VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8  •  AUGUST 20, 2016

Table of Contents

Copyright Notice

VATICAN NEWS

Don’t be held back: Pope calls Christians to be set ablaze by the Holy Spirit

Pope prays for massacre victims in DRC

Pope Francis voices solidarity, closeness to victims of Portugal fires

Pope taps Dallas bishop to head new Vatican department for laity

Holy See urges U.N. to protect children in armed conflict

The mathematics of mercy – Pope Francis sees a lesson in Jesus’ miracles

Papal pizza? Rome’s homeless get a special treat from Francis

Benedict XVI’s students to discuss spiritual crisis in Europe at annual meeting

Pope Francis to visit Assisi again for interreligious summit

WORLD NEWS

This Catholic school network produced nine Rio Olympians

The Catholic Americas come together for the Year of Mercy

Insides that didn’t decompose – and other stunning facts about Oscar Romero

France offering all Assumption Masses for the country’s intentions

Colombian bishops welcome government backing down from gender ideology

Archbishop Cheenath, defender of India’s persecuted Christians, dies at 81

Lourdes increased its security for the Assumption

This Mexican bishop is willing to evangelize from jail, if necessary

Young priest whom Pope encouraged in battle against cancer dies

Number of German priest ordinations plummets to new low

For George Soros, Ireland abortion fight may be first step against Catholic countries

Soldiers from six nations join Marian peace pilgrimage in Poland

Cardinal Marx faces accusations over handling of alleged abuse case

What’s it like to be a persecuted Christian? This exhibit shows you

It’s World Humanitarian Day. Here’s 5 things you should know

U.S. NEWS

Pittsburgh diocese: Government is violating Supreme Court mandate order

Archbishop Chaput urges Catholics not to vote ‘on autopilot’

Transform your hearts – Milwaukee’s archbishop addresses riots

This bill aims to ensure churches can help people pay medical bills

The U.S. talks tough on religious persecution, but do its actions match?

Amid Louisiana floods, victims become helpers

California religious colleges dodge a bullet. But what’s next?

Critics find a lot to doubt about Hillary Clinton’s pro-religious freedom claims

The fascinating (and problematic) history of athletes doping

Head Knight of Columbus takes on idea of ‘pro-choice but personally opposed’

It’s official: Our Lady of Good Help in Wisconsin is a national shrine

Marian procession to mark Los Angeles’ 235th birthday

Challenge to Maryland Ten Commandments statue dropped

Suicide of bullied student raises questions for Catholic school

After decline in sales, Target tests out bathroom compromise

In Arab Christian’s murder, some see deadly American cultural tensions

FEATURES

Why these cards inspired a Catholic grandpa to build an app

Bishop Robert Barron: A great gift to the Church

Jane and John go to college, and so do their parents

Olympic runner who helped fallen competitor finds inspiration in God

Memory of botched Jesus painting preserved in comedic opera

Meet Church Curmudgeon: The grumpiest, funniest guy on Twitter

Will the next Synod of Bishops consider married men for ordination to the priesthood?

What to do if you’re too ashamed to go to Confession

Love and friendship

Ben-Hur: A tale of Christ, a tale of grace

‘Ben-Hur’ remake aims high, but falls short of its 1959 predecessor

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Sunday • August 21, 2016

Monday • August 22, 2016

Tuesday • August 23, 2016

Wednesday • August 24, 2016

Thursday • August 25, 2016

Friday • August 26, 2016

Saturday • August 27, 2016

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Volume 2, Issue 8 • August 20, 2016

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VATICAN NEWS

Don’t be held back: Pope calls Christians to be set ablaze by the Holy Spirit

by Ann Schneible (CNA/EWTN News) • August 14, 2016

Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square for the Jubilee of Mercy audience on June 18, 2016. (Alexey Gotovskiy/CNA)

Vatican City — The Church does not need “cold or lukewarm Christians” who are held back by fear, Pope Francis said Sunday; it needs Christians who are on fire with the Holy Spirit and committed to proclaiming the Gospel, even if it costs them their lives.

The Church needs “passionate missionaries, consumed by zeal to bring the consoling Word of Jesus and his grace to everyone,” the Pope said during his weekly Angelus address.

“This is the fire of the Holy Spirit,” he said. “If the Church does not receive this fire, or allow it to enter, it becomes a cold or lukewarm Church, incapable of giving life, since it is made of cold or lukewarm Christians.”

The Pope expressed his admiration for the many priests, consecrated, and lay faithful, “who, throughout the world, are dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel with great love and loyalty, often even at the cost of their lives.”

Pope Francis delivered his Aug. 14 address to the crowds who had gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly Angelus.

In his address before reciting the Marian prayer, the pontiff reflected on the themes of the day’s Gospel reading, specifically on Jesus’ words: “I have come to set the earth on fire.” He explained how the fire about which Jesus speaks is that of the “Holy Spirit, the living and working presence in us from the day of our Baptism.”

This fire is a “creative force which purifies and renews,” as it burns away every human misery, egoism, and sin, he said. “It transforms us from within, regenerates us, and makes us capable of love.”

“Jesus wants the Holy Spirit to burn like fire in our hearts, because it is only from the heart that the fire of Divine love can strengthen and advance the Kingdom of God,” he said.

By opening ourselves completely to the Holy Spirit, we will be given the the “courage and zeal to proclaim to everyone Jesus, and his consoling message of mercy and salvation.”

The Holy Spirit keeps the Church from being “held back by fear and calculations” or becoming accustomed to staying within secure confines, Pope Francis said.

“The Apostolic courage which the Holy Spirit ignites in us as a fire helps us overcome walls and barriers, makes us creative,” and spurs us along “unexplored or uncomfortable paths, offering hope to those we meet.”

“We are called to become ever more a community of persons who are guided and transformed by the Holy Spirit,” the pontiff said.

Speaking off the cuff, Pope Francis said the fire of the Holy Spirit brings us to those who suffer from various miseries and problems, including migrants and refugees.

Now more than ever there is a need for priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful, the Pope said, “who, throughout the world, are dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel with great love and loyalty, often even at the cost of their lives.”

“Their exemplary witness reminds us that the Church does not need bureaucrats or meticulous officials,” Pope Francis said. Rather, it needs “passionate missionaries, consumed by zeal to bring the consoling Word of Jesus and his grace to everyone.”

“This is the fire of the Holy Spirit,” the pontiff said, again going off script. “If the Church does not receive this fire, or allow it to enter, it becomes a cold or only Church, incapable of giving life, since it is made of cold or lukewarm Christians.”

The Pope encouraged those present to take five minutes to ask themselves whether their own hearts are cold or lukewarm, and if they are capable of receiving this fire of the Holy Spirit.

Concluding his address, Pope Francis appealed to the Virgin Mary’s intercession that the Holy Spirit might pour on all believers the “Divine fire which ignites hearts, and helps us be in solidarity with the joys and sufferings of our brothers and sisters.”

Finally, the Pope remembered the “martyr of charity,” Saint Maximilian Kolbe, whose feast is Aug. 14. “May he teach us to live the fire of love for God and for the other.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope prays for massacre victims in DRC

by Ann Schneible (CNA/EWTN News) • August 15, 2016

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Gyumri, Armenia on June 25, 2016. (L’Osservatore Romano/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis marked the feast of the Assumption of Mary by praying for the dozens of people massacred over the weekend in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and decrying the “shameful silence” which surround these attacks.

“To the Queen of Peace, whom we contemplate today in heavenly glory, I wish to entrust once again the anxieties and sufferings of the people who, in many parts of the world, are innocent victims of persistent conflict,” the Pope said during Monday’s Angelus address.

Saturday’s attacks in the DRC’s North Kivu province have long been “perpetuated in shameful silence, without even drawing our attention,” he said, and its victims include the “many innocent people who have no influence on global opinion.”

“May Mary obtain for everyone sentiments of understanding, and a desire for harmony!”

At least 36 civilians were killed late Saturday during an attack blamed on the Rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Reuters reports, although other estimates have the death toll as high as 42. Local authorities say it is the deadliest attack in the conflict-ridden region this year.

Pope Francis held the special Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on Monday for the Feast of the Assumption, a day which commemorates the Virgin Mary being assumed into heaven, body and soul.

In his reflection, the Pope spoke of the day’s Gospel reading which recounts Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth shortly after the Annunciation, and reciting what the Church refers to as the Magnificat.

“She was the first to believe in the Son of God, and is the first to have been assumed into heaven body and soul,” the pontiff said.

Mary was the first to welcome and take the child Jesus in her arms, “and is the first to have been welcomed by his arms to be introduced into the Eternal Kingdom of the Father.”

“Mary, a humble and simple girl from a remote village in the outskirts of the Empire, because she welcomed and lived the Gospel, was permitted by God to stand next to the throne of the Son for all eternity.”

Pope Francis spoke of the relevance of Mary’s Assumption for each of us. “Today’s feast promises a ‘new heaven and a new earth’, with the victory of the risen Christ over death and the final defeat of the evil one.”

“The exaltation of the humble girl from Galilee, expressed in the song of the Magnificat, becomes the song of the whole of humanity,” he said. The Lord bends over “all men and all women, humble creatures, and takes them with him in heaven.”

Pope Francis reflected on the relevance of the Magnificat prayer for those who live in “painful situations.” He spoke particularly of “women overwhelmed by the weight of life and the drama of violence, women enslaved by the arrogance of the powerful, girls forced into inhuman work, women forced to surrender themselves in body and in spirit to the greed of men.”

“May the beginning of a new life of peace, justice, and love begin as soon as possible” for these women, who await the day in which they will finally “feel seized by hands which do not humiliate, but which, with tenderness, lift them up and guide them on the path of life, up to heaven.”

“Mary, a young maiden, a woman who suffered much in her life, makes us think of these women who suffer so much,” the Pope said. “We ask the Lord himself to guide them by the hand, and carry them on the path of life, liberating them from this slavery.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis voices solidarity, closeness to victims of Portugal fires

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • August 16, 2016

Pope Francis gives the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2, 2013. (Elise Harris/CNA)

Vatican City — On Tuesday, Pope Francis voiced his sorrow for the damage done by wildfires raging on the Portuguese island of Madeira, entrusting the victims to the intercession of Our Lady and offering his closeness to their families.

In a letter published Aug. 16 and signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope expresses his dismay at the terrible news and asks for his condolences to be conveyed “to the families of the victims.”

Wildfires on the Portuguese island of Madeira and in Spain have so far killed at least five people, and forced hundreds to evacuate their homes. More than 2,000 firefighters have been sent to help fight the flames.

Addressed to Bishop Antonio Cavaco Carrilho of the diocese of Funchal, the letter said that “on the occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of the Mount, His Holiness entrusts the diocese of Funchal to the Holy Mother of God so that, with her Assumption into heaven, making herself closer to her children here on earth, she intercedes together with Jesus as a luminous sign of the future life we hope for.”

Pope Francis asked Bishop Cavaco to convey his “participation in the pain of all those who are grieving, as well as his solidarity and spiritual closeness to those who lost their homes.”

The Pope also asked for comfort and restoration to the wounded, urging “the courage and consolation of Christian hope for all those affected by the tragedy.”

He gave special mention of everyone working to combat the fires, and closed the letter by extending his apostolic blessing to those affected.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope taps Dallas bishop to head new Vatican department for laity

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • August 17, 2016

Bishop Kevin Farrell, who was appointed head of the new Vatican dicastery for laity, family, and life on Aug. 17, 2016. (CNA)

Vatican City — Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas has been appointed the head of Francis’ new ‘mega-dicastery’ for laity, family, and life – a decision that marks the second major appointment of an American to a Vatican position this summer.

The news of Bishop Farrell’s appointment as head of the new dicastery was announced in an Aug. 17 communique from the Vatican, and falls less than a month after another American, Greg Burke, stepped in as the new Vatican spokesman and director of the Holy See Press Office.

The appointment was accompanied by the release of the brief motu proprio Sedula Mater, or “sedulous mother,” by which Pope Francis formally established the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.

In a statement announcing Bishop Farrell’s appointment, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington said, “the appointment by our Holy Father, Pope Francis, of Bishop Kevin Farrell as the head of the newly created dicastery … is welcome news given Bishop Farrell’s demonstrated pastoral skills and his recognized administrative abilities.”

At a time when Pope Francis is placing the role of the laity, the importance of “a robust, pastoral activity” and the support of family and married life at the center of the Church’s attention, “the leadership that Bishop Farrell brings will be a blessing for all of us,” Cardinal Wuerl said.

Bishop Farrell, 68, was born in Dublin, and was ordained a priest of the Legionaries of Christ in 1978. He was incardinated into the Archdiocese of Washington in 1984, and was appointed an auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese in 2001, where he led Hispanic ministries.

He continued to serve in that capacity until his 2007 appointment as head of the Diocese of Dallas, which boasts the 10th largest Catholic population in the U.S.

Bishop Farrell holds advanced degrees in philosophy and theology and is fluent in both Spanish and Italian.

In the statement announcing Bishop Farrell’s appointment to the Vatican department – also called a dicastery – Cardinal Wuerl expressed his joy that the challenge of heading the new department “has been entrusted to the very competent Bishop Farrell.”

“Our prayers and best wishes go with Bishop Farrell as he now moves to Rome and his new responsibilities.”

The establishment of the new dicastery includes the cessation of the Pontifical Councils for the Family and the Laity, whose competences will be transferred to Bishop Farrell’s office.

Alongside the news of Bishop Farrell’s appointment was the announcement that Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, until now president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, will be taking over as president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The Pope also appointed Msgr. Pierangelo Sequi, president of the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy in Milan, as the new as grand chancellor of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family.

A new appointment was not provided Wednesday for Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, a Pole who has been president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity since 2003.

Pope Francis first announced his intention to establish a new Vatican department dedicated to laity, family, and life during the October 2015 Synod of Bishops on the Family.

The formal announcement was made by the Vatican June 4, 2016, with the official start-date for the new department set for Sept. 1, 2016.

According to a set of statutes released with the June 4 announcement, the new department will promote “the pastoral care of the family, maintain the dignity and basic good of the Sacrament of marriage, favor the rights and responsibilities of the Church in civil society.”

It will also pay special attention to “the particular mission of the lay faithful to permeate and perfect the order of temporal reality,” the statute continues.

With the full implementation of the new department, the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family will be dissolved, and the Pontifical Academy for Life will be connected to the new entity.

The department will be tasked with projects relating to the apostolate of the laity, the institution of marriage, and the family within the life of the Church.

It will deal with matters regarding the promotion of life, the apostolate of the laity, the pastoral care and of the family, and “its mission, according to God’s design, to support human life,” according to its statutes.

In addition to Bishop Farrell, the heads of the dicastery will include a secretary, who could be a lay person, along with three lay undersecretaries. Members of the department will include lay persons, men and women, celibate and married, working in different fields of activity and coming from different parts of the world.

One of the tasks will be to promote the analysis of doctrine on themes and questions pertaining to lay persons.

The dicastery will also “establish aggregations of faithful and lay movements which have and an international character, and will approve their statutes, save the competence of the Secretary of State.”

Another focus will be the “deepening of the doctrine of the family,” and promoting it through catechesis, especially with regard to the spirituality of marriage and the family.

Other programs will include formation of engaged couples and young people, supporting adoption, and care for the elderly.

In addition, the department will support and coordinate “initiatives to encourage responsible procreation, as well as for protection of human life from its conception until its natural end, taking into account the needs the person in the different evolutionary phases.”

These initiatives will include efforts to offer support to women experiencing difficult pregnancies so they do not resort to abortion, as well as programs for post-abortive mothers.

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VATICAN NEWS

Holy See urges U.N. to protect children in armed conflict

by CNA/EWTN News • August 17, 2016

A child in Gaza. (Andlun1 via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0)

Vatican City — After a recent report confirmed that violence against children has increased in conflict zones, the Holy See is urging the United Nations and local governments to protect the innocent youth who are caught in the crossfire of violence around the world.

“Never in recent memory have so many children been subjected to such violent brutality: children used as soldiers, suicide bombers, sex slaves, and disposable intelligence-gatherers in the most dangerous military operations,” read a recent statement from Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.

“These crimes must be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” he said.

The archbishop’s statements came during the United Nation’s Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict, which took place on Aug. 2 and was organized by the country of Malaysia.

The council reviewed the Secretary General’s report on children caught in armed conflict, which confirmed that the 2015 year had only brought “increased intensity of grave violations.”

The report also noted that tens of thousands of young girls and boys have fallen prey to forced recruitment, sexual violence, and torture amidst the chaos of conflict zones. Over four thousand abductions had been reported in 2015 alone.

Although some progress such as counter-terror legislation has been passed in many instances, Archbishop Auza urged the UN and local governments to do more. He suggested a reintegration program for recovering child-soldiers and victims of sexual abuse as a way to heal the wounds inflicted on the innocent.

“A solution to the plight of children caught in armed conflict, in particular of child soldiers, requires sensitivity to finding ways to reintegrate these children back into their own communities,” the archbishop said.

He also encouraged an attitude of mercy and affirmation within the communities where the children are reintegrated, and spoke out against any prejudice that might hinder the acceptance of these children within their families.

“While we witness barbaric acts beyond anyone’s imagination committed also by child soldiers, we must remember that these children are exploited and manipulated into what they have become,” Archbishop Auza stated, saying “we must also build pathways for counseling and reconciliation.”

Archbishop Auza denounced the continued airstrikes against schools and hospitals as intentional disregard for International Humanitarian Laws. He called upon the United Nations to “implement stronger measures for the protection of children in armed conflict.”

“In the fight against non-State armed groups and terrorism, States are urged to ensure that their responses to all threats against peace and security are conducted in full compliance with international humanitarian law, to ensure that children are not victimized twice,” the archbishop continued.

Urging the support from international communities, Archbishop Auza went on to say that “the obligation to put an end to barbaric acts against children caught in armed conflict is incumbent upon every one of us.”

“The Holy See hopes that the plight of children caught in armed conflict will awaken consciences, lead to a change of heart, and inspire all parties to lay down their arms and take up the path of dialogue.”

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VATICAN NEWS

The mathematics of mercy – Pope Francis sees a lesson in Jesus’ miracles

by CNA/EWTN News • August 17, 2016

General audience with Pope Francis on March 18, 2015. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — Jesus’ miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes is a lesson for us all, Pope Francis said Wednesday.

“His compassion is not a vague sentiment,” the Pope said, adding that Jesus “loves us so much, and wants to be close to us.”

The Pope reflected on the miracle of Jesus’ feeding of 5,000 people as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew, saying that the miracle offered a lesson for Christ’s disciples.

“He shows them that the few loaves and fishes they have, with the power of faith and of prayer, can be shared by all the people,” the Pope said. “It is a miracle that he does, but it is the miracle of faith, of prayer with compassion and love.”

The pontiff summarized the gospel account in his catechesis at the weekly General Audience in the Paul VI Hall Aug. 16.

“Jesus wishes to withdraw and pray, but seeing the multitudes, is moved by compassion and chooses to remain with them. By instructing his disciples to feed the crowd, he teaches them to have faith and invites them to share in his concern for those in need,” he continued. “The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes is a concrete sign of that merciful concern.”

The story in the Gospel of Matthew “clearly evokes” the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, the Pope said. Jesus lifts his eyes to heaven, says the blessing, breaks the bread and gives it.

“The Christian community is born and reborn continually by this Eucharistic communion,” Pope Francis said. This communion with Christ impels Christians today to go out to men and women to offer them “the concrete sign” of the mercy of Christ. This makes believers “servants of mercy.”

“Through our partaking of the Eucharist, we not only receive spiritual nourishment, but, conformed ever more fully to the Lord, we become signs of his merciful presence to those around us,” the Pope continued.

He prayed that God might make Christians become “instruments of communion” in their own relationships.

“May all of us, as members of Christ’s body, seek to bring to our families and communities, and especially to those most in need, the nourishment of God’s closeness, mercy and love,” he concluded.

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VATICAN NEWS

Papal pizza? Rome’s homeless get a special treat from Francis

by CNA/EWTN News • August 17, 2016

Pope Francis at the Jubilee Audience in St. Peter’s Square on April 9, 2016. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Vatican City — As summer temperatures soar in Rome, a trip to the beach and pizza dinner may sound like an ideal way to spend an afternoon. And Pope Francis is making it happen for some of the city’s homeless residents.

Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, who is in charge of papal charities, told Vatican Insider that a Vatican van takes about 10 people each day to go swimming on the Italian coast, 30 kilometers from Rome. About 100 people have participated so far.

The archbishop drives the van, while passengers sing and listen to the radio. At the beach, each guest is offered a swimsuit and towel.

Afterwards, they enjoy a meal at a local pizzeria, courtesy of Pope Francis.

“We certainly are not saving the world with some of these initiatives, we are not solving the problems of the homeless in Rome, but at least we are restoring to them a little dignity,” Archbishop Krajewski told Vatican Insider.

“For these, our brothers in need who are used to living in insecurity, these are moments that remain in their memory, they have the chance to feel like everyone else.”

Other initiatives carried out by Archbishop Krajewski on behalf of the Pope include a dormitory, barber services and showers for those in need. Last year, the Pope invited a group of homeless people in Rome to the Sistine Chapel. Earlier this year, he invited 2,000 homeless people and migrants to the circus. Pope Francis also sent an electronic scooter to an elderly couple with disabilities, who had difficulty getting around. He has given Christmas gifts to poor migrants and umbrellas to the homeless.

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VATICAN NEWS

Benedict XVI’s students to discuss spiritual crisis in Europe at annual meeting

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • August 19, 2016

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2010. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Vatican City — The annual meeting of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s former students will discuss Europe’s spiritual crisis during their gathering later this month, according to the group’s organizer.

The Ratzinger Schuelerkreis has gathered to discuss topics in theology and the life of the Church since 1978, shortly after their mentor was pulled from academia to become a bishop.

The theme of spiritual crisis in Europe was approved by Benedict himself, Fr. Stephan Horn told CNA.

Fr. Horn, a Salvatorian, was Joseph Ratzinger’s academic assistant at the University of Regensburg from 1971 to 1977, and is now organizer of the Schuelerkreis meeting. This year the group will meet at Castel Gandolfo Aug. 26-28.

He related that this year’s meeting will feature two lecturers: Joseph H. H. Weiler, a Jewish lawyer and president of the European University Institute in Florence; and Bishop Emeritus Egon Kapellari of Graz-Seckau.

Both of the conferences on the meeting’s theme will be delivered Aug. 26. Bishop Kapellari’s lecture is to focus particularly on “Old and New Challenges for Christians in the European Fabric”.

The 40 or so members of the Schuelerkreis form a sort of “theological family,” Fr. Horn has said. In addition to the historial nucleus of the group, there was formed in 2008 a secondary group of younger theologians who have studied Benedict’s thought in-depth.

The idea for the annual meeting arose in 1977, when Ratzinger was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising, and when he moved to Rome in 1981 to take up the post of prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, it continued.

Benedict’s former students thought that the annual tradition would have stopped once Ratzinger was elected Pope, yet he wanted to maintain the tradition and continued to meet with his former students.

Since his 2013 resignation, Benedict has not attended the Schuelerkreis, except to say Mass for the group at its conclusion.

But “this year there will be no final Mass,” Fr. Horn said. “Instead, there will be a personal meeting of a group of us with the Pope emeritus in the evening of Aug. 26.”

