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Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/catholicnewsagency/dailynews

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4.    <title>Catholic News Agency</title>
5.    <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com</link>
6.    <description>ACI Prensa&#039;s latest initiative is the Catholic News Agency (CNA), aimed at serving
7.            the English-speaking Catholic audience. ACI Prensa (www.aciprensa.com)
8.            is currently the largest provider of Catholic news in Spanish and Portuguese.</description>
9.    <language>en</language>
10.    <copyright>Copyright © 2006-2024, CNA</copyright>
11.    <ttl>60</ttl>
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13.      <title>CNA</title>
14.      <url>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/assets/images/branding/CNA_LOGOredblk.png</url>
15.      <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com</link>
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17.    
18.      <item>
19.        <title><![CDATA[ The longest and grandest of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimages: A look at the Serra Route ]]></title>
20.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257736/the-longest-and-grandest-of-the-national-eucharistic-pilgrimages-a-look-at-the-serra-route</link>
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22.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
23.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/serra-still-1.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
24.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">A map of a few of the largest cities that will be traversed by the Serra Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimages. / Credit: EWTN News in Depth</span>
25. </div>
26. <p>CNA Staff, May 18, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).</p>
27. <p>This weekend marks the beginning of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">National Eucharistic Pilgrimages,</a>&nbsp;an unprecedented effort to walk with the Eucharist thousands of miles across the United States as a public witness to the Church’s teaching that the Eucharist is truly the body of Jesus Christ.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257062/meet-the-young-catholic-pilgrims-who-will-walk-thousands-of-miles-with-the-eucharist-this-summer" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">A group of two dozen young people</a>, dubbed “perpetual pilgrims,” will walk the entire way, 6,500 miles in total across the four routes. All are welcome to participate in Eucharistic processions and other prayer-filled events taking place across the country over the next two months.</p><p>The longest and arguably the most challenging of the four routes,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/st-junipero-serra-route" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the Junipero Serra Route,</a>&nbsp;begins in San Francisco and ends in Indianapolis at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticcongress.org/ewtn" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">National Eucharistic Congress</a>&nbsp;July 17–21. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/perpetual-pilgrims" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Serra Route pilgrims</a>&nbsp;will walk over 2,000 miles — across the Golden Gate Bridge, the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and the Midwest’s Great Plains.&nbsp;</p><p>The Serra Route is named after “The Apostle of California,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/44937/who-is-st-junipero-serra-anyway" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">St. Junipero Serra,</a>&nbsp;whom Pope Francis canonized during a visit to the United States in 2015. Serra was an 18th-century Franciscan priest and missionary who founded mission churches all along the California coast, many of which are still in operation as Catholic churches today.</p><p>Here are some highlights to expect during this historic pilgrimage.</p><h2>Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge — May 19</h2><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/serra-still-2.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="The Golden Gate Bridge. Credit: EWTN News in Depth"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">The Golden Gate Bridge. Credit: EWTN News in Depth</figcaption></figure><p>There will be a special blessing&nbsp;of&nbsp;the perpetual pilgrims before they begin their journey at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.missiondolores.org/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Mission Dolores</a>, which was founded in 1776 and remains the oldest intact building in San Francisco. Soon after the commencement of the pilgrimage following Pentecost Mass at the&nbsp;<a href="https://smcsf.org/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption</a>&nbsp;in San Francisco, the procession will move to the Golden Gate Bridge and cross its iconic 1.7-mile span. Those wanting to join for this portion can register&nbsp;<a href="https://events.blackthorn.io/en/DnDCa1K7/g/serra/serra-route-archdiocese-of-san-francisco-4a2PDnqpQa/overview" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">here.</a></p><h2>Sailing on the Sacramento River — May 22</h2><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/serra-still-5.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="The Sacramento River. Credit: EWTN News in Depth"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">The Sacramento River. Credit: EWTN News in Depth</figcaption></figure><p>After arriving in Sacramento — California’s capital, which is named for the Blessed Sacrament — by boat, the procession will proceed to a homeless shelter for Eucharistic adoration. Later, the pilgrims will visit inmates at Folsom Prison. Catholic leaders in Sacramento say they have arranged for the events in Sacramento to serve and celebrate the city’s marginalized: the unhoused, prisoners, migrants, mothers in need, and farm workers. (Register&nbsp;<a href="https://events.blackthorn.io/en/DnDCa1K7/g/serra/serra-route-diocese-of-sacramento-4a2PDnqpQf/overview" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">here.</a>)</p><h2>Boating across Lake Tahoe — May 24</h2><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/serra-still-6.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Lake Tahoe on the Nevada-California border. Credit: EWTN News in Depth"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Lake Tahoe on the Nevada-California border. Credit: EWTN News in Depth</figcaption></figure><p>At South Lake Tahoe near the California-Nevada border, the procession will take to the water once again and sail across the lake, which is world-renowned for its scenery and recreation opportunities. (Register to join&nbsp;<a href="https://events.blackthorn.io/en/DnDCa1K7/g/serra/serra-route-diocese-of-sacramento-4a2PDnqpQf/overview" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">here.</a>)</p><h2>Traversing the Rocky Mountains — roughly May 26 to June 6</h2><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screen-shot-2024-05-17-at-3.27.42-pm.png" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="The Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Credit: Jonah McKeown"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">The Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Credit: Jonah McKeown</figcaption></figure><p>Between Lake Tahoe and Denver, there will be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/st-junipero-serra-route" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">numerous opportunities for participants to join</a>&nbsp;the procession as it goes through some of the country’s most spectacular scenery in Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah.&nbsp;</p><p>This portion of the route will take the pilgrims across the Great Basin desert and then through the rugged and awe-inspiring Rocky Mountains, which inspired St. John Paul II when, as pope,&nbsp;he came to Denver for World Youth Day in 1993. (In case you’re wondering, not everything on the route will be done on foot; specially designed vans will transport the Eucharist and the pilgrims over certain portions of all four routes.)</p><h2>Jesus on the plains of Nebraska — June 21</h2><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/at-img-0138a.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Bishop James Conley leads a Eucharistic procession outside Lincoln's Cathedral of the Risen Christ. Credit: Diocese of Lincoln"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Bishop James Conley leads a Eucharistic procession outside Lincoln's Cathedral of the Risen Christ. Credit: Diocese of Lincoln</figcaption></figure><p>In a joint event between the Archdiocese of Omaha and the Diocese of Lincoln, the procession will begin outside on the grounds of the Cloisters on the Platte (a well-known Ignatian retreat center) and process about five miles with the Blessed Sacrament to the picturesque Holy Family Shrine. (Register&nbsp;<a href="https://events.blackthorn.io/en/DnDCa1K7/g/serra/serra-route-diocese-of-lincoln-5a2PDn1pa8Z/overview" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">here.</a>)</p><h2>A stop at Benedictine College — June 25-26</h2><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/serra-still-7.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Credit: EWTN News in Depth"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Credit: EWTN News in Depth</figcaption></figure><p>The procession will go through Atchison, Kansas, home of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/tags/5325/benedictine-college" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Benedictine College.</a>&nbsp;Overnight adoration will take place&nbsp;June&nbsp;25, followed the next morning by the Liturgy of the Hours and Benediction, the celebration of Mass, and a&nbsp;<a href="https://media.benedictine.edu/join-the-largest-eucharistic-procession-in-history-with-benedictine-college" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Eucharistic procession around campus</a>&nbsp;on June 26. (Register&nbsp;<a href="https://events.blackthorn.io/en/DnDCa1K7/g/serra/serra-route-archdiocese-of-kansas-city-in-kansas-4a2PDnqpRE/overview" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">here.</a>)</p><h2>A walk through the ‘Rome of the West’ — July 5-7</h2><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/c90c007e-43ae-4dc0-a4e9-ed6f7ea03006.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="The St. Louis Arch. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">The St. Louis Arch. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA</figcaption></figure><p>In early July the procession will make its way through St. Louis, which is sometimes called the “Rome of the West” for its many beautiful Catholic churches. The procession will stop at several shrines, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://rscj.org/shrine" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Shrine of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne,</a>&nbsp;a French missionary saint who brought Catholic education to the Missouri frontier in the early 19th century. (Register&nbsp;<a href="https://events.blackthorn.io/en/DnDCa1K7/g/serra/serra-route-archdiocese-of-kansas-city-in-kansas-4a2PDnqpRE/overview" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">here.</a>)</p>
28. ]]></description>
29.        <category>US</category>
30.        <pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2024 08:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
31.      </item>
32.    
33.      <item>
34.        <title><![CDATA[ How life has changed for the girl who recovered her sight at 2023 World Youth Day ]]></title>
35.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257727/how-life-has-changed-for-the-girl-who-recovered-her-sight-at-2023-world-youth-day</link>
36.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257727/how-life-has-changed-for-the-girl-who-recovered-her-sight-at-2023-world-youth-day</guid>
37.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
38.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/wyd-opening-mass-b.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
39.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">A view of the crowd and nearby waterfront at the opening Mass for World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal on Aug. 1, 2023. / Credit: Arlindo Homem/JMJ Lisboa 2023</span>
40. </div>
41. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, May 18, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).</p>
42. <p>Jimena, the young woman who <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255031/miracle-at-fatima-world-youth-day-pilgrim-receives-her-sight-after-communion-at-mass" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">regained her sight</a> after receiving Communion at a Mass during World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, Portugal, in August 2023, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, about how she experienced that moment, her return home, and the details of a special meeting she had with Pope Francis during a pilgrimage she made with her family to Rome to thank the Virgin for that “miracle.”</p><p>For two and a half years, Jimena suffered from a loss of sight due to a myopia problem that left her with a 95% vision loss.</p><p>She traveled to Lisbon from Madrid with a group from Opus Dei. During the days prior, relatives and acquaintances of the young woman organized a novena to pray to Our Lady of the Snows, whose feast day is commemorated Aug. 5, the same day she recovered her sight.</p><p>Time seemed to stop in that Madrid cafeteria where Jimena and her father spoke with ACI Prensa. With the simplicity of a 17-year-old girl and an expression full of light and hope, Jimena remembered in detail what she felt on that day last year when she was cured.</p><h2>‘I cried from a sense of peace’</h2><p>“When we came back from Communion I sat down in the pew and then all the nervousness I had felt suddenly disappeared. I had been shaking with nervousness, and when we got down on our knees after taking Communion, I closed my eyes, and I felt a lot of peace, and then I stopped shaking.”</p><p>After receiving the body of Christ in a church in Évora de Alcobaça, a town north of Lisbon, the young woman said she felt the need to cry, but it was not a normal cry: “I began to cry from a sense of peace, it had never happened to me before; I didn’t know that you could cry for feeling at peace.”</p><p>“I was like super peaceful, as if inside I already knew what had happened, without opening my eyes. And then I opened them, I dried my tears, and I could see the altar, the tabernacle perfectly...”</p><h2>‘God’s plans are much bigger than ours’</h2><p>She also recalled recognizing her friends, who began to celebrate with her over what had happened. “When the Mass was over, for thanksgiving, I went up to read the prayer of the Virgin of the Snows to give thanks.”</p><p>From that moment on, Jimena has been grateful every day for the “miracle” that made her understand “that you have to let yourself fall a little into the arms of God, because his plans are much bigger than ours. It’s more about trusting than trying to take our life of faith wherever we want.”</p><h2>‘Our Mother doesn’t leave things halfway’</h2><p>Her father recalled that just prior to the healing, Jimena was going to undergo emergency surgery in the operating room. “She prayed a lot to the Virgin that night, and the next day the convergence in her eye was cured,” so there was no need to operate, he said.</p><p>For her father, this first healing of his daughter had been a sign: “If you have a previous healing from the Virgin, then your faith is sustained by that. That is to say, Our Mother doesn’t leave things halfway, and she was not going to abandon us at that time.”</p><p>After some time after that “sign,” during a walk on the Rincón de la Victoria beach in Málaga, Spain, on the way to stop and pray before an image of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel that is among the rocks, father and daughter decided to abandon themselves completely to the Virgin.</p><p>“It was on that walk on the beach where we remembered a very important thing, which I believe is essential in this entire process, and that is to let God act, not to put God in our plans, but to be part of his. So, you change the way you pray. It’s not about praying for God to do what you want, but about praying to understand what God wants you to do.”</p><p>Jimena’s father explained that it was then “when we understood that we had to put together a novena for Aug. 5.”</p><h2>The doctors’ opinion after ‘the miracle’</h2><p>Upon returning from Portugal, Jimena visited the doctor who had followed her case in recent years and who due to her illness she didn’t know by face. “I couldn’t explain it to her, I was very emotional. And then a doctor also said that no matter at what point I might have been cured, it would never have been instantaneous,” the young woman related.</p><p>“Yes,” her father said, “she basically told us that she had no logical explanation; that within the medical possibilities, Jimena could have been cured little by little by the time she was 40 or 45 years old. So there was that possibility, but of course, at 16 years of age and so suddenly there are no previous cases — there are none.”</p><p>The young woman’s father said it was a very nice appointment with the doctor and that “all the nurses were excited to see her and gave her hugs. They did all the tests again and the condition was completely gone.”</p><h2>Pope Francis encouraged pilgrimage to St. Mary Major</h2><p>Upon returning from World Youth Day, Jimena wrote a letter to Pope Francis to tell him about her experience.</p><p>The Holy Father did not take long to respond and encouraged her and her family to make a pilgrimage to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, also known as St. Mary of the Snows, one of the most important basilicas in Rome dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows and for which the pontiff has a special love.</p><p>What Pope Francis did not know is that providentially the family had already planned — a year ago — a trip to Rome to spend the end of the year there.</p><p>“I got the tickets in January of last year, months before Jimena had been cured. We assumed that we would go to Rome with Jimena being blind, but look…” her father said, becoming emotional.</p><h2>A special meeting with Pope Francis</h2><p>During their trip to the Eternal City, which became a pilgrimage in gratitude to the Virgin, the family had a private meeting with the Holy Father and also participated in the Mass he offered on Jan. 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.</p><p>Jimena’s father recalled that everyone was “captivated” by Pope Francis, who received them for more than an hour in the Vatican’s St. Martha House with his typical closeness and familiarity.</p><p>Jimena’s father told ACI Prensa that the pope gave them a lot of advice and encouraged them “to put down all of Jimena’s testimony in writing and to contact our bishop in Madrid.”&nbsp;</p><p>Following the pontiff’s advice, they are currently working on writing up Jimena’s testimony and are awaiting a response from the archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo Cano, whom they tried to contact a few months ago.</p><p>Regarding the doctors’ reaction, he said the Holy Father “stressed that this type of medical comment is admitted as valid in their process for miracles and so on. Because, as he told him, it’s very difficult for a doctor to manage to pronounce the word ‘miracle’ with all of their scientific knowledge.”</p><h2>Jimena and the Virgin Mary</h2><p>Jimena, who during this time has shared her testimony to small groups in Madrid, said she now has “a great deal of devotion” to Our Lady of the Snows but confesses that she has always had a bond with the Virgin Mary: “I feel her close every day.”</p><p>She also said that she has “a special affection for her, because in the end, in everything that has happened to me, I have always relied a lot on the Virgin, especially because it seemed easier for me to hold on to the rosary.”</p><p>“The Virgin, in the end, since she is an intercessor, that relationship that she has as a mother with us seemed easier to me. I see her as the mother that she is and that she appears, not physically, but she has little signs or things in which she shows us all that she is already here.”</p><p>Her father emphasized that Jimena has been able to understand that “she is not the protagonist of all this, but that she had a gift far above other people and that it is her responsibility to be generous and give it. But the protagonist in the end is the Virgin.”</p><p>“Since the miracle of Aug. 5 last year, they ask us to join novenas for healing people, and we join them all. But we do it anonymously, because I think it would be bad for people to think that Jimena has power. Another thing is that Jimena may have an extraordinary faith and a very great interior life, but that belongs to her private life,” her father noted.</p><p>He emphasized that “it’s a mistake to think that, suddenly, someone has power because they have received a gift. They are two very different things, and mixing them is a mistake. I believe that one of the beautiful things, which is also a grace of the Virgin, is being able to share her experience in personal and in-person testimonies so that other people come closer to the Lord. And that’s it. And the rest is pure superstition.”</p><p>The young woman’s father noted that there are many miracles in the Gospel whose recipients are people whose name is never known. Also, he stressed that today there are many miracles and that “Jimena’s has been more notable because the Virgin wanted it.”</p><p>“You have to leave it to her. She [the Virgin Mary] is the one who takes us to all corners [of the world]. It’s impossible for us to have planned with a large publicity budget to get to where this story has reached,” he pointed out.</p><h2>‘The Eucharist is a much greater miracle’</h2><p>For Jimena, “the Eucharist, in the end, is a much bigger miracle because it seems like it is hidden because it does not have — what do I know — lightning bolts falling from the sky or anything, but in the end it is God, who is the one who has allowed me to recover my sight and for us to all be here, the one who who comes down from heaven to put that in a piece of bread and that we receive it.”</p><p>“It seems to me that it is the moment in which we are closest to heaven here on earth, because in the end we are in union with God. So, I try to go to Mass whenever I can.”</p><h2>A ‘new normal’</h2><p>Jimena said with a smile that, before recovering her sight, she “had a list of books that I wanted read to me. The return to normal life has been a new normal in which I have done many things,” she said.</p><p>The young woman added that in a few days she will make a pilgrimage again to Rome with the group of her friends who were with her during World Youth Day.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104422/jimena-joven-del-milagro-de-la-jmj-asi-cambio-su-vida-y-tuvo-un-encuentro-con-el-papa-francisco" 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>
43. ]]></description>
44.        <category>Europe</category>
45.        <pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2024 07:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
46.      </item>
47.    
48.      <item>
49.        <title><![CDATA[ Here’s how the city of Rome is preparing for the 2025 Jubilee Year ]]></title>
50.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257721/here-s-how-the-city-of-rome-is-preparing-for-the-2025-jubilee-year</link>
51.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257721/here-s-how-the-city-of-rome-is-preparing-for-the-2025-jubilee-year</guid>
52.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
53.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/romejubileeconstruction051624.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
54.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Construction projects are underway in Rome as the city prepares for the 2025 Jubilee Year. / Credit: EWTN News</span>
55. </div>
56. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).</p>
57. <p>Construction projects are underway in Rome as the city prepares for the 2025 Jubilee Year (Dec. 24, 2024, to Jan. 6, 2026). According to the city’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, the upcoming “Jubilee of Hope” is expected to draw in an additional 30 million to 35 million tourists to Italy during the Catholic holy year.</p><p>“The jubilee is an extraordinary global event with a great spiritual significance for which the city of Rome must be ready,” Gualtieri told EWTN News Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser. “We are working to make it more welcoming so that pilgrims can live the experience of the Jubilee in the best possible way.”&nbsp;</p><p>The city of Rome’s online portal <a href="https://www.romasitrasforma.it/en" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Roma Si Transforma</a> currently lists approximately 358 planned projects in the Lazio region in which Rome is located. Each project is categorized as either a culture, innovation, inclusion, or sustainability intervention, with projects specifically funded for the jubilee including the 79.5-million-euro (about $86.4 million) Piazza Pia transformation and the 4-million-euro (about $4.3 million) Piazza Risorgimento redevelopment.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/jubileeconstruction051624.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Construction projects are underway in Rome as the city prepares for the 2025 Jubilee Year. Credit: EWTN News"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Construction projects are underway in Rome as the city prepares for the 2025 Jubilee Year. Credit: EWTN News</figcaption></figure><p>Next to Vatican City, the transformation of Piazza Pia into a more open and pedestrian-friendly square is close to halfway completed. It will connect Castel Sant’Angelo — a historic structure originally built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian but later used as a papal fortress — to St. Peter’s Square.&nbsp;</p><p>“Piazza Pia will unite — in a kind of embrace — Castel Sant’Angelo, Via della Conciliazione, and St. Peter’s Square. Before, a highway passed through it, [but] I think it will become one of the most beautiful squares in the world,” Gualtieri said.</p><p>As the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums are two famous tourist attractions for visitors to Rome, Gualtieri explained that he has been closely collaborating with Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect for the Section of New Evangelization of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and other Holy See representatives to support the crowds of pilgrims wanting to see the art collections and religious masterpieces contained within the walls of Vatican City.</p><p>“We had to work hard to imagine how to make Piazza Risorgimento more beautiful and make the arrival [of visitors] from the subway to the Vatican Museums more accessible,” Gualtieri explained. “[Archbishop] Fisichella is truly extraordinary in helping us always to find solutions. The whole Holy See is busy, starting with the Holy Father, [Cardinal Pietro] Parolin [Vatican secretary of state] and everyone else.”</p><div style="width:120%; left: -10%" class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-5by6 mx-auto"><iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/FqaTz/4/" class="embed-responsive-item " frameborder="0"></iframe></div><p>The façade of the Basilica of St. John Lateran — one of four main papal basilicas in Rome that will have Holy Doors opened by the pope and remain open throughout the jubilee year — is under renovation in preparation for the millions of pilgrims expected to visit the city next year.</p><p>Besides the papal basilicas — St. Peter’s Basilica, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls — there are also 12 “jubilee churches” in Rome to serve as places of gathering for pilgrims who wish to attend catechesis sessions on the year’s theme of “hope” or to receive the sacraments in varying languages.</p><p>According to Gualtieri, several local parishes spread across the city are also being refurbished ahead of the jubilee year to support the Catholic communities already living within Rome.</p><p>The city of Rome has also considered specific sites for the <a href="https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/pellegrinaggio/calendario-giubileo.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">calendar events</a> of the jubilee year in Rome and the wider Lazio region, which have the capacity to host hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.</p><p>Tor Vergata will hold the <a href="https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/pellegrinaggio/calendario-giubileo/GrandiEventi/Giubileo-dei-Giovani.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Jubilee of the Youth</a> and World Youth Day festival and overnight vigil in mid-2025, while Centocelle Park will be the location of several Mass celebrations for various groups including the sick and health care workers, artists, and even the armed forces.</p><p>Gualtieri also told EWTN that pilgrimage routes, including the ancient Via Francigena — which extends from England to Italy — would also undergo restoration work to improve usability, safety, and accessibility for pilgrims.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>On May 9, the feast of the Ascension, Pope Francis officially proclaimed the 2025 Jubilee Year through a papal bull at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, indicating further guidelines on the special year of pilgrimage and grace for Catholics worldwide.&nbsp;</p><p>Through the announcement, the Holy Father invited “pilgrims of hope” to “travel the ancient and more modern routes in order to experience the jubilee year to the full” and “above all by approaching the sacrament of reconciliation — the essential starting point of any true journey of conversion.”</p>
58. ]]></description>
59.        <category>Europe</category>
60.        <pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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64.        <title><![CDATA[ National Eucharistic Pilgrimage: Don’t miss these stops on the St. Juan Diego Route ]]></title>
65.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257729/national-eucharistic-pilgrimage-don-t-miss-these-stops-on-the-st-juan-diego-route</link>
66.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257729/national-eucharistic-pilgrimage-don-t-miss-these-stops-on-the-st-juan-diego-route</guid>
67.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
68.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screenshot-2024-05-16-at-3.16.25-pm.png?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
69.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">A map of the Juan Diego Route which goes through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, ending in Indiana. / Credit: EWTN News In-Depth</span>
70. </div>
71. <p>CNA Staff, May 18, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).</p>
72. <p>The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will span the United States with four different pilgrimages starting in California, Texas, Mississippi, and Connecticut and meeting in Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress.</p><p>“A cross-country pilgrimage of this scale has never been attempted before. All told, it will travel through 27 states and 65 dioceses, covering a combined distance of 6,500 miles on foot and with the help of support vehicles,” said Tim Glemkowski, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress, Inc. “It will be a tremendously powerful action of witness and intercession as it interacts with local parish communities at stops all along the way.”</p><p>The St. Juan Diego Route, named for the beloved saint who encountered Our Lady of Guadalupe, will start at the southern tip of Texas with a Pentecost Mass hosted by the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in the Diocese of Brownsville on May 19.&nbsp;</p><p>Here are a few highlights among the 101 stops throughout Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana.</p><h2>The most popular Marian shrine</h2><p>Several days into the pilgrimage, Bishop Daniel Flores will celebrate Mass at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.olsjbasilica.org/about-the-basilica/our-history/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan de Valle</a>, a historic basilica and national shrine in the Rio de Grande Valley, on May 22. The most frequented Marian shrine in the U.S., San Juan welcomes more than 1 million visitors annually to honor a statue of “La Virgen de San Juan.” Built in 1949, the building was nearly destroyed in 1970 when a plane crashed into it during Mass. Though the building sustained $1.5 million in damage, no parishioners were injured and clergy were able to retrieve the statue and the Eucharist.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screenshot-2024-05-17-at-11.38.02-am.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="The St. Juan Diego route stops at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle,  a minor basilica and national shrine in the Diocese of Brownsville. Credit: Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">The St. Juan Diego route stops at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle,  a minor basilica and national shrine in the Diocese of Brownsville. Credit: Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth</figcaption></figure><h2>A historic encounter&nbsp;</h2><p>Pilgrims will gather for adoration&nbsp;and&nbsp;praise and worship at the historical Presidio La Bahía, a Spanish fort built in the 1740s and an important site of the Texas Revolution, on May 27. Participants will attend Mass in the chapel of the Presidio the following day.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screenshot-2024-05-16-at-3.11.44-pm.png" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="The historic Presidio La Bahía, a Spanish fort, is an important site of the Texas Revolution. Credit: Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">The historic Presidio La Bahía, a Spanish fort, is an important site of the Texas Revolution. Credit: Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth</figcaption></figure><h2>The Anglican rite&nbsp;</h2><p>On May 31 in Houston, pilgrims and participants will gather at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham for an Ordinariate Evensong and adoration.&nbsp;<a href="https://olwcatholic.org/history-of-the-parish-1" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Walsingham</a>&nbsp;is a site of importance for the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, an ecclesiastical jurisdiction that enables Anglican converts to maintain elements of Anglican liturgy and tradition. Evensong is an Anglican liturgical tradition that combines evening and night prayer through song.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screenshot-2024-05-16-at-3.15.08-pm.png" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Courtyard of Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston, a parish of the Anglican ordinariate. Credit: Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Courtyard of Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston, a parish of the Anglican ordinariate. Credit: Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth</figcaption></figure><h2>Along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico&nbsp;</h2><p>A Eucharistic procession will begin on June 6 on the coast of Louisiana at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales, a Gothic-style cathedral built in 1926. The procession will stop at several churches along the way until it reaches St. Joseph Co-Cathedral.</p><p>The pilgrimage will follow the Gulf of Mexico, stopping at historical parishes such as Our Lady of the Gulf on the bay of St. Louis, Mississippi, a historical parish built in 1847, destroyed by a fire in 1907, and rebuilt in 1908.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screenshot-2024-05-16-at-3.18.32-pm.png" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Our Lady of the Gulf on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in St. Louis, Mississippi. Credit: Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Our Lady of the Gulf on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in St. Louis, Mississippi. Credit: Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth</figcaption></figure><h2>A new type of New Orleans parade</h2><p>On June 9, pilgrims will attend Mass at the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France celebrated by Archbishop Gregory Aymond. The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France is the oldest continuously active Roman Catholic cathedral in the U.S. It was built in 1727 and rebuilt after a fire in 1793. After Mass at the cathedral dedicated to the “<a href="https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/saint-louis-confessor-king-of-france-5623" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">crusading king</a>,” participants will go on a Eucharistic procession through the French Quarter, New Orleans’ oldest neighborhood.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screenshot-2024-05-16-at-3.17.02-pm.png" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="The French Quarter, New Orleans’ oldest neighborhood and the only intact French Colonial and Spanish settlement in the U.S. Credit: Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">The French Quarter, New Orleans’ oldest neighborhood and the only intact French Colonial and Spanish settlement in the U.S. Credit: Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth</figcaption></figure><h2>Procession through Nashville&nbsp;</h2><p>The city known for its music scene will encounter Christ this June<strong> </strong>when pilgrims shock the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, with a Eucharistic procession. On June 28, participants can join a Eucharistic procession beginning at the motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia and processing up Capitol Hill. The route will stop at three of the oldest Catholic churches in the Nashville Diocese.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screenshot-2024-05-16-at-3.21.28-pm.png" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="The motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee. Credit: Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">The motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee. Credit: Screenshot from EWTN News In Depth</figcaption></figure><p>For more details on the St. Juan Diego Route, visit the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/st-juan-diego-route" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">website</a>.</p>
73. ]]></description>
74.        <category>US</category>
75.        <pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2024 05:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
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79.        <title><![CDATA[ Orthodox patriarch anticipates Pope Francis visit to Turkey for Council of Nicaea anniversary ]]></title>
80.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257737/orthodox-patriarch-anticipates-pope-francis-visit-to-turkey-for-council-of-nicea-anniversary</link>
81.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257737/orthodox-patriarch-anticipates-pope-francis-visit-to-turkey-for-council-of-nicea-anniversary</guid>
82.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
83.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screenshot-2021-10-22-10.23.05.png?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
84.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Pope Francis meets with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Vatican, Oct. 4, 2021. / Credit: Vatican Media</span>
85. </div>
86. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 17, 2024 / 18:04 pm (CNA).</p>
87. <p>Pope Francis might be traveling to Turkey next year for the 1,700th anniversary of <a href="https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/first-council-of-nicaea-10757" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the First Council of Nicaea</a>, according to Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew in comments he made on Thursday.</p><p>Although the Holy See has not confirmed any travel plans, the ecumenical patriarch told a group of reporters that a committee is being established to organize a visit, <a href="https://orthodoxtimes.com/ecumenical-patriarch-pope-francis-will-visit-patriarchate-for-anniversary-of-first-council-of-nicaea/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">according to the Orthodox Times</a>. The referenced council took place in the ancient city of Nicaea in 325 A.D. in the former Roman Empire, which is now the present-day city of İznik in Turkey.&nbsp;</p><p>“His Holiness Pope Francis wishes for us to jointly celebrate this important anniversary,” Bartholomew said.</p><p>The Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical council in the Church. It is accepted by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Church, and other Christian communities that accept the validity of early church councils. It predates the Chalcedonian Schism — which separated the Oriental Orthodox communion from Rome — by more than 100 years and predates the Great Schism — which separated the Eastern Orthodox Church from Rome — by more than 700 years.</p><p>During the council, the bishops condemned the <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource/55972/arianism" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">heresy of Arianism</a>, which asserted that the Son was created by the Father. Arius, a priest who faced excommunication for propagating the heresy, did not accept that the Son was coeternal with the Father.</p><p>According to the council, Jesus Christ is “begotten; not made” and is “of the same substance with the Father.” It affirms that the Son is coeternal with the Father and condemns any heresies that assert “the Son of God is created, or mutable, or subject to change” and heresies that assert “there was a time when [Christ] was not [in existence].”&nbsp;</p><p>The council was convened by Emperor Constantine the Great, who is venerated as a saint in some Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox traditions.</p>
88. ]]></description>
89.        <category>Europe</category>
90.        <pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 18:04:00 -0400</pubDate>
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94.        <title><![CDATA[ Nebraska bishop shares mental illness story, offers message of hope  ]]></title>
95.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257734/nebraska-bishop-shares-mental-illness-story-offers-message-of-hope</link>
96.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257734/nebraska-bishop-shares-mental-illness-story-offers-message-of-hope</guid>
97.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
98.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/img-3468.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
99.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln credits the support of friends, family, medical professionals, and his golden retriever, Stella, with his recovery from mental illness. / Courtesy: Dennis Kellog</span>
