards for more than 30 local families whose homes have suffered various degrees of damage. The church also opened its doors to local law enforcement, which used the church’s gym as a reunification point after the storm.</p><p>“We reached out and extended help pretty instantly,” Eric Crawford, the parish’s advancement director, told CNA.</p><p>The parish itself, which is in the process of building a new sanctuary about half a mile from its current site, was relatively untouched, but homes “half a mile to a mile” away were flattened, Crawford said. The Friday tornadoes — two notably large ones hit the Omaha area — ultimately destroyed or damaged at least 150 homes, the AP reported. Miraculously, there have not been any reported fatalities thus far. The larger of the two tornadoes tore through Elkhorn.&nbsp;</p><p>“We were narrowly missed … but some of our parishioners live in that area, and so they’ve been directly affected by it,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>One of those parishioners was a bedridden man who was unable to get to his basement when the tornado ripped through his home. Miraculously, the man survived with non-life-threatening injuries, and two crucifixes and an image of the Virgin Mary remained on the ruined walls untouched, according to a local news report.</p><div class="facebook-wrapper"><div style="text-align: center" class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1042048750621155&amp;set=a.347187460107291" data-width="550">null</div><div id="fb-root"></div><script src="https://connect.facebook.net/es_ES/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v7.0&amp;appId=367111723460456&amp;autoLogAppEvents=1"></script><div class="drag-handle" data-drag-handle="true"> </div></div><p>Crawford encouraged people of goodwill to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stpatselkhorn.org/human-needs.html" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">donate to the parish’s Human Needs Committee,</a> which is working with the&nbsp;<a href="https://rapidresponseamerica.org/who-we-are/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Omaha Rapid Response Team,</a>&nbsp;a local nonprofit disaster-response team founded by Omaha churches. </p><p>“Keep our parish in your prayers, and then if [you] feel called to make some sort of contribution to our cause and our relief efforts, that would be much appreciated,” he said.</p><p>The Omaha chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is also <a href="https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E348071&amp;id=29&amp;formid=295&amp;Preview=true" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">accepting monetary donations</a>, as is&nbsp;<a href="https://ccomaha.org/tornado-disaster-relief-services/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Catholic Charities Omaha (CCO).</a> Dave Vankat, CCO’s chief community engagement officer, told CNA that the agency is prepared to offer long-term help for the tornado victims, such as food assistance and mental health resources, including mental health assistance for school children who may have been traumatized by the experience of the storm. </p><p>A contemplative community of religious sisters, the <a href="https://www.omahapoorclare.org/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Poor Clare Nuns of Omaha,</a> is located in Elkhorn just a few miles from the path the tornado and just a seven-minute drive from St. Patrick’s Parish. Mother Kathleen Hawkins, OSC, the abbess of the community, told CNA that the monastery lost power and had to rely on a backup generator during the storm. She said none of the sisters were injured and there does not appear to be any damage to the property but also that the monastery has been flooded with calls from people wanting to make sure the nuns are safe.</p><p>An extremely active day of tornadoes in the Midwest came to a head on April 26, with dozens of tornadoes reported across the broad swath of the central U.S. The next day, Saturday, saw large numbers of tornadoes develop in Oklahoma, where semitrucks were overturned on I-35 and at least four people died.</p><p><em>This story has been updated.</em> </p>
  613. ]]></description>
  614.        <category>US</category>
  615.        <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 12:15:00 -0400</pubDate>
  616.      </item>
  617.    
  618.      <item>
  619.        <title><![CDATA[ Game, set, God: French athlete trades championship title for abbey life ]]></title>
  620.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257537/game-set-god-french-athlete-trades-championship-title-for-abbey-life</link>
  621.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257537/game-set-god-french-athlete-trades-championship-title-for-abbey-life</guid>
  622.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  623.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/elevationattlm043024.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  624.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Elevation of the chalice at a Traditional Latin Mass. / Credit: Wikimedia JoeJ10/CC BY-SA 4.0</span>
  625. </div>
  626. <p>CNA Newsroom, Apr 30, 2024 / 11:45 am (CNA).</p>
  627. <p>At the pinnacle of his professional sports career, one French athlete announced his intention to quit volleyball to embrace monastic life at a famous French abbey.&nbsp;</p><p>Ludovic Duée, captain of the Saint-Nazaire volleyball team and recently crowned French champion, shared a deeply personal decision with local media: He has chosen to retire from the sport that brought him fame and success and embark on a new path at the Abbey of <a href="https://www.lagrasse.org/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse</a>.</p><p>Duée, 32, confirmed his life-changing move to <a href="https://www.ouest-france.fr/sport/volley/saint-nazaire-vba/temoignage-jai-decouvert-que-dieu-maimait-apres-la-finale-de-volley-il-va-devenir-pretre-1927f422-00bc-11ef-b295-c2640ef35bd2" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Ouest-France</a> following his team’s championship victory on April 28.</p><p>“This is a decision that stems from the depths of my soul,” Duée said.&nbsp;</p><p>Coming from a practicing Catholic family, he described — according to Catholic newspaper <a href="https://www.la-croix.com/religion/abbaye-de-lagrasse-un-sportif-de-haut-niveau-postule-chez-les-chanoines-20240428" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">LaCroix</a> — his religious practice as minimal until his encounter with <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/blog/canons-regular-clerks-regular" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the canons regular</a> of Lagrasse during the COVID-19 pandemic: The monks “were very welcoming and answered all my questions.”</p><p>The profound impact of meeting and communicating with the <a href="https://www.lagrasse.org/en/who-are-we/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Canons Regular of the Mother of God</a> led Duée to a personal revelation. </p><p>“I discovered that God loved me and that he only wanted one thing, for me to love him back,” he said, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. The transformative experience has set him on a new path to reciprocating that love.&nbsp;</p><p>The Abbey of Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse in the south of France has its origins in the seventh century. Today the monastery, which lies about 400 miles from Paris, is renowned for its adherence to the Traditional Latin Mass.</p><p>What is more, this monastery melds liturgical richness with a deep engagement with the local community: The canons are actively engaged in their diocese, contributing to social outreach programs, participating in sports, and providing spiritual and practical support to migrants at the village asylum center.</p><p>For now, Duée will live and learn among the canons without yet taking vows: “During the next few months, I will live and breathe the canon regular life. I will experience everything from the inside out to gain a deeper understanding of the community and determine if this is the long-term fit for me, and for them.”</p><p>Following the <a href="https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/rule-of-st-augustine-11909" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Rule of St. Augustine</a>, the devout Frenchman has embarked on a spiritual journey that may ultimately lead to taking the vows of a novice: After years of personal and theological development, the end goal is to make a permanent commitment as a priest and canon regular.</p>
  628. ]]></description>
  629.        <category>Europe</category>
  630.        <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 11:45:00 -0400</pubDate>
  631.      </item>
  632.    