Nevertheless, the Pope emeritus closely follows the works of his former students, and remains involved in the selection of themes for the Schuelerkreis. In recent years, they have focused on the quest for God as a challenge for contemporary society; the theology of the cross; the question of God amid secularism; and ecumenism.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis to visit Assisi again for interreligious summit

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • August 19, 2016

Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 3, 2016. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — In September Pope Francis will make his second visit to Assisi in just two months for an interreligious summit for peace, where he will pray and meet alongside major Islamic and Orthodox leaders.

The visit will take place Sept. 20, which marks the 30th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace that St. John Paul II convoked in Assisi 1986.

St. John Paul II went back to Assisi for successive events 1993 and 2002. The last day of prayer led by a Pope was convoked by Benedict XVI in 2011, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first historic meeting in Assisi.

However, the Sant’Egidio community has organized an interreligious meeting every year since 1986, held at different locations. This year the meeting will once again take place in Assisi, with the Pope present.

Pope Francis’ presence at the prayer summit will be his third time in Assisi, the first having taken place Oct. 4, 2013, for the feast day of his namesake, and the second being just a few weeks ago on Aug. 4, to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the “perdono” indulgence.

Shortly after the Pope’s visit to Assisi Aug. 4, Mohamed Abdel Qader, the Imam of Perugia and Umbria and who met with Francis during the brief trip, hinted that another visit could take place again soon. The news was confirmed by the Vatican Aug. 18.

Titled “Thirst for Peace: Religions and Cultures in dialogue,” the World Day of Prayer for Peace will run Sept. 18-20, and is being organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio in collaboration with the Franciscan family and the diocese of Assisi.

Other than Pope Francis, other special guests who will make an appearance include Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, and the rector of the prestigious al-Azhar University, Imam Ahmen al-Tayyeb.

Since his election Pope Francis has shown that both interfaith and ecumenical dialogue are key priorities for his pontificate. Not only has met with Patriarch Bartholomew on several occasions, he was also the first Pope in history to meet with a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church when he embraced Patriarch Kirill Feb. 12 while on his way to Mexico.

The Pope has also placed a strong emphasis on dialogue with Muslims, welcoming al-Tayyeb to the Vatican May 23 for a visit largely seen as a making a leap in terms of Catholic-Muslim relations.

The Custos of the Sacred Convent of Assisi, Fr. Mauro Gambettilo, has confirmed that the Italy’s President, Sergio Mattarella, will also be there.

The president of the Community of Sant’Egidio, Marco Impagliazzo, said the meeting is “a necessary encounter,” especially given the current global climate of conflict.

“It will be a convergence of very high religious and institutional personalities: to show to all that religions are not indifferent to this cry which rises up from the people and to distance ourselves from preachers of hate, working in favor of the integration which is the key to defending our societies from violence.”

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WORLD NEWS

This Catholic school network produced nine Rio Olympians

by Maggie Maslak (CNA/EWTN News) • August 13, 2016

Top row, left to right: Anabelle Smith, Katie Ledecky, Lia Neal; bottom row, left to right: Erin Rafuse, Gaby Lopez, KK Clark. (Sacred Heart Schools)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — Katie Ledecky, Lia Neal, and Anabelle Smith are some names you might hear on television if you are watching the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this year.

These Olympians have all won medals in the 2016 games, but they are also united by another common factor: their Catholic education.

Sacred Heart Schools, founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart, boasts of a network of over 145 Catholic schools across the globe that have been teaching for over two hundred years. These schools are also responsible for producing nine Olympic athletes who are competing at Rio this year.

“Our athletes recognize that their gifts comes from God and are not to be wasted,” the school’s communications director Donna Heckler told CNA.

“They are taught to take personal responsibility for themselves while being self-disciplined in their efforts,” she said.

After the first two days of competition, the Sacred Heart Olympians won four medals in Rio. Their alumnae are from four different countries, and include Katie Ledecky, Lia Neal, Anabelle Smith, KK Clark, Mary Joe Fenandez, Gaby Lopez, Gabi Nance, Erin Rafuse, and Denise Sheldon.

So, what’s their secret to producing all-stars?

While Heckler noted that they have no secret to producing Olympians, she did say that the school “does have a secret to producing amazing people. That secret is seen in the five Goals and Criteria of the Sacred Heart Schools that bind the schools together.”

According to Heckler, the network of Sacred Heart Schools focuses on instilling five main goals in their students: a personal relationship with God, respect for intellectual values, social awareness and action, community building, and personal growth.

“The Goals and Criteria, which are Sacred Heart educational principles, are foundational to this year’s dedicated Sacred Heart Olympians,” the schools press release stated.

The students who attend Sacred Heart schools are fostered in self-discipline, accountability and responsible decision making – all of which caters to producing a disciplined student and athlete.

“Students are taught to open themselves up to the transforming power of the Spirit of God and to explore their individual relationships to God, to self, to others and to all creation,” Heckler said.

The network of Sacred Heart Schools are run by the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Heart. Although each individual school has its own history and character, they are all rooted in St. Madeleine Sophie Barat’s mission of challenging every student to be their “most authentic selves.”

The Sisters love to see their students excel and are among the Sacred Heart Olympians biggest fans.

“The Sisters love their students and see their heart in all they do,” Heckler stated, saying that the sisters have the schedules of all of the Sacred Heart athletes, and follow each of their events closely.

Although the Sacred Heart students hold a special place in the Sisters’ hearts, Heckler did say that the Sisters pray for all of the athletes competing in Rio.

While the Sacred Heart Olympians are making a big splash in the Rio games this year, Heckler noted that all of their alumnae are bringing Catholic values to various outlets in the world.

“While today we are all celebrating the Olympic athletes, Sacred Heart alumni are making a difference throughout the world: in business, in journalism, in music, in education, in medicine, in justice and peace, in the arts, in service,” Heckler said.

“With a strong faith, commitment to others and value of community, Sacred Heart students bring these values to the world every day.”

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The Catholic Americas come together for the Year of Mercy

by CNA/EWTN News • August 14, 2016

(Jessie Eldora Robertson via Shutterstock.com)

Bogotá, Colombia — South America’s Catholic leaders will celebrate the Catholic Church’s Year of Mercy in a special way, gathering for a continental celebration in Colombia. They will pray a rosary for the Americas, visit poor parts of Bogota, and reflect on the example of the saints.

The Celebration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy aims to be “a sign of the communion of the churches of the whole continent, mutually committed to celebrating and radiating the Gospel of Mercy from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego,” organizers said.

Pope Francis will send a video message to the gathering’s inauguration.

The Aug. 27-30 event will draw participants from all the countries of South America. Fifteen cardinals and more than 120 bishops have registered for the event. The more than 400 attendees include rectors of National Marian Shrines, religious superiors, and directors of associations and new ecclesial communities.

The celebration was jointly organized by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM).

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, will lead the event. Among his collaborators will be Cardinal Rubén Salazar of Bogota, who is president of CELAM.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, will deliver remarks on the theme of the Year of Mercy, as will Cardinal Ouellet.

The event will begin with a penitential liturgy to encourage an examination of conscience, confessions, and an opportunity for all the participants to seek mercy for themselves.

One part of the gathering will feature the saints of the Americas. The presentation will reflect on missionary saints of the evangelization, such as California missionary Junipero Serra; the saintly mystics like Rose of Lima; the saints of the defenseless like Peter Claver and Mother Cabrini; the saints of charity like Martin De Porres and Katharine Drexel; the educator saints like John Neumann; and the martyr saints like the Mexican Martyrs, Kateri Tekakwitha and Oscar Romero.

Father Eduardo Chavez, Canon of the Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, will speak on the topic “Holiness in the Time of Pope Francis.” He will draw on the example of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

A full day of the gathering will focus on the works of mercy in the Americas. A panel will discuss efforts like Hogar de Christo (Christ’s Home) in Chile, migrant assistance projects and Project Rachel, the U.S.-based project that helps women who have had abortions.

Participants in the celebration will visit places in Bogota that focus on the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. They will visit some of the poorest places of the city at its “social and existential peripheries,” organizers said.

Archbishop Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga of Tunja, who heads the Colombian Bishops’ Conference, will give a joint presentation with Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles. The presentation’s theme is “Mercy as the Soul of a Culture of Encounter, Forgiveness and Reconciliation on the American Continent.”

The event’s final hours will include a Continental Rosary for Peace. Bogota’s Cardinal Salazar will celebrate the closing Mass.

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Insides that didn’t decompose – and other stunning facts about Oscar Romero

by David Ramos and Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • August 15, 2016

Archbishop Oscar Romero. (Javier Hidalgo via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

San Salvador, El Salvador — In his role as Vicar General, Monsignor Ricardo Urioste was one of the closest collaborators of Oscar Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador who was martyred for the faith in 1980 and beatified just this past year.

And this monsignor has some stories to tell.

Among the most fascinating involve details surrounding the day Romero was killed, what the late archbishop really thought about the controversial and problematic Liberation Theology, and the fact that the martyr’s insides hadn’t decomposed when they were exhumed three years after his death.

Archbishop Romero was brutally killed while celebrating Mass on March 24, 1980 – a time when El Salvador was on the brink of civil war. In February 2015, Pope Francis officially recognized his death as having been for hatred of the faith and gave the green light for his beatification.

Msgr. Urioste, who currently heads up the Archbishop Romero Foundation, said that during the time the martyr lived, whenever “he preached, spoke, was a pastor, they accused him of being communist, Marxist, a politician, and a thousand things.”

However, he noted how after 12 years of extensive study on the life and writings of the archbishop, the Vatican never found anything that supported these claims.

In an interview with CNA, Msgr. revealed some the of the lesser known facts surrounding the new blessed, as well as his continuing legacy on the Church and the world at large.

What happened on the day Archbishop Romero died

Msgr. Urioste can easily recall the day that Archbishop Romero was killed, saying that it was “an ordinary day of work” for him.

In the morning the archbishop had a meeting with a group of priests, and then they ate lunch together. After the meeting he went to confession with his usual confessor, which was a priest named Fr. Segundo Ascue.

Once he confessed, Archbishop Romero went to celebrate a 6 p.m. Mass in San Salvador’s hospital of Divine Providence, which was staffed by nuns. The Mass, Mons. Urioste recalled, had been widely publicized throughout the diocese.

While he was celebrating Mass in the hospital’s chapel, the archbishop was shot in the chest from outside.

Msgr. Urioste said that after getting a phone call informing him of what happened, “I immediately went to the hospital, and he was already taken to the polyclinic. A television set arrived, they interviewed me, and after I went to the hospital where he was.”

He recalled how as the sisters were going to embalm Archbishop Romero’s body, he told them “please be careful not to drop his insides anywhere, but that they pick them up and bury them, and they did, burying them in front of the little apartment he had in the hospital where he lived.”

Three years later, on the occasion St. John Paul II’s visit to the country, the nuns of the hospital “made a monument to the Virgin in the same place where we had buried (Romero’s) insides.”

“When they were digging they ran into the box and the plastic bag where they had placed the insides, and the blood was still liquid and the insides didn’t have any bad smell,” he revealed.

“I don’t want to say that it was a miracle, it’s possible that it’s a natural phenomenon, but the truth is that this happened, and we told the archbishop at the time (Arturo Rivera y Damas), look monsignor, this has happened and he said ‘be quiet, don’t tell anyone because they are going to say that they are our inventions,’” he said.

However, “Pope John Paul II was given a small canister with Archbishop Romero’s blood,” he noted.

Msgr. Urioste recalled that when John Paul II arrived to San Salvador, the first thing he did “was go to the cathedral without telling anyone. The cathedral was closed, they had to go and look for someone to open it so that the Pope could enter and kneel before the tomb of Archbishop Romero.”

John Paul II asked during his visit that no one manipulate the memory of Archbishop Romero, Msgr. Urioste recalled, and lamented how “they politicized him.”

“The left had politicized him, putting him as their banner. And the right politicized him, saying things that are untrue about the bishop, that are purely false, they denigrated him.”

One of the things that the Church in El Salvador wants, Msgr. Urioste said, is that “the figure of the archbishop, known now a little more than he was before, is a cause for reflection, a motive for peace, a motive for forgiveness, a motive for reconciliation with one another, and that we all have more patience to renew ourselves and follow the paths that Archbishop Romero proposed to us.”

“I think that (Romero’s) figure is going to contribute a lot to a better meeting and reconciliation in El Salvador,” he said.

What Archbishop Romero really thought about Liberation Theology

Despite the many accusations leveled against the archbishop of San Salvador, his Vicar General said that Romero “never had a Marxist thought or Marxist ideology in his mind.”

“If there had been, the Vatican, which has studied so much, would not have beatified him, if they had found that he had Marxist interests.”

The real backbone of his closeness to the poor, he said, was the Gospel and the teaching of the Church.

“He was a servant of the Gospel, he never read anything from Liberation Theology, but he read the Bible.”

Msgr. Urioste noted that the archbishop’s library, “had all these books from the early Fathers of the Church, from the current Magisterium of the Church, but (he) never even opened any of the books from Liberation Theology, or Gustavo Gutiérrez, or of anyone else.”

“He read the Bible and there he encountered a Jesus in love with the poor and in this way started walking toward him,” he said.

What set Archbishop Romero apart

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Archbishop Romero was “his great sense of work. He was an extremely hardworking man and devoted to his work day and night – until midnight and until dawn,” Msgr. Urioste said.

He recalled how the archbishop would begin to prepare his Sunday homilies the day before, and would always include three reflections on the Eucharist. When Romero preached, he made frequent reference to the Fathers of the Church, based his comments on Church teaching and related his thoughts to the country’s current reality.

“A homily that doesn’t have this relation with what is happening sounds the same here as in Ireland, in Paris, as anywhere,” the priest said.

He recalled how in Romero’s time the government was “a ferocious military dictatorship, which had ‘national security’ as it’s theme.”

Everyone who either sided with the poor or expressed concern for them “was accused of being communist, they were sent to be killed without thinking more. There were 70 thousand deaths like this in the country at that time,” Msgr. Urioste noted.

“The social economic reality was of a lot of poverty, of a great lack of unemployment, of low wages.”

Ultimately, Archbishop Romero’s beatification, the monsignor said, is “a triumph of the truth.”

It is a triumph, he said, of the truth of “who Archbishop Romero really was, what he did, how he did it, from the Word of God, from the Magisterium of the Church, in defense of the poor, who were the favored ones of Jesus Christ and who were also the favored ones of Archbishop Romero.”

A version of this article was originally published May 23, 2015.

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France offering all Assumption Masses for the country’s intentions

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • August 15, 2016

The Ascension of Our Lady by Giovanni Battista Gaulli. (Museu da Casa Brasileira/Wikimedia Commons)

Paris, France — Following the wave of Islamist terror attacks that have bloodied France since last year, the country’s bishops have decided to offer all Masses on the Feast of the Assumption for France.

In an Aug. 1 communique, the president of the French Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Georges Pontier of Marseille, noted how the Aug. 15 Solemnity of the Assumption has always held “a special place” in the heart of Catholics.

“In this celebration of hope, we suggest that the general intercessions of the Mass that day mention this intention,” he said, and asked that at noon sharp, “the bells of our churches sound” in unison.

“May God bless our country in the trials that she is enduring,” the archbishop said, referring to the recent terrorist attacks that have crippled the nation.

From the Jan. 7, 2015 slaughter of 12 journalists at the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly that has published insulting cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed, to the Nov. 13, 2015 series of bombings in Paris that claimed more than 100 lives, to the July 14 truck attack that killed 84 in Nice, and finally the brutal July 26 murder of Fr. Jaques Hamel, the French people have suffered much in recent months.

As a response, both the French bishops and the country’s Muslim community have launched several initiatives aimed at praying for France, its people and for Christians.

Friday, July 29, was declared by the bishops as a day of fasting after two armed gunmen stormed a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in the Normandy region of France July 26, slitting Fr. Hamel’s throat as he celebrated Mass.

After the priest’s murder, which was claimed by the Islamic State, Muslims across France and Italy attended Mass the following Sunday in a sign of solidarity with Catholics.

The initiative was created by the French Center for Muslim Worship, which was joined by the Italian Muslim Religious Community.

The dedication of every Mass on the Feast of the Assumption to France and her intentions, then, marks the latest initiative of the bishops in offering prayers for peace and stability.

Dogmatically defined in 1950, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary’s body into heaven is celebrated Aug. 15 every year, and is one of the most important Marian feast days in the Catholic Church.

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Colombian bishops welcome government backing down from gender ideology

by CNA/EWTN News • August 15, 2016

The Colombian flag. (Politécnico Grancolombiano Departamento de Comunicaciones via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0)

Bogotá, Colombia — The Colombian Conference of Catholic Bishops welcomed the government’s announcement that it will not promote or implement gender ideology in the nation’s schools, after massive marches of protest last week.

In a statement released Friday, August 12, the bishops thanked President Juan Manuel Santos for his invitation to dialogue and said that they “received with satisfaction the announcement of the National Government and the Department of Education that they will not promote or implement gender ideology in the country.”

A meeting with the president and three bishops, which included Cardinal Rubén Salazar Gómez, took place August 11, after which the president made a public statement on the issue.

Additionally, the Department of Education published a statement in which they stated that neither they nor the National Government would advocate or put into practice gender ideology teachings.

The department’s text states that “the United Nation’s Population Fund’s document on school environments was published on the United Nations web pages in order to be discussed, without authorization from the department, as was noted in the public statement of that organization. That document will not be authorized.”

The document they referred to is the 93-page text entitled “Discrimination Free School Environments,” developed within the framework of an agreement signed by the Department of Education and three U.N. institutions: the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund; the United Nations Population Fund; and the United Nations Development Program.

The cost of the agreement is more than $500,000. It was created in consultation with principals and teachers from the schools.

In their August 12 statement, the bishops of Colombia said that “we will follow closely and provide timely follow up to what the National Government has said in the August 11 statement, released by the Department of Education.”

After reports that the Department of Education was preparing teaching manuals promoting homosexuality and suggesting that there is no essential difference between male and female, Colombians took to the streets in massive protest marches on Aug. 10. The protests took place in Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Medellín, Ibagué, Bucaramanga, Tunca, Palmira, Popayán, and other cities.

Commenting on the marches, the bishops said that they see in them a strong support for the family unit as the fundamental cell of society and “an exercise by the parents of their right to be assisted in educating their children in accordance with their convictions and values.”

They then emphasized the importance of respect “for every human being regardless of their race, sex, sexual orientation, national or family origin, language, religion or political opinion” and encouraged the creation of environments free of violence and discrimination.

Finally, the bishops urged parents to “assume with real responsibility the mission of being the first teachers of your children, according to the dictates of your conscience, and to actively participate in all the processes related to their integral formation.”

In July this year, a similar occurrence took place in Panama. Proposed Law 61, which would have promoted sexual and reproductive education in the schools, was returned to the nation’s health committee after a massive march by thousands of citizens in the capital.

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Archbishop Cheenath, defender of India’s persecuted Christians, dies at 81

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • August 16, 2016

Indian pilgrims attend the Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square on Jan. 17, 2016. (Alexey Gotovskiy/CNA)

Bhubaneswar, India — Archbishop Raphael Cheenath, who lived through one of the worst Christian persecutions in modern India and spent the remainder of his life fighting for justice for those who suffered in the Kandhamal massacre, died Sunday at the age of 81.

Archbishop Cheenath had been Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar from 1985 to 2011. He passed away Aug. 14 at Holy Spirit Hospital in Mumbai, after a battle with colon cancer.

His death followed the successful outcome of a legal battle he brought forward to gain an increase in relief to the victims of the 2008 attack against the Christian community in the Indian district of Kandhamal.

In 2008, Hindu extremists led anti-Christian attacks on nearly 200 villages in Kandhamal, part of the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese. Around 30,000 people fled the East-Indian state of Odisha, and 6,000 homes were destroyed.

More than 100 people were killed, including a Catholic priest, and some 270 churches and chapels were desecrated in the attacks.

On Aug. 2 the Supreme Court of India upheld Archbishop Cheenath’s Public Interest Litigation for increased relief to the victims of the 2008 violence. The lawsuit was pursued after a Supreme Court ruling in Jan. 2009 had scaled back police protection and given no clear guidelines concerning compensation for victims.

John Dayal, a Catholic lay leader who worked closely with Archbishop Cheenath for more than 16 years, said in a Facebook post that the archbishop “provided leadership to a people who were shattered.”

In the years following the violent attacks and during the continued persecution of Christians by extremists, Archbishop Cheenath, along with other members of the Indian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, met with national political leaders on behalf of the victims.

Born Dec. 29, 1934 in Manalur, Archbishop Cheenath was ordained a priest of the Society of the Divine Word in 1963, and was appointed Bishop of Sambalpur in 1974. He remained there until his transfer to Bhubaneswar in 1985.

He retired at the age of 76 after shepherding the Catholics of Odisha for more than 25 years.

According to Matters India news, after his retirement the archbishop addressed some 3,000 people, praising the Christians of Kandhamal for their dedication to the faith despite living in a hostile environment.

“You have raised the faith into new heights at the face of death. I am proud of you,” he said.

In an article for the Herald of India, Dayal write that Archbishop Cheenath had “provided leadership to a battered and fragile community consisting of indigenous Tribal Kondh people and Dalit Panos groups … the poorest and the most marginalized segments of the population, to stand up to the worst form of persecution Christians have faced in over three hundred years.”

Archbishop Cheenath, he said, was “one of a kind, a hero of the faith for Christians.”

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Lourdes increased its security for the Assumption

by CNA/EWTN News • August 16, 2016

A statue of Bernadette Soubirous and Our Lady of Guadalupe near the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France on May 15, 2015. (Elise Harris/CNA)

Lourdes, France — The popular pilgrimage site at Lourdes, France beefed up its security Monday for the Solemnity of the Assumption.

About 500 security force members were present, along with patrol dogs, according to the BBC, which reported that around 25,000 pilgrims visited Lourdes for the Marian feast day.

Dogmatically defined in 1950, the Assumption celebrates Mary, the mother of Jesus, being assumed into heaven, body and soul, when her earthly life was complete. It is celebrated on August 15 each year.

The increased security came amid heightened vigilance after a string of terrorist attacks in France.

On July 26, French priest Fr. Jaques Hamel was killed when two armed gunmen stormed a church in the Normandy region. They slit Fr. Hamel’s throat as he celebrated Mass. ISIS claimed responsibility for the murder.

Other attacks have also taken place in France during recent months, including the Nov. 13, 2015 series of bombings in Paris that claimed more than 100 lives, and the July 14, 2016 truck attack that killed 84 in Nice.

Lourdes is one of the most well-known pilgrimage destinations in the world following a series of Marian apparitions in 1858 in which the Virgin Mary appeared to a 14-year-old peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous. In the apparitions, Mary confirmed her identity as “the Immaculate Conception.”

The apparitions were approved by Pope Pius IX in 1862. Millions of pilgrims flock to the shrine each year to visit the grotto where Mary appeared to Bernadette, who is now a canonized saint. Pilgrims take water from a spring Bernadette dug at Mary’s request. The shrine’s waters have resulted in various types of healing for those who drink it or are immersed in it.

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This Mexican bishop is willing to evangelize from jail, if necessary

by CNA/EWTN News • August 16, 2016

(Thomas Hawk via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0)

Cuernavaca, Mexico — Amid allegations of interference in politics after receiving demonstrators critical of the governor of the state of Morelos, Bishop Ramón Castro Castro of Cuernavaca has said he is not afraid of facing prison.

“If I go to prison, no problem; from there I’ll do the work of evangelization,” Bishop Castro told local daily El Sol de Cautla.