100. </div>
101. <p>CNA Staff, May 17, 2024 / 17:14 pm (CNA).</p>
102. <p>After seven years of heading the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, Bishop James Conley found himself “buckling” under all of his duties and experiencing severe anxiety, insomnia, and depression.&nbsp;</p><p>Several years later, after addressing his mental health needs, the bishop shared his reflections on mental health and Christ in a May 16 <a href="https://www.lincolndiocese.org/afuturewithhope#_ftn16" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pastoral letter</a> in which he emphasized the importance of support from his friends, family, medical professionals — and his golden retriever, Stella.&nbsp;</p><p>“I was overwhelmed by my responsibilities as bishop and relying too much on my own strength,” Conley wrote in a May 17 introduction to his pastoral letter in the <a href="https://www.lincolndiocese.org/op-ed/bishop-s-column/17841-i-d-like-to-share-a-future-with-hope" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Southern Nebraska Register</a>. “As I received good professional care, I learned that weakness is part of the human condition, but the more we rely exclusively on ourselves, the more those weaknesses are exacerbated.”</p><p>Mental health is a growing concern in the United States. The percentage of U.S. adults diagnosed with depression has risen almost 10% since 2015, reaching 29% according to a <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/505745/depression-rates-reach-new-highs.aspx" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">2023 Gallup poll</a>, and data from the <a href="https://psychcentral.com/news/teenage-mental-health-pandemic-cdc-report" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> shows that almost half of U.S. teens report experiencing persistent sadness and hopelessness.</p><p>The Catholic Church is <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257699/catholic-church-across-the-us-and-globally-responds-to-mental-health-crisis" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">taking steps </a>to prioritize support and resources for those struggling with mental illness and challenges. From Phoenix to Washington, D.C., dioceses are offering Masses and retreats for people struggling with mental illness, while the Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers (CMHM) is establishing mental health resources <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257349/christ-wants-to-be-with-us-how-catholic-ministries-are-responding-to-the-mental-health-crisis" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">in parishes worldwide</a>.&nbsp;</p><h2>A bishop’s healing&nbsp;</h2><p>In his pastoral letter, Conley shared about how stress, overwork, and self-reliance led to the deterioration of his mental, physical, and spiritual health. The road to wellness would be a long one, but when Conley shared why he was taking leave of absence, he received overwhelming support from the people of his diocese.</p><p>“About seven years after becoming bishop of Lincoln I started buckling under my episcopal duties,” Conley wrote in the May 16 letter. “The people of this diocese have a beautiful faith, and I wanted to be the strong, invincible leader I thought they deserved. Day in and day out, I tried to fix the problems brought to me instead of surrendering them to the Lord.”</p><p>Overwhelmed by the work, Conley noted that overtime, he “slackened in taking care of my own physical and mental well-being.”&nbsp;</p><p>“The first thing to go was my sleep because my brain would run nonstop,” Conley wrote. “All night I would lie in bed rehashing the day’s events, wrongly believing everything depended on me, that I was responsible for all the outcomes in the diocese. Although the wear and tear of this lifestyle was taking its toll, I kept trying to muscle through.”</p><p>An experienced runner, Conley eventually had to stop running his biannual half-marathons “due to a lack of energy.” He was hardly sleeping and ate “irregularly or not at all.”</p><p>“My physical deterioration led to emotional and psychological decline and, before I knew it, I was barely holding onto the last thread of my spiritual health,” he recalled.&nbsp;</p><p>Eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, anxiety, and tinnitus, which can be amplified by stress, Conley “was forced to confront my denial.” But unsure if he could take time off for mental health issues, Conley said he “minimized my problems.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“Thankfully, my sister, friends, and medical professionals helped me recognize that it wasn’t selfish to take care of myself,” Conley noted.</p><p>At the end of 2019, Pope Francis granted Conley permission to take a leave of absence to recover from his mental health issues. Though it was “extremely hard to step away,” Conley said he received an “outpouring of support and prayer” from his diocese.&nbsp;</p><p>“I would need all that grace since the hardest part of my journey was still ahead,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>While Conley was recovering, COVID-19 hit, causing the bishop’s “three anchors” of Mass, the rosary, and the Liturgy of the Hours to have “little solace” for him as he often had to offer Mass alone. Thrown into spiritual darkness, Conley “grappled” with the question “Where was God?”</p><p>Through meditating on his reliance on Christ, Conley began to recover from “unhealthy self-reliance” while developing his trust in God.</p><p>“I started to experience the freedom of surrender as I gradually allowed Jesus to shoulder burdens I had been carrying on my own,” he wrote.</p><p>“The last gift of this difficult healing season was my dog, Stella,” he continued. “My good friend Bishop James Wall of Gallup was in the process of getting a puppy and he convinced me to do likewise. We took a seven-and-a-half-hour road trip to El Paso to pick up four 8-week-old golden retrievers, two for us and two for other friends.”</p><p>“Looking back it’s funny to think that a 10-pound puppy was crucial in beginning to bring joy back into my life,” he continued. “Stella goes nearly everywhere with me now and is loved by all. Since I live alone, she provides needed companionship and ensures I get outside every day for walks.”</p><p>Conley ultimately returned from his leave of absence in November 2020, recovering with the help of several qualified Catholic doctors including a psychologist and psychiatrist. He shared his story with CNA in a 2020 <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/46589/i-couldnt-fix-myself-bishop-conley-opens-up-about-mental-health-recovery" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">interview</a>.</p><h2>Catholicism and mental health</h2><p>Preserving faith through depression can be a challenge, but <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3426191/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">according to a 2012 study</a>, being religiously involved can help people recover faster from depression. Resources for Catholics struggling with mental health vary; some parishes offer retreats or group ministries, while others provide referrals to therapy or other resources.</p><p>Conley noted that in times of spiritual despair, we “must protect” the “treasure” of hope that comes from God.</p><p>“When hope wanes, let us remember the countless ways God has blessed us, the particular instances in our lives where he has ‘come through,’ and the dark times when he felt absent but, in hindsight, we could discern his presence,” he wrote.</p><p>“A Catholic view of mental health is necessary because it defines well-being according to reason and revelation,” Conley wrote.</p><p>“One might rightly ask, if we don’t speak of a Catholic physics or a Catholic biology, why do we need a Catholic understanding of mental health?” he continued. “The answer is because any notion of mental health is laden with beliefs about the human person, about true human anthropology … But notions of human flourishing depend on one’s beliefs about the human person’s origins, purpose, and destiny.”&nbsp;</p><p>Allison Ricciardi, a psychotherapist and counselor who launched the website CatholicTherapists.com in 2001, helps connect Catholics with therapists who are dedicated to the Catholic faith and its teachings.&nbsp;</p><p>“The teachings of the Church are really solidly grounded in an understanding of the human person,” she told CNA in a phone call. “Between Scripture and teachings of the Church, [they] really do help us to understand human nature and how grace perfects that nature.”</p><p>Many saints have struggled with mental illness, Conley observed, and their lives are a reminder “that God is active in every life at all times in history.”</p><p>“How comforting to know many saints struggled like us — St. Ignatius of Loyola contemplated suicide, St. Jane Frances de Chantal suffered from depression for over 40 years, St. John of God had a mental breakdown that resulted in hospitalization, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton struggled with anxiety and depression,” he wrote. “They all grew closer to God through their struggles and so can we.”&nbsp;</p><p>“Both body and soul must be attended to, for we reflect and glorify God through both,” he continued. “In this understanding of the human person, we can see how issues in body or soul potentially harm mental health.”</p>
103. ]]></description>
104.        <category>US</category>
105.        <pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 17:14:00 -0400</pubDate>
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109.        <title><![CDATA[ Maryland Republican Senate candidate Larry Hogan backs codifying Roe ]]></title>
110.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257733/maryland-republican-senate-candidate-larry-hogan-backs-codifying-roe</link>
111.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257733/maryland-republican-senate-candidate-larry-hogan-backs-codifying-roe</guid>
112.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
113.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/gettyimages-2152906967.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
114.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Larry Hogan, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland, greets supporters before casting his ballot in the state primary election at Davidsonville Elementary School on May 14, 2024, in Davidsonville, Maryland. / Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</span>
115. </div>
116. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 17, 2024 / 16:04 pm (CNA).</p>
117. <p>The Republican nominee for Senate in Maryland — former Gov. Larry Hogan — announced he would vote to codify the abortion standards set in Roe v. Wade if elected, which would legalize abortion nationwide.&nbsp;</p><p>Hogan, who is hoping to be the first Republican to represent Maryland in the Senate in nearly four decades, endorsed the plan to codify Roe in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/us/politics/larry-hogan-abortion-roe-v-wade.html" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">an interview with the New York Times</a>, which&nbsp;was published&nbsp;on Thursday, May 16. Before this interview, the former governor had a mixed record on life issues.&nbsp;</p><p>“As governor, I protected the rights of Maryland women to make their own reproductive health decisions,”&nbsp;Hogan said&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GovLarryHogan/status/1791143172384383084" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">in a May 16 post on X</a>, linking to the New York Times interview.&nbsp;“I will do the same in the Senate by restoring Roe v. Wade as the law of the land. No one should come between a woman and her doctor.”</p><p>Hogan, who is Catholic, called himself&nbsp;“pro-choice”&nbsp;in the interview and said he would&nbsp;“continue to protect the rights of women to make their own reproductive choices just like I did as governor for eight years.”&nbsp;</p><p>“I&nbsp;think Marylanders know and trust that when I give them my word,&nbsp;I’m&nbsp;going to keep it, and&nbsp;I’ve&nbsp;protected these rights before,”&nbsp;the former governor added.&nbsp;“And&nbsp;I’ll&nbsp;do it again in the Senate by supporting a bipartisan compromise to restore Roe as the law of the land.”</p><p>Hogan served as governor of Maryland for two terms from 2015 until 2023, winning his first race by less than a four-point margin and&nbsp;winning&nbsp;reelection by nearly a 12-point margin. Maryland has a heavily Democratic electorate,&nbsp;and&nbsp;it&nbsp;was expected&nbsp;to be an easy Senate win for Democrats until Hogan announced his candidacy.</p><p>As governor, Hogan vetoed legislation to allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to perform&nbsp;abortions&nbsp;instead of reserving the procedure to only physicians. Democrats overrode his veto. Hogan, however, consistently said he did not support new restrictions on abortion in Maryland when campaigning for governor.</p><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257033/biden-promises-legal-abortion-nationwide-in-state-of-the-union-address" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">plan to codify Roe</a>, which&nbsp;is supported&nbsp;by Democratic leaders in Congress and President Joe Biden, would override state laws that protect life. The law would set a national standard to legalize abortion in every state until at least the point of viability. Although viability&nbsp;normally occurs&nbsp;around 24 weeks of pregnancy, the proposal endorsed by Democratic lawmakers does not set a strict week-based limit but&nbsp;rather&nbsp;allows viability to&nbsp;be determined&nbsp;by the&nbsp;woman’s&nbsp;treating physician, who is often the abortionist.</p><p>Hogan’s&nbsp;Democratic opponent — former Prince&nbsp;George’s&nbsp;County Executive Angela Alsobrooks — who also supports codifying Roe, responded to the former&nbsp;governor’s&nbsp;announcement by calling into question his sincerity.&nbsp;</p><p>“Larry Hogan&nbsp;won’t&nbsp;protect abortion rights,”&nbsp;Alsobrooks&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AlsobrooksForMD/status/1791245540807594374" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said in a post on X</a>&nbsp;on May 16.&nbsp;“Senate Republicans&nbsp;won’t&nbsp;protect abortion rights. I will protect abortion rights. We will keep Maryland and the Senate blue.”</p><p>The pro-abortion group Reproductive Freedom for All — formerly called National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL) — went further, calling&nbsp;Hogan’s&nbsp;statement&nbsp;“a lie.”&nbsp;The group had previously listed&nbsp;Hogan’s&nbsp;record when he was governor as&nbsp;“mixed”&nbsp;on abortion.&nbsp;</p><p>“There is only one candidate in this race who will fight&nbsp;tooth and nail to lock the federal right to abortion into law — and&nbsp;that’s&nbsp;Angela Alsobrooks,”&nbsp;Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju said in&nbsp;<a href="https://reproductivefreedomforall.org/news/reproductive-freedom-for-all-call-larry-hogans-statement-what-it-is-a-lie/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a May 16 statement</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>The Senate election is on Nov. 5 to replace Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who is retiring. The Democratic Party currently holds a slim 51-49 majority in the chamber.</p><p>Voters in Maryland will also vote on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256355/maryland-2024-referendum-proposes-constitutional-right-to-abortion" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a statewide referendum</a>&nbsp;that would enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution.&nbsp;</p>
118. ]]></description>
119.        <category>US</category>
120.        <pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 16:04:00 -0400</pubDate>
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124.        <title><![CDATA[ California governor: Pope Francis told me he was ‘proud’ of state’s death penalty moratorium ]]></title>
125.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257732/california-governor-gavin-newsom-pope-francis-said-he-was-proud-of-states-death-penalty-moratorium</link>
126.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257732/california-governor-gavin-newsom-pope-francis-said-he-was-proud-of-states-death-penalty-moratorium</guid>
127.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
128.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/gettyimages-2033128352.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
129.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">California Gov. Gavin Newsom attends an event with fellow governors in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 23, 2024, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</span>
130. </div>
131. <p>CNA Staff, May 17, 2024 / 15:34 pm (CNA).</p>
132. <p>California Gov. Gavin Newsom said that following a conference at the Vatican this week Pope Francis personally conveyed his endorsement of California’s efforts to end the use of the death penalty.&nbsp;</p><p>In a recent interview with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usccb.org/news/2024/pope-praises-california-death-penalty-moratorium-governor-says" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Catholic News Service,</a>&nbsp;Newsom said the pope expressed “how proud he was of the work we’re doing in California.”&nbsp;</p><p>California is one of more than two dozen states that still have the death penalty, with the largest death row in the United States. However, no one has been executed in California since 2006, due in part to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/40791/california-bishops-praise-death-penalty-moratorium" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a moratorium beginning in 2019</a>&nbsp;that Newsom oversaw via executive order.&nbsp;</p><p>Newsom told CNS after&nbsp;his meeting&nbsp;with Pope Francis that he was “struck” by the pope’s sudden comments to him on the death penalty.</p><p>“I wasn’t anticipating that, especially in the context of this convening,” he told the news outlet.&nbsp;</p><p>Pope Francis throughout his pontificate has promoted the end of the death penalty worldwide,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39033/vatican-changes-catechism-teaching-on-death-penalty-calls-it-inadmissible" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">changing the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 2018</a>&nbsp;on the permissibility of the death penalty. The Church had long taught that the death penalty could be legitimate in limited cases, while the updated language teaches that capital punishment is “inadmissible,” and its elimination should be sought.</p><p>The change reflects a development of Catholic doctrine in recent years. St. John Paul II, calling the death penalty “cruel and unnecessary,” encouraged Christians to be “unconditionally pro-life” and said that “the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil.</p><p>The Vatican’s top doctrinal office’s April declaration on the theme of human dignity,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257311/dignitas-infinita-vatican-document-release-gender-abortion-surrogacy" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>Dignitas Infinita</em>,</a>&nbsp;reiterated that the death penalty “violates the inalienable dignity of every person, regardless of the circumstances.”</p><p>California’s Catholic bishops have expressed support for the state’s moratorium on the death penalty.&nbsp;</p><p>“This is a good day for California and a good day for our country,” said Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles in a 2019 statement. Gomez said that the death penalty does not deter crime, nor does it provide “true justice” to those who were victims of crime.</p><p>Gomez, along with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has long called for an end to capital punishment throughout the United States.</p><p>Newsom, a Democrat who has held the governor’s office since 2019, has faced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249109/absurd-pro-abortion-laws-in-california-highlight-need-for-parent-child-communication-policy-expert-says" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">serious criticism</a>&nbsp;for actions he has taken as governor related to the expansion of abortion as well as the expansion of protection for “gender-affirming care” for minors.&nbsp;</p><p>Newsom was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257665/international-summit-on-climate-change-to-bring-california-new-york-governors-to-the-vatican" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">one of several U.S. leaders who spoke at the Vatican Climate Summit,</a>&nbsp;held at the Vatican from May 15–17 at the Casina Pio IV, the seat of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences, which sits in the Vatican Gardens.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/05/16/governor-newsom-joins-pope-francis-at-vatican-climate-summit-calls-for-global-action-on-climate-crisis/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">According to Newsom’s office,</a>&nbsp;he highlighted in his speech California’s climate leadership and called for “greater global partnership,” urging world leaders to “protect democracy against the rise of extremism and in the face of climate deniers.”</p>
133. ]]></description>
134.        <category>US</category>
135.        <pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 15:34:00 -0400</pubDate>
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139.        <title><![CDATA[ Movie on Blessed Carlo Acutis and his love for the Eucharist opens this weekend ]]></title>
140.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257730/movie-on-blessed-carlo-acutis-and-his-love-for-the-eucharist-opens-this-weekend</link>
141.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257730/movie-on-blessed-carlo-acutis-and-his-love-for-the-eucharist-opens-this-weekend</guid>
142.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
143.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/9xwgevl7.jpeg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
144.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">School children read about the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis at the celebration of his new shrine at St. Dominic Parish in Brick, New Jersey. Oct, 1, 2023. / Credit: Thomas P. Costello II</span>
145. </div>
146. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, May 17, 2024 / 14:46 pm (CNA).</p>
147. <p>The film “Eucharistic Miracles: The Heartbeat of Heaven” about Blessed Carlo Acutis and the Eucharistic miracles he studied with such devotion is showing in theaters across multiple U.S. states and the nation’s capital this weekend.&nbsp;</p><p>Specifically, the feature film is showing in theaters in California; Nevada; Arizona; Utah; Idaho; Texas; Washington; Oregon; Indiana; New Jersey; Colorado; New York; Tennessee; Michigan; Georgia; Illinois; Florida; Kansas; Washington, D.C.; Virginia; Pennsylvania; and Mississippi.</p><p>Gaby Jácoba, director of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FestivalInternacionaldeCineCatolico" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">International Catholic Film Festival</a>, which is bringing the film about Acutis to movie theaters in the United States, emphasized the importance of “attending the first weekend” to see the film, in order for theaters to decide to extend the length of time they show it: “If the cinemas see that there are many people attending, they will keep it longer so more people can have this experience.”</p><p>In a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Jácoba highlighted the importance of this premiere in conjunction with the <a href="https://www.eucharisticrevival.org/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">National Eucharistic Revival</a> promoted by the Catholic Church in the United States.</p><p>The film about Acutis, who had a deep love for the Eucharist that was reflected in the extensive research he did on Eucharistic miracles around the world, can be a valuable “instrument” and “tool” to inspire Eucharistic revival in the U.S.</p><p>Jácoba said the film comes to America “after a long wait” and that the International Catholic Film Festival team “is very excited” that the moment has arrived.</p><p>She also noted that months ago the mother of Blessed Carlo Acutis, Antonia, visited the United States, presenting the trailer and the film in various cities.</p><p>This film “is going to be a tool to know and fall more in love with the Holy Eucharist,” said Jácoba, who invited “all groups, communities, parishes, apostolates, and movements to attend this first weekend” and see “Eucharistic Miracles: The Heartbeat of Heaven.”</p><p>The director of the International Catholic Film Festival said: “It’s a film that had a great impact on me, that profoundly renewed my love for the holy Eucharist.”</p><p>The film explores Eucharistic miracles “not only through faith but also through reason, through science, through the impressive studies that have been carried out,” she noted.</p><p>The movie is also suitable for children from “8 or 9 years old” and can be especially important for those “who are preparing to make their first Communion,” she said.</p><p>“We all left with hearts transformed and inflamed with love for the holy Eucharist and we know that, after watching this film, your experience with the holy Eucharist will be completely different, you will leave renewed,” Jácoba concluded.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104477/pelicula-eucharistic-miracles-the-heartbeat-of-heaven-sobre-carlo-acutis-llega-hoy-a-estados-unidos" 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>
148. ]]></description>
149.        <category>US</category>
150.        <pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 14:46:00 -0400</pubDate>
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154.        <title><![CDATA[ National Eucharistic Pilgrimage: When is it passing through your town? ]]></title>
155.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256908/national-eucharistic-pilgrimage-when-is-it-passing-through-your-town</link>
156.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256908/national-eucharistic-pilgrimage-when-is-it-passing-through-your-town</guid>
157.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
158.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screen-shot-2024-02-23-at-6.05.00-pm.png?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
159.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">The National Eucharistic Revival recleased a detailed map of the upcoming pilgrimage routes ahead of the National Eucharistic Congress. / Credit: National Eucharistic Revival</span>
160. </div>
161. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 17, 2024 / 12:03 pm (CNA).</p>
162. <p>The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage kicks off this weekend as Catholics observe the solemnity of Pentecost on Sunday, May 19. All are welcome to participate in Eucharistic processions and other prayer-filled events taking place across the country over the next two months.</p><p>To take part in an event near you, here’s a guide to finding all the stops along the four pilgrimage routes crossing the country and converging at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis on July 16.</p><p>The stops include shrines, cathedrals, parishes, cultural sites, and parks. At the stops, the faithful in the area will have the chance to join in the national event by participating in Mass, adoration, devotions, praise and worship, and fellowship as well as have opportunities to accompany the Eucharist on the streets as part of the pilgrimage.</p><p>Tim Glemkowski, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress, Inc., said that “a cross-country pilgrimage of this scale has never been attempted before.”</p><p>“It will be a tremendously powerful action of witness and intercession as it interacts with local parish communities at stops all along the way,” Glemkowski said. “Following Jesus and praying through cities and rural towns is going to be life-changing for the Church across America.”</p><p>He also stressed that Catholics in communities across the country are “invited to be part of the historic movement to set hearts ablaze.”</p><h3>What is the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage?&nbsp;</h3><p>The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is being organized in conjunction with a three-year-long Eucharistic revival campaign by the U.S. Catholic bishops.</p><p>The national pilgrimage consists of four different routes beginning on opposite sides of the country and meeting in Indianapolis for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticcongress.org/ewtn" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">National Eucharistic Congress July 17–21</a>.</p><p>Collectively the four&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/?_gl=1*1quzl6r*_ga*MTY4NjM2MTg3MC4xNzA4NzEyNTc2*_ga_EPSKFT8FRQ*MTcwODcxMjU3NS4xLjEuMTcwODcyNjAyMi4wLjAuMA.." target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">National Eucharistic Pilgrimage</a>&nbsp;routes will traverse 6,500 miles, 27 states, and 65 dioceses while carrying Christ in the Eucharist.&nbsp;</p><p>The organizers are calling it “our national Emmaus moment” after the biblical passage in which Jesus walked with two of his disciples along the road to Emmaus. Through this campaign, the bishops plan to rededicate the country to Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.</p><h3>Where can I meet up with it?&nbsp;</h3><p>The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s four routes are the Marian Route from the north, the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route from the east, the St. Juan Diego Route from the south, and the St. Junipero Serra Route from the west.&nbsp;</p><p>To see when the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is making a stop near you,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/pilgrimage-event-registration-press-kit" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">click here</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/marian-route" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Northern “Marian Route”</a>&nbsp;will begin with a Pentecost Mass and Eucharistic procession at a historic site in the Lake Itasca region of Minnesota.</p><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/st-elizabeth-ann-seton-route" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Eastern “Seton Route”</a>&nbsp;begins with Mass at the birthplace of the Knights of Columbus, St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut, on May 18.&nbsp;</p><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/st-juan-diego-route" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Southern “Juan Diego Route”</a>&nbsp;will begin with a Pentecost Mass on May 19 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Brownsville, Texas, just a few minutes’ walk from the U.S. border with Mexico.&nbsp;</p><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/st-junipero-serra-route" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Western “Junipero Serra Route”</a>&nbsp;will begin on May 18 with solemn vespers and adoration at the historic Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco, at which Serra once celebrated Mass.&nbsp;</p><h3>Who will be leading the pilgrimages?&nbsp;</h3><p>Each route will be led by a team of eight “Perpetual Pilgrims” who will accompany our Eucharistic Lord for the entire length of the journey.&nbsp;</p><p>A “rotating cadre” of 30 Franciscan Friars of the Renewal will provide “ecclesial support” for the pilgrims.&nbsp;</p><h3>How can I participate?&nbsp;</h3><p>Participating in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is simple and costs nothing. Exact details on individual events at pilgrimage stops, including registration information, are available on the <a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/pilgrimage-event-registration-press-kit" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">route pages</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>You can also participate by walking portions of the pilgrimage with the Perpetual Pilgrims. To do so, organizers ask that you register, which you can do by&nbsp;<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/__;!!GfxeEQ!VtNcTuUOHWfzikcEBxN20uvbuFqrLiqmx6UCp4E8XZ1XuARnPAi70LsDobEBxgOI0VU0ie4VdTnkrUIu75o$" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">clicking here</a>.</p><p><em>This article was originally published on Feb. 23, 2024, and was updated on May 17, 2024.</em></p>
163. ]]></description>
164.        <category>US</category>
165.        <pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 12:03:00 -0400</pubDate>
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169.        <title><![CDATA[ Fernández: Vatican’s new apparitions guidelines stress ‘caution’ in discernment process ]]></title>
170.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257723/fernandez-vatican-s-new-apparitions-guidelines-stress-caution-in-discernment-process</link>
171.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257723/fernandez-vatican-s-new-apparitions-guidelines-stress-caution-in-discernment-process</guid>
172.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
173.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/fernandezpresser051724.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
174.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, presides over a press conference on Friday, May 17, 2024, on the Vatican’s new document on Marian apparitions. / Credit: Rudolf Gehrig/EWTN News</span>
175. </div>
176. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 17, 2024 / 11:03 am (CNA).</p>
177. <p>Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández held a press conference on Friday addressing the Vatican’s new guidelines on apparitions, with the prelate noting that the new norms would help introduce greater prudence in the discernment process.&nbsp;</p><p>“The Church has stated that the faithful are never forced to believe in this phenomenon. They are never obliged. There’s no obligation,” said Fernández, the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, during the conference at the Holy See Press Office on Friday.&nbsp;</p><p>“The Church, as a matter of fact, leaves the faithful free to devote their attention to this phenomena or not,” he added. “Revelation that has already happened is the word of God. It contains everything we need for our Christian life.”</p><p>The document, titled “Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena” and released on Friday morning, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257722/vatican-norms-alleged-marian-apparitions" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">establishes new guidelines</a> on Marian apparitions, abrogating a <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257682/explainer-what-has-the-vatican-already-said-about-discerning-marian-apparitions" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">former document</a> issued in 1978 under Pope Paul VI.&nbsp;</p><p>Noting that these new norms establish a set of pragmatic guidelines to assist the local ordinary as well as the dicastery, Fernández said that “some phenomenon that could have a supernatural origin sometimes appear to be related to confused human experiences.”&nbsp;</p><p>Speaking specifically on the role of the bishops in the process, the cardinal observed that there have been instances in which some bishops have issued decrees on apparitions saying these events “should be considered as being true” and that the “faithful must believe, shall believe in this.”</p><p>“Quite often the bishop’s decrees have used these words,” Fernández said.</p><p>He emphasized that these new norms will help bishops “have a prudential character so that the faithful can accept this in a prudent way.”&nbsp;</p><p>“The pastoral action of the bishops and then situations can be very different and therefore we decided to have six possible conclusions,” he added. “If we look at history, at the different cases, we recognize different kinds of situations that can be basically located within these six possibilities.” </p><p>The new norms outline three stages for the discernment process. At the end of the evaluation process, the local bishop and a delegate he appoints to oversee the commission’s work are to prepare a “personal votum” in which the bishop proposes to the dicastery a final judgment. That decision will normally follow one of six formulas, one of which is the “nihil obstat,” a pronouncement that means there are no doctrinal objections.  </p><p>“Without expressing any certainty about the supernatural authenticity of the phenomenon itself, many signs of the action of the Holy Spirit are acknowledged ‘in the midst’ of a given spiritual experience, and no aspects that are particularly critical or risky have been detected, at least so far,” the document states.</p><p>Drawing on biblical examples, Fernández noted that “right from the very beginning of the Church, the Holy Spirit itself, with charisms, promoted the necessary discernment of these manifestations. After 2,000 years, the Church still takes care of the faithful, helping them to be meek to the Holy Spirit.” </p><p>“These new norms are in continuity with this task,” he said. </p>
178. ]]></description>
179.        <category>Vatican</category>
180.        <pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 11:03:00 -0400</pubDate>
181.      </item>
182.    
183.      <item>
184.        <title><![CDATA[ Pro-lifers rally in London amid consideration of abortion amendments ]]></title>
185.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257725/pro-lifers-rally-in-london-amid-consideration-of-abortion-amendments</link>
186.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257725/pro-lifers-rally-in-london-amid-consideration-of-abortion-amendments</guid>
187.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
188.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/londonproliferally051724.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
189.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Representatives from the pro-life movement and their supporters gather to demonstrate in Parliament Square on May 15, 2024, in London. / Credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images</span>
190. </div>
191. <p>CNA Staff, May 17, 2024 / 10:43 am (CNA).</p>
192. <p>A large number of pro-life people rallied May 15 outside the Houses of Parliament in London to protest a set of amendments that if passed would further liberalize the U.K.’s abortion laws, including one that critics say would allow abortions up to the point of birth.</p><p>As reported by <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/hundreds-gather-in-parliament-square-to-protest-against-abortion-up-to-birth-as-vote-looms/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the Catholic Herald,</a> the rally in Westminster was coordinated by a variety of organizations such as Alliance Defending Freedom UK, Christian Concern, March for Life, Rachel’s Vineyard, and 40 Days for Life. Participants held signs and wore shirts with the phrase “No to abortion up to birth.”</p><p>At issue are a number of proposed amendments to a <a href="https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3511" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Criminal Justice Bill</a> under consideration in the U.K. Parliament, <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-04/0155/amend/criminal_rm_rep_0209.pdf" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">one of which</a> would amend U.K. law such that “no woman would be liable for a prison sentence as a result of seeking to end her own pregnancy.” The amendments were originally scheduled to be voted on Wednesday but are now scheduled for a vote on Tuesday, June 4.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/abortion/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">National Health Service</a> (NHS), abortions in the U.K. can be carried out after 24 weeks only in very limited circumstances — for example, if the mother's life is at risk or the child would be born with a severe disability.</p><p>In <a href="https://www.cbcew.org.uk/bishops-statement-on-abortion-amendments-to-the-criminal-justice-bill/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a May 8 statement</a>, Bishop John Sherrington, lead bishop for life issues and auxiliary bishop of Westminster, expressed support for an amendment from member of Parliament Caroline Ansell that would reduce the gestational limit for abortions from 24 to 22 weeks. Another amendment, brought by member of Parliament Sir Liam Fox, represents a step toward ending <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/43673/woman-with-down-syndrome-aims-to-change-uk-abortion-laws" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the U.K.’s current laws</a> that allow for babies with Down syndrome to be aborted up until birth.&nbsp;</p><p>However, Sherrington said he is “deeply alarmed” by two other amendments to the same bill. The <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-04/0155/amend/criminal_rm_rep_0209.pdf" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">amendment</a> proposed by member of Parliament Dame Diana Johnson related to liability would remove any legal protection for unborn babies when a woman seeks to bring about her own abortion at any stage of pregnancy, he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“A further danger presented by this amendment is that women could abort their own pregnancies at home through the use of abortion pills at any point in the pregnancy, which could seriously endanger a woman’s health and life. Moreover, the risks of coerced or forced abortion would only increase as the legal safeguards around abortion decrease,” he noted.&nbsp;</p><p>The second amendment by member of Parliament Stella Creasy includes proposals to decriminalize abortion up to the 24th week for any party involved.&nbsp;</p><p>“The Church recognizes the struggle and trauma which may lead some pregnant women to consider an abortion. Such difficult situations require pastoral and medical care for vulnerable women in their time of need. When cases of illegal abortions are prosecuted, it is for the judge to decide the appropriate balance of justice and mercy for all involved,” Sherrington said.&nbsp;</p><p>“Our current legislation provides some level of protection for pregnant mothers and unborn babies by keeping abortion within the criminal law. Relaxing abortion legislation further would be a tragic mistake for both mother and child.”</p><p>“As Pope Francis has said: ‘It is troubling to see how simple and convenient it has become for some to deny the existence of a human life as a solution to problems that can and must be solved for both the mother and her unborn child.’ In England and Wales, both unborn child and pregnant mother deserve full protection under our laws, as some of the most vulnerable in our society,” the bishop concluded.&nbsp;</p><p><em>This story was updated on May 17, 2024, at 3:15 p.m. ET with the information on the June 4 vote.</em></p>
193. ]]></description>
194.        <category>Europe</category>
195.        <pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 10:43:00 -0400</pubDate>
196.      </item>
197.    
