VOLUME 2, ISSUE 15  •  OCTOBER 8, 2016

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VATICAN NEWS

In Georgia, Pope says true peace is built on justice, mutual respect

Pope Francis to Georgian Orthodox: Christ’s love unites us

In Georgia visit, Pope finds a country of Christian tensions

Pope to Georgian Catholics: Imitate St. Therese’s ‘little way’

Pope in Georgia blasts gender theory as the ‘great enemy’ of marriage

Disabled youth perform special dance for Pope Francis in Georgia

Pope Francis tells fellow Argentines he won’t make it home in 2017

Pope invites Georgian Orthodox to unity through baptism

In Azerbaijan, Pope says faith, service weave Christian life together

Pope Francis says religious harmony in Azerbaijan must continue

Civil society must guarantee religious freedom, Pope says in Azerbaijan

Pope Francis green-lights opening of Fr. Jacques Hamel beatification process

Pope Francis: Love those who struggle, but don’t push gender theory on kids

Full text: Pope Francis’ in-flight press conference from Azerbaijan

Pope makes surprise visit to Amatrice to pray for earthquake victims

The Pope’s latest prayer intention? That journalists be truthful

Pope Francis and China – attempts for a thaw?

The Church must be close to Caucasus nations, Pope Francis says

Who benefits from sports? Everyone, Pope Francis says

Despite hiccups, Pope Francis and Welby committed to unity

Youth, discernment Pope’s pick for next synod theme

For Pope Francis, legalism makes Christians stupid

Pope offers prayer, support for a Haiti devastated by hurricane Matthew

Charity is the heart of all missionary action, Pope Francis says

Sistine Chapel Choir releases new album for Jubilee of Mercy

WORLD NEWS

Vandal destroys statues in four Roman churches

Georgian Catholics started from zero. What’s next after the papal visit

How to live out the Year of Mercy, according to this English bishop

After Colombians reject FARC deal, bishops urge prayers for peace

Irish archbishop: Seek a ‘revolution of tenderness’, not legal abortion

After Hurricane Matthew strikes Haiti, relief agencies are on the move

Catholic groups around the world break ties with fossil fuels

Is this bishop right about the rosary conquering Boko Haram?

In Syria, more than one million children sign appeal for peace

Argentine priest who denounced drug traffickers found dead

Six dead after al-Qaeda ally attacks Christians in Kenya border town

Colombia’s President Santos wins Nobel Peace Prize, despite failed vote

New U.N. Secretary General nominee a committed Catholic

U.S. NEWS

New bill would protect churches with political views from the IRS

Archbishop to public officials: Rely on the Holy Spirit

Vermont law blasted for pushing doctors to discuss ‘benefits’ of suicide

A tale of two Catholic candidates – looking at the 2016 vice president picks

Who you gonna call (on murky moral issues)? Catholic bioethicists

Dioceses of Anchorage, Arlington get new bishops from Pope Francis

Catholic University of America releases toolkit to fight domestic violence

There’s a new national shrine dedicated to St. Therese of Lisieux

Here’s what the VP candidates said about abortion last night

Nebraska better off without death penalty, Catholics say

Read Donald Trump’s letter to Catholic leaders

Moral theologian: Tim Kaine ‘gravely wrong’ to treat abortion as a personal matter

Federal court blocks Pence’s ban on Syrian refugees in Indiana

New Arlington bishop to continue devotion to Holy Name of Jesus

N.Y. archdiocese offers compensation to sex abuse victims

FEATURES

101-year-old woman receives First Communion

Satellites, the Internet, and the Communion of Saints

Will the real St. Francis please stand up?

Yeast as a Metaphor: Élisabeth and Félix Leseur

Mark Wahlberg made a video about why he loves priests

This 81-year-old woman got a ‘Don’t Euthanize Me’ tattoo

Double review: ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home’ and ‘The Girl on the Train’

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Sunday • October 9, 2016

Monday • October 10, 2016

Tuesday • October 11, 2016

Wednesday • October 12, 2016

Thursday • October 13, 2016

Friday • October 14, 2016

Saturday • October 15, 2016

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Volume 2, Issue 15 • October 8, 2016

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VATICAN NEWS

In Georgia, Pope says true peace is built on justice, mutual respect

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • September 30, 2016

Pope Francis arrives at the Tbilisi airport in Georgia on Sept. 30, 2016. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Tbilisi, Georgia — Pope Francis landed in Georgia Friday, telling leaders of the former Soviet republic that peace is urgent in today’s troubled world, and can only be achieved by the pursuit of justice and mutual respect for the sovereign rights of every nation.

After landing in Georgia Sept. 30, the Pope insisted that peaceful coexistence among all peoples and states in the region “is the indispensable and prior condition” for an “authentic and enduring progress.”

“This requires increasing mutual esteem and consideration, which can never lay aside respect for the sovereign rights of every country within the framework of international law,” Francis said.

He noted that in far too many places in the world, there seems to be “a dominant way of thinking which hinders keeping legitimate differences and disagreements – which can always arise – within a climate of civilized dialogue.”

Promoting dialogue based on reason, moderation, and responsibility is especially needed within the context of the current global climate, marked by violent extremism that “manipulates and distorts civic and religious principles,” subjugating them to “the dark designs of domination and death.”

In order to carve out paths that lead to lasting peace and authentic cooperation, it must be remembered that the essential elements for “a just and stable” relationship between states ought to always be at the service of “a practical, ordered and peaceful coexistence among nations,” he said.

Pope Francis spoke to members of the Georgian diplomatic corps and civil society after arriving having a private meeting with Georgian president Giorgi Margvelashvili shortly after arriving at the International Airport of Tbilisi Sept. 30.

Tbilisi is the Pope’s first stop during his official Sept. 30-Oct. 2 visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan. Expected to largely focus on the topics of peace and interreligious dialogue, the trip is seen as a conclusion of his Caucasus tour, following his visit to Armenia in June.

In addition to Georgia’s president, upon his arrival Pope Francis was also greeted by His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, Catholicos and Patriarch of All Georgia, spiritual leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Though Francis didn’t explicitly mention it, his words allude to the Russian occupation of the partially-recognized states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since the Russo-Georgian War of 2008.

According to news agency Aljazeera, although Abkhazia and South Ossetia declared their own independence from Georgia soon after the war, only a few nations, including Russia, recognize it. The majority of the international community, including the United States and the European Union, consider the territories to be occupied, and have condemned Russia’s military presence.

In his speech, Pope Francis also made reference to the roughly 300,000 persons internally displaced in Georgia as a result of the 2008 war.

He stressed that wholehearted priority must be given to human persons in their current circumstances, and that “every attempt to prevent differences from giving rise to violence that can cause ruinous calamity for people and for society” must be pursued.

“Far from being exploited as grounds for turning discord into conflict and conflict into interminable tragedy, distinctions along ethnic, linguistic, political or religious lines can and must be for everyone a source of mutual enrichment in favor of the common good,” he said.

Francis emphasized the need to allow for everyone to peacefully coexist in their homeland, “or freely to return to that land, if for some reason they have been forced to leave it.”

“I hope that civil authorities will continue to show concern for the situation of these persons, and that they will fully commit themselves to seeking tangible solutions, in spite of any unresolved political questions,” he said.

Pope Francis noted that due to its geographical location, Georgia can be seen as a natural bridge between Europe and Asia, calling the country a link that facilitates communication and relations between peoples.

He noted how just 25 years have passed since Georgia’s independence was proclaimed. The country held a referendum in March 1991, making them the fourth Soviet republic to organize such a vote on the topic of independence, ultimately leading to their liberation from Soviet rule.

During the period since Georgia has regained its liberty, the country has “built and strengthened its democratic institutions and sought ways to guarantee the most inclusive and authentic development possible,” he said, but noted that this came as a result of “great sacrifice.”

The Pope voiced his hope that Georgia’s ongoing path of peace and development would continue to advance with a firm commitment from all sectors of society to fostering conditions of stability, justice and respect for the rule of law, “hence promoting growth and greater opportunities for all.”

Pointing to the longstanding presence of the Catholic Church in the country, the Pope said the Church shares in the both the joys and concerns of the Georgian people, and is committed to contributing to “the well-being and peace of the nation” through active cooperation with authorities and civil society.

“It is my ardent desire that the Catholic Church may continue to make its own authentic contribution to the growth of Georgian society, thanks to the common witness to the Christian tradition which unites us, its commitment to those most in need, and the renewed and strengthened dialogue with the ancient Georgian Orthodox Church and the other religious communities of the country.”

After his speech to Georgia’s authorities and diplomatic corps, Pope Francis will have an audience with Ilia II, which will be followed by an ecumenical prayer service with Georgia’s Assyrian and Chaldean Catholic communities at the Catholic Chaldean Church of St. Simon Bar Sabbae.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis to Georgian Orthodox: Christ’s love unites us

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • September 30, 2016

Pope Francis meets with Ilia II, the Georgian Orthodox Catholicos and Patriarch of All Georgia, in Tbilisi on Sept. 30, 2016. (CTV)

Tbilisi, Georgia — God’s love and our unity in Christ are what enable us to overcome conflict and disagreement, and to spread the Gospel – which is what bears spiritual and artistic fruit, Pope Francis said in Georgia on Friday.

“Truly, the love of the Lord raises us up, because it enables us to rise above the misunderstandings of the past, above the calculations of the present and fears for the future,” the Pope said in a meeting with the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which is one of the 14 autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches.

Unity between the Georgian Orthodox Church and Catholic Church, joined with a firm faith in Christ, the Pope said, is necessary so that “the Gospel may bear fruit in our day,” just as saints “put the Gospel before all else.”

Pope Francis met with Ilia II, Catholicos and Patriarch of All Georgia, at the Patriarchal Palace in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi Sept. 30.

Tbilisi is the Pope’s first stop during his Sept. 30-Oct. 2 visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan. Expected to largely focus on the topics of peace, ecumenism, and interreligious dialogue, the trip is seen as a conclusion of his Caucasus tour, following his visit to Armenia in June.

In his speech, the Pope expressed that love is the path to overcoming all disagreements and conflict, stating that the “true enemy” is not other people, but the evil spirit that is within ourselves.

“It is as if the great poet of this land, Shota Rustaveli, is speaking to us with some of his renowned words,” Pope Francis said.

Quoting from the epic poem “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin,” he said: “Have you read how the Apostles write about love, how they speak, how they praise it? Know this love, and turn your mind to these words: love raises us up.”

Even in the face of countless trials, Francis stated, the people of Georgia have testified to the greatness of God’s love by rising up to “the heights of extraordinary artistic beauty.”

Historically, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church and the Bishop of Rome have always had a good relationship, Pope Francis noted. The last time Ilia II met with the head of the Catholic Church was during St. John Paul II’s apostolic visit to Georgia in 1999.

Speaking of the future, Pope Francis expressed a wish for even greater peace and forgiveness between people and regions.

“May difficulties not be an obstacle, but rather a stimulus to know each other better,” he said, “to share the vital sap of the faith, to intensify our prayers for each other and to cooperate with apostolic charity in our common witness, to the glory of God in heaven and in the service of peace on earth.”

The Georgian Orthodox Church was one of the four Eastern Orthodox Churches which declined to participate in the ‘pan-Orthodox Council’ organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople which was held in June.

The Church also objected to an ecumenical document agreed to earlier this month by the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches which regarded synodality and primacy during the first millennium.

Noting how the Georgian people love to celebrate, Francis said this joy has its roots in the faith, “which leads Georgians, when gathered around their tables, to invoke peace for all, and to remember even one’s enemies.”

“Joined to their exaltation of love, friendship is given a special place,” he said.

“I want to be a genuine friend to this land and its beloved people, who do not forget the good they have received and whose unique hospitality is intimately united to a way of living that is full of true hope, even though there is no shortage of difficulties.”

After his encounter with Ilia II, Pope Francis had a meeting with the Assyrian and Chaldean Catholic communities of Georgia at the Chaldean parish of St. Simon Bar Sabbae.

There, he offered a prayer for many different things, including that by Christ’s glorious passion, he may “conquer the hardness of our hearts, imprisoned by hatred and selfishness.”

The Holy Father prayed for persecuted Christians, those who are abused, and for refugees. He also prayed for all those harmed by war, asking especially that “the peoples so wearied by bombing” experience the joy of Christ’s resurrection, and that Iraq and Syria will be raised up from “devastation.”

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VATICAN NEWS

In Georgia visit, Pope finds a country of Christian tensions

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • September 30, 2016

Georgian Orthodox protestors line the streets of Tbilisi on Pope Francis’ arrival to Georgia on Sept. 30, 2016. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Tbilisi, Georgia — Pope Francis on his visit to Georgia will find a country where dialogue among Christians is particularly difficult, with cool relations between the Georgian Orthodox Church and the country’s tiny Catholic minority.

For this reason his trip is “ecumenical, but not according to the common meaning of the word ecumenism,” a top official of the Catholic Church in Georgia told CNA.

The Georgian Orthodox Church – an Eastern Orthodox Church to which more than 80 percent of Georgians adhere – is considered part of the national identity. While it is not an established religion, the Georgian constitution does acknowledge Georgian Orthodoxy’s special role in the nation.

Catholics, meanwhile, constitute only one percent of Georgia’s population, while members of the Armenian Apostolic Church (which is Oriental Orthodox) are three percent, and Muslims are more than 10 percent.

Fr. Akaki Chelidze, a Camillian Father who serves as chancellor of the Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus, spoke about the situation in Georgia.

He said the Orthodox Church in Georgia has always considered itself the “necessary glue to keep the nation together.” This is probably why it considers other religious denominations as “rivals, or even obstacles, for the unity of the country.”

The delicate situation with the Georgian Orthodox Church could overshadow the papal visit there.

Relations between Catholics and Orthodox are cool: It is no coincidence that there will be no common prayer celebrated by Pope Francis and Patriarch Ilia II, though it is a sign of goodwill that the patriach was present at the Pope’s arrival at Tbilisi airport on Friday.

The way from the airport to downtown Tbilisi, as well as the streets where the Pope passed, were decorated with Vatican and Georgian imagery, but there was no sign or banner to signal the arrival of the Pope.

Not until Sept. 29 was a banner celebrating the Pope’s visit set up on the side of the Catholic Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. The banner went up while Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto, Apostolic Administrator of the Caucasus, was saying Mass in the cathedral.

Fr. Chelidze spoke about the broader cultural context.

“The Georgian Orthodox Church is very much linked (even senselessly) to the Russian form of anti-Catholicism,” explained the priest, adding that this anti-Catholic attitude has increased in the course of the years.

The Catholic portion of the population does not expand, due in part to the Georgian Orthodox Church’s regard for Catholic baptisms as invalid: If a Catholic wants to marry a Georgian Orthodox, they must submit to an (attempted) second baptism.

“Pope Francis will not perhaps have the warm welcome he had in Armenia, as the word ‘ecumenism’ cannot even be pronounced in Georgia,” Fr. Chelidze stressed.

There will not be a common prayer of the Pope and Ilia II, but neither was there a common prayer back in 1999, during the visit of St. John Paul II.

Fr. Chelidze said it is still a positive development that the patriarchate said the Pope will be “welcomed in the best way possible.” It is also positive that some people of Georgia, even non-Catholics, are happy for the visit.

Given the delicacy of the issue of Catholic-Orthodox relations, the Pope will likely not mention it during his speeches.

According to Fr. Chelidze, Pope Francis’ visit will mostly concern meeting with the local Catholic Church, to which Pope Francis will provide guidance concerning pastoral care and commitment to charity.

Considering the Caucasus situation, peace will certainly be a core issue.

The most known conflicts in the Georgia are the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia; they were the subject of a war with Russia in 2008. They have declared their independence from Georgia, and are administered by Russia.

Fr. Chelidze said that given the political and socio-economic difficulties, the Georgian people are “waiting to be encouraged.”

According to the priest, the papal trip fills the heart of the Catholic Church in Georgia with hope and recalls the prayer of Jesus Christ for his disciples.

“It will be good to hear the Holy Father talking about ‘that they may be one,’ that is, the communion among the different Catholic rites,” Fr. Chelidze said.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope to Georgian Catholics: Imitate St. Therese’s ‘little way’

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • October 1, 2016

This image of St. Therese of Lisieux was a gift presented to Pope Francis by French journalist Caroline Pigozzi. (Caroline Pigozzi/CNA)

Vatican City — It’s important to follow the example of St. Therese’s “little way,” trusting in God and his consolation with the faith a small child, Pope Francis said Saturday, which marked the feast of the young saint and Doctor of the Church.

Quoting from her autobiography, he said St. Therese “shows her ‘little way’ to God, the trust of a little child who falls asleep without fear in his Father’s arms, because ‘Jesus does not demand great actions from us, but simply surrender and gratitude.’”

“To receive God’s love we need this littleness of heart: only little ones can be held in their mothers’ arms,” the Pope said during his homily at M. Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi, Georgia Oct. 1.