“We’re awaiting notification, and I want to thank the Cuernavaca Bar Association, which lent me their support by coming to my defense,” he added.

Bishop Castro hosted at the Cuernavaca cathedral July 28 more than 100 people from various civil organizations who expressed criticism of Graco Ramírez, governor of Morelos, because of the difficulties facing the state.

Cuernavaca, the capital of Morelos, was among the 50 most violent cities in the world until 2014, according to the Mexican Citizens Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice.

And the city has the fourth highest murder rate in the nation.

The Party of the Democratic Revolution, to which Ramirez belongs, filed a complaint against Bishop Castro for allegedly interfering in politics, in violation of the country’s laws.

The political party also accused him of homophobia for participating in a massive march in support of the family and against same-sex marriage.

The priests of Cuernavaca, in a statement released Aug. 13, expressed their “gratitude and … unwavering support” for Bishop Castro.

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Young priest whom Pope encouraged in battle against cancer dies

by Carolina Requena (CNA/EWTN News) • August 17, 2016

Father Francisco Rencoret. (CNA)

Santiago, Chile — A man of God. Someone who endured illness with faith and fortitude until the end. This is how those who knew Father Francisco Rencoret remembered him.

The 35-year-old Chilean priest died of cancer early August 13.

Ordained in 2013, Fr. Rencoret had been studying Canon Law at the Gregorian University in Rome. He was forced to return home to Chile in order to receive cancer treatments after his diagnosis.

In recent weeks, expectations of recovery had increased, as tests showed a noticeable improvement of the sarcoma with metastasis in the lungs which had been detected. But it was two unexpected brain tumors that finally took his life.

In June, Fr. Rencoret received an unexpected phone call from Pope Francis. Father told CNA that the Holy Father had heard about his illness and called him to “find out about my health and to tell me that he was praying for me, to give me a lot of support, encouragement and the love of the Church.”

Before finishing the conversation, the priest told the Holy Father that “I am offering some of my sufferings for your vocation, difficulties and sorrows” and that they were “very much in communion because in fact God is merciful.”

It is precisely with this peace that the young priest lived out his last moments in this world, recalled his friend Father Mauricio Valdivia, who had been his fellow student at the Santiago Pontifical Major Seminary.

“I believe that (he) was able to understand in one way or another, not without difficulty, that God gave him the gift of this time to prepare himself, and I believe the time was ripe for him to meet the Lord. He experienced such a radical self-surrender since he said that he wanted to be saved more than he wanted to be cured, and from that perspective he experienced it as a privileged opportunity,” the priest said.

“He always looked very peaceful,” he added.

“He was able to prepare his family, conveying to them peace and strength,” Fr. Valdivia continued. “(I even) had the opportunity to go with him to the clinic, I stayed once overnight there with him and we talked about a lot of things and heard each other’s confessions, in that gift of priestly friendship, with that tranquility of the heart of knowing how to seek God’s will.”

Fr. Valdivia recalled that in his vocation as a priest, Fr. Rencoret had a special compassion for the simplest, the most needy. “There was no beggar in the parish who didn’t know Pancho. He helped a network of street people.”

“During our first assignment there was a man who was bedridden and (Fr. Rencoret) got together clothes and things to bring to him. He also did this with a lot of other people … he had the desire to bring comfort to everyone in need and to bring them the mercy of God,” he said.

“His friendship was a blessing to me and just to know today that we have a brother in heaven interceding for us. We are praying for him but also especially for his parents and his family to cope with the pain and so they might find consolation.”

The Archbishop of Santiago announced that the wake for Fr. Rencoret would be held at Saint Vincent Parish in the Las Condes area in Santiago.

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Number of German priest ordinations plummets to new low

by Anian Christoph Wimmer (CNA/EWTN News) • August 18, 2016

Priests celebrate Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver on Jan. 17, 2015. (Catholic Charities/Jeffrey Bruno CC BY 2.0)

Munich, Germany — Never before have so few Catholic priests been ordained in the Church in Germany: a total of 58 men joined the clergy in 2015, according to official figures published by the German Episcopal Conference this week.

Within the last decade, the number of ordinations has dropped by half. In 2005, a total of 122 diocesan priests were ordained. Five decades ago, in 1965, the number was 500.

While there were almost 20,000 Catholic priests in Germany in 1990, today their number has already dropped to 14,000. The drastic decline is set to continue, judging by the figures: last year also marked the first time in history that the number of new seminarians dropped to double digits. Only 96 new students were registered in 2015. At the same time, 309 priests passed away, and 19 left the priesthood.

The crisis of vocations to the priesthood is not just one of sheer numbers. A recent academic study showed that amongst the current clergy, more than half – 54 percent – go to confession only “once a year or less.”

Further official numbers, published in July, confirm that the precipitous decline of the faith is not just restricted to the number of vocations: average church attendance in Germany is down from 18.6 percent in 1995 to 10.4 percent in 2015. The number of people departing the Church has increased within the same time frame, having peaked at over 200,000 annually in recent years.

The German bishops have mostly responded to the crisis twofold. They’ve first abandoned the traditional parish structure in favor of larger “pastoral areas,” which take different names in different dioceses. In these, lay people, both paid and unpaid, play an increasingly important role in administering the Church. Secondly, several dioceses in Germany have large numbers of foreign priests working for them, mostly from Poland and India. Not all of these priests are fluent in German and/or familiar with cultural norms and traditions – which in turn occasionally leads to conflict.

With over 23.7 million members, Catholicism is the largest religious group in Germany, comprising 29 percent of the population. However, people are leaving in droves: In 2015, a total of 181,925 people departed according to official statistics published in July. By comparison, 2,685 people became Catholic, and 6,474 reverted to Catholicism.

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For George Soros, Ireland abortion fight may be first step against Catholic countries

by Kevin Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • August 18, 2016

Celtic Cross on the hill at Cashel, Tipperary in Ireland. (Tom Haymes CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Dublin, Ireland — Wealthy abortion backers could use Ireland as a model to change pro-life laws in other Catholic countries, an apparent leaked three-year plan for George Soros’ Open Society Foundations suggests.

“With one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, a win there could impact other strongly Catholic countries in Europe, such as Poland, and provide much needed proof that change is possible, even in highly conservative places,” the document says.

It also cites support for pro-abortion efforts in Mexico, Zambia, Nigeria, and Tanzania, and other parts of Latin America and Europe. The document particularly targets constitutional protections for the right-to-life from conception.

The New York-based Open Society Foundations’ proposed 2016-2019 strategy for its Women’s Rights Program appears to be among the documents published by the website DCLeaks.com. The website claims the documents are from the globally influential foundations begun by billionaire financier George Soros. In 2015 Forbes magazine estimated Soros’ net wealth at $24.5 billion, ranking him the sixteenth wealthiest man in the U.S.

One of the program’s three themes is enabling access to legal abortion, including through efforts to repeal Ireland’s Eighth Amendment to its constitution.

The amendment, passed by voters in 1983, acknowledges “the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.”

The Open Society Foundations’ apparent strategy proposal says that it will fund the Abortion Rights Campaign, Amnesty International Ireland, and the Irish Family Planning Association “to work collectively on a campaign to repeal Ireland’s constitutional amendment granting equal rights to an implanted embryo as the pregnant woman (referred to as ‘fetal personhood’).”

Cora Sherlock, deputy chairperson of the Ireland group the Pro-Life Campaign, reflected on the strategy document.

“This is devastating news if true,” Sherlock told CNA Aug. 18. “One thing is certain. Those pushing abortion in Ireland have vast resources that they didn’t have just a few years ago. The money is not being raised from ordinary Irish citizens. That is for sure.”

“The idea that an outside body would fund and organize groups in Ireland to dismantle Ireland’s protection for the unborn child would represent a gross interference and total contempt for the Irish people.”

She said it is “extremely difficult” for Irish pro-life advocates to compete, given the funding for efforts to repeal Ireland’s Eighth Amendment. She called on the pro-abortion groups named in the document to clarify their relationship to the alleged funding.

“It is not a surprise that international pro-abortion groups are trying to impose their agenda on Ireland,” she said. “Ireland’s excellent record of safety in pregnancy for women without recourse to abortion is a major source of embarrassment to abortion campaigners as it completely undermines their argument that abortion somehow helps women.”

She praised Ireland’s constitutional protections for the unborn.

“Thousands of Irish citizens are alive today thanks to this law,” Sherlock said. “In addition to this, Ireland has demonstrated that it’s possible to ban abortion and also be a world leader in protecting the lives of pregnant women.”

The alleged Soros foundations’ proposed strategy to fight the Republic of Ireland’s pro-life law says the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in Ireland offers “valuable and timely opportunities to advance the campaign.”

Its next three years of activity are intended to pilot strategies to “stem, mitigate and reverse the tide of fetal personhood laws and constitutional amendments” and to generate “a robust set of organizations advancing and defending sexual and reproductive rights and injecting new thinking/strategy into the field.”

A spokesperson for the Open Society Foundations did not comment on the specific document, but told CNA that a number of internal documents were published “after being removed from an online community that served as a resource for our staff, board members, and partners across the world.”

“In some cases, the materials reflect big-picture strategies over several years from within the Open Society Foundations network, which supports human rights and the rule of law in more than 100 countries around the world.

“The Open Society Foundations work in many countries to promote full and equal rights for women, including sexual and reproductive autonomy,” the spokesperson continued, characterizing the incident as an apparent symptom of “an aggressive crackdown on civil society and human rights activists that is taking place globally.”

“We stand by our work and are proud to support all our grantees,” the spokesperson said.

The alleged strategy document appears to provide a window on the foundations’ other funded projects and its larger goals.

It pledges support for the Mexican pro-abortion group El Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida (GIRE). It acknowledges current support for the International Women’s Health Coalition, the Center for Reproductive Rights, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, and Women on Web.

It plans to fund the Center for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, citing the work of academic Charles Ngwena on the subject of reproductive rights and the law. It aims to encourage a partnership between this center and the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa spinoff the Southern Africa Litigation Center to provide internship or fellowship placement for students.

The document criticizes large donors in women’s rights like the Gates Foundation, the U.S. government, and a number of corporations for allegedly focusing on “individual empowerment” that serves development goals.

“The handful of donors that do support structural transformation of political and economic systems have comparatively fewer resources,” the document says.

According to the document, the Women’s Rights Program characterizes itself as “a small program in a foundation that encourages risk taking and backing new issues, actors, and strategies.”

“Our distinctive role is to take on the controversial issues avoided by other larger donors, particularly on women’s sexuality and reproduction,” it says.

The document says the program is different from most donors because it can work with “a network of locally-staffed foundations in over 40 countries and seven regions” that has “a deep knowledge of local context, opportunities, and frontline actors.” The Open Society Foundations’ network allows the program “to make cross-country/regional connectionism,” it says.

The alleged strategy document also has other focuses of concern, such as maternal mortality, the treatment of pregnant women, child marriage, violence, access to economic resources and drug policy.

In addition to the theme of “sexual and reproductive rights,” the strategy also includes goals like economic justice and the strengthening of women’s rights organizations and movements.

However, these goals are linked to abortion advocacy.

“We see these goals as interconnected, because in order for women to take their full place as citizens, they must be able to control their bodies, have a level of economic security that enables public participation, and have the ability to advocate for themselves,” the document says.

The foundations’ supported feminist groups include the FRIDA fund and the Mexico-based El Closet de Sor Juana. Its Eurasia Program also targets Eastern Europe, the South Caucuses and Central Asia.

The goal of the 2016-2019 funding period is to “develop or deepen national level strategies pushing for accountability in commitments to women’s rights,” to develop a “deeper bench” of women’s rights organizations that can undertake efforts on the national level; and to identify “a new generation of leaders to infuse energy into the field while building on the success of the past,” according to the leaked document.

Some security experts say DCLeaks.com has the hallmarks of Russian intelligence, Bloomberg News reports. The Open Society Foundations reported a security breach to the FBI in June. A security firm investigation reportedly found the intrusion was limited to an intranet system used by the foundations’ board members, staff and foundation partners.

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WORLD NEWS

Soldiers from six nations join Marian peace pilgrimage in Poland

by CNA/EWTN News • August 19, 2016

A multi-national military group participates in a pilgrimage for peace to the shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa on Aug. 14, 2016. (Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA)

Czestochowa, Poland — Representatives from the United States military joined troops from five other countries in a walk for peace in Poland last week.

The ten-day trek culminating Aug. 15 was part of the annual pilgrimage to the Black Madonna, the common name for the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Peace, the most important Marian icon in Polish Catholic history.

Auxiliary Bishop F. Richard Spencer, Episcopal Vicar for Europe and Asia of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, joined the United States delegation along with 843 troops and clergy from Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Latvia at the event.

In the week leading up to Aug. 15, which is Poland’s Armed Forces Day as well as the Assumption of Mary, pilgrims of all ages make their way to the shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, located on the grounds of the Pauline Jasna Góra monastery.

This year, tens of thousands of Polish pilgrims are believed to have made the trek during the 305th anniversary of the annual pilgrimage. Its roots date to 1711, when the bubonic plague wiped out a large portion of Warsaw’s population. After the epidemic abruptly ended, a brotherhood of knights trekked from the capital to the shrine to offer thanks to the Virgin Mary, and the tradition has continued ever since.

According to tradition, the icon of Our Lady of Czestachowa was painted by St. Luke or St. John on a table made by Christ. The icon shows two slashes on the face of Mary, left from when the image was seized and attacked by a soldier of the Hussites. Repeated attempts to repair the scars have failed, as they continue to reappear on the image. The dark skin of the icon is attributed mostly to age, and to exposure to smoke from candles.

Bishop Spencer concelebrated an outdoor Mass for about 2,500 pilgrims Aug. 14 with Bishop Józef Guzdek, the Military Ordinary of Poland, and more than 60 priests. Bishop Spencer and the military representatives then drove back to Warsaw for an Aug. 15 Mass celebrating the Assumption. Polish President Andrzej Duda and his wife, along with other Polish government representatives, attended the Mass in Warsaw. Afterwards, the various dignitaries attended a wreath-laying ceremony at Poland’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“The universality of the Catholic Church is well represented in the partnership of these two military dioceses by participating together in this pilgrimage for peace. I stand in admiration of the Polish soldiers who practice very openly and with great pride their Catholic faith and heritage. We all can also be proud of our U.S. soldiers who completed the ten-day walking pilgrimage,” Bishop Spencer said following the event.

The pilgrimage came just a couple weeks after Poland finished hosting Pope Francis and as many as 2 million international pilgrims for the 31st World Youth Day. Pope Francis prayed before the icon at the shrine of Czestochowa July 28. Three days prior, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the U.S. Military Archdiocese celebrated Mass under the icon while leading a pilgrimage of U.S. military Catholics to the World Youth Day.

The icon also was a significant place of pilgrimage for the St. John Paul II, who prayed before the icon during his historic 1979 visit to his homeland, which at the time was under the reign of communism.

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WORLD NEWS

Cardinal Marx faces accusations over handling of alleged abuse case

by Anian Christoph Wimmer (CNA/EWTN News) • August 19, 2016

Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, who may have failed to remove an abusive priest in 2006, at a press conference in Rome on Oct. 5, 2015. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Trier, Germany — Accusations have been raised in a number of German media that Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising failed to remove from office a priest accused in 2006 of sexually abusing a minor.

The alleged abuser, it appears, was allowed to stayed on as parish priest for a number of years, even going on overnight excursions with youth.

A spokesperson for Cardinal Marx has said that the prelate had acted in accordance with relevant guidelines that were in place at the time.

Saarland public broadcaster SR reports that Cardinal Marx, who was then Bishop of Trier, knew authorities were investigating a parish priest – identified only as “M” – for allegedly sexually abusing a 15 year old boy.

Citing the victim’s legal counsel as a source, SR reports that “M”, who was then 52, had partially confessed the crime to authorities. However, he appears to have avoided prosecution because the alleged crime fell just outside the statute of limitations.

The Church was duly informed by authorities of this in 2006, but never requested the case files, several media report.

When nonetheless questioned by the diocese, “M” denied the allegations, SR reports, and then-Bishop Marx closed the matter and moved on.

It appears the accused continued to serve as parish priest in the community where the alleged abused took place until 2015.

According to the German news magazine “Focus”, state authorities initiated two further investigations into the priest’s conduct, in 2013 and 2015. Both times, the lines of inquiry stalled and finally were abandoned due to a lack of evidence.

Only as of May 2015, the alleged abuser is no longer allowed to be in contact with minors or to publicly say Mass, Focus reports, as both civil authorities and the Trier diocese are yet again investigating the matter under both legal and canonical auspices.

Cardinal Marx, who was Bishop of Trier from 2001 to 2007, has not yet spoken about the accusations levelled against him. Spokespersons for both the Diocese of Trier and for Cardinal Marx have confirmed that the then-Bishop of Trier knew of the case in 2006.

However, the spokesperson for Cardinal Marx emphasised that he “had acted in accordance with the guidelines of the German Bishops’ Conference”. These guidelines were reformed in 2010 and then again in 2013.

“Such a case would be dealt with differently today; the Church would conduct her own investigation”, the spokesperson said. “The German bishops have acted on the bitter experiences and introduced new guidelines that apply to all dioceses”.

Cardinal Marx is also president of the German bishops’ conference, a member of the Council of Cardinals advising Pope Francis on the reform of the Roman Curia, and coordinator of the Vatican’s Council for the Economy.

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WORLD NEWS

What’s it like to be a persecuted Christian? This exhibit shows you

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • August 19, 2016

(Unsplash/CNA)

Rimini, Italy — A teddy bear, a diploma, a menu – items owned, achieved and touched by Christians who were brutally killed in attacks this year – are on display in an exhibit aimed at drawing people into a visceral experience of the persecuted faithful.

The display was created by the Italian branch of Aid to the Church in Need at the ecclesiastical movement Communion and Liberation’s annual meeting in Rimini from Aug. 19-25.

A swing and a small carousel for children, six university desks, and a restaurant table set represent the three most recent scenarios where the anti-Christian persecution reached a peak: the suicide attack on Easter Sunday in a park in Lahore, that resulted in 72 deaths and 280 injured; the April 2 Garissa University massacre in Kenya, with a toll of 149 Christian students assassinated; the July 1st attack in a cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The relics of the martyrdom are also significant: the exhibit will show the teddy bear of one of the 30 children killed in Lahore; the graduation certificate that Muchire Shee was not able to complete, as she was killed in Garissa; the menu of the Holey Artisan Bakery of Dhaka the victims browsed before being held as hostages, tortured and assassinated.

Visitors will will also pass through “a tunnel of martyrs,” a dark space that will show images and audio of nine of the martyrs of our time. Among those, Fr. Jacques Hamel, the 85-year-old priest recently assassinated in Rouen; Fr. Andrea Santoro, the Italian priest killed in Turkey in 2006; Shahbaz Bhatti, the Pakistani ministry for Religious Minorities killed in 2011 because of his opposition to local blasphemy laws.

There will be also living testimonies of the Christian persecution taking place all over the world.

Seven witnesses will be present at the exhibit, to testimonies visitors the situation of Christians in their countries: Msgr. Mtanios Haddad will talk about the situation in Syria; Professor Shaheed Mobeen will provide details of the situation in Pakistan; Fr. Issa E.H. Abusada will discuss the Holy Land; the plight of Christians in Iraq will be recounted by Fr. Rebwar Basa.

Fr. Herman Tanguy will talk about the Central African Republic, a land that was blessed by Pope Francis’ visit last November while enduring a difficult and long term political situation. Fr. Martino Serrano will provide updates on the peace process in Colombia, while Fr. Olekasandr Khalayin will talk about the “forgotten conflict” in the Ukraine, that Pope Francis recently brought under the spotlights with the promotion of an extraordinary collection for the Ukraine Apr. 24.

Talking to CNA, Fr. Basa underscored that what is going in Iraq must be called a “genocide” as “our houses were seized and labeled with the ‘N’ of Nazarene; our churches have been turned into mosques, or into military headquarters or even in places where women are sold, raped and treated like slaves; many of our faithful were attacked and killed, or kidnapped and tortured and liberated after a very high ransom; many of us were assassinated for the only reason that they were wearing a cross.”

In the end, he said, “there is a serious attempt to cancel everything that links us to our land: our language, religious identity, places of worship, properties, traditions, culture, liturgy, monuments, manuscripts.”

Aid to the Church in Need also showed in the exhibit its response to the dire situation: the delivery of the Child’s Bible, printed in 52 million copies and translated into 180 languages (include Pakistan’s urdu and Central Africa’s sango) and its supports the formation of 11,000 seminarians, more than one third of those are Africans. Additionally in Dhaka, Aid to the Church in Need is building a church in Bangladesh together with the family of Simona Monti, one of the victims. The Church will be dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, and will be built in Harintana.

Communion and Liberation’s Rimini event this year will host 106 conferences, 14 shows, 17 exhibitions and 22 sporting events. More information can be found at: meetingrimini.org.

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WORLD NEWS

It’s World Humanitarian Day. Here’s 5 things you should know

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • August 19, 2016

(Helen Blakesley/Catholic Relief Services)

Washington, D.C. — Friday, August 19 is World Humanitarian Day, as designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2008. The day “honors those, who have lost their lives in humanitarian service and those, who continue to bring assistance and relief to millions,” the U.N. has stated.

“The Day also seeks to draw attention to humanitarian needs worldwide and the importance of international cooperation in meeting these needs.”

Amidst a global humanitarian crisis where the number of persons displaced from their homes is at its highest ever recorded, here are five things to know:

• The Lake Chad Basin in Africa – which includes the countries of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger – has been described as the “world’s most neglected humanitarian crisis.” Famine, drought, and sectarian violence by the terror group Boko Haram and militant Fulani herdsmen have combined to displace almost 3 million. The U.N. has estimated that over nine million people need humanitarian aid. In Northeastern Nigeria alone, in territory held by the Boko Haram, the U.N. has estimated that around a quarter million children “are suffering from severe malnutrition.”

• The scale of displaced persons is so large that the International Olympic Committee recognized them with their own team, competing in Rio under the Olympic flag. A team of 10 athletes made the trek, including a Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini. In August of 2015, she was on an overcrowded refugee boat that broke doewn in the Aegean Sea. Mardini swam to the Greek island of Lesbos, and from there to Europe. “My message at these games is just “Never give up’,” she said.

• The Vatican has stepped up its humanitarian outreach efforts. It now provides showers, haircuts, and even circus outings and beach trips for Rome’s homeless. It has welcomed refugees. Pope Francis recently lunched with 21 Syrian refugees.

• “World Humanitarian Day recognizes those who dedicate their lives to serving others in difficult circumstances,” according to Catholic Relief Services. Perhaps no one did this better than Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who will be canonized Sept. 4. CRS’ Sean Callahan, who once worked with Mother Teresa, recalled that “she didn’t just send people out – she did the work herself … We felt we were in the presence of a saint.”

• You can pledge to pray for someone in need through Catholic Relief Services’ Virtual Votive Candle project. If you want to make a donation through CRS, you can do it to honor Bl. Mother Theresa of Calcutta in advance of her Sept. 4 canonization.

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U.S. NEWS

Pittsburgh diocese: Government is violating Supreme Court mandate order

by CNA/EWTN News • August 13, 2016

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. (Addie Mena/CNA)

Pittsburgh, PA — Despite a Supreme Court order seeming to protect its religious freedom, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh says the federal government continues to exert strong pressure to force contraceptives into its health care plans.