  633.      <item>
  634.        <title><![CDATA[ St. Pius V, safeguard of the faith ]]></title>
  635.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257530/st-pius-v-safeguard-of-the-faith</link>
  636.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257530/st-pius-v-safeguard-of-the-faith</guid>
  637.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  638.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/20210430170452-d075898fef1a6a4f4b0b6a52c55264007b34cc0d10fb56cf5a7ea8bc8d04e107.webp?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  639.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Palma il Giovane (1550-1628), “Portrait of Pope Pius V.” / Credit: Public Domain</span>
  640. </div>
  641. <p>National Catholic Register, Apr 30, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).</p>
  642. <p>Michele Ghislieri, later St. Pius V, was born in Bosco, northern Italy, in 1504 and ordained a Dominican priest in 1528. Recognizing his holiness and learning, his community elected him prior four times.</p><p>During Pius’ lifetime, the Protestant ideas of Luther and Calvin were dissolving Catholic unity throughout Europe. In 1542, Pope Paul IV reorganized the Roman Inquisition to combat them and named Pius an inquisitor. In 1555, the newly elected Pope Pius IV made Pius bishop and later cardinal of Nepi and Sutri, a diocese near Rome, and general inquisitor of all Christendom (with authority over all other inquisitors).</p><p>Throughout his life, Pius devoted much time to prayer and practiced severe personal penances. He disliked public life and involvement in the governance of the Church, preferring the peace of the cloister, but relented when he saw that it was God’s will for his life. As a sign of his humility, as a cardinal and pope, Pius continued to wear the simple, white habit of the Dominican order, which began the tradition of popes wearing white.&nbsp;</p><p>He became Pope Pius V in 1566 through the influence of St. Charles Borromeo, cardinal of Milan, whose uncle was Pius IV. As pope, he was stern and rigorous in the enforcement of laws and morality. For the next six years of his pontificate, he undertook dramatic reforms, which remained dominant in the Church through Vatican II.</p><p>From the outset, Pius V was determined to rid the Church of the abuses and corruption and implement the decrees of the Council of Trent. He urged his cardinals to shun luxury and ambition and to lead exemplary Christian lives. He ordered bishops living in Rome to return to their dioceses and to fast and pray to end the heresies unleashed by the Protestant revolt.</p><p>When Emperor Maximilian joined with some cardinals in asking Pius V to end the requirement of celibacy for priests (the era had its own vocations crisis), he steadfastly refused. He also insisted that clergy wear clerical dress and religious habits as outward signs of their vocation.</p><p>During Pius V’s reign, the Catechism of the Council of Trent was completed, a new breviary was published, and sacred music was reformed. (Palestrina became choirmaster of the papal chapel.) Pius declared his fellow Dominican, St. Thomas Aquinas, a doctor of the Church and made St. Thomas’ <em>Summa Theologica</em> mandatory study at seminaries.</p><p>Despite frequent shortages in the papal treasury, Pius refused to take financial gifts for special dispensations (which had been commonplace with some predecessors). Once, when a bishop proposed a scheme to improve the Church’s finances, Pius refused, remarking: “Christianity can get along well enough with prayer and exemplary lives, and has no need of treasure.”</p><p>As a temporal ruler, Pius battled the crime and loose morals prevalent in Rome. He was often severe, frequently resorting to the use of corporal and capital punishment. For example, when a handful of unruly citizens knocked down a statue of Pope Paul IV (two popes before Pius V), and rolled it into the Tiber River, a horrified Pius ordered their execution.</p><p>Pius was greatly aided in renewing the spiritual life of Rome’s citizenry through the work of St. Philip Neri and other holy priests and religious.</p><p>While he had critics, Pius had many defenders as well. For example, the Spanish ambassador to Rome declared: “Rarely indeed in a pope has the monarch so given place to the priest. One thing only he has at heart, the salvation of souls. This is what determines his entire policy; on this he bases every service and reckons the value of every institution and act.”</p><p>Cardinal John Henry Newman would later write: “I do not deny that St. Pius V was stern and severe, as far as a heart burning and melted with divine love could be so … yet such energy and vigor as his were necessary for the times. He was a soldier of Christ in a time of insurrection and rebellion, when, in a spiritual sense, martial law was proclaimed.”</p><p>Pius V’s greatest challenge, however, came at the end of his pontificate. For centuries, Muslim Turks had threatened to conquer Christian Europe. In Pius’ time, the Turkish dominated the Mediterranean, plundering Christian towns and villages and slaughtering their inhabitants. Mahomet II boasted to the world he would soon top St. Peter’s dome with the Crescent Moon and wind the pope’s head in a turban.</p><p>Pius persuaded the European powers to lay aside their rivalries and join in a holy alliance against the Turks. As he prayed and fasted, the badly outnumbered Christian forces engaged the Turks at Lepanto. In one of the most remarkable naval victories in world history, the Turks were routed and Christendom saved.</p><p>The day of the victory — Oct. 7, 1571 — the pope was meeting in Rome with his advisers when he suddenly stopped, gazed out a window to the East, and wept for joy as he declared: “The Christian fleet is victorious!” Two weeks later, official word came to Rome that Pius was right. Muslim armies would never again threaten Europe.</p><p>Pius attributed the victory to the intercession of Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and declared Oct. 7 a feast day in her honor. He died seven months later and was canonized in 1712.</p><p>Pius V is remembered in the liturgy on April 30.</p><p><em>This article was </em><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/blog/pope-saint-pius-v" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>first published by the National Catholic Register</em></a><em>, CNA's sister news partner, and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.</em></p>
  643. ]]></description>
  644.        <category>Vatican</category>
  645.        <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 04:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  646.      </item>
  647.    