198.      <item>
199.        <title><![CDATA[ Vatican overturns own decision on seminary dean ]]></title>
200.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257724/vatican-overturns-own-decision-on-seminary-dean</link>
201.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257724/vatican-overturns-own-decision-on-seminary-dean</guid>
202.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
203.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/3232px-brixen-priesterseminar-1-1687871097.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
204.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Philosophical-Theological University of Bressanone in Italy. / Credit: Ladislav Luppa / Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)</span>
205. </div>
206. <p>CNA Newsroom, May 17, 2024 / 10:13 am (CNA).</p>
207. <p>In a significant reversal, the Vatican approved the appointment of a new dean at a seminary in Northern Italy almost one year after first blocking the appointment over the candidate’s published views on sexual morality.</p><p>The Philosophical-Theological College in Bressanone (PTH Brixen) <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PTHBrixen1607/posts/918320013417563" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announced</a> “with great joy” that Father Martin M. Lintner, OSM, has now been confirmed as dean and will take office on Sept. 1.</p><p>The appointment of Lintner, who teaches moral and spiritual theology at the seminary, faced opposition from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education in <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254669/views-on-sexual-morality-halt-appointment-of-new-dean-at-italian-seminary" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">mid-2023</a> over his published works on Catholic sexual morality, particularly his views on same-sex blessings.&nbsp;</p><p>In an article <a href="https://www.newwaysministry.org/2020/11/10/theologian-suggests-papal-civil-union-support-may-lead-to-church-blessings/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">published</a> in 2020 by New Ways Ministry titled “Theologian Suggests Papal Civil Union Support May Lead to Church Blessings,” Lintner is quoted as saying: “A homosexual relationship does not lose its dignity due to the lack of fertility.”&nbsp;</p><p>Lintner also contributed a chapter offering “theological-ethical reflections on a blessing ceremony for same-sex couples” to <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/44634/book-calling-for-catholic-blessing-of-homosexual-couples-was-requested-by-austrian-bishops-conference" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a book titled</a> “The Benediction of Same-Sex Partnerships.”</p><p>Rome’s position on Lintner’s appointment was reversed after the Vatican’s <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256439/vatican-responds-to-widespread-backlash-on-same-sex-blessing-directive" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">controversial</a> declaration <a href="https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20231218_fiducia-supplicans_en.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>Fiducia Supplicans</em></a><em> </em>approved nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples in December 2023<em>.</em>&nbsp;</p><p>On the news of his appointment, Lintner told <a href="https://www.zeit.de/2024/16/katholische-sexualmoral-theologe-christian-lintner-hochschule" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">German media</a> that the appointment of a new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Victor Fernandez, had played a role. He also asserted that his case — the reversal of such an appointment — was setting a kind of “precedent.”</p><p>Lintner also expressed relief over his victory: “It is entirely in my interest to close this chapter, which has been stressful for everyone involved, and to concentrate on theological work again. I approach the new challenges as dean with joy and confidence,” <a href="https://de.catholicnewsagency.com/news/15433/vatikan-erlaubt-nun-doch-dass-martin-lintner-neuer-dekan-der-pth-brixen-wird" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">reported</a> CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.</p><p>Bishop Ivo Muser of Bolzano-Bressanone <a href="https://www.pthsta.it/de/news/514-gruenes-licht-aus-rom-p-martin-m-lintner-wird-dekan-der-pth-brixen.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">welcomed</a> the Vatican’s decision, saying he wished the new dean a blessed start.</p><p>“I would also like to thank those responsible in the Vatican’s Dicastery for Education for all the personal and telephone conversations and for the decision that has now been made.”</p><p>The PTH Brixen, located in the Northern Italian region of South Tyrol (Alto Adige), is a <a href="https://www.pthsta.it/en/philosophical-theological-college.html?fbclid=IwAR39WhUCec3UORzmw_fAs2hx8OQ8R6Sa-Sj40iXeYaCMONAVq1yeyferRyc" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">significant institution</a> in the predominantly German-speaking region offering courses in philosophy and theology. It is the academic training center of the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone for priests and deacons, pastoral assistants, teachers of religion, and other pastoral vocations.</p>
208. ]]></description>
209.        <category>Europe</category>
210.        <pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 10:13:00 -0400</pubDate>
211.      </item>
212.    
213.      <item>
214.        <title><![CDATA[ Peru’s government considers transexualism a mental health problem: what you need to know ]]></title>
215.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257717/peru-s-government-considers-transexualism-a-mental-health-problem-what-you-need-to-know</link>
216.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257717/peru-s-government-considers-transexualism-a-mental-health-problem-what-you-need-to-know</guid>
217.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
218.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/Transgender symbol Juanje Garrido Shutterstock.png?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
219.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / Credit: Juanje Garrido/Shutterstock</span>
220. </div>
221. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, May 17, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).</p>
222. <p>A few days ago, the government of Peru published a supreme decree in which “transsexualism” and “gender identity disorder” are considered “mental health problems,” among other points, causing controversy even within agencies of the executive branch.&nbsp;</p><p>On May 10, the official newspaper El Peruano published supreme decree<a href="https://busquedas.elperuano.pe/dispositivo/NL/2287398-1" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> No. 009-2024-SA</a>, which approves the update of the Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS, by its Spanish acronym), a document that details the list of diseases whose treatments are provided in public hospitals.</p><p>In this regulation, signed by Peru President Dina Boluarte, Minister of Economy and Finance José Berley Arista, and Minister of Health César Henry Vásquez, seven diagnoses considered “mental health” problems are included.</p><p>The diagnoses are “transsexualism; dual-role transvestism; childhood gender identity disorder; other gender identity disorders; gender identity disorder, unspecified; fetishistic transvestism;” and “ego dystonic sexual orientation.”</p><p>Until 2022, these diagnoses were part of the “Mental and Behavioral Disorders” chapter of the 10th version of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), which was updated that year and no longer considers them as pathologies.</p><p>After the publication of the decree, various organizations, such as the feminist group Manuela Ramos, rejected the regulation and expressed their concern about the possibility of “conversion therapies.” Feminists indicated that the regulation “intends to make gender and sexual diversity seen as a disease. We demand the immediate repeal of this measure.”</p><p>After complaints, especially on social media, the Peruvian Ministry of Health (Minsa) published <a href="https://twitter.com/Minsa_Peru/status/1789483382822309904" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a statement on May 11</a> in which it “reaffirms its position that gender and sexual diversity are not diseases. In this framework we express our respect for gender identities as well as our rejection of the stigmatization of sexual diversity in the country.”</p><p>In its statement, Minsa also said that “a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity does not constitute in itself a physical or mental health disorder and, therefore, they should not be subjected to medical treatment or care or to so-called conversion therapies.”</p><p>The statement also noted that the update of the PEAS was made “in response to the need to ensure the benefit of comprehensive mental health interventions, as conditions for the full exercise of the right to health and well-being of the person, the family, and the community.”&nbsp;</p><p>However, despite the statement by the Ministry of Health, the decree remains in force: It has not been modified or repealed.</p><p>It should be noted that on Dec. 15, 1973, the American Psychiatric Association, which establishes standards in the field of mental health, removed homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.&nbsp;A <a href="https://www.aglp.org/about.htm" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">group of homosexual activist psychiatrists</a> championed this change.</p><p>Years later, in 2005, a former president of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Nicholas Cummings, together with psychologist and author Rogers H. Wright, published the book “<a href="https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781135423483_A23801945/preview-9781135423483_A23801945.pdf" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Destructive Trends in Mental Health.</a>”</p><p>Cummings and Wright pointed out, among other things, that “psychology, psychiatry, and social work have been captured by an ultraliberal agenda, much of which we agree with as citizens. However, we are alarmed with the damaging effect it is having on our science, our practice, and our credibility.”</p><p>“Although I am in agreement with many of the APA’s stances, I am opposed to the process that has diminished its credibility. It is no longer perceived as an authority that presents scientific evidence and professional facts. The APA has chosen ideology over science, and thus has diminished its influence on the decision makers in our society,” Cummings lamented in the book.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104473/gobierno-del-peru-considera-problema-de-salud-mental-al-transexualismo-esto-debes-saber" 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>
223. ]]></description>
224.        <category>Americas</category>
225.        <pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 07:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
226.      </item>
227.    
228.      <item>
229.        <title><![CDATA[ New norms give Vatican greater say on alleged apparitions ]]></title>
230.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257722/vatican-norms-alleged-marian-apparitions</link>
231.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257722/vatican-norms-alleged-marian-apparitions</guid>
232.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
233.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/Marianapparition1.png?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
234.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">A Marian apparition. / Credit: &quot;The World of Marian Apparitions: Mary&#039;s Appearances and Messages from Fatima to Today&quot;</span>
235. </div>
236. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 17, 2024 / 06:53 am (CNA).</p>
237. <p>The Vatican’s top doctrinal office is centralizing its authority over the investigation of alleged Marian apparitions and other religious phenomena under new norms it issued Friday, a break from past protocols that gave local bishops greater autonomy in discerning such cases.</p><p>While emphasizing that “discernment in this area remains the task of the diocesan bishop,” the new guidelines state that the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith “must always be consulted and give final approval to what the bishop decides before he announces a determination on an event of alleged supernatural origin.”&nbsp;</p><p>The document spelling out the new procedures, titled “Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena,” explains that the doctrinal office previously played a role in the evaluation&nbsp;process&nbsp;but generally did so behind the scenes.</p><p>“While previously the dicastery had intervened&nbsp;but&nbsp;the bishop&nbsp;was asked&nbsp;not to mention it, today, the dicastery openly manifests its involvement and accompanies the bishop in reaching a final determination,” the document states. “Now, when the bishop makes his decision public, it will be stated as ‘in agreement with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.’”</p><p>The DDF’s prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, who signed the document, held a press briefing for journalists at the Vatican Friday at noon local time.</p><p>The new norms take effect on Pentecost Sunday, May 19,&nbsp;abrogating&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257682/explainer-what-has-the-vatican-already-said-about-discerning-marian-apparitions" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">previous norms</a>&nbsp;established under Pope Paul VI in 1978.&nbsp;</p><p>One key component of the news norms is that only the pope can judge that an alleged apparition or other phenomenon is of "supernatural origin." It is beyond the scope of a local bishop or an episcopal conference to do so, the DDF says.</p><h2>Centralizing control</h2><p>In the document’s introduction, Fernández observes that under the older norms, “decisions took an excessively long time, sometimes spanning several decades,” delaying “the necessary ecclesiastical discernment.”&nbsp;</p><p>Fernández also highlights that in the&nbsp;past&nbsp;there was greater deference to the local bishop in ascertaining the validity of alleged supernatural events, stating that “some bishops insisted on being able to make a positive declaration of this type.”</p><p>“Even recently, some bishops have wanted to make statements such as, ‘I confirm the absolute truth of the facts’ and ‘the faithful must undoubtedly consider as true …’”</p><p>“These expressions,” Fernández states, “effectively oriented the faithful to think they had to believe in these phenomena, which sometimes were valued more than the Gospel itself.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/fernandezpresser2051724.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, presides over a press conference on Friday, May 17, 2024, on the Vatican’s new document on Marian apparitions. Credit: Rudolf Gehrig/EWTN News"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, presides over a press conference on Friday, May 17, 2024, on the Vatican’s new document on Marian apparitions. Credit: Rudolf Gehrig/EWTN News</figcaption></figure><p>Responding to the “development of modern means of&nbsp;communication” and “the increase in pilgrimages,” the document notes that these alleged events assume a global&nbsp;character&nbsp;“meaning that a decision made in one diocese has consequences also elsewhere.” </p><p>The document also emphasized that there have been&nbsp;cases of&nbsp;alleged supernatural events that have been “detrimental to the faithful,” adding that the Church “must respond with utmost pastoral solicitude.”</p><p>Some of the issues Fernández outlines included “the possibility of doctrinal errors,” “an oversimplification of the Gospel&nbsp;message,” and “the spread of a sectarian mentality.”&nbsp;</p><h3>Restrictions on pronouncements</h3><p>The new guidelines note that during the discernment process “the diocesan bishop is to refrain from making any public statement in favor of the authenticity or supernatural nature of such phenomena and from having any personal connection with them.”</p><p>The document continues: “If forms of devotion emerge in connection with the alleged supernatural event, even without true and proper veneration, the diocesan bishop has the serious obligation of initiating a comprehensive canonical investigation as soon as possible to safeguard the faith and prevent abuses.”</p><p>In those cases, the bishop must establish an investigatory commission to include at least one theologian, one canonist, and “one expert chosen based on the nature of the phenomenon.”&nbsp;</p><p>The document also stipulates that&nbsp;an interdiocesan commission must be created&nbsp;to evaluate cases that involve “the competence of multiple diocesan bishops.” </p><p>The new norms emphasize that should “alleged supernatural events continue” during the&nbsp; investigatory process and “the situation suggests prudential measures,” then it&nbsp;is incumbent upon the bishop to “enforce those acts of good governance to avoid uncontrolled or dubious displays of devotion, or the beginning of a veneration based on elements that are as of yet undefined.”</p><h2>Weighing positives and negatives</h2><p>During the evaluation phase, the commission is to look at both the “positive” and “negative” criteria of the alleged apparition, the DDF’s new norms state.&nbsp;</p><p>The document identifies four positive criteria:&nbsp;</p><ol start="1"><li><p>“The credibility and good reputation of the persons who claim to be recipients of supernatural events or to be directly involved in them, as well as the reputation of the witnesses who have&nbsp;been heard.”</p></li><li><p>“The doctrinal orthodoxy of the phenomenon and any messages related to it.”</p></li><li><p>“The unpredictable nature of the phenomenon, by which it is evident that it is not the result of the initiative of the people&nbsp;involved.”</p></li><li><p>“The fruits of the Christian life, including a spirit of prayer, conversions, vocations to the priesthood and religious life, acts of charity, as well as sound devotion and abundant and constant spiritual fruits.”&nbsp;</p></li></ol><p>The new norms also set forth six negative criteria to&nbsp;be considered:&nbsp;</p><ol start="1"><li><p>“The possibility of a manifest error about the event.”</p></li><li><p>“Potential doctrinal errors.”</p></li><li><p>“A sectarian spirit that breeds division in the Church.”</p></li><li><p>“An overt pursuit of profit, power, fame, social recognition, or other personal interest closely linked to the event.”</p></li><li><p>“Gravely immoral actions committed by the subject or the subject’s followers at or around the time of the event.”</p></li><li><p>“Psychological alterations or psychopathic tendencies in the person that may have&nbsp;exerted an influence on&nbsp;the alleged supernatural event.”&nbsp;</p></li></ol><p>At the end of the evaluation process, the bishop and a delegate he appoints to oversee the commission’s work are to prepare a “personal votum” in which the bishop proposes to the dicastery a final judgment. That decision will normally follow one of six formulas:</p><ol start="1"><li><p>Nihil obstat: “Without expressing any certainty about the supernatural authenticity of the phenomenon itself, many signs of the action of the Holy Spirit are acknowledged ‘in the midst’ of a given spiritual experience, and no aspects that are particularly critical or risky have been detected, at least so far,” the document states.</p></li><li><p>Prae&nbsp;oculis&nbsp;habeatur: “Although important positive signs are recognized, some aspects of confusion or potential risks&nbsp;are also perceived&nbsp;that require the diocesan bishop to engage in a careful discernment and dialogue with the recipients of a given spiritual experience.”&nbsp;</p></li><li><p>Curatur: “Although important positive signs are recognized, some aspects of confusion or potential risks&nbsp;are also perceived&nbsp;that require the diocesan bishop to engage in a careful discernment and dialogue with the recipients of a given spiritual experience.”&nbsp;</p></li><li><p>Sub mandato: “In this category, the critical issues&nbsp;are not connected&nbsp;to the phenomenon itself, which is rich in positive elements, but to a person, a family, or a group of people who are misusing it.”</p></li><li><p>Prohibetur et obstruatur: “While there are legitimate requests and some positive elements, the critical issues and risks associated with this phenomenon appear&nbsp;to be&nbsp;very serious.”</p></li><li><p>Declaratio de non supernaturalitate: “In this situation, the dicastery authorizes the diocesan bishop to declare that the phenomenon&nbsp;is found&nbsp;to be not supernatural,”&nbsp;the document states.</p></li></ol><h2>Next steps</h2><p>Following the DDF’s final decision, the diocesan bishop, unless directed otherwise by the dicastery, “will inform the national episcopal conference of the determination approved by the dicastery” and “will&nbsp;clearly&nbsp;make known to the people of God the judgment on the events in question.”&nbsp;</p><p>The document notes that a nihil obstat “allows the pastors of the Church to act confidently and promptly to stand among the people of God in welcoming the Holy Spirit’s gifts that may emerge ‘in the midst of’ these events.”&nbsp;</p><p>The document explains that the phrase “in the midst of” denotes that “even if the event itself is not declared to be of supernatural origin, there is still a recognition of the signs of the Holy Spirit’s supernatural action in the midst of what is occurring.”&nbsp;</p><p>But the norms stress that in cases where a nihil obstat&nbsp;is granted, “such phenomena do not become objects of faith, which means the faithful are not obliged to give an assent of faith to them.”&nbsp;</p><p>As in the case of charisms recognized by the Church, the document states, “they are ‘ways to deepen one’s knowledge of Christ and to give oneself more generously to&nbsp;him,&nbsp;while rooting oneself more and more deeply in communion with the entire Christian people.’”&nbsp;</p><p>In<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257723/fernandez-vatican-s-new-apparitions-guidelines-stress-caution-in-discernment-process" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> the press conference on Friday,</a> meanwhile, Fernández said the new norms will allow bishops to “have a prudential character so that the faithful can accept this in a prudent way.”</p><p>In the new guidance, Fernández said, the Church “leaves the faithful free to devote their attention to this phenomena or not.”</p><p>“Revelation that has already happened is the word of God. It contains everything we need for our Christian life,” he said.</p>
238. ]]></description>
239.        <category>Vatican</category>
240.        <pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 06:53:00 -0400</pubDate>
241.      </item>
242.    
243.      <item>
244.        <title><![CDATA[ Catholic pilgrimages in the United States: a new renaissance? ]]></title>
245.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257715/catholic-pilgrimages-in-the-united-states-a-new-renaissance</link>
246.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257715/catholic-pilgrimages-in-the-united-states-a-new-renaissance</guid>
247.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
248.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/five.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
249.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Catholic pilgrims on the Katy Trail Pilgrimage begin the route from Augusta on Oct. 9, 2023. / Jonah McKeown/CNA</span>
250. </div>
251. <p>CNA Staff, May 17, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).</p>
252. <p>This weekend, the longest Catholic pilgrimages ever organized in the United States — possibly the world — will commence on the edges of the country.&nbsp;</p><p>The <a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">National Eucharistic Pilgrimages,</a> organized as part of the multiyear National Eucharistic Revival, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257062/meet-the-young-catholic-pilgrims-who-will-walk-thousands-of-miles-with-the-eucharist-this-summer" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">will see a group of young men and women collectively walk over 6,500 miles,</a> carrying the Eucharist across four different routes and meeting in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress July 17–21. It’s not known yet just how many people will end up participating in the four pilgrimages, but organizers are hoping to attract tens of thousands.&nbsp;</p><p>Arguably, in the past decade or so, Catholic pilgrimages in the United States have — if you’ll pardon the pun — hit their stride. The organizers of a number of prominent Catholic pilgrimages told CNA that they’ve seen interest among Catholics grow and promoted the idea of pilgrimage as a powerful means of spiritual revival.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/twenty-seven.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Catholic pilgrims on the Katy Trail Pilgrimage walk the route on Oct. 9, 2023. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Catholic pilgrims on the Katy Trail Pilgrimage walk the route on Oct. 9, 2023. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA</figcaption></figure><h2>‘So overwhelming and so beautiful’</h2><p>A pilgrimage is <a href="https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12085a.htm#:~:text=Pilgrimages%20may%20be%20defined%20as,to%20discharge%20some%20religious%20obligation." target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">broadly defined</a> as a journey to a holy place and is traditionally associated with walking. The concept of pilgrimage in the Catholic tradition is far from new, of course — the most famous pilgrimage in the world is arguably the 1,000-year-old Camino de Santiago through Spain, Portugal, and part of southern France. Last year, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256433/pilgrims-walking-camino-de-santiago-broke-record-in-2023" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">nearly half a million people from around the world did the Camino,</a> a new record. Thirty-two thousand of those people were from the U.S., the largest foreign group represented.</p><p>Though the many world-famous European pilgrimages with centuries of pedigree are indeed attractive, Americans aren’t only flooding those trails. Many are <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256640/the-adoration-ultra-catholic-runner-to-cover-50-miles-of-eucharistic-adoration" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">blazing their own here at home</a> and have seen their efforts rewarded with growing numbers of participants.&nbsp;</p><p>In just over a decade and a half, the <a href="https://catholicdioceseofwichita.org/pilgrims-walking-with-fr-kapaun/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">“Kansas Camino,”</a> also known as the Father Emil Kapaun Pilgrimage, has grown from just five participants the first year to more than 100 a few years later. Scott Carter, coordinator of the Father Kapaun Guild in Wichita, told CNA that this year over 400 people from at least 26 states signed up to walk the 60-mile route over Kansas backroads beginning May 30.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/351768712-272222328627670-6756124777796960913-n.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Pilgrims walk the Kansas Camino, which goes from Wichita to Father Emil Kapaun’s home parish in rural Pilsen, Kansas. Credit: Diocese of Wichita"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Pilgrims walk the Kansas Camino, which goes from Wichita to Father Emil Kapaun’s home parish in rural Pilsen, Kansas. Credit: Diocese of Wichita</figcaption></figure><p>Kapaun was a Catholic priest and military chaplain who ministered to his fellow soldiers during the Korean War. Likely buoyed by <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/43644/fr-emil-kapauns-path-to-sainthood-to-face-vatican-milestone-in-march" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">recent developments in Kapaun’s sainthood cause</a> as well as the providential <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249093/father-kapauns-remains-returned-to-kansas" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">rediscovery of his body</a> and return to Kansas in 2021, the Kapaun Pilgrimage has exploded in popularity.&nbsp;</p><p>Carter said the founder of the pilgrimage, Father Eric Walden, was in the military too and wanted a way to enter more deeply into the life of Father Kapaun. The route of the pilgrimage takes participants from Wichita to Kapaun’s home parish in rural Pilsen, Kansas.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/Screen Shot 2021-03-08 at 4.35.59 PM.png" class="img-fluid" style="" alt="Father Emil Kapaun celebrates Mass using the hood of a Jeep as his altar on Oct. 7, 1950. Public Domain"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Father Emil Kapaun celebrates Mass using the hood of a Jeep as his altar on Oct. 7, 1950. Public Domain</figcaption></figure><p>Carter described the concept of pilgrimage as “sacramental in its nature, putting both our body and soul to work in response to God’s call.”</p><p>“On pilgrimage we contribute physically, mentally, spiritually to our prayers, and it often gives us comfort that we’re doing everything we can to leave our petition in God’s hands,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>On the Kapaun Pilgrimage, as on any pilgrimage, people walk for different reasons — some for a specific purpose or prayer intention, some seeking spiritual rejuvenation, others for the purpose of venerating the holy site at the end.</p><p>“I feel like everybody has their own story. Everybody has something that strikes them. But I do think there’s a unique way where the physical nature of the pilgrimage, the removal from our ordinary lives; it just invites us into something different and to experience something in a unique way,” he said.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/fr-eric-jeep-mass-cleaned.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Pilgrims celebrate Mass on the hood of a Jeep during the Kansas Camino, emulating a famous photo of Father Emil Kapaun. Credit: Diocese of Wichita"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Pilgrims celebrate Mass on the hood of a Jeep during the Kansas Camino, emulating a famous photo of Father Emil Kapaun. Credit: Diocese of Wichita</figcaption></figure><p>Carter said the joy that awaits pilgrims at the end of their journey is reminiscent of the joy we hope for as Catholics at the end of our life journey.&nbsp;</p><p>“When you reach your destination, it was just so overwhelming and so beautiful, people cheering us on and everything. And so it’s a little hint, hopefully, of what heaven is like … the welcome that we’re going to receive when we’re finally walking through the pearly gates,” Carter said.</p><h2>‘American Catholics are reengaging’</h2><p>Gabe Jones, a father and a financial adviser with the Knights of Columbus, founded the <a href="https://josephchallenge.com/the-challenge" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Joseph Challenge Pilgrimage </a>in 2015 in St. Louis. The <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/41225/why-these-men-walked-24-miles-to-the-rome-of-the-midwest" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">roughly 24-mile annual walk</a> aimed at Catholic men has grown from just a handful of friends in its first year to “just under 60 guys” in one of the post-pandemic iterations. Jones said they’ve had 30 or so participants on average in each of the nine years, with minimal promotion of the event apart from word of mouth.&nbsp;</p><p>Even if their ranks aren’t quite as large as, say, the Kapaun Pilgrimage, Jones said he has seen the Lord working during the pilgrimage even if the number of walkers is small. One early year, he said, several fellow participants dropped out, leaving the number of pilgrims at just two. Jones walked with that one other man, who was at that point discerning his vocation. That man is today a monk at Silver Stream Priory in Ireland, Jones said.&nbsp;</p><p>“You can never judge the fruit of [a pilgrimage] by the numbers,” he commented.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/img-4097.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Founder Gabe Jones, left, speaks to participants at the commencement of the Joseph Challenge Pilgrimage in May 2019. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Founder Gabe Jones, left, speaks to participants at the commencement of the Joseph Challenge Pilgrimage in May 2019. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA</figcaption></figure><p>Jones told CNA that most people he encounters find the idea of pilgrimage very appealing, in part because it is an experience that grounds you in reality in an age dominated by the virtual.&nbsp;</p><p>“The world now, because we’re so digital and you can experience so many things that aren’t real on a screen — a pilgrimage reconnects you with reality. It reconnects you literally with the earth, because you’re walking for miles and miles and the pain that comes with that. You know, the discomfort in your feet and your joints from walking and walking and walking,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>“You encounter people. You’re walking through street corners, and people come up and say, ‘What are you doing?’ So I think there’s that desire in the human heart for an experience, for action. And I think American Catholics are reengaging with that.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/img-4248.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Men walk through St. Louis during the Joseph Challenge Pilgrimage in 2019 carrying a wooden cross and a Vatican flag. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Men walk through St. Louis during the Joseph Challenge Pilgrimage in 2019 carrying a wooden cross and a Vatican flag. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA</figcaption></figure><p>Large pilgrimage groups remain a relatively rare sight on U.S. streets, and Jones said often he gets asked by passersby what they’re “protesting” — which he finds ironic.</p><p>“Public witness doesn’t have to be in protest of something. You can do something publicly like this as a witness and as a testimony because of the things you love,” he noted.&nbsp;</p><p>“I think it’s a beautiful thing to be able to offer to Our Lord is to say, hey, this beautiful place here is worth a little bit of pain and discomfort to offer up and unite my sufferings with yours.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/img-4007.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Participants kneel in front of the Shrine of St. Joseph at the conclusion of the Joseph Challenge Pilgrimage in 2019. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Participants kneel in front of the Shrine of St. Joseph at the conclusion of the Joseph Challenge Pilgrimage in 2019. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA</figcaption></figure><p>Father Timothy Foy, associate pastor at St. Clare of Assisi Parish in the St. Louis area, is the founder of the <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255669/catholic-pilgrimage-group-walks-and-prays-the-katy-trail" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Katy Trail Pilgrimage,</a> a roughly 50-mile walk to a handful of Marian churches along a trail that spans almost the entire width of Missouri. Last year’s pilgrimage in October 2023 attracted, at least for portions, approximately 80 people, the largest group they’ve had.&nbsp;</p><p>Foy went on a pilgrimage in Poland in 2014, walking with a large group from Kraków to Częstochowa, the site of a famous Marian shrine. The roughly 70-mile, six-day trek inspired him to do a pilgrimage stateside.&nbsp;</p><p>So a few years later, he and two other priests walked the Katy Trail, essentially the exact route they still use today. The next year, he invited others to join them and continued to put out the invitation annually, even through the pandemic years.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/twenty-four.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Father Timothy Foy, left, leads pilgrims on the Katy Trail Pilgrimage on Oct. 9, 2023. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Father Timothy Foy, left, leads pilgrims on the Katy Trail Pilgrimage on Oct. 9, 2023. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA</figcaption></figure><p>Foy told CNA this week that for many people, the Katy Trail experience is their first exposure to pilgrimage. He said many participants tell him they find the experience rejuvenating.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s a movement of the spirit. It’s kind of like when you go on retreat, you know, we’re recharging … We’re going to find that solitude with God and letting him help fill up our souls with his presence and kind of recharge and a pilgrimage,” the priest said.&nbsp;</p><p>Foy said he is glad to hear that pilgrimages are growing in popularity and that he is “happy to ride in that wave.”</p><p>“With a pilgrimage, you kind of go on the offense. You’re kind of sallying forth into the world,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>“You have a mission, so you’re never bored. You’re always making progress as long as you’re walking.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/six.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Catholic pilgrims on the Katy Trail Pilgrimage walk the route on Oct. 9, 2023. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Catholic pilgrims on the Katy Trail Pilgrimage walk the route on Oct. 9, 2023. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA</figcaption></figure><h2>‘Know where you’re going’</h2><p>Will Peterson, founder and president of <a href="https://www.moderncatholicpilgrim.com/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Modern Catholic Pilgrim (MCP),</a> a U.S. nonprofit that is coordinating the National Eucharistic Pilgrimages, called pilgrimage “one of the oldest forms of prayer in our Church tradition.”</p><p>“It speaks to who we are as Catholics … it’s accessible. You don’t need to have an advanced degree or a deep spiritual life to be a pilgrim. You just need to know where you’re going and what intentions you’re bringing to that space,” he said.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/2024051312058-42188343fd06ec0f4c1805c08f6ff96161c42cdaf0547704f1b231dac9193ec9.jpeg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Will Peterson (far right), founder of Modern Catholic Pilgrim, poses with a group of pilgrims. Courtesy of Will Peterson"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Will Peterson (far right), founder of Modern Catholic Pilgrim, poses with a group of pilgrims. Courtesy of Will Peterson</figcaption></figure><p>MCP is a small operation and the National Eucharistic Pilgrimages will be by far the largest events they have coordinated. Peterson opined that pilgrimages are growing in popularity, in part, because many people are struggling to find purpose in life — especially young people.</p><p>In the face of this, “pilgrimages are all about purpose: My purpose is to get to this place, to give these intentions to God,” he noted.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Jonathan Liedl of the National Catholic Register contributed to this story.</em></p>
253. ]]></description>
254.        <category>US</category>
255.        <pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
256.      </item>
257.    
258.      <item>
259.        <title><![CDATA[ Harrison Butker supported by Kansas City bishop, prominent Catholics amid speech backlash ]]></title>
260.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257720/kansas-city-bishop-prominent-catholics-back-harrison-butker-following-speech-backlash</link>
261.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257720/kansas-city-bishop-prominent-catholics-back-harrison-butker-following-speech-backlash</guid>
262.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
263.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/harrisonbutkerbenedictinecommencement2051424.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
264.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Kansas City Chiefs’ placekicker Harrison Butker speaks to college graduates in his commencement address at Benedictine College on Saturday, May 11, 2024. / Credit: Benedictine College</span>
265. </div>
266. <p>CNA Staff, May 16, 2024 / 18:37 pm (CNA).</p>
267. <p>Prominent Catholics are voicing their support for Kansas City&nbsp;Chiefs’&nbsp;kicker Harrison Butker after he delivered a commencement address to graduating students at Benedictine College on May 11 that touched on hot-button issues, causing outrage among the left-leaning media and commentators.</p><p>Butker, 28, who has been outspoken about his Catholic faith during his career, received backlash for sharing his views on gender, abortion, euthanasia, and IVF.</p><p>He also&nbsp;took aim&nbsp;at several high-profile Catholics such as President Joe Biden and the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci. He chided certain unnamed bishops who were “motivated by fear” during the COVID-19 lockdowns.</p><p>In the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257679/chiefs-harrison-butker-chides-catholic-leaders-in-benedictine-college-commencement-address" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">speech</a>&nbsp;at the Atchison, Kansas-based Catholic liberal arts college, he denounced “people pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America” while calling on graduates to live out their vocation to “ensure that God’s Church continues and the world is enlightened by your example.”</p><p>“Our&nbsp;own&nbsp;nation is led by a man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith, but at the same time is delusional enough to make the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally. He has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that I’m sure to many people it appears that you can be both Catholic and pro-choice,” Butker said.&nbsp;</p><p>Butker’s local ordinary, Bishop James Johnston of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, told CNA Thursday in a statement that “Harrison Butker’s passion for his Catholic faith and his family are beautiful and well known. And like most people, he also has strong opinions on where we are as a Church and as a nation.”</p><p>“The Catholic Church believes that God calls everyone to pursue holiness no matter what path they take. As St. Paul notes,&nbsp;that diversity&nbsp;of callings and vocations is essential to the life and mission of the Church. I support Mr. Butker’s right to share his faith and express his opinions — including those that are critical of bishops,” he said.</p><p>Johnston wasn’t the only one who spoke out in support of Butker.&nbsp;</p><p>In a statement to CNA Thursday, another high-profile Catholic, Marian priest and author of “Consecration to St. Joseph” Father Donald Calloway, MIC, said: “I loved the speech!”</p><p>“His speech was inspiring and what the woke culture needs to hear. He exhibited real, authentic Catholic manhood. Good for him. I have no problem with anything he said. I wish more said it, especially clergy. God bless him. I look forward to meeting him. I loved it so much I went out and bought his jersey!"</p><p>Bishop Joseph Strickland thanked Butker for “speaking&nbsp;truth” in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BishStrickland/status/1790959549505241125" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">post</a>&nbsp;he shared Thursday on X.&nbsp;</p><p>Strickland said that “it is no surprise that some are reacting with extreme negativity, too many today hate the truth and merely want ‘their’ truth, which is not truth at all. You are in my prayers.”</p><p>President of the Catholic League Bill Donohue wrote in a statement on Thursday that Butker “nailed it” during comments in his speech.&nbsp;</p><p>“His courage and his commitment to Catholicism is laudatory,” Donohue wrote. “A heralded Catholic football player defends traditional moral values at a Catholic college — how novel — and within no time he’s being bashed all over the place. Had he endorsed transgenderism, or Hamas, he would now be praised to high heaven.”</p><p>Kristan Hawkins, a Catholic and president of the pro-life group Students for Life of America, wrote of the speech online: “If you watch one video today, this should be it.”</p><p>Hawkins shared a clip of Butker’s criticism of Biden, quoting Butker: “This is an important reminder that ‘being Catholic’ alone doesn’t cut it.”</p><p>CNA reached out to Benedictine College for comment but did not receive a response.&nbsp;</p><p>Former Notre Dame football coach and Hall of Famer Lou Holtz publicly thanked Butker on Twitter Thursday for his speech.</p><p>“Thank you<a href="https://twitter.com/buttkicker7" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> </a>@buttkicker7 for standing strong in your faith values. Your commencement speech at Benedictine College showed courage and conviction and I admire that. Don’t give in,” he&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/CoachLouHoltz88/status/1791156933094732126" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">wrote</a>.</p><p>In Holtz’s post on X, he linked to a&nbsp;<a href="https://forms.americafirstworks.com/landing/support-harrison-butkers" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">petition</a>&nbsp;in support of Butker, calling him “a true man of God.”</p><p>A separate petition by critics of Butker’s speech has made waves in the media calling for his Super Bowl-winning team, the Kansas City Chiefs, to fire him. The petition has already amassed over 100,000 signatures.</p><p>Additionally, Butker has been targeted by the city of Kansas City, Missouri, which shared a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article288520667.html" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">now-deleted&nbsp;</a>post on X announcing what city Butker lives in, a form of harassment known as “doxxing.”</p><p>Kansas City’s X account later said: “We apologies [sic] for our previous tweet. It was shared in error.”</p><p>Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas shared a follow-up post that said: “A message appeared earlier this evening from a city public account. The message was&nbsp;clearly&nbsp;inappropriate for a public account. The city has correctly apologized for the error, will review account access, and ensure nothing like it is shared in the future from public channels.”</p><p>Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AGAndrewBailey/status/1791178530354757781" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a>&nbsp;on X Thursday that his office would be taking legal action to protect the free speech of Butker and Missourians.</p><p>“BREAKING: My office is demanding accountability after @KansasCity doxxed @buttkicker7 last night for daring to express his religious beliefs. I will enforce the Missouri Human Rights Act to ensure Missourians are not targeted for their free exercise of religion. Stay tuned,” he wrote.</p><p>Much of the criticism of Butker’s speech focused on Butker’s comments addressed to the women among the graduates.&nbsp;</p><p>Butker congratulated the female graduates but added: “I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you.”</p><p>“How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” Butker said.</p><p>“I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” he said.</p><p>“I’m on the stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. I’m beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker,” he said.</p><p>His comments were followed by an almost 20-second applause from the audience.</p><p>In a statement shared with the media, the NFL condemned Butker’s comments, saying that he “gave a speech in his&nbsp;personal&nbsp;capacity.”</p><p>“His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger,” said Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer.</p><p>The Catholic advocacy organization CatholicVote penned a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell criticizing Beane’s statement, saying that it “calls into question your commitment to genuine diversity and inclusion.”</p><p>“Indeed, the NFL proudly boasts that it ‘honors and celebrates the broad ranges of human difference among us, while also embracing the commonalities we share, and to provide each individual with the opportunity to achieve their full potential.’ Does this inclusion include Catholics, pro-life Americans, mothers, and those who hold to traditional moral beliefs?” the May 16&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/CatholicVote/status/1791201754765537720/photo/1" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">letter</a>&nbsp;said.</p>
268. ]]></description>
269.        <category>US</category>
270.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 18:37:00 -0400</pubDate>
271.      </item>
272.    