The federal government has made “an extremely aggressive interpretation” of a recent Supreme Court’s order, the diocese said Aug. 11. The government is “apparently trying to take over” its health plans.

The government aims to force the diocese’s third party administrators to include objectionable coverage in self-insured plans.

“We think that is an erroneous reading of what the Supreme Court said,” the diocese stated.

Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, the federal government mandated that many health care plans cover sterilization procedures and contraceptive drugs, including some drugs that can cause early abortions. The mandates would require Catholic-run organizations to help aid access to procedures and drugs that violate Catholic morals.

Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh was the lead plaintiff in one of the lawsuits challenging the mandate. Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh and the Little Sisters of the Poor were also parties to the case. Over 300 plaintiffs have filed legal challenges to the mandate or joined others’ challenges.

They argued that the government mandate violated their religious freedom. They also objected that the government granted selective exemptions for the mandate to other organizations and its proposed revisions were gravely insufficient.

In May 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ordered the case to be returned to a lower court due to new developments in the case. The order was considered a win for the plaintiffs.

The decision also authorized the federal government to begin the process of providing contraceptive services to employees of Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh and other objecting agencies, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. In a court filing, the government said it will start notifying insurers to start providing contraceptives.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh, however, is self-insured. The diocese said this self-insured status means there is no obligation or authority for the third party administrator to provide the objectionable coverage.

“The Supreme Court also made clear that we cannot be fined or penalized for refusing to comply with the government’s current regulations,” the Diocese of Pittsburgh said. “Therefore, we believe the government’s position is wrong.”

It repeated its willingness to negotiate “a mutually agreeable solution to our impasse over religious freedom.”

The Diocese of Pittsburgh said its counsel and counsels for other Supreme Court litigants met with representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice to engage in the resolution talks the diocese believed the Supreme Court had contemplated.

“The government has been slow to offer anything of substance to pursue a negotiated solution, except to mention its openness to future meetings,” the diocese said.

The diocese said it will work with its insurers, third-party administrators and the government to avoid future litigation.

“We remain in prayer for a mutually agreeable resolution.”

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U.S. NEWS

Archbishop Chaput urges Catholics not to vote ‘on autopilot’

by CNA/EWTN News • August 15, 2016

Archbishop Charles Chaput speaks with CNA in Rome on Sept. 15, 2014. (Joaquín Peiró Pérez/CNA)

Philadelphia, PA — In his latest column for the Philly Catholic Archdiocesan paper, Archbishop Chaput shared some of his personal thoughts on the upcoming presidential election, and implored Catholics to take the time to pray and form their consciences before voting.

This year is a particularly interesting one for Catholics, Archbishop Chaput said, because both major candidates for president “have astonishing flaws.”

The archbishop, himself a long-time registered Independent, said this realization is both “depressing and liberating at the same time.”

“Depressing, because it’s proof of how polarized the nation has become. Liberating, because for the honest voter, it’s much easier this year to ignore the routine tribal loyalty chants of both the Democratic and Republican camps,” he wrote.

“Both major candidates are – what’s the right word? so problematic – that neither is clearly better than the other.”

That’s why it’s crucial in this election year for Catholic voters to take time in silence, prayer, and formative reading in order to discern what the best course of action will be when they enter the voting booth in November, he said.

“Note that by ‘Catholic,’ I mean people who take their faith seriously; people who actually believe what the Catholic faith holds to be true; people who place it first in their loyalty, thoughts and actions; people who submit their lives to Jesus Christ, to Scripture and to the guidance of the community of belief we know as the Church,” he wrote.

One of the most important things Catholics can do is to pray, the archbishop said.

“And prayer involves more than mumbling a Hail Mary before we pull the voting booth lever for someone we see as the lesser of two evils,” he added. “Prayer is a conversation, an engagement of the soul with God. It involves listening for God’s voice and educating our consciences.”

Silence is necessary for prayer, and so prayer must mean that Catholics take time to “unplug” in order to make room for silence – from T.V., from social media – and in order to make time for true prayer, Archbishop Chaput added.

The Archbishop also made several suggestions for Catholics who are looking for formative reading on the subject of Catholicism and politics, including “Living the Gospel of Life,” the 1998 pastoral letter of the U.S. bishops and “the best brief guide to American Catholic political reflection yet produced.”

Archbishop Chaput also recommended several books, including “Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society” by R.R. Reno, “It’s Dangerous to Believe: Religious Freedom and Its Enemies” by Mary Eberstadt, and two essays by Czech writer Václav Havel: “Politics and Conscience” and “The Power of the Powerless.”

While the archbishop admitted that he is not sure yet how he will vote in November, he wrote that “(i)t’s a matter properly reserved for every citizen’s informed conscience.”

But taking the time to ensure one has a well-formed conscience is crucial, he added.

“The next few months will determine the next decade and more of our nation’s life. We need to be awake, we need to clear our heads of media noise, and we need to think quietly and carefully before we vote. None of us can afford to live the coming weeks on autopilot.”

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U.S. NEWS

Transform your hearts – Milwaukee’s archbishop addresses riots

by CNA/EWTN News • August 15, 2016

Police officers stand guard as crowds gather for a second night near a BP gas station that was burned after an officer-involved killing on Aug. 14, 2016 in Milwaukee. (Darren Hauck/Getty Images)

Milwaukee, WI — The Milwaukee riots and violence that followed a police shooting of an armed man this weekend show the need for a true Christian transformation in life and society, the city’s archbishop commented Monday.

“I firmly believe that the loss of a strong faith that builds character and creates change is currently missing from our current, secular equation,” Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee said Aug. 15.

“Faith in Jesus Christ has not changed. However, the commitment to live that faith has become dormant. It’s time to awaken our confidence, together, in Jesus Christ and the Gospel that presents us with the only true transformation which changes hearts as well as minds.”

His words come after a fatal police shooting triggered both peaceful protests and violent riots, and apparently led to another shooting.

“It was painful to watch,” Archbishop Listecki said. “Members of a neighborhood, who depend upon police protection, were fighting the police and burning businesses, which the community depends upon, as well as looting these businesses, which showed individuals not protesting, but stealing.”

“The anger and hurt that accompanies any action certainly is understandable, but violence is never justified as a response,” he added.

A deadly police shooting Aug. 13 triggered riots that night. Six businesses were burned, seventeen people were arrested, and four officers were hurt from flying concrete and glass.

Sunday protests included a confrontation between police and protestors. About 150 people blocked a Milwaukee intersection near the scene where a black police officer shot and killed a black man who allegedly turned towards an officer with a gun in his hand.

Some protestors threw bottles and rocks at about two dozen police officers in riot gear. Four sheriff’s deputies were injured.

An 18-year-old was shot and seriously injured after 11 p.m. Sunday.

The police shooting took place Saturday after a traffic stop due to alleged suspicious behavior. The car’s driver, 23-year-old Sylville K. Smith, fled the scene with a gun in his hand. He ran a few dozen feet then turned towards the officer, police chief Edward Flynn said.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said a still image from the police officer’s body camera footage clearly showed a gun in Smith’s hand.

The mayor asked people to remember Smith’s family.

“A young man lost his life yesterday afternoon,” he said. “And no matter what the circumstances are, his family has to be hurting.”

Archbishop Listecki reflected on the unrest.

“Protest is a right of every American, but burning, shooting at legitimate authority and stealing are not,” he said, characterizing these as “self-inflicted wounds” on the rioters’ community.

He encouraged efforts to build the family, the economy, and a low-crime society to defuse the situation.

The archbishop also prayed for peace.

“We entrust our prayers to support the families and police authorities who have been caught in this conflict, as well as pray for peace in our neighborhoods and communities in Milwaukee and throughout the world.”

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U.S. NEWS

This bill aims to ensure churches can help people pay medical bills

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • August 16, 2016

(Alex Proimos via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0)

Washington, D.C. — Sponsors of a proposed bill in the U.S. Congress say that churches are not able to help pay people’s insurance premiums in 38 states, but is that really the case?

“There’s nothing actually that prevents the church now,” JoAnn Volk, project director at Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms, told CNA. “If you wanted to just help someone pay their bills, there’s nothing that prevents that.”

A proposed bill in Congress – H.R. 3742, the Access to Marketplace Insurance Act – states that non-profits can offer premium assistance to people with health plans on the state exchanges set up under the Affordable Care Act.

“People with chronic, rare, and acute diseases have the right to get the help from third party organizations, and insurers have no sound reason to deny these payments,” Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.), one of 94 co-sponsors of the bill, stated.

The reason for the bill, according to Hultgren, is that under the health care law “the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services released an interim final rule which gave authority to insurers to deny non-profit charities from providing premium assistance.”

However, insurers were not specifically instructed to deny or discourage all charities from helping pay medical bills, Volk explained.

Rather, for health plans on the state exchanges, the administration “discouraged” insurers from accepting third-party payments by patient advocacy groups which focused on people with specific health conditions.

These are groups like the Muscular Sclerosis Society and the National Hemophilia Foundation, which provide financial assistance for patients with chronic conditions to pay their monthly premiums, she said.

The reasoning behind this rule was because helping only those with serious medical conditions enroll in the insurance marketplaces could skew enrollment toward high-risk patients, where fewer healthy enrollees would be subsidizing more enrollees with chronic health conditions, Volk explained.

In 2013, the CMS published a Q & A about this topic. “[The Department of Health and Human Services] has significant concerns” about third-party payments, it said, “because it could skew the insurance risk pool and create an unlevel field in the Marketplaces.”

Basically, the statement was to “discourage insurers taking payments from charitable organizations that target their assistance based on health diagnosis,” Volk explained.

Then in February of 2014, CMS followed up with a clarification. Charities and churches were allowed to offer premium assistance, as long as they did so based on income need and not health condition – “based on financial status and do not consider enrollees’ health status,” as CMS stated.

In April of 2014, the Catholic Health Association and American Hospital Association wrote then-Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and asked her for a statement confirming that the administration was “not discouraging hospital-affiliated or other charitable foundations from subsidizing premiums” on the exchanges, or helping with “cost-sharing expenses for needy enrollees.”

In her response, Sebelius reaffirmed CMS’ statement that charities were allowed to help with premium payments as long the assistance was income- and not condition-based.

However, although any stories of church assistance being refused by insurance companies are “anecdotal right now,” insurers are sending letters stating that they are not accepting third-party payments by non-profit organizations, Dana Kuhn, founder and president of the patient advocacy group Patient Services, Inc. told CNA.

60 plans in 38 states “are returning checks from non-profit organizations, once they find out they’re a non-profit organization that is paying a premium on behalf of a person with a chronic condition,” he said.

The fact that the prohibitions stand for “third parties,” without specifying that income-based assistance by charities and churches will be accepted, is troubling, he said.

For instance, a March, 2014 letter from BlueCross BlueShield of Louisiana stated that they were “not accepting premium payments from any third parties who are not related (by blood or marriage) to the subscriber.”

UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina told members in a coverage packet that they could not “accept any direct or indirect contribution or reimbursement by or on behalf of any third party.” The only exempt parties were, again, those exempted by CMS. Churches and charities were not specifically mentioned.

A November, 2014 letter From BlueCrossBlueShield South Carolina stated that CMS “has encouraged insurance companies offering plans through the Federally Facilitated Marketplace to reject premium payments made by third parties on behalf of members in certain circumstances.”

Regardless of churches and other charities, patient advocacy groups”like Patient Services, Inc. that help people with specific chronic conditions say their payments should be accepted anyhow. They are now pushing for the passage of the bill in Congress to have insurers accept their premium payments.

Medical costs for people with chronic health conditions can be high, and despite the health care law capping out-of-pocket medical expenses, some situations still may require financial assistance.

According to the National Hemophilia Foundation, someone suffering from severe hemophilia could incur up to $300,000 a year in treatment costs. Someone waiting for a kidney transplant – currently more than 100,000 Americans – will need expensive weekly treatments just to survive, according to the American Kidney Association.

Unable to pay for a health plan they need, people might resort to skipping treatments, enrolling in Medicare or Medicaid, or using emergency rooms for health care, the Marketplace Access Project claims.

Rejection of third-party payments by patient advocacy groups for those with chronic health conditions “is really a backdoor way of a pre-existing condition, which the ACA was supposed to absolve,” Kuhn maintained.

“The people who need the help have a health condition,” he said.

So the bill, introduced by Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) last November, allows these charities and other third parties to continue making these payments. The list of 98 co-sponsors is bipartisan: more than 30 Democrats have co-sponsored the bill.

A valid concern – and a reason behind the regulation, Kuhn admitted – is that certain groups “in conjunction with” pharmaceutical companies and other providers “were putting people on the marketplace plans because the reimbursement is better,” although the patients qualified for Medicaid and Medicare.

He said that Patient Services, Inc. ensures that patients qualify for Medicare and Medicaid first before exploring plans on the exchanges.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to fix this so that charitable non-profits aren’t penalized because of other maybe charitable organizations that were created at the bequest of a provider, to just be able to sidestep this,” he concluded.

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The U.S. talks tough on religious persecution, but do its actions match?

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • August 16, 2016

(Massimo Valiani via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0)

Washington D.C. — Religious freedom advocates praised the State Department’s annual International Religious Freedom report published last week, but insisted that words must be followed by action.

“We at USCIRF applaud the State Department for the excellent work that went into this report and its efforts to encourage countries around the world to adopt policies that respect this fundamental right,” stated Fr. Thomas Reese, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which advises the State Department.

However, he added, the U.S. must “not miss this opportunity to strengthen our commitments with effective actions.”

“The Administration must do more than occasionally raise issues of concern,” stated Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who chairs the House subcommittee on global human rights.

He added that “they must use targeted sanctions, visa denials, and other measures to address a global crisis and hold responsible individuals accountable for religious persecution.”

Last Wednesday’s religious freedom report, which documented abuses in 200 countries and territories as well as steps taken to protect the freedoms of various religions, marked anti-blasphemy laws as one of the top concerns for religious freedom.

Around one-fourth of the world’s countries have anti-blasphemy laws, the Ambassador at-Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein noted, citing Pew Research numbers. Such laws have a “chilling, sometimes deadly effect,” he added.

This is because such laws are routinely abused by governments or sectarian mobs to persecute religious minorities who are not members of the official or majority state religion.

“In many other Islamic societies, societal passions associated with blasphemy – deadly enough in and of themselves – are abetted by a legal code that harshly penalizes blasphemy and apostasy,” the report stated.

“False accusations, often lodged in pursuit of personal vendettas or for the personal gain of the accuser, are not uncommon. Mob violence as a result of such accusations is disturbingly common,” it added. In Pakistan, for instance, there is no punishment for making a false accusation of blasphemy, and no evidence is required to bring an accusation to court.

Also, governments use the harsh consequences of such laws to crack down on minority religions.

Pakistan currently has the highest number of people on death row because of blasphemy convictions, including Asia Bibi, a mother of five who allegedly insulting the prophet Muhammad. She was accused by her neighbor of the crime in 2009 and convicted in 2010.

USCIRF praised the State Department for bringing “additional attention to the pernicious consequences of blasphemy laws.”

It also commended the State Department for placing 10 countries on its “countries of particular concern” list, the worst violators of religious freedom where governments are either actively persecuting religious minorities or are powerless to stop religiously-motivated sectarian violence and terrorism.

Those countries are China, Burma, Eritrea, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Seven more countries should be added to the CPC list, the commission maintained: Central African Republic, Nigeria, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Egypt, and Vietnam.

The U.S. has authority to take action against the countries on the CPC list to hold them accountable for their violations of religious freedom. However, the agency is also permitted to waive action against CPC designees in certain cases, and they have done so for four countries, USCIRF noted.

This has undermined the very purpose of the list, they added, and gives “little incentive for CPC-designated countries to make improvements,” so the waivers should be time-restricted.

One of the actions the U.S. can take is to “negotiate a binding agreement” with one of these countries to pressure them to improve their human rights situation. The U.S. should do so with Burma and Vietnam, USCIRF added.

Ultimately, the report “shows that the world is experiencing a religious freedom crisis that directly challenges U.S. interests around the world,” Smith stated.

However, he added, “the decision to downplay attacks on religious believers in Vietnam, Pakistan, India, and Cuba while expanding diplomatic, economic or military ties with these countries is tragic for those who suffer abuses every day.”

Vietnam and Pakistan are both countries that should be on the CPC list but aren’t, he said.

In Pakistan, Christians and other religious minorities are not sufficiently protected from religiously-motivated violence, the report said.

And in Vietnam, the government meddles too much in religion out of “national security and social unity” concerns, the report added, forcing all religions to register and harassing the religious groups that do not.

Meanwhile in Cuba, “religious freedom conditions and human rights conditions overall deteriorated” there after the U.S. re-opened formal diplomatic ties with Cuba, Smith added, and the State Department should have been harder on them in the report.

While the U.S. continues to dialogue with India, religious freedom must be a vital part of the conversation, Smith said, because “the Administration cannot shy away from the fact that in India religious minorities face ongoing violence, forced conversations, and discrimination with little serious governmental efforts made to stop it.”

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Amid Louisiana floods, victims become helpers

by Kevin J. Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • August 16, 2016

Record-breaking rains pelted Louisiana over the weekend, leaving Baton Rouge with historic levels of flooding that have caused at least seven deaths. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Baton Rouge, LA — In southern Louisiana, the flooding is perhaps unprecedented. And the local Catholic Charities is stepping up to help, even as its own staff is affected by the disasters.

“This is something that we’ve never experienced before,” David C. Aguillard, executive director of Catholic Charities of Baton Rouge, told CNA.

“We’re the disaster capital of the world down here. We’ve had oil spills, rig fires, tornados, ice storms, hurricanes, floods,” he said Aug. 15. “The thing about this is it’s such a widespread area. This is basically all of south Louisiana from the Mississippi border to Texas. Everything south of I-10 is flooded.”

More than 30 inches of rain fell in southern Louisiana beginning on Friday, flooding rivers and waterways. Some rivers won’t recede for two days, and any additional rain would risk more flash floods.

At least seven persons have died because of the storms.

More than 20,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes and 12,000 were staying in shelters, ABC News reports. Some shelters were over capacity and lacked sufficient beds, and expanding floodwaters caused evacuations at some shelters that were supposed to be safe havens. Some people still need to be evacuated from their homes.

President Barack Obama has declared a federal emergency in the affected areas.

Over 40,000 homes are without power, hundreds of roads were closed, and 1,400 bridges need safety inspections before being reopened.

“Riding Interstate 10 was like riding an elevated causeway through a waterway. It was water on both sides of the interstate,” Aguillard told CNA.

Normally the agency would be deploying its resources, case managers, and mental health workers. But the impact is so broad, many of its staff are affected, too. They and their families are seeking shelter or trying to leave their neighborhoods.

“The water backed up and nothing was draining. In neighborhoods that have never been flooded, people have four, six, twelve inches of water in their house,” Aguillard said. “We were not spared ourselves.”

Some agency staff feel the same emotions as other victims: shock, trauma, sadness, a feeling of loss; but also a realization that, in Aguillard’s words, “it’s time to get to work and help people.”

“I’ve had staff in here who had to evacuate their homes. They’re feeling sad, you can tell, but at the same time they’re here today,” he added. “We’re going to do everything we possibly can to help people who aren’t as fortunate to have a place to come to.”

Some shelters are inaccessible from Baton Rouge and relief workers comes in from New Orleans. Catholic Charities is now aiding parishes that need toiletries, food, and even coffee. Case managers and mental health professionals are going to the shelters, which are “full to the brim.”

Cash, though, is the most useful asset in such a situation – and for Catholic Charities’ long-term relief work.

“In the weeks and days immediately after a disaster, there’s a tremendous rush of good will and high energy and compassion. And that is desperately needed,” Aguillard explained. “That is very valuable. But the fact is, there are people who might take years to recover.”

“Their workplaces might close down. They might be one or two paychecks away from losing their house or their lease. That’s where we come in. We’re here for the long term to help with that recovery process that can take two to five years, sometimes longer.”

There are still some people have yet to recover from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“Not everybody has a savings account. Not everybody has family with resources to help. That’s what we’re here for,” said Aguillard.

“We go out and we do the work immediately when it is needed. We just pray and we trust and have faith that the resources are going to come. And we’ve never been let down,” he said.

“The generosity of people around the country is just overwhelming. It’s phenomenal. It’s very touching when we start getting donations from the state of Washington or Alaska, not only from within our diocese.”

Baton Rouge Catholic Charities is asking for donations to help flood relief work through its website, ccdiobr.org/.

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California religious colleges dodge a bullet. But what’s next?

by Kevin Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • August 16, 2016

(Wk1003mike via Shutterstock.com)

Sacramento, CA — A bill that threatened to defund California religious colleges that do not accept same-sex marriage and gender ideology has been amended, but the danger could return.

“The schools dodged an enormous bullet,” Gregory S. Baylor, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, told CNA Aug. 16. “The provisions that were dropped would have made it very difficult for them. They would have been forced to choose between remaining faithful to their religious beliefs about a variety of issues and participating in the CalGrant program.”

Baylor’s religious freedom legal group helped defend some of the California schools targeted by California legislature bill S.B. 1146.

A previous version of the bill would have imposed strict anti-discrimination rules on state-backed student grants, called CalGrants, to schools that disagree with same-sex marriage and gender ideology. Schools would have had to decline to accept students with the grants, change their morality- and religion-based policies, or face the risk of lawsuits.

Critics of the original bill said that it would stigmatize and punish religious colleges and universities and deny their disadvantaged students’ needed funds for their education.

“The most dangerous provision of S.B. 1146 were dropped,” Baylor said. “Certainly the schools we have been working with are happy about that,” he said.

But he also had a warning.

“I think it would be a mistake for anyone who supports religious freedom to be lulled into a false sense of security about what’s coming in California,” he added. “The prior version of the bill passed the senate, and passed three committees in the assembly, and appeared to be destined for passage in the full assembly and signature by the governor. That is a frightening prospect.”

The bill’s prime sponsor has promised to continue considering the question and could introduce legislation in the next legislative session that will have the same goals as the original version of the bill, Baylor said.

“Supporters of religious liberty, schools, and parents need to be prepared for the conflict that almost certainly is coming, and the virtually existential threat that this poses to their religious liberty,” he said.

The bill still requires religious institutions of higher education to disclose their requested federal religious exemptions in a prominent location, as well as in written materials sent to prospective students, at student orientation programs, and to new hires.

The institutions must also disclose this exemption to the California Student Aid Commission, echoing a new U.S. Department of Education requirement. The state commission must publish a list of schools that disclose exemptions. The institutions must report a detailed explanation of the reasons for each student suspension or expulsion to the commission, and whether the action concerned a policy protected by the exemption.

Baylor said the schools have some concern about these disclosure and reporting requirements. For instance, they must also follow federal requirements to protect the privacy of educational records, which appears to be in tension with the proposal.

“In addition, there is a legitimate concern that these provisions single out religious schools and impose special obligations upon them,” he said.

According to Baylor, the schools question whether the provisions are necessary given that the institutions are willing to discuss their religious commitments and expectations of students and staff.

In an Aug. 9 statement written in response to the previous version of the bill, a group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders defended the importance of the freedom of religious higher education.

“The future of a free America requires the full participation of religion in public life. Religious higher education cultivates both the mind and the soul,” they said. They characterized the proposed restrictions as “stigmatizing and coercively punishing religious beliefs that disagree on contested matters related to human sexuality.”

Before its amendment, they said the bill would have severely restricted “the ability of religious education institutions to set expectations of belief and conduct that align with the institution’s religious tenets.”