  648.      <item>
  649.        <title><![CDATA[ Former Anglican vicar becomes first bishop of UK ordinariate ]]></title>
  650.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257536/former-anglican-vicar-becomes-first-bishop-of-uk-ordinariate</link>
  651.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257536/former-anglican-vicar-becomes-first-bishop-of-uk-ordinariate</guid>
  652.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  653.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/ordinariate.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  654.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Father David Waller will become the first bishop Ordinary of the Ordinariate. / Credit: Courtesy photo / Bishop&#039;s Conference of England and Wales</span>
  655. </div>
  656. <p>National Catholic Register, Apr 29, 2024 / 18:45 pm (CNA).</p>
  657. <p>The Vatican has <a href="https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/04/29/240429b.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announced</a> a new leader of the ordinariate in Great Britain.</p><p>Father David Waller, 62, a parish priest and vicar general of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, will replace Monsignor Keith Newton, 72, who is retiring after serving over 13 years as the ordinary of the ecclesiastical structure for former Anglicans.</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.ordinariate.org.uk/news/OrdinariateNews.php?New-Ordinary-604" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">statement</a>, Newton called the Vatican’s April 29 announcement “momentous” given that Waller, who is a celibate, will become the first bishop ordinary of the ordinariate.&nbsp;</p><p>As someone who was already married as an Anglican clergyman before entering the Church through the ordinariate, Newton was not allowed episcopal consecration.</p><p>Established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 through his 2009 apostolic constitution <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_ben-xvi_apc_20091104_anglicanorum-coetibus.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>Anglicanorum Coetibus</em></a>, the ordinariate is an ecclesiastical structure for Anglicans wishing to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church while retaining their distinctive Anglican patrimony.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>With today’s announcement, the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham becomes the first of three in the world — the others being in the U.S./Canada and Australia — to have had an influence in choosing its leader.&nbsp;</p><p>In keeping with the Anglican emphasis on consultation and in accordance with the <em>Anglicanorum Coetibus</em>, members of the ordinariate’s governing council, made up of ordinariate priests, were able to choose Waller as one of three names they recommended to the Holy See.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/newton.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Monsignor Keith Newton, 72, is retiring after serving over 13 years as the ordinary of the ecclesiastical structure for former Anglicans. Credit: Edward Pentin"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Monsignor Keith Newton, 72, is retiring after serving over 13 years as the ordinary of the ecclesiastical structure for former Anglicans. Credit: Edward Pentin</figcaption></figure><p>Newton said he believed allowing this faculty, one that is usually left to the apostolic nuncio, “showed the Holy See’s confidence in the ordinariate in the U.K.”&nbsp;</p><p>A former Anglican vicar who served as a pastor, part-time hospital chaplain, and a member of the governing body of the Church of England, Waller was among the first Anglican clergy to be received into the Church following the establishment of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in 2011.&nbsp;</p><p>He was then ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood, has served in two parishes, and was elected chairman of the ordinariate’s governing council. For the past four years he has worked with Newton as vicar general.&nbsp;</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.ordinariate.org.uk/news/OrdinariateNews.php?New-Ordinary---Press-release-605" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">statement</a>, Waller said it was “both humbling and a great honor” to have been appointed ordinary. “The past 13 years have been a time of grace and blessing as small and vulnerable communities have grown in confidence, rejoicing to be a full yet distinct part of the Catholic Church,” he added.&nbsp;</p><p>Already well known to members of the ordinariate, he said he was looking forward to serving them in his new role, adding that experience over these past years has taught him “there is nothing to be feared in responding to the Lord and that Jesus does great things with us despite our inadequacies.”</p><p>Newton said in a statement that he was “delighted” with Waller’s appointment, adding that he has been “unwaveringly loyal” to the ordinariate and a “great support” to him as vicar general.&nbsp;</p><p>Waller has been “totally been involved in life of the ordinariate and understands it all, and is a good administrator,” Newton told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner.&nbsp;</p><h2>No coercion to step down</h2><p>Newton stressed that he had chosen to retire while he is still active.&nbsp;</p><p>“I’ve not been forced out in any way, and nobody has told me to retire; it’s totally my own decision,” he said. “It’s a time to pass it on to new hands,” he continued, adding that he and his wife, Gill, “want to enjoy a bit of retirement together.”&nbsp;</p><p>Other prominent priests of the ordinariate also welcomed the news of Waller’s appointment. Father Ed Tomlinson, priest in charge of St. Anselm’s Ordinariate Parish Church in Pembury, Tunbridge Wells, told the Register he was “delighted the ordinariate will have a bishop” and that he wished “Father David the best.”&nbsp;</p><p>Father Benedict Kiely, an ordinariate priest of the same parish who also runs the charity <a href="https://www.nasarean.org/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Nasarean.org</a> for persecuted Christians, said: “I will always remain grateful to Msgr. Keith for making the defense of persecuted Christians an important part of the ordinariate, and I’m sure Bishop David will continue that support.”</p><p>Newton said the date and place of Waller’s episcopal ordination have yet to be confirmed but that he expected it to take place “towards the end of June.”&nbsp;</p><p><em>This story</em><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/blog/former-anglican-priest-becomes-first-bishop-of-uk-ordinariate" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em> was first published </em></a><em>by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.</em></p>
  658. ]]></description>
  659.        <category>Europe</category>
  660.        <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 18:45:00 -0400</pubDate>
  661.      </item>
  662.    