273.      <item>
274.        <title><![CDATA[ California teacher fired for religious beliefs gets six-figure payout in court ]]></title>
275.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257719/california-teacher-fired-for-religious-beliefs-gets-six-figure-payout-in-court</link>
276.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257719/california-teacher-fired-for-religious-beliefs-gets-six-figure-payout-in-court</guid>
277.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
278.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/teachers051624.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
279.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Jessica Tapia displays a sign outside the Garden Grove Unified School District board meeting on behalf of the Teachers Don’t Lie program. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Advocates for Faith and Freedom and Jessica Tapia</span>
280. </div>
281. <p>CNA Staff, May 16, 2024 / 18:04 pm (CNA).</p>
282. <p>A Christian teacher settled in court for $360,000 earlier this week after suing a California school district board for firing her after she refused to comply with gender ideology rules that went against her religious beliefs.</p><p>After refusing to comply with a preferred pronoun rule, Jessica Tapia was fired by the Jurupa Unified School District from her job as a physical education teacher.</p><p>“It ultimately really does come down to my faith and how I believe that it’s always worth it to stand for righteousness and fight for truth,” Tapia told CNA in a phone call. “And ultimately, I believe the word of God is that truth and is the instructions we’ve been given to live our life upon. There’s really nothing else or no one else that I lean on for that.”</p><p>After students reported Tapia’s private social media account to the school district, an account where she shared her views, the school district placed her on administrative leave and investigated her in 2022.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“When I came to this position in my workplace and as a teacher where I was now being asked to do things that would go directly against what is the truth and what I am confident is best for children that I’m educating — and best for parents and best for myself — I knew it was time to speak up and not just bow down and go along with it like so many are feeling pressured and compelled to do,” she continued.&nbsp;</p><p>The district asked Tapia to comply with a new rule that would require that she use students’ preferred pronouns, not tell parents if students were identifying as a gender different than their biological sex, and allow students to use their preferred bathroom regardless of their biological sex. She sought religious accommodations, but the board refused, firing her rather than accommodating her religious beliefs.&nbsp;</p><p>Tapia said it was “scary” to be in that position, but she believed it would go against biblical teaching to “cave to the fear.”</p><p>“It really stretched me, and I had to really, really lean on the Lord like never before and look at what his word says and what the best thing for me to do in this situation — even if it was going to be the sacrificial thing, even if it was going to turn my life upside down,” she said.</p><p>Tapia said it wasn’t easy to take the risk, but the “timing” worked out, and now she gets to home-school her young children — ages 6, 4, and 2 — while heading the “<a href="https://faith-freedom.com/teachers-dont-lie" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Teachers Don’t Lie</a>” program, encouraging teachers “not be compelled to lie in any way.”&nbsp;</p><p>“We shouldn’t be lying to students about who God made them to be, male or female; we shouldn’t lie to their parents or withhold that information from their parents. If their own child is beginning to experience some confusion around their identity, that’s never something to be kept from their own parents — but that’s what school districts are asking teachers to do,” she explained. “Then thirdly, we shouldn’t have to be pressured to lie to ourselves about our own morals and beliefs and convictions — and that’s what I was being asked to do by my school district.”</p><p>Bethany Onishenko, legal counsel for<a href="https://faith-freedom.com/newsletter/press-release-california-public-school-teacher-settles-with-school-district" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Advocates for Freedom and Faith</a>, the nonprofit law firm that defended Tapia, said they’ve seen “a huge influx” of cases of this nature over the last few years.&nbsp;</p><p>“I don’t think we’re done yet. I think that this is only getting worse in our public school system right now,” Onishenko said. “But as we have more teachers like Jessica and more school districts stand up to these ideologies, well, I hope we start to see these cases lessen. But for now, they are raging on.”</p><p>When asked what she would say to concerned parents, Tapia said that while she personally doesn’t “typically advise people to put their kids in public school,” she’s “here for” those who do.</p><p>“I stand with them,” she said, adding: “I’m there for the parents who are choosing public school. I still think if there [are] children there, I believe Christians need to be there, too: people of morals, people of values, need to be wherever children are, protecting them.”&nbsp;</p><p>Onishenko noted that parents don’t lose their rights when they place their children in public school.</p><p>Onishenko noted that “regardless of where you decide to send your child,” parents are still the primary caregivers for their children and have the right to be involved in the welfare and education of their children.&nbsp;</p><p>“Parents absolutely have a constitutionally protected right to direct the care of upbringing and control of their children, and they don’t shed those rights if they do choose to send their children to public schools,” Onishenko noted.</p><p>Tapia said she has received a “truly overwhelming” amount of support from people, locally and worldwide.</p><p>But in a statement shared with CNA, a spokesperson for the school district said the settlement “is not a win for Ms. Tapia but is in compromise of a disputed claim.”&nbsp;</p><p>“The district continues to deny any illegal action or discrimination against Ms. Tapia,” the statement continued. “As is clear from the settlement agreement, the district has not admitted any fault or wrongdoing against Ms. Tapia.”</p><p>Onishenko called it “a huge legal victory” in spite of this.&nbsp;</p><p>“The district did not claim liability when they entered into the settlement, but we still see this as a big legal victory,” Onishenko told CNA in a phone call. “It serves as a reminder to everybody that religious freedom is protected no matter what career you’re in or what job you’re in.”&nbsp;</p><p>“The settlement is just confirmation and a reminder that when teachers stand up for their rights or when anybody of faith stands up for their constitutional God-protected rights, they will be victorious when they stand up in faith … for the things that they believe in and stand up for the word of God,” she said.</p>
283. ]]></description>
284.        <category>US</category>
285.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 18:04:00 -0400</pubDate>
286.      </item>
287.    
288.      <item>
289.        <title><![CDATA[ Pope Francis says conservative critics have a ‘suicidal attitude’ ]]></title>
290.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257718/pope-francis-says-conservative-critics-have-a-suicidal-attitude</link>
291.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257718/pope-francis-says-conservative-critics-have-a-suicidal-attitude</guid>
292.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
293.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/popefrancis-cbsnewsexclusive-creditadamverdugo.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
294.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">In an interview with 60 Minutes&#039; Norah O&#039;Donnell, airing this Sunday, Pope Francis took aim at his “conservative critics” in the United States. / Credit: CBS News/Adam Verdugo</span>
295. </div>
296. <p>CNA Staff, May 16, 2024 / 16:58 pm (CNA).</p>
297. <p>In an interview with “60 Minutes” airing this Sunday, Pope Francis&nbsp;takes aim&nbsp;at his “conservative critics” in the United States, reportedly saying a conservative is someone who “clings to something and does not want to see beyond that.”</p><p>“It is a suicidal attitude,” the pope said as reported by “60 Minutes,” which released a brief clip of the upcoming interview conducted by CBS’ Nora O’Donnell.&nbsp;</p><p>“Because one thing is to take tradition into account, to consider situations from the past, but quite another is to be closed up inside a dogmatic box.”</p><div class="twitter-wrapper"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Pope addresses his conservative critics in the church.<br><br>"Conservative is one who clings to something and does not want to see beyond that. It is a suicidal attitude," says Pope Francis. This Sunday on 60 Minutes, the Pope sits down with <a href="https://twitter.com/NorahODonnell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NorahODonnell</a>. <a href="https://t.co/mEN4CWeXMW">https://t.co/mEN4CWeXMW</a> <a href="https://t.co/HPYgVm4kIp">pic.twitter.com/HPYgVm4kIp</a></p>— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) <a href="https://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1791188112518881684?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 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>Francis has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257094/pope-francis-takes-on-critics-in-autobiography-says-he-won-t-be-resigning" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">occasionally addressed criticism</a>&nbsp;leveled against him during his more than 10 years as pontiff,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255206/pope-francis-laments-when-ideology-replaces-faith-in-segment-of-us-catholics" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">saying in August 2023</a>&nbsp;that the U.S. Catholic Church is characterized by “a very strong reactionary attitude.” He has taken actions recently to limit the influence of some of his most prominent clerical critics in the U.S., reportedly taking some Vatican privileges from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256120/pope-francis-reportedly-takes-apartment-salary-from-cardinal-burke" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Cardinal Raymond Burke</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255986/breaking-pope-francis-relieves-strickland-of-his-duties-as-bishop-of-tyler" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">removing Bishop Joseph Strickland,</a>&nbsp;a frequent online critic of the pope, from his post as bishop of Tyler, Texas.&nbsp;</p><p>According to CBS, the pope in&nbsp;the recent&nbsp;interview “spoke candidly with O’Donnell about the wars in Israel and Gaza, Ukraine, and the migration crises around the world and on the U.S. southern border.”&nbsp;</p><p>“The wide-ranging conversation also touches upon the Church’s handling of its&nbsp;own&nbsp;sexual abuse scandals; Francis’ deep commitment to inclusiveness within the Church; the backlash against his papacy from certain corners of U.S. Catholicism; and an exploration of his thinking on surrogate parenthood,” the network&nbsp;<a href="https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-news-and-stations/shows/60-minutes/releases/?view=109826-60-minutes-listings-for-sunday-may-12-2023-24-season-finale" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">says</a>, adding that the interview marks “the first time a pope has given an in-depth, one-on-one interview to a U.S. broadcast network.”</p><p>The full interview, conducted&nbsp;April&nbsp;24, will air as part of “60 Minutes” on May 19 from 7-8 p.m. ET on CBS and will be available on Paramount+. More of the interview will air in an hourlong prime-time special on Monday, May 20, at 10 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.</p><p>The interview comes ahead of the first-ever World Children’s Day, May 25–26, a new initiative by Pope Francis sponsored by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education in collaboration with the Catholic community of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.santegidio.org/pageID/1/langID/en/HOME.html" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Sant’Egidio</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coopauxilium.it/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Auxilium Cooperative</a>, and the Italian Football Federation. The Vatican is expecting children from more than 100 countries to travel to Rome for the weekend event with the pope.</p>
298. ]]></description>
299.        <category>US</category>
300.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 16:58:00 -0400</pubDate>
301.      </item>
302.    
303.      <item>
304.        <title><![CDATA[ Pope Francis: Young people ‘can break the chains of antagonism’ between Catholics, Orthodox ]]></title>
305.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257716/pope-francis-says-young-people-can-break-the-chains-of-antagonism-between-catholics-and-orthodox</link>
306.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257716/pope-francis-says-young-people-can-break-the-chains-of-antagonism-between-catholics-and-orthodox</guid>
307.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
308.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/orthodox.meeting.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
309.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Pope Francis converses with Metropolitan Agathangelos, director general of the Apostolikí Diakonía of the Greek Orthodox Church, at the Vatican on May 16, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media</span>
310. </div>
311. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, May 16, 2024 / 16:18 pm (CNA).</p>
312. <p>Pope Francis has placed in young people his hope that Catholics and Orthodox may be “united in diversity” and “break the chains” of antagonism, misunderstanding, and prejudice that have kept them prisoners for centuries.</p><p>In <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/events/event.dir.html/content/vaticanevents/en/2024/5/16/collegio-apostoliki-diakonia.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a Thursday audience</a>, the Holy Father received the director-general of the Apostolikí Diakonía of the Orthodox Church of Greece, Metropolitan Agathangelos, and a delegation from the Theological College of Athens.</p><p>The <a href="https://apostoliki-diakonia.gr/en_main/profile/profile.asp#:~:text=Apostoliki%20Diakonia%20of%20the%20Church,N%23%2041%2F1936)." target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Apostolikí Diakonía</a> is the official publishing house and missionary arm of the Orthodox Christian Church of Greece. Since 1936 it has published hundreds of books on Christian theology and tradition, Orthodox spirituality, and biblical studies.</p><p>At the beginning of his talk given at the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude for the collaboration between Apostolikí Diakonía and the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity.</p><p>He also addressed a particular greeting to the archbishop of Athens and all Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos II, who was present at the audience and whom the pontiff described as “a man of deep faith and a wise pastor.”</p><p>Pope Francis highlighted that during these last 20 years, “despite times of difficulty, for example, the economic crisis in Greece and the pandemic,&nbsp;the Apostolikí Diakonía and the Catholic Committee for Cultural Collaboration have worked together in promoting projects of common interest on the cultural and educational level.”</p><p>He also stressed the need to provide cultural, theological, and ecumenical formation for new generations.</p><p>According to the Holy Father, “it is the young, sustained by the hope founded on faith, who can break the chains of antagonism, misunderstanding, and prejudice that for centuries held Catholics and Orthodox back from acknowledging one another as brothers and sisters, united in diversity and capable of bearing witness to the love of Christ, especially in a world so divided and riven by conflict.”</p><p>Pope Francis noted that next summer a group of Catholic students will be welcomed at the Theological College of Athens, where they will be “introduced to knowledge of the modern Greek language and the Orthodox Church.”</p><p>“By journeying together, working together, and praying together, we prepare ourselves to receive from God the gift of unity that, as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, will be a communion and harmony in legitimate diversity,” the Holy Father concluded.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104464/papa-francisco-los-jovenes-pueden-romper-cadenas-que-separan-a-catolicos-y-ortodoxos" 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>
313. ]]></description>
314.        <category>Vatican</category>
315.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 16:18:00 -0400</pubDate>
316.      </item>
317.    
318.      <item>
319.        <title><![CDATA[ Thomas Aquinas College goes off the grid with green power plan ]]></title>
320.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257713/thomas-aquinas-college-goes-off-the-grid-with-green-power-plan</link>
321.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257713/thomas-aquinas-college-goes-off-the-grid-with-green-power-plan</guid>
322.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
323.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/youngblood-kretschmer-and-kaiser.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
324.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Mark Kretschmer, vice president for operations at Thomas Aquinas College (TAC), pictured with Thomas Kaiser, a biologist and researcher, and Lawerence Youngblood, an electrical engineer and director of Brompton Energy. / Credit: Thomas Aquinas College</span>
325. </div>
326. <p>CNA Staff, May 16, 2024 / 15:24 pm (CNA).</p>
327. <p>A sequestered Catholic college in the foothills of California launched an energy program that has nearly eliminated the college’s carbon footprint while saving $600,000 a year, giving the school more reliable energy than the state power grid.&nbsp;</p><p>Thomas Aquinas College (TAC), a campus of more than 500 students, sits northwest of Los Angeles but offers something very different than the bustle and traffic of city life. Sitting on 845 acres, TAC’s discussion-based model of education is designed for a small, tight-knit community of students and “tutors,” who gather for class around round tables rather than desks.</p><p>“We are in the business of analytical thinking, of asking questions, of learning from and working with nature,” President Paul O’Reilly said of TAC in a May 7 <a href="https://www.thomasaquinas.edu/news/grid-california-campus-achieves-energy-independence" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">press release</a>. “And as a Catholic institution, we are very much in the business of shepherding our resources responsibly, partnering with our neighbors, and being good stewards of creation. Our new energy independence program reflects all these qualities.” </p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/energy-project-with-campus-in-the-background.jpg" class="img-fluid" alt="Thomas Aquinas College (TAC), a campus of more than 500 students, sits northwest of Los Angeles, but offers something very different than the bustle and traffic of city life. Credit: Thomas Aquinas College"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Thomas Aquinas College (TAC), a campus of more than 500 students, sits northwest of Los Angeles, but offers something very different than the bustle and traffic of city life. Credit: Thomas Aquinas College</figcaption></figure><p>After a wildfire encircled the California campus in 2017, TAC’s energy was forever altered. High winds had sparked a fire from a high-voltage power line, turning a spark into one of the worst fires in California state history.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Since the disaster, the state took precautions by cutting power whenever there were high winds, resulting in routine campus blackouts, while utility costs only increased.</p><p>Determined to avoid two acres of solar fields on campus, Senior Tutor Thomas Kaiser, a biologist and researcher, knew that solar panels would “despoil the campus,” but he thought he could work with the campus’ neighbor — an oil and gas field company.&nbsp;</p><p>Working with electrical engineer and Brompton Energy Director Lawerence Youngblood, the two determined that a contract for free natural gas would be “a very economical decision.”&nbsp;</p><p>The neighboring company, Carbon California, agreed to the proposal.&nbsp;</p><p>“We knew that providing the natural gas to TAC, free of charge, was the only way for the system to be economically feasible,” <a href="https://www.thomasaquinas.edu/news/grid-california-campus-achieves-energy-independence" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a> Jane Farkas, Carbon California’s vice president of land and regulatory affairs. “And we wanted to be a good neighbor.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Together, they found a way to reduce Carbon California’s flaring and generate efficient and green energy for the campus.&nbsp;</p><p>“We have a gas stream that comes out of the wells near the campus, and we’ve allowed the college to tap into that line,” Scott Price, president of Carbon California, said in the press release.</p><p>The college installed the Capstone turbine on the lower campus and adjusted the electrical infrastructure of the upper campus during last summer and the beginning of the fall.&nbsp;</p><p>“We had never done anything like this before,” Mark Kretschmer, TAC vice president for operations, said in the press release. “There’s no way we could have completed this project, let alone so quickly, were it not for the countless hours of technical support and manpower that Carbon California provided throughout the installation, and which it continues to provide as we work through all the engineering and technical challenges.”&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/energy-project-info-graphic.jpg" class="img-fluid" alt="A sequestered Catholic college in the foothills of California launched an energy program that has nearly eliminated the college’s carbon footprint while saving $600,000 a year, giving the school more reliable energy than the state power grid. Credit: Thomas Aquinas College"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">A sequestered Catholic college in the foothills of California launched an energy program that has nearly eliminated the college’s carbon footprint while saving $600,000 a year, giving the school more reliable energy than the state power grid. Credit: Thomas Aquinas College</figcaption></figure><p>While the high-capacity Tesla battery used in the project was obtained for free through a state government program, the turbine installation cost $4.5 million. But according to the college, the project will pay for itself within six years due to tax incentives and energy savings.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“According to the Air Quality Management District, the Capstone turbine uses the most recent, best available control technology on the market,” Youngblood said. “Rather than flaring at high emissions, we can burn gas using that turbine’s efficient combustion technology at much lower emissions.”&nbsp;</p><p>“This energy-management plan and technology portfolio will put the college on such a high level that it will lead other universities throughout the United States,” Youngblood added.&nbsp;</p><p>Youngblood hopes to develop a similar system at TAC’s recently established <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256378/catholic-higher-ed-in-2023-3-universities-who-thrived-and-1-who-decided-to-close-its-doors" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">New England campus</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>“Why can’t TAC — which leads the way in Catholic liberal education — not also be the leader in implementing green technology as good stewards of God’s creation?” he noted.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“While the college is not in the business of technological innovation, this sort of innovation flows naturally from what we do,” O’Reilly added.</p>
328. ]]></description>
329.        <category>US</category>
330.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 15:24:00 -0400</pubDate>
331.      </item>
332.    
333.      <item>
334.        <title><![CDATA[ Pro-lifers imprisoned under FACE Act speak out ]]></title>
335.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257714/pro-lifers-imprisoned-under-face-act-speak-out</link>
336.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257714/pro-lifers-imprisoned-under-face-act-speak-out</guid>
337.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
338.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/dc-babies-clinic-entrance.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
339.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Washington Surgi-Clinic on F St. NW in Washington, D.C., on April 7, 2022. / Credit: Katie Yoder/CNA</span>
340. </div>
341. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 16, 2024 / 14:48 pm (CNA).</p>
342. <p>After seven pro-life activists were sentenced to years in prison for a “rescue” attempt at a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic, some of the activists are now speaking out.&nbsp;</p><p>Joan Andrews Bell, a 76-year-old Catholic and pro-life activist who was sentenced to two years and three months in prison, shared a statement in which she vowed to continue advocating for the unborn and called on others to join her in prayer.&nbsp;</p><p>“The rougher it gets for us the more we can rejoice that we are succeeding; no longer are we being treated so much as the privileged born, but as the discriminated against conceived child,” Bell said in a statement obtained by CNA. “We do not expect justice in the courts. Furthermore, we do not seek it for ourselves when it is being denied [to] our beloved brothers and sisters.”</p><p>She said that she views her prison sentence as “a time of prayer and reparation” for “the sin of abortion in America.”</p><p>“God’s timing is perfect,” she concluded. “I may not see any fruits of these simple prayers and acts, but the Lord of all will do what is best. Please pray and do what God wants you to do.”</p><h2>What is happening?&nbsp;</h2><p>Bell and six other pro-lifers were sentenced this week for felony crimes involving conspiracy against rights and violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, also known as the FACE Act.&nbsp;</p><p>Signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, the FACE Act prohibits obstructing access to or destruction of abortion clinics, pregnancy centers, or church property. The law has been criticized by several lawmakers for being unevenly applied against pro-life activists.</p><p>The activists sentenced to prison this week are Bell, Lauren Handy, 30, John Hinshaw, 69, William Goodman, 54, Herb Geraghty, 27, Jonathan Darnel, 42, and Jean Marshall, 74. The sentences were given by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.&nbsp;</p><p>According to the Department of Justice, the seven activists engaged in a conspiracy to create a blockade of the Washington Surgi-Clinic operated by Dr. Cesare Santangelo, an abortionist who has been accused of infanticide.</p><h2>What are the imprisoned pro-lifers saying?&nbsp;</h2><p>Handy, who is the director of activism at the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU), received the harshest sentence, four years and nine months, because of her role as the demonstration’s organizer.</p><p>Following her sentencing, Handy also vowed to continue her pro-life activism,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/PAAUNOW/status/1791146360860737852" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">saying</a>: “I reject the use of fear and shame from outside and inside forces as a means to hold us back from loving preborn people as our equals. I reject calls to temper passionate responses to egregious acts of violence.”</p><p>“I embrace courage over comfort and right over easy. I embrace the uncertainty in a future full of hope. I embrace tenderness, joy, and love for my preborn neighbors,” Handy continued.</p><p>Hinshaw, 69, who has been sentenced to one year and nine months in prison, also issued a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/LilaGraceRose/status/1790450281244963124" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">statement in which</a>&nbsp;he referenced “the D.C. five,” five late-term babies whose mutilated bodies were found by PAAU outside the Washington Surgi-Clinic.&nbsp;</p><p>He asked why his granddaughter who was born at 32 weeks could be treasured while babies at the same stage are killed and left in the trash.&nbsp;</p><p>“There is a reason why today’s Gospel reading is to lay down one’s life for his friends. This is not a coincidence,” he went on. “I stand convicted, though guiltless. I take on the guilt of this judge. Accept my love for you, judge, as expiation for your guilt.”</p><h2>‘A type of Lent’</h2><p>Chris Bell, Joan Andrews Bell’s husband of 32 years, told CNA that he has not been able to see his wife since she was convicted and imprisoned in August 2023.&nbsp;</p><p>According to Chris, while incarcerated at the Alexandria Detention Center in Northern Virginia, Joan has been kept away from her family. He said that despite her imprisonment, she is in “very good” spirits and is viewing her sentence as “a type of Lent.”&nbsp;</p><p>Now that she has been sentenced, he expects she will be moved to another prison, but he has no idea where she will be sent. In the meantime, he said that her entire family is offering up their suffering for the unborn alongside her.&nbsp;</p><p>“We have seven children, seven born grandchildren, and one grandchild about to be born. They are all deeply missing her,” he explained. “It’s really hard to know that your mother, your grandmother is in prison because she did something good. It’s just hard to know that she is separated from them. So, it’s hard. That’s part of our offering up to God.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Chris Bell said they are praying not only for the unborn but also for the judge, the abortionist, and all those advancing a pro-abortion agenda.&nbsp;</p><p>“She knows that she’s doing this for our sins and the sins of abortion, so that keeps her focused and allows her to, even in this predicament, find God’s will and feel supported by that,” he explained.&nbsp;</p><p>“When you’re doing God’s will, no matter how difficult the circumstances are, you find a deep peace. It can be challenging, but there’s a deep peace.”&nbsp;</p>
343. ]]></description>
344.        <category>US</category>
345.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 14:48:00 -0400</pubDate>
346.      </item>
347.    
348.      <item>
349.        <title><![CDATA[ Cardinal Pizzaballa visits Gaza in show of support, solidarity with ‘suffering population’ ]]></title>
350.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257712/cardinal-pizzaballa-visits-gaza-in-show-of-support-solidarity-with-suffering-population</link>
351.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257712/cardinal-pizzaballa-visits-gaza-in-show-of-support-solidarity-with-suffering-population</guid>
352.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
353.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/cardinalpizzaballa050124.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
354.  <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>
355. </div>
356. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 16, 2024 / 13:48 pm (CNA).</p>
357. <p>Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa on Wednesday visited Holy Family Parish in Gaza, with the prelate making the trip for the first time since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in a show of solidarity and support for the small but resilient community.</p><p>Pizzaballa “entered Gaza and reached the Parish of the Holy Family for a pastoral visit,” said a <a href="https://www.lpj.org/en/news/press-release-of-the-latin-patriarchate-of-jerusalem-1" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">press release</a> issued by the patriarchate on Thursday.</p><p>Pizzaballa was joined by a small delegation composed of Fra’ Alessandro de Franciscis, the grand hospitaller of the Sovereign Order of Malta, as well as Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of Holy Family Church.&nbsp;</p><p>The clergy traveled to meet “the suffering population” and to bring a message of “hope, solidarity, and support,” the statement added.&nbsp;</p><p>“The purpose of my visit first of all was to be with them, to embrace them,” Pizzaballa said in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfVc_IaKf0k" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">video message</a> published on Thursday by the patriarchate.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>He added that the visit was made in order to “to verify their conditions” and “to see what we can do to improve their conditions.”</p><p>During his visit, the cardinal celebrated Mass and paid a visit to the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrius in Gaza City, where 18 Palestinians lost their lives in an Oct. 18, 2023, Israeli <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255781/latin-patriarch-of-jerusalem-mourns-18-dead-in-gaza-christian-church-bombing" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">missile strike</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>“The visit is also the first stage of a joint humanitarian mission of the Latin Patriarchate and the Sovereign Order of Malta, in collaboration with Malteser International and other partners, aiming at the delivery of lifesaving food and medical help to the population in Gaza,” the patriarchate said.&nbsp;</p><p>A <a href="https://www.orderofmalta.int/news/latin-patriarchate-of-jerusalem-and-sovereign-order-of-malta-deliver-humanitarian-aid-in-gaza/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">statement</a> issued by the Order of Malta on Thursday noted that “a memorandum of understanding establishing the joint mission was signed between the parties on May 14.”</p><p>Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last October, Holy Family Parish — the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip — has played a crucial role in providing spiritual and humanitarian support to the local war-torn population.</p><p>Hundreds of Palestinians <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256192/these-are-very-hard-times-pastor-of-gaza-catholic-church-gives-update-on-christian-s-plight" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">have taken refuge</a> in the church since the war began.</p><p>On Dec. 16, 2023, two women <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256306/idf-denies-responsibility-for-killing-of-palestinian-christians" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">were killed</a> outside the parish, which the patriarchate attributed to an Israeli sniper. The Israeli Defense Forces denied responsibility for the attack.</p>
358. ]]></description>
359.        <category>Middle East - Africa</category>
360.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 13:48:00 -0400</pubDate>
361.      </item>
362.    
363.      <item>
364.        <title><![CDATA[ Slovak bishops call for peace after assassination attempt on prime minister ]]></title>
365.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257710/slovak-bishops-call-for-peace-after-assassination-attempt-on-prime-minister</link>
366.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257710/slovak-bishops-call-for-peace-after-assassination-attempt-on-prime-minister</guid>
367.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
368.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/bober.jpeg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
369.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Archbishop Bernard Bober of Košice, chairman of the Slovak Bishops’ Conference, expressed deep regret over the violent incident and condemned what authorities are now treating as an act of attempted murder. / Credit: Marek Mucha/Slovakian Bishops’ Conference</span>
370. </div>
371. <p>CNA Newsroom, May 16, 2024 / 13:24 pm (CNA).</p>
372. <p>Following the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday, Slovakian bishops have called for peace and unity.</p><p>“We must actively work for peace,” Archbishop Bernard Bober of Košice, chairman of the Slovak Bishops’ Conference, said in a <a href="https://www.tkkbs.sk/view.php?cisloclanku=20240515022" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">statement</a> on May 15.</p><p>“It is important that we respect each other and strengthen the good in each of us,” he said, calling on the public to reject all forms of violence and promote the good in people instead.</p><p>Bober expressed his deep regret over the violent incident and condemned what authorities are now treating as an act of attempted murder.</p><p>The gunman was described as a “lone wolf” who acted out of political hatred against Fico, Slovak news agency SITA <a href="https://sita.sk/kto-je-juraj-cintula-atentatnik-na-fica-v-minulosti-bol-aj-tercom-utoku-a-jeho-sused-ho-pozna-ako-dobreho-cloveka/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">reported</a>. The attacker expressed his dissatisfaction with government policy in a video published online before the assassination attempt. He now faces attempted murder charges and life in prison.</p><p>On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak said Fico’s condition was still severe and that it was too early to tell if he would recover, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/slovak-government-meet-following-assasination-attempt-pm-2024-05-16/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">reported</a>.</p><p>Bober said in his statement: “I wish the prime minister a speedy recovery and ask the faithful to pray for peace in our homeland and for all citizens of the Slovak Republic,” Bober said in his statement.&nbsp;</p><p>Archbishop Stanislav Zvolensky of Bratislava posted a statement on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bratislavskaarcidieceza/posts/pfbid0P895AY74xZFeD5vXW7XGeG4aJNFzar2JxhnavK1Q6cRSn9rejM21RsaT2rjxscsVl" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">social media</a> expressing his prayer for Fico’s recovery and healing.</p><p>The statement stressed that Zvolensky was appalled by the tragic incident and announced that the archbishop would celebrate Mass at the country’s <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/pope-francis-in-slovakia-our-lady-of-sorrows-teaches-us-compassion-for-the-suffering" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">national shrine in Šaštín</a>.</p><p>The basilica in Šaštín was built to honor the image of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, a figure so important to the people of Slovakia that Pope Pius XI declared her the country’s patroness in 1927.</p><p>The assassination attempt on 59-year-old Fico — who was raised and has described himself as Catholic — has shaken the Catholic-majority country <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248959/pope-francis-urges-slovakia-to-follow-the-beatitudes-to-build-a-just-society" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">visited by Pope Francis</a> in 2021.&nbsp;</p><p>The prayers and appeals from Slovakian prelates come at a critical time for the country — and wider Europe: The assassination attempt on Fico represents the first public assassination attempt on a European politician in more than 20 years.</p><p>The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, told journalists in an initial reaction on May 15 that he was “truly concerned about what has happened.” Parolin pointed to an apparent increase in politically motivated violence.</p><p>Slovakia’s President-elect, Peter Pellegrini, called on political parties to tone down their campaigning before next month’s European Parliament elections, reported <a href="https://de.catholicnewsagency.com/news/15759/anschlag-auf-slowakischen-regierungschef-robert-fico-erzbischofe-rufen-zum-gebet-auf" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CNA Deutsch</a>, CNA’s German-language news partner.</p>
373. ]]></description>
374.        <category>Europe</category>
375.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 13:24:00 -0400</pubDate>
376.      </item>
377.    