Leaders from two Catholic colleges in California, St. Thomas Aquinas College and St. John Paul the Great University, signed the statement, as did Michael Wear, a former Obama campaign staffer who served in the White House’s Office of Faith-based Initiatives.

Some commentators warned that the bill’s earlier provisions would make it impossible for disadvantaged students to attend religious colleges and could endanger the institutions’ financial sustainability.

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Critics find a lot to doubt about Hillary Clinton’s pro-religious freedom claims

by Kevin Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • August 17, 2016

Hillary Clinton. (JStone via Shutterstock.com)

Washington, D.C. — Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has claimed to be a defender of religious freedom. But does it match the facts?

Georgetown University professor Thomas Farr has his doubts.

“Anyone who believes that a President Hillary Clinton will support the religious freedom of Catholic elementary and high schools, colleges, refugee services, adoption agencies, homes for the aged poor, or any other private organization, is making a mistake,” Farr told CNA. “Her own words suggest that even churches will not evade her understanding of the kind of ‘compelling government interest’ that she considers abortion and same-sex marriage to be.”

Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, addressed religious freedom in an exclusive editorial in the Utah newspaper The Deseret News.

“As Americans, we hold fast to the belief that everyone has the right to worship however he or she sees fit,” Clinton said in the Aug. 10 essay. “I’ve been fighting to defend religious freedom for years.”

“Americans don’t have to agree on everything. We never have,” she added. “But when it comes to religion, we strive to be accepting of everyone around us. That’s because we need each other.”

Clinton, in her essay written largely for a Mormon audience, linked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslim immigration to the U.S. to 19th century efforts to expel Mormons from the state of Missouri and to limit Mormon immigration to the U.S.

But Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote.org, charged that Clinton “favors extremist policies that would punish charities like the Little Sisters of the Poor along with thousands of similar Catholic-inspired charities.”

Clinton’s words come during a long legal fight against the Obama administration’s mandate that Catholic and other organizations provide employee health coverage of sterilization and contraception, including some drugs that can cause abortions. There are also continuing controversies over the freedom of adoption agencies, relief agencies and religious schools to have policies in line with their beliefs.

Both Burch and Farr noted Clinton’s use of the phrase “right to worship.”

“She publicly opposes the long understood definition of religious freedom by hiding behind the euphemism of ‘freedom of worship’,” Burch said. “What this means is she supports the freedom of Catholics to pray inside of our churches, at least for now. But once outside we must embrace the orthodoxy of secular anti-Catholic progressives.”

Farr, who directs the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown’s Berkley Center, said that Clinton’s focus on the “right to worship” relegates religion to the private sphere “with no capacity to influence public matters.”

“Her use of the term, and its deeper meaning, are quite consistent with her attacks on churches and religious organizations that oppose the progressive agenda of abortion on demand and same-sex marriage,” he said. “Last year she told an international conference that religious groups who oppose abortion are going to have to change. Some commitment to religious freedom.”

Clinton’s editorial in the Utah newspaper has deeper significance in 2016. The state is a traditional Republican bastion and most of its residents are adherents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, colloquially known as Mormons.

However, Mormons’ lack of support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump may provide an opening for Clinton.

In her editorial, Clinton said when she was Secretary of State she made protection of religious minorities a “cornerstone” of foreign policy, including Coptic Christians in Egypt, Buddhists in Tibet and Chinese Christians.

“We stood up for these oppressed communities because Americans know that democracy ceases to exist when a leader or ruling faction can impose a particular faith on everyone else,” she said.

Farr, however, questioned this evaluation of U.S. foreign policy.

“Their approach was highly rhetorical and program-poor. Under her watch, the National Security Strategy’s discussion of fundamental American values virtually ignored religious freedom,” he said.

He pointed to the years-long vacancy in the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom position, charging that it was ultimately filled by someone “without the qualifications to do the job.”

For Farr, Clinton’s narrow understanding of religious freedom helps explain why the Clinton State Department “accomplished virtually nothing (other than a few fine speeches and reports) in the arena of religious freedom.”

“While there are other reasons for State’s ineffectiveness under Secretary Clinton, one is quite clear: it is difficult to sell to others a product which you no longer understand, and in which you do not believe,” Farr said.

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The fascinating (and problematic) history of athletes doping

by Adelaide Mena (CNA/EWTN News) • August 18, 2016

(Restyler via Shutterstock.com)

Washington D.C. — As the world’s eyes are on Rio de Janeiro for last days of the 2016 Summer Olympics, the topic of performance-enhancing drugs has also jumped back into the spotlight amid several high-profile controversies.

Along with the increased publicity surrounding the prevalence of drug use among athletes come questions about why “doping” or the use of such substances is wrong, and how to address a problem whose roots are almost as old as sport itself.

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk, Director of Education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told CNA that athletes in a competition come to the starting line with a kind of equality, “in the sense that they arrive with whatever they were endowed with at birth, and whatever they may have managed to become endowed with through practice, hard work, and discipline.”

“Cheating through doping involves an attempt to step outside these rules and suppositions, and play a different game,” he said.

When athletes come to the starting line, they come with the supposition that they are playing on a level playing field, that no one has an unfair advantage over anyone else. Doping lets athletes pretend this is the cases, even if performance-enhancing drugs or procedures gives an unnatural athlete an edge other competitors.

“In this sense, cheating through doping is wrong because it is a form of lying,” Fr. Pacholczyk added.

In a competitive athletic situation, the setup and supposition is that competitors are on a par with each other, which means that no one has an “unfair” or “unjust” advantage over another going into the competition.

Doping’s history at the Olympic Games reaches back thousands of years, as ancient competitors would eat strange meats and body parts to gain an edge over their opponents. (Some of these practices, such as the consumption of raw animal testicles before races may not have been completely scientifically unfounded, though certainly less effective than modern doping methods.)

Artificial enhancement followed the Olympics to the reinstatement of the Modern Olympic games. Famously, in 1904, American marathon winner Thomas Hicks was given shots of strychnine – a stimulant and common rat poison – along with sips of brandy by his coach during the race.

The use of performance enhancing drugs proliferated throughout the mid-Twentieth Century, as the lengths athletes took to gain an advantage became more extreme and ubiquitous. In the 1990’s, after the fall of the Soviet Union, documents emerged detailing the extent of anabolic steroid and other performance-enhancing drug use by some of the the East German sports teams. Former athletes attested that they were given what they were told were “vitamins” at ages as young as eleven, with no option to refuse the substances.

The use of artificial enhancements has come under increasing scrutiny since 1962, when the International Olympic Commission, or IOC, began developing a list of prohibited substances and, later, tests. In 1999, the IOC formed the World Anti-Doping Agency, a foundation dedicated to the monitoring of the use of drugs in sports and coordinate efforts to end the practice among competitors. Now, athletes are subject to routine blood and urine testing for a wide array of substances.

Some of the substances banned by WADA pose serious risks to athletes. Anabolic steroids can cause liver damage, dangerous structural changes to the heart, and abnormal physical characteristics such as breast growth in men and and hair growth in women. Stimulants, like amphetamines and ephedrine, can cause rapid muscle breakdown, high blood pressure and rapid heart rates, and are the cause of the only drug-related Olympic death, when Danish Cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen collapsed during the 1960 Games in Rome.

Blood doping, or the alteration of the blood’s capacity to carry oxygen, either through drugs or blood transfusions, also carries with it significant risks. The increased blood volume thickens the blood, which in turn increases the risk of life-threatening blood clots, strokes and heart attacks.

However, while these drugs can be dangerous, some of the substances banned or restricted by WADA also have legitimate therapeutic uses. Common drugs such as asthma rescue inhalers, heart medications and common over-the-counter cold medicines are all found on the list of prohibited substances for athletes at the 2016 Olympics.

While some of the substances are only banned over certain limits or for certain sports, the inclusion of these substances with legitimate therapeutic uses introduces not only a plausible excuse for athletes such as Yulia Effimova – who was allowed to swim at in Rio after testing positive for the heart medication meldonium*, banned earlier this year – but clouds the moral waters as well, says Fr. Pacholczyk.

“The fact that some of the banned substances used among Olympic athletes may have legitimate therapeutic uses complicates the determination of whether steroids are being used for illegitimate purposes,” he told CNA.

“In some cases, it may not be possible to distinguish such differences via standardized testing protocols,” Fr. Pacholczyk continued, adding that it may be necessary and appropriate for sport authorities to set detection levels for a drug’s use at a given limit. If an athlete passes that limit, whether or not a drug’s use was for an injury or treatment of health issue, the athlete should sit out the next competition, he suggested.

“Injuries, obviously, must be properly attended to through standard treatments, even though one consequence may be that competitive athletic activities may need to cease, at least for a period.”

*In July 2016, the world swimming association, FINA, ruled to allow Efimova to compete in the 2016 Rio Games despite testing positive for the heart medication, noting that it is currently unclear how long meldonium stays in a patient’s body, even after stopping its use.

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Head Knight of Columbus takes on idea of ‘pro-choice but personally opposed’

by CNA/EWTN News • August 18, 2016

Supreme Knight Dr. Carl A. Anderson address the 129th Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention during the States Dinner. (Peter Zelasko/CNA)

New Haven, CT — Since it was first used by Mario Cuomo in 1984, many Catholic politicians have taken up the argument that they are “personally opposed to abortion” but still “pro-choice.” The argument “has always been a poor one, but it has never made less sense than it does today,” writes Carl Anderson, CEO of the Knights of Columbus, in an opinion piece published yesterday in The Hill.

In a speech at Notre Dame in 1984, Cuomo famously declared that: “As a Catholic I accept the church’s teaching authority. … I accept the bishops’ position that abortion is to be avoided.” Cuomo added: “My wife and I were enjoined never to use abortion to destroy the life we created, and we never have.” Still, he maintained that abortion should be protected legally.

In his piece, Anderson says the Cuomo argument was never morally coherent, that its premise that opposition to abortion is the minority view is no longer valid, and that the intervening history proves that Cuomo’s claim that such actions will bring tolerance for Catholic positions has been disproven by new attempts to force religious individuals and entities to act against their beliefs.

Anderson notes that if we apply the “personally opposed” rationale to another evil we see how quickly the logic breaks down.

In addition, Cuomo’s logic was based on not imposing his view on the majority of Americans. But, the piece notes, it “simply is not true that legally restricting abortion is the minority view,” and “a broad consensus to restrict abortion” has emerged in the intervening years on that and on the immorality of abortion.

The piece sites Marist polling commissioned by the Knights of Columbus that shows about eight in 10 Americans want substantial restrictions on abortion. A solid majority would limit abortion at most only to rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. And by a margin of 23 points – 60 percent to 37 percent – most Americans now say abortion is “morally wrong.” By contrast, only about one in 10 Americans say they want no restrictions of abortion.

Anderson writes that this means that “pro-choice” politicians who claim to be “personally opposed” now not only violate their own consciences, but also impose on the country a view held by only a “tiny minority.”

Cuomo’s idea is “now bankrupt in another way,” continues Anderson.

In defending his “pro-choice” stance, Cuomo stated in 1984: “We know that the price of seeking to force our beliefs on others is that they might someday force theirs on us.”

“Indeed, the opposite has occurred,” writes Anderson. “Catholics are increasingly facing government ‘force’ to commit actions they see as immoral … Cuomo was wrong. Our rights have not been protected as a result of his political strategy – just ask the Little Sisters of the Poor.”

Anderson concludes by arguing that politicians should embrace the American consensus on abortion restrictions “and stop acting in opposition to their own conscience and the will of the American people.”

Alternatively, Anderson suggests, they could take what he calls “the John F. Kennedy option,” a course of action that Kennedy proposed while running for president in 1960. Kennedy said: “… if the time should ever come … when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office; and I hope any conscientious public servant would do the same.”

This press release was provided to CNA by the Knights of Columbus.

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It’s official: Our Lady of Good Help in Wisconsin is a national shrine

by CNA/EWTN News • August 18, 2016

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wis. (Royalbroil via Wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0)

Green Bay, WI — In 1859, a young Belgian woman saw a bright vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary appear between two trees in one of the most unlikely places in eastern Wisconsin.

This week, the Marian site has been designated a National Shrine, and is also known as the first Marian apparition site in the United States.

“I am overjoyed to now share with all of you today, that the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help has received the National designation as a National Shrine from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,” Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay stated during an Aug. 15 homily.

“I am deeply thankful for the faith, devotion and unwavering commitment to all those who have been stewards and caretakers of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help for the past several generations,” he continued.

Our Lady of Good Help Shrine is fewer than 20 miles from Green Bay in Champion. It commemorates the place where the young peasant woman Adele Brise saw a vision of the Blessed Virgin and was instructed to “gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation.”

The Virgin Mary told Brise to evangelize children through catechism and the sacraments, saying to “go and fear nothing.” By 1868, a chapel and a school were built on the apparition site.

After investigations were opened to confirm the validity of the site, Bishop Ricken approved the Marian apparition in 2010, making it the first in the United States. He also announced the grounds as a diocesan shrine, where thousands of pilgrims from over 90 countries have visited over the years.

“Today’s announcement is a testament and a honor to all those who have come before us. Their generous Christian spirit of warmth, hospitality, reverence and simplicity is alive in this holy place,” Bishop Ricken stated.

“Each of them simply follows the deep whispers of their own faith, and in doing so, preserve and advance the shrine.”

When the U.S. Bishops’ conference announced that it had approved Our Lady of Good Help as a national shrine Aug. 15, Bishop Ricken celebrated Mass at the shrine with more than 1,500 people in attendance. Other celebrants included Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee, Bishop James Powers of Superior, and priests of the Green Bay diocese.

During the homily, Bishop Ricken explained the meaning of a national designation, saying national shrines must meet the specific requirements of the USCCB. There are more than 70 national shrines within the United States.

To be considered a national shrine, sites are required to “nourish the spiritual lives of their pilgrims” and be easily accessible to visitors. In addition, they must also have served as diocesan shrines, operating with the approval of the diocesan bishop and in accordance with Church teachings.

Bishop Ricken expressed his hopes for the future of the shrine, and was grateful for those who have showed support for the mission of Our Lady of Good Help over the years.

“It is my belief that this national designation will enhance the significance of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, and assist in the evangelization of all those pilgrims who visit this holy site,” Bishop Ricken stated.

“Praise the Lord for all the good works that are happening here at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. I thank all of you for joining me today.”

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Marian procession to mark Los Angeles’ 235th birthday

by CNA/EWTN News • August 18, 2016

Our Lady Queen of Angels. (CNA)

Los Angeles, CA — Later this month, a Marian Procession and Votive Mass will help celebrate the 235th anniversary of the city of Los Angeles, California – which was named after Mary, Queen of Angels.

The August 27 festivities, hosted by the Queen of Angels Foundation, will be open to the public. A Votive Mass will be held at 3 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. At 4:15 p.m., a Grand Marian Procession to the Our Lady Queen of Angels Church “La Placita” in Olvera Street will take place, concluding with a blessing at 5:15 p.m.

Leading the 6th Annual Grand Marian Procession will be Bishop Robert Barron, Auxiliary Bishop for the Santa Barbara Pastoral Region. He will also celebrate the Votive Mass.

“It is an honor to be able to participate in this celebration of the history of the City of Los Angeles and the Catholic heritage that remains as important to all of us today as it was to our ancestors,” the bishop said.

“This is a great city and it is most appropriate that any celebration of the city take note of the important contribution of those Catholics who in many ways made Los Angeles what it is today,” Bishop Barron continued. “I’m very much looking forward to joining with the many faithful people who will come together to shine a light on the historical bonds between the city they love and their desire to serve God.”

Other participants in the procession will include members of the Knights of Columbus, the Knights of Peter Claver, the Order of Malta, the Order of St. Lazarus, the Order of St. Gregory, and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, along with lay and religious members of the archdiocese.

The Queen of Angels Foundation is a non-profit group that works to foster devotion to Our Lady of the Angels, the patroness and protector of Los Angeles city, county and archdiocese.

“For the sixth year in a row the catholic community in Los Angeles is coming together to celebrate the city’s birthday and pray for the protection of The Blessed Mother and the Queen of Angels,” said lawyer Mark Anchor Albert, who founded the Queen of Angels Foundation. “It is a great honor to have Bishop Robert Barron join us this year for the procession.”

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U.S. NEWS

Challenge to Maryland Ten Commandments statue dropped

by CNA/EWTN News • August 19, 2016

Ten Commandments outside of the Capitol building in Austin, Texas. (BLundin via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Baltimore, MD — A monument of the Ten Commandments outside a Maryland courthouse is safe, after a lawsuit against it was dropped this week.

The monument was donated in 1957 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. It stands on the courthouse grounds in Allegany County, near a monument to George Washington.

Jeffrey Davis, a man living in the neighboring county but owning property in Allegany County, had filed a lawsuit saying that he was offended by the monument. He dropped that lawsuit Tuesday, without offering his reason for doing so.

The monument in question was similar to one, also donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, on the grounds of the Texas Capitol. That monument was upheld by the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2005 that it did not violate the Establishment Clause.

Attorneys defending the Maryland monument applauded the dropping of the lawsuit.

“The emotional response of an offended passerby doesn’t automatically amount to a violation of the Establishment Clause,” said Brett Harvey, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the Allegany County commissioners alongside Jones Day attorneys.

The attorneys had previously filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

“Mr. Davis was right to end his quest to uproot this monument, which is virtually identical to a monument in Texas that the U.S. Supreme Court already upheld,” Harvey said. “Because the county’s monument would survive constitutional scrutiny, we are pleased that it will be able to stay.”

The Supreme Court has questioned such “offended observer” claims. In 2014, the court said in Town of Greece v. Galloway that adults “often encounter speech they find disagreeable; and an Establishment Clause violation is not made out any time a person experiences a sense of affront from the expression of contrary religious views.”

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U.S. NEWS

Suicide of bullied student raises questions for Catholic school

by CNA/EWTN News • August 19, 2016

(Unsplash/CNA)

New York City, N.Y. — The suicide of a seventh grade Catholic school student prompted outpourings of grief and prayers, amid disputed claims from his family that the school did not do enough to stop bullying.

“We mourn the passing of Daniel Fitzpatrick. His family is in our prayers. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio said, according to the Brooklyn diocese’s newspaper The Tablet.

“While there are many unanswered questions, it is indisputable that this is an unspeakable tragedy,” he said, adding “We must always remain vigilant and attentive to the emotional needs of the children in our care.”

Carolyn Erstad, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Brooklyn, also spoke in grief.

“The principal, teachers, and staff of Holy Angels Catholic Academy are heartbroken over the loss of Danny Fitzpatrick,” she said, according to the New York Daily News. “We take the issue of bullying very seriously and address every incident that is brought to our attention.”

Erstad said the diocese is reexamining all bullying prevention policies and training. Teachers at the school have undergone comprehensive anti-bullying training and intervened in any conflict between the boy and other students, a diocesan spokesperson told the Tablet. The school disciplined anyone involved in bullying and the school invited police to discuss bullying before classes, including Daniel’s.

The 13-year-old killed himself in the attic of his family’s home on Aug. 11. Several weeks before, he wrote a letter saying “I gave up.” His letter charged that the teachers “didn’t do anything.” He said he was bullied “constantly” by five boys at school and his fight with one of them caused a fractured pinkie finger. Family members of the boy said he was the target of perpetual bullying at school.

“My son shouldn’t have to die to be heard,” his mother Maureen Fitzpatrick told the New York Daily News. “There’s something wrong with the adults in authority positions when kids can’t go to them for help … No parent is supposed to bury their child.”

Family members, including a sister who attended the same school alleged that a teacher at the school known for humiliating students called Daniel “lazy” and would display students’ scores to embarrass those who behaved poorly.

The Washington Post says it obtained a report filed in fall 2015 with New York City’s Administration of Children’s Services from an investigator who said Daniel was failing his classes and engaged in angry outbursts.

According to the report, Daniel said his mother’s drunkenness “affects him in everything and makes him angry.” He denied physical abuse but indicated that his father and his sister would hide him from his mother.

“Danny denies suicidal thoughts, but feels angry, sad, has thoughts of wanting to run away,” the report said. “Mother is blaming his teachers for his failures and has written several accusatory letters to school. Student is afraid of both parents anger.”

Scott Rynecki, a lawyer representing the Fitzpatrick family, told the Washington Post that the documents are part of an effort to discredit families that are problems for the Catholic school.

He showed a letter from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services to Daniel’s mother saying that the report was considered “unfounded” as the local child protective service had found “no credible evidence” to believe that children were mistreated.

“The belief is that the Catholic school themselves put in some sort of claim and spoke to the child and somehow twisted his claims,” charged Rynecki, whose law firm is considering a wrongful death suit against the school for alleged failure to have a proper bullying prevention program.

Erstad told the Post that under state guidelines a school guidance counselor was allowed to meet with the boy up to three times before his parents needed to consent to more meetings. The parents declined to consent.

The school’s anti-bullying training is based on the Olweus program. CNA contacted the Brooklyn diocese for comment but did not receive a response by deadline.

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U.S. NEWS

After decline in sales, Target tests out bathroom compromise

by CNA/EWTN News • August 19, 2016

(Tony Gonzalez via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Washington, D.C. — Amid continuing dispute over its transgender bathroom policy, the retail giant Target has denied that the controversy is linked to its decline in sales and says it will not change the policy.

Instead, it will spend $20 million for single-toilet bathrooms at 300 more stores. These bathrooms are not for individuals whose biological sex and gender identity differ, but instead are for people who are uncomfortable with the thought of using a restroom with a transgender individual.

The store chain in April announced that staff members and customers who identify as transgender may use the restroom or fitting room that corresponds with their self-identified gender, not their biological sex.

Critics voiced concern that the policy would allow men to use the women’s bathroom and could pose a risk to women and children. The American Family Association launched a boycott that gathered 1.4 million signatures online.

On Wednesday, Target said it would add single occupancy restrooms to the 300 of its 1,800 stores that currently lack them, CNN Money reports.

Walker Wildmon, assistant to the president of the American Family Association, said the addition of private restrooms “doesn’t completely answer our concerns.” Boycott leaders want the policy changed.

On Wednesday, the company said its sales were disappointing and lowered forecasts on future sales. Sales have dropped 7 percent in the last year.

Wildmon said the American Family Association is “confident that our boycott has played a significant role in Target’s financial results that came out today.”

Target Chief Financial Officer Cathy Smith said there is no evidence the boycott had significant effect on sales.

Target spokeswoman Katie Boylan said the addition of bathrooms is about “inclusion” and wanting “everyone to feel comfortable in our stores.”

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U.S. NEWS

In Arab Christian’s murder, some see deadly American cultural tensions

by Kevin J. Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • August 19, 2016

Khalid Jabara, an Orthodox Christian of Lebanese descent who was killed on Aug. 12, 2016. (Victoria Jabara Williams via Facebook)

Tulsa, OK — Khalid Jabara, a Lebanese-American Christian man, was killed in Tulsa, Okla. last week. His alleged assailant was a man who repeatedly harassed his family with anti-Muslim, anti-Arab language.

The killing has caused concern about attitudes in the U.S.

“Here, in the United States, Mr. Jabara and his family became targets of violence and hatred not because of their faith, but because of their Middle Eastern identity and culture,” In Defense of Christians executive director Kirsten Evans said Aug. 17.

“Sadly, Middle Eastern Christians caught in the crossfire of the sectarian conflict plaguing the Middle East have also become vulnerable scapegoats for hatred and violence born of political and cultural tensions here in the United States.”