  663.      <item>
  664.        <title><![CDATA[ Prosecutor dismisses case against French priest who said homosexual relations are a sin ]]></title>
  665.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257534/prosecutor-dismisses-case-against-french-priest-who-said-homosexual-relations-are-a-sin</link>
  666.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257534/prosecutor-dismisses-case-against-french-priest-who-said-homosexual-relations-are-a-sin</guid>
  667.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  668.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/abbe.raffray.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  669.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">French authorities determined that &quot;there does not appear that there is any infraction sufficiently characterized to justify any criminal procedure&quot; against Father Matthieu Raffray. / Credit: Father Matthieu Raffray YouTube Channel / Screenshot</span>
  670. </div>
  671. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 29, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).</p>
  672. <p>French priest Matthieu Raffray disclosed that the Paris prosecutor’s office has dismissed a case initiated against him for stating that homosexual relations are a sin and for calling homosexuality a “weakness.”</p><p>In a legal document addressed to the priest and <a href="https://twitter.com/LB2S/status/1783928358155289021" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">shared by him April 26</a>, it stated that “on March 19, the interministerial delegation for the fight against racism, anti-Semitism, and anti-LGBT hatred went to the Paris prosecutor’s office” regarding “two posts made on your X (Twitter) and Instagram accounts” in January and March.</p><p>The priest of the Institute of the Good Shepherd — created in 2006 in Rome for “the defense and dissemination of Catholic tradition in all its forms,” according to <a href="https://decouvrirlamessetraditionnelle.com/en" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the website</a> of this society of apostolic life — had posted in late January <a href="https://twitter.com/AbbeRaffray/status/1752608690723496220" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a comment on X</a> about “conversion therapies.”</p><p>“The LGBT Corner” had asked in a Jan. 28 mocking post on X whether “a person can get conversion therapy for 10 euros in France. That’s what Father LeCoq implies whom I contacted to help my son suffering from ‘homophile tendencies.’ He directed me to the retreat ‘Be a Man’ to be held again in Annecy.”</p><p>In response Raffray wrote: “Every spiritual retreat is conversion therapy. Since the beginnings of Catholicism, Christians have withdrawn from the world to find themselves before the Lord in order to become better” and criticized the “gross ignorance” and modus operandi of the LGBT lobby.</p><p>On March 15, the priest posted<a href="https://www.instagram.com/fraiches/p/C4pp9I2Mor0/?img_index=1" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> a video on Instagram</a> in which he encouraged the faithful to fight against their weaknesses.</p><p>In a March Instagram video, Raffray encouraged the faithful to fight against their weaknesses, among others homosexuality, and commented that each person has his or her own weapons with which to fight, but the devil convinces people that the fight “is too hard” and therefore it’s useless to resist.</p><p>The legal notice stated that “after a careful examination of the comments” of the priest “it does not appear that there is any infraction sufficiently characterized to justify any criminal procedure against him.”</p><p>“Therefore,” the document concluded, “this process is being dismissed.”</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/LB2S/status/1783928358155289021" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Raffray pointed out</a> that “the comments I made do not fall within the scope of the law.” </p><p>“I pray for my enemies and I thank everyone who has supported me,” he added.</p><h2>Who is Father Matthieu Raffray?</h2><p>Raffray is a well-known French priest who has a growing apostolate on the internet and social media aimed especially at young French-speaking people.</p><p>He has more than <a href="https://www.instagram.com/abbe_matthieu_raffray/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">60,000 followers on Instagram</a>, more than <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@abbematthieuraffray/videos" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">22,000 on YouTube</a>, and more than <a href="https://twitter.com/AbbeRaffray" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">21,000 on X</a>.</p><p>He is a pro-life and pro-family advocate and has published French-language books such as “Myths and Lies of Progressivism” (2020) and more recently “<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C4Qe4RcBDaw/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The Greatest of Combats</a>,” with which he seeks to answer the fundamental and existential questions of life.</p><p>Raffray, 45, was born in 1979 and is one of nine children. He studied mathematics before being ordained a priest in 2009.</p><p>He holds a doctorate in philosophy and teaches at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.</p><p>According to the publication <a href="https://europeanconservative.com/articles/interviews/conservatives-cannot-be-ideologically-dependent-on-the-left-an-interview-with-fr-matthieu-raffray/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">European Conservative</a>, he rose to fame in 2020 after an interview with French YouTuber Baptiste Marchais in which he defended the return to a “virile Catholicism” and patriotic sentiment among the Catholic faithful.&nbsp;</p><h2>What does the Catholic Church teach about homosexuality?</h2><p>Catholic teaching on homosexuality is summarized in Nos. 2357, 2358, and 2359 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.</p><p>The Church teaches that men and women with same-sex attraction “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”</p><p>The catechism notes that homosexual inclination is “objectively disordered” and constitutes for those who experience it “a trial.”</p><p>Based on sacred Scripture, the catechism states that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and “they do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity.” Consequently, “under no circumstances can they be approved.”</p><p>“Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection,” the catechism explains.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104169/fiscalia-archiva-proceso-contra-sacerdote-frances-que-dijo-que-los-actos-homosexuales-son-pecado" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published</em></a><em> by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.</em></p>
  673. ]]></description>
  674.        <category>Europe</category>
  675.        <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 18:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  676.      </item>
  677.    
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  679.        <title><![CDATA[ World Central Kitchen resumes relief efforts, dedicates operation to slain Catholic worker  ]]></title>
  680.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257533/world-central-kitchen-resumes-relief-efforts-dedicates-operation-to-slain-catholic-worker</link>
  681.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257533/world-central-kitchen-resumes-relief-efforts-dedicates-operation-to-slain-catholic-worker</guid>
  682.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  683.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/gettyimages-2149812121.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  684.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Palestinians carry empty pots during a demonstration held by the displaced Palestinians gathered in a protest carrying empty pots and pans asking for more relief aid and fuel to reach Gaza strip in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. / Credit: SAEED JARAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images</span>
  685. </div>
  686. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 29, 2024 / 17:20 pm (CNA).</p>