“Here in Georgia there are a great number of grandmothers and mothers who unceasingly defend and pass on the faith,” he said, adding that they “bring the fresh water of God’s consolation to countless situations of barrenness and conflict.”

Tbilisi is the Pope’s first stop during his Sept. 30-Oct. 2 visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan. Expected to largely focus on the topics of peace, ecumenism, and interreligious dialogue, the trip is seen as a conclusion of his Caucasus tour, following his visit to Armenia in June.

In Georgia, Eastern Orthodox make up 84 percent of the population, Muslims 10 percent, Apostolic Armenians close to three, and Catholics less than one percent.

The Pope’s homily at the public Mass centered on the comfort of God as being like the comfort of a father to his children.

“As he looks at us, he is always moved and becomes tender-hearted, with a love from the depths of his being, for beyond any evil we are capable of, we always remain his children; he wants to take us in his arms, protect us, and free us from harm and evil,” he said.

It is God’s presence that frees us and gives us joy, even amid conflict or turmoil in our lives, Francis said. “For this reason, if we want to experience his consolation, we must give way to the Lord in our lives.”

“There are doors of consolation which must always be open, because Jesus especially loves to enter through them: the Gospel we read every day and carry around with us, our silent prayer in adoration, confession, the Eucharist. It is through these doors that the Lord enters and gives new flavor to reality.”

“When the door of our heart is closed, however, his light cannot enter in and everything remains dark,” he added.

Pope Francis noted also the importance of community, saying that “in the Church we find consolation, the Church is the house of consolation: here God wishes to console us.”

“It is when we are united, in communion, that God’s consolation works in us,” he said, explaining that we must ask ourselves if we who are in the Church truly bring God’s consolation to others and welcome them, consoling the tired and disillusioned.

“Dear brothers and sisters, let us take up this call: to not bury ourselves in what is going wrong around us or be saddened by the lack of harmony between us.”

“It is not good for us to become accustomed to a closed ecclesial micro-environment,” but rather “to share wide horizons open to hope, having the courage to humbly open our doors and go beyond ourselves,” Francis said.

The Pope also stressed the need to always trust and hope in the surprises of God. Doing this, he said, “will help us to remember that we are constantly and primarily his children.”

We are “not masters of our lives, but children of the Father; not autonomous and self-sufficient adults, but children who always need to be lifted up and embraced, who need love and forgiveness,” the Pope continued.

“Blessed are those Christian communities who live this authentic gospel simplicity!” he said. “Blessed are the Shepherds who do not ride the logic of worldly success, but follow the law of love: welcoming, listening, serving.”

“Blessed is the Church who does not entrust herself to the criteria of functionalism and organizational efficiency, nor worries about her image,” he added.

Pope Francis offered encouragement to the “little and beloved flock of Georgia,” telling them to receive the encouragement of the Good Shepherd who “takes you on his shoulders and consoles you.”

“The true greatness of man consists in making himself small before God,” he said, adding that God is not known through “grand ideas and extensive study, but rather through the littleness of a humble and trusting heart.”

“To be great before the Most High does not require the accumulation of honor and prestige or earthly goods and success, but rather a complete self-emptying.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope in Georgia blasts gender theory as the ‘great enemy’ of marriage

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 1, 2016

Pope Francis. (Daniel Ibáñez/CNA)

Vatican City — In a lengthy, off-the-cuff speech in Georgia, Pope Francis said the world today is at war with marriage, and urged couples to fight against modern threats to the sacrament such as gender theory.

Speaking to Irina, a Georgian wife and mother who gave her testimony in front of Pope Francis and hundreds of priests, seminarians and religious Oct. 1, the Pope said “you mentioned a great enemy of marriage today: gender theory.”

“Today the whole world is at war trying to destroy marriage,” he said, noting that this war isn’t being fought with arms “but with ideas.”

There are “certain ideologies that destroy marriage,” he said. “So we need to defend ourselves from ideological colonization.”

Pope Francis spoke to priests, seminarians, religious and pastoral workers inside Tbilisi’s Church of the Assumption after celebrating Mass for the country’s tiny Catholic population on the second of his three-day visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The Pope’s Sept. 30-Oct. 2 visit to the two countries, expected to largely focus on the topics of peace and interreligious dialogue, is seen as a conclusion of his Caucasus tour, following his visit to Armenia in June.

In her testimony, Irina told Francis about the challenges of family life in Georgia, such as finding good Christian education, the fear of becoming parents in situations of poverty and the fact that separation is often seen as a way of resolving family difficulties.

Separations, she said, are much easier in the Orthodox Church, and this has an impact on Catholic families. She also pointed to the growing pressures to accept homosexuality and gender ideology, as well as the “marginalization” of the Christian vision of the family.

Turning to the Pope’s post-synodal exhortation Amoris laetitia, Irina said she is happy that the Pope decided to use the word “joy” when referring to the concept of family, and voiced her desire to “rediscover marriage as a sacrament for evangelization, as a force of witness for the Church.”

In addition to her testimony, Pope Francis also heard the testimony of three others, including an Armenian priest serving the Armenian Catholic community in Georgia, a Georgian seminarian and a young man representing the youth.

Rather than giving a prepped speech for the occasion, Francis opted to go without a text, studiously taking notes while each of the four spoke. He then delivered lengthy, off-the-cuff remarks.

In his off-the-cuff speech, the Pope repeated much of what he has said before, telling Irina that the recipe for a happy marriage can be found in three words: “May I,” “thank you” and “I’m sorry.”

“Matrimony is the most beautiful thing God created,” he said, explaining that since man and woman have been created in God’s image, “it is when the two become one that his image is reflected.”

“I understood the line when you spoke about the difficulties that come in the family, the temptations, so we resolve things on the road of divorce,” he said, explaining that when a divorce happens, “two people pay.”

“God pays, because God is the one who made them one, and when they divorce, they dirty what God has made,” he said, adding that the children also pay the price of the separation.

“You don’t know, you don’t know how much children suffer when they see parents fight and separate,” the Pope said, explaining that while certain “complex situations” exist, “you must do everything to save a marriage.”

If the devil enters and tempts the couple, trying to distract the husband by drawing him to a woman who seems more attractive or to distract the wife with a man who might seem better than her husband, “ask for help immediately,” Francis said. “Ask for help right away when these temptations come.”

Pope Francis also spoke of the important role that mothers and grandmothers play in passing on the faith and keeping it “solid.”

Responding to the seminarian, named Kote, the Pope said that a vocation always begins at home, typically with “the mother or grandmother.”

He stressed the importance of remembering the faith that has been passed onto us, but also the moment of the Lord’s call, when he said “come, come.”

This memory is especially needed in the moments of darkness that can arise in the life of a priest or religious, whether it be due to difficulties in community life, with the diocese or whether it seems like things just aren’t moving forward, he said.

When this happens, it’s important not to look backwards, he said, explaining that “if you want to look back, remember that moment. As in this way the faith remains solid, the vocation remains solid.”

Francis also pointed to the essential role Mary and the Church play as a mother, saying that as a mother, the Church remains open and doesn’t “close in on itself.”

“There are two women that Jesus wanted for all of us: his mother and his bride. Both of them are similar. The Mother of Jesus he left as our mother. The Church is the spouse of Jesus, and she is also our mother,” he said.

With Mary and the Church we have a sure way of going forward, Francis continued, adding that “here we again find the woman. It seems like the Lord has a preference, and his preference is to bring the faith forward through women.”

On a final point, the Pope spoke about ecumenism, stressing the need for Catholics to defend themselves against worldliness, and to “never fight” with the Orthodox, who are the religious majority in the country.

“Let’s leave that to theologians,” he said, calling proselytism “a great sin against ecumenism. We are never to proselytize the Orthodox.

Instead, ecumenism is achieved through friendship, accompaniment, mutual prayer and common works of charity when possible.

Pope Francis closed his remarks by praying that God would “make us men and women of the Church, solid in the faith that we have received from our mother and grandmother, solid in the faith which is sure under the mantle of the Holy Mother of God,” and leading attendees in praying the Hail Mary.

The encounter concluded with the recitation of the Our Father in Georgian and the Pope’s blessing. From the parish, the Pope went on to visit a health and rehabilitation center run by the Order of St. Camillus.

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VATICAN NEWS

Disabled youth perform special dance for Pope Francis in Georgia

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • October 1, 2016

Pope Francis greets disabled people outside the Assistance Center of St. Camillius in Georgia on Oct. 1, 2016. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis was treated to a special presentation Saturday when young people, including several disabled youth in wheelchairs, performed traditional dances for him during his papal visit to Georgia Saturday.

The performance took place during a meeting held outside one of the buildings of the Assistance Center of the Camillian Order in Tbilisi, and included several typical dances with traditional Georgian dress.

Around 700 people, including the sick, disabled, and volunteers and workers of the various charity organizations of the Catholic Church in Georgia were all present at the Oct. 1 meeting.

Immediately before the performance, Pope Francis spoke to those present saying he was happy to be with them, even if was just for a little while, and offered his encouragement.

“God never turns away,” the Pope said. “He is always close to you, ready to listen, to give you his strength in times of difficulty.”

“You are the beloved of Jesus, who wished to identify himself with all who suffer, he himself having suffered in his passion,” he said, and thanked those who assist the sick and disabled for their service.

Welcomed by the Director of the Assistance Center of the Camillian Order and the Director of Caritas Georgia, the meeting was part of the Pope’s Sept. 30-Oct. 2 visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The trip is seen as a conclusion of his Caucasus tour, following his visit to Armenia in June. So far, the Pope’s speeches have largely focused on the need for peace and unity between people.

Greeting the elderly, sick, suffering and those assisting them at the meeting, Pope Francis compared charitable initiatives to the “ripe fruit of a Church that serves, offers hope and shows forth God’s mercy.”

“I encourage you to pursue this demanding yet fruitful path,” he continued. “The poor and weak are the ‘flesh of Christ’ who call upon Christians of every confession, urging them to act without personal interests, following only the prompting of the Holy Spirit.”

The meeting, he said, “is a witness to communion and a means of fostering the way of unity.”

Fr. Pawel Dyl, a Polish Camillian brother who works at the Assistance Center, told CNA that the dances and singing were thought of “as a moment of rest for the Holy Father” amid his busy schedule.

The chair Pope Francis sat on during the brief encounter was the same one used by St. John Paul II during his trip to Georgia in 1999.

Located in a poor area of the city, the Assistance Center itself is an unfinished structure, constructed from two other buildings put together.

Since March 1998, it has welcomed patients from all over Tbilisi, particularly the poor, guaranteeing medical care with modern procedures.With all the typical wards of a medical clinic, the center has the latest equipment for procedures such as blood analysis, and has many family physicians.

The clinic is not only a place where one can go to get a good level of care at a reasonable price, but is also a refuge for the poor.

According to Fr. Dyl, when it was built “Georgia was a country after a war. It looked like a cemetery, because every house lit candles, since there was no electricity.” Many came to the clinic “only to get warm, because the house had no heat.”

The center also provides support for poor families by distributing essential goods and food. Many of the poor are refugees who came from South Ossetia during the 2008 war involving Georgia, Russia and the Russian-backed, self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Since 2002, there is also a center for disabled called “San Camillo,” which holds 50 people that are treated alternately in shifts of 25 per day. It will soon be turned into a night center as well.

When the Camillian Order first thought of building the center, they faced challenges in obtaining the necessary permission due to the many difficulties involved in the construction.

However, as a response a group of Missionaries of Charity sisters living in Georgia prayed and put medals of the Virgin Mary in the ground where the center would later be built.

Eventually, benefactors appeared and they were able to cover the costs. The structure is more than 430,000 square feet – double the size they were expecting. “I sometimes jokingly say to the sisters they have overdone the medals,” Fr. Dyl jested.

In the Oct. 1 meeting with Pope Francis, many disabled were present to meet the Pope, who, in keeping with his unique tenderness toward them, stopped to greet and bless many of them individually on his way in.

Speaking to the workers and volunteers present, Francis said that “through your care, you express in an eloquent way love of neighbor which is the hallmark of Christ’s disciples.”

“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, your mission is a great one! Continue to live out charity in the Church, and to manifest this charity in all areas of society with the zealous love that comes from God.”

Andrea Gagliarducci contributed to this story.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis tells fellow Argentines he won’t make it home in 2017

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 1, 2016

Pope Francis waves an Argentine flag on July 25, 2013. (Alex Mazzullo via JMJ Rio via Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Vatican City — In a special message to his fellow countrymen, Pope Francis said that despite his great desire to return home, he won’t be able to go in 2017, as previously hoped, due to commitments in Asia and Africa.

Francis had previously expressed his desire to return to his native Argentina for the country’s bicentenary anniversary, as well as the coming beatification of Mama Antula and canonization of Cura Brochero, known as the “Gaucho priest” and who will be the first saint who was born and died in Argentina.

The canonization and beatification, he said, are events “that make our history” and which are “very important and very strong, and which I greatly value.”

“Needless to say I had wanted to go to Argentina to beatify Mama Antula and to canonize Cura Brochero, but I couldn’t do it, it’s not possible,” he said.

The Pope stressed that “you know how much I would like to see you,” but relayed that he isn’t able to go next year either “because there are already commitments fixed for Asia and Africa,” though he didn’t give details.

Plus, “the world is larger than Argentina,” he said, adding that he would leave it in God’s hands “to tell me the date” of a possible future visit.

Francis made the announcement in a video message that was released by the Vatican paper L’Osservatore Romano’s local, Argentinian version, which is the first national edition of the publication.

In his message, the Pope said he continues to feel like an Argentinian, and still travels with an Argentine passport.

As a people, Argentinians “are the greatest treasure our homeland has,” he said. The Pope said he feels joy and consolation whenever he receives letters from his fellow countrymen, and that he prays for “each one of you, for your needs,” at Mass.

He encouraged them to work toward a culture of encounter capable of overcoming “all these cultures of waste that are offered everywhere in today’s world.”

This type of culture, he said, would be one in which each person has their place and in which “the whole world can live with dignity and each can peacefully express themselves without being insulted or condemned, attacked or discarded.”

Prayer and good will are the primary tools needed in order to achieve this culture, he said, and encouraged his countrymen to do at least one work of mercy every day, or every two days if everyday is impossible.

Listing out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, Francis said they are concrete acts that each person can do. “If each of us does one a day or one every two days, what good we will do for our people!” he said.

The Pope assured his closeness to the Argentine people, particularly on the occasion of the coming beatification of Mama Antula and the canonization of Cura Brochero, “two people, a man and a woman, who worked for the homeland and for evangelization.”

“So in the midst of all this I greet you, I give you my love and I tell you – it seems a bit odd, but time has stretched like elastic – see you soon, and don’t forget to pray for me.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope invites Georgian Orthodox to unity through baptism

by CNA/EWTN News • October 1, 2016

Pope Francis saying Mass on Feb. 2, 2015. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Tbilisi, Georgia — Speaking to Georgia’s religious and civil authorities on Saturday, Pope Francis affirmed the country’s Christian identity, and called the Georgian Orthodox Church to recall the unity of baptism among Christian believers.

“Those baptized in Christ, as Saint Paul teaches, have been clothed in Christ,” the Pope said Oct. 1 at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, located just 15 miles northwest of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital.

“Thus, notwithstanding our limitations and quite apart from all successive cultural and historical distinctions, we are called to be ‘one in Christ Jesus’ and to avoid putting first disharmony and divisions between the baptized, because what unites us is much more than what divides us.”

The cathedral is the seat of the Patriarchate of Georgia, one of 14 autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches. Pope Francis was addressing Patriarch Ilia II, along with religious and civil authorities and representatives of the diplomatic corps and the academic and cultural world.

The Pope made his remarks at the cathedral during his Sept. 30-Oct. 2 visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan. Focused largely on the topics of peace, ecumenism, and interreligious dialogue, the trip is seen as a conclusion of his Caucasus tour, following his visit to Armenia in June.

Pope Francis’ visit to Georgia finds a country where dialogue among Christians is particularly difficult, with cool relations between the Georgian Orthodox Church and the country’s tiny Catholic minority.

The Georgian Orthodox Church – to which more than 80 percent of Georgians adhere – is considered part of the national identity. While it is not an established religion, the Georgian constitution does acknowledge Georgian Orthodoxy’s special role in the nation. Catholics, meanwhile, constitute only one percent of Georgia’s population.

Pope Francis thanked the Georgian people for their welcome of him and their witness of faith, and told Ilia, “the Lord has granted us the joy of meeting one another and of exchanging a holy kiss; may he pour out upon us the fragrant balm of concord and bestow his abundant blessings upon our path.”

He commended the Georgian language for its “meaningful expressions which describe fraternity, friendship and closeness among people” and asked that such a fraternal attitude might “mark the way ahead for our journey together.”