On Aug. 12, Jabara called police to report that his neighbor, Stanley Vernon Majors, had a gun in his hand and that he was scared about what might happen, his sister Victoria Jabara Williams said in a statement. The police said there was nothing they could do because the man had returned to his home.

Soon after police left, Jabara stepped out of his house. Police say his 61-year-old neighbor was waiting for him, CNN and the Washington Post report.

Majors fatally shot Jabara, 37. The assailant was arrested and will be charged with first-degree murder.

Jabara’s sister said the man’s history was well-known.

“This suspect had a history of bigotry against our family. He repeatedly attacked our ethnicity and perceived religion, making racist comments. He often called us ‘dirty Arabs,’ ‘filthy Lebanese,’ ‘Aye-rabs,’ and ‘Mooslems’,” said Williams.

The man also commented against Mexicans and blacks, she said.

“Our brother’s death could have been prevented,” she added. “This man was a known danger.”

Neighbors had lodged several complaints against Majors, who had a history of making threats.

In 2013, the Jabara family filed a protective order against him, and Majors then filed a restraining order against Jabara. In 2015 Jabara’s mother, Haifa, was taking a walk in the neighborhood when the man allegedly ran her over with his car. She spent weeks in the hospital with major injuries.

The police report indicated Majors was intoxicated at the time and accused the Lebanese of crimes committed by Islamic extremists.

“Majors remarked that Mrs. Jabara and her family were filthy Lebanese and they throw gay people off roof tops,” an officer wrote in the report.

Majors was charged with felony assault and initially held in custody without bond. Against the district attorney’s wishes, a judge allowed his release until his March 2017 trial date.

“My family lived in fear of this man and his hatred for years,” Williams objected. “Yet in May, not even one year after he ran over our mother and despite our repeated protests, he was released from jail with no conditions on his bond – no ankle monitor, no drug/alcohol testing, nothing.”

The Jabara family had settled in Tulsa in the 1980s, and Jabara was an active member of St. Antony Orthodox Church.

His parish has said the community “will always remember the young man who grew up in our parish. Khalid had a huge heart and loved his parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. He was kind, funny, bright and caring; everyone who knew him was truly the better for it.”

“The entire St. Antony family mourns with the Jabara family and feels the loss of Khalid. May the love and compassion of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ along with the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos and all the saints bring their family peace and comfort and may the memory of Khalid truly be eternal.”

In Defense of Christians, which focuses on Christians in the Middle East, lamented the apparent motives of the killer.

“That anyone, no matter who they are or where they come from, could be targeted for violence, persecution and even death simply because of their ethnic or religious identity, is unconscionable,” said Evans, the organization’s executive director. “Our deepest sympathy goes out to Mr. Jabara’s family and community.”

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FEATURES

Why these cards inspired a Catholic grandpa to build an app

by Mary Rezac (CNA/EWTN News) • August 14, 2016

Tom Riles’ handwritten affirmation cards. (Leonard Ortiz/The Orange County Register)

Orange County, CA — For twenty-five years, Tom Riles has carried a stack of index cards in his shirt pocket.

On the cards, in his neat, all-caps handwriting, Riles scrawled scripture verses and affirming quotes in blue and black and red ink to inspire him throughout his day.

That’s because 25 years ago, Tom Riles had a bad attitude.

After being rejected for a job scraping gum off the sidewalks with a powerwasher in his then-hometown in New Jersey because of his attitude, Riles realized something needed to change.

“My attitude was way out of whack,” he told CNA. “And then somebody gave me a book called ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’ by Norman Vincent Peale.”

Peale, a Christian, encouraged readers to write down inspirational quotes to reference throughout the day in order to change their thinking and ultimately their lives.

Since following that advice, Riles, now a 67 year-old grandfather of 10, has never been the same.

“I trained myself to use these positive affirmations to bring me into God’s presence throughout the day, and when we’re in his presence, we experience peace and joy,” he said.

That’s why Riles wants to turn the idea of his index cards into an app that people throughout the world can use.

Four years ago, Riles started using his smartphone to schedule alerts with affirmations throughout the day. When Riles told this to his friend from church, app developer Aaron Horvath, he suggested they create an app.

The pair launched a Kickstarter campaign last month to raise $30,000 to build a free mobile app that will send out positive messages and affirmations, at a frequency that the user selects.

“Tom is proof that technology is not just for over-caffeinated millennials,” Horvath told The Orange County Register. “If you have an idea, a passion and funding, there are no boundaries in the world of technology.”

The name for the app is OnPath, because of how the quotes can bring a person back into the presence of God and keep them on the right path throughout the day, Riles said.

For himself, Riles said his cards help remind him of God both during ordinary, daily life and before big events, like when he was taking a test to become a captain of a fishing boat on the Jersey Shore. His daughter used them before she took her boards test to become a nurse.

And fifteen years ago, when Riles was diagnosed with a serious blood disorder, he was able to recall the presence of God even in the midst of a life-altering diagnosis.

During a routine physical, Riles found out that his body was producing too much blood. Having never donated blood before - “I was always too busy and I hated needles” - Riles had to have some of his excess blood taken out immediately.

While sitting in the recovery room snacking on the typical juice and cookies, Riles saw the nurse discard the blood, which he thought might have been used to help other people.

“When I saw they threw my blood in the garbage, I almost choked on my Lorna Doone, and I said what are you doing?”

But because Riles’ blood contained too many red blood cells, it had to be discarded.

“So I got down on my knees at that moment and I said Lord Jesus, I want to thank you … for bringing me to this point in my life. I don’t even know what’s going on yet, but through your mercy and your love, you will bring good out of this to others.”

Ever since, Riles made it his mission to organize blood drives and inspire others to donate blood.

“Fifteen years and 200 pints of my blood in the garbage can ago, and through the grace and mercy of God, I am still alive … and God is inspiring me through these affirmations and scripture passages to speak to other people who are inspired to donate blood to save other people’s lives.”

The process of building the app has just begun, Riles said.

“It takes a village to build a mobile app,” he said. He still needs backers to reach the necessary funding of $30,000, as well as additional quotes and, of course, prayers so that all goes according to God’s will.

“I’m asking people to send me some quotes that have been meaningful to them, that have given them peace and joy and drawn them closer to Christ over the years.”

A couple of Riles’ favorites include:

“I believe I am always divinely guided, I believe I will always take the right turn in the road, and I believe God will always make a way where there is no way.”

He also loves Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Riles said he’s been very humbled to be involved in the process of creating an app at his age. “My kids think it’s a hoot. When I’m on the computer it’s like watching 4-hour paint dry.”

But every time he’s tempted to think “Why me?” he changes his tune to “Why not me, by the grace of God?” he said.

“By the grace of God, this app will be getting onto the phones of people all over the world so that when they get these affirmations, it will become a tool for bringing peace, joy and abundant blessings that come from being drawn into God’s presence.”

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FEATURES

Bishop Robert Barron: A great gift to the Church

by Msgr. M. Francis Mannion • August 16, 2016

One of the brightest moments in the history on the Church in the U.S. in the past year was the appointment of Robert Barron as auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles. I got to know Fr. Barron over a decade ago when I was director of the Mundelein Liturgical Institute and he was professor of theology at Mundelein Seminary. Even then I was a fan.

In the intervening years, Barron has become what his late bishop Cardinal Francis George, O.M.I., described as “one of the Church’s best messengers.” He promises to be the first bishop since Fulton Sheen in the 1950s to gain a national reputation as a television evangelist.

In 2000, Barron established “Word on Fire Catholic Ministries,” which began to produce books and videos that gained international attention. He pioneered a new kind of evangelism, positive, beautiful, and compelling. He followed the formula proposed by Pope Benedict XVI and the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar that the two most attractive and irresistible aspects of Christian faith are its beauty and its holiness. In this, he rescued the word “evangelism” from the narrowness, dourness, and negativity that one so often finds in television evangelism.

Barron gained international reputation when he produced a ten-part documentary series called “Catholicism.” The series gained attention even in the secular media such as PBS. I could not exaggerate the power and beauty of “Catholicism,” which George Weigel, a national Catholic writer and commentator, described as “The most important media project in the history of the Catholic Church in America.”

Barron has long lamented the split in pre-Vatican II Catholicism between the intellectual and the spiritual. This had led to a theology that was dry and unappealing, and a spirituality that lacked much substance and depth. Furthermore, he has lamented what he calls the “beige Catholicism” that developed after Vatican II (not because of Vatican II!). By this he meant a watered-down understanding of Catholicism that lacked conviction and was minimalist in content and tone. “Beige Catholicism” sadly led to a colorless style of catechesis and liturgical practice. This sort of Catholicism allows the culture to set the agenda for the Church, and to underplay the power and beauty of the Catholic tradition.

I could not recommend Barron’s books and DVDs highly enough. While some of his works (like “The Priority of Christ”) require some theological background, most do not, thanks to Barron’s crystal-clear writing style.

Here are the books I recommend for the general audience:

• And Now I See: A Theology of Transformation (1998)

• The Strangest Way: Walking the Christian Path” (2002)

• Word on Fire: Proclaiming the Power of Christ (2008)

• Eucharist (2008)

• Seeds of the Word: Finding God in the Culture (2015)

• Vibrant Paradoxes: The Both/And of Catholicism (2016)

All of Barron’s DVDs are outstanding. Besides “Catholicism,” there are

• Untold Blessings: The Three Paths of Holiness (2005)

• Conversion to Christ (2006)

• Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues (2007)

• Catholicism: The New Evangelization (2013)

• The Mystery of God (2015)

All of these are available through “Word and Fire Catholic Ministries,” and through local Catholic bookstores and internet suppliers.

As a member of the Catholic hierarchy in the U.S., Bishop Barron will bring a new and fresh voice to the initiatives of the episcopate, and he will, I would guess, become the leading light in the U.S. Bishops’ ongoing commitment to finding new and compelling ways to proclaim the Gospel.

Robert Barron is a great gift to the Church in the U.S. and, indeed, throughout the English-speaking world. May he prosper in his new ministry as bishop!

Msgr. Mannion is pastor emeritus of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Salt Lake City. He holds a Ph.D. in sacramental theology from The Catholic University of America. He was founding president of The Society for Catholic Liturgy in 1995 and the founding editor of the Society’s journal, Antiphon. At the invitation of Cardinal Francis George of Chicago he founded the Mundelein Liturgical Institute in 2000.

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FEATURES

Jane and John go to college, and so do their parents

by Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, C.S.J. • August 17, 2016

In a week or two, freshmen from around the country will begin their college education. The first year, the most important of the four, is meant to build a strong academic foundation for the remaining three years and even beyond.

Freshmen year often awakens in the student a love for learning. In college, self-identity is chiseled out, attitudes and values mature, friendships and new loves, discovered. The halls of university academe can be an exciting place to hope and dream about one’s future.

Attending college is both a privilege and responsibility. Here the phrase, noblesse oblige applies (literally, nobility obliges): Those who have received much are expected to share their gifts with others to make society a better place in which to live.

Seeking a Liberal Arts Education

Colleges typically organize their curriculum around their mission statement. An institution of higher learning worthy of its name offers a core curriculum, also known as the humanities or liberal arts. Some have general requirements.

The humanities offer a splendid array of disciplines, and one of them will be chosen as the focus of students’ special attention in junior and senior year. Courses include: foreign language(s), linguistics and literature, philosophy, theology/religious studies, social sciences, the refining arts — music and art.

The liberal arts develop the student as an intellectually rounded person exposing students to disciplines that broaden their horizons and add meaning to life. It has been said that a specialist without a liberal arts background is only half a person.

Importance of the Humanities

Did you know that two-thirds of humanities majors find satisfying positions in the private sector? If the college one attends does not require the humanities, here are eight benefits for choosing them on one’s own:

1. They help us understand others through their languages, histories, and cultures. They foster social justice and equality.

2. They reveal how people have tried to make moral, spiritual, and intellectual sense of the world.

3. The humanities teach empathy.

4. They teach us to deal critically and logically with subjective, complex, and imperfect information.

5. They teach us to weigh evidence skeptically and consider more than one side of every question.

6. Humanities students build skills in writing and critical reading.

7. They encourage us to think creatively.

8. They develop informed and critical citizens. Without the humanities, democracy could not flourish.

(Curt Rice, “Here are 9 reasons why humanities matter. What’s your number 10?”)

Listening to the Parents

Before the 1990s, most parents were satisfied with the college education of their sons and daughters who had graduated with more than a passing knowledge about great ideas and universal questions.

In recent years however, an increasing number of parents have expressed dissatisfaction: “I spent $100,000.00 for my daughter’s (my son’s) education at a four-year private college. She graduated with a degree in Peace Studies. She has no job.”

Content of subject matter and intolerance of diverse opinions are two major concerns.

Content of Subject Matter

Too many colleges have abandoned required courses — no foreign language, no language arts.

What great literature and poetry are students studying? A prevailing attitude sees the Great Books Tradition as little more than the political opinions of dominant groups.

What of philosophy and religious studies? Why aren’t students exposed to the ancient philosophers who wrestled with perennial questions: Who am I? What am I doing, and why am I doing it? What is the purpose of my life? Few colleges offer a course in world religions.

As for history and American government, they’re bunk. War after war — it’s all an inventory of political grievances; our American government is composed of corrupt politicians.

And what of art and music history? Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Bernini? Are they the preserve of dead white males, a phrase used by collegiates? Is the answer offering the “gutter phenomenon” of Rock, Rap, or Hip-Hop which use orgiastic and foul language and offering shock art like the photograph, “Piss Christ,” by Andres Serrano? A few years ago, why did Syracuse University offer a course called “Hip-Hop Eshu: Queen B*tch 101?” To exalt Lil’ Kim?

Parents are willing to spend generously on education that expands the mind with a classic education but not for studies whose content is without purpose. Why should they squander hard-earned dollars on a core curriculum that is a sham or on courses that entertain pubescent students with a degraded popular culture? Such institutions are caricatures of what used to be referred to as higher education.

Liberal Intolerance

Until the 1990s, the phrase: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” was operative on college campuses. Today, those who speak what is opposed to the majority must refrain from giving their opinions that are open to critical and healthy discussion.

In former days, institutions required students to challenge each other to think clearly and logically about a topic. In class, the Socratic methodology was employed to insure that students’ views could be articulated without reprisal. In Jesuit education for example, students are required to argue both sides of an issue, including those topics that are abhorrent to defend or condemn.

To give one example, if a person holds to what he or she considers a good action, does intention alone make for a moral act? As students work their pros and cons, eventually someone will cite Hitler whose good intention was to exalt the German people beyond all others. However, he ostracized German Jews whom he derided as polluting the German race. This view led to the barbaric means he took to achieve his end — their annihilation. The conclusion to the discussion? The immoral end does not justify a moral means or intention. The intention and the end must together be moral acts.

Since the 1990s, intellectual diversity has gradually muffled honest debate.

Confession of a Liberal Intolerance

Recently, the liberal columnist, Nicholas Kristoff, published two essays in the New York Times on the present status of liberal thinking in this country: Nicholas Kristoff’s “Confession of Liberal Intolerance” and “The Liberal Blind Spot.” Some of his observations apply to what unsuspecting freshmen might find on certain campuses with varying degrees of intensity. Increasing numbers of liberal professors and students pride themselves on their diversity and their tolerance of diversity — diversity of various minority groups but not of conservatives — Evangelical Christians, and practicing Catholics. Kristoff calls this “liberal arrogance”—”the implication that these groups don’t have anything significant to add to the discussion.”

The unwritten motto may be: “We welcome people who don’t look like us, as long as they think like us.” Or, “I disapprove of what you say, so shut up.” Or I close my mind to what you may want to say because it’s not worthwhile saying, in my view. Thus we hear: “We’re tolerant. You are entitled to your truth, but keep it to yourself. And don’t force it on me.”

What Is Truth?

Alan Bloom, the author of The Closing of the American Mind, made the argument in the 1980s that American youth are increasingly raised to believe that every belief is merely the expression of an opinion or preference. They are raised to be “cultural relativists” with the default attitude of “non-judgmentalism” (Patrick Deneen, “Who Closed the American Mind?”).

Parents object: “My son, my daughter entered college with a moral compass with a belief that there is such a thing as objective truth. But in my son’s college, only the relativity of truth and the absolutism of relativity are taught across the board. Thus, there is no longer any possibility of objective truth.”

The Crisis of Higher Education

We are experiencing an intellectual crisis that has already affected our work force, our politics, and our culture. College costs are escalating, while too many colleges and universities without a core curriculum or without any substantive requirements are failing this generation. Western civilization, the human culmination of centuries of learning is pummeled by a pop culture. Too many academic leaders fail to uphold the purpose of teaching Western civilization. Academic leaders don’t believe that the humanities have any fundamental influence on their students. There are no shared values. The result? The advent of identity courses: Feminist studies, African-American, Latino, LGBT studies. As long as everyone is tolerant of everyone’s classes, no one can get hurt.

Yet not all institutions of higher learning fit this description. Many non-sectarian and private colleges offer a structured curriculum or a core curriculum around which other subjects are framed. At least twenty-five colleges and universities in the United States offer the Great Books tradition to their undergraduates. These books are part of the great conversation about the universal ideas of cultures and civilizations.

The authors of Academically Adrift, the most devastating book on higher education since Alan Bloom’s book, The Closing of the American Mind, found that nearly half of undergraduates show no measurable improvement in knowledge or “critical thinking” after two years of college. Weaker academic requirements, greater specialization in the departments, a rigid orthodoxy and doctrinaire views on liberalism are now part of the university’s politics and cultural life.

Freshmen entering college today should be aware of the crisis of liberal education which is in conflict and incompatible with the traditional aspirations of the liberal arts.

Advice to Freshmen

1. Choose your friends wisely. Confide in a very few.

2. Find a small group of friends who are serious about studies and who know how to balance work with play. Form or join a reading group.

3. Establish healthy eating and sleeping habits. Don’t pull all-nighters.

4. Don’t go out on the week nights. Study for about 50 minutes. Take a ten-minute break. Then return to study. Repeat. Make a habit of this process — study, break, study. If you put your energies into academics, you will be handsomely rewarded later on.

5. Don’t get behind in your assignments. Make certain that you are up-to-date on all of them. In the case of writing papers, get started on your research as soon as the assignment is given. Work a little on the research every day.

6. Keep a dictionary and thesaurus at hand at all times. Make it a habit of looking up the meaning of words. Words are power and the right word is a sign of right thinking.

7. Be your own leader. Do not follow the crowd if you sense they engage in actions contrary to your beliefs. For example: doing drugs or binge drinking.

8. Be reflective. Reflection means going below the surface of an experience, an idea, a purpose, or a spontaneous reaction to discover its meaning to you.

9. Find an older mentor, not necessarily a professor, but someone whom you have observed has wisdom and common sense. Place your confidence in this person as your unofficial adviser.

10. Remember: Your college life is an open book. Whatever you do or avoid doing becomes common knowledge — quickly.

Every College Has its Own Soul

Every college builds its own identity, its own reputation. Some colleges are known for the seriousness with which they pursue academics. Some are known as “party” schools. Still others are best known for their sports prowess.

According to John Henry Newman, the ideal university is comprised of a community of scholars and thinkers, engaging in intellectual pursuits as an end in itself. Only secondarily, does it have a practical purpose, for example, finding a job. Today, most people would scoff at this assertion. For them, today’s goal of education is to find a job. The facts however don’t lie. Those with intellectual pursuits as an end are the most likely to secure the best positions.

A university is a place where one looks out toward everyone and everything … without boundaries. A university is a place where one discovers and studies truth. A person of faith holds sacred this belief.

According to Newman, knowledge alone cannot improve the student; only God is the source of all truth; only God can impart truth. Today, this notion alienates students at secular colleges and universities.

Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph, Brentwood, NY, holds degrees in philosophy (Ph.L.), musicology (Ph.D.), theology (M.A.), and liturgical studies (Ph.D.). She has taught at all levels of Catholic education and writes with a particular focus on a theology of beauty and the sacred arts. Her e-mail address is jroccasalvo@optonline.net.

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Olympic runner who helped fallen competitor finds inspiration in God

by Kevin Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • August 17, 2016

Abbey D’Agostino. (Dartmouth University)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — An Olympic runner whose sportsmanship drew headlines this week says that her faith in God helps her to find joy in her sport.

Abbey D’Agostino, who was raised in a Catholic family, spoke to Julia Hanlon’s “Running On Om” podcast, published November 18, 2015. She discussed her fears and anxieties about running, her injuries, and her prayer life.

“I ended up just accepting Jesus and recognizing what that meant in my life,” she told Hanlon. “I felt the peace that comes with acknowledging that I’m not going to run this race with my own strength. And I think that acknowledging those fears before God is what allowed me to feel that peace and I was drawn to it and I wanted to know a God who would work that way in my life.”

“That’s when I started to rekindle more the sheer joy of the sport,” said D’Agostino, who is now 24.

During the Women’s 5,000-meter run on Tuesday, D’Agostino and New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin collided, both tripping and tumbling to the ground.

After picking herself up, D’Agostino did not immediately continue to run, but instead turned back to help Hamblin. Then, in tremendous pain, D’Agostino was unable to go on, and Hamblin remained with her for a few moments, offering to help her up.

The two finished the race, but D’Agostino was visibly limping for the last five laps. At the finish line she shared a hug with Hamblin, then left the track in a wheelchair.

Although the fall meant that both runners failed to advance to the final race, Olympic judges ruled that they would be allowed to compete in the finals, due to their show of sportsmanship.

However, it was later announced that D’Agostino would be unable to compete, due to a torn ACL.

D’Agostino issued a statement on the race Wednesday: “Although my actions were instinctual at that moment, the only way I can and have rationalized it is that God prepared my heart to respond that way. This whole time here he’s made clear to me that my experience in Rio was going to be about more than my race performance – and as soon as Nikki got up I knew that was it.”

She had previously recounted how her reliance on God helped calm her anxiety before a big race.

“Whatever the outcome of the race is, I’m going to accept it,” she would say to herself. “I was so thankful and just drawn to what I felt like was a real manifestation of God’s work in my life.”

She told Hanlon that previous injuries forced her “to depend on God in a way that I’ve never been open to before.”

“In theory I’ve known that trusting God and giving my whole self to him is the only way in which you can feel that peace and joy and satisfaction that he offers. But it’s another thing to experience that and to be caught up in a situation where what you believe is exposed.”

“The depths of injuries, for me, exposed what’s in my heart,” she said.

After her injuries, the feelings of loneliness and loss of self-assurance have made her examine whether she really relies on God and really aims to give God control and glorify him through sport.

The runner also spoke of her spiritual life. She uses her prayer time to reflect on “what God has done in my life.” She will listen to worship music, read Scripture, and write in her journal.

“It brings me to a place of humility, where I’m acknowledging my place before God,” D’Agostino told Hanlon.

When she runs, she thinks that reliance on God and the presence of the Holy Spirit will “fuel me either consciously or subconsciously.”

D’Agostino also spoke of her fears about speaking about her faith in a public way.

“I don’t want to feel that I’m proselytizing and shoving it in people’s faces. But at the same time it’s authentic, when I do speak of it,” she said. “That’s been a real journey for me in the past year. How do I find my own voice within the social media realm and really just own it?”

“I think people feel like I’m trying to sell it,” she added. “That’s my fear. I wouldn’t want to be sold Christianity. That’s not what it’s about. God’s truth can stand on its own. It doesn’t need to be sold, it’s true in my mind.”