  687. <p>World Central Kitchen (WCK) has resumed humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza and is opening a new hub to be named “Damian’s Kitchen,” after Damian Soból, a 35-year-old Catholic aid worker who was recently killed while serving in the war-torn strip.&nbsp;</p><p>While acknowledging the continued dangerous conditions in Gaza, Erin Gore, WCK CEO, said: “We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding as many people as possible.”&nbsp;</p><p>WCK’s efforts will be carried out by Palestinian aid workers going forward, according to Gore’s <a href="https://wck.org/news/chefs-for-gaza" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">statement</a>, released on April 28.&nbsp;</p><p>“WCK has built a strong team of Palestinians to carry the torch forward,” she said. “Our model has always been to work hand in hand with the community: Puerto Ricans feeding Puerto Ricans; Moroccans feeding Moroccans; Ukrainians feeding Ukrainians; and now, Palestinians feeding Palestinians.”&nbsp;</p><p>This comes four weeks after seven WCK workers, including Soból, were <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257257/world-central-kitchen-pauses-gaza-relief-efforts-after-7-workers-killed-in-israeli-strike" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">killed</a> by rocket fire while traveling on a Gaza highway at night after making an aid delivery.&nbsp;</p><p>Israel Defense Forces (IDF) admitted responsibility for the strike but said it was a “mistake that followed a misidentification at night during a war in very complex conditions.”</p><p>The IDF agreed to allow an independent investigation into the killings and have <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-gaza-world-central-kitchen-idf-fires-officers-investigation-blames-mistaken-id/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">reportedly</a> changed their operating procedures, and reprimanded and relieved several soldiers of their duties for their involvement.&nbsp;</p><p>This incident led WCK and a few other aid groups to temporarily <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257289/catholic-relief-services-increasing-efforts-in-gaza-despite-deaths-of-aid-workers" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">suspend</a> their efforts for the sake of their workers’ safety. WCK said it distributed over 43 million meals in Gaza before pausing operations in early April, accounting for 62% of all international nongovernmental aid.</p><p>Gore said that while still mourning the loss of the seven workers, WCK is aware of the continued need in Gaza and is ready to resume their efforts. WCK aid deliveries resumed on Monday.&nbsp;</p><p>“Ultimately, we decided we must keep feeding, continuing our mission of showing up to provide food to people during the toughest of times,” she said.&nbsp;</p><p>According to a WCK statement sent to CNA, the group has 276 trucks with nearly 8 million meals ready to enter Gaza from the south as well as additional aid trucks in Jordan. The group is also investigating additional delivery routes from the Mediterranean Sea.</p><p>Damian’s Kitchen, named after Soból, will be WCK’s third “high production” kitchen in Gaza. It will be in Al Mawasi, a town in southern Gaza close to Rafah. Including the new location, WCK operates 69 community kitchens throughout the strip.</p><p>Soból was from Przemyśl, Poland. Before going to Gaza, he helped build kitchens and deliver aid amid catastrophes in Poland, Greece, Turkey, and Morocco.&nbsp;</p><p>According to a tribute to him posted on <a href="https://wck.org/en-us/news/tribute-to-damian" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">WCK’s website</a>, Soból was among the first workers helping Ukrainian refugees in the earliest days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;</p><p>The WCK tribute said that he was “wise beyond his years” and “put everyone at ease with his kindness, patience, and laughter. He was pure joy, with the best smile.”&nbsp;</p><p>In Gaza, the tribute said Soból “worked tirelessly to make the impossible possible through innovation.”</p><p>Gore said that in building Damian’s Kitchen WCK workers are remembering his favorite saying: “No problems, only solutions.”</p><p>Though only the bones of the future kitchen’s structure have been laid, WCK workers have already erected a large poster with Soból’s image with the words “Damian Kitchen, the hero Damian will remain in our hearts forever.”&nbsp;</p><p>Despite several relief groups halting their efforts, Catholic Relief Services has continued distributing aid throughout April, even increasing its work.&nbsp;</p><p>Jason Knapp, Holy Land representative for the U.S.-based Catholic group, told CNA shortly after the aid workers were killed that CRS had set up warehouses, guesthouses, and offices in Rafah and Deir al Balah and was “in the process of setting up additional distribution points throughout Rafah, Khan Younis, and Middle Area.”</p>
  688. ]]></description>
  689.        <category>Middle East - Africa</category>
  690.        <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 17:20:00 -0400</pubDate>
  691.      </item>
  692.    
  693.      <item>
  694.        <title><![CDATA[ Spanish bishop to Biden: Invoking Jesus Christ in support of abortion is a sacrilege ]]></title>
  695.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257531/spanish-bishop-to-biden-invoking-jesus-christ-in-support-of-abortion-is-a-sacrilege</link>
  696.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257531/spanish-bishop-to-biden-invoking-jesus-christ-in-support-of-abortion-is-a-sacrilege</guid>
  697.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  698.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/joebiden042924.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  699.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">President Joe Biden speaks during the White House Correspondents dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., on April 27, 2024. / Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images</span>
  700. </div>
  701. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 29, 2024 / 16:52 pm (CNA).</p>
  702. <p>U.S. president Joe Biden has come under fire for making the sign of the cross during a rally criticizing measures that restrict abortion.</p><p>Among his critics are José Ignacio Munilla, the bishop of Orihuela-Alicante in Spain, who called Biden’s gesture a “sacrilege.”</p><p>Biden went to Tampa, Florida, on April 23 for a campaign stop one week before a law restricting abortion in the state from 15 to six weeks of gestation was due to go into effect.</p><p>While a Biden supporter on stage criticized Florida governor and former Republican candidate for president Ron DeSantis for signing the bill, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/40daysforlife.official/reel/C6JTFBvCxxh/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Biden made the sign of the cross.</a></p><div class="instagram-wrapper"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="null" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C6JTFBvCxxh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;
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  712.            width:calc(100% - 2px)">null</blockquote><script src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div class="drag-handle" data-drag-handle="true"> </div></div><p>On his weekday radio program on Radio María España, Munilla said that making the sign of the cross in support of abortion constitutes a “sacrilegious” gesture and “the desecration of the sign of the cross.”</p><p>“Invoking Jesus Christ in support of abortion” has drawn strong criticism “in many pro-life and Catholic circles,” the bishop pointed out.</p><p>Crossing oneself, Munilla said, is meant to be used as a sign “in which we remember that Jesus gave his life for us, he gave his life for all the innocents, he gave his life to restore innocence and to make us saints.”&nbsp;</p><p>To use the sign of the cross as Biden did, however, is to “invoke the cross in a sacrilegious manner.”</p><p>Referring to the incident, the Spanish prelate warned of the risk that a Catholic might publicly show his faith by crossing himself while at the same time twisting its meaning “in a sacrilegious manner.”</p><h2>Munilla questions moral stature of Biden, Trump</h2><p>In addition to commenting on the incident, the prelate also offered a critical analysis of the two contenders for president of the United States, Biden and former president Donald Trump.</p><p>“In a nation like the United States, shouldn’t there be [candidates] from both the Democratic Party as well as the Republican Party with enough moral stature to properly represent their parties to the electorate?” he asked. In his opinion, both Biden and Trump lack that moral stature.</p><p>“Consider what Biden represents with his deteriorating condition, even psychologically, to run for president again with this absolute desecration of his own (purportedly Catholic) values, having made the cause of abortion, the spread of abortion throughout the world, almost his highest value,” Munilla said, commenting on the incumbent president.</p><p>Regarding Trump, Munilla noted that “although he has defended the pro-life cause — not totally, but in fact in a forceful way — he is involved in many [court] cases in which his moral stature has undoubtedly been seriously affected.”</p><p>Munilla prayed that the Lord “would raise up vocations to public life so that there are truly young people who, with a life of integrity consistent with their values, have as their only watchword, as the only driving force of their entering into political life, the desire to serve the common good.”</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104193/obispo-espanol-a-biden-invocar-a-jesucristo-para-apoyar-el-aborto-es-sacrilego" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published</em></a><em> by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.</em></p>
  713. ]]></description>
  714.        <category>Europe</category>
  715.        <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 16:52:00 -0400</pubDate>
  716.      </item>
  717.    