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral is traditionally held to hold the relics of St. Sidonia, who was buried with Christ’s seamless tunic. Reflecting on this, Pope Francis said the cathedral “invites us to remember the past,” saying this is “more necessary than ever.”

Georgia’s history “relates holy testimonies and Christian values which have forged the soul and culture of the country,” and expresses openness, welcome, and integration.

“These are most precious and enduring values, both for this land and the entire region,” he said. “Such values express the Christian identity, which is maintained when deeply rooted in faith, and also when it is open and ready, never rigid or closed.”

“The Christian message – as this holy place recalls – has for centuries been the pillar of Georgian identity: it has given stability through so many upheavals, even when, sadly not infrequently, the fate of the nation was bitterly left to fend for itself,” Pope Francis reflected.

“But the Lord never abandoned the beloved land of Georgia, because he is ‘faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds; he upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.’”

He said God’s “tender and compassionate closeness” is shown particularly by Christ’s tunic, “‘without seam, woven from top to bottom’, [which] has attracted the attention of Christians from the beginning.”

He referred to St. Cyprian of Carthage, who called the tunic a sign of Christian unity, “which could not be definitively rent.” Francis said the tunic “exhorts us to feel deep pain over the historical divisions which have arisen among Christians,” calling them “the true and real lacerations that wound the Lord’s flesh.”

“At the same time, however, ‘that unity which comes from above’, the love of Christ which has brought us together … urge us to not give up but rather to offer ourselves as he did” and to “sincere charity and to mutual understanding, to bind up wounds, with a spirit of pure Christian fraternity.”

He added that this “requires patience nurtured through trusting others and through humility” and “rejoicing in the certainty which Christian hope allows us to enjoy.”

This certainty helps us believe “differences can be healed and obstacles removed,” he said, and “invites us never to miss opportunities for encounter and dialogue, and to protect and together improve what already exists.”

He pointed to baptism’s profound role in Georgian culture, noting that the Georgian word for “education” comes from the same root and “thus relates strictly to baptism.”

“The elegance of the language helps us think of the beauty of Christian life that, from its radiant beginnings, is maintained when it remains in the light of goodness, and when it rejects the darkness of evil,” he said.

“Such beauty of the Christian life is preserved when, by guarding faithfulness to its own roots, it does not give in to closed ways of thinking which darken life, but rather remains well-disposed to welcome and to learn, to be enlightened by all that is beautiful and true.”

He assured Georgians of his prayers, that the Lord might “deepen the love between all believers in Christ and the enlightened pursuit of everything which brings us together, reconciles us and unites us.”

“May prayer and love make us ever more receptive to the Lord’s ardent desire, so that everyone who believes in Him, through the preaching of the Apostles, will ‘be one’.”

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VATICAN NEWS

In Azerbaijan, Pope says faith, service weave Christian life together

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 2, 2016

Pope Francis arrives to the airport of Baku in Azerbaijan on Oct. 2, 2016. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis celebrated Mass immediately after landing in Azerbaijan Sunday, telling faithful gathered in the small church that faith and service are the heart of Christian life, woven together like the different threads of a carpet.

“Faith and service cannot be separated; on the contrary, they are intimately linked, interwoven with each other,” the Pope said Oct. 2.

To help make the concept more concrete, Pope Francis used the image of carpet weaving, which is an ancient tradition in Azerbaijan.

Traditionally handmade in different sizes and with a dense texture, the Azerbaijani rug since ancient times has been used to cover to floors or decorate walls, sofas, beds, chairs and tables. Carpet making is typically a family tradition passed down orally and through practice, mostly through women.

In his homily, Pope Francis pointed to the two processes of “wefting” and “warping.” In their technical definition, the terms refer to two types of thread used to weave the finished textile product.

The warp is the tightly stretched threads that run lengthwise and form the core of the fabric, whereas the weft is the thread woven between the warp to create the different patterns.

“Your carpets are true works of art,” the Pope said, explaining that each one must be “harmoniously woven” with the warp and the weft. The same goes for the Christian life: “every day it must be woven patiently, intertwining a precise weft and warp: the weft of faith and the warp of service.”

“When faith is interwoven with service, the heart remains open and youthful, and it expands in the process of doing good,” he said, adding that if faith follows this path, “it matures and grows in strength, but only when it is joined to service.”

Pope Francis traveled to Azerbaijan on the last of this three-day trip to there and Georgia, both of which have a small minority Catholic presence. Azerbaijan marks the first time the Pope has traveled to a majority Shi’ite nation. Georgia was a majority Georgian Orthodox.

After landing at the Heydar Aliyev airport of Baku earlier this morning, Francis celebrated Mass at the Church of the Immaculate in the Salesian Center of Baku, the only Catholic church in Azerbaijan.

Originally built in 1915, the church was destroyed by the communist regime in 1931, and the pastor sent to a forced labor camp, where he later died. After the end of Soviet rule in the country, the Catholics in the country began to regroup.

It was after St. John Paul II’s visit in 2002 that the Catholic community was finally able to purchase the land to rebuild the church, which was completed in 2009. It is believed that Apostle Bartholomew was martyred in Azerbaijan, near Baku, in 71 AD.

In his reflections on faith, Francis pointed God’s response to the Habakkuk in the First Reading, in which the prophet asked God to step in and re-establish the justice and peace that had been shattered by violence and disagreements.

Instead of jumping in, God “does not intervene directly,” and nor does not resolve the situation “in an abrupt way” or make himself present with force. Rather, “he invites patient waiting, without ever losing hope; above all, he emphasizes the importance of faith.”

God treats us in the same way, he said, explaining that he doesn’t “indulge our desire to immediately and repeatedly change the world and other people,” but rather seeks to heal the heart of the person.

“God changes the world by transforming our hearts, and this he cannot do without us,” he said, adding that “when God finds an open and trusting heart, then he can work wonders there.”

Having faith isn’t always easy, he said, and pointed to the Apostles’ petition to Jesus in the Gospel of Luke to “increase our faith.”

Jesus’ response “is surprising,” because he turns the question back on them and says “if you had faith …” In this answer, the Lord asks us to have faith, he said, adding that faith is as a gift from God that must always be asked for, faith has to be nurtured.

“It is no magic power which comes down from heaven,” and nor is it “a special force for solving life’s problems.”

A faith that satisfies our needs “would be a selfish one, centered entirely on ourselves,” Francis said, adding that faith shouldn’t be confused with well-being or feeling good, nor with having a consolation in our heart that brings inner peace.

“Faith is the golden thread which binds us to the Lord, the pure joy of being with him, united to him; it is a gift that lasts our whole life, but bears fruit only if we play our part.”

When it comes to service, this doesn’t mean just fulfilling our duties or doing some good act, but “is much more,” Francis said, noting how in the Gospel, Jesus asks “in very radical terms” for our complete availability, “a life offered in complete openness, free of calculation and gain.”

The Pope then cautioned against two temptations that Christians face which lead away from service and end up “rendering life pointless.” These temptations, he said, are allowing ourselves to grow lukewarm, and to think “like masters.”

“A lukewarm heart becomes self-absorbed in lazy living and it stifles the fire of love,” he said, explaining that a lukewarm person “lives to satisfy his or her own convenience, which is never enough, and in that way is never satisfied.”

Gradually Christians like this end up being content with mediocrity, allocating to God and others only a percentage of their time, “never spending too much, but rather always trying to economize.”

Rather than being passive, the second temptation of “thinking like masters” centers on being too active, the Pope observed, explaining that a person like this only gives of themselves “only in order to gain something or become someone.”

“In such cases service becomes a means and not an end, because the end has become prestige; and then comes power, the desire to be great,” he said, but cautioned that the Church “grows and is adorned” only through service.

Pope Francis concluded his homily by returning to the image of the carpet, telling the local community that “each of you is like a magnificent silk thread.”

However, he stressed that only if you are woven together will the different threads form a beautiful composition; on their own, they are of no use,” and urged Azerbaijanis to always be united, humbly living in joy and charity.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis says religious harmony in Azerbaijan must continue

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • October 2, 2016

Pope Francis walks with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan during the welcoming ceremony of the Pope’s visit on Oct. 2, 2016. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Baku, Azerbaijan — In a meeting with political leaders Sunday, Pope Francis praised the peaceful relationship among Catholics, Muslims, Orthodox, and Jews in Azerbaijan, criticizing those who use God as a defense in religiously-motivated violence.

In his Oct. 2 speech, Francis said that during his brief visit, he has been particularly pleased to see “the cordial relations enjoyed by the Catholic, Muslim, Orthodox and Jewish” communities.

“It is my hope that the signs of friendship and cooperation may continue to increase,” he said, stressing that “the attachment to authentic religious values is utterly incompatible with the attempt to violently impose on others one’s own vision, using God’s holy name as ‘armor.’”

Pope Francis met with the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev and his wife, as well as other authorities and members of the Diplomatic Corps, in the capital city of Baku Oct. 2, the last of this three-day visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan, both of which have a small minority Catholic presence.

It is estimated that there are only about 600-700 Roman Catholics in Azerbaijan, only 200 of whom have citizenship. The Pope’s visit to the country marks the first time he has traveled to a majority Shi’ite nation. Georgia was a majority Georgian Orthodox.

“I am pleased to be visiting Azerbaijan, and I thank you for your warm welcome to this city, the country’s capital, on the shore of the Caspian Sea,” the Pope said, pointing to the transformation of the city with new buildings, including the modern Heydar Aliyev Center, where the encounter was held.

He noted how Oct. 18 marks the day Azerbaijan celebrates 25 years of their independence from the Soviet Union. “This occasion affords the possibility of taking comprehensive stock of these decades, of the progress achieved and of the challenges which the country is facing,” the Pope said.

“I have come to this country full of admiration for the intricacy and richness of your culture, fruit of the contribution of so many peoples who in the course of history have inhabited these lands.”

The people are who have given life to a “fabric of experiences, values and distinctive features” characterizing contemporary society in Azerbaijan, Francis noted.

“The road traveled thus far shows clearly the significant efforts undertaken to strengthen institutions and to promote the economic and civic growth of the nation.”

This path, he said, “requires constant attention towards all, especially the weakest, and one which is possible thanks to a society which recognizes the benefits of multiculturalism and of the necessary complementarity of cultures.”

Even though it is a small presence in the country, the Catholic Church, the Pope said, “is truly present in the civic and social life of Azerbaijan; it participates in its joys and shares the challenges of confronting its difficulties.”

Pope Francis had previously met with Aliyev and his wife at the Vatican March 6, 2015, where they discussed, in part, the life of the Catholic Church in the country, the promotion of interreligious dialogue, and the importance of negotiation in conflict resolution.

In 2011, an international agreement with the Holy See was ratified in Azerbaijan, further cementing a “stable regulatory framework for the life of the Catholic community” in the country.

In his speech, the Pope emphasized how important it is, especially at the present time, to show the world how it is possible to express one’s own ideas and worldview without abusing the rights of those with differing perspectives.

“The world, unfortunately, is experiencing the tragedy of many conflicts fueled by intolerance,” he said, “which in turn is fomented by violent ideologies and by the effective denial of the rights of the weakest.”

A culture of peace is only fostered by an “untiring willingness for dialogue and by the awareness that there is no reasonable alternative to patiently and assiduously searching for shared solutions.”

It is also necessary, he continued, for harmony to be promoted between states, just as much as within them. “In this way, peoples will be spared grave suffering and painful wounds, which are difficult to heal.”

“I am confident that, with the help of God, and the good will of those involved, the Caucasus will be a place where, through dialogue and negotiation, disputes and differences will be resolved and overcome,” Pope Francis said, concluding his address.

“By such means, this area – ‘a gateway between East and West,’ in the beautiful image used by St. John Paul II when he visited your country – will also become a gateway open to peace, and an example to which we can look to solve old and new conflicts.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Civil society must guarantee religious freedom, Pope says in Azerbaijan

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 2, 2016

Pope Francis speaks to authorities in Azerbaijan on Oct. 2, 2016. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Vatican City — In his final speech in Azerbaijan, Pope Francis spoke at length praising the good interreligious relations in the country, but also cautioned that religion must always be respected in civil society, and can never be used as a tool to justify violence.

“Society must always overcome the temptation to take advantage of religious factors,” the Pope said Oct. 2. Religions, he said, “must never be instrumentalized, nor can they ever lend support to, or approve of, conflicts and disagreements.”

To illustrate his point, the Pope referred to the traditional artistic windows of Azerbaijan made solely out of wood and tinted glass, with no glue or nails used in the process.

With the traditional means of crafting, the wood and the glass are set together through “time-consuming and meticulous effort,” leading the wood to support the glass, which in turn lets the light in, he observed.

Using this method as a metaphor, he said it is “the task of every civil society to support religion, which allows a light to shine through, indispensable for living.”

In order for this to happen, “an effective and authentic freedom must be guaranteed,” and artificial forms of “glue” that “bind people to believe, imposing on them a determined belief system and depriving them of the freedom to choose,” cannot be used.

The Pope also condemned the use of “external nails” such as worldliness and the yearning for power and money. God, he said, “cannot be used for personal interests and selfish ends; he cannot be used to justify any form of fundamentalism, imperialism or colonialism.”

He then made a heartfelt appeal for “no more violence in the name of God! May his most holy Name be adored, not profaned or bartered as a commodity through forms of hatred and human opposition.”

Pope Francis traveled to Azerbaijan as the last stop of his three-day trip there and to Georgia, both of which have a small minority of Catholics. Azerbaijan marks the first time the Pope has ever traveled to a majority Shi’ite nation.

The last encounter of the day was an ecumenical meeting that brought together Allahshükür Hummat Pashazade, who as Sheikh and Grand Mufti of the Caucasus is one of the most influential Muslim voices in the world, as well as the local religious leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church and those of the Jewish communities.

In his speech, Francis highlighted the good relations Catholics enjoy with Muslims in the area, pointing to “the tangible help” that the Islamic leader has offered to the Catholic community on several occasions.

He also pointed to the positive relationship between Catholics and Orthodox in the area, as well as the friendship they enjoy with the Jews.

There is a desire within Azerbaijan to protect the religious heritage of each and to pursue greater openness, he said, adding that “it is not opposition but cooperation that helps to build better and more peaceful societies.”

The fraternity sought by the various religions in the area directly opposes those who wish to focus on division or reawaken tensions that come from opposition and differences, he said.

Opening oneself to others “does not lead to impoverishment but rather enrichment, because it enables us to be more human,” he said, adding that it helps all parties to act “with neither abstract idealism nor with interventionism, not by harmful interference or forceful actions, but rather out of respect for the dynamics of history, cultures and religious traditions.”

Religions, he said, have the key task of accompanying people through life, helping them to understand that “the center of each person is outside of himself, that we are oriented toward the Most High and toward the other who is our neighbor.”

Part of this task involves providing authentic answers to those who often find themselves lost among “the swirling contradictions of our time.”

Among these contradictions is a seemingly dominant attitude of nihilism on the part of those who don’t believe in anything “except their own well-being, advantage and profit,” he said.

On the other hand, there is a growing presence of “rigid and fundamentalist” attitudes from “those who, through violent words and deeds, seek to impose extreme and radical attitudes which are furthest from the living God.”

Contrary to these attitudes, religions are called to build and foster “a culture of encounter and peace,” based on mutual understanding and humility. True peace, achieved through prayer and dialogue, is a duty for both Christians and other religious communities, he said.

To be open and hope for the good of others is not a type of “accommodating facile syncretism, nor a diplomatic openness which says yes to everything in order to avoid problems,” the Pope said.

Rather, it is “a path of dialogue with others and a path of prayer for all,” allowing love to rise “where there is hatred, and forgiveness where there is offence, of never growing weary of imploring and tracing the ways of peace.”

“The blood of far too many people cries out to God from the earth,” he said, stressing that in the current global context, “we are challenged to give a response that can no longer be put off: to build together a future of peace.”

“Now is not the time for violent or abrupt solutions, but rather an urgent moment to engage in patient processes of reconciliation,” he said, praying that amid the ongoing “night of conflict” overshadowing the global community, religions would be a sign of peace amid “the devastation of death.”

The Pope prayed that religions, particularly in the Caucasus region, would be “active agents” in overcoming the tragedies and tensions of the past and present.

“The treasures old and ever new of the wisdom, culture and religious sensibility of the people of the Caucasus, are a tremendous resource for the future of the region and especially for European culture,” he said, and prayed that they would always be known and valued.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis green-lights opening of Fr. Jacques Hamel beatification process

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 2, 2016

Fr. Jacques Hamel, who was killed by Islamic State terrorists while saying Mass on July 26, 2016. (CNA)

Rouen, France — The French diocese of Rouen has officially begun an inquiry into the beatification of French priest Jacques Hamel, killed by Islamic extremists earlier this summer, after receiving a note from Pope Francis waiving the traditional five-year waiting period.

Rouen’s Archbishop Dominique Lebrun made the announcement after celebrating a Mass Oct. 2 to re-open the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, where Fr. Hamel was killed by supporters of the Islamic State while saying Mass in July.