“But it’s hard to present your beliefs in a way that is inspiring and encouraging and gentle, and that’s how I would want to receive it. That’s how I did receive it.”

In a December 2013 interview with GaryCohenRunning.com, D’Agostino answered a hypothetical question about who she’d meet if she had a time machine.

“I would love to meet Mother Teresa. That would be it,” she said. “That would be special to talk to her.”

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Memory of botched Jesus painting preserved in comedic opera

by CNA/EWTN News • August 18, 2016

“Ecce Homo” restoration failure. (Observatorio de Restauacion via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

New York City, N.Y. — It’s a bit of church news you’re not likely to have forgotten.

Four years ago in the little town of Borja, Spain, there was a case of thought-to-be vandalism that turned out to be an unfortunate attempt at art restoration.

Cecilia Giminez, an elderly Spanish woman, created a well-intentioned but regrettably executed restoration of Ecce Homo (or ‘Behold the Man’), a fresco painting of Jesus before he is nailed to the cross.

The original painting, found in the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Mercy in Borja, showed Jesus in a robe with the crown of thorns on his head, glancing heavenward in agony, which had begun to wear over time. However, after Giminez’s touch-up, the painting looked almost inhuman - more like a monkey or a werewolf, with shapeless and fuzzy features.

But it wasn’t all bad. The original painting was not thought to be highly valuable, although it was a prized possession of the community. And the small, struggling town of Borja also benefited economically from the sudden international attention to the painting, thanks to countless memes and skits about the newly refreshed fresco, including the unforgettable sketch featuring Kate McKinnon on Saturday Night Live.

Now, a comedic opera memorializing the painting’s story is set to debut at Our Lady of Mercy in Borja next year, five years after the hilarious mishap.

Americans Andrew Flack, and Paul Fowler, a composer, made this opera their pet project ever since the fresco flop in 2012, the New York Times reports.

The opera will feature the story of Gimenez’s restoration, as well as the positive effect it had on the town. The style of the opera will be, well, a little bit of everything - “a Gregorian chant, a Spanish fandango, a Renaissance motet, a jota from Zaragoza, a classical chorus, an aria from the Zarzuela, a Flamenco tango, an indie-rock hook and a Swedish-house baseline,” Fowler told the New York Times.

Fowler and Flack gave a stage reading of their opera in the United States in 2014, and fundraised enough money this year to translate it from Spanish to English.

The opera is part of a larger effort to maintain the fresco’s status as a tourist attraction. Earlier this year, an interpretive art center was also unveiled at the site of the fresco, where visitors can paint their own versions of “Ecce Homo.”

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Meet Church Curmudgeon: The grumpiest, funniest guy on Twitter

by Mary Rezac (CNA/EWTN News) • August 18, 2016

(Church Curmudgeon)

Denver, CO — He hates the way things are done these days, and church sure ain’t what it used to be.

Church Curmudgeon may be one of the most cantankerous guys on Twitter, but he’s also one of the most hilarious. His complaints range from sinful dancing to boring homilies to music that’s too loud to shenanigans from the “youths” at church.

While the character himself is actually Southern Baptist, it turns out grumpy old men who complain about things in church is not just reserved to one denomination. His nearly 90 thousand followers on Twitter come from all walks of life - Catholic, Evangelical, and even some atheists.

We tracked down the guy behind the wisecracking angry old man staring back at you from the Twitter handle @ChrchCurmudgeon. Here’s the story behind the sass:

What was the inspiration for Church Curmudgeon?

Back when I was first getting on Twitter, there were a few anonymous accounts that would be parody pastors or worship leaders. And I thought why shouldn’t there be somebody like the grumpy old guy at the back of the church who complains about everything? And so I decided to be that guy.

I am a music minister so I had a lot of experience with the older folks in the congregation and people who would … complain about the music and this that and the other thing, and how things used to be done, and how they aren’t done that way anymore. I thought I could add a humorous side to that.

What is the value of the Church Curmudgeon in the church community in real life?

Early on in my ministry, I was encouraged to get to know the seniors group at my church. I was encouraged to go to their potlucks and bible studies and get to know them as people, because they are people who have a lot more life experience and a lot more life wisdom than I did. They’ve been through wars, they’ve been through depression, children and grandchildren and building businesses and working their whole lives - they’ve had a lot of life experiences and they’ve been through much, and I can learn a lot from them.

So essentially with the Church Curmudgeon, what I wanted to do was humanize them.

What made you take to Twitter?

I’ve always had a wisecracking sense of humor where I like to put in my two cents. It’s gotten me in trouble in staff meetings and things, but I love to have a little wisecrack here and there, I love puns, I love wordplay and all of that, and Twitter was kind of just a really good way to scratch that itch.

I could say something useful or just something funny or that brought a different light to a situation, or just kind of crack wise, and I’d get a positive response from it.

What is the value of humor and satire?

I like to poke fun at myself a lot through the Church Curmudgeon, because the target of his ridicule is often the music guy, and that’s me. So I get to poke fun at the way I do things.

I am a Baptist and I like to poke fun at Baptists. A lot of people think I’m being mean spirited at times, especially on Facebook - some people take things so seriously.

But I’ve always believed that you do have to take yourself lightly. There are matters that we need to treat with a great deal of gravity, and I try to do that appropriately, but at the same time, I think that sometimes you laugh the hardest at a funeral, because you’re remembering what’s important, and you realize that there is so much joy and mirth and life that we do need to have that brought out to us, and it reminds us of great truths.

Church Curmudgeon is a Southern Baptist, but much of what he says applies to Christians across the board. Why is that?

I have been in lots of different evangelical churches, and so I have some broad church knowledge. I grew up Mennonite, I’ve been in Presbyterian churches, independent churches, non-denominational churches, megachurches, mini churches, I’ve experienced all kinds of church life here and there. And I’ve realized from my friendships but also from my church audience, there’s a lot of these things that apply very broadly, so it resonates.

The main reason he’s Southern Baptist is because as a character - he needed something that he really was, you know? It helps to settle your character a little bit. I don’t think that limits him to speaking only to Southern Baptists, I think it just helps him be a developed character.

What are some of the Curmudgeon music complaints that you hear as a music minister?

It’s too loud, too many new songs, they’re too repetitive, you played that too fast or you played that too slow. There have been days when I have gotten equal and opposite complaints.

But I really must say i’ve been blessed to have congregations that really love me as a person and who respond to what I do. I have had relatively little complaint in my life.

I know that sometimes among worship leaders there is a tendency not to listen to people and to think that they’re there for their own artistic expression, they think that they’re there to be a rock star, and that’s not it. Their goal is to assist people in the worship of God,

Is there a Church Curmudgeon complaint that you most identify with?

That the music reflects the reverence of God in the congregation. It’s not just self-expression when we worship together. Because I think a lot of the art has gone out of musical expression.

What posts have been the most popular with your followers?

There have been a couple that were specifically towards Baptists. Baptists are notoriously against dancing, at least in most people’s memories. If you were a Southern Baptist, you didn’t dance, it wasn’t allowed.

But probably the most popular post of all time was: “Do you know why God doesn’t let Baptists dance? Have you ever watched a Baptist dance?”

That and some things about how Baptists are generally very stoic in their worship, like: “The reason that Baptists have to hire a pentecostal to change the lightbulbs in the sanctuary is because otherwise they’d have to raise their hands in church.”

One of my first break-out popular tweets was in the fall, when we were changing the clocks back. I made a post saying it’s Benny Hinn day, everyone fall back. He’s a Pentecostal preacher who slays everybody in the spirit and everyone in the auditorium falls over when he moves his arms around. That was one of the big days when my inbox blew up from all of the responses. I had to turn off notifications after that.

Do you have a wide following across denominations?

It’s interesting because there are priests and nuns who follow me, I’ve been retweeted by Rick Warren and Andy Stanley and other big name pastors. I have Methodists and Pentecostals and Presbyterians, and there’s some atheists out there who think I’m genuinely anti-Church.

I’m always kind of mystified by that, because my hope is that people see that I have a genuine love for the body of Christ and for the people of the Church. I can count on two hands the number of Sundays that I have not been in church in my adult life, and I’m pushing 50, so it’s the fabric of who I am.

You’re a one-man team. Do you accept contributions?

I have some people who have sent me some ideas, but if they do I rewrite them in my own voice. That’s only happened a handful of times, I really have strived to do it on my own and to keep it original.

When you’re not running Church Curmudgeon, what do you do?

I’m a music minister, dad, and freelance musician.

Are you willing to out yourself?

I’ve remained somewhat mysterious and that’s worked out well for me so far. But if people really want to do their research they can figure out who I am.

I’m also working on a book about the Church Curmudgeon, so my name will be on there.

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Will the next Synod of Bishops consider married men for ordination to the priesthood?

by Deacon Keith Fournier • August 18, 2016

In an article entitled “Next Synod likely to Focus on Ordaining Married Men” in the August 12 edition of CRUX, the British journalist Austin Invereigh reported that the next Synod of Bishops could focus on the possibility of opening ordination to the riesthood to mature married men. The article was widely distributed and generated a slew of commentaries, opinions and additional articles. However, this topic has been speculated about for some time.

In April of 2014, the Tablet featured a similar article entitled “Pope says married men could be ordained – if world’s bishops agree.” That article confirmed that in a private meeting with Brazilian Bishop Erwin Kräutler on April 4, 2014, the Pope and the bishop discussed a number of issues, including the shortage of priests in his large Diocese of Xingu, Brazil. The bishop is originally from Austria and gave his interview to an Austrian news source. Here are some pertinent excerpts:

“I told him that as bishop of Brazil’s largest diocese with 800 church communities and 700,000 faithful I only had 27 priests, which means that our communities can only celebrate the Eucharist twice or three times a year at the most. The Pope explained that he could not take everything in hand personally from Rome. We local bishops, who are best acquainted with the needs of our faithful, should be corajudos, that is ‘courageous’ in Spanish, and make concrete suggestions.”

“A bishop should not act alone,” the Pope told Kräutler. He indicated that “regional and national bishops’ conferences should seek and find consensus on reform and we should then bring up our suggestions for reform in Rome,” Kräutler said.

Asked whether he had raised the question of ordaining married men at the audience, Bishop Kräutler replied: “The ordination of viri probati, that is of proven married men who could be ordained to the priesthood, came up when we were discussing the plight of our communities. The Pope himself told me about a diocese in Mexico in which each community had a deacon but many had no priest. There were 300 deacons there who naturally could not celebrate the Eucharist. The question was how things could continue in such a situation. ‘It was up to the bishops to make suggestions,’ the Pope said again.”

Bishop Kräutler was asked whether it now depended on bishops’ conferences, as to whether church reforms proceeded or not. “Yes,” he replied. “After my personal discussion with the Pope I am absolutely convinced of this.”

Similarly, in an interview that Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, given to the Venezuela Newspaper El Universal on August 31, 2013, mandatory celibacy as a prerequisite for priestly ordination in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church was also addressed. One of the comments which the Archbishop gave also generated a bevy of opinion pieces and articles.

Archbishop Parolin explained that mandatory celibacy for priestly ordination “is not part of church dogma and the issue is open to discussion because it is an ecclesiastical tradition. Modifications can be made, but these must always favor unity and God’s will. God speaks to us in many different ways. We need to pay attention to this voice that points us towards causes and solutions, for example the clergy shortage.”

Given the growing interest in this story line, I felt it was an appropriate time to address the topic in a wider context.

Married Deacons

First, let us turn to an aspect of this topic which too many Catholics do not know: that there are already married clerics in the Western or Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. One example is found in the Order of Deacons. The restoration of the Order was promoted by the Second Vatican Council. Its ranks are open to both married and celibate men. However, the decision concerning state in life must have occurred before the ordination.

Married men become clerics when they are ordained as deacons. They are no longer laymen. Thus the oxymoron lay deacons, still used by some, reflects a lack of good teaching - and is just plain wrong. Catholic deacons are ordained members of the Catholic clergy, ordained not to the priesthood but to the ministry. I have served as an ordained Catholic Deacon for twenty years and recently opined on the diaconate as a vocation on the Feast of St. Lawrence the Deacon.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes this order of Clergy in this way: “At a lower level of the hierarchy are to be found deacons, who receive the imposition of hands ‘not unto the priesthood, but unto the ministry.”‘ At an ordination to the diaconate only the bishop lays hands on the candidate, thus signifying the deacon’s special attachment to the bishop in the tasks of his “diakonia.” “Deacons share in Christ’s mission and grace in a special way. The sacrament of Holy Orders marks them with an imprint (“character”) which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the “deacon” or servant of all.” (See, CCC #1569-1571)

The adjective “permanent”, often used to describe married deacons, does not change the nature of the ordination or what is sacramentally conferred with the imposition of the bishop’s hands on the man called to the office. A deacon is a deacon. Rather, it denotes the intention of the deacon to remain in that rank of ordered service as a member of the clergy. A transitional deacon intends to be considered for ordination to the priesthood.

Married Priests

Second, we have a growing body of married men who have been ordained to the Catholic priesthood for the Latin Rite. For these men, the discipline of celibacy was dispensed by the Church prior to their ordination. Most come from other Christian communities. The most visible community of these priests have come to us through the Ordinariates established for groups of former Anglicans coming into full communion with the Catholic Church which was opened by the apostolic constitution of Pope Emeritus Benedict in 2009. My most recent treatment of this gift to the whole Church can be found here. However, there are others, who, through the prior pastoral provision established by John Paul II, were also invited to priestly ordination.

Press reports, opinion pieces and editorials which cover the issue of whether married men may once again be admitted to the Roman Catholic priesthood often pose the question improperly, for example, by asking, “Should priests be allowed to marry?” That improper way of posing the question either reveals a complete misunderstanding of the issues and the history of the subject - or it can reveal an agenda to assert some perceived kind of pressure on the Church. None of the discussions over mandatory clerical celibacy for Latin Rite Catholic priests concern those already ordained and pledged to lifelong celibacy. That cannot and will not change.

The only issue being raised any of the discussions concerning a change is whether already mature, proven, married men (viri probati) should be allowed to discern a possible vocation to the priesthood and, if chosen by the Church, be ordained to the priesthood? They can already be considered for ordination to the diaconate. In fact, that ordination always precedes ordination to the priesthood. If this were to happen it would NOT mean a diminution in the cherished role of clerical celibacy.

Consecrated Celibacy and Consecrated Marriage

Consecrated celibacy is a prophetic sign of the Kingdom of God and a gift to the whole Church. It was instituted and lived by Jesus, demonstrated in the lives of many of the Apostles, confirmed in the earliest witness of the ancient Church and affirmed in the unbroken tradition of the Church. (See, e.g., Matt. 19:12) Consecrated Christian marriage is also a prophetic sign and a gift to the Church. The Church is the bridegroom and Jesus the bride. This witness is increasingly important, especially in the current age preoccupied with rejecting marriage as solely possible between one man and one woman, open to life and intended for life.

At the foundation of both chaste, consecrated celibacy and chaste, sacramental marriage is a call to live the nuptial or spousal mystery. The consecrated celibate is called to participate in the nuptial or spousal mystery in an immediate and prophetic way, forsaking one person to be married to all. While the married man participates in a mediated way, through chaste love with one woman - and then through the couple’s openness to life which expand beyond the couple to family, the domestic church. Both responses have a prophetic dimension as well as a pastoral one.

However, when love is perfected and complete in the Resurrection there will be no marriage. The teaching of Jesus on this is quite clear. In heaven there will be no marriage. (See, e.g., Mt. 22:30, Mk. 12:25) We will all be married to the Lamb and live in the eternal communion of Trinitarian Love where all love is completed and perfected. (See, Rev. 19:7-10) The prophetic witness of voluntary, consecrated celibacy has endured by God’s loving design and is revealed beyond the ranks of celibate clergy. It is present in the vowed life of monastic orders and the sacrificial witness of religious men and women in the numerous religious orders and communities which provide such a beautiful gift for the Church and her mission.

In addition, in many of the ecclesial movements and associations of lay men and woman, consecrated celibacy is being freely chosen, not to avoid marriage, but to enter more fully into the very nuptial mystery that marriage also reveals, in a unique and prophetic way, and be more available for mission. I write with deep appreciation for the celibate vocation among the ordained ministers of the Church, the religious orders and the growing lay ecclesial movements. I have had the privilege of knowing some profoundly holy consecrated celibates in each of these vocational responses.

To use an old cliché, some of my best friends are priests and deacons, both celibate and married. They are all living their vocation with dignity and holiness. Within that community of celibate and married priests, there are different kinds of ministry, in the one priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Finally, and many Catholics are still unaware of this fact, in the Eastern Catholic Church there is an unbroken tradition of admitting both celibate and married men to candidacy for the order of deacon and priest. The men must have married before ordination as deacons. In the Code of Canon Law for the Eastern Churches we read:

“Clerical celibacy chosen for the Kingdom of Heaven and suited to the priesthood is to be greatly esteemed everywhere, as supported by the tradition of the whole church; likewise, the hallowed practice of married clerics in the primitive church and in the tradition of the Eastern Churches throughout the ages is to be held in honor. Clerics, celibate or married, are to excel in the virtue of chastity; it is for the particular law to establish suitable means for pursuing this end. In leading family life and in educating children married clergy are to show an outstanding example to other Christian faithful. (Canons # 373-375)

Thus, both married and celibate men are considered for ordination to the priesthood from the ranks of deacons in the Eastern Churches. The decision for marriage or celibacy is made before they were ordained as deacons and cannot be changed. Bishops are always celibate and monastic in the Eastern Churches. And, in the instances of married men ordained as deacons or priests, those ordained clerics pledge not to remarry should their spouse die.

The Eastern Church, both Catholic and Orthodox, often assigns married priests to different types of ministry than celibate priests. Similarly, in the Latin rite of the Western Church, married men ordained to the priesthood serve in a manner that reflects and respects their state in life and offers its pastoral witness as a gift to the whole Church.

What Does the Church Teach?

So, what does the Catholic Church actually teach concerning this issue which has once again attracted so much attention - the possibility of the Latin Rite considering mature, proven, married men for ordination to the priesthood? Rather than rely on secondary sources which so often surround the discussion of this matter, let us turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church for what the Church has to say. It should settle the matter for most, except perhaps a few of my traditionalist Catholic brethren who simply do not like the practice of allowing married men to be ordained at all. Some may also be suspect of what some of them still call the “new” Catholic Catechism.

These paragraphs are taken from the treatment of Holy Orders in article six of the Official Catechism of the Catholic Church. I commend this entire section to everyone who wants to understand the issues surrounding the gift of ordained service to the whole Church. The Catechism contains important footnotes to sources of authority, drawn from the Scriptures and the sacred Tradition, which are well worth a more in depth study. Remember, if you want to know what the Catholic Church really teaches, go first to the Scriptures, to the Catholic Catechism and to teaching of the Magisterium, not to the those who give you their opinion. Some even improperly use sources of authority as proof texts for pushing their own agendas to change the Church rather than be changed by lovingly embracing her teaching. Here are the words of the Catechism concerning clerical ordination:

“Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination. The Lord Jesus chose men (viri) to form the college of the twelve apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their ministry. The college of bishops, with whom the priests are united in the priesthood, makes the college of the twelve an ever-present and ever-active reality until Christ’s return. The Church recognizes herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord himself. For this reason, the ordination of women is not possible.”

“No one has a right to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. Indeed no one claims this office for himself; he is called to it by God. Anyone who thinks he recognizes the signs of God’s call to the ordained ministry must humbly submit his desire to the authority of the Church, who has the responsibility and right to call someone to receive orders. Like every grace this sacrament can be received only as an unmerited gift.

“All the ordained ministers of the Latin Church, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen from among men of faith who live a celibate life and who intend to remain celibate “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Called to consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord and to ‘the affairs of the Lord,’ they give themselves entirely to God and to men. Celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church’s minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart, celibacy radiantly proclaims the Reign of God.

“In the Eastern Churches a different discipline has been in force for many centuries: while bishops are chosen solely from among celibates, married men can be ordained as deacons and priests. This practice has long been considered legitimate; these priests exercise a fruitful ministry within their communities. Moreover, priestly celibacy is held in great honor in the Eastern Churches and many priests have freely chosen it for the sake of the Kingdom of God. In the East as in the West a man who has already received the sacrament of Holy Orders can no longer marry.” (CCC #1577 - 1579)

Conclusion and Personal Opinion

For members of the media reading this article looking for news, please report this, Catholics already have married clergy - deacons and priests. In the Eastern Catholic Churches, the practice of admitting married men to the priesthood has existed for centuries. In the Latin Rite Catholic Church, the body of married priests has increased with the ordinariates established for former Anglican Christians who have come into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

For Roman Catholic Christians reading this article, we must learn from all of this and trust that the Lord is behind it. If there is to be a change in the discipline of mandatory celibacy for men considered for ordination to the priesthood in the Latin Rite, the Lord will unfold it through those whom he has chosen to lead His Church.

When I was invited to Holy Orders as a Deacon, I knew that it was a life altering vocation, not a weekend task. As a married man, I pledged to embrace celibacy if my wife should predecease me. My wife gave her consent. I soon came to understand the theology I had studied and have studied since; there truly is an ontological change which occurs at ordination. My life was turned upside down and has never been the same.

I personally believe there is room in the Catholic Church, East and West, for a both celibate and a married clergy, deacons and priests. Both consecrated celibacy and consecrated Christian marriage are a response to the universal call to holiness. They are also a gift to the whole Church because they both participate in the one nuptial or spousal mystery revealed in Jesus Christ.

However, what I personally believe is not the issue. It is what the Holy Spirit reveals in guiding the whole Catholic Church. For that, we should look to the teaching office, the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Is Pope Francis really considering opening the possibility of ordaining mature, proven married men to priesthood? Time alone will tell.

Deacon Keith A. Fournier is Founder and Chairman of Common Good Foundation and Alliance. A member of the clergy, a Roman Catholic Deacon, he is also a constitutional/human rights lawyer and public policy advocate who served as the first and founding Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice in the nineteen nineties. He has long been active at the intersection of faith, values, and culture and currently serves as Special Counsel to Liberty Counsel. Deacon Fournier is also a Senior Contributing Writer for THE STREAM.

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What to do if you’re too ashamed to go to Confession

by CNA/EWTN News • August 18, 2016

(Pleuntje via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0)

Madrid, Spain — While Reconciliation is intended to allow Christ’s victory to overcome sin in our lives, what happens when shame over one’s sins is so great that it keeps people away from the sacrament?

The famous Spanish theologian Father José Antonio Fortea discussed this phenomenon and practical solutions to it in a recent blog post.

Normally, a sense of Christ’s mercy should be enough to help people overcome their shame and go to Confession, in order to receive forgiveness and healing.

However, in some cases, Fr. Fortea acknowledged, people are overwhelmed by their sins, and this shame becomes “a wall” keeping them away from Reconciliation.

“They would rather make a 100-mile pilgrimage than have to confess face-to-face certain things they did that are terribly and frightfully humiliating to them,” he said, reflecting on the torment that faces some penitents who struggle approaching the sacrament.

The Spanish priest first pointed out the importance of priests offering fatherly compassion on those who have “these burdens on their consciences.”

He also noted the importance of ensuring truly anonymous confessions. In each city, he said, “there ought to be at least one confessional where instead of a grill, there is a metal sheet with small holes, making it totally impossible to see the person making their confession.”

The person confessing should not be visible to the priest as they approach or leave, he continued. If there is a window on the priest’s door, it should not be transparent.

“With these measures, the vast majority of the faithful can resolve the problem of shame,” Fr. Fortea said.