  718.      <item>
  719.        <title><![CDATA[ Court orders North Carolina, West Virginia to fund sex changes in state health care plans ]]></title>
  720.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257532/court-orders-north-carolina-west-virginia-to-fund-sex-changes-in-state-health-care-plans</link>
  721.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257532/court-orders-north-carolina-west-virginia-to-fund-sex-changes-in-state-health-care-plans</guid>
  722.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  723.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/shutterstock-2315937259.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  724.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / Shutterstock</span>
  725. </div>
  726. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 29, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).</p>
  727. <p>A federal court has ordered the governments of North Carolina and West Virginia to provide coverage for sex-change operations in state health care plans offered to state employees and through Medicaid.</p><p>The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals — which has jurisdiction over North Carolina, West Virginia, South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland — ruled in an&nbsp;<a href="https://ago.wv.gov/Documents/Opinion%20Anderson.pdf" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">8-6 decision</a> that refusing to provide coverage for transgender operations in state health care plans is discrimination “on the basis of&nbsp;gender identity and sex” in violation of the Equal Protection Clause.</p><p>The ruling claims policies in both states violate the Constitution and federal law. The North Carolina policy that the court found to be in violation excludes sex-change surgeries in its coverage for state employees. The West Virginia policy found to be in violation excludes sex-change surgeries in its Medicaid coverage.</p><p>According to the majority opinion, written by Chief Judge Roger Gregory, the policies in both states are based on “a gender stereotype.” He used mastectomies (operations to remove breasts) as an example, suggesting that the stereotype is “the assumption that people who have been assigned female at birth are supposed to have&nbsp;breasts,&nbsp;and that people assigned male at birth are not.”</p><p>“No doubt, the majority of those assigned female at birth have breasts, and the majority of those assigned male at birth do not,” Gregory, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, said in his opinion. “But we cannot mistake what is for what must be.”</p><p>Several judges wrote strong dissenting opinions, including Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, who questioned why there is a “rush to constitutionalize” and to create a “right to transgender surgery and treatment” in the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.</p><p>“The recurrent creation of rights so unmoored from constitutional text or history will deplete the store of public respect on which a branch devoid of sword or purse must ultimately rely,” he said.</p><p>The legal battle, however, will not end at the appellate court. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who is representing his state’s policies in court,&nbsp;<a href="https://mailchi.mp/wvago/wva-ag-vows-to-take-fight-over-state-medicaids-choice-not-to-pay-for-sex-transition-surgeries-to-scotus" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said in a statement</a>&nbsp;that this decision “cannot stand” and that he intends to appeal the ruling to the United States Supreme Court.&nbsp;</p><p>“We are confident in the merits of our case: that this is a flawed decision and states have wide discretion to determine what procedures their programs can cover based on cost and other concerns,” Morrisey said. “Just one single sex-transition surgery can cost tens of thousands of dollars — taxpayers should not be required to pay for these surgeries under Medicaid. Our state should have the ability to determine how to spend our resources to care for the vital medical needs of our citizens.”</p><p>Just two weeks ago, the same appellate court handed West Virginia&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/appeals-court-rules-against-west-virginia-save-women-s-sports-act" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">an unfavorable ruling</a>&nbsp;over its law that restricts women’s and girls’ sports to only biological women and girls. Similarly, the court claimed that the law was discriminatory&nbsp;on the basis of&nbsp;gender identity. This ruling is also being appealed to the Supreme Court.</p>
  728. ]]></description>
  729.        <category>US</category>
  730.        <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 16:10:00 -0400</pubDate>
  731.      </item>
  732.    
  733.      <item>
  734.        <title><![CDATA[ Cardinal Grech opens world meeting of priests: ‘Our stories are human stories’ ]]></title>
  735.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257529/cardinal-grech-opens-world-meeting-of-priests-our-stories-are-human-stories</link>
  736.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257529/cardinal-grech-opens-world-meeting-of-priests-our-stories-are-human-stories</guid>
  737.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  738.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/sacrofanoitaly042924.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  739.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Landscape view of Sacrofano, Italy, north of Rome. / Credit: Dmitry Taranets/Shutterstock</span>
  740. </div>
  741. <p>Rome Newsroom, Apr 29, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).</p>
  742. <p>The World Meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod opened on Monday to discuss “how to be a synodal local Church in mission,” allowing priests from around the world to discuss questions raised during the ongoing synod and share their personal pastoral experiences.&nbsp;</p><p>The four-day meeting, which is taking place from April 29 to May 2 at the Fraterna Domus retreat house in Sacrofano, Italy, just north of Rome, is attended by about 300 priests from around the globe and is divided into several sessions, taking cues from different themes and questions raised in the synod’s synthesis report.&nbsp;</p><p>“The parish priest is a man of the people and for the people. Like Jesus, he is open to the crowd, constantly open to the crowd, to help each and every one understand that they are a letter from Christ,” said Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the General Secretariat of the Synod, in opening the event on Monday morning.&nbsp;</p><p>Monday’s discussion was based on the theme “The Face of the Synodal Church,” while Tuesday’s discussion will focus on “All Disciples, All Missionaries.” On Wednesday participants will come together to study “Teaching Ties, Building Communities.”</p><p>In reflecting on the overall scope of the Synod on Synodality, which will reconvene in October for its second and final assembly, Grech told participants on Monday that at the center of this process is an understanding, and sharing, of personal narratives.&nbsp;</p><p>“Our stories are human stories, but human stories in which God, Jesus, is present,” the cardinal remarked.&nbsp;</p><p>“Sometimes we need others to help us see God’s presence in our stories. This is our mission, this is the mission entrusted to us, to you, my dear brothers,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>Grech told the clergy gathered that “being synodal does not simply mean walking together, but rather walking with God, or better to say, God walking with us.”&nbsp;</p><p>“Synodality is about God, before being about the Church,” he continued.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The World Meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod was first <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256733/synod-on-synodality-organizers-invite-300-parish-priests-to-a-listening-session-in-rome" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announced in February</a> and is jointly organized by the Dicastery for the Clergy and by the General Secretariat of the Synod in response to the first synod assembly’s synthesis report, which identified a need to “develop ways for a more active involvement of deacons, priests, and bishops in the synodal process during the coming year.”</p><p>“There is no synod without a bishop, but allow me to say today there is no synod without a parish priest,” Grech said to participants on Monday. “That is the reason why we felt the need to make this meeting, and so that we can enrich our preparation in view of the next session for the synod of bishops.”</p><p>This week’s meeting will culminate with an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday, followed by Mass, celebrated by Grech, in St. Peter’s Basilica.&nbsp;</p><p>According to Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín, undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257408/rome-to-host-world-meeting-of-parish-priests-in-preparation-for-synod-on-synodality" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">another purpose of the meeting</a> is to “provide materials that will be used in the drafting of the <em>Instrumentum Laboris</em> [working document] for the synod’s second session, together with the summaries of the consultation coordinated by the bishops’ conferences and the results of the theological-canonical study carried out by five working groups formed by the General Secretariat of the Synod.”</p>
  743. ]]></description>
  744.        <category>Europe</category>
  745.        <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 15:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  746.      </item>
  747.    