Typically there is a five-year waiting period required after the death of a person before a diocese can begin official investigations for the beatification. Though waiving the rule isn’t normal, other modern examples of the exemption are St. Teresa of Calcutta and St. John Paul II.

According to an Oct. 2 statement released by the French Bishops Conference, Archbishop Lebrun was informed by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints that Pope Francis “has dispensed of five year waiting period usually required before starting the official investigation of the beatification.”

In order to thank the Pope for “this exceptional gesture,” Archbishop Lebrun decided to start the process on the day when Fr. Hamel’s parish was re-opened.

To mark the re-opening of Fr. Hamel’s parish, which has been closed since his bloody death July 16, the archbishop held a special Mass that began with a procession from the parish rectory to the front doors of the church, which were re-opened after he offered some brief comments.

The liturgy included the reading of scripture, special prayers and Mass, all of which were focused on themes of forgiveness, reconciliation and peace. The specific rite used for the Mass was the one prayed in cases of desecration and had been adapted for the occasion.

Pope Francis had previously expressed his confidence that Fr. Hamel was a martyr during a Sept. 14 Mass at the Vatican in memory of the priest. Archbishop Lebrun, Fr. Hamel’s sister, and about 80 other pilgrims from Rouen were present.

Archbishop Lebrun, who was Fr. Hamel’s bishop, asked the Pope if he would sign a photograph of the murdered priest for them to take to the three religious sisters who witnessed Fr. Hamel’s murder, but were unable to travel to Rome for the Mass.

The archbishop was surprised when Pope Francis told him to put the photo on the altar before Mass, though. “This struck me,” he said.

“After he greeted everyone, he was signing the photo and told me: you can put this photo in the church because he (Fr. Hamel) is blessed now; and if someone tells you that you have no right, you tell them that the Pope has given you permission,” Archbishop Lebrun related at a news conference.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis: Love those who struggle, but don’t push gender theory on kids

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 2, 2016

Pope Francis prays at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2, 2013. (Elise Harris/CNA)

Aboard the papal plane — On his way back from Georgia and Azerbaijan Pope Francis criticized what he called the “wicked” push of gender theory in schools, but stressed that individuals who struggle with their sexual identity ought to be treated with mercy, as Jesus would do.

“In my life as a priest and bishop, even as Pope, I have accompanied people with homosexual tendencies, I have also met homosexual persons, accompanied them, brought them closer to the Lord … and I have never abandoned them,” the Pope said Oct. 2.

These people must be accompanied in the same way that Jesus would accompany them, he said, noting that Jesus would never tell a person “go away because you are homosexual.”

However, while these people must be shown love, there is a “wickedness which today is done in the indoctrination of gender theory.”

Gender theory or ideology is the idea that one’s ‘gender’ is chosen and need not correspond with one’s biological sex.

Francis recounted how a Catholic father had once told him that as he was sitting at the table with his children, he asked his 10-year-old son what he wanted to be when he grew up. When the son replied “a girl,” he realized his son was being taught gender theory in school.

“This is against the natural things,” he said. “One thing is that a person has this tendency, this condition and even changes their sex, but it’s another thing to teach this in line in schools in order to change the mentality. This is what I call ideological colonization.”

Pope Francis spoke to journalists while on board his Oct. 2 flight from Baku to Rome, bringing an end to his three-day visit to the Caucasus nations of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The 11 questions asked during the in-flight news conference covered a variety of topics in addition to gender theory, such as Vatican relations with China, future trips and topics related to each of the countries he visited.

The question on gender theory was prompted by comments the Pope made in an Oct. 1 audience with priests, religious and pastoral workers, during which he called gender theory “a great enemy of marriage today.”

“Today the whole world is at war trying to destroy marriage,” he said, noting that this war isn’t being fought with arms “but with ideas.” There are “certain ideologies that destroy marriage,” he said. “So we need to defend ourselves from ideological colonization.”

In his answer to the question, which asked how he would accompany a person who genuinely struggled with their sexuality, Francis said people in this condition must never be sent away, but treated with mercy and love.

He recounted the story of youth he met that had been born as a girl, but “suffered so much because he felt he felt like a boy, but was physically a girl.”

After having a surgery to change their sex, the youth met with a bishop “accompanied (this person) a lot. Good bishop,” Francis said, explaining that he had also accompanied this person.

Francis recalled how eventually the man changed his civil identity, got married and asked to meet with him, saying “it would be a consolation to come with his wife, he who was she, but him! I received them: they were happy.”

“Life is life and things must be taken as they come. Sin is sin. And tendencies or hormonal imbalances have many problems and we must be careful not to say that everything is the same,” he said.

The Pope clarified that he’s not saying to go out and “party” with someone struggling in that way, but rather to take each case and accept it, accompany it, study it, discern it and integrate it.

“This is what Jesus would do today,” he said, and asked the journalists not to say that “‘the Pope sanctifies transgenders.’ Please, eh! Because I see the covers of the papers.”

The struggle with one’s sexuality is “a human problem and it must be resolved always can be with the mercy of God,” and with the truth, he said.

Alan Holdren and Andrea Gagliarducci contributed to this report.

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VATICAN NEWS

Full text: Pope Francis’ in-flight press conference from Azerbaijan

by CNA/EWTN News • October 2, 2016

Pope Francis speaks to journalists aboard the papal plane during the flight from Baku to Rome on Oct. 2, 2016. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Aboard the papal plane — During his flight from Baku, Azerbaijan to Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis gave a press conference to the journalists aboard the the papal plane. He reflected on his trip to Georgia and Azerbaijan, marriage and divorce, and homosexuality and gender identity.

He also addressed the next consistory of cardinals, the Nobel Peace Prize, and St. John Paul II.

Please find below the full text of the press conference, translated by Catholic News Agency:

Pope Francis: Good evening and thank you very much for your work and your help. It’s true, it was a short trip, three days, but you have had a lot of work. I am at your disposition and I thank you very much for the work, and ask what you would like.

Greg Burke, Holy See press officer: Thank you, Holy Father. The first question goes to Georgia, the television presenter Ketevan Kardava.

Ketevan Kardava, Georgian Public Broadcaster: Thank you very much. Thank you, Holy Father, for your first trip to Georgia. For me it was very important to cover this visit and to follow your visit in my country. All of us citizens of Georgia are touched by your speech, and especially your photo with the Georgian Patriarch was shared thousands and thousands of times on social media. It was an encouraging visit for our very small Catholic community. After your meeting with the Georgian Patriarch, do you see grounds for future cooperation and constructive dialogue between you and the Orthodox about the doctrine we have? You told us that we have much in common, that what unites us is more than what divides. Thank you very much, I await for your answer.

Pope Francis: I had two surprises in Georgia. One, Georgia: I’ve never imagined so much culture, so much faith, so much Christianity … It is a believing people and an ancient Christian culture! A people of so many martyrs. I discovered something that I didn’t know: the breadth of the Georgian faith. The second surprise was the patriarch: he is a man of God. This man has moved me. I many times have found that I left with the heart and moved and full of the sensitivity of having found a man of God, truly a man of God. And on the things that unite us and separate us, I say: don’t make us discuss things of doctrine, leave this to the theologians. They know better than we do. They discuss, and if they are good, they are good, they have good will, the theologians on one side and the other, (but) what must the people do? Pray for each other, this is important: prayer. And second: do things together. Are there poor? We work together with the poor. There is this and that problem: we can do it together, we do together. Are there migrants? We do things together … we do good things for others, together. This we can do and this is the path of ecumenism. Not only the way of doctrine, this is the last, it comes in last. But we begin to walk together. And with good will we can do this, you MUST do it. Today ecumenism is to be done by walking together, praying for each other, and that theologians continue to talk to each other, to study each other … I do not know … but Georgia is wonderful, it is a land I didn’t expect, a Christian nation, but in the marrow, eh!

Tassilo Forchheimer, ARD/BR-Radio: Holy Father, after speaking with all those who can change Azerbaijan’s terrible history, what needs to happen between Armenia and Azerbaijan, what needs to happen for the arrival of a lasting peace that safeguards human rights? What are the problems and what role might His Holiness have in this?

Pope Francis: I have twice, in two discourses, spoken about this. In the last, I spoke of the role of religions in helping with this. I believe that the one way is dialogue, a sincere dialogue without things held under the table. Sincere and face to face. A sincere negotiation. And if you cannot arrive at this, but have the courage to go to an international tribunal, go to The Hague, for example, and submit to an international judgment. I do not see another path! The other way is war, and war always destroys; with war all is lost. And Christians also pray, pray for peace, because these hearts … this path of dialogue, of negotiation or of going to an international tribunal, but they can’t have problems like this. Think that the three Caucasus nations have problems: Georgia also has a problem with Russia, I don’t know much, but it’s greater … but it has a problem that can grow, it’s an unknown. And Armenia is a nation with open borders, it has problems with Azerbaijan and should go to an international tribunal if dialogue and negotiation is a no-go. There is no other path. And prayer, prayer for peace.

Maria Elena Ribezzo, La Presse: Your Holiness, good evening. Yesterday you spoke of a ‘world war’ going on against marriage and in this war you used very strong words against divorce, you said it dirties the image of God, while in previous months during the synod there was talk of a welcome towards divorced persons. I wanted to know if these approaches are reconciled and how.

Pope Francis: Yes. Everything I said yesterday, with other words, because yesterday I spoke off-the-cuff and a was little hot, are in Amoris laetitia, everything! When speaking of marriage as the union of man and woman as God made it, as an image of God and man and woman, the image of God is not man, it is man with the woman together, they are one flesh when they join in marriage: this is the truth. It is true that in this culture conflicts and many problems are not well managed and even philosophies of today: I do this and when I get tired I do another, then I do a third, then I do a fourth, and this is the ‘world war’ you spoke of against marriage. We must be careful not to let these ideas enter. But first, marriage is the image of God, man and woman, one flesh. When you destroy that, you dirty or disfigure the image of God. Then Amoris laetitia talks about how to deal with these cases, how to treat families’ wounds, and mercy enters there. There is a beautiful prayer of the Church that we prayed last week. It said this: God who so marvelously has created the world and the more marvelously recreated it (i.e., with redemption, with mercy). The wounded marriage, the wounded couple, have to do with mercy. The principle is that, but human weaknesses exist, sins exist, and weakness never has the last word, sin does not have the last word. Mercy has the last word. I like to tell, I do not know if I told you, because I repeat it so much … in the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena - I told you or no? - There is a beautiful capital, but it is more or less from the thirteenth century. Medieval cathedrals were catechesis with sculptures. And in a part of the capital there is Judas hanged with his tongue out and eyes (bulging) out, and on the other side of the capital there is Jesus the Good Shepherd who takes (Judas) and carries him with him. And if you look closely, the face of Jesus, the lips of Jesus are sad on the one hand, but with a small smile of understanding in the other. They understood what mercy is … with Judas, huh! For this Amoris laetitia speaks of marriage, the foundation of marriage, as it is … but then come the problems, how to educate their children … and in Chapter Eight, when the problems come, how do you solve them? Solve it with four criteria: welcome wounded families, accompany, discern each case and integrate and do it again. This would work in a second, in this wonderful recreation that the Lord has made with redemption. And if you take just one side it does not go! Amoris laetitia — I mean — they all go to the eighth chapter. No, no … you have to read from beginning to end. And where is the center? It depends on everyone. For me the center, the core of Amoris laetitia is Chapter IV, serving for the whole life, but you have to read it all and re-read it all and discuss it all. It’s all a collection. But there is sin, there is a break, but there is also mercy, redemption and care. I explained myself well on this, right?

Josh McElwee, National Catholic Reporter: Thank you, Holy Father. In that same speech yesterday in Georgia, you spoke, as in so many other countries about gender theory, saying that it is a great enemy and a threat against marriage. But, I would like to ask you, what would you say to someone who has struggled with their sexuality for years and feels that there is truly a problem of biology, that his aspect doesn’t correspond to what he or she feels is their sexual identity. You, as a pastor and minister, how would you accompany these people?

Pope Francis: First of all: in my life as a priest and bishop, even as Pope, I have accompanied people with homosexual tendencies, I have also met homosexual persons, accompanied them, brought them closer to the Lord, as an apostle, and I have never abandoned them. People must be accompanied as Jesus accompanies them, when a person who has this condition arrives before Jesus, Jesus surely doesn’t tell them ‘go away because you are homosexual.’ What I said is that wickedness which today is done in the indoctrination of gender theory … a French father told me that he was speaking with his children at the table, he and his wife were Catholics, ‘rosewater Catholics,’ but Catholics! And he asked his 10-year-old son: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’- ‘a girl.’ The father realized that at school they were teaching him gender theory, and this is against the natural things. One thing is that a person has this tendency, this condition and even changes their sex, but it’s another thing to teach this in line in schools in order to change the mentality. This is what I call ideological colonization. Last year I received a letter from a Spaniard who told me his story as a child, a young man, he was a girl, a girl who suffered so much because he felt he felt like a boy, but was physically a girl. He told his mother and the mom … (the girl) was around 22 years old said that she would like to do the surgical intervention and all of those things. And the mother said not to do it while she was still alive. She was elderly and she died soon after. She had the surgery and an employee of a ministry in the city of Spain went to the bishop, who accompanied (this person) a lot. Good bishop. I spent time accompanying this man. Then (the man) got married, he changed his civil identity, got married and wrote me a letter saying that for him it would be a consolation to come with his wife, he who was she, but him! I received them: they were happy and in the neighborhood where he lived there was an elderly priest in his 80s, an elderly pastor who left the parish and helped the sisters in the parish. And there was the new (priest). When the new one he would yell from the sidewalk: ‘you’ll go to hell!’ When (the new priest) came across the old one, he would say: ‘How long has it been since you confessed? Come, come, let’s to so that I can confess you and you can receive communion.’ Understood?

Life is life and things must be taken as they come. Sin is sin. And tendencies or hormonal imbalances have many problems and we must be careful not to say that everything is the same. Let’s go party. No, that no, but in every case I accept it, I accompany it, I study it, I discern it and I integrate it. This is what Jesus would do today! Please don’t say: ‘the Pope sanctifies transgenders.’ Please, eh! Because I see the covers of the papers. Is there any doubt as to what I said? I want to be clear! It’s moral problem. It’s a human problem and it must be resolved always can be with the mercy of God, with the truth like we spoke about in the case of marriage by reading all of Amoris laetitia, but always with an open heart. And don’t forget that chapter Vézelay, it’s very beautiful, eh! Very beautiful.

Gianni Cardinale, Avvenire: Two questions, one public and one personal. The personal one, tied to my name: When will you make new cardinals and to what criteria are you aspiring in choosing? And the second, public one, as an Italian: when will you go to meet the earthquake victims and what will be the characteristics of this trip?

Pope Francis: For the second, there are three possible dates that have been proposed. Two are countable and I don’t remember them well but the third I remember well, the first Sunday of Advent. I’ve said that when I return I’ll choose the date. There are three. I need to choose. And I’ll do it privately, alone, as a priest, as a bishop, as Pope, but alone, that’s how I want to do it. I would like to feel, to be close to the people. But I still don’t know how.

About the cardinals. The criteria will be the same as the other two consistories, a little bit of everywhere as the Church is everywhere in the world. Yes, perhaps I am still studying the names … maybe there will be three from one continent and two from another … or one from another part, and another from another. One from one country. But it’s unknown. The list is long but there are only 13 spots. We need to think about how to balance it out. But I’d like to show the universality of the Church in the cardinals’ college, not just the, let’s say, European center. A little bit of everywhere. The 5 continents, if we can.

Cardinale: Is there already a date?

Pope Francis: No, we don’t know. I need to study the list and the date. Then, it could be at the end of the year or the beginning of next year. At the end of the year, there is the problem of the Holy Year, but that can be resolved. Or, it could be at the beginning of next year. But, it will be soon.

Aura Vistas Miguel, Radio Renascenca: Holy Father, good evening. My question is about your schedule for trips outside of Italy, in 3 parts. You said in recent days to Argentinians that your agenda is very full and you even spoke of Africa and Asia. I would like to know which countries. There’s also a colleague her from Colombia who awaits you there, naturally, and I’m from Portugal and there we await you. About Portugal, when will it be, the 12th and 13th, Lisbon and Fatima?

Pope Francis: It’s sure that up until today that I’ll be going to Portugal and I’ll go only to Fatima. Up to today. Because there’s a problem. This Holy Year, the ad limina visits have been suspended. Next year, I have to do this year’s ad limina visits and next year’s. There’s little space for trips.

But I’ll go to Portugal. And India and Bangladesh, almost for certain. In Africa, the place still isn’t sure. Everything depends both on the weather, in which month because if it’s in Northwest Africa it’s one thing, if it’s in the Southeast, it’s another. And it also depends on the political situation, the wars there. But there are possibilities. Think about Africa.