But for those “truly very rare” cases where shame is still a major obstacle, even with anonymous confessionals, additional steps can be taken.

In these instances of extreme shame, the person can “make an anonymous phone call to a priest in the city and tell him about this problem.” Confession itself cannot take place over the phone, but “in many cases, the phone conversation will be enough so the penitent can get up his confidence and can approach the kind of above-mentioned confessional.”

If the penitent still finds that the shame of mentioning his sins is too great to bear, he can arrange for a written confession with the priest.

Fr. Fortea said that in several of the confessionals in his city of Alcalá de Henares, Spain, “it’s possible for the penitent to move the screen slightly, just a fraction of an inch, and slip in a piece of paper.”

He offered guidelines for such written confessions: they should generally not be longer than one page, sins should be written “in a clear and concise manner,” or if possible, should be typed for clarity in reading.

“The priest will give his counsel, the penance and absolution without needing to bring up any questions for the penitent. In this case asking questions would be counterproductive,” he reflected.

While the general rule is that confession should be vocal, it can be done through writing in some cases, the priest said. He noted that those who are deaf or mute have always been permitted to make written confessions.

And in the case of insurmountable shame, this would also be licit, he said. “A psychological inability can be just as real as a physical one.”

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Love and friendship

by Alice von Hildebrand • August 19, 2016

There is a type of love which is possible only between man and woman and usually leads to marriage – a relationship characterized by the fact that both the intentio unionis and the intentio benevolentiae are fully actualized. “Thou art mine; I am yours.” There is a similar climax of union between man and woman in holy friendships not leading to marriage, both partners being bound by a vow of either virginity or celibacy. One can then speak of a “marriage of souls.” But my theme is to shed some light on the beautiful type of union called friendship. It obviously differs from the one mentioned above because it can be actualized between two men, between two women, between men and women, and between old and young. Such relationships, which are precious gifts, are characterized by their emphasis on the intentio benevolentiae. Moreover whereas in relationships between man and woman leading to marriage, this love is fully centered on this one person at the exclusion of all others, “che sola a me par donna” – to quote the beautiful words of Petrarca. The fact one can have a multiplicity of friends, each one of them experienced as a gift, does not exclude a hierarchy among them. This multiplicity of positive, beautiful relationships deserves our special attention, this will be the theme of this brief essay.

We find the most sublime friendships illuminated in the lives of many saints. I shall limit myself to two: St. Augustine, referring to the depth of his affection for Nebridius (“dulcis amicus meus” book 9, ch. 3 of the “Confessions”) invites us to compare this sublime bond with the one that the teenaged Augustine experienced with a young friend in his home town, and which was brutally ruptured by the latter’s death.

It made Augustine’s heart “black with grief.” (“Confessions” book 4, ch. 4) His grief was so deep that no words could adequately express his despair: he missed one single person and the world was in total darkness. This experience was never forgotten by Augustine and helped him perceive the madness of loving creatures, forgetting that they are but creatures. “O dementiam nescientem diligere homines humaniter.” (book 4, ch. 7) This taste of an inappropriate attachment, as always in Augustine, was going to bear fruits and enrich his understanding the nature of true friendship. It is typical of saints that whatever they have experienced, good or evil, is baptized and enriches their lives. How tragic that many of us willingly deprived themselves of the most beautiful experiences because we refuse to learn to truly love. Yet the madness that Augustine experienced potentially threatens all of us. The pagan cure offered by Buddha is, to my mind a very sad one: not to give one’s heart to anybody. “He who has one hundred loves, has one hundred sorrows; he who has fifty loves, has fifty sorrows; he who has one love, has one sorrow. He who does not love is free from sorrow.” What a very sad, truly tragic solution: not to love anybody or anything – that is to eliminate the heart and totally depersonalize the human person.

As always, my experiences in the classroom have taught me so much that I cannot help but wish that my teaching had been as enriching to my students as their errors have enriched my mind. I recall one student, while taking my course on ethics, proudly declared herself to be both an atheist and a relativist, made a point of objecting loudly to anything I said. She was clearly allergic to the notion of conscience, this mysterious voice chiding us when we did something wrong. She was one of these students who enters the classroom with the firm intention of teaching the course herself and whose presence gives their teachers a taste of purgatory, and possibly teaches them patience. One day after class, she rushed to my office, and started sobbing. When she calmed down a bit she told me that she was fighting against despair: her little dog had died. How typically tragic: she who had systematically opposed the existence of anything intrinsically good and true had, through her love for an animal, tacitly acknowledged that there are things worth loving. I forgot what I told her, but obviously I seized this opportunity in invite her to re-examine her philosophy. I once heard an elderly woman proclaiming that she never loved anybody in her life except her dog; “The only one who had been faithful to me!”

Alas, all that a dog can offer, and does offer is “a dog’s love.” How tragic is the human condition; often refusing to seek or to accept God and the rich array of objective values, and then starving, turns to anything which guarantees some immediate satisfaction.

In her “Interior Castle”, St. Teresa of Avila makes it clear that whereas she does not favor private friendships in the Carmel, she beautifully illumines the nature of true friendship: the partaking of Christ’s love for the friend — a transfigured love, a foretaste of what we shall experience in heaven.

It should be obvious that this type of friendship is the most perfect, but on this earth it should not exclude a wide variety of bonds between creatures that are enriching: a common love for truth, a common love for beauty, for great works of art, a common admiration for noble personalities. But in all cases, the bond of friendship must be based and nourished by some value. I personally would deny the name of friendship for people sharing a common passion for bridge, for fun games, for rock and roll, for anything that does not give us wings, anything that is “creeping” and, while entertaining, does not elevate and enrich the so called friends. How beautiful it is when two friends after having a real talk, leave one another better persons.

Those whose life has been blessed with many friendships realize that while all of them are gifts, there is nevertheless a huge hierarchy among them; all should be gratefully welcome, but one will inevitably perceive that whereas all flowers are loved by a gardener, there is a huge difference between a lily and a daisy; this is not to deny that any tiny little ones should not be gratefully greeted, but the notion of hierarchy — so easily or even purposely ignored today in the name of “democracy”— should never be forgotten in human existence. St. Teresa of Avila in her great book, “Interior Castle” tells us that in heaven no two persons will have the same degree of glory.

Looking back at my own life, I see it blessed by a rich array of flowers of all types, of all colors, each having its own perfume, and yet widely different. This thought can also be expressed differently. The parable of the talents in the Gospel shed more light on this question. We could say that each friendship symbolizes a certain number of talents: ranging from one to ten. It is crucial that this is perceived in our relationship with others, for there is a tendency in most of us to demand more than our friend has received and therefore can give. It is made clear in the Gospel that when the Master comes back, and exacts accounts from his servants, he will not ask the one who has received only one talent to give him back two. But he will rightfully be very displeased if the one who has received ten give him back only nine. Maybe some friendships break up because one friend, failing to perceive the number of talents his friend has, demands more than what he can give. How unfair to expect the perfume of a lily from a daisy: and yet, the daisy should be appreciated and viewed as a gift of God. Maybe the same thought can also be expressed by saying that some friendships are “static.” We meet someone, share all the key values whether religious, philosophical or political questions but this is clearly as far as the friendship can go. It will last for many years, but at the end of one’s life there will be no striking between the first day of acquaintance and the final goodbye.

We can detect from the beginning that it is going to be a “static” friendship, offering no potentialities of growth, always friendly but further blossoming is excluded (“nemo dat quod non habet”) as opposed to other friendships, rich in promises and characterized by the fact that, to our joy, they keep growing new blossoms.

Once again, life is a rich teacher. I knew two brothers who both loved their mother. When the latter suffered a stroke and was mentally incapacitated, the older brother visited her daily even if briefly, hoping that, even for a second, she would realize that he was there, he would lovingly hold her hand, thanking her and hoping that in some faint way, she would feel it. Whereas the younger brother — very business like — paid her a visit once, and came out convinced that it was a waste of time for she most probably did not realize that he was present. No doubt the older one was the greater lover for he understood that presence is a gift — whether perceived or not. “I am there at your side, even though you are incapacitated it is my way of proving that I love you in this crippled state.” Was the younger brother a bad son? No, but his love was not as deep as the one of his sibling. The holy women stayed at the tomb, and Mary Magdalen came early in the morning, assuming that Christ was still there and fully realizing that a corpse as corpse could not feel her loving presence. She loved more.

One crucial characteristic of friendship is the wish to share: whatever is mine is yours; it could be defined as an “uncalculating exchange of gifts.” How is one to measure whether an enriching religious or spiritual exchange coming from one person is more or less than a most generous and kind help given to an old lady? Not only is it against the genius of friendship to calculate, but moreover our fallen nature always tempts us to misread a situation to our advantage. “I am the greater giver.” This attitude alone shows that his friendship is flawed. When in Beethoven’s great opera, Fidelio, we come to the moving scene of Florestan’s liberation from jail by the love of his wife. When he thanks her, her response is classical: she downplays her heroism, and views it as very little measured against what she wished to have done for her beloved husband. A person who praises his own generosity is not generous.

This desire to share finds its climax in spousal love in which one makes a gift of oneself and gives everything, including their names. But the depth of a friendship can be measured by the extent of this sharing. Once again, one should keep in mind the number of talents that this friendship offers; what is considered generous in a one talent friendship would be unsatisfactory for one, or five, or ten talents. No doubt some friendships find a sad ending because one discoverers that one friend was a “business friend”; another because one felt entitled in the name of friendship to make constant and illegitimate demands on the other, way above the frame of this friendship could afford. Once again, do not expect from a daisy what you can rightly expect from a lily. Some people favor the idea that a friend is someone to whom one can say: “Whatever is yours is mine. But do not trespass upon my property!” This does not deserve the noble name of friendship.

Another interesting experience that life has taught me is that people whose position in society (whether social or financial or whatever) made them to be generous donors, never missing a chance to benefit others. This also has its drawbacks: first of all, such people who have “very many friends” are most likely to doubt that they are loved for themselves or for their money. It makes many of them distrustful that a friendship is truly genuine. “He cares for me because of my gifts.” Moreover, such people can find it very difficult to ask for help small as it might be: they are not used to saying “Thank you.” It does not come easily to some of them. To be the giver is a pleasant feeling; to ask is an act of humility.

Another key trait of friendship is the trust one has for the friend: to “believe” even when one does not see, or when circumstances, allusions by others, or innate mistrust make one doubt of the other’s love or faithfulness. Shakespeare has based some of his very many tragedies on this awareness that the danger of mistrusting is deeply incrusted in our fallen nature. Since original sin, we are all potentially jealous beings. The most prominent one is Othello: his vicious jealousy is unchained by the poisonous words of Iago — one of the most detestable characters in his rich array of scoundrels. We know the tragic end of this drama. But it is far from being the only one: we find a variation in other plays. The one which comes to mind is Cymbeline; Imogen, the lovely daughter of this king wisely refuses to marry the son of her detestable step mother Cloten and marries Posthumus – because she loves him. The latter separated by circumstances from his beloved wife, made a most unwise and to my mind insane bet that nobody, absolutely nobody could possibly rob him of her love by unfaithfulness. A very shady character takes up the challenge and, humiliated by a radical defeat of all his advances, devises a diabolical plan; to hide in her bedroom and once she is asleep be given a chance to see her breast marked by a birthmark. He brings this “trump card” to the husband who, lacking trust, believes him.

Fortunately this drama does not end tragically. Imogen won.

The idea of “giving the loved one credit,” is powerfully developed in my husband’s book, “The Nature of Love.” Needless to say, this trusting is also crucial in religious life, in moments of darkness, of feeling abandoned by God, of temptation should be combated with the words: “I do not see, O Lord, but I trust in your love; this very darkness carries a loving message; teach me to read it.” There is such a thing as “the dark night of the soul.” Hard as it is, it is inevitable in spiritual life, and aims at purifying our love: “I do not see, but it is because I am blind. I do not hear but it is due to my deafness. I do not feel anything but the cause is to be found in my own imperfection.” To truly love is to give oneself unconditionally, but not because of the benefits that accrue from my self donation. That man, this frail creature of an hour, cannot do it on his own should be obvious: our constant prayer should be: “hasten to my help; without you, I am lost.” But this prayer should not be the fruit of “depression”— a certain resentment that one is so helpless and weak, but rather the acknowledgement that joyfully acknowledging that our own nothingness throws us into the arms of an all powerful and loving God: and exclaim with St. Paul, “I can do all things in HIM that strengthens me.”

Friendship is one of the lights in our earthly existence and gives us a faint foretaste of the Kingdom of Heaven where love will reign supreme.

Alice von Hildebrand is a lecturer and an author whose works include The Privilege of Being a Woman (2002) and The Soul of a Lion: The Life of Dietrich von Hildebrand (2000), a biography of her late husband. She was made a Dame Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of St. Gregory by Pope Francis in 2013.

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Ben-Hur: A tale of Christ, a tale of grace

by Bishop Robert Barron • August 19, 2016

Lew Wallace’s nineteenth century novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, inspired two silent movies in the early decades of the twentieth century and the magnificent 1959 film starring Charlton Heston in the lead role. Almost everyone agrees that Heston was born to play the part, and who can forget the drama and excitement of the chariot race with which the movie comes to its climax? Roma Downey and Mark Burnett have produced a new instantiation of the story, a streamlined version of the 1959 film. Like its predecessor, this one features a charismatic actor (Jack Huston) as Ben-Hur, plenty of visual grandeur, and yes, a stunning chariot race, depicted this time with the most up to date camera technology and CGI virtuosity. But what principally differentiates it from the Heston Ben-Hur is its greater stress on the strange power of Christ to bring about forgiveness — an emphasis, I must say, much needed in the cultural context of the present moment.

I suppose that most of us know the basic story rather well. Judah Ben-Hur is a Jewish nobleman living with his aristocratic family in an elegant home in Roman-occupied Jerusalem at the time of Christ. Messala is a young Roman whom the family adopted and who has become, effectively, a brother to Judah. In the recent version, Messala pursues a career as a Roman soldier, fighting in some of the most distant outposts of the empire. Upon his return, he reunites with his family, but when it appears that they have been harboring a Zealot opponent of the empire, he turns on them brutally, sending most to prison and sentencing Judah to the hellish life of a Roman galley slave. During five excruciating years chained to oars in imperial ships, Judah cultivates an exquisite hatred for Messala and a passionate desire for revenge. In the wake of a terrible sea-battle, Judah escapes from his chains and he drifts ashore, only to be found by Sheik Ilderim (Morgan Freeman), a wealthy merchant who moonlights as a sponsor of a fine team of chariot horses. After training the former galley slave in the fine art of chariot racing, the Sheik sets Judah up for a confrontation with Messala in the Jerusalem arena.

It is precisely at this climactic point that the major differences between the new film and the Heston version emerge. In both films, of course, Judah manages, after a titanic struggle, to defeat Messala, and in both films, Messala endures a terrible injury. But whereas in the earlier incarnation, the Roman dies, having breathed his last words in anger and frustration, in this film, Judah forgives his brother, and the two embrace once again. Moreover, Messala survives his injuries, and the final scene shows the erstwhile mortal enemies riding together in friendship.

Now what made this reconciliation possible? How is it even imaginable that someone who had been so cruelly mistreated could become friends again with the man who had abused him? If the history of human conflict teaches us anything it is that the lex talionis (eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth), the measured answering of pain with a comparable pain, is actually the best that we can expect. In the normal course of affairs, injustice and violence are, in fact, met with a disproportionately greater injustice and violence. To see these dynamics at work, all you have to do is read the paper or watch the news any day of the week.

So how could the reconciliation of Judah and Messala be anything but sentimentalizing and wish-fulfilling fantasy? It is imperative at this point that we recall that all of the Ben-Hur films are grounded in a book whose subtitle is “A Tale of the Christ.” Even though he is on film for only a few brief scenes, Jesus is indeed the key to the entire drama. Having met Jesus in a fleeting way prior to his exile and enslavement, Judah, upon his return to Jerusalem, is drawn to the site of the crucifixion. He stares up at the crucified Christ who speaks a word of forgiveness even as he is tortured to death. With that Judah grasps something in his heart and releases a stone (evocative of his revenge) which he had been clenching in his hand. He comprehends what stands at the very center of Christianity, namely, the terrible act by which God took upon himself the cruelty, violence, injustice, hatred, and stupidity of the world and, after a bitter struggle, swallowed them up in the ever greater divine mercy. He understood God’s forgiveness of the sins of all of humanity, and he thereby found the grace to become a vehicle of forgiveness to someone who had harmed him so awfully: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

From a purely human standpoint, this sort of forgiveness is impossible; but with God all things are possible. To tell a tale of Christ is to tell a tale of grace. This, I believe, is what Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, who have emerged as two of the more effective evangelists in the world today, wanted us to see in this updated Ben-Hur.

Bishop Robert Barron is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries (wordonfire.org). He is the creator of two award-winning documentary series, Catholicism and Catholicism: The New Evangelization.

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‘Ben-Hur’ remake aims high, but falls short of its 1959 predecessor

by Carl Kozlowski • August 19, 2016

In 1960, the biblical epic “Ben-Hur” became the all-time Oscar-winning film, with 11 of the gold statuettes going to the tale of a Jewish prince who is betrayed and forced into slavery by a Roman friend, then regains his freedom and seeks revenge. The movie was also a huge box-office success, featuring one of Hollywood’s most iconic performances by Charlton Heston in the title role.

It seemed “Ben-Hur” was considered sacrosanct, a film that would not be subjected to modern Hollywood’s obsession with remaking every popular film of decades passed. Yet, amazingly, this weekend features the release of a remake of the classic story, now featuring amped-up effects in its climactic chariot race and a more direct message of forgiveness, redemption and the basic principles of Christianity. Only it inevitably lacks much of the charisma and energy that only Heston’s innate acting magic could provide.

Both films are based on the 1880 novel “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ,” by Lew Wallace, a Civil War general and governor of the New Mexico territory from 1878 to 1881 who sought to inspire forgiveness and patriotism among citizens after the painful war and difficulties of Reconstruction. He saw parallels between Roman slave owners and those of his own time and hoped that he could use Christ’s message of forgiveness to inspire Americans to allow modern slave traders to put their evil actions in the past.

The latest take on “Ben-Hur” stars Jack Huston as the title character Judah Ben-Hur. At the start, he is a prince enjoying a rich existence in occupied Jerusalem with his mother, sister and adopted brother Messala (Toby Kebbell), who was taken in by the House of Hur when he was orphaned as a child.

But things go awry after Messala becomes a Roman Army officer, one desperate to build a reputation as a strong leader. This thirst for power causes Messala to turn on his adoptive family, making Judah the scapegoat for an act of treason that was actually committed by a young rebel named Gestas (Moises Arias). Messala turns the family over to his superiors, causing them to be separated before being sold as slaves.

Judah is forced to work as a rower on an enormous galley ship, but becomes free when he washes ashore after a fierce battle sinks the vessel. As he searches for his family, he briefly meets Jesus (Rodrigo Santoro) and becomes a believer. He is ultimately given a chance at revenge against Messala by facing him in a chariot race in Circus Maximus, with charioteer trainer Ilderim (Morgan Freeman, whose character also narrates) secretly on Judah’s side.

The race is an impressive 10-minute sequence that takes strong advantage of modern filmmaking techniques and movie ratings that are highly lenient toward violence. Director Timur Bekmambetov, who previously helmed the Angelina Jolie action flick “Wanted” and the cult classic “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” is no stranger to cinematic violence. He knows how to make a pulse-pounding action sequence and the race is a great deal of fun, certain to induce at least a few gasps in response to bodies bouncing off horses and chariots during the race.

The problem is that, despite a $100 million budget and impressive sets and costumes, the lack of star power makes this film less compelling than it should be. An argument can be made that picking relative unknowns like Huston and Kebbell for the leads makes them more relatable to the audience, but there’s a reason why Hollywood’s strongest era of Roman epics featured superstars like Heston and Kirk Douglas of “Spartacus,” which was released in 1960: Their star power made viewers sit up and pay attention even during quiet moments.

This edition is produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, devout Christians behind the epic TV miniseries “The Bible” and “A.D.”, and they are trying to make a huge leap forward here with this mega-budget spectacular. Their hearts are in the right place, and there’s no sex, nudity or foul language involved.

The violence is mostly limited to the battle between ships and the riveting chariot race, although there are also harrowing glimpses of the suffering brought by crucifixion. This is a film that can easily be seen by teens and adults, and even if it’s not as awe-inspiring as the 1959 classic, it’s still well worth supporting as solid moral entertainment.

It’s important to remember that the 1959 film is itself a remake of a 1925 version of Wallace’s work, which was a take on a very short 1907 version. The leads here try hard, and eventually Judah becomes a person viewers can root for. But, unfortunately, this movie ultimately does not possess the electric charge of its immediate predecessor. On the other hand, at 124 minutes for the current version versus 212 minutes for the 1959 edition, the new film might be the only way Wallace’s classic story can reach the current generation of moviegoers.

Carl Kozlowski has been a professional film critic and essayist for the past five years at Pasadena Weekly, in addition to the Christian movie site Movieguide.org, the conservative pop culture site Breitbart.com Big Hollywood, the Christian pop culture magazine Relevant, and New City newspaper in Chicago. He also writes in-depth celebrity interviews for Esquire.com and The Progressive. He is owner of the podcasting site radiotitans.com, which was named one of the Frontier Fifty in 2013 as one of the 50 best talk-radio outlets in the nation by talkers.com and will be re-launching it in January 2014 after a five-month sabbatical. He lives in Los Angeles.

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SUNDAY • AUGUST 21, 2016

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Is 66:18-21; NRSVCE)

I know their works and their thoughts, and I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. From them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud — which draw the bow — to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your kindred from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring a grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. And I will also take some of them as priests and as Levites, says the Lord.

Second Reading (Heb 12:5-7, 11-13; NRSVCE)

You have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children —

“My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

or lose heart when you are punished by him;

for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,

and chastises every child whom he accepts.”

Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline?

Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

Gospel Reading (Lk 13:22-30; NRSVCE)

Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then in reply he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

MONDAY • AUGUST 22, 2016

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

First Reading (2 Thes 1:1-5, 11-12; NRSVCE)

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring.

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, and is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gospel Reading (Mt 23:13-22; NRSVCE)

Jesus said to the crowd, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.’ How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.”

TUESDAY • AUGUST 23, 2016

Tuesday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (2 Thes 2:1-3a, 14-17; NRSVCE)

As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way.

For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.

Gospel Reading (Mt 23:23-26; NRSVCE)

Jesus said to the crowd, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.”

WEDNESDAY • AUGUST 24, 2016

Feast of Saint Bartholomew

First Reading (Rev 21:9b-14; NRSVCE)

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Gospel Reading (Jn 1:45-51; NRSVCE)

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

THURSDAY • AUGUST 25, 2016

Thursday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (1 Cor 1:1-9; NRSVCE)

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind — just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you — so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading (Mt 24:42-51; NRSVCE)

Jesus said to his disciples, “Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

“Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

FRIDAY • AUGUST 26, 2016

Friday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (1 Cor 1:17-25; NRSVCE)

Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Gospel Reading (Mt 25:1-13; NRSVCE)

Jesus said to his disciples, “The kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

SATURDAY • AUGUST 27, 2016

Memorial of Saint Monica

First Reading (1 Cor 1:26-31; NRSVCE)

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Gospel Reading (Mt 25:14-30; NRSVCE)

Jesus said to his disciples, “A man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”