378.      <item>
379.        <title><![CDATA[ Court says Maryland parents have no right to opt out of LGBTQ curriculum ]]></title>
380.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257709/court-says-maryland-parents-have-no-right-to-opt-out-of-lgbtq-curriculum</link>
381.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257709/court-says-maryland-parents-have-no-right-to-opt-out-of-lgbtq-curriculum</guid>
382.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
383.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/religiousfreedominstitute1.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
384.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Parental and religious freedom rights advocates, including a group of Muslim parents, on June 6, 2023, protest a Maryland school system policy that removes parents’ authority to opt their children out of homosexual and transgender coursework. / Credit: The Religious Freedom Institute</span>
385. </div>
386. <p>CNA Staff, May 16, 2024 / 12:49 pm (CNA).</p>
387. <p>A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that parents in Maryland have no right to be informed when their children are being instructed with LGBTQ materials or to opt their children out of that instruction.&nbsp;</p><p>The legal advocacy group Becket Law, which is representing the parents challenging the Montgomery County Board of Education,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.becketlaw.org/case/mahmoud-v-mcknight/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said on Wednesday</a>&nbsp;that the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling.</p><p>The firms said the ruling means that parents of children enrolled at Montgomery County Public Schools “have no right to be notified or opt their kids out of” materials that teach transgenderism and other sexual ideologies.</p><p>Becket, which specializes in religious freedom cases, said the parents had objected to their children being exposed to books that included materials that “champion pride parades, gender transitioning, and pronoun preferences for children.”&nbsp;</p><p>Other books reportedly asked children to locate words such as “underwear” and “leather,” and to explore topics such as “nonbinary” identities, in which individuals believe themselves to be neither male nor female.&nbsp;</p><p>The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland had&nbsp;<a href="https://becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20230824190313/2023-08-24-59-Opinion-and-Order.pdf" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">originally ruled against the parents</a>&nbsp;in August of last year, arguing in part that the parents “are not pressured into violating their religious beliefs&nbsp;in order to&nbsp;obtain the benefits of a public education.”</p><p>The appeals court on Wednesday similarly held, in a divided 2-1 ruling, that the plaintiffs “have not shown a cognizable burden” to the free exercise of their religion.&nbsp;</p><p>There is “no evidence at present that the board’s decision not to permit opt-outs compels the parents or their children to change their religious beliefs or conduct, either at school or elsewhere,” the court argued.&nbsp;</p><p>The plaintiffs did not provide evidence that they have “been asked to affirm views contrary to their views on gender or sexuality, to disavow views on these matters that their religion espouses, or otherwise affirmatively act in violation of their religious belief,” the ruling said.&nbsp;</p><p>Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said in a statement after the ruling that the court “told thousands of Maryland parents they have no say in what their children are taught in public schools.”&nbsp;</p><p>“That runs contrary to the First Amendment, Maryland law, the school board’s&nbsp;own&nbsp;policies, and basic human decency,” Baxter argued.&nbsp;</p><p>“Parents should have the right to receive notice and opt their children out of classroom material that violates their faith,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>Becket will appeal the ruling, Baxter said.</p><p>The controversy has united a broad coalition of primarily Muslim, Catholic, and Ethiopian Orthodox Christian parents against the county board of education’s policy.&nbsp;</p><p>Last August, ahead of the district court’s ruling, dozens of parents from various religious faiths&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255061/muslim-catholic-and-orthodox-parents-rally-outside-courthouse-for-maryland-students-religious-rights" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">rallied outside the Montgomery County federal courthouse</a>&nbsp;in support of the plaintiffs.&nbsp;</p><p>William Haun, senior counsel at Becket, told CNA at the time that “the point of this lawsuit is to restore the ability to give parents notice and&nbsp;opt out.” The school board originally scrapped the opt-out option in March 2023.</p><p>“The school board just took [the opt out] away without any public explanation,” Haun said. “The First Amendment protects against arbitrary power, and it protects the right of parents to direct their children’s religious upbringing.”</p>
388. ]]></description>
389.        <category>US</category>
390.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 12:49:00 -0400</pubDate>
391.      </item>
392.    
393.      <item>
394.        <title><![CDATA[ Lawmakers renew calls to repeal the FACE Act ]]></title>
395.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257708/lawmakers-renew-calls-to-repeal-the-face-act</link>
396.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257708/lawmakers-renew-calls-to-repeal-the-face-act</guid>
397.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
398.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/img-0796.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
399.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">PAAU activists hold a rally outside Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, D.C., May 4, 2022. / Credit: Katie Yoder/CNA</span>
400. </div>
401. <p>Washington D.C., May 16, 2024 / 12:19 pm (CNA).</p>
402. <p>As seven pro-lifers were sentenced to years in prison for their efforts to rescue unborn babies from a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic, several lawmakers renewed their calls to repeal the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.&nbsp;</p><p>Lawmakers are claiming that the FACE Act, which was used to convict and sentence the pro-life activists, is being abused by the Biden Department of Justice to target and punish pro-lifers.&nbsp;</p><p>Here is what’s going on in the pro-life fight this week.&nbsp;</p><h2>‘Biden’s two-tiered justice system’&nbsp;</h2><p>After pro-life activist Lauren Handy and several other pro-lifers were sentenced to years in prison this week under the FACE Act, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, called for the measure to be repealed, saying: “It’s time to pull the plug on Biden’s two-tiered justice system.”&nbsp;</p><p>Signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, the FACE Act prohibits obstructing access to or destruction of abortion clinics, pregnancy centers, or church property. The law has been criticized by several lawmakers for being unevenly applied against pro-life activists.</p><p>Roy urged House and Senate Republicans to advance a bill he co-sponsored with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, that would repeal the FACE Act.&nbsp;</p><p>“Today’s outrageous 57-month sentence for a progressive pro-life activist is a stark reminder: Biden’s DOJ is fully weaponized against pro-life American citizens, and they are using the FACE Act to do it,” Roy said.</p><div class="twitter-wrapper"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The FACE Act is one of the Biden DOJ’s favorite weaponization tools. <a href="https://twitter.com/HouseGOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HouseGOP</a> should take up Rep. Roy’s bill to REPEAL the FACE Act immediately and rein in Biden’s weaponized justice scheme. <a href="https://t.co/LMiBWv5ah7">https://t.co/LMiBWv5ah7</a></p>— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepChipRoy/status/1790434129508491640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 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>Meanwhile, Lee said that “unequal enforcement of the law is a violation of the law, and men and women who try to expose the horrors of abortion are being unjustly persecuted for their motivations.”&nbsp;</p><p>“The Biden administration is using the FACE Act to give pro-life activists and senior citizens lengthy prison terms for nonviolent offenses and protests — all while turning a blind eye to the violence, arson, and riots conducted on behalf of ‘approved’ leftist causes,” Lee told the Daily Signal.&nbsp;</p><p>Martin Cannon, an attorney with the Thomas More Society, which represented Handy, told CNA that the Biden DOJ’s “overreach” through the FACE Act will likely “galvanize the pro-life world” and motivate lawmakers to repeal the measure.</p><p>Handy received an almost-five-year sentence for being the organizer of the Washington demonstration. In addition to Handy, six other pro-lifers — John Hinshaw, 69, William Goodman, 54, Herb Geraghty, 27, Jonathan Darnel, 42, Jean Marshall, 74, and Joan Bell, 76 — also received FACE Act sentences ranging from 10 months to over two years.&nbsp;</p><h2>Arizona Supreme Court blocks law protecting life </h2><p>The Supreme Court of Arizona on Monday issued a 90-day block on enforcement of the state’s law protecting life at conception.&nbsp;</p><p>This comes after Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill to repeal the pro-life measure on May 2. Though the repeal bill was signed into law it will not take effect until 90 days after the Arizona legislative session ends.&nbsp;</p><p>Dormant since being invalidated by Roe v. Wade in 1973, the pro-life law was originally passed in 1864. The measure protects all unborn life from conception and imposes prison time for those who “provide, supply, or administer” an abortion.&nbsp;</p><p>On April 8, the Arizona high court ruled that since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision, there were no legal reasons to keep the law from being enforced.</p><p>A new <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256377/here-s-every-state-where-abortion-is-on-the-ballot-in-2024" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">constitutional amendment</a> guaranteeing a right to abortion will likely be on the ballot in Arizona this November.</p><h2>Telehealth abortions now account for 1 in 5 abortions</h2><p>A new “We Count Report” by the Society of Family Planning found that telehealth abortions accounted for nearly 1 in 5 U.S. abortions toward the end of 2023.&nbsp;</p><p>A telehealth abortion is a chemical abortion administered remotely through an online appointment.&nbsp;</p><p>With an average of 17,000 telehealth abortions per month October through December, the study found that this type of abortion represented 18% of all abortions in October 2023, 19% in November, and 19% in December.</p><p>According to the Society of Family Planning, there were an average of 5,800 telehealth abortions per month in states with laws protecting unborn babies at all stages or starting at six weeks. The Society of Family Planning said that the abortions were enabled by abortion “shield laws” protecting providers from prosecution for providing chemical abortion in states where it is prohibited or restricted.&nbsp;</p><p>This follows another Guttmacher Institute report finding that chemical abortions now account for 63% of all U.S. abortions.&nbsp;</p><h2>Louisiana may declare abortion pills ‘controlled dangerous substances’&nbsp;</h2><p>The Louisiana House advanced a bill to increase criminal penalties for forcing or coercing women to take abortion pills. The House also added an amendment to declare abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol “controlled dangerous substances” under the state’s Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law.&nbsp;</p><p>The bill has already been passed by the state Senate and is set for debate on the House floor on May 20.&nbsp;</p><p>Louisiana protects unborn life at all stages of pregnancy through laws banning surgical and chemical abortion. Louisiana allows exceptions for abortion in cases when the mother’s life or health is at risk and when the unborn child is not expected to survive the pregnancy.&nbsp;</p>
403. ]]></description>
404.        <category>US</category>
405.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 12:19:00 -0400</pubDate>
406.      </item>
407.    
408.      <item>
409.        <title><![CDATA[ Italian actor Roberto Benigni to join Pope Francis for World Children’s Day ]]></title>
410.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257707/italian-actor-roberto-benigni-to-join-pope-francis-for-world-childrens-day</link>
411.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257707/italian-actor-roberto-benigni-to-join-pope-francis-for-world-childrens-day</guid>
412.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
413.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/sfo2307.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
414.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Pope Francis meets with Italian actor Roberto Benigni on Dec. 7, 2022. / Credit: Vatican Media</span>
415. </div>
416. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 16, 2024 / 11:49 am (CNA).</p>
417. <p>Pope Francis will be joined by Italian actor Roberto Benigni and soccer star Gianluigi Buffon as the pontiff celebrates World Children’s Day over the last weekend in May.</p><p>The Vatican announced on Thursday that <a href="https://www.worldchildrenday.org/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">World Children’s Day</a> will “kick off” on Saturday, May 25, at 3:30 p.m. with a soccer match between kids and professional soccer players in Rome’s Olympic Stadium led by Buffon, the goalie who helped Italy achieve victory in the 2006 World Cup.</p><p>On the second day of the event, Benigni, best known for his Oscar-winning film “Life Is Beautiful,” will give a short speech at the end of Pope Francis’ Mass and Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, May 26.&nbsp;</p><p>World Children’s Day is a new initiative by Pope Francis sponsored by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education in collaboration with the Catholic community of <a href="https://www.santegidio.org/pageID/1/langID/en/HOME.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Sant’Egidio</a>, the <a href="https://www.coopauxilium.it/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Auxilium Cooperative</a>, and the Italian Football Federation.&nbsp;</p><p>The Vatican is expecting children from more than 100 countries to travel to Rome for the weekend event with the pope.</p><p>When Pope Francis first announced the establishment of World Children’s Day in December 2023, he said: “Like Jesus, we want to put children at the center and care for them.”</p><p>According to Vatican News, Pope Francis was inspired to create World Children’s Day by a 9-year-old boy named Alessandro who proposed the idea to the pope to have an international event like World Youth Day (an international gathering for young people ages 16 to 35) for younger children.</p><p>The two-day event will culminate with Mass for the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity with the pope in St. Peter’s Square at 10:30 a.m. on May 26.</p><p>Franciscan Father Enzo Fortunato is organizing World Children’s Day for the Vatican. He said the goal is to “look at the world through the eyes of children, who are the hope of the people, their future.”</p><p>“I publicly thank Roberto Benigni and all those who have decided to work and donate their time and talent to children all over the world,” he added.</p>
418. ]]></description>
419.        <category>Vatican</category>
420.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 11:49:00 -0400</pubDate>
421.      </item>
422.    
423.      <item>
424.        <title><![CDATA[ Chiara Corbella’s beatification cause to take a step forward in June ]]></title>
425.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257705/chiara-corbella-s-beatification-cause-to-take-a-step-forward-in-june</link>
426.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257705/chiara-corbella-s-beatification-cause-to-take-a-step-forward-in-june</guid>
427.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
428.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/images/Servant_of_God_Chiara_Corbella_Petrillo_Photo_Courtesy_of_Christian_Gennari_wwwchiaracorbellapetrilloit_CNA_7_18_18_2.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
429.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Servant of God Chiara Corbella Petrillo. / Credit: Christian Gennari/chiaracorbellapetrillo.it</span>
430. </div>
431. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 16, 2024 / 10:08 am (CNA).</p>
432. <p>Servant of God Chiara Corbella Petrillo, the joyful young mother who died of cancer in 2012, will be one step closer next month to being declared a saint.</p><p>The Diocese of Rome announced Wednesday that it will hold the closing session of the diocesan phase of her cause for beatification on Friday, June 21, at noon in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.</p><p>Since her death at the age of 28, Corbella has inspired many by her witness to faith and joy amid suffering and loss.</p><p>Corbella met her husband, Enrico Petrillo, at the age of 18 while on a pilgrimage to Međugorje. They married six years later in Assisi on Sept. 21, 2008.&nbsp;</p><p>Within the first two years of their marriage, Chiara and Enrico suffered the death of two children, both of whom died less than an hour after birth.</p><p>Their first child, Maria Grazia Letizia, was diagnosed in utero with anencephaly, a serious birth defect in which a baby is born without parts of the brain or skull. Chiara chose to carry the baby to term and her daughter lived just long enough to be baptized in the hospital, dying within a half hour of her birth in June 2009.</p><p>During her second pregnancy, ultrasounds revealed that her son had no legs or kidneys. Baby Davide Giovanni died in June 2010 after living for 38 minutes.&nbsp;</p><p>The couple chose to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbHpCJ8AfUY" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">share their testimony</a> about the few minutes that they were able to spend with their children at pro-life events in Italy. They also underwent genetic testing that revealed no pathological risk to their future children.</p><p>“The Lord gave us two special children: Maria Grazia Letizia and Davide Giovanni, but he asked us to accompany them only until their birth. He gave us the opportunity to embrace them, have them baptized, and then entrust them into the hands of the Father, all with a peace and joy that we had never experienced before,” Chiara recounted.</p><p>Corbella became pregnant for a third time with their son Francesco in 2010 and ultrasounds showed that he was in perfect health. The joyful news was short-lived as Chiara was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors removed a tumor on her tongue that turned out to be cancerous.</p><p>Chiara rejected any form of treatment that posed a risk to her unborn son, prioritizing his life over her own. Her healthy baby boy was born on May 30, 2011.</p><p>As the cancer metastasized, it became difficult for Chiara to speak and see clearly. A photo of her wearing an eye patch with a big smile was taken in April 2012, less than two weeks after she learned that her condition was terminal. She prepared for death by receiving the Blessed Sacrament daily.&nbsp;</p><p>In a letter that Chiara wrote to their son Francesco, she recalled the line from the Gospel: “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”</p><p>Her husband, Enrico, has recounted how he asked Chiara about this not long before she died. He shared her response in a speech in St. Peter’s Square in 2016.&nbsp;</p><p>“I asked her: ‘Chiara, is this cross really sweet like the Lord says?’ She smiled at me, and with a frail voice replied: ‘Yes, Enrico. It is very sweet.’”</p><p>Chiara died on June 13, 2012, at home in her wedding gown, surrounded by her family and friends, one year after her son was born.</p><p>Corbella’s cause for canonization was announced on June 13, 2017, the fifth anniversary of her death.</p><p>Her parents were invited to tell her story at the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon, where they shared that Corbella’s son Francesco is 11 years old and inspired by his mother’s witness.</p><p>With the closing of the diocesan investigation into Corbella’s life, virtues, and sanctity, the documented testimonies and other materials for her cause for beatification will be sealed and sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints for further scrutiny.</p><p>The next step in the process will be for the pope to recognize her as someone who lived a life of heroic virtue and declare her venerable.&nbsp;</p><p>Corbella will need two miracles attributed to her intercession to be declared a saint.&nbsp;</p>
433. ]]></description>
434.        <category>Vatican</category>
435.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 10:08:00 -0400</pubDate>
436.      </item>
437.    
438.      <item>
439.        <title><![CDATA[ Hallow Summit strives to ‘facilitate an encounter with the Lord’ ]]></title>
440.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257691/hallow-summit-strives-to-facilitate-an-encounter-with-the-lord</link>
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442.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
443.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/hallowsummit3.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
444.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Attendees at the first Hallow Summit in 2022. / Credit: Hallow</span>
445. </div>
446. <p>CNA Staff, May 16, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).</p>
447. <p>The popular Catholic prayer and meditation app Hallow recently announced its third annual <a href="https://try.hallow.com/summit-2024" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Hallow Summit</a>, which brings the platform’s digital community together for an in-person encounter with the Lord.</p><p>This year’s summit will take place Aug. 2–4 at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. Attendees will take part in prayer and worship, Mass, Eucharistic adoration, confession, and listen to Q&amp;As and talks from speakers including Jeff Cavins, Dr. Scott Hahn, Matt and Cameron Fradd, Chika Anyanwu, Jonathan Roumie, and more.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/hallowsummit1.jpg" class="img-fluid" alt="Attendees at the first Hallow Summit in 2022. Credit: Hallow"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Attendees at the first Hallow Summit in 2022. Credit: Hallow</figcaption></figure><p>Bryan Enriquez, head of customer operations and founding team member of Hallow, told CNA in an interview that the first Hallow Summit, which took place in 2022, was launched as a test.&nbsp;</p><p>“Up until that point, we had just focused on the digital experience of the Hallow app,” he said. “We had no idea if that would translate into an ability for us to host a high quality in-person experience.”</p><p>He noted that upon his own reflection, he realized that “some of my most powerful spiritual experiences had happened at retreats or conferences,” adding: “There is something special about a ‘mountaintop’ experience that jolts you out of your routine and creates an opportunity to draw closer to God with a new way of seeing the world.”</p><p>“I wanted to create an experience that combined the mountaintop experience with a practical roadmap for how to continue to engage with God after the event was over. Thus, the Hallow Summit was born.”</p><p>The theme for this year’s Hallow Summit is “Prayer and Surrender.”</p><p>Enriquez shared that the team wants participants to “reflect on the power of surrendering ourselves to the will of God.”&nbsp;</p><p>“This is not easy and in our culture surrender has a negative connotation,” he added. “However, after our Lenten reflection on ‘He Leadeth Me’ by Father Walter Ciszek, we saw that this idea resonates with a lot of people.”</p><p>“We want attendees to have an encounter with Christ so that the Lord can reveal what parts of their hearts need his healing. The way to do this is through prayer and meditation. Our job is to provide an atmosphere that is conducive to this.”</p><p>He emphasized that the whole point of the summit is to “facilitate an encounter with the Lord.”</p><p>“One way we do that is by pairing talks with experiences. We don’t just have keynote addresses where someone talks at you for an hour,” he explained. “Instead, our keynotes combine talking with doing. We pair them with a spiritual exercise such as lectio divina or the examen to emphasize how accessible and powerful these techniques are.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/hallowsummit2.jpg" class="img-fluid" alt="Alex Jones, CEO and co-founder of Hallow, speaks at the Hallow Summit in 2022. Credit: Hallow"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Alex Jones, CEO and co-founder of Hallow, speaks at the Hallow Summit in 2022. Credit: Hallow</figcaption></figure><p>While the atmosphere at previous summits has always been joy-filled, Enriquez pointed out that there is also “an energy of Christ-centered fellowship,” which he believes is part of Hallow’s brand.</p><p>“We are known for being approachable yet profound, and I think that translates into the experiences we host in person as well,” he expressed. “We don’t water down our content but we don’t want to turn anyone away from experiencing the power of prayer.”</p>
448. ]]></description>
449.        <category>US</category>
450.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
451.      </item>
452.    
453.      <item>
454.        <title><![CDATA[ Beacon of faith: Lebanese town builds giant floating rosary at sea ]]></title>
455.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257687/beacon-of-faith-lebanese-town-builds-giant-floating-rosary-at-sea</link>
456.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257687/beacon-of-faith-lebanese-town-builds-giant-floating-rosary-at-sea</guid>
457.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
458.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/79a895a7-f053-4c68-8ad9-b7fbca8f80c5.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
459.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, Lebanon, built the world&#039;s largest rosary on the ocean. With the help of family and friends, his vision took shape and was launched on May 11, 2024, during the feast of Our Lady of the Seas. / Credit: Joe Abdel Sater</span>
460. </div>
461. <p>ACI MENA, May 16, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).</p>
462. <p>A Lebanese Catholic man has created a giant rosary that floats upon the Mediterranean waves. </p><p>Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, built the world’s largest rosary on the ocean on May 11 — with the help of family and friends — on the feast of Our Lady of the Seas.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/397c4f1b-4575-4cf2-8db4-c756dbdf2da6.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, Lebanon, built the world's largest rosary on the ocean. With the help of family and friends, his vision took shape and was launched on May 11, 2024, during the feast of Our Lady of the Seas. Credit: Joe Abdel Sater"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, Lebanon, built the world's largest rosary on the ocean. With the help of family and friends, his vision took shape and was launched on May 11, 2024, during the feast of Our Lady of the Seas. Credit: Joe Abdel Sater</figcaption></figure><p>The idea came to Abdel Sater during his daily contemplation of the sea. </p><p>For six months, he perceived the outlining of rosary beads on the water’s surface. Compelled to make this vision a reality, he received blessings from the local parish priest, Father Ferez Tawk, and from the mayor. However, executing such an ambitious undertaking was no easy feat.</p><p>“For a month, I puzzled over what materials to use — wood or foam?” Abdel Sater recalled. “How could I secure the rosary’s shape against the shifting currents?” But, as he put it, “divine providence facilitated things.”</p><h2>An illuminated icon on the waves</h2><p>Stretching 100 meters (about 330 feet) across the water, the finished rosary is comprised of white plastic gallon jugs representing the Hail Mary beads and larger blue ones for the Our Father prayers. The cross is made of wood.</p><p>“I dove down and tied the beads with rope, anchoring them to the rocks below,” Abdel Sater explained to ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. “So despite the changing tides, the rosary’s form remained intact.” </p><p>Outfitted with lights, the installation casts a luminous glow at night.</p><p>Though forced to temporarily move it ashore due to rough waters, Abdel Sater hopes to soon re-float his unprecedented creation, which he has submitted for inclusion into the Guinness Book of World Records.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/9672ee70-b413-4a1e-badf-00673553a4b5.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, Lebanon, built the world's largest rosary on the ocean. With the help of family and friends, his vision took shape and was launched on May 11, 2024, during the feast of Our Lady of the Seas. Credit: Joe Abdel Sater"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, Lebanon, built the world's largest rosary on the ocean. With the help of family and friends, his vision took shape and was launched on May 11, 2024, during the feast of Our Lady of the Seas. Credit: Joe Abdel Sater</figcaption></figure><h2>A community united</h2><p>For the Parish of Sts. Takla and John, the floating rosary provided a centerpiece for celebrating the feast of Our Lady of the Seas on May 11. As Tawk explained: “We gathered parishioners to offer a Mass giving thanks to Our Blessed Mother. This endeavor symbolizes our Eastern Catholic devotion to Mary.”</p><p>Reflecting on the profound symbolism, Tawk noted that “alone, rosary beads lose their meaning. As Catholic faithful, we’re those beads and our community binds us together through life’s crashing waves.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screen-shot-2024-05-14-at-2.55.07-pm.png" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, Lebanon, built the world's largest rosary on the ocean. With the help of family and friends, his vision took shape and was launched on May 11, 2024, during the feast of Our Lady of the Seas. Credit: Joe Abdel Sater"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, Lebanon, built the world's largest rosary on the ocean. With the help of family and friends, his vision took shape and was launched on May 11, 2024, during the feast of Our Lady of the Seas. Credit: Joe Abdel Sater</figcaption></figure><p>“Without that communion, even the strongest believer can be swept away,” Tawk said. “But by walking together with Jesus as our anchor, we can withstand any storm and find redemption. Thus, we become like Mary, who stood firm in her faith under the cross, understanding that Jesus’ sacrifice is the beginning of salvation.”</p><div class="instagram-wrapper"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="null" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C61vPn4sveA/?igsh=MWYxcWJmOTI2bWl5Zg%3D%3D" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;
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472.            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><em>This article was originally published by ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.</em> </p>
473. ]]></description>
474.        <category>Middle East - Africa</category>
475.        <pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 05:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
476.      </item>
477.    
478.      <item>
479.        <title><![CDATA[ Elderly pro-life activist sentenced to over two years in prison under FACE Act ]]></title>
480.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257704/elderly-pro-life-activist-sentenced-to-over-two-years-in-prison-under-face-act</link>
481.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257704/elderly-pro-life-activist-sentenced-to-over-two-years-in-prison-under-face-act</guid>
482.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
483.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/gettyimages-1389726663.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
484.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Pro-life activist Joan Andrews Bell listens during a news conference on the five fetuses found inside the home where she and other anti-abortion activists were living on Capitol Hill at a news conference at the Hyatt Regency on April 5, 2022, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images</span>
485. </div>
486. <p>Washington D.C., May 15, 2024 / 18:40 pm (CNA).</p>
487. <p>Joan Andrews Bell, a 76-year-old Catholic and pro-life activist, has been sentenced to over two years in prison for her involvement in a “rescue” at a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic.&nbsp;</p><p>In addition to Bell, three other activists — Jean Marshall, 74, Jonathan Darnel, 42, and Herb Geraghty, 27 — were sentenced on Wednesday. Marshall received a 24-month sentence, Darnel was sentenced to 34 months, and Geraghty received 27 months.</p><p>The sentences were given by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.&nbsp;</p><p>According to Terrisa Bukovinac, another pro-life activist who has been posting updates from the courtroom, Bell’s family “cried tears of joy that the sentence wasn’t longer,” while Marshall provided a doctor’s note indicating that she needs a hip replacement due to extreme osteoporosis.</p><p>The three were charged with felony crimes involving conspiracy against rights and violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, also known as the FACE Act. According to the Department of Justice, the three activists engaged in a conspiracy to create a blockade of an abortion clinic.</p><p>This comes nearly nine months after Bell and eight other pro-life activists were<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255227/pro-life-activists-found-guilty-of-obstructing-abortion-clinic-access-in-dc" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><strong> </strong>convicted</a> on felony charges of conspiracy against rights and violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for their involvement in an October 2020 rescue at the Washington Surgi-Clinic run by Dr. Cesare Santangelo.</p><p>According to a previous<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/five-defendants-convicted-federal-civil-rights-conspiracy-and-freedom-access-clinic" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><strong> </strong>DOJ statement</a>, the activists involved in the rescue used “physical obstruction to injure, intimidate, and interfere with the clinic’s employees and a patient because they were providing or obtaining reproductive health services.”</p><p>The DOJ also said the activists “forcefully entered the clinic and set about blockading two clinic doors using their bodies, furniture, chains, and ropes.”</p><p>On Tuesday three other activists — Lauren Handy, 30, John Hinshaw, 69, and William Goodman, 54 — also received sentences ranging from nearly five years to just under two years for the same demonstration.&nbsp;Handy received the harshest sentence, four years and nine months, for her role as the organizer.</p><p>Martin Cannon, an attorney with the Thomas More Society, which represented Handy, told CNA that they will likely be appealing “most if not all” of the sentences. Any appeals in these cases would go to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.&nbsp;</p><p>“Right now, they’re all convicted felons and that’s worth fighting over,” Cannon said.&nbsp;</p><p>Cannon said he is optimistic they will be able to lessen the sentences. He also pointed out that these cases, especially the sentencing of elderly women and men to years in prison, will bring attention to how the FACE Act is being abused to target pro-lifers.&nbsp;</p><p>He said that the pro-life activists are not discouraged, despite their sentences.&nbsp;</p><p>“I think that this overreach by the federal government, the conviction of these people, is …&nbsp; going to galvanize people,” he said. “It certainly has not discouraged our clients. It is going to galvanize the pro-life world and give it energy.”</p>
488. ]]></description>
489.        <category>US</category>
490.        <pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 18:40:00 -0400</pubDate>
491.      </item>
492.    