In America, I said that when the peace process comes out, I would like to go. When everything is locked in. When the plebiscite wins. When everything is absolutely certain, when they can’t turn back. That is, when the whole world nationally and internationally are all in agreement that they won’t make recourse. If it’s like that, I could go. But if the thing is unstable, no. Everything depends on what the people say. The people are sovereign. We’re more used to looking at the democratic forms than the sovereignty of the people and both need to go together. For example, a habit has come about in some continents where when he finishes the second term, whoever is in government tries to change the constitution to get a third. This is overestimating of the so-called “democracy” against the sovereignty of the people, which is in the constitution. Everything depends on that. The peace process will be resolved today in part with the voice of the people, which is sovereign. Whatever the people say, I think should be done.

Vistas Miguel: And Fatima will be the 12?

Pope Francis: Until now the 13. But it could be, I don’t know …

Jean-Marie Guenois, Le Figaro: Thank you, Holy Father. A question about the trips, why didn’t you speak in your answer about China? Why are the reasons why you, as Pope, cannot have a ticket for Beijing? Is it a reason internal to the Church in China? Is it an issue between the Church in China and the Chinese government? Or, is the reason an issue between the Vatican and the Chinese government? And, if you allow me, I would like to pose a recent question, because some hours ago Mons. Lebrun, the archbishop of Rouen, announced that you have authorized the commencement of the process of beatification of Fr. Hamel, skipping the regular waiting period of five years. Why this decision? Thanks.

Pope Francis: On the latter, I’ve spoken with Cardinal Amato and we will carry out the studies and he will give the final news. But, the intention is to go on this line, to make the necessary research and to see if there are the motives to do it.

Guenois: He announced that the process has opened.

Pope Francis: No, witness must be sought to open the process. Not losing the witnesses is really important, because the fresh witnesses are those who have seen the people. After a little bit of time, some die, some lose their memory … In Latin, you say “ne perdeat provationem.”

On China, you know the story of China and the Church. The patriotic Church, the underground Church, but we’re working and we’re in good relations. We’re studying and speaking. There are working commissions. I’m an optimist. Now, I believe the Vatican Museums made an exposition in China. The Chinese will make another in the Vatican. There are so many professors that go to attend school in the Chinese universities. So many sisters, so many priests that can work well there. But the relations between the Vatican and China has to be fixed once and we’re speaking about this slowly but slow things always go well. Fast things don’t go well. The Chinese nation has my highest esteem. The day before yesterday, for example, there was a congress - two days, I believe - in the academy of sciences on Laudato Si. And there was a Chinese delegation from the president there too. And the Chinese president sent me a gift. They are good relations.

Guenois: But still no trip?

Pope Francis: I would like to but I don’t think so yet.

Juan Vicente Boo, ABC: Thank you, Holy Father. In the Spanish language group we have seen that the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Oct. 7. There are more than 300 nominations. An example: the people of Lesbos for what they have done in favor of the refugees or the white helmets of Syria, these volunteers who pull people out of the rubble after bombings - they have pulled 60,000 people out at the price of 130 of their own lives … or even President Santos of Colombia and the commander of the FARC, Timochenko, who signed the peace accord … and many others. Now the question: who is your preferred candidate and which are the people or organizations who merit (the award) due to the work they do?

Pope Francis: There are a lot of people who live to make war, to sell arms, to kill … there are many … but there are also many people who work for peace … many, many, many. I wouldn’t know which. To choose among so many people who today work for peace is very difficult. You mentioned some groups and there are more. But it seems there is always a restlessness in giving the peace prize. I with that also on an international level, leaving the Nobel Peace Prize aside, there would be a remembrance, a recognition, a declaration on the children, the disabled, the minors who have died under the bombs. I believe that is a sin, it’s a sin against Jesus Christ, but humanity needs to say something about the victims of war. For those who make peace, Jesus has said they are blessed in the beatitudes, the workers of peace. But the victims of war: we must say something and become aware. That they throw the children in a hospital and then a bomb and they die, 30-40 in a school … and this is a tragedy of our days. Thank you.

John Jeremiah Sullivan, New York Times Magazine: Holy Father, as you know the United States is nearing the end of a long presidential campaign that has been very ugly and has received much attention in the world. Many American Catholics and people of conscience are struggling with how to choose between two candidates, one of whom diverts from some aspects of the Church’s teaching and the other of whom has made statements vilifying immigrants and religious minorities. How would you counsel the faithful in America and what wisdom would you have them keep in mind next month when the election occurs?

Pope Francis: You pose me a question where you describe a difficult choice, because, according to you, you have difficulty in one and you have difficulty in the other. In electoral campaigns, I never say a word. The people are sovereign. I’ll just say a word: Study the proposals well, pray and choose in conscience. Then, I’ll leave the issue and I speak of a fiction, because I don’t want to speak to this concrete issue. When it happens that in whatever country here are 2, 3, 4 candidates that no one likes, that means that the political life of the nation perhaps is too politicized but perhaps it doesn’t have that much politics. And,one of the jobs of the church, also in the teaching in the (university) faculties, is teaching to have political culture. There are nations, and I’m thinking of Latin America, which are too politicized. But, they don’t have political culture. They are from this party, or this one or this one. Effectively, (they are) without a clear thought on the foundations, the proposals.

Burke: Thank you Holy Father. And now there is Caroline Pigozzi. Here we are …

Caroline Pigozzi, Paris Match: Holiness, good evening. I couldn’t ask this question before. The testimony of the story is more important than the will of a Pope according to you. Let me explain: Pope Wojtyla left in his will that all of his most important documents and many letters would be burned, but were later put into a book. It means that the will of a Pope was perhaps not respected. I want to know what you think. And then, the second question is easier and I would like to know by what miracle you, who extend your hand to so many people every week, still don’t have tendonitis: how do you do it? President Chirac shakes hands, he puts on a band-aid …

Pope Francis: Ah yes? I still don’t have it, I don’t feel tendonitis … and first you say the Pope who sends documents to be burned, letters … but this is the right of every man and every woman, they have the right to do it before their death …

Pigozzi: But Pope Wojtyla wasn’t respected …

Pope Francis: Whoever didn’t respect, whoever is guilty I don’t know. I don’t know the case well. But each person, when someone says, ‘this must be destroyed,’ is because it’s something concrete … but perhaps there is a copy in another area and he didn’t know that and … but it’s the right of each person to make a will as he wishes

Pigozzi: Also the Pope, but he was not respected …

Pope Francis: But many people are respected in their will …

Pigozzi: Yes, but the Pope is more important …

Pope Francis: No, the Pope is a sinner like others …

Burke: The Pope said there is space for another question, but there is no one else on my list and I would like to say that today you have responded to a question: why make these trips to places where there are very few Catholics? We liked (the answer), and we don’t think it’s a waste of your time. We make these short and intense trips, but if you want to make a long relaxing trip we can do it …

Pope Francis: This was asked of me after the first trip, it was in Albania: “Why did you choose to go to Albania for your first European trip, a nation that isn’t in the European Union?” Then, I went to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is not in the European Union. The first nation of the European Union I went to was Greece, the island of Lesbos. It was the first. Why make trip to these countries? But these three are the Caucasus, these three, the three presidents came to the Vatican to invite me, and strongly. All three have a different religious attitude: the Armenians are proud of - this without offending, eh - proud of the Armenianism. And, they have a history and they are Christians in their great majority, but almost all of them … Apostolic Christians, Catholic Christians and a few Evangelical Christians … few! Georgia is a Christian nation, totally Christian, but Orthodox. The Catholics are few. But just a bit, but they are Orthodox. On the other hand, Azerbaijan is a nation which I believe is 96-97 percent Muslim. I don’t know how many inhabitants it has because I said 2 million but I think it’s 20, right? Around 10. Around 10. Around 10 million. The Catholics are 600 at the most, very few. And why go there? For the Catholics, to go out to the periphery of a Catholic community, which is precisely in the periphery, which is small and today at Mass I told them that they reminded me of the peripheral community of Jerusalem closed in the cenacle, awaiting the Holy Spirit, waiting to be able to grow, to go out … it’s small … it’s not persecuted, no! Because in Azerbaijan there is a great religious respect, a great religious liberty … This is true. I said it today in the speech. And also these three countries are peripheral countries, like Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and I’ve told you: reality is understood better and is seen better from the peripheries than from the center. And that’s why I choose there. But this doesn’t take away the possibility of going to some great country like Portugal, France, I don’t know. We’ll see …

Thanks so much for your work and now rest up a bit and have a good dinner … and pray for me!

Burke: Thanks, Holiness.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope makes surprise visit to Amatrice to pray for earthquake victims

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 4, 2016

Pope Francis prays at the red zone in Amatrice during a private visit on Oct. 4, 2016 to those affected by a massive earthquake in August. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Amatrice, Italy — On Tuesday Pope Francis made an unannounced private visit to the small Italian city of Amatrice to offer support areas devastated by a massive earthquake in August, where he offered a message of comfort and hope.

“I let a bit of time pass, so that some things could be repaired such as the school, but from the first moment I felt that I had to come to you. Simply for nothing more than to pray. I pray for you,” the Pope said during his Oct. 4 visit.

He said that “closeness and prayer” were the offering he brought, and prayed that the Lord would bless those affected, and that the Virgin Mary would “comfort you in this moment of sadness, pain and trial.”

“Go forward, there is always a future, there are many loved ones who have left us. They have fallen here, let us pray to the Virgin for them. Let us do it together.”

After arriving to Amatrice at 9:10 in the morning, the Pope, accompanied by Rieti’s Bishop Domenico Pompili, went directly to the city’s school, where he offered his brief words, comforted survivors and asked the children to join him in praying the Hail Mary.

He later visited the “red zone” of the city, which is where the majority of the destruction took place and is closed off due to reasons of security. Piles of rubble that have yet to be cleared away and half-destroyed buildings are still visible.

The Pope later went to the “San Raffaele Borona” assisted living home in Rieti, where he greeted 60 patients - most of whom are elderly who lost their homes in the earthquake - one by one, and ate lunch with them.

After spending nearly two hours there, the Pope made a brief stop at the Command of the Fire Brigade in Cittareale, which serves as the base camp for the earthquake zone.

He then traveled to Accumoli, another of the cities hardest hit, where he greeted different groups of people, including the mayor, and prayed in front of the church of St. Francis, which was destroyed by the quake.

From there he went to Pescara del Tronto, making three brief stops along the way to greet small groups of people. He was accompanied by the Bishop of Ascoli Piceno, Giovanni D’Ercole, who then accompanied the Pope to the nearby town of Arquata del Tronto, arriving shortly before 2p.m.

The Pope was accompanied by the Bishop of Ascoli Piceno, Giovanni D’Ercole

In Arquata del Tronto, Pope Francis he greeted more than 100 people, speaking breifly to them and praying with them before visiting a school that has been set up in the tent camps.

Francis told the people that he carries them in his heart, and knows of their “suffering and your anguish.”

“I also know of your deaths and I am with you and because of this I wanted to be here,” he said, and led the group in praying a Hail Mary for both the survivors, and those who “went to heaven.”

“Have courage, always go forward, always forward,” he said, adding that “times will change and you will be able to move forward. I am close to you, I am with you.”

On Sunday while on board his return flight from Baku, Azerbaijan to Rome, Pope Francis said that three dates had been proposed to him, and that while he didn’t remember the first two, one was the first Sunday of Advent, and that he needed “to choose” the date he wanted to go.

Regardless of the day, Francis said he wanted to make the visit “privately, alone, as a priest, as a bishop, as Pope, but alone, that’s how I want to do it. I would like to be close to the people.”

Close to 300 people were killed when a 6.2-magnitude quake hit the town of Norcia Aug. 24, at 3:36a.m. with several strong aftershocks following. Out of those who died, more than 230 were from Amatrice.

At one point after the initial quake, the mayor of Amatrice, one of the worst-hit areas, said “the town is gone.”

The day of the earthquake Pope Francis was scheduled to hold his weekly general audience, however, instead of giving his usual catechesis, he put the speech aside and led those present in praying a rosary for the victims of the earthquake.

In his Aug. 28 Angelus address, the Pope expressed his “spiritual closeness to the inhabitants of Lazio, delle Marche and Umbria, which have been greatly affected by the recent earthquake.”

He offered special closeness to the people of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata and Pescara del Tronto and Norcia, telling them that “the Church shares their suffering and their concern.”

Rumors have circulated in the media saying that Pope Francis could stop in Assisi while on his way back to the Vatican to mark the Oct. 4 feast his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, but it has yet to be confirmed.

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VATICAN NEWS

The Pope’s latest prayer intention? That journalists be truthful

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 4, 2016

Pope Francis in his Oct. 4, 2016 prayer video. (CTV/YouTube)

Vatican City — In his latest prayer video Pope Francis dedicates the month of October to praying for journalists – specifically that their work would always be motivated by strong ethics and respect for the truth.

The video, released Oct. 4, opens showing scenes of a television studio, recording studio, writing desks and satellites, which flash across the screen as the Pope speaks.

Addressing viewers in his native Spanish, the Pope says he often wonders, “How can media be put to the service of a culture of encounter?”

“We need information leading to a commitment for the common good of humanity and the planet,” he said, and, as the faces of different journalists around the Vatican flashed across the screen, asked if viewers would join him in praying for those who work in the field of communication.

Specifically, he prayed “that journalists, in carrying out their work, may always be motivated by respect for the truth and a strong sense of ethics.”

The video closes with the Pope asking viewers if they can help him with the request, a question to which the journalists featured each respond one by one saying, “yes.”

Among the journalists featured in the video is Alvaro de Juana, a Rome correspondent for CNA’s sister-agency ACI Prensa. Originally from Spain, he has been working as a journalist for 12 years.

In comments to CNA, de Juana said having strong ethics and a high respect for the truth are always important, but moreover carry special weight in today’s society.

“For years there has been talk of an economic crisis, but the Church and concretely Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have said on many occasions that there is also a crisis of values,” he noted.

Within this crisis, “ethics and morality have been forgotten and have been discarded in many environments and in important questions,” de Juana said, explaining that because of this, a journalist “has the duty to respect ethics and morality.”

“There is no journalism without ethics,” he said, explaining that if ethics were removed from the equation, “it would be to dirty and undermine this profession that has the truth as its foundation.”

Communication also plays a fundamental role in evangelization, he said, noting that “the Church is universal and we could say that communication is, too.”

Christ used words and actions to make God’s love known to the people, and in doing so communicated, de Juana said, adding that communication is “a very important instrument” that can be used to reach those far from the Church.

When asked how journalists themselves can collaborate with the Pope in helping to ensure his prayer is answered, de Juana said the answer is simply “being faithful to this principle of the truth” and by carrying out one’s work with the conviction that “not everything goes.”

“The Pope asks that all journalists and people who work in communication to be faithful to these principals,” regardless of whether or not they are Catholic or not.

The theme Pope Francis chose for 2017’s World Day of Communications was released late last month, and is titled “‘Fear not, for I am with you’ (Is 43:5): Communicating hope and trust in our time.”

In the communique published alongside the theme, the Vatican’s Secretariat for Communications said the theme was “an invitation to tell the history of the world and the histories of men and women in accordance with the logic of the ‘good news.’”

Shortly before the announcement of the theme, Pope Francis had a Sept. 22 audience with journalists, during which he reflected on the importance of respect for human dignity, telling them that their profession can never be used as a destructive weapon, nor should it be used to nourish fear.

“Certainly criticism is legitimate, and, I would add, necessary, just as is the denunciation of evil, but this must always be done respecting the other, his life and his affect. Journalism cannot become a ‘weapon of destruction’ of persons or even nations,” the Pope said at the Vatican’s Clementine Hall.

“Neither must it nourish fear in front of changes or phenomena such as migration forced by war or by hunger,” he said.

An initiative of the Jesuit-run global prayer network Apostleship of Prayer, the Pope’s prayer videos are filmed in collaboration with the Vatican Television Center and mark the first time the Roman Pontiff’s monthly prayer intentions have been featured on video.

The Apostleship of Prayer, which produces the monthly videos on the Pope’s intentions, was founded by Jesuit seminarians in France in 1884 to encourage Christians to serve God and others through prayer, particularly for the needs of the Church.

Since the late 1800s, the organization has received a monthly, “universal” intention from the Pope. In 1929, an additional missionary intention was added by the Holy Father, aimed at the faithful in particular.

While there are two intentions, the prayer videos are centered on the first, universal intention.

His intentions this year have so far focused on themes he speaks out about frequently, such as interreligious dialogue, care for creation, families in hardship, the elderly and marginalized, and respect for women.

Francis’ prayer intentions for the rest of the year are listed on the organization’s website and center on other themes close to Francis’ heart, such as prayers for countries receiving migrants and refugees, and an end to child-soldiers.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis and China – attempts for a thaw?