  748.      <item>
  749.        <title><![CDATA[ Senate GOP leader McConnell won’t push for 15-week abortion law, says unlikely to pass ]]></title>
  750.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257528/senate-gop-leader-mcconnell-won-t-push-for-15-week-abortion-law-says-unlikely-to-pass</link>
  751.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257528/senate-gop-leader-mcconnell-won-t-push-for-15-week-abortion-law-says-unlikely-to-pass</guid>
  752.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  753.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/gettyimages-2149316207.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  754.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill on April 23, 2024, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images</span>
  755. </div>
  756. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 29, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).</p>
  757. <p>Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said that he would not advocate for a law that would restrict abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy at the federal level, arguing that such a bill is unlikely to receive enough support to pass the Senate.&nbsp;</p><p>In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/mcconnell-says-federal-abortion-legislation-in-any-direction-could-not-get-enough-senate-votes-209845317890" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday</a>, McConnell noted that federal legislation in “any direction,” whether it be pro-life or pro-abortion, would need support from 60 senators to overcome the filibuster — a threshold that would be difficult for either side to reach.</p><p>“I don’t think we’ll get 60 votes in the Senate for any kind of national legislation,” the Senate minority leader said. “I think as a practical matter, it’s going to be sorted out at the state level.”</p><p>McConnell did not directly answer a question about whether he would vote for a bill restricting abortion after 15 weeks but said he’s “not advocating for anything at this level.” He said he thinks abortion policy will “be sorted out all across the country and be very different in different states.”</p><p>The Republican leader added that individual Republican senators are welcome to differ in how they approach the policy question.&nbsp;</p><p>“Views about this issue at the state level vary depending on where you are, and we got elected by states and my members are smart enough to figure out how they want to deal with this very divisive issue based upon the people who&nbsp;actually&nbsp;send them here,” McConnell said.</p><p>Abortion policy has become divisive in the United States — and among Republicans — since the United States Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251247/supreme-court-roe-v-wade-dobbs-decision" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>, which allowed federal and state legislation restricting abortion. More than 20 states imposed restrictions on abortion after the Supreme Court decision and several other states passed pro-abortion laws.</p><p>Although most Republicans espouse pro-life views,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256126/some-pro-life-lawmakers-urge-new-approach-amid-electoral-results" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">electoral struggles</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256074/after-losses-pro-life-movement-sees-need-to-adjust-strategy-for-2024-referendums" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">referendum losses</a>&nbsp;have led some Republicans to diverge from traditional pro-life policy goals, such as federal restrictions.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257173/house-republicans-include-slew-of-pro-life-bills-in-2025-budget-proposal" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Other Republicans</a>&nbsp;have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252278/senate-republicans-propose-national-ban-on-abortions-after-15-weeks" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">tried to advance</a>&nbsp;pro-life bills through Congress, without any success.</p><p>The presumptive Republican nominee to challenge President Joe Biden for the White House in November, former president Donald Trump, announced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257314/trump-on-abortion-it-s-up-to-the-states-to-do-the-right-thing" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">his proposed abortion policies</a>&nbsp;in early April: a state-by-state approach rather than federal restrictions.&nbsp;</p><p>“Many states will be different,” Trump said. “Many will have a different number of weeks, or some will have more conservative [policies] than others, and that’s what they will be. At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people.”</p><p>Biden and most Democrats have embraced an effort to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257144/biden-pushes-for-taxpayer-funded-abortion-nationwide-in-2025-budget-plan" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">legalize abortion nationwide</a>, which would overrule pro-life laws in more than 20 states. They have referred to this proposed legislation as a codification of Roe v. Wade’s abortion standards into federal law.</p>
  758. ]]></description>
  759.        <category>US</category>
  760.        <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 14:30:00 -0400</pubDate>
  761.      </item>
  762.    