493.      <item>
494.        <title><![CDATA[ Catholic Church responds to mental health crisis across the U.S. and globally ]]></title>
495.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257699/catholic-church-across-the-us-and-globally-responds-to-mental-health-crisis</link>
496.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257699/catholic-church-across-the-us-and-globally-responds-to-mental-health-crisis</guid>
497.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
498.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/mentalhealthpainting051524.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
499.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">“Woman of the Well” paintings by Glenda Stevens are being distributed to each of the 15 deaneries in the Diocese of Phoenix. / Credit: Brett Meister/Diocese of Phoenix</span>
500. </div>
501. <p>CNA Staff, May 15, 2024 / 18:20 pm (CNA).</p>
502. <p>The percentage of U.S. adults diagnosed with depression has risen almost 10% since 2015, reaching 29% according to a <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/505745/depression-rates-reach-new-highs.aspx" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">2023 Gallup poll</a>, and data from the <a href="https://psychcentral.com/news/teenage-mental-health-pandemic-cdc-report" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> shows that almost half of U.S. teens report experiencing persistent sadness and hopelessness. The Catholic Church is responding.</p><p>Following a 2023 U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops initiative, Catholics across the country have been working in their local communities to address the mental health crisis.&nbsp;</p><p>In the Archdiocese of Washington, Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar offered a May 11 Mass for people with mental health challenges.</p><p>“Those living with a mental illness should never bear these burdens alone, nor should their families who struggle heroically to assist their loved ones,” the bishop said at the Mass in Landover Hills, Maryland, according to a report by <a href="https://www.cathstan.org/faith/those-with-mental-illness-and-their-families-should-not-suffer-alone-bishop-says-at-mass-during-mental-health-month" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the Catholic Standard</a>.</p><p>“We Christians must encounter them, accompany them, comfort them, include them, and help bear their burdens in solidarity with them, offering our understanding, prayers, and tangible, ongoing support,” he noted.&nbsp;</p><p>In Emmitsburg, Maryland, the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is hosting a <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257349/christ-wants-to-be-with-us-how-catholic-ministries-are-responding-to-the-mental-health-crisis" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Mental Wellness Retreat</a> under the patronage of St. Dymphna, whose feast day is May 30. (Traditionally, the feast day of the young saint who is patron of the abused and mentally ill was May 15.)</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/setonshrinebascilicaretreat051524.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Participants in the Mental Wellness Retreat at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, listen to a reflection at the shrine’s basilica. Credit: Seton Shrine"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Participants in the Mental Wellness Retreat at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, listen to a reflection at the shrine’s basilica. Credit: Seton Shrine</figcaption></figure><p>“We are hoping to reach people who live with their own mental health challenges and their loved ones,” Melissa Freymann, a clinical mental health therapist who is organizing the retreat in her role as a mental health ministry consultant for the archdiocese, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257349/christ-wants-to-be-with-us-how-catholic-ministries-are-responding-to-the-mental-health-crisis" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">told CNA</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Out west, St. Patrick Catholic Community Parish in Scottsdale, Arizona, is hosting <a href="https://www.catholicsun.org/2024/04/16/st-patricks-to-celebrate-the-feast-of-st-dymphna-with-mental-health-fair/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a mental health fair</a> May 18–19 in honor of the feast of St. Dymphna.</p><p>The Diocese of Phoenix’s Office of Mental Health Ministry will attend the fair, according to <a href="https://www.catholicsun.org/2024/04/16/st-patricks-to-celebrate-the-feast-of-st-dymphna-with-mental-health-fair/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The Catholic Sun</a>. At the fair, the St. Patrick community will bless a “Woman of the Well” painting by Glenda Stevens and display it in their “House of Mercy” building. The diocese hopes to use the biblical image of&nbsp;the well where Jesus met the Samaritan woman as a designated place of encounter to gather and grow together.&nbsp;</p><p>Parishes in 15 different deaneries each received a “Woman of the Well” painting for their mental health ministry space known as “The Well,” according to a spokesperson for the Diocese of Phoenix.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/bishopdolanpriestmentalhealthpainting051524.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix presents a “Woman of the Well” painting by Glenda Stevens to Father Israel Boadi. Dolan is the chaplain of the Association of Catholic Mental Health  Ministers. Credit: Brett Meister/Diocese of Phoenix"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix presents a “Woman of the Well” painting by Glenda Stevens to Father Israel Boadi. Dolan is the chaplain of the Association of Catholic Mental Health  Ministers. Credit: Brett Meister/Diocese of Phoenix</figcaption></figure><p></p><p></p><p>“The Well is adesignated space or room at a parish or school that is a safe space, a place of encounter for those experiencing challenges to gather and share their experiences and grow their relationship with God: a place for support groups, educational workshops, and opportunity for accompaniment,” explained Brett Meister, director of communications for the diocese.</p><p>The Diocese of Phoenix also recently offered its second annual “Green Mass” on May 5 honoring and praying for professionals, caregivers, and clergy who serve people with mental health concerns. The Mass brought social workers, pastoral caregivers, and counselors together at Sts. Simon and Jude Cathedral, where volunteers handed out green ribbons to represent growth and new beginnings, as well as St. Dymphna prayer cards, according to <a href="https://www.catholicsun.org/2024/05/06/you-dont-have-to-walk-alone-green-mass-honors-mental-health-professionals-caregivers/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The Catholic Sun</a>.&nbsp;</p><h2>Global outreach</h2><p>Ministering to people who suffer with mental illness and those who live and care for them spans not just the U.S. but also places like the Vatican, South Africa, and India.</p><p>The India chapter of the Catholic Association of Mental Health Ministers (<a href="https://catholicmhm.org/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CMHM</a>) organized its first ever National Mental Health conference at Nirjhari Conference Center, Carmelaram in Bengaluru, Karnataka, from April 5–6.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/mentalhealthconference1051524.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="More than 250 participants from all over India attended the Catholic Association of Mental Health Ministers’ first mental health conference in India at the Nirjhari conference center at Carmelaram in Bengaluru, Karnataka, April 5–6, 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of CMHM"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">More than 250 participants from all over India attended the Catholic Association of Mental Health Ministers’ first mental health conference in India at the Nirjhari conference center at Carmelaram in Bengaluru, Karnataka, April 5–6, 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of CMHM</figcaption></figure><p>The CMHM India worked with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India’s health care commission to host the retreat, which highlighted the state of mental health in India, the role of the Church in mental health ministry, and the difference between spiritual and mental health.&nbsp;</p><p>More than 250 attendees, including priests, religious sisters, and medical professionals gathered for the event, and speakers included Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore; Bishop Thomas Tharayil, the ecclesiastical adviser of CMHM India; and Deacon Ed Shoener, co-founder and president of CMHM.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/mentalhealthconference2051524.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Deacon Ed Shoener, president and co-founder of the Catholic Association of Mental Health Ministers (CMHM), lights a candle for the inaugural ceremony of India’s first CMHM conference April 5–6, 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of CMHM"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Deacon Ed Shoener, president and co-founder of the Catholic Association of Mental Health Ministers (CMHM), lights a candle for the inaugural ceremony of India’s first CMHM conference April 5–6, 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of CMHM</figcaption></figure><p>Shoener helped to found CMHM to build mental health ministries in the Catholic Church in 2019 after his daughter, Katie, who struggled with bipolar disorder, died by suicide in 2016.</p><p>“The conference in India demonstrates the worldwide need for mental health ministry,” Shoener told CNA in an email.</p><p>In January, Shoener attended a Vatican mental health conference, the first of its kind. Mental health ministers from around the world, including Moldova, India, and South Africa, gathered with Vatican officials to discuss pastoral care and accompaniment.</p><p>“Regardless of cultural differences, mental illness impacts every community, and Christ wants his Church to be there to accompany people without fear or stigma,” Shoener noted.</p><p><em>This story was updated on May 16, 2024, at 12:22 p.m. ET with the information on the Diocese of Phoenix’s “The Well.”</em></p>
503. ]]></description>
504.        <category>US</category>
505.        <pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 18:20:00 -0400</pubDate>
506.      </item>
507.    
508.      <item>
509.        <title><![CDATA[ Church in Mexico wins lawsuit filed by ‘trans’ person seeking baptismal record change ]]></title>
510.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257703/catholic-church-in-mexico-wins-lawsuit-filed-by-trans-person-seeking-baptismal-record-change</link>
511.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257703/catholic-church-in-mexico-wins-lawsuit-filed-by-trans-person-seeking-baptismal-record-change</guid>
512.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
513.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/images/Baptism_Credit_Bart_Sadowski_Shutterstock_CNA.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
514.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / Credit: Bart Sadowski/Shutterstock</span>
515. </div>
516. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, May 15, 2024 / 17:34 pm (CNA).</p>
517. <p>A Mexican court has ruled in favor of the Diocese of Querétaro, located in the north-central region of the country, in a lawsuit filed by a person who identifies as transgender and demanded that the diocese change the sex indicated on the church’s baptismal certificate and registry.</p><p>According to Tomás Henríquez, director of the Latin American and Caribbean division of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International — an organization that helped the diocese in this case — the complaint, filed for the first time in 2021, demanded that the Catholic Church change the baptismal record “so that it reflects the person’s claim to be a woman instead of a man.”</p><p>In a May 14 interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Henríquez explained that the Catholic Church refused to make the change due to “the immutable doctrine of the Church regarding the constitution of the person as a man, as a woman, who has been created that way by God.”</p><p>Faced with the Church’s refusal, the complaining party turned to Mexico’s National Data Protection Institute (INAI), a federal agency in charge of adjudicating claims of data protection violations, which issued an order requiring the Diocese of Querétaro to carry out the requested change.</p><p>The religious institution challenged this decision with the legal support of ADF International, and the INAI decision was annulled by a federal district court. That ruling was then appealed by the complainant to the 22nd circuit of Federal Collegial Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of the Diocese of Querétaro.</p><p>The case was then taken to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), Mexico’s highest federal court.</p><p>Henríquez explained that the SCJN “refused” to take the case, “noting that it had already given sufficient guidelines within its jurisprudence to resolve the matter.”</p><p>“With that, the appeals court ruling in favor of the Church stands, based on arguments of autonomy of religious institutions,” he said.</p><p>The ADF International official also highlighted that this ruling backs the “autonomy of religious institutions” based on articles 24 and 130 of the Political Constitution of Mexico as well as the international agreements that the country has signed, in which “the churches are guaranteed that they will have the freedom to direct their internal affairs freely and without arbitrary interference on the part of the state.”</p><p>Henríquez said that in the defense for the Diocese of Querétaro it was argued that “baptismal records have no other functionality or objective than to allow the Church to keep reliable historical records of the administration of the sacraments.”</p><p>The ADF director warned that if the state “obligated, forced” the modification of records, it would have been “interfering with the internal government of the Church, which ended up being inadmissible.”</p><p>For the expert, this case is fundamental, because it shows that “even understanding the existence of a so-called right to gender identity, this does not grant one the right to impose oneself on the Church with the claim to have to be recognized as a woman in circumstances where that person’s constitution is masculine.”</p><h2>Other cases in Latin America</h2><p>This is not an isolated event. In Latin America, similar cases have arisen, such as that of a “trans” person who demanded that the Archdiocese of Salta, Argentina, change the person’s baptism and confirmation records.</p><p>In that case, the Supreme Court of the Nation of Argentina rejected the demand and ruled that the Catholic Church is protected from this type of lawsuit due to the separation of church and state and the autonomy of religious organizations.</p><p>Similar situations have also been recorded in Bolivia and Chile, which is why Henríquez stressed that these cases are important “by marking a trend at the regional level about how the courts of justice have dealt with” the issue of sacramental records in the Catholic Church in face of lawsuits from “trans” people.</p><p>“Beyond the requests of individuals who demand this modification of baptismal records, I believe that it reveals an intention, ultimately, to subjugate the Church and the churches,” the jurist warned, seeking to “subject the Church to the will of the claimant and in turn, or by extension, to that of the state.”</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104443/iglesia-catolica-en-mexico-logra-victoria-judicial-tras-negarse-a-cambiar-el-registro-de-bautismo-de-persona-trans" 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>
518. ]]></description>
519.        <category>Americas</category>
520.        <pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 17:34:00 -0400</pubDate>
521.      </item>
522.    
523.      <item>
524.        <title><![CDATA[ Aparecida Shrine in Brazil inaugurates new Rupnik mosaics  ]]></title>
525.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257702/aparecida-shrine-in-brazil-inaugurates-new-rupnik-mosaics</link>
526.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257702/aparecida-shrine-in-brazil-inaugurates-new-rupnik-mosaics</guid>
527.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
528.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/gettyimages-1243919522.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
529.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Picture of the Cathedral Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida taken on the day of the patron saint of Brazil, in Aparecida, Sao Paulo State, on Oct. 12, 2022. / Credit: CAIO GUATELLI/AFP via Getty Images</span>
530. </div>
531. <p>ACI Digital, May 15, 2024 / 16:53 pm (CNA).</p>
532. <p>The National Shrine of Aparecida in the Brazilian state of São Paulo inaugurated in a May 11 ceremony the new mosaics on its south façade featuring New Testament scenes that capture the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The work is part of the Biblical Journey Project, whose goal is to cover the four façades of the national shrine with mosaics representing biblical scenes.</p><p>The mosaics are presented by the shrine as the work of the Aletti Spiritual Art Center, a sacred art school founded by former Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik in Rome. The designs bear the hallmark signs of Rupnik’s work, such as the large black eyes of the persons represented.</p><p>Rupnik is accused of sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse against at least 20 women from the Loyola Community founded by him and a nun in Slovenia.</p><p>The presentation of the façade took place during the special “Easter: Our Life in Christ” <a href="https://youtu.be/vhTmFRGtOf8" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">broadcast by TV Aparecida</a> on the evening before Mother’s Day. Recorded over four days, the program included the participation of the archbishop of Aparecida, Orlando Brandes; Redemptorist missionaries; and many artists and singers who through music and re-creations depicted the biblical passages portrayed in the mosaics.</p><p>“We chose to record the presentation of the south façade to allow a detailed view of the complex structure of the work, which could not be seen in detail in a live broadcast,” the scriptwriter and general director of the show, Rómulo Barros, told <a href="https://www.a12.com/familiadosdevotos/noticias/bastidores-da-entrega-da-fachada-sul-da-casa-da-mae-aparecida" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the portal A12</a>, the official website of the National Shrine of Aparecida.</p><p>During the blessing of the façade, Brandes remembered “all the workers who worked here in this square and those who worked stone by stone forming these mosaics.”</p><p>Work on the mosaics on the exterior of the Aparecida Shrine began in 2019. The north façade was inaugurated in 2022 with scenes from the Book of Exodus. The Bible Journey Project is funded by the Devotees’ Campaign, which accepts donations from devotees of Our Lady of Aparecida throughout Brazil.</p><h2>Accusations against Rupnik first made in 2018</h2><p>Bishop Daniel Libanori, the Holy See’s commissioner for the Loyola Community, where the abuses allegedly occurred, confirmed the veracity of the accusations. <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256290/breaking-vatican-closing-down-loyola-community-co-founded-by-rupnik" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The community was dissolved</a> in December 2023.</p><p>In June 2023, Rupnik <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254574/breaking-rupnik-dismissed-from-jesuits" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">was expelled from the Jesuit order</a> due to his “repeated refusal” to comply with restrictions imposed by his superior.</p><p>In October 2023, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith reopened the case against Rupnik, which had been closed a year earlier due to the statute of limitations for the alleged offenses committed. Pope Francis suspended the statute of limitations due to public outrage over the news that <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255805/rupnik-accepted-for-priestly-ministry-in-diocese-in-slovenia" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Rupnik had been incardinated </a>in a diocese in his native Slovenia in October 2023. Rupnik continues to live in Rome.</p><p>In February, two of Rupnik’s <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256894/two-of-father-rupnik-s-alleged-victims-speak-publicly-for-the-first-time" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">accusers spoke publicly</a> for the first time and told their stories at a press conference at the offices of the Italian journalists’ union in Rome.</p><p>In April, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257328/new-complaints-of-abuse-by-father-rupnik-presented-to-vatican" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">five new complaints </a>against Rupnik were filed with the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.</p><h2>Rupnik’s works are widespread</h2><p>In addition to the Aparecida Shrine, the works of Rupnik and the Aletti Center are present in multiple churches around the world, including the Redemptoris Mater Chapel of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, the St. Padre Pio Shrine in Pietrelcina, Italy, as well as in Fátima, Portugal, and Lourdes, France.</p><p>On March 31, 2023, the bishop of Lourdes, Jean-Marc Micas, announced that he had created a commission to evaluate whether Rupnik’s mosaics should be removed from the Lourdes Shrine in consideration of the suffering of victims of abuse.</p><p>In February of this year, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256720/lourdes-bishop-says-he-s-received-a-pile-of-letters-regarding-rupnik-mosaics" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Micas told</a> CNA he has received a “a pile of letters — people very angry because the mosaics are still there and other people who were very angry at the idea we could remove them,” he said, so this is a “very, very difficult decision to make.”</p><p>The dedication of Rupnik’s mosaics in Aparecida comes at a time when many, including <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256999/john-paul-ii-shrine-considering-whether-to-remove-mosaics-by-father-rupnik" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the St. John Paul II National Shrine</a> in Washington, D.C., are considering the possibility of removing his works out of respect for the victims.</p><p>At the time of publication of this article, the press office of the Aparecida Shrine has not responded to specific questions from ACI Digital, CNA’s Portuguese-language news partner, on the matter but sent a statement to the agency explaining that “the work of covering with mosaics the façades of the Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida continues under the leadership and execution of the Aletti Center.”</p><p>“Since 2020,” the statement continues, “the studio has been run by the Italian artist and doctor in theology, Maria Campatelli, and has 12 women and nine men in its management team, in addition to dozens of artists of different nationalities, who are directly involved in the project.”&nbsp;</p><p>“Recently, the Vicariate of Rome, to which the studio is subordinate, after a canonical visit, issued an opinion attesting that ‘clearly there is a healthy community life in the Aletti Center, free of any particular critical problem,’” the statement concludes.</p><p>However, some of Rupnik’s alleged victims <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255514/alleged-rupnik-victim-many-of-abused-women-have-never-received-help" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">expressed their outrage</a> and consternation following that report, saying the evaluation “<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255414/rupnik-s-victims-say-diocese-of-rome-s-statement-ridicules-their-pain" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ridicules the pain of the victims</a>.”</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.acidigital.com/noticia/58048/santuario-nacional-de-aparecida-inaugura-novo-mosaico-do-padre-rupnik-na-fachada-sul" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published</em></a><em> by ACI Digital, CNA’s Portuguese-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by ACI Prensa and CNA.</em></p>
533. ]]></description>
534.        <category>Americas</category>
535.        <pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 16:53:00 -0400</pubDate>
536.      </item>
537.    
538.      <item>
539.        <title><![CDATA[ It’s been 100 years since the Catholic Church’s first Council in China ]]></title>
540.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257701/its-been-100-years-since-the-catholic-church-s-first-council-in-china</link>
541.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257701/its-been-100-years-since-the-catholic-church-s-first-council-in-china</guid>
542.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
543.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/dc7cbd0f-234b-4f77-85e8-ac91af13157c.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
544.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">On March 30, 1926, Cardinal van Rossum, prefect of Propaganda Fide, announced Pope Pius XI’s decision to consecrate the first six Chinese bishops, a ceremony that was held in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 28 of that year. / Credit: Public Domain</span>
545. </div>
546. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 15, 2024 / 16:17 pm (CNA).</p>
547. <p>One hundred years ago, the First Council of the Catholic Church convened in China, gathering together more than 100 bishops, vicar generals, and religious. The majority of the participants were foreign-born, but for the first time, there were also native Chinese who would have a say on the trajectory of the Church in their homeland.</p><p>Led by Archbishop (later Cardinal) Celso Costantini, papal legate to China, the primary objective of the council, which opened on May 15, 1924, was to initiate the process of ecclesial inculturation, which was constructed upon the indigenization of the Chinese Church. Secondly, the council set out to decouple the missions from the colonial project.</p><p>These two objectives were important in directing the Church’s ecclesiology and diplomatic mission, an objective that was reflected in Costantini’s elevation of Odorico Cheng Hede as the head of the recently created Apostolic Prefecture of Puqi and Melchior Sun Dezhen to the Apostolic Prefecture of Lixian.</p><p>“Among you are two Chinese prelates, recently raised to the dignity of prefects apostolic, these venerable brethren, are the fruit of your past labors, the grain of mustard that will grow into a large tree and bring forth abundant fruit in the future,” said Costantini during the solemn high Mass at the opening the council.&nbsp;</p><p>It is against the backdrop of this momentous event that on Tuesday, May 21, the Pontifical Urban University along with Agenzia Fides and the Pastoral Commission for China is holding a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fides.org/en/news/74983-VATICAN_The_Concilium_Sinense_of_Shanghai_between_history_and_present_International_Conference_at_the_Pontifical_Urbaniana_University" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">conference</a>&nbsp;to discuss the implications of the council on the historical legacy of the Church as well as contemporary Sino-Vatican relations.&nbsp;</p><p>Titled <a href="https://www.fides.org/en/news/74983-VATICAN_The_Concilium_Sinense_of_Shanghai_between_history_and_present_International_Conference_at_the_Pontifical_Urbaniana_University" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">“100 Years Since the ‘Concilium Sinense’: Between History and the Present,”</a> the conference will feature a video message by Pope Francis, presentations by the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.&nbsp;</p><p>The conference will also feature voices from the People’s Republic of China, including Bishop Shen Bin of Shanghai, who made waves when he was unilaterally&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254812/pope-francis-confirms-shanghai-bishop-appointed-in-violation-of-vatican-china-deal" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">appointed</a>&nbsp;as bishop of Shanghai in April 2023 without a papal mandate, thereby breaking the terms of the contested 2018 Sino-Vatican Accord. Pope Francis confirmed the appointment in July 2023.&nbsp;</p><h2><em>Maximum Illud</em>, a new paradigm in Catholic missiology</h2><p>On Nov. 30, 1919, Pope Benedict XV issued his apostolic letter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xv/en/apost_letters/documents/hf_ben-xv_apl_19191130_maximum-illud.html" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>Maximum Illud</em></a>, a document that has been heralded as a turning point in the Church’s missiology.</p><p>At the heart of the letter was the call for the training of local clergy, which Benedict referred to as the “greatest hope of the new churches.”&nbsp;</p><p>“For the local priest, one with his people by birth, by nature, by his sympathies and his aspirations is remarkably effective in appealing to their mentality and thus attracting them to the faith. Far better than anyone else, he knows the kind of argument they will listen to, and as a result, he often has easy access to places where a foreign priest would not be tolerated.”</p><p>The letter was not only responding to the postwar political climate but also to the historical legacy of the Catholic missions in China, which had been instrumentalized by the colonial powers (first the Portuguese and later the French) in shoring up their political power on the mainland.</p><p>The defeat of the Qing Dynasty by the British in the First Opium War ushered in what is called the&nbsp; “Century of Humiliation,” a period that denotes a culture nadir and left China politically impotent on the domestic level.&nbsp;</p><p>The 1842 Treaty of Nanjing was the first of the “unequal treaties” granting the British the status of “most favored nation” as well as extraterritorial economic and diplomatic privileges, setting the template by which other treaties were modeled and establishing the playbook for Western international relations with China.&nbsp;</p><p>This was soon replicated by the French in October 1844 with the signing of the Treaty of Whampoa, which allowed for the uninterrupted practice of Catholicism in Chinese port cities (such as Shanghai) as well as granting extraterritorial privileges for foreign nationals, thereby exempting them from local laws and customs.&nbsp;</p><p>H.M. Cole in the “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2192926" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Origins of the French Protectorate over Catholic Missions in China</a>” observed, however, that it wasn’t until the signing of the Treaty of Tientsin in 1858 following the end of the Second Opium War that France became the de jure protector of Catholic missions in China.</p><p>Despite an expanding Catholic community, the Holy See did not have any direct diplomatic contact with China as any attempt to do so was thwarted by the French.&nbsp;</p><p>Many missionaries, moreover, still felt an obligation to their country of origin, thus feeding into the idea that they were on a project of nation-building rather than of evangelization. But there were some foreign born-priests in China who were staunch advocates of fundamentally altering the Church’s approach.&nbsp;</p><p>Father Frédéric Vincent Lebbe, a French priest who arrived in China after the Boxer Rebellion, was an early advocate for the indigenization of the Chinese Church, a call that was shared by Father Anthony Cotta, a fellow Vincentian.&nbsp;</p><p>In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43898674" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">letter</a>&nbsp;Cotta forwarded to Rome — originally written by Lebbe to Paul-Marie Reynaud, bishop of Ningbo — Lebbe admonished the missionaries for creating “spiritual colonies” instead of living Churches and for “the national [indigenous Chinese priests] priesthood, being always kept down to the assistant level, is as though foreign in its own country.”&nbsp;</p><p>Pope Benedict XV died on Jan. 22, 1922, and his successor, Pius XI, shared his determination to reform missionary work and establish an indigenous hierarchy. One of his most consequential decisions for the Church in China was the appointment of Costantini as his&nbsp;personal&nbsp;apostolic delegate in China.&nbsp;</p><p>In Costantini’s memoir “With the Missionaries in China (1922–1933),” he described the Holy See’s efforts as having a “simple religious, missionary character,” adding: “It must, therefore, have no political aspect or constraints.''&nbsp;</p><p>He also emphasized that the “Holy See does not do politics … it has no imperialist aim in China,” and that “the missions are at the service of the Church,” an ambition that would materialize following the council.</p><h2>Toward the council&nbsp;</h2><p>The Primum Concilium Sinese (the first Plenary Council of China), or the Shanghai Synod of Bishops, was held from May 15 to June 12, 1924, bringing together 105 participants led by Costantini.&nbsp;</p><p>Father Carlo Pioppi, professor of modern and contemporary Church history at the faculty of theology of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, noted in a 2012&nbsp;<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336668940_Una_tappa_importante_del_passaggio_dalla_missione_alla_Chiesa_locale_in_Estremo_Oriente_La_recezione_della_Maximum_illud_nei_testi_del_Primo_Concilio_Cinese_del_1924" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">paper</a>&nbsp;that the groundwork for the council was already laid by 1923, when in May Costantini “had established a preparatory commission for the council, composed of 22 members, of which seven were Chinese.”</p><p>Pius XI in his 1924 apostolic letter authorized Costantini to convoke and preside over the upcoming council. A few months later Costantini appointed Odorico Cheng Hede as the head of the recently created Apostolic Prefecture of Puqi. He elevated another Chinese priest, Melchior Sun Dezhen, to the Apostolic Prefecture of Lixian.&nbsp;</p><p>By preceding the council with the elevation of two Chinese clerics to head ecclesial territories, Costantini was signaling that the time had come to start erecting a local hierarchy.&nbsp;</p><p>Throughout the monthlong synod, discussions were held on the process of inculturating the Church, in line with the guidelines&nbsp;set forth in&nbsp;<em>Maximum Illud</em>, and in establishing the eventual framework for a Chinese hierarchy, which came two years later when six Chinese bishops were consecrated by Pope Pius XI on Oct. 28, 1926.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“Outside the council hall, you could hear almost all the languages ​​of the earth being spoken: once you crossed the threshold of the council hall, only the language of Rome was spoken,” Costantini recounted in his memoirs.&nbsp;</p><p>“Once the council was over,” he continued, “we sent the Holy Father a telegram in which it was said: ‘With one heart, with one language, although many different languages ​​are spoken, we profess the faith of Rome and fidelity to the Chair of Peter.’”&nbsp;</p><p>Pioppi observed in his paper that immediately following the closing of the synod, Costantini sent the text of the decrees to Rome to be subject to the recognition process, which lasted nearly four years, though it wasn’t until June 12, 1929, that the decrees were officially enacted.&nbsp;</p><p>Some of the major changes to come out of the council included the new division of ecclesiastical territories into 17 new units corresponding with the administrative division of the Chinese state and the opening of parochial positions to Chinese clergy.&nbsp;</p><p>In the second book of the conciliar decrees, the title&nbsp;<em>De&nbsp;Admittendo Clero Indigena&nbsp;Ad Omnia&nbsp;Officia</em>&nbsp;explicitly stated: “No office is barred to the native clergy, provided they are fit.” It continued to state that the council’s “desire” to see the day when “Chinese priests will also be elected as bishops.”</p><p>This council amounted to a “religious decolonization and greater inculturation” in China, Parolin <a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/it/vaticano/news/2021-05/cardinale-parolin-libro-ponte-per-cina-celso-costantini.html" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">wrote</a>&nbsp;in Vatican News in 2021. Costantini returned to Rome in 1933, going on to serve as the secretary of Propaganda Fide, but he made an indelible mark, changing the perception and the structure of the Church in China.</p><p>On March 30, 1926, Cardinal Willem van Rossum, prefect of Propaganda Fide, announced Pius XI’s decision to consecrate the first Chinese six bishops, a ceremony that was held in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 28 of that year.&nbsp;</p><p>Twenty years later, on April 11, 1946, Pope Pius XII&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255309/a-profile-in-courage-cardinal-kung-and-catholic-resistance-in-shanghai" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">issued</a>&nbsp;the apostolic constitution <em>Quotidie Nos</em>, officially establishing a Chinese hierarchy, a decision that carried a significant canonical and sociopolitical weight.&nbsp;</p><p>Before 1946, the ecclesiastical administrative units in China were apostolic prefectures or pre-diocesan administrative units in mission territories. Having native-born Chinese bishops and an official diocesan structure elevated the position of the Chinese Church, signaling to the world that it was an equal, not a mission territory governed by foreigners.&nbsp;</p><p>These events, while distant, fundamentally altered the Church’s approach to mission work as well as an understanding of its place in China, a point ever more important within the context of contemporary Sino-Vatican relations.&nbsp;</p>
548. ]]></description>
549.        <category>Vatican</category>
550.        <pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 16:17:00 -0400</pubDate>
551.      </item>
552.    
553.      <item>
554.        <title><![CDATA[ Supreme Court denies pregnancy center appeal to keep donor information private ]]></title>
555.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257700/supreme-court-denies-pregnancy-center-appeal-to-keep-donor-information-private</link>
556.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257700/supreme-court-denies-pregnancy-center-appeal-to-keep-donor-information-private</guid>
557.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
558.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/jb14034-alt.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
559.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">A dedication ceremony for the ultrasound machine donated by the Knights of Columbus to the First Choice Women&#039;s Resource Center in New Brunswick, N.J. / Credit: Knights of Columbus</span>
560. </div>
561. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 15, 2024 / 15:26 pm (CNA).</p>
562. <p>The Supreme Court has <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/051324zor_apm1.pdf" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">denied</a> a New Jersey pro-life pregnancy center’s appeal to keep its donor list and other correspondence private.&nbsp;</p><p>This comes after New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, a Democrat, subpoenaed First Choice Women’s Resource Centers in November 2023 for “possible violations” against the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act relating to the group’s handling of patient data and statements about abortion pill reversal.&nbsp;</p><p>Through the subpoena, Platkin ordered First Choice to turn over much of its internal communications as well as communications with patients and donors, some of which would reveal donors’ private information.&nbsp;</p><p>Shortly before issuing the subpoena, Platkin signed onto a letter in which he and 15 other attorneys general accused pro-life pregnancy centers of spreading “harmful” misinformation about reproductive health care. The letter also accused pregnancy centers of using “deceptive tactics to lure in patients.”</p><p>First Choice is a Christian ministry that operates five pregnancy resource centers in New Jersey that offer pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, venereal disease screenings and treatment, and counseling.&nbsp;</p><p>Represented by the law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, First Choice countersued in December 2023 to block Platkin’s subpoena. The ministry claimed that the subpoena violates its rights under the First and 14th Amendments and that it was being “selectively and unlawfully” targeted because of its pro-life views.</p><p>“AG Platkin never cited any complaint or other substantive evidence of wrongdoing to justify his demands but has launched an exploratory probe into the lawful activities, constitutionally protected speech, religious observance, constitutionally protected associations, and nonpublic internal communications and records of a nonprofit organization that holds a view with which he disagrees as a matter of public policy,” First Choice wrote in its countersuit.</p><p>First Choice’s request to block the subpoena has since been dismissed by a New Jersey circuit judge, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and now the Supreme Court.&nbsp;</p>
563. ]]></description>
564.        <category>US</category>
565.        <pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 15:26:00 -0400</pubDate>
566.      </item>
567.    
568.      <item>
569.        <title><![CDATA[ Vatican halts some parish closures in St. Louis following appeals ]]></title>
570.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257698/vatican-halts-some-parish-closures-in-st-louis-following-appeals</link>
571.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257698/vatican-halts-some-parish-closures-in-st-louis-following-appeals</guid>
572.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
573.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/shutterstock-1646043007.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
574.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Stained-glass window at the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis. / Credit: Ella Manthey/Shutterstock</span>
575. </div>
576. <p>St. Louis, Mo., May 15, 2024 / 14:47 pm (CNA).</p>
577. <p>Two St. Louis parishes that appealed to the Vatican after Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski ordered them to merge last year have had their appeals upheld by the Holy See, reversing the archbishop’s prior decision.</p><p>As part of the archdiocese’s <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254451/st-louis-archdiocese-reorganization-will-cut-parishes-from-178-to-134" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">major pastoral planning initiative</a> dubbed “All Things New,” Rozanski announced a year ago that the number of parishes would be reduced by nearly 50 by way of parish mergers and closures.</p><p>Under <a href="https://canonlaw.ninja/?nums=515" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">canon law,</a> a diocesan bishop has the authority to alter parishes, but only for a just reason specific to each parish. Concern for souls must be the principal motivation for modifying a parish.</p><p>Amid the All Things New process, a number of parishes <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254961/st-louis-parishes-appeal-to-the-vatican-amid-merger-closure" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announced their intention to send appeals to the Vatican,</a> putting aspects of the mergers planned for the parishes on hold until <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255876/vatican-agrees-to-review-the-closures-of-two-st-louis-parishes-amid-archdiocesan-restructuring" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the Dicastery for the Clergy’s rulings.</a>&nbsp;</p><p>After studying the acts of the case for St. Angela Merici Parish in Florissant, Missouri, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Clergy did not find just cause for the parish to be combined to form a single parish with St. Norbert and Holy Name of Jesus parishes, the archdiocese said in <a href="https://www.archstl.org/Portals/0/Documents/Communication_Planning/PressReleases/FY24/RLS%20-%20Two%20Additional%20Dicastery%20Decisions%20051424.pdf?ver=2024-05-14-152349-163" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a May 14 statement.</a> The dicastery was therefore unable to sustain Rozanski’s decree.&nbsp;</p><p>While retaining their statuses as three separate parish communities, St. Angela Merici, St. Norbert, and Holy Name of Jesus parishes will all remain under the pastoral guidance of Father Peter Faimega, the archdiocese continued.</p><p>In addition, the Dicastery for the Clergy did not find just cause for St. Martin of Tours Parish in Lemay, Missouri, to be subsumed by St. Mark Parish, the archdiocese said.</p><p>The same day, the archdiocese <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C63HJf6sQIp/?igsh=Nm9lYWx5dDNvdzM0" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announced</a> that another appeal brought by St. Roch Parish in St. Louis had resulted in Rozanski’s decree being upheld. St. Roch was to be subsumed by Christ the King Parish, effective Aug. 1, 2023, and this month its school is set to close.&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/rozanskiseek1.2.24.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski of St. Louis. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski of St. Louis. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA</figcaption></figure><p>Before announcing the changes in May 2023, the archdiocese held 350 listening sessions, with at least one in each of the 178 current parishes. It also considered feedback from 70,000 Catholics in the archdiocese who participated in a survey. Feedback was also solicited from 18,000 school parents, staff, teachers, donors, and community partners. The archdiocese also held focus groups and talked with civil and business leaders.</p><p>Rozanski had originally declined to revoke any of the 83 decrees he made regarding the final plans, leaving the parishes with recourse only to the Vatican. However, he did suspend his decree regarding St. Angela Merici and St. Martin of Tours prior to the decisions from the dicastery, so “no additional changes will be necessary,” the archdiocese said.&nbsp;</p><p>According to the <a href="https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/two-st-louis-catholic-parishes-win-one-loses-in-appeals-to-vatican-to-stay-open/article_ab8c8a1a-1202-11ef-813d-ef9657f70298.html#tracking-source=mp-homepage" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">St. Louis Post-Dispatch,</a> the dicastery earlier this year overturned the closure decree for St. Richard Parish near Creve Coeur, Missouri, while also denying an appeal from the closed Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Ferguson. At least 11 parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis still have outstanding appeals regarding closings or mergers, the archdiocese has noted.&nbsp;</p><p>The archdiocese has previously said that the widespread reassignment of 158 archdiocesan priests, which was <a href="https://allthingsnew.archstl.org/Decrees-and-Letters" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announced</a> along with the various mergers, will proceed as planned.&nbsp;</p><p>The St. Louis parishes’ appeals to the Vatican are not unprecedented in the United States. In dioceses such as <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/24748/cleveland-bishop-to-reopen-12-closed-parishes" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Cleveland</a>, <a href="https://www.ucanews.com/news/vatican-stops-us-diocese-from-closing-landmark-church/70343" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Buffalo, New York</a>, <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/05/22/parishioners-closed-catholic-churches-greater-boston-vow-fight-vatican-denial-their-appeal/A86C6c3vEbWxqWPwwd1ElN/story.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Boston</a>, and <a href="https://www.masslive.com/news/2011/11/vatican_upholds_springfield_di.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Springfield, Massachusetts</a>, parishioners have issued appeals to the Dicastery for the Clergy to save their parishes after their bishops ordered them closed.</p>
578. ]]></description>
579.        <category>US</category>
580.        <pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 14:47:00 -0400</pubDate>
581.      </item>
582.    