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • October 5, 2016

Pope Francis waves at pilgrims from China at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 7, 2016. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — Improved Holy See relations with China are a major effort of this papacy, with an ongoing focus on disputes appointment of bishops and diplomatic recognition of neighboring Taiwan.

But environmental issues may be the roundabout back way to a better future.

The Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace organized a Sept. 28 consultation on Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on care for creation, “Laudato Si,” and the upcoming United Nations Climate Change conference known as COP22.

Delegations came from all over the world to the Vatican event, including one from China. Pope Francis made an appearance and praised the work on “such a hot issue,” one attendee told CNA. He and warmly greeted all the delegations, including the Chinese one.

Pope Francis’ greeting to a Chinese delegation – albeit not a governmental one – may be meaningful, and some observers considered it another tipoff about the diplomatic work the Holy See is carrying forward to thaw relations between China and the Holy See.

The meeting had been scheduled long time ago, and prepared in secret so that the Pope could speak to China in an informal context.

For its part, the Holy See is attentively looking at the development and implementation of the previous U.N. agreement on climate change. The guidelines of the Holy See’s commitment on environmental issues were given in the Pope’s encyclical “Laudato Si.”

The climate change debate has been identified by Holy See diplomacy as one of many tools to establish relations with difficult states. Climate change is a hot issue, but it does not involve more complex issues like religious freedom.

This may be the reason why the Pontifical Academy for Sciences and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace invited officials of the China-based Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation to the joint consultation.

The Chinese foundation was founded in 1985. Its founder, Lu Zhengcao, was one of the leading generals of the People Revolution’s Army in crucial years of the Communist expansion through China.

Ever since the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, the Holy See has had a reduced diplomatic presence in Beijing. The nunciature was moved to Taiwan in 1951.

China-Vatican relations have been cool, with some apparent thaws. Benedict XVI wrote a letter to Catholics in China in 2007, after which followed a series of bishops’ appointments approved both by the Chinese government and the Holy See. Now, Holy See authorities are working to formalize an agreement for the appointment of bishops with China.

The Church in China is in a difficult situation. The government of the Chinese People’s Republic never recognized the Holy See’s authority to appoint bishops. Instead, it established the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, a sort of ecclesiastical hierarchy officially recognized by the Chinese authorities.

For this reason, Chinese bishops recognized by the Holy See entered a clandestine state, thus giving life to the so called “underground Church” that is not recognized by the government.

After difficult years, the Holy See and Beijing may have reached an agreement. Under the reputed plan, a set of three possible bishops will be presented by the Chinese Bishops Conference to the Pope, who has the final decision and even the possibility of vetoing candidates. The Chinese Bishops Conference can also seek some external opinion in their choice of bishop candidates, included the government’s opinion.

As a matter of fact, the Chinese Bishops Conference itself is a fictitious institution, composed by members of the government-backed Patriotic Association. In the end, the agreement might be seen as a possibility for the Chinese government to present candidates they like to the Vatican.

The possible plan is not without critics.

Cardinal Joseph Zen Zekiung, archbishop emeritus of Hong Kong, disapproved of such an agreement. In a long open letter, he lamented that nothing would change in terms of religious freedom in China. He expressed his concern that this path would be a return of the “Ostpolitik,” the Cold War policy put into action under Pope Paul VI by the Holy See. The Vatican made reciprocal concessions with countries on the other side of Europe’s Iron Curtain in order to guarantee a peaceful life to Christians in the countries under Soviet communist domination.

Cardinal John Tong Hon, Cardinal Zen’s successor as Archbishop of Hong Kong, responded to Cardinal Zen. He specified that final choice on a bishop’s appointment was always the Pope’s. He highlighted the fact that papal nuncios themselves can seek opinions from external lay people when they are examining candidates for the episcopate.

According to the veteran Vatican watcher Sandro Magister, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has confirmed that negotiations are in an advanced stage. The cardinal confirmed this to the apostolic nuncios who were in in Rome Sept. 16-18 to celebrate their jubilee.

Cardinal Parolin reportedly explained that the dialogue with China only concerns the appointment of bishops, and does not deal with the possibility of re-establishing diplomatic ties.

Though time is needed for renewed diplomatic ties, the Holy See has silently showed its goodwill in not yet appointing a high level representative to lead the nunciature to China in Taiwan. The post has been vacant since the last chargée d’affairs, Msgr. Paul Fitzpatrick Russell, was named nuncio to Turkey and Turkmenistan in March 2016.

On the one hand, the Holy See has no wish to break ties with Taiwan, which is the condition mainland China requires in order to open a diplomatic dialogue with the Holy See. To mainland China, Taiwan is no more than a rebel province.

Taiwan too is an actor in the diplomatic scene. Its vice president Chen Chien-jen had a private meeting with Pope Francis Sept. 4, after Mother Teresa’s canonization.

On the other hand, the Holy See wants to close the dispute about bishops. According to Magister, Cardinal Parolin explained that Msgr. Antoine Camilleri and Msgr. Tadeusz Wojda, respectively Vatican vice-minister for foreign affairs and the number three official of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, are employed in the dialogue. Even China is employing mid-rank officials for the task.

Will these talks be enough to heal the wound between the so-called “Official Church” and the “underground Church”?

According to the Vatican Year Book, there are 30 underground bishops out of 100 bishops in China. The other 70 bishops were either illegitimately ordained and later reconciled with Rome or were ordained with the twofold approval of Rome and Beijing.

There are another eight Bishops whose ordination is not recognized by Rome, and for this reason they are also excommunicated. This situation is particularly tricky.

Evidence that the Holy See is not keen for concessions on this point is shown in its behavior after the recent death of Bishop Vincent Zhu Weifang of Whenzou. Whenzou is the city were crosses were torn down after an order of Chinese officials, who targeted both unofficial house churches and government-approved churches starting in 2014.

Bishop Zhu was one of the first to take the streets to protest against the decision. He could publicly show his discontent because he enjoyed a huge popular backing. Whenzou has 100,000 residents who are members of the government-recognized Catholic Patriotic Association churches and another 50,000 Catholics from the “underground Church.”

The Holy See took into account this strong showing of the underground Church.

Bishop Zhu endured forced labor for 23 years before he was ordained a bishop in 2009. He was later recognized by the government in 2010. After Bishop Zhu had been recognized by the Chinese government, the Holy See appointed Peter Shao Zhumin, part of the underground Church, as coadjutor Bishop of Whenzhou with the right of succession.

Bishop Shao was taken into custody by the Chinese authorities. The priest Ma Xianshi was appointed by the Chinese government as the leader of the official Church in the Diocese of Wenzhou – a move that identified the priest as the government’s preferred candidate to succeed Bishop Zhu.

Recently, the Chinese government issued a new draft of a regulation for religious activities in China. The new draft would impose stricter penalties against “illegal religious activities” depending “on a foreign country,” which is how the Catholic Church is classified in China.

These are the most important hurdles the Holy See faces in establishing new relations with China. Because of these hurdles, Holy See diplomacy is working step by step: the first step is to solve the issue of bishops’ appointments, then tackle diplomatic relations later, when the situation has settled down.

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VATICAN NEWS

The Church must be close to Caucasus nations, Pope Francis says

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • October 5, 2016

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims during his June 15, 2016 General Audience in St. Peter’s Square. (Daniel Ibañez/CNA)

Vatican City — On Wednesday Pope Francis gave a recap of his recent trip to Georgia and Azerbaijan, noting how this year both nations will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their independence from the Soviet regime.

“Both of these countries have very ancient historic, cultural and religious roots, but at the same time are living a new phase,” the Pope said Oct. 5, noting that for “a good part of the 20th century” they were both under the Soviet regime.

However, although both have been independent for 25 years, “at this stage these countries meet various difficulties in different spheres of social life,” he said, explaining that the Church “is called to be present and to be close, especially in the name of charity and human promotion.”

Pope Francis spoke during his weekly general audience, just days after returning from his Sept. 30-Oct. 2 papal visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan. The trip was seen as a continuation and completion of his visit to Armenia in June.

By visiting Georgia and Azerbaijan, “I could – thanks to God – realize the project of visiting all of these Caucasus nations, to confirm the Catholic Church that lives in them and to encourage the journey of these populations toward peace and brotherhood,” he said.

Francis’ words come as both Georgia and Azerbaijan are in conflicts with other countries. While Azerbaijan currently maintains tense relations with Armenia, Georgia is widely affected by the Russian occupation of the partially-recognized states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since the Russo-Georgian War of 2008.

According to the news agency Aljazeera, although Abkhazia and South Ossetia declared their own independence from Georgia soon after the war, only a few nations, including Russia, recognize it. The majority of the international community, including the United States and the European Union, consider the territories to be occupied, and have condemned Russia’s military presence.

The Pope stressed the importance of interreligious collaboration, saying that while accompanying these nations amid their current difficulties, the Church must always seek to do so “in communion with the other Churches and Christian communities, and in dialogue with other religious communities, in the certainty that God is the Father of all and that we are all brothers and sisters.”

Recalling his visit to Georgia, the Pope noted how the Church’s mission in the country “passes naturally through collaboration with our Orthodox brothers, who form the vast majority of the population.”

“So it was a very important sign that when I arrived at Tbilisi, to receive me at the airport I found, together with the President of the Republic, also the venerable Patriarch Ilia II,” the Pope said, adding that “the meeting with him that afternoon, it was moving.”

In Georgia, there is tension between the Georgian Orthodox Church – an Eastern Orthodox Church to which more than 80 percent of Georgians adhere – and the Roman Catholic Church, which constitutes only one percent of Georgia’s population.

The Georgian Orthodox Church, while not an established national religion, is considered part of the national identity; and the Georgian constitution does acknowledge Georgian Orthodoxy’s special role in the nation.

Fr. Akaki Chelidze, a Camillian Father who serves as chancellor of the Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus, told CNA that the Orthodox Church in Georgia has always considered itself the “necessary glue to keep the nation together.”

And this is probably why it considers other religious denominations as “rivals, or even obstacles, for the unity of the country.”

In Georgia, Pope Francis also said Mass for Latin Catholics, Armenians and Assyrian-Chaldeans on the feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, the patroness of Missions.

St. Therese, he said, serves as a reminder “that the real mission is never proselytism, but attraction to Christ from a strong union with Him in prayer, adoration and concrete charity, which is service to Jesus present in the least of our brothers.”

The Pope said the religious men and women he met in Tbilisi, Georgia as well as in Baku, Azerbaijan all exemplified “prayer and charitable and promotional works.”

“I encouraged them to be steadfast in the faith, with memory, courage and hope,” he said. “And then there are the Christian families: how precious it is, their present reception, accompaniment, discernment and integration into the community!”

While visiting the Patriarchal Cathedral in Georgia, Francis prayed for peace in Syria, Iraq and throughout the Middle East with the Assyrian-Chaldeans, who are one of the most persecuted communities there.

“This style of evangelical presence as the seed of the Kingdom of God is, if anything, even more necessary in Azerbaijan,” Pope Francis said, “where the majority of the population are Muslims and Catholics are a few hundred.”

Thankfully the Catholics in Azerbaijan have a good relationship with everyone, in particular Orthodox Christians, the Pope noted.

He said that in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, there were two moments of faith that showed a proper balance of prayer and ecumenism: the celebration of the Eucharist in the Holy Mass and an inter-religious meeting.

“In this perspective, addressing myself to the Azerbaijani authorities, I hope that the open questions can find good solutions and all Caucasian peoples may live in peace and in mutual respect,” the Pope said.

“The Eucharist with the Catholic community, where the Spirit harmonizes the different languages and gives strength to the witness,” he said, adding that this communion in Christ “does not impede” relations, but “in fact pushes one to try to meet and have a dialogue with all those who believe in God, to jointly build a more just and fraternal world.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Who benefits from sports? Everyone, Pope Francis says

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • October 5, 2016

Pope Francis holds a soccer ball in St. Peter’s Square during the Wednesday General Audience on Aug. 26, 2015. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Vatican City — The beauty and joy found in sports, whether playing or watching, is something that benefits and unites everyone, regardless of religion, ethnic group, nationality, or disability, Pope Francis said Wednesday.

“Sport is a human activity of great value, able to enrich people’s lives,” he said Oct. 5. “As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, she is working in the world of sport to bring the joy of the Gospel, the inclusive and unconditional love of God for all human beings.”

Pope Francis spoke at the Opening Ceremony of a conference called “Sport at the Service of Humanity.” Taking place at the Vatican Oct. 5-7, the conference, which includes 150 leaders from the world of sport, faith, business and civil society, aims to establish the principles for “a new movement” in sports.

Alongside other global institutions such as the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee, German-based insurance carrier Allianz has partnered with the Pontifical Council for Culture to put on the conference.

According to the official website for the conference, the initial inspiration came from the desire to explore the interconnectedness of faith and sport, as well as the “scope and limit” of the combination.

When we see athletes give their all, sports fill us with enthusiasm and make us feel proud, the Pope said. “There is great beauty in the harmony of certain movements and in the power of teamwork,” he noted.

“When it is like this, sport transcends the level of pure physicality and takes us into the arena of the spirit and even of mystery. And these moments are accompanied by great joy and satisfaction, which we all can share, even those not competing.”

Pointing out the recent attention given to the Olympic and Paralympic Games by the whole world, Francis noted how these are an opportunity to “develop the talents that God has given us.”

According to Vatican Radio’s Chris Altieri, who is handling media for the conference, leaders and organizers share one common conviction: “that sport helps people become their best selves, and that a healthy sporting culture helps build strong communities.”

The conference, then, seeks to give “robust expression to that vision” by bringing together athletes from all levels of sport alongside leaders from different faith, business, political, academic, policy and cultural communities, he told CNA July 14.

The shape the conference is taking, he said, is designed to encourage participants to share best practices which can then be presented to the broader public “in a helpful manner: to help build a sporting culture that is capable of responding to the needs of today’s society.”

An important characteristic of sport, the Pope said, is that it is not just for professional athletes, but for everyone: for pleasure, for recreation, for improving health, as well as for learning how to be part of a team, and how to win and lose graciously.

“This is why it is important to participate in sporting activities, and I am happy that at the center of your reflections these days there is the commitment to ensure that sport is always more inclusive and that its benefits are truly accessible to all,” he said.

The Paralympic movement and other sporting groups which support those with disabilities, the Pope said, have a “decisive role in helping the public recognize and admire the extraordinary performances of athletes with different abilities and capacities.”

This courageous commitment to the value of inclusion coincides well with the many religious traditions’ commitment to ensuring “respect for the dignity of every human being,” Francis said.

Never forgetting those on the peripheries, the Pope mentioned the many children and youth living “at the edges of society,” and the enthusiasm with which they play sports such as soccer, even with a “rugged old deflated ball” in the streets of cities or small towns.

“I wish to encourage all of you – institutions, sporting societies, educational and social organizations, religious communities – to work together to ensure these children can take up sport in circumstances of dignity,” he said, “especially those who are excluded due to poverty.”

Another challenge facing those in charge of sporting events, the Pope concluded, is keeping sports free from commercial abuse and manipulation.

“It would be sad for sport and for humanity if people were unable to trust in the truth of sporting results, or if cynicism and disenchantment were to drown out enthusiasm or joyful and disinterested participation.”

“In sport, as in life, competing for the result is important, but playing well and fairly is even more important!” he exclaimed.

“When people strive to create a society that is fairer and transparent, they collaborate with the work of God. We too, responsible for different religious communities, wish to offer our contribution for that commitment.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Despite hiccups, Pope Francis and Welby committed to unity

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 6, 2016

Pope Francis and Anglican Primate Archbishop Justin Welby walk into the church of San Gregorio al Cielo to pray First Vepsers together on Oct. 5, 2016. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Vatican City — Pope Francis and Anglican Primate Archbishop Welby have signed a joint-declaration emphasizing that while topics such as homosexuality and the ordination of women still constitute points of division, they are committed to working together in their pursuit of full unity.

“The declaration is a forward-looking commitment to doing everything we can together, and continuing to struggle without fear, but with determination for the things that divide us,” Archbishop Welby told CNA Oct. 5.

He said he doesn’t know if Catholics and Anglicans are closer to full unity than they were 50 years ago, but stated simply that “we are where we are.”

One thing that is certain, he said, is that “we serve the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, which means we are always full of hope.”

The archbishop and Pope Francis met to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the landmark encounter between Bl. Paul VI and Michael Ramsey, as well as the institution of the Anglican Center of Rome.

In 1966 Bl. Pope Paul VI met with Dr. Michael Ramsey, who was Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, at the Roman Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

Until 1960, when St. John XXIII met with Geoffrey Fisher in a private encounter, there had been no meeting between a Pope and an Archbishop of Canterbury since King Henry VIII broke with Rome in 1534.

The meeting between Paul VI and Ramsey, however, was the first public meeting that had taken place.

This meeting and declaration led to the eventual creation of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (Arcic), which was responsible for theological dialogue between the two churches. It also marked the opening of the Anglican Centre in Rome, which serves as not only the headquarters of Rome’s Anglican community, but also as a center committed to advancing dialogue between the two Churches.