  763.      <item>
  764.        <title><![CDATA[ Miami archbishop slams Biden for ‘unconscionable’ deportation of Haitian refugees ]]></title>
  765.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257527/miami-archbishop-slams-biden-for-unconscionable-deportation-of-haitian-refugees</link>
  766.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257527/miami-archbishop-slams-biden-for-unconscionable-deportation-of-haitian-refugees</guid>
  767.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
  768.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/gettyimages-1250194453.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
  769.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Migrants, mostly Haitians, wait in Mexico City to be sent to different migration centers in Puebla, Hidalgo, and Queretaro to obtain their humanitarian visas, which will allow them to continue their journey to the U.S. border ion March 31, 2023. / Credit: ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images</span>
  770. </div>
  771. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 29, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).</p>
  772. <p>Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami is criticizing President Joe Biden for resuming deportations of Haitian refugees, which he called “unconscionable.”&nbsp;</p><p>After first making his strong statements in an interview with <a href="https://www.ncronline.org/news/archbishop-wenski-deportations-haiti-unconscionable-amid-violence-instability" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">OSV News</a>, the Miami archbishop doubled down on his criticism of Biden while also calling on the U.S. to extend blanket temporary protective status to all Haitian migrants in the U.S.</p><p>“What President Biden has done is unconscionable when you think of the fact that he’s deported over 28,000 Haitians back to Haiti in the last three years, at a time when Haiti has been in a political, social, and economic freefall,” the archbishop told CNA. “If a house is on fire, you don’t force people to run back into the burning house.”</p><p>He also criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for <a href="https://www.flgov.com/2024/03/13/governor-desantis-deploys-additional-personnel-assets-to-southern-florida-and-the-keys-to-stop-potential-influx-of-illegal-immigration-from-haiti/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">increasing the presence of state officials</a> in southern Florida to redirect any Haitians arriving by boat back to their home country.</p><p>“They are speaking about them as if they were an invasive species, [when] they’re human beings,” Wenski lamented.</p><h2>What is going on in Haiti?</h2><p>Haiti is a small Caribbean nation that has been suffering from political instability for the past several years. Currently the country is experiencing widespread crime, violence, and food shortages in the wake of a long-simmering government meltdown.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince has descended into chaos in the last several months. With a widespread lack of food, health care, and drinking water, among other needs, the government has been largely incapable of controlling criminal elements in the capital and throughout the country.&nbsp;</p><p>At a United Nations Security Council <a href="https://binuh.unmissions.org/en/briefing-security-council-ms-mar%C3%ADa-isabel-salvador-special-representative-secretary-general-haiti-0" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">briefing</a>, Maria Salvador, head of the U.N. mission to Haiti, testified that “it is impossible to overstate the increase in gang activity across Port-au-Prince and beyond, the deterioration of the human rights situation, and the deepening of the humanitarian crisis.”&nbsp;</p><p>According to an April 22 United Nations <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/04/1148861" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">report</a>, roughly 2,500 people were killed or injured in Haiti in the first quarter of this year. About half the population — more than 5 million people — are going hungry while hundreds of thousands have been displaced.&nbsp;</p><p>Amid the chaos, there have been lootings of homes and hospitals as well as kidnappings of <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256636/abducted-haitian-nuns-released-amid-ongoing-gang-violence" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">religious sisters</a>, brothers, priests, and other innocent bystanders. Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of the Catholic Diocese of Anse-à-Veau was <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256893/haitian-bishop-in-stable-condition-after-explosion-in-port-au-prince" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">injured in an explosion</a> in Port-au-Prince on Feb. 18.</p><p>Despite all this, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement resumed deportations of illegal Haitian migrants earlier this month after temporarily pausing removals in recent months. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed with CNA that authorities have thus far repatriated approximately 50 Haitian nationals.</p><p>The spokesperson also told CNA that “individuals are removed only if they were found to not have a legal basis to remain in the United States.”&nbsp;</p><p>While noting that DHS is “monitoring the situation in Haiti and coordinating closely with the State Department and international partners,” the spokesperson said that “all irregular migration journeys, especially maritime routes, are extremely dangerous, unforgiving, and often result in loss of life.”</p><p>“U.S. policy is to return noncitizens who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States,” the spokesperson continued. “DHS will continue to enforce U.S. laws and policy throughout the Florida Straits and the Caribbean region, as well as at the southwest border.”</p><h2>Miami archbishop responds</h2><p>The Miami area has the <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/haitian-immigrants-united-states" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">largest Haitian population</a> in the country. As a parish priest, Wenski said that he learned to celebrate Mass in Haitian Creole.</p><p>According to the archbishop, Haitians make up an essential part of the Church in Miami, with at least 13 Haitian Catholic churches and about a dozen Haitian priests in the archdiocese. He praised Haitians’ devotion to their faith, saying that “there are a lot of vocations,” with Haitian priests serving the Church all across the Eastern seaboard.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Wenski said “there’s an inconsistency in the application of the laws,” and “sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason behind some of the American actions.”</p><p>He<strong> </strong>claimed that the federal government’s removals violate portions of international law that the U.S. has signed onto, namely the “principle of non-refoulement,” which prohibits the removal of refugees if it presents them with a real danger of irreparable harm, torture, ill treatment, or other serious human rights breaches.</p><p>Wenski called on Biden to extend temporary protective status for all Haitian migrants “regardless of how they arrived.”&nbsp;</p><p>“Are you going to now order people back to the countries where they came from? And what happens if the conditions in the countries haven’t changed? Can you really do that?” he asked.</p><p>By extending temporary protective status and allowing Haitian migrants to live and work in the U.S. legally, Wenski said that it “not only helps the Haitians, but it also helps everybody else” because “that means they’re contributing their taxes, they’re paying into Social Security, et cetera, et cetera.”</p><h2>Immigration expert disagrees</h2><p>Andrew Arthur, a Catholic, former immigration judge, and resident law and policy fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told CNA that while he understands Wenski’s stance on this issue, he believes the deportations are the ethical thing to do.</p><p>Arthur said that he could “dispositively” confirm that all of the Biden administration’s recent deportations of Haitian migrants are in full accordance with U.S. and international law.</p><p>According to Arthur, Haitians can still take advantage of several other legal pathways for refuge in the U.S. as well as many other American countries. He said that 168,000 Haitian migrants have legally entered the country since January 2023 through a special humanitarian parole program available for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans.</p><p>He explained that the only Haitian migrants being deported by the Biden administration are people who have either committed crimes or entered the country illegally. Regarding the non-refoulement principle, Arthur said the Biden administration is only deporting migrants who have been determined to be not at risk of persecution or torture in their home country.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>In Arthur’s opinion, returning illegal Haitian migrants is the moral answer, since he said that not doing so would encourage still larger numbers of people to attempt to cross into the U.S. illegally in a journey that he said results in untold deaths and trauma, especially to migrant children.</p><p>“About two-thirds of all of those migrants [coming illegally] are assaulted on their way to the United States,” he said. “It’s an extremely dangerous process, and we want to deter people from undertaking that. That’s the moral side of this. We don’t want them to put themselves in a position of danger.”</p><h2>Bishops’ conference has yet to weigh in</h2><p>At the time of publication, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops did not reply to CNA’s request for comment about Wenski’s statements. However, the bishops have previously called for the international community and American Church to stand in solidarity with the people of Haiti.</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.usccb.org/news/2024/bishop-zaidan-prays-and-expresses-solidarity-people-haiti-and-calls-us-and-international" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">March 15 statement</a>, Bishop Elias Zaidan, head of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon and chairman of the U.S. bishops’ International Justice and Peace Committee, said: “I heartily join our Holy Father Pope Francis in his expression of concern and support for the people of Haiti and who recently invited us to pray for the people of this land through the intercession of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, patroness of Haiti that violence cease, and peace and reconciliation in the country be realized with the support of the international community.”</p>
  773. ]]></description>
  774.        <category>US</category>
  775.        <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 14:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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