583.      <item>
584.        <title><![CDATA[ A look at the bishop of Hong Kong’s recent visit to mainland China ]]></title>
585.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257697/a-look-at-the-bishop-of-hong-kong-s-recent-visit-to-mainland-china</link>
586.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257697/a-look-at-the-bishop-of-hong-kong-s-recent-visit-to-mainland-china</guid>
587.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
588.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/chow-sau-yan-stephen-sj-daniel-ibanez-2.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
589.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, archbishop of Hong Kong, China. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez</span>
590. </div>
591. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 15, 2024 / 14:17 pm (CNA).</p>
592. <p>Cardinal Stephen Chow recently visited three Catholic dioceses in mainland China, one year after the bishop of Hong Kong’s first historic trip to Beijing.</p><p>Chow led a 10-person delegation of Catholics from Hong Kong to the southern Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Shantou, and Shenzhen in April in his second official visit to China since becoming bishop of Hong Kong.</p><p>“We brought our people to have an encounter … where we share common concerns, for example, youth ministry, catechism, marriage and family,” Chow said in a video interview published May 5.</p><p>Here is a look at some of the Catholic communities Chow visited:</p><h2>St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Shantou</h2><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/shantou-joseph-church.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Shantou, China. Credit: Kc1446 at Chinese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Shantou, China. Credit: Kc1446 at Chinese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons</figcaption></figure><p>Hundreds of Chinese Catholics attended a Mass in St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Shantou concelebrated by Chow and <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/46313/where-chinas-bishops-stand-as-the-sino-vatican-deal-is-renewed" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bishop Huang Bingzhang</a> of Shantou on April 24, according to the Sunday Examiner, a publication of the Diocese of Hong Kong.</p><p>Huang is one of seven bishops appointed by the Chinese government from whom Pope Francis lifted the decree of excommunication when he first signed the Vatican’s provisional agreement with China in 2018.&nbsp;</p><p>He replaced an elderly underground bishop of Shantou who was loyal to the Vatican, Bishop Peter Zhuang Jianjian, who was asked to step aside as a result, despite <a href="https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Card.-Zen-on-the-bishops-of-Shantou-and-Mindong-42951.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a personal appeal to the pope on his behalf by Cardinal Joseph Zen in Rome.</a>&nbsp;</p><p>Earlier this year, Huang spoke at the Chinese government’s National People’s Congress. He previously participated in the National People’s Congress in 2018 that revoked presidential term limits, clearing the way for Xi Jinping to rule for life. Huang said in 2017 that he would work to actively promote the practice of Catholic patriotism, according to the Chinese Patriotic Association website.</p><p>A new residence for the bishop is currently under construction and the Hong Kong delegation visited the construction site during their visit.</p><p>Shantou is a city in eastern Guangdong Province on the coast of the South China Sea with a population of about 4.6 million people. The city is known for its toy manufacturing. Shantou’s Chenghai district is home to 10,000 toy companies.&nbsp;</p><p>During their stay in the city, the Hong Kong delegation also visited the Holy Family Church and St. Roch’s Church in Shantou.</p><h2>Sacred Heart Cathedral in Guangzhou</h2><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/sacredheartcathedralchina051524.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="" alt="Sacred Heart Cathedral in Guangzhou, China. Credit: beibaoke/Shutterstock"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Sacred Heart Cathedral in Guangzhou, China. Credit: beibaoke/Shutterstock</figcaption></figure><p>Chow’s first stop in China was Guangzhou, a port city located about 75 miles northwest of Hong Kong with a population of more than 15 million people. The city’s Sacred Heart Cathedral on the banks of the Pearl River was built almost entirely out of granite in a Gothic style by French missionaries from 1861 to 1888 with financial support from Napoleon III.</p><p>Metropolitan Archbishop of Guangzhou Joseph Gan Junqiu was appointed by the pope and consecrated in the cathedral with the Vatican’s support in 2007 after attempted obstruction by Chinese authorities. At the time, Gan said that the archdiocese averaged about 100 baptisms per year.</p><p>Gan welcomed the Hong Kong delegation to the Sacred Heart Cathedral on April 23, where they celebrated Mass together. Father Joseph Yim Tak-lung, the chief executive of Caritas Hong Kong, also gave a presentation about his ministry at the cathedral.</p><h2>Huanghuagang Mausoleum of the 72 Chinese Martyrs</h2><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/72martyrscemetery051524.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="" alt="The Huanghuagang Mausoleum in Guangzhou, China. Credit: NGCHIYUI/Shutterstock"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">The Huanghuagang Mausoleum in Guangzhou, China. Credit: NGCHIYUI/Shutterstock</figcaption></figure><p>Following Mass in the cathedral, the Hong Kong delegation also visited the Huanghuagang Mausoleum, which commemorates the 72 revolutionaries who died in the Guangzhou uprising on April 27, 1911, against the Qing dynasty.</p><p>The 1911 Revolution ended China’s imperial dynasty and led to the establishment of the Republic of China under the leadership of its first provisional president, Sun Yat-sen, a convert to Christianity known as the father of modern China who is revered today by both Taiwan and the Chinese Communist Party.&nbsp;</p><p>The Huanghuagang Mausoleum is topped with a tiny replica of the Statue of Liberty in New York, which was removed during China’s Cultural Revolution and replaced by the city in 1981.</p><h2>St. Anthony’s Church in Shenzhen</h2><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/shenzhen-st.-anthonys-catholic-church1.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="St. Anthony’s Church in Shenzhen, China. Credit: Huangdan2060, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">St. Anthony’s Church in Shenzhen, China. Credit: Huangdan2060, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons</figcaption></figure><p>With a population of more than 17 million people, Shenzhen is one of China’s megacities and is known as “the world’s factory.” Shenzhen experienced rapid growth in recent decades as one of China’s special economic zones. Inc. reported in 2015 that 90% of the world’s electronics were made in the city, which is located just north of Hong Kong.&nbsp;</p><p>The Catholic population in Shenzhen includes many migrant workers who came from more rural parts of China and abroad to work in the factories.&nbsp;</p><p>St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Shenzhen was built between 1998 and 2001. At the time of its opening, it was the only Catholic church in Shenzhen, according to UCA News. St. Anthony’s also offers Masses in English for foreign Catholics who work or travel to Shenzhen for business. Chow and the Hong Kong delegation visited the church on April 26.&nbsp;</p><h2>Christ the King Church in Shenzhen</h2><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/christ-the-king-church-shenzhen9.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Christ the King Church in Shenzhen, China. Credit: Huangdan2060, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Christ the King Church in Shenzhen, China. Credit: Huangdan2060, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons</figcaption></figure><p>The foundation for Shenzhen’s Christ the King Church in Shenzhen’s Bao’an district was laid in 2007 and the construction of the church was completed in November 2010.</p><p>During their visit to Christ the King Church, the Hong Kong delegation discussed the possibility of future cooperation between Chinese Church officials and the Diocese of Hong Kong via a catechetical formation center in China. Connie Chung To-hing, the director of Hong Kong’s diocesan catechetical center, took part in the meeting.&nbsp;</p><p>Other members of the delegation from Hong Kong who traveled to China included Father Peter Choy Wai-man, Father Paul Kam Po-wai, and Father Joseph Chan Wing-chiu.</p><p>Deacon Gabriel Lau Nam-shan, the chairperson of the Diocesan Pastoral Commission for Marriage and the Family; Wong Ka Chun, the personal assistant to the cardinal; and Sherman Cheng Ching-man of the Hong Kong Catholic Marriage Advisory Council also joined the cardinal on the trip.</p><p>In the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_HdXOW5MOY" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">video</a> posted by the diocese, Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, the auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong, said that “friendship” was really at the heart of the trip.</p><p>Chow joked that everyone in the delegation “put on a few pounds” because of all the meals involved in getting to know these new friends, adding that it was true for him even as a vegetarian.</p><p>“Cardinal Stephen also expressed his belief that the Church in Guangdong is similar to the Church of Vietnam, which he visited earlier in April,” the Hong Kong Diocese’s Sunday Examiner reported. “Both have continued under communist/socialist rule for many years and are functioning well, with individuals evangelizing in a creative manner.”</p>
593. ]]></description>
594.        <category>Asia - Pacific</category>
595.        <pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 14:17:00 -0400</pubDate>
596.      </item>
597.    
598.      <item>
599.        <title><![CDATA[ Catholics in Chicago work to preserve historic century-old parish ]]></title>
600.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257696/catholics-in-chicago-work-to-preserve-historic-century-old-parish</link>
601.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257696/catholics-in-chicago-work-to-preserve-historic-century-old-parish</guid>
602.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
603.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/our-lady-lourdes-eric-allix-rogers-04.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
604.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Outer details of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Chicago. / Credit: Eric Allix Rogers</span>
605. </div>
606. <p>CNA Staff, May 15, 2024 / 12:12 pm (CNA).</p>
607. <p>Catholics and city preservationists in Chicago are scrambling to try to preserve a historic parish on the city’s North Side, one that has survived a century of the city’s development including being fully moved to a new location after it was first built.&nbsp;</p><p>Our Lady of Lourdes Parish will hold its final Mass on Sunday, May 19, before the parish merges with nearby St. Mary of the Lake. The consolidation is part of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s ongoing “Renew My Church” initiative that has closed and merged dozens of parishes&nbsp;in order to&nbsp;address shrinking budgets and priest shortages.&nbsp;</p><p>The archdiocese&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewmychurch.org/documents/1607309/1607597/3.18.21_Decree_RMC+14_St.+Mary+of+the+Lake+and+Our+Lady+of+Lourdes.pdf/c10de909-c545-4282-95e1-f77905fadd5a" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announced the Lourdes parish merger</a>&nbsp;in 2021. Katerina Garcia, the president of the Our Lady of Lourdes Church Preservation Society,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrHnOqREUtQ" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol this week</a>&nbsp;that parishioners at the parish dispute the archdiocese’s reasons for closing the church, particularly the claim that Mass attendance had dropped steadily there.&nbsp;</p><p>“We disagree with that statement because&nbsp;before&nbsp;the merge, Our Lady of Lourdes Church had the highest attendance compared to [other nearby churches],” Garcia told Sabol.&nbsp;</p><p>“They decreased the Masses that we had. So of course that’s going to decrease attendance,” she argued.</p><div style="width:100%" class="mx-auto embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GrHnOqREUtQ?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>Even as the parish’s final Mass looms, Garcia said efforts are underway to save the parish, possibly by purchasing it from the archdiocese. She noted the parish’s remarkable history, including its wholesale move from one side of the street to the other.&nbsp;</p><p>The parish was “literally across the street on the east side of Ashland Avenue,” she told Sabol. “And Daniel Burnham, who was a prominent architect and urban developer in Chicago, wanted to widen the [city streets].”&nbsp;</p><p>“In order for&nbsp;them to widen Ashland Avenue, they had to move the church literally across the street,” she said. “They had 150 men and horses, and they put the 10,000-ton church on top of 400 rails and 3,000 rollers and&nbsp;literally&nbsp;moved it across the street, inching it.”</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/move.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="A view of the parish's historic move in 1929. Our Lady of Lourdes Preservation Society"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">A view of the parish's historic move in 1929. Our Lady of Lourdes Preservation Society</figcaption></figure><p>Once the building was moved to its new location, builders “rotated it 90 degrees” and then “cut the church in half and added a 30-foot insert,” increasing capacity by roughly 50%.</p><p>“Back then, 1929, that’s such a very … I can’t even think of the word. It’s just an engineering feat,” Garcia said.&nbsp;</p><h2>‘It’s facing an uncertain future’</h2><p><a href="https://ololpreservationsocietyofchicago.org/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2VKQbgZUrZ7ST_D8dakDRLPmMWE4lVe_Ph7UxfeFvr0G161ga_T5Ce2-M_aem_AalZBamfDp9aN4-COCQ5_dDHIQILJvyQynIZNYpPP0eQ2fSyL4C-Q08p8cAWVVsP0KYwnHrrLwO8w9rGjtKaJ0qS" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">On its website,</a>&nbsp;the Our Lady of Lourdes Preservation Society says its goal is to “preserve Our Lady of Lourdes Church as a historical landmark, reopen and revive it as a holy shrine.”</p><p>The group, formed in 2021 after the merger announcement,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/355133763244586/?locale=nl_BE" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">wrote on Facebook</a>&nbsp;that it is “going full force to make sure [the property] is preserved as a historical landmark,” with group members aiming to “bring it back to its old glory with a new order in charge.”</p><p>Ward Miller, the executive director of the nonprofit Preservation Chicago, said his group has been working to get the building designated as a Chicago landmark.&nbsp;</p><p>The group has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.preservationchicago.org/roman-catholic-churches/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">highlighted the building’s historical qualities</a>&nbsp;in the past. The parish was “modeled in the Spanish Renaissance-style architecture to resemble a church in Valladolid, Spain,” Preservation Chicago says. Among its many notable features includes a “faithful replica of the grotto in Lourdes, France,” which years ago was made a “perpetual adoration site” and remains ”the area’s only chapel open 24/7 for worship.”</p><p>The structure is “facing an uncertain future,” Miller told CNA on Wednesday. “We don’t know if it’s facing a demolition threat or not.”</p><p>The building is rated “orange” in the city’s Historic Resources Survey, Miller pointed out, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.preservationchicago.org/resources/chicago-historic-resources-survey-chrs/#:~:text=Many%20of%20the%20orange%2Drated,for%20architectural%20or%20historic%20significance." target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">indicates</a>&nbsp;that it “possesses potentially significant architectural or historical features.”</p><p>The Archdiocese of Chicago did not respond to a query on Wednesday regarding the status of the church building and what will become of it after the final Mass this week.&nbsp;</p><p>The parish school, meanwhile — which closed in 2004 — has already been sold, with plans to turn the structure into apartments.&nbsp;</p><p>Garcia&nbsp;<a href="https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/02/21/uptowns-our-lady-of-lourdes-church-to-close-in-may-as-school-building-set-to-become-apartments/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">told Block Club Chicago earlier this year</a>&nbsp;that she attended the school and that her children were baptized in the parish.</p><p>The parish “just has a lot of memories,” she told the outlet. “I&nbsp;actually&nbsp;made the calligraphy on the sign by the grotto entrance, so there are parts of the church I was involved in. There’s so much history there for me and my family.”&nbsp;</p><p>“Every part of that church is important to me,” she said.&nbsp;</p>
608. ]]></description>
609.        <category>US</category>
610.        <pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 12:12:00 -0400</pubDate>
611.      </item>
612.    
613.      <item>
614.        <title><![CDATA[ Pope Francis at general audience: ‘Love is charity’ ]]></title>
615.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257695/pope-francis-at-general-audience-love-is-charity</link>
616.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257695/pope-francis-at-general-audience-love-is-charity</guid>
617.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
618.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/popefrancisgeneralaudience2051524.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
619.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Pope Francis addresses the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on May 15, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media</span>
620. </div>
621. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 15, 2024 / 09:10 am (CNA).</p>
622. <p>During his general audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis reflected on charity — what he described as the “culmination” of the theological virtues — observing that it is the highest expression of Christian love, predicated on truth and underscored by forgiveness.&nbsp;</p><p>“Love is charity. We immediately realize that it is a difficult, indeed impossible love to practice if one does not live in God. Our human nature makes us love spontaneously what is good and beautiful,” Pope Francis said to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square on a sunny morning in Rome.</p><p>Pointing to the Sermon on the Mount and repeating twice the Christian maxim “love your enemy,” the pope noted that this teaching represents the highest expression of Christian love, as it “embraces what is not lovable; it offers forgiveness.”&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/popefrancisgeneralaudience3051524.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="" alt="Pope Francis greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on May 15, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Pope Francis greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on May 15, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media</figcaption></figure><p>“It is a love so ardent that it seems almost impossible,” the pope continued, “and yet it is the only thing that will remain of us. Love is the ‘narrow gate’ through which we will pass in order to enter the kingdom of God.”&nbsp;</p><p>Looking at the various manifestations of love, the pope noted that Christians “are capable of all the forms of love in the world” such as that expressed toward friends, civic love, and “the universal love for all humanity.”&nbsp;</p><p>But Francis stressed that it is the theological virtue of charity that enables Christians to love “those who are not lovable” and “those who do not care for us and are not grateful.”&nbsp;</p><p>“This comes from God, it is the work of the Holy Spirit in us,” he added.&nbsp;</p><p>Pope Francis also centered his catechesis on St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, noting that the apostle was speaking to a community divided and “anything but perfect in fraternal love.”&nbsp;</p><p>Francis observed that Paul is urging the Corinthians to embrace “not the love that rises but the one that descends.”&nbsp;</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/popefrancisgeneralaudience4051524.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="" alt="Pope Francis greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on May 15, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Pope Francis greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on May 15, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media</figcaption></figure><p>“Paul,” the pope added, “is concerned that in Corinth — as among us today too — there is confusion and that there is actually no trace of the theological virtue of love.”&nbsp;</p><p>The pope contrasted the theological notions of love and charity with contemporary notions such as the one “on the lips of many ‘influencers’” or heard “in the refrains of many songs.”</p><p>At the end of the general audience, the pope stressed the importance of the Holy Spirit in light of the solemnity of Pentecost, which will be celebrated on Sunday.</p><p>The pope implored the faithful to “be docile to the action of the Holy Spirit,” which he described as “a source of relief for everyone in their trials.”&nbsp;</p><p>The pope also prayed for those affected by recent <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-ministry-death-toll-floods-northern-afghanistan-rises-315-2024-05-12/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">flash flooding</a> in northern Afghanistan, which has left over 300 people dead and injured more than 1,600.&nbsp;</p><p>“I pray for the victims, in particular for the children and their families, and I appeal to the international community to immediately provide the aid and support necessary to protect the most vulnerable,” the pope said.&nbsp;</p>
623. ]]></description>
624.        <category>Vatican</category>
625.        <pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 09:10:00 -0400</pubDate>
626.      </item>
627.    
628.      <item>
629.        <title><![CDATA[ Catholic bishops warn of polarization in Church, urge more dialogue  ]]></title>
630.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257692/catholic-bishops-warn-of-polarization-in-church-urge-more-dialogue</link>
631.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257692/catholic-bishops-warn-of-polarization-in-church-urge-more-dialogue</guid>
632.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
633.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/b7cfc91b-ff49-43bc-abfd-abf7c714592a.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
634.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Gloria Purvis, Cardinal Robert McElroy, Bishop Daniel Flores, and Bishop Robert Barron discuss polarization in the Catholic Church during a panel discussion hosted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Charities USA, Glenmary Home Missioners, and the Jesuit Conference on May 14, 2024. / Credit: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops&#039; Live Stream YouTube channel</span>
635. </div>
636. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 15, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).</p>
637. <p>Three Catholic bishops warned of a growing ideological polarization within the Church and the need for civil dialogue among those with disagreements during <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izXU2n5Aj0Y" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a livestreamed panel discussion</a> on Tuesday afternoon.</p><p>“Politics is almost a religion and sometimes it’s a sport, [but] it’s not supposed to be either,” Bishop Daniel Flores of the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, said during the discussion.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s supposed to be a civil conversation … to seek what is good and make the priority how to achieve it and how to avoid what is evil,” Flores said. “And I think if we could stay focused on that, we can kind of tone down the caricature and the rhetoric that seeks to dehumanize people.”</p><p>The panel discussion included Flores, Cardinal Robert McElroy of the Diocese of San Diego, and Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota. It was moderated by Gloria Purvis, the host of “The Gloria Purvis Podcast” at America Magazine, and co-sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Catholic Charities USA, Glenmary Home Missioners, and the Jesuit Conference.</p><p>The panel discussion was part of the USCCB’s <a href="https://www.usccb.org/civilizeit" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">“Civilize It” initiative</a>, which is meant to foster civility in important ideological debates. As part of the initiative, the bishops ask Catholics to sign a pledge to affirm the dignity of every human person — including those with different ideological beliefs — and to work with others in pursuit of the common good.</p><p>According to the panelists, American society and the Church have grown more polarized when it comes to ideological differences — and debates about those differences have become less civil.</p><p>Barron, who founded the Catholic media organization Word on Fire, said disagreements within the Church are nothing new, but the way people approach those disagreements has changed: “What’s broken down is the love that makes real dialogue possible.”</p><p>“It’s a tribalism that’s lost the sense of love in dialogue,” Barron said.</p><p>The bishop warned that people are more focused on winning arguments and being loyal to an ideological identity than on love. He said these problems are very noticeable in discussions on the internet and encouraged people to ask whether “this comment [is] an act of love” before saying anything.&nbsp;</p><p>“Is it born of love?” Barron said people should ask themselves. “Is it born of a desire to will the good of the other? If it’s not, there’s like a thousand better things to be doing than sending that statement.”</p><p>McElroy said too much dialogue today “is meant to be confrontational” to the point at which people “can’t enter into a genuine dialogue.”&nbsp;</p><p>“People are coming toward each other in the life of the Church looking first at that label: What are you? Where do you stand in the war-like culture politics of our country?” the cardinal said.</p><p>People focus on this “rather than [on] what unites us: where do we stand in terms of our identity as Catholics and with a Christological outlook,” he added.&nbsp;</p><p>McElroy also built on the concerns Barron highlighted regarding dialogue on the internet.</p><p>“When you’re writing the Tweet, imagine Jesus is there with you and when you think through that question ‘should I do this?’” McElroy said.&nbsp;</p><p>Similarly, Flores emphasized the need to remember what Christ would do.&nbsp;</p><p>“He would not be unkind, especially to the poor and especially to those who had no standing in the world,” Flores said. “And also he would never commit an injustice in order to promote justice.”</p>
638. ]]></description>
639.        <category>US</category>
640.        <pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 07:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
641.      </item>
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644.        <title><![CDATA[ An oasis in the European Church: World’s oldest Cistercian abbey has more than 100 monks ]]></title>
645.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257690/world-s-oldest-cistercian-abbey-has-more-than-100-monks-an-oasis-in-the-european-church</link>
646.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257690/world-s-oldest-cistercian-abbey-has-more-than-100-monks-an-oasis-in-the-european-church</guid>
647.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
648.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/easter.vigil.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
649.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Easter Vigil at the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz (Holy Cross) in Austria. / Credit: Stift Heiligenkreuz</span>
650. </div>
651. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, May 15, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).</p>
652. <p>The Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz (Holy Cross) in Austria is the oldest in the world, dating back almost 1,000 years, and currently has more than 100 monks living there. It has never had “interruptions” in its history and is now an oasis of the Catholic Church in Europe, with love for God and others at the center of its work and with the beloved Pope Benedict XVI as an “ally.”</p><p>Heiligenkreuz is located about 18 miles from Vienna, the capital of Austria. The monks, explained the Italian newspaper <a href="https://www.avvenire.it/chiesa/pagine/heiligenkreuz-l-abbazia-cistercenseche-non-conosc#google_vignette" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Avvenire</a>, have an average age of 49, which means they are “young” in current Church terms, especially in Europe where there has been a precipitous decline in vocations.</p><p>Four or five men each year join the historic abbey, founded in 1135, almost a thousand years ago, making it the oldest Cistercian abbey in the world.</p><p>Among the abbey’s current 103 monks, there are 11 with temporary vows and six novices, all led by Abbot Maximilian Heim.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/abbey.optimal.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Heiligenkreuz is located about 18 miles from Vienna, the capital of Austria. Credit: Rudolf Gehrig/CNA Deustch"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Heiligenkreuz is located about 18 miles from Vienna, the capital of Austria. Credit: Rudolf Gehrig/CNA Deustch</figcaption></figure><p>“The most important thing is love for God and others. In a Benedictine monastery [the Cistercians follow the rule of St. Benedict]; this is fulfilled with the triad ‘ora, lege et labora,’ that is, pray, read, and work,” the abbot explained.</p><p>For the superior of the abbey, it’s also important to “honor the commandment of Jesus ‘that they may all be one’: unity within the community without egalitarianism and with the necessary freedom for each individual, as well as unity with the Church in practice, which means unity within the order, as well as with the pope and the diocesan bishop.”</p><h2>Rescuing other monasteries in Europe</h2><p>On Nov. 21, 2021, the last two Benedictine nuns at the Sabiona monastery in the town of Chiusa in the Italian province of Bolzano left after 335 years of the order’s presence there.</p><p>The bishop of Bolzano-Bressanone, Ivo Muser, and Abbess Maria Ancilla Hohenegger lamented what had happened and expressed their wish that the monastery located in the Italian region would continue to be a place of pilgrimage and a center of contemplative life. However, that was only possible some time later, thanks to the Heiligenkreuz Abbey.</p><p>After numerous consultations, the conventual chapter of Heiligenkreuz Abbey decided on March 14 to take over the Sabiona monastery with the aim of creating a “spiritual center” on the so-called “holy mountain,” as the place where it is located is known, explained Father Johannes Paul Chavanne to <a href="https://de.catholicnewsagency.com/news/15286/stift-heiligenkreuz-ubernimmt-kloster-saben-in-sudtirol" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CNA Deutsch</a>, CNA’s German-language news partner.</p><p>The monks who will go to the Sabiona monastery will do their pastoral work there but will continue to belong to the Heiligenkreuz Abbey.</p><p>Another monastery that received help from Heiligenkreuz Abbey was a Cistercian monastery located in the German Diocese of Görlitzer on the border with Poland.</p><p>In 2018, the bishop of Görlitz, Wolfgang Ipolt, asked for help for the Cistercian monastery of Neuzelle and succeeded in getting the Heiligenkreuz Abbey to send six of its monks there in September of that year.</p><p>With their presence it was possible to bring back contemplative life to the region after 200 years, as <a href="https://de.catholicnewsagency.com/news/3592/nach-200-jahren-zisterzienser-errichten-priorat-in-neuzelle-in-brandenburg" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CNA Deutsch</a> reported at the time.</p><h2>Pope Benedict XVI and Heiligenkreuz Abbey</h2><p>Next to Heiligenkreuz Abbey is the Benedict XVI School of Theology, which was recognized as a pontifical institution in 2007. Renowned academics such as Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz, one of the greatest experts on the work of the theologian Romano Guardini and of St. Edith Stein, and the canonist Alfred Hierold, former rector of the University of Bamberg, teach there.</p><p>The school currently has 342 students from 39 countries such as Germany, Austria, India, Italy, Nigeria, the United States, and Vietnam.</p><p>Heim, the abbot of Heiligenkreuz and a member of Pope Benedict XVI’s circle of former students, received the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Foundation Prize in 2011.</p><p>“In addition to being a monk and theologian, he treats topics concerning faith and theology through conferences and the publication of a series of books: Both initiatives are called ‘Auditorium,’” Cardinal Camillo Ruini explained at the time.</p><figure class="mx-auto" style="width:100%"><img src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/vigil.jpg" class="img-fluid" style="null" alt="Easter Vigil Mass at the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz. Credit: Stift Heiligenkreuz"><figcaption class="caption text-muted">Easter Vigil Mass at the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz. Credit: Stift Heiligenkreuz</figcaption></figure><p>On Sept. 9, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2007/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20070909_heiligenkreuz.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">addressed the monks of Heiligenkreuz</a>, reminding them that they lived in “the oldest Cistercian monastery in the world that has continued to be active without interruption. I wanted to come to this place rich in history, to draw attention to the fundamental directive of St. Benedict, according to whose rule the Cistercians also live.”</p><h2>Benedict XVI’s secretary and Cardinal Koch</h2><p>In April, a conference titled “Beauty, Demands, and the Crisis of the Priesthood” was held at the abbey, in which Archbishop Georg Gänswein, former secretary of Pope Benedict XVI, participated as well as Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.</p><p>According to <a href="https://de.catholicnewsagency.com/news/15526/ganswein-in-heiligenkreuz-priestertum-muss-nach-benedikt-xvi-christologisch-begrundbar-sein" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CNA Deutsch</a>, the cardinal spoke about the importance of the Eucharist for the Church, also for the first Christians, while Gänswein highlighted the need to promote “a solid theology of the priesthood that can withstand the misunderstandings of the modern world.”</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104410/abadia-cisterciense-tiene-casi-1000-anos-y-mas-de-100-monjes-oasis-de-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>
653. ]]></description>
654.        <category>Europe</category>
655.        <pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
656.      </item>
657.    
658.      <item>
659.        <title><![CDATA[ Heavy rains in Brazil leave hundreds dead or injured, half a million homeless, churches flooded ]]></title>
660.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257693/heavy-rains-in-brazil-leave-hundreds-dead-or-injured-half-a-million-homeless-churches-flooded</link>
661.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257693/heavy-rains-in-brazil-leave-hundreds-dead-or-injured-half-a-million-homeless-churches-flooded</guid>
662.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
663.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/flooded.1.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
664.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Our Lady of Medianeira is among 31 flooded churches in the Archdiocese of Porto Alegre, Brazil. / Credit: Courtesy photo</span>
665. </div>
666. <p>ACI Digital, May 14, 2024 / 18:31 pm (CNA).</p>
667. <p>The heavy rains that have pounded the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul since the end of April have flooded 31 churches in the four vicariates of the Archdiocese of Porto Alegre. </p><p>“Due to the height of the water, we lost all the items for Mass, equipment, liturgical books, everything,” Father Fabiano Glaser, pastor of Our Lady Mediatrix Parish in the town of Eldorado do Sul, told ACI Digital, CNA’s Portuguese-language news partner.</p><p>The largest flood in the history of Rio Grande do Sul has already affected 450 of the state’s 497 municipalities, nearly 90% of its territory, according to the daily Civil Defense bulletin issued May 14 at 9 a.m. local time. So far there are 147 dead, 125 missing, 806 injured, and more than 538,000 homeless.</p><p>More than 76,000 people and 11,000 animals have been rescued. The level of the Guaíba River, which had dropped to 15.5 feet last Friday, May 10, rose again today to 17 feet. According to forecasts from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, the water could reach close to 18 feet throughout the day Tuesday.</p><h2>Catholic churches flooded</h2><p>Glaser said the parish is located in an urban area that was 100% affected by the heavy rains. The parish includes six churches and only one was not inundated by the waters because it is located in a “neighborhood called Eldorado Park that did not have flooding,” so it was able to accommodate some “homeless people.”</p><p>According to the priest, “people are very discouraged because it is the third flood in nine months” and “many people” have said they will leave the city. “Even parish leaders,” the priest added.</p><p>“So it’s going to be a long, hard job of rebuilding. I am trying to stay in touch with the parishioners by WhatsApp, by video, and I am trying to stay close [to them] with messages of perseverance,” the priest said.</p><p>Since the water invaded the rectory, Glaser said he is taking refuge in the Our Lady of Fátima Parish in Guaíba, a neighboring city. “I am in the rectory with a family of parishioners and there are around 140 people sheltering in the parish hall,” he said.</p><p>“Here in the parish I am saying Mass,” the priest said. “So every time there is Mass, I tell the people and those who are nearby to come and participate.”</p><h2>A parish rescues 1,200 people</h2><p>Immaculate Conception Parish, which has been in the Rio Branco neighborhood for 72 years, was “the first church devastated by the rains” in the town of Canoas, according to the parochial vicar, Father Rodrigo Barroso. “The water went through the pews and entered the sacristy and the parish office. We lost a lot of material goods,” Barroso told ACI Digital.</p><p>According to the priest, the parish “was the rescue point for about 1,200 people who began arriving at the church looking to be rescued” by boat.</p><p>Barasso reported that Immaculate Conception School, run by the Franciscan Sisters of Penance and Christian Charity, which is next to the church, “was also badly damaged.” The nuns had to close the church because some people were “looting places and the church was at great risk,” he said.</p><p>“With the force of the water, we couldn’t even close the doors of the church. Today I was there and we managed to close the parish,” he added.</p><p>The vicar said he doesn’t know how long it will take to “return to normal” in the neighborhood, so Masses are being celebrated in St. Louis Gonzaga Parish in midtown Canoas.</p><h2>‘Worse than a hurricane’</h2><p>Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in the Harmonia neighborhood of Canoas and its 13 communities were also under water. </p><p>“Everything was lost, nothing was saved,” the pastor, Friar Juan Miguel Gutiérrez Mendéz, told ACI Digital.</p><p>“All the houses” in the neighborhood “are under water” and this “is a very sad, very distressing, and very desperate reality,” he added.</p><p>A native of the Dominican Republic, the Capuchin friar said that the situation in Harmonia is “like a horror movie.” </p><p>“In my life, I have never experienced a situation like this; it’s the first time. In the Dominican Republic, which is a land where there are hurricanes every year, I had never experienced a situation like this,” the friar noted. “It’s a very difficult time we are going through.”</p><p>According to Gutiérrez, the flooding in Harmonia began on the night of Friday, May 3. “It was exasperating,” he continued. He and another friar managed to save more than 40 people. </p><p>“We went up to the third floor of the parish, to the catechism room, and we were able to stay there until almost Saturday night, when we were rescued by the firefighters,” he said.</p><p>According to Gutiérrez, “the reality the faithful are experiencing is very sad,” because “many people are falling into depression, with enormous sadness.”</p><h2>Faith and liturgy</h2><p>“People are worried about the material things they have lost, but this is the time to encourage all members of the parish by telling them: We’ve lost everything, we have lost material things, but we have to ask God to increase our faith. With a strong, fortified faith, we can believe that better days will come, that we hope to rebuild, to start again,” the priest declared.</p><p>St. Pius X Parish in the Mathias Velho neighborhood of Canoas is also run by the Capuchin Friars Minor. According to Gutiérrez, the 10 friars who are there are in Porto Alegre parishes and three friars are still there in Canoas as volunteers because of the flood.</p><p>Two friars from Mathias Velho neighborhood who are at the La Salle School in Porto Alegre are celebrating Masses and broadcasting them on the internet. As for the faithful who are in the shelters, the friar reported that “they are being helped with food, but also in their spiritual life with Masses.”</p><p>According to the friar, “of the 350,000 people who live in Canoas, I think 150,000 were affected by the floods. There are many people, families who are in shelters.”</p><p>Gutiérrez highlighted something important to him: “the solidarity of the people. How many people have called me: ‘Friar, we are praying for you there in Canoas.’ How many people are contributing financially so that the people in the shelters can eat and be well,” he noted.</p><p>Gutiérrez also said that on May 12 he received news from a friar from the parish in the town of Amaral informing him that the leaders of this parish “are ready to go to Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish” and to the St. Pius X Parish in Mathias Velho.</p><p>“These people are going to go there when the water goes down to clean the chapels and then make an evaluation of what is missing in each chapel, so that later we can carry out a recovery campaign for all the communities,” he stated.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.acidigital.com/noticia/58046/padres-da-arquidiocese-de-porto-alegre-relatam-drama-das-paroquias-inundadas" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>was first published</em></a><em> by ACI Digital, CNA’s Portuguese-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by ACI Prensa and CNA.</em></p>
668. ]]></description>
669.        <category>Americas</category>
670.        <pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2024 18:31:00 -0400</pubDate>
671.      </item>
672.    