The current director of the Anglican Center, Archbishop David Moxon, serves as Welby’s personal Representative to the Holy See.

Pope Francis and Archbishop Welby prayed First Vespers together in the historic Roman church of San Gregorio al Cielo Oct. 5, during which they signed their own joint-declaration and commissioned 19 pairs of Catholic and Anglican bishops, who will symbolically serve together throughout the world.

It was from San Gregorio that Pope Gregory the Great sent the monk Augustine with 40 companions to evangelize Britain in 597. Because of its historic roots, Anglicans widely consider the church to be their “motherhouse.”

In their joint-declaration, Welby and Pope Francis recognized that both Catholics and Anglicans “are heirs of the treasure of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the call to share that treasure with the whole world.”

They noted that since that first public meeting in 1966, “much progress” has been made in terms of overcoming the obstacles that stand in the way of unity.

However, the modern times have led to new hiccups in the process, particularly surrounding the topics of the ordination of women and “more recent questions regarding human sexuality.”

“Behind these differences lies a perennial question about how authority is exercised in the Christian community,” the declaration read, recognizing that these concerns constitute “serious obstacles to our full unity.”

Yet while solutions to these questions remain in question, Francis and Welby said they are “undeterred” in their quest for unity.

These differences “cannot prevent us from recognizing one another as brothers and sisters in Christ by reason of our common baptism,” nor should they “hold us back” from discovering the faith and holiness of each other’s traditions, they said.

Neither should differences get in the way of common prayer, the prelates cautioned, and urged their respective clergy and faithful “not to neglect or undervalue that certain yet imperfect communion that we already share.”

A shared faith and joy in the Gospel are stronger than the differences, they said, stressing that “the world must see us witnessing to this common faith in Jesus by acting together.”

Common points of collaboration mentioned include working together to protect creation and promote “a sustainable and integral development for the good of all, and to uphold the dignity of the human being in all states and stages of life.

Centuries of painful separation have been “partially healed by 50 years of friendship,” they said, adding that “we have become partners and companions on our pilgrim journey.”

As fellow Christians, the Churches are facing the same difficulties, while also strengthening each other “by learning to value the gifts which God has given to the other, and to receive them as our own in humility and gratitude.”

The two prelates made reference to the 19 pairs of Catholic and Anglican bishops commissioned during the Vespers ceremony, praying that their ecumenical mission would be “a witness to all of us.”

“Let the message go out from this holy place, as the Good News was sent out so many centuries ago, that Catholics and Anglicans will work together to give voice to our common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to bring relief to the suffering, to bring peace where there is conflict, to bring dignity where it is denied and trampled upon.”

The two exchanged gifts at the close of the ceremony. Pope Francis gifted Archbishop Welby a replica of the hook-like head of the crozier of St. Gregory, while the archbishop in a strong show of unity took his pectoral cross made out of nails from the roof of the Anglican Coventry Cathedral and gave it as a gift to Pope Francis, who kissed it.

Both Pope Francis and Archbishop Welby gave homilies during Vespers, which was prayed in Latin. The prelates both emphasized that while their traditions might be different, a shared baptism and commitment to spreading the Gospel unites them.

Pope Francis in his homily prayed that the encounter would give rise to “a renewed impetus toward communion and mission,” while Welby, for his part, noted that while it might be tempting to look back, the prophets “compel us to look forward … we cannot be bad shepherds.”

In a follow-up to Vespers and the signing of the declaration, two met privately at the Vatican Oct. 6. Archbishop Welby has already met with Pope Francis twice in the Vatican, the first time being June 14, 2013, and the second June 16, 2014. Welby was also a special guest at the World Day of Prayer for Peace held in Assisi Sept. 18-20.

In his brief speech during the meeting, Pope Francis focused on the importance of prayer, witness and mission between the two Churches.

“Let us never grow tired of asking the Lord together and insistently for the gift of unity,” he said, stressing that “ecumenism is never an impoverishment, but a richness.”

“Now is the time in which the Lord challenges us, in a particular way, to go out from ourselves and our own environs, in order to bring his merciful love to a world thirsting for peace,” he said, and encouraged members of both confessions to help one another “to keep at the center the demands of the Gospel and to spend ourselves concretely in this mission.”

In his own speech, Welby thanked the Pope for his “leadership and example” given throughout the world, particularly when it comes to care for the poor, the enslaved, those suffering from human trafficking as well as care for the environment.

However, despite the mutual concern for these and other threats to modern society, the lack of full unity between the Catholic and Anglican Churches “grieves” God and damages “every aspect of our lives in Christ.”

Yet it is Christ who “breaks down divisions,” he said, and noted that despite the things that divide them, the Churches are “publicly determined to press forward where we may, together with all other Christians.”

“Jesus has gone before us. He calls us to be courageous. Let us walk closer together so the world sees new life and energy in the Church’s worship, mission and witness.”

At the beginning of the meeting, Welby jested with the Pope, saying “What’s the difference between a terrorist and a liturgist? You can dialogue with a terrorist,” prompting boisterous laughter from both.

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VATICAN NEWS

Youth, discernment Pope’s pick for next synod theme

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • October 6, 2016

Francis arrives to meet with youth at Kasarani stadium in Kenya on Nov. 27, 2015. (Martha Caldaron/CNA)

Vatican City — The theme for the 2018 Synod of Bishops has been released, and will focus on how to best teach the faith to young people and help them to discern God’s will for their lives.

Set to take place in October 2018, the 50th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will discuss “Young People, the Faith and the Discernment of Vocation,” an Oct. 6 Vatican communique said.

The theme, it explained, is in continuity with topics that emerged from the 2014-2015 Synod on the Family, as well as with the contents of Francis’ Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “Amoris Laetitia,” which was written largely on the basis of the synod’s concluding document.

According to the communique, the theme “aims to accompany young people on their way of life towards maturity so that, through a process of discernment, they can discover their life’s plan and realize it with joy.”

By doing so, youth will not only be able to open themselves to an encounter with God and with others, but they will be able to actively participate “in the building up of the Church and society.”

The last Synod of Bishops was dedicated to the family and took place in two parts, the first being an Extraordinary Synod in 2014, which was followed by the Ordinary Synod in 2015 that drew 279 cardinals, bishops and representatives from all over the world to discuss the challenges and blessings of family life.

The Council for the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops is charged with preparing for the Ordinary Synod, which takes place every three years to discuss a specific theme of importance in the Church.

Greg Burke, Director of the Holy See Press Office, told journalists Thursday that the topic of the upcoming synod is not about celibacy or the priesthood in particular, but is “wider than vocations.”

Vocations “certainly will be part of that but it’s wider, much wider.” In addition to vocational discernment, it’s about “the formation and transmission of faith,” he said.

Asked to explain “discernment,” Burke described it as “spiritual decision making,” not only about whether or not to become a priest, but about “what you do in life.”

Ahead of each Synod a theme is selected by the Pope, and the council prepares for the synod according to the topic chosen. The Pope can also call an Extraordinary Synod if he feels that the theme needs further discussion, as was the case with the 2014 Extraordinary Synod on the family.

Following the conclusion of the 2015 encounter, Pope Francis named 15 cardinals and bishops to prepare for the 2018 gathering, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia being among them.

Serving as an advisory body to the Pope, the Synod of Bishops was established by Pope Paul VI in 1965 by the motu proprio Apostolica sollicitudo to “strengthen (the Pope’s) union” with other bishops and to “establish even closer ties” with them.

It consists of a group of bishops from around the world who meet every three years “to foster closer unity between the Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel … and to consider questions pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world,” according to canon law.

The Synod Council is composed of a permanent Secretary General (Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri) and Undersecretary (Bishop Fabio Fabene), as well as 15 members – 3 from each continent, with Asia and Oceana (Australia) counted as one – and three appointed by the Pope.

Of the 15 members 12 are nominated by the cardinals and bishops at the end of the Ordinary synod meeting, and serve a three year term. Once their term finishes with the close of the Ordinary Synod, a new council is elected to prepare for the next one.

In addition to Archbishop Chaput, other members elected to prepare for the 2018 synod are: Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, Archbishop of Durban; Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops; Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa; Cardinal Christoph Shoenborn, Archbishop of Vienna; Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila; Cardinal George Pell, Prefect for the Secretariat of the Economy; Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster; Archbishop Mathieu Madega Lebouakehan of Mouila, Gabon, and Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto.

The three members appointed by Pope Francis himself are: Archbishop Louis Raphael Sako, Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon; Archbishop Carlos Osoro Sierra of Madrid and Archbishop Sergio Da Rocha Archbishop of Brazil and president of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference.

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VATICAN NEWS

For Pope Francis, legalism makes Christians stupid

by CNA/EWTN News • October 6, 2016

Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 5, 2016. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — The Holy Spirit is the “great gift” of God the Father who helps us avoid the stupidities of a legalistic faith while leading us forward in Christian life, Pope Francis has said.

“May the Lord give us this grace: to open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, so that we will not become stupid, bewitched men and women who sadden the Holy Spirit,” the Pope remarked in his homily at morning Mass at Casa Santa Martha Oct. 6.

He provided several questions for the faithful to examine their spiritual lives:

“Is my life a continual prayer to open myself to the Holy Spirit, so that He can carry me forward with the joy of the Gospel and make me understand the teaching of Jesus, the true doctrine that does not bewitch, that does not make us stupid, but the true (teaching)?”

“Do I ignore the Holy Spirit?” he asked. “And do I know that if I go to Sunday Mass, if I do this, if I do that, is it enough?”

“Is my life a kind of half a life, lukewarm, that saddens the Holy Spirit, and doesn’t allow that power in me to carry me forward, to be open?” he added.

The Pope said that continual prayer to open ourselves to the Holy Spirit “helps us understand where our weaknesses are, those things that sadden Him; and it carries us forward, and also carries forward the Name of Jesus to others and teaching the path of salvation.”

Pope Francis’ homily drew on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, which included several rebukes and warnings about legalism.

The Pope noted that one can wrongly seek justification in doctrine and law, and not through Jesus “who makes sense of the Law.” There is the temptation to reduce the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ to the Law.

Paul rebuked the Galatians because “they ignored the Holy Spirit, and they did not know to go forward,” the pontiff explained.

They were “closed, closed in precepts: ‘we have to do this, we have to do that’,” he said. “At times, it can happen that we fall into this temptation.”

“(T)his attachment to the Law ignores the Holy Spirit. It does not grant that the redemption of Christ goes forward with the Holy Spirit, it ignores that. There is only the Law,” he warned.

“It is true that there are the Commandments and we have to follow the Commandments – but always through the grace of this great gift that the Father has given us, His Son, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

The Pope noted the spiritual danger of “those who preach with ideologies” and speak in a mindset that is “absolutely just.”

“They bewitch: it’s all clear,” he said. “But look, the revelation is not clear, eh? The revelation of God is discovered more and more each day, it is always on a journey.”

There is a different clarity to God’s revelation, he said.

“Is it clear? Yes! It is crystal clear! It is Him, but we have to discover it along the way. And those who believe they have the whole truth in their hands are not (just) ignorant.”

Paul calls the Galatians “stupid” because they have allowed themselves to be “bewitched,” the Pope explained.

Another attitude saddens the Holy Spirit when “we do not allow Him to inspire us, to lead us forward in the Christian life.” Christians should allow “the liberty of the Spirit,” not the “theology of the law,” to tell them what to do. The wrong attitude brings Christians to lukewarmness and “Christian mediocrity” because the Holy Spirit “cannot do great works in us.”

Pope Francis stressed the need “to open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, and let the Spirit carry us forward.”

“That’s what the Apostles did, (with) the courage of the day of Pentecost. They lost their fear and opened themselves to the Holy Spirit,” he said. This is the way to understand and welcome the words of Jesus.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope offers prayer, support for a Haiti devastated by hurricane Matthew

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 7, 2016

Francis at the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2, 2013. (Elise Harris/CNA)

Vatican City — After Hurricane Matthew killed more than 300 people and left thousands more homeless, Pope Francis has written a telegram assuring his prayer and spiritual closeness to all those affected by the disaster.

“Learning of the devastation wrought by hurricane Matthew, which has caused numerous victims and considerable damage, His Holiness Pope Francis expresses his sadness and assures his prayer for all those who have lost a loved one,” the Oct. 7 telegram read.

Signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and addressed to the president of the Haitian Bishops Conference Cardinal Chibly Langlois, the letter expressed the Pope’s “deep sympathy in these painful circumstances.”

A category three storm with winds racing at 120mph, the hurricane is the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade and has devastated Haiti, which is still reeling from the catastrophic earthquake that crushed much of the country in 2010.

With more than 300 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced, according to CNN, the country was hardest hit in the southeast, with many in towns and fishing villages killed by debris, falling trees and swollen rivers.

According to the U.N. Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, some 350,000 people are in need of assistance. The Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal for $6.9m in order to provide medical help, shelter, water and sanitation to around 50,000 people, the BBC reports.

Hurricane Matthew has now headed toward the coast of Florida after tearing through Haiti and pounding Cuba and the Bahamas, however, it has yet to make landfall.

In his telegram, the Pope entrusted the deceased to the mercy of God, asking that the Lord would “welcome them into his light.” He assured his closeness to the injured and those who have lost their homes, and encouraged solidarity.

The Pope entrusted the Haitian people to the “maternal protection” of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and gave them his Apostolic Blessing.

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VATICAN NEWS

Charity is the heart of all missionary action, Pope Francis says

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 7, 2016

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims during his June 15, 2016 General Audience in St. Peter’s Square. (Daniel Ibañez/CNA)

Vatican City — After electing their new General Superior, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate had a meeting with Pope Francis, who told them that in the midst of a rapidly changing world, humanity needs missionaries filled love and zeal for the Gospel.

“Today, every land is ‘mission territory,’ every dimension of the human being is mission territory, awaiting the announcement of the Gospel,” he said Oct. 6.

“The field of the mission today seems to expand every day” with men and women in desperate situations, he said. “Therefore there is need of you, of your missionary courage, your willingness to take to all the Good News that liberates and consoles.”

Pope Francis met with the Missionary Oblates exactly one week after they held elections for their next Superior General in Rome, as well as in honor of the 200th Jubilee of their founding, which is being celebrated throughout 2016.

On Sept. 30th, the 36th Chapter of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate reelected Fr. Louis Lougen as Superior General. Born in Buffalo, New York in 1952, he was first named to the position of Superior General in 2010.

Reminding them to smile, Pope Francis told the priests and brothers that they must be joyful witnesses of the Gospel.

Following the example of their founder, French priest St. Eugene de Mazenod, charity must be the “first rule of life, the premise of all apostolic actions,” he said. In this way, “zeal for the salvation of souls is a natural consequence of this fraternal charity.”

Francis said both the Church and the world today are experiencing “an era of great change,” and that the world “needs men who carry in their hearts the same love for Jesus Christ that lived in the heart” of their founder.

“It is important to work for a Church that is for everyone, ready to welcome and accompany!” he said.

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, founded Jan. 25, 1816, have institutes in the Americas, Australia, the Philippines and China.

As of January, the number of Missionary Oblates is 3,776 worldwide, including 46 bishops and archbishops, 2,843 priests and 316 brothers.

Pointing to the “happy and providential coincidence” that their Jubilee happens to fall during the Church’s Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis reminded the Oblates to renew their love for the poor and for spreading the faith.

“It is necessary to seek appropriate, evangelical and courageous responses to the questions of the men and women of our time,” he said.

“For this you need to look at the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm and embrace the future with hope, not letting yourselves be discouraged by the difficulties you encounter in the mission, but with strong fidelity to your religious and missionary vocation.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Sistine Chapel Choir releases new album for Jubilee of Mercy

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 7, 2016

A view of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Oct. 29, 2014. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Vatican City — For the second year in a row the Sistine Chapel Choir has recorded an album inside the chapel of its namesake, this year selecting pieces by Palestrina that focus on mercy in honor of the Jubilee.

Created in partnership with the classical music label Deutsche Grammophon, the second album was released Oct. 7 and is titled “Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli/Motets.”

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who lived from 1525-1594, is an Italian Renaissance sacred music composer, and is perhaps one of the most well-known composers of sacred polyphony.

His most famous piece and the only one of his compositions dedicated to a Pope is his “Missa Papae Marcelli,” which takes up the first five of the 14-track CD.

It contains the music of the original printed edition of the Mass in 1567, as well as two previously unpublished motets, “Veritas mea et misericordia mea” and “Iubilate Deo.”

The CD was presented Oct. 7 inside the Vatican’s Press Office by the Prefect of the Pontifical Household Archbishop Georg Ganswein, as well as Clemens Trautmann, president of Deutsche Grammophon.

In his speech for the event, Archbishop Ganswein said the CD and accompanying booklet make one immediately aware of “the spiritual reasons for a music so refined and sublime.”