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674.        <title><![CDATA[ Wyoming sorority sisters sue over admission of biological man ]]></title>
675.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257694/wyoming-sorority-sisters-sue-over-admission-of-biological-man</link>
676.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257694/wyoming-sorority-sisters-sue-over-admission-of-biological-man</guid>
677.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
678.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/kappakappagammasororitycase051424.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
679.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, biological women’s sports activist Riley Gaines, and lawyers from the Independent Women’s Law Center approach the 10th Circuit Courthouse in Denver on May 14, 2024. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Independent Women’s Forum</span>
680. </div>
681. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 14, 2024 / 18:11 pm (CNA).</p>
682. <p>Six members of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Wyoming are suing their sorority for admitting a man who identifies as a woman.</p><p>Represented by the Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC), the sisters argued their case before a three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Tuesday.&nbsp;</p><p>The women are alleging that the sorority’s decision in fall 2022 to admit a man, Artemis Langford, violated its bylaws, which state that all members be women. The sisters have also said that Langford has harassed them in their sorority house by watching them change, taking photos, and asking “invasive” sexual questions.&nbsp;</p><p>Allie Coghan, a Kappa Kappa Gamma alumna from the class of 2023 and one of the plaintiffs in the suit, told CNA that Langford’s admission into the sorority caused her and her sisters to feel very unsafe in their own home.</p><p>“We never used to lock our doors at night. I would sleep with my door open all the time and then all of a sudden it became me locking my door and just hoping that I wouldn’t hear heavy footsteps in the hallway while I’m sleeping because I knew who it would be,” she explained. “All of a sudden it became very uncomfortable to go to the bathroom and shower because you never know who’s going to be sitting there waiting or watching.”</p><p>Coghan said that some of her friends in the sorority caught Langford staring at them when coming out of the shower and that there were other instances that made them feel very scared.</p><p>“In the sorority house, there are women who have been sexually assaulted in the past, and so that’s why living in a sorority house is so comforting to them,” she explained. “It’s just a safe haven, and they were stripped of that. We were all stripped of it.”</p><p>Rather than listening to their fears and negative experiences, Coghan said, the sorority began ostracizing anyone who disapproved of Langford’s admission, labeling them “transphobic” and using “bullying tactics” to pressure them to agree.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“Sororities are not meant to be political. One of the beautiful things about it is all the diversity that is in there,” she said, adding that “the one thing that holds us all together is that we are all women.”</p><p>In August 2023 federal Judge Alan Johnson dismissed the sisters’ lawsuit on the grounds that a woman is clearly defined in the sorority’s bylaws and is thus open to the group’s interpretation.&nbsp;</p><p>The six sisters appealed the decision to the 10th Circuit Court in October, continuing to argue that Kappa Kappa Gamma “subverted their own bylaws and other governing documents and did so in bad faith by changing their membership criteria.”&nbsp;</p><p>On Tuesday the three-judge panel appeared skeptical that they had jurisdiction to rule on the case. The panel pointed out that the lower court’s dismissal left open limited grounds for the sisters to refile their suit.&nbsp;</p><p>May Mailman, an attorney for the sisters, admitted that they could possibly refile the suit but that would still not change the lower court’s decision that Kappa Kappa Gamma can interpret its bylaws to include biological men.&nbsp;</p><p>Natalie McLaughlin, the attorney for Kappa Kappa Gamma, meanwhile maintained that the sorority is entitled to interpret its definition of a woman however it pleases.</p><p>A representative for Kappa Kappa Gamma told CNA that it “will continue to vigorously defend against attempts by plaintiffs to use the judicial system to take away a private organization’s fundamental rights and cause lasting damage to individuals and to our membership.”</p><p>“Today, Kappa Kappa Gamma defended in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Colorado our right as a private organization to interpret our bylaws and standing rules,” the representative said, adding: “We are confident the federal court will uphold the decisive ruling of a federal judge in Wyoming and bring a swift resolution to this matter.”</p><p>Outside the courthouse, the Independent Women’s Forum and several other groups held a “Save Sisterhood” rally in which biological women’s sports activist Riley Gaines and several members of Kappa Kappa Gamma spoke out in support of the sisters’ lawsuit.&nbsp;</p><p>Hannah Holtmeier, a current Kappa Kappa Gamma member and one of the plaintiffs in the case, also spoke at the rally, saying: “I can attest to the toll it takes on young women mentally knowing that at any point I could step out of the bathroom or walk out of the shower to a 6’2’’, 260-pound man is terrifying.”&nbsp;</p><p>“To girls across our great country, and their mothers and fathers, if you think you’re in a situation where this won’t affect you, think again,” she went on. “Odds are if we don’t speak up to at least define women’s spaces, you, your daughter, or any other woman in your life will be affected.”&nbsp;</p>
683. ]]></description>
684.        <category>US</category>
685.        <pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2024 18:11:00 -0400</pubDate>
686.      </item>
687.    
688.      <item>
689.        <title><![CDATA[ UK author of transgender study: U.S. groups are ‘misleading the public’  ]]></title>
690.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257689/uk-author-of-transgender-study-us-groups-are-misleading-the-public</link>
691.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257689/uk-author-of-transgender-study-us-groups-are-misleading-the-public</guid>
692.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
693.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/shutterstock-2315937259.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
694.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">null / Shutterstock</span>
695. </div>
696. <p>Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 14, 2024 / 16:22 pm (CNA).</p>
697. <p>An English pediatrician who led a comprehensive review of the safety and efficacy of prescribing transgender drugs to children is warning that health associations in the United States may be misleading the public.</p><p>In an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/13/health/hilary-cass-transgender-youth-puberty-blockers.html" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">interview with the New York Times</a>&nbsp;published on Monday, Dr. Hilary Cass warned there is no comprehensive evidence to support the routine prescription of transgender drugs to minors with gender dysphoria.&nbsp;</p><p>Cass published the independent&nbsp;“<a href="https://cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report/" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Cass Review</a>,”&nbsp;commissioned by the National Health Service in England, which prompted&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257070/breaking-englands-national-health-service-ends-puberty-blockers-for-kids" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">England</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257432/scotland-pauses-sex-change-puberty-blocker-drugs-for-children" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Scotland</a>&nbsp;to halt the prescription of transgender drugs to minors until more research&nbsp;is conducted.</p><p>As England, Scotland, and other European countries scale back their use of transgender drugs for minors, most&nbsp;doctors’&nbsp;associations and health associations in the U.S. continue to endorse these medical interventions. In more than half of the states in the United States, it is still legal to prescribe transgender drugs to children and to perform transgender surgeries on them.</p><p>“What some organizations are doing is doubling down on saying the evidence is good,”&nbsp;Cass said in the interview.&nbsp;“And I think&nbsp;that’s&nbsp;where&nbsp;you’re&nbsp;misleading the public. You need to be honest about the strength of the evidence and say what&nbsp;you’re&nbsp;going to&nbsp;do to improve it.”</p><p>Speaking specifically about the American Academy of Pediatrics —&nbsp;which is&nbsp;the largest pediatric association in the country — Cass said the group&nbsp;“does massive good for children worldwide”&nbsp;but also&nbsp;“is fearful of making any moves that might jeopardize trans health care right now.”</p><p>She added:&nbsp;“I wonder whether, if they&nbsp;weren’t&nbsp;feeling under such political duress, they would be able to be more nuanced, to say that multiple truths exist in this space — that there are children who are going to need medical treatment, and that there are other children who are going to resolve their distress in different ways.”</p><p>The American Academy of Pediatrics&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255026/pediatricians-group-affirms-support-for-gender-affirming-care-but-calls-guideline-review" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announced it would undertake a&nbsp;“systematic review”</a> of its guidelines in August&nbsp;2023&nbsp;but also reaffirmed its support for&nbsp;“gender-affirming care”&nbsp;for children, which includes the prescription of transgender drugs.&nbsp;The organization did not respond to&nbsp;CNA’s&nbsp;request for comment.</p><p>“I&nbsp;respectfully disagree with them on holding on to a position that&nbsp;is now demonstrated&nbsp;to be out of date by multiple systematic reviews,”&nbsp;Cass said in her New York Times interview.&nbsp;</p><p>Cass noted that her comprehensive review of studies related to the prescription of transgender drugs for minors found that&nbsp;“the evidence is&nbsp;very weak&nbsp;compared to many other areas of pediatric practice.”</p><p>“We have to stop just seeing these young people through the lens of their gender and see them as whole people and address the much broader range of challenges that they have, sometimes with their mental health, sometimes with undiagnosed neurodiversity,”&nbsp;Cass added.&nbsp;“It’s&nbsp;really about helping them to thrive, not just saying&nbsp;‘How do we address the gender?’&nbsp;in isolation.”</p><p>Mary Rice Hasson, the director of the Person and Identity Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told CNA:&nbsp;“Cass’&nbsp;rigorous evidence reviews, four years in the making, confirmed what Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway — all early adopters of medical&nbsp;‘gender transitions’&nbsp;in minors — discovered.”&nbsp;</p><p>“There’s&nbsp;no good evidence to support the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in identity-distressed kids,”&nbsp;Hasson said.&nbsp;“They need psychotherapy and holistic treatment — not the&nbsp;‘fast-track’&nbsp;to lifelong hormones and repeat surgeries.”</p><p>Hasson said:&nbsp;“The arrogance and deceit of the U.S. gender industry is shocking [because] they insist&nbsp;there’s&nbsp;nothing new in the Cass Review, which makes me wonder if&nbsp;they’ve&nbsp;even read it.”&nbsp;However, she said,&nbsp;“more likely, they are digging in their heels at the behest of trans activists and ideologically-driven funders.”</p><p>“It’s&nbsp;no secret that LGBTQ lobby groups have put tremendous pressure on U.S. health care to support&nbsp;‘LGBTQ inclusion,’&nbsp;particularly&nbsp;‘transgender’&nbsp;demands for body modification,”&nbsp;Hasson added.</p><p>In addition to the Cass Review — which&nbsp;was published&nbsp;in April — a series of other studies that were published this year call into question the efficacy of prescribing transgender drugs for and offering transgender surgeries to children.</p><p>For example, a Mayo Clinic&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257353/puberty-blockers-may-cause-irreversible-harm-to-young-boys-mayo-clinic-study-finds" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">study from April</a>&nbsp;found that puberty-blocking drugs may cause irreversible damage to testicular cells in young boys. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257303/study-from-netherlands-most-children-outgrow-transgender-inclinations" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">study out of the Netherlands</a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;was published&nbsp;in February found that most children who have transgender inclinations will outgrow those feelings. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256988/finnish-study-transgender-surgeries-for-minors-do-not-solve-mental-health-issues" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">third study out of Finland</a>&nbsp;found that transgender surgeries for minors do not reduce suicides in children and young adults who struggle with their gender identity.</p>
698. ]]></description>
699.        <category>US</category>
700.        <pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2024 16:22:00 -0400</pubDate>
701.      </item>
702.    
703.      <item>
704.        <title><![CDATA[ Expert on Our Lady of Guadalupe named master theologian on apparitions ]]></title>
705.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257688/expert-on-our-lady-of-guadalupe-named-master-theologian-on-apparitions</link>
706.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257688/expert-on-our-lady-of-guadalupe-named-master-theologian-on-apparitions</guid>
707.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
708.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/screenshot-2024-05-14-at-2.20.56-pm.png?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
709.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Father Eduardo Chávez has been immersed in the study and dissemination of the message of the Virgin of Guadalupe for more than 40 years. / Credit: David Ramos/ACI Prensa</span>
710. </div>
711. <p>ACI Prensa Staff, May 14, 2024 / 15:52 pm (CNA).</p>
712. <p>Father Eduardo Chávez, director of the Higher Institute of Guadalupan Studies and postulator of the cause for canonization of St. Juan Diego, was recently confirmed as “master Guadalupan theologian” by Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, the primatial archbishop of Mexico.</p><p>The decision was made May 9 in conjunction with the Chapter of the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, headed by its rector, Father Efraín Hernández.</p><p>Chávez, who also holds a doctorate in Church history from the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome, shared with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, his gratitude for this appointment, committing himself to “deepen knowledge of the Guadalupan event, to disseminate it throughout the world.”</p><p>Chávez noted that “the Virgin of Guadalupe places Jesus in the heart of every human being, of every culture,” so his work as master Guadalupan theologian is to convey this message as well as “deepen, investigate, analyze, and in so doing also form” more people in the “Guadalupan event,” as <a href="https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/saints/our-lady-of-guadalupe-424" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe</a> in Mexico are also known.</p><p>The Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to the Aztec Indian St. Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill Dec. 9–12, 1531, expressing her wish that a Catholic church be built on the flat area at the foot of the hill.</p><p>Juan Diego then went to see the first bishop of Mexico, Franciscan Friar Juan de Zumárraga, to present Our Lady’s request.&nbsp;As proof of the veracity of the apparitions, the Indian brought the flowers Our Lady told him to cut from a non-native rose bush miraculously growing out of season on Tepeyac Hill.</p><p>To carry the flowers, Juan Diego folded his tilma or cloak over them. When he opened the tilma to present the flowers to the bishop, those present saw that the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe miraculously appeared on the cloth.</p><p>The tilma of St. Juan Diego is currently preserved in the Guadalupe Basilica, situated at the foot of Tepeyac Hill in Mexico City.</p><p>Since 1978, Chávez has been immersed in the study and dissemination of the message of the Virgin of Guadalupe, playing an important role in the beatification process (1990) and the subsequent canonization of St. Juan Diego (2002).</p><p>The priest was also one of the founders of the Higher Institute of Guadalupan Studies in 2003, together with Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, then primatial archbishop of Mexico, and the late Monsignor José Luis Guerrero, who was the vice postulator of the cause of canonization of St. Juan Diego. The ISEG, created from research and studies approved by the Holy See, has become the main center to continue the study of the Guadalupan event.</p><p>Chávez said that his work is guided by the message of the “Morenita del Tepeyac,” an affectionate term that refers to Our Lady’s brown mestiza complexion on the tilma. The priest shared that he finds his work “very moving and exciting,” an assignment “I definitely don’t deserve.” However, he trusts that “it is the Virgin of Guadalupe who is present throughout all of this.”</p><p>Chávez’s appointment becomes even more relevant with the 500th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico approaching in 2031, as well as the Extraordinary Jubilee of the Redemption in 2033, which will commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago.</p><p>According to Chávez, various activities and events are being planned, with the theme “Going to Jesus through Mary” in line with the preparations for these dates.</p><p>In addition, he explained that the Holy See is collaborating through the Pontifical International Marian Academy along with other institutions such as the Pontifical University of Mexico.</p><p>“It’s incredible what the Virgin of Guadalupe is doing: She is more powerfully present than ever in so many things, and we see it there in the basilica when so many pilgrims come from Vietnam, South Korea, Poland, the United States, not to mention all of Latin America,” Chávez said.</p><p><em>This story </em><a href="https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/104413/experto-en-apariciones-de-la-virgen-de-guadalupe-es-confirmado-como-teologo-magistral-guadalupano-en-mexico" 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>Americas</category>
715.        <pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2024 15:52:00 -0400</pubDate>
716.      </item>
717.    
718.      <item>
719.        <title><![CDATA[ Australian archbishop faces criticism over pastoral letter on human dignity ]]></title>
720.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257686/australian-archbishop-porteous-faces-criticism-over-pastoral-letter-on-human-dignity</link>
721.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257686/australian-archbishop-porteous-faces-criticism-over-pastoral-letter-on-human-dignity</guid>
722.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
723.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/images/Porteous.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
724.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">Archbishop Julian Porteous. / Credit: Archdiocese of Hobart</span>
725. </div>
726. <p>CNA Newsroom, May 14, 2024 / 15:22 pm (CNA).</p>
727. <p>An Australian archbishop has been criticized for his pastoral letter addressing human dignity and legislative challenges to religious and parental freedoms.</p><p>Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart released the <a href="https://www.calameo.com/read/002628780aa0396aa14cc" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">four-page document</a> titled “We Are Salt to the Earth” on May 2. The pastoral letter was sent to Catholic parishes and schools in the Tasmanian archdiocese.</p><p>In the letter, Porteous reiterated the Church’s teaching on the complementarity of the sexes, the sanctity of marriage, and the protection of life from conception to natural death.</p><p>“Believing in God as creator we see our identity as male and female as a gift. Thus, we see efforts to disconnect gender from biological sex as denying the reality of who we are and the precious identity we have as a man or a woman,” Porteous wrote.</p><p>“God created male and female as sexually complementary. This means that, sexually speaking, we have literally been made for the opposite sex. He intended that man and woman would be drawn to each other, desire a lifelong union in marriage, and so provide a stable and loving environment for the generation and nurturing of children.”&nbsp;</p><p>The archbishop expressed concerns over the impact of abortion and euthanasia and proposed changes to antidiscrimination laws at the state and federal levels.</p><p>Drawing on <a href="https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20240402_dignitas-infinita_en.html" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>Dignitas Infinita</em></a>, the prelate wrote: “We see efforts to disconnect gender from biological sex as denying the reality of who we are and the precious identity we have as a man or a woman.”</p><p>Equality Tasmania, an LGBT advocacy group, strongly opposed the letter, saying it “stigmatized&nbsp;LGBTIQA+ people,” according to a report by the Australian <a href="https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/archbishop-porteous-faces-strife-over-new-pastoral-letter/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Catholic Weekly</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Group President Rowan Richardson called for a “right of reply” to be distributed in the Catholic schools that received the archbishop’s letter.</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-14/catholic-archbishop-julian-porteous-letter-to-parents-criticised/103838640" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">a report</a> by public broadcaster ABC, independent member of Parliament Kristie Johnston — whose child attends a Catholic school — condemned the letter as hateful and alienating for young people questioning their sexual identity.&nbsp;</p><p>Porteous has faced similar controversies before. In 2015, he distributed the booklet “Don’t Mess with Marriage” during the same-sex marriage debate, which led to legal action.&nbsp;</p><p>In a statement, the Archdiocese of Hobart told ABC: “Archbishop Porteous wrote a pastoral letter that was sent to Catholic parishes and Catholic schools. The letter expresses his concern about threats to religious freedom from the Albanese government’s proposed legislation. In particular, the letter expresses the archbishop’s concern about the freedom of Catholic institutions to teach and uphold the Catholic faith.”</p>
728. ]]></description>
729.        <category>Asia - Pacific</category>
730.        <pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2024 15:22:00 -0400</pubDate>
731.      </item>
732.    
733.      <item>
734.        <title><![CDATA[ As ocean temps hit record, Vatican hosts discussions on climate change, offers resources ]]></title>
735.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257685/as-ocean-temps-hit-record-vatican-hosts-discussions-on-climate-change-offers-resources</link>
736.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257685/as-ocean-temps-hit-record-vatican-hosts-discussions-on-climate-change-offers-resources</guid>
737.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
738.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/tracysaboldrerinlothes051424.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
739.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">“EWTN News Nightly” host Tracy Sabol speaks with Dr. Erin Lothes, a Catholic environmental theologian and senior manager of the Laudato Si’ Animators Program with the Laudato Si’ Movement, on on May 9, 2024. / Credit: “EWTN News Nightly” screen shot</span>
740. </div>
741. <p>CNA Staff, May 14, 2024 / 14:52 pm (CNA).</p>
742. <p>The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service released data showing that April was the hottest month on record for global sea surface temperatures. It was the 13th consecutive month that temperatures hit a record high of 68.97 degrees Fahrenheit.&nbsp;</p><p>The report comes as the Vatican hosts a <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257665/international-summit-on-climate-change-to-bring-california-new-york-governors-to-the-vatican" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">summit</a> this week on climate change, bringing together politicians, civic leaders, lawmakers, and researchers from around the world.</p><p>The three-day conference from May 15–17 titled “From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience” will be held at the Casina Pio IV, the seat of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences, which sits in the Vatican Gardens. It will feature a series of roundtable discussions and culminate in the signing of a new international protocol that will be submitted to the United Nations.</p><p>Pope Francis has been vocal about the need for Catholics to take responsibility for the health of the environment, releasing two apostolic exhortations regarding the topic: <em>Laudato Si’</em> and <em>Laudate Deum</em>.</p><p>In light of the alarming data about ocean temperatures, “EWTN News Nightly” host Tracy Sabol on May 9 spoke to Dr. Erin Lothes, a Catholic environmental theologian and senior manager of the Laudato Si’ Animators Program with the Laudato Si’ Movement.</p><p>“The ocean has now broken temperatures every day for more than a year,” she explained, emphasizing that this is “absolutely a big concern,” as it “causes suffering around the world.”</p><p>“It reduces biodiversity and diminishes fisheries and huge numbers of people globally depend on fish for their food, for their protein, and also for their livelihoods,” Lothes added.&nbsp;</p><p>Lothes referenced <em>Laudato Si’</em> in which “the pope reminds us that we all have a moral responsibility to care for creation.”</p><p>“He says, ‘This is neither optional nor secondary for every Christian,’” she explained. “And in <em>Laudate Deum</em> he strongly reminds us that we need to take action. We need to raise our voices and work for change.”</p><p>“He describes this in <em>Laudato Si’</em> as ‘civic and political love,’ which is a wonderful way of looking at how we enact our love for each other by raising our voices, sharing our values, and calling for the change that we need in our energy systems so that it truly can be healthy for all people.”</p><p>She pointed out that Catholics have a “tremendous opportunity to take action” thanks to the <a href="https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/" target="null" class="null" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>Laudato Si’</em> Action Platform</a>. The platform — an initiative of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development — provides resources for the Church to achieve real and lasting solutions to environmental problems.&nbsp;</p><p>The platform offers guides and templates that can be used for churches, institutions, communities, and families to map out a path of action. Users can also take a self-assessment that is customized to their unique situation to help them understand where they stand today in terms of how they’re caring for the environment and actions they can take to start doing more.&nbsp;</p><p>There are also hundreds of resources provided on the platform on different environmental topics that can be useful for spreading awareness. Users can connect with other participants and take part in events around the world. </p><p>The full “EWTN News Nightly” interview with Lothes can be viewed below.</p><div style="width:100%" class="mx-auto embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w-6vBIVQcvM?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></p>
743. ]]></description>
744.        <category>Vatican</category>
745.        <pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2024 14:52:00 -0400</pubDate>
746.      </item>
747.    
748.      <item>
749.        <title><![CDATA[ Justice Alito to Franciscan graduates: ‘Go out boldly and change the world’ ]]></title>
750.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257684/justice-alito-to-franciscan-graduates-go-out-boldly-and-change-the-world</link>
751.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257684/justice-alito-to-franciscan-graduates-go-out-boldly-and-change-the-world</guid>
752.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
753.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/samuelalitofranciscangraduation051424.jpg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
754.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito speaks to graduates at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, on May 11, 2024. / Credit: Franciscan University</span>
755. </div>
756. <p>CNA Newsroom, May 14, 2024 / 14:22 pm (CNA).</p>
757. <p>U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito challenged graduates at&nbsp;Franciscan&nbsp;University of Steubenville, Ohio, on Saturday to embrace vital life lessons about courage and personal values that he said can be found in the U.S. Constitution.</p><p>“The framers foresaw that troublous times would arise when rulers and people would become restive and the principles of constitutional liberty would be in peril unless established by irreparable law,” Alito said at the May 11 commencement.</p><p>“The Constitution of the United States applies to all classes of men at all times and under all circumstances,” he emphasized. “This same fundamental idea that there are certain principles that we cannot compromise without paying a fearsome price applies to our personal lives.”&nbsp;</p><p>Speaking on campus at Finnegan Field, Alito urged the 896 graduating seniors — the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257599/justice-samuel-alito-to-address-record-breaking-2024-class-at-franciscan-university-of-steubenville" target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">largest graduating</a>&nbsp;class at Franciscan in the private Catholic school’s 78-year history — to “go out boldly and change the world.”&nbsp;</p><p>Alito stressed the importance of knowing one’s values.</p><p>“We can make the effort to keep in mind what is fundamental and what is permanent in our lives … that is&nbsp;absolutely&nbsp;critical,” he said.</p><p>“There are certain moral principles that are true and immutable. These principles of right and wrong are not relative or circumstantial. They are not of our making, and it is not within our power to change them even though at times we might find that convenient.”</p><p>Alito — a stalwart conservative of the U.S. Supreme Court known for authoring the majority opinion in&nbsp;Dobbs v. Jackson&nbsp;Women’s Health Organization,&nbsp;which struck down&nbsp;Roe v. Wade<em>&nbsp;</em>— spoke at length about the law in his address, jokingly saying: “If you invite a lawyer to give a graduation speech you’re going to hear about the law.”</p><p>He pointed to the Constitution as more than a document, seeing it as a pure expression of the energy and spirit of the nation. </p><p>“Our Constitution has survived and flourished because it was designed to accommodate change. We are a nation of change. When Alexis de Tocqueville toured the United States in the 1840s he marveled at the restlessness of Americans. And since Tocqueville’s day, Americans have never stopped racing towards the future,” he said.</p><p>Alito tasked the graduating class with taking away two specific lessons from what the Constitution teaches every American. </p><p>“The first,” he said, “is respect for reason and civil discourse. Our legal system is built on the premise that&nbsp;it is possible for fair and open-minded people to solve&nbsp;their problems by reasoning together by a process of rational and respectful argumentation. I hope you will take that approach in your lives.”</p><p>The second lesson, he continued, is to pay deference to tradition and past wisdom. Specifically, Alito told students that their pasts can help ground them as they move through life and that friends who truly know the real you prevent you from giving way to the vices of pride and arrogance.</p><p>Alito took inspiration for his speech from a few different sources including comedian Rodney Dangerfield and St. John Henry Newman. Quoting Dangerfield from the movie “Back to School,” Alito bluntly told students: “It’s rough out there,” alluding to the adversity they will face as they move forward through life.</p><p>Citing St. John Henry Newman, the 19th-century English churchman who wrote and lectured extensively on the need for universities to provide “a comprehensive view of truth in all its branches,” Alito praised Franciscan as one of the “very few colleges” today that “live up to that ideal.”</p>
758. ]]></description>
759.        <category>US</category>
760.        <pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2024 14:22:00 -0400</pubDate>
761.      </item>
762.    
763.      <item>
764.        <title><![CDATA[ What has the Vatican already said about discerning Marian apparitions? ]]></title>
765.        <link>https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257682/explainer-what-has-the-vatican-already-said-about-discerning-marian-apparitions</link>
766.        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257682/explainer-what-has-the-vatican-already-said-about-discerning-marian-apparitions</guid>
767.        <description><![CDATA[ <div style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 25px;">
768.  <img src="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/medjugorieevent.jpeg?w=800&jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; max-width: 100%" />
769.  <span style="text-align: right; font-style: italic;">The Medjugorje Youth Festival, in its 34th edition, held July 26–30, 2023, at the site of alleged Marian apparitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. / Credit: Radio MIR Međjugorje</span>
770. </div>
771. <p>Rome Newsroom, May 14, 2024 / 13:52 pm (CNA).</p>
772. <p>Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández will unveil guidelines for discerning Marian apparitions and other supernatural phenomena on Friday, but it is not the first time that the Vatican’s doctrine office has issued a directive for how the Church should respond to news of an alleged apparition.</p><p>Fifty years ago officials from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith identified how the emergence of mass media had created an environment in which news of an alleged apparition could spread rapidly and quickly draw larger crowds than in past centuries thanks to the ease of modern travel.&nbsp;</p><p>Officials from the congregation met to discuss problems that could come up in examining apparitions in November 1974 and agreed on a procedure for Church authorities to follow in the case of a reported apparition.</p><p>The Vatican’s doctrine office made these norms public with the approval of Pope Paul VI in 1978, just three years before Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was named the prefect of the congregation.</p><p>First, when a Church authority is informed of a new purported apparition or revelation, specific criteria should be used to judge whether or not cult or devotion should be allowed.</p><p>Criteria that would lead to a negative judgment on the alleged apparition included:</p><ol start="1"><li><p>Doctrinal errors attributed to God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the saint during the apparition or revelation</p></li><li><p>Evidence of a search for profit or gain from the apparition</p></li><li><p>Gravely immoral acts committed by the recipient of the apparition or their followers</p></li><li><p>A psychological disorder or psychopathic tendencies</p></li><li><p>Clear errors concerning the facts of the apparition</p></li></ol><p>Criteria that would lend itself to a positive judgment permitting some public devotion included:</p><ol start="1"><li><p>A serious investigation into the alleged apparition establishes with “moral certitude, or at least great probability of the existence of the facts.”</p></li><li><p>The recipient of the apparition exhibits the qualities of honesty, a morally upright life, psychological health, and docility toward Church authority</p></li><li><p>Revelations include true theological and spiritual doctrines that are immune from error</p></li><li><p>Healthy devotion and abundant and constant spiritual fruit</p></li></ol><p>The 1978 norms identify the local bishop as the competent authority with the responsibility of evaluating an alleged apparition in his jurisdiction. If he finds that it meets the positive criteria, he can permit some public devotion under his oversight, judging it as “pro nunc nihil&nbsp;obstare,” or “for now, nothing stands in the way.”</p><p>After years have passed, the bishop at the request of the flock can express a judgment regarding the authenticity and supernatural character of an apparition taking into account the spiritual fruit that has been generated from his new devotion.</p><p>The doctrine office noted that the regional or national bishops’ conference can also intervene in the case of an alleged apparition with the consent of the local bishop.&nbsp;</p><p>The Holy See can also intervene if asked by the local bishop or by a qualified group of the faithful. The Vatican also has the prerogative to intervene directly due to the universal jurisdiction of the pope and has the responsibility to intervene in “graver cases, especially if the matter affects the larger part of the Church” after consulting the local ordinary.</p><p>It is not yet clear how the new norms to be published by Fernández will change the procedures or competent authorities for dealing with an alleged apparition established by the Vatican in the 1970s.&nbsp;It is clear that&nbsp;the media environment has evolved in accelerated and unanticipated ways in the past 50 years, making it possible for a supposed Marian apparition to go viral worldwide in a matter of hours, which could necessitate a change in the way that the Church responds to such phenomena.</p><p>Regardless of what the new changes will bring, the Catholic Church will continue to consider Marian apparitions under the category of private revelations. According to paragraph 67 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, private revelations “do not belong … to the deposit of faith.”</p><p>“It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the magisterium of the Church, the&nbsp;<em>sensus&nbsp;fidelium</em>&nbsp;knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.”</p>
773. ]]></description>
774.        <category>Vatican</category>
775.        <pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:52:00 -0400</pubDate>
776.      </item>
777.      </channel>
778. </rss>
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