With this Mass Palestrina, “the prince of Roman polyphony” both tried and succeeded “to respond to what the Council of Trent asked of liturgical music, that is, the intelligibility of the text united to the quality of the music,” he said.

Though Pope Marcellus II would never live to hear the Mass composed in his name, having died after only 22 days as Pope in the middle of the Council of Trent, his hope that music would be both “a vehicle of beauty and a help in the elevation of the soul in liturgical prayer without falling into self-reference,” would be accomplished by Palestrina, the archbishop continued.

This challenge, he said, “remains relevant even today” in the effort to compose music that both incorporates and respects the ancient roots of sacred music, yet also experiments with “new ways of updating” encouraged by the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council.

“So the purpose of this, which is presented and is a cultural undertaking,” contributes in the communication of “the essence of the mission of the Catholic Church, which is to evangelize, to announce the Good News,” Archbishop Ganswein said, noting that this is also done “through beauty.”

“All of this seeks to express that Church which goes out, of which Pope Francis speaks to us, a Church that isn’t afraid to speak the language of man and of his needs, of which music is a high and universal expression.”

Also present at the presentation of the CD was Massimo Palombella, director of the Sistine Chapel Choir. Formed of 20 adults and 30 young boys, the Sistine Chapel Choir is the oldest choir in the world.

Palombella told journalists that the choir, having released their first CD “Cantate Domino” last year, will record one annually, always from inside the Sistine Chapel itself. Proceeds from the CDs sold will, as last year, be given to the papal charities.

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WORLD NEWS

Vandal destroys statues in four Roman churches

by CNA/EWTN News • October 3, 2016

Results of the vandalism done to Roman churches on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 2016. (News Tv2000/YouTube)

Rome, Italy — Italian police have arrested a 39-year-old Ghanaian man who entered several historic churches in central Rome Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, destroying a number of statues and creating panic among the faithful and tourists who were there at the time.

The vandal went into action around 7:30 pm on Friday evening in Saint Praxedes Basilica. He destroyed a statue of Saint Praxedes, and then did the same with a miniature reproduction of Saint Anthony, cutting off the head, according reports by various Italian media.

The pastor, Father Pedro Savelli, explained that “right away I thought it was an attack by ISIS. The man was outside himself, but thank God we were able to get him out before he could destroy everything. He said children cannot be taught to believe using sacred images as we do.”

The attacker also tried to destroy a crucifix but the priest managed to grab him by the leg and stop him.

The act occurred a few minutes after the end of a Mass and just before a concert for the Slovak community. “I don’t know if he was a terrorist, but there certainly was an enormous lack of respect for religion,” Father Savelli said. “People were fleeing, escaping. I was able to stop him when he was on top of the altar. Some other people came to help me, but he managed to escape; we were afraid, we were terrorized, we didn’t know if he was armed.”

After this attack the man went to Via de Colle Oppio where the other two churches he entered are located: Saint Silvester and Saint Martin in the popular Monti neighborhood. There he beat on one of the statues situated in the central nave of the church.

But the attacker did not give up, and Saturday he began a new round of attacks 21 hours later. It was San Vitale’s turn on Via Nazionale – one of the main streets of the city – where he attacked another three statues and a candelabrum.

Before being arrested, the attacker made a final incursion in San Giovanni ai Fiorentini church in Piazza dell’Oro. There also, in front of terrified faithful and tourists, he attacked several statues. He was able to escape again, but shortly after police arrested him in a nearby street.

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WORLD NEWS

Georgian Catholics started from zero. What’s next after the papal visit

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • October 3, 2016

The celebration of evening prayer at the Chaldean Catholic Church in Tbilisi, Georgia during Pope Francis’ visit to the country of Georgia from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, 2016. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Tbilisi, Georgia — The tiny community of the Catholic Church in Georgia was barely surviving just decades ago.

Now it has an opportunity to regenerate itself following Pope Francis’ model of the “Church of consolation,” the local Catholic bishop has said.

“During his Mass, Pope Francis did not speak of a strong and powerful Church, but rather of a Church able to give consolation. And I thought: this is the Church I like, a Church that has openings and does not get used to things,” Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto explained.

Bishop Pasotto is an Italian religious of the Stigmatine congregation. He moved to Georgia in 1993, was appointed apostolic administrator of the Caucasus region in 1996.

“The path of our Christian community was beautiful and exciting. We started from zero,” he told CNA.

“Back in 1993, there were Christian communities, but we had to teach them Mass again, as they were only used to praying the Rosary. So, we drafted the Missal and prepared new catechesis. We had a wonderful feedback.”

He then stressed that “perhaps Catholics in Georgia are less enthusiastic, but this is normal. It is just like a plane: it takes off quickly, but then it has to keep the route. I am not worried.”

Bishop Pasotto keeps this optimistic view also for what concern ecumenical relations, despite the tensions experienced between Catholics and Orthodox Christians during the last years.

The Pope’s visit to Georgia included meetings with Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Illa II.

Bishop Pasotto recounted: “After the Pope left, I asked Patriarch Ilia if he was really happy about the visit. Patriarch Ilia replied: ‘I am very happy the Pope came here. I met a good man.’ The Pope told me the same thing about Ilia Saturday, while we were together in the car: ‘Do you know that this Patriarch is really a good man?’ Both of them used the same words, by chance, with no knowledge of what the other said.”

Certainly, the Church of Georgia faces some hard situations, and further theological discussion is needed.

For example, the phenomenon of re-baptism is always increasing. Orthodox Christians in the country baptize for a second time Catholics who marry Orthodox Christians, as they do not recognize the Catholic baptisms.

“I spoke once with an Orthodox bishop and I noted that it was a bad thing that my baptism was not recognized,” Bishop Pasotto reflected. “He said that this was a Georgian Orthodox Synod decision. I replied that this meant I was not Christian then, nor was the Pope. In response to his protest that I was Christian because I believed in Christ, I explained to him that those who believe in Jesus Christ are catechumens, but as long as they are not baptized they are not Christian. And he agreed some further reflection was needed.”

The dialogue is not easy, though things were not so bad in the past. Patriarch Ilia was the first Georgian Orthodox Patriarch to visit the Pope in Rome, back in 1980. Then the situation worsened.

After the fall of Communism, some priests coming from the Russian Orthodox Church spread a notion of ecumenism that did not allow any ecumenical relations.

“This new ‘philosophy’ of closed ecumenism was opposite of the Georgian habit, which is generally tolerant toward every denomination. But this new thought spread, and there were pressures from some of the monasteries that put at risk the unity of the Georgian Orthodox Church, with the threat of schism,” the bishop said.

“So Patriarch Ilia had to make a step back, in order to preserve the unity of the Church.”

Despite the difficulties, there is now a community that feels strengthened by the Pope’s visit.

“After the Pope’s visit, the cathedral was filled with people and everyone had a special story to tell about the Pope and how they met him or they saw him,” recounted Bishop Pasotto.

“Our challenge now is to value this enthusiasm, so that it does not go wasted.”

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WORLD NEWS

How to live out the Year of Mercy, according to this English bishop

by CNA/EWTN News • October 4, 2016

(Sayan Puangkham/Shutterstock)

Brighton, U.K. — What is the proper Catholic response to the Jubilee Year of Mercy? Put simply, the answer is “action,” Bishop Richard Moth of Arundel and Brighton, England told the members of his diocese last week.

“The corporal works of mercy are, simply, the outflowing of the love out of which God our Father has created us,” Bishop Moth stated in a Sept. 25 pastoral letter.

“We know from St. Matthew’s Gospel that the yardstick by which we shall be judged is that of our mercy to others,” he continued, asking the faithful to perform mercy through good works.

The corporal works of mercy are the charitable acts that respond to the basic needs of individuals. They are found in the Gospel of Matthew, and include feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, caring for the sick, visiting those in prison and burying the dead.

“These works are called ‘corporal’ because they are concerned with the physical well-being of our brothers and sisters,” Bishop Moth noted, underscoring the active aspect of their nature.

“We cannot simply wish others well and then leave them to manage for themselves.”

The bishop placed a particular emphasis on these deeds, especially during the Year of Mercy, saying that the corporal works of mercy “will be used as the measure for our lives.” He also warned against being like the rich man in the Gospel who “does nothing. He looks only at himself,” while Lazarus begs for food.

He went on to give examples of living out the works of mercy within the diocese, saying that volunteer work at local food banks, prisons, and giving time to those in need – such as refugees – are all considered corporal works. He also highlighted the need to “tune in to the needs of those around us.”

An understanding of mercy will also nourish the driving motivation behind these charitable deeds, the English bishop noted, saying “to love God and love our neighbour is the key to our understanding of mercy.”

“We are enabled to be merciful to our brothers and sisters because we recognise them as people created by a loving God; because we recognise the dignity of the other. When we are prompted by the loving relationship that we have with God, we cannot but be merciful to others.”

Although financial giving is one way to offer charitable works, Bishop Richard encouraged the faithful to act beyond “the easy option” of writing a check. He asked his diocese to dig deeper, and examine their consciences to find the specific way that God is asking them to perform the corporal works.

“We must abandon any hardness of heart and reach out to all. To fail in this area of our lives is not an option, for Jesus calls us to this and we cannot but respond to the one who died for us,” Bishop Moth said.

“May this Jubilee Year continue to be a time of great blessing for us all and a time when we respond with renewed energies to the call to service that is at the heart of the Christian life.”

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WORLD NEWS

After Colombians reject FARC deal, bishops urge prayers for peace

by David Ramos (CNA/EWTN News) • October 4, 2016

Colombian pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on April 20, 2016. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Bogotá, Colombia — After Colombian voters narrowly rejected a peace deal with the FARC rebels on Sunday, the Archbishop of Tunja encouraged the nation’s faithful to “continue to pray and work” for peace, since “before all else, it is a gift, a grace of God.”

A peace agreement was signed Sept. 26 to end the 52-year conflict between the Colombian government and the Marxist rebel group, but was submitted to a referendum Oct. 2 to be ratified. In that plebiscite, 50.2 percent of voters rejected the peace deal.

Archbishop Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga, who is president of the Colombian bishop’ conference, told CNA that “as the Church, it is our part to continue to invite all Colombians to pray for peace, because peace before all else is a gift, a grace of God and also our task. So we must continue praying and working.”

He added that the Church in Colombia invited “all Colombians to vote, and to vote conscientiously, reflecting, trying to understand what you were doing. Naturally, we did not insinuate how one should vote.”

“Anyway, I believe that this leads us, first of all, to have to make a very serious commitment to not stop working for peace; that must be our goal, a goal pursued with great insistence,” Archbishop Castro stated.

The archbishop emphasized that both Timoleón Jiménez, the leader of FARC, and president Juan Manuel Santos spoke in favor of continuing the peace process, and said it is important to work for “political reconciliation, and on the other hand for personal reconciliation.”

Archbishop Castro also urged Colombians to not categorize “as good and bad “ those who voted for or against the peace accord, since “many voted ‘No’ not because they don’t want peace, but because they want a better, more structured peace, where not so much is given away to the guerrillas.”

“For now I believe that, despite everything, all Colombians need to be reconciled.”

Dialogue is needed following the referendum, the archbishop said: “A calm dialogue, a positive dialogue of all the forces facing each other.”

“Something very good can come out of dialogue, such as a series of contributions to reform the peace accord and to work on it again for the peace process,” Archbishop Castro reflected.

He emphasized that “in no way” can the hope for peace be lost, since “all Colombians want peace.”

Archbishop Castro underscored that “the problem is not whether people want peace or not. We all want peace here in Colombia, but some think that a much better accord can be made than the one that was, and so they voted ‘No.’”

He also urged the government to “develop a new pedagogy,” explaining the complex terms of the peace accord to voters in a simpler way.

Cardinal Rubén Salazar Gómez of Bogotá tweeted shortly after the referendum that “We are in the hands of the Lord. He is the lord of history, but everyone must assume his own responsibility in the task of building peace.”

The peace accord was reached after four years of negotiations in Cuba. The deal was to have incorporated some of FARC’s leadership into the government in exchange for their disarmament and renunciation of kidnapping and drug trafficking.

Many Colombians who voted against ratification charged that it was too lenient on the FARC; those members who confessed to crime were to have been given more lenient sentences, and not face time in conventional jails.

Those who voted no on ratifying the deal want to renegotiate the agreement, with fewer concessions made to the FARC.

Since 1964, as many as 260,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in Colombia’s civil war.

The conflict has engendered right wing paramilitaries aligned with the government, as well as secondary rebel groups such as the National Liberation Army.

Pope Francis had expressed approval of the peace deal when it was agreed to in August, and his Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, attended the Sept. 26 signing in Cartagena.

Santos has said he accepts the result of the referendum, but will continue to work toward peace with the FARC. And the rebel leader, who is known as Timochenko, has said his guerrilla movement “maintains its will for peace and reiterates its disposition to use only words as the weapon to build toward the future.” The existing ceasefire is expected to remain in place.

Fewer than 38 percent of voters participated in the referendum, and the result was divided regionally: voters in outlying provinces were in favor of the peace agreement, while those more inland tended to oppose it.

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WORLD NEWS

Irish archbishop: Seek a ‘revolution of tenderness’, not legal abortion

by Kevin J. Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • October 4, 2016

Pope Francis blesses a woman and her unborn child at a Jubilee Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Jan. 30, 2016. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Dublin, Ireland — For Ireland’s leading archbishop, Pope Francis’ call for a “revolution of tenderness” is a challenge to defend all life, including the unborn children protected by the Republic of Ireland’s eighth constitutional amendment.

“This amendment is precious and wonderful – it places as the very foundations and substructure of our laws a clear conviction that all human life is worth cherishing,” Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh said Oct. 1.

“It is therefore fundamentally a declaration of tenderness and love for the equal right to life of both a mother and her unborn child. It is an undertaking to respect, defend and vindicate that right here in Ireland,” he continued.

The Eighth Amendment to the Republic of Ireland’s constitution, approved in a national referendum in 1983, acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and the equal right to life of the mother. It guarantees respect for those rights and pledges to “defend and vindicate that right” as far as practical.

The amendment has started to face opposition from activists, prominent politicians and media personalities, under the “Repeal the Eighth” campaign.

Archbishop Martin criticized that campaign.

“Demands to quash and abolish this amendment go against the Good News that the life of every person is sacred and inviolable, irrespective of the stage or state of that life – from the first moment of conception until the moment of natural death,” he said.

The archbishop’s remarks were intended for the Day of Life 2016, an annual event initiated by St. John Paul II and celebrated in Ireland since 2001. The archbishop stressed the need to reach out to those in crisis, like pregnant women and their families.

For Archbishop Martin, tenderness is a challenge to show active concern for everyone.

“Nowadays the way of tenderness is indeed counter-cultural and revolutionary,” he said. “It is perhaps the only way to confront inhumanity and cruelty, to bridge the great divide which greed has created between the rich and the poor, and to expose the pervasive ‘throwaway culture’ which surrounds us.”

His remarks come weeks ahead of the Citizens’ Assembly, chaired by Republic of Ireland Supreme Court Judge Mary Laffoy. It will meet Oct. 15 in Dublin to discuss abortion, and all hearings will be streamed online. Its 99 members were chosen at random.

It will hold several hearings to hear from experts and interest groups. Laffoy will file a report with the Republic of Ireland’s legislature next year, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

The assembly will hold a number of public hearings on the issue of abortion and is expected to hear from experts and interested groups before the judge files a report to the legislature next year.

Some pro-life commentators have voiced concern that abortion backers will infiltrate the gathering and that the assembly represents an abdication of parliament’s responsibility.

An estimated 20,000-30,000 backers of legalized abortion marched in Dublin Sept. 24.

The Life Institute, which supports Ireland’s pro-life law, said between 25,000 and 30,000 people attended the pro-life Rally for Life last year.

The pro-life group is campaigning with the hashtag “#RepealKills” in order to “bring the attention of the public to the fact that this means repealing the right to life of the preborn child, and that abortion campaigners are looking for abortion on demand.”

“If we are going to debate abortion then we need to debate exactly what it does to mothers and babies,” said Niamh Ui Bhriain, director of the Life Institute.

Ireland’s abortion law is in the international focus. A leaked document attributed to billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundations revealed funding for several pro-abortion groups in Ireland that are working collectively to repeal the pro-life amendment.

In the document’s analysis, a win for legalized abortion in Ireland “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.”

Regional efforts within Ireland to oppose the Eighth Amendment have drawn limited support.

On Sept. 19 the Kildare County Council, by a vote of 18-9, rejected a motion supporting the repeal of the amendment and the institution of wider abortion services in Ireland.

Ui Bhriain said the vote is more reflective of what pro-life campaigners find.

“We’re canvassing the nation on this issue, and the views of the ordinary voter are not being remotely reflected in the strident media campaign for repeal,” she said.

“There’s a growing public awareness that beyond the ‘repeal the eighth’ slogan is the grim reality of abortion, and that abortion on demand is the aim of Irish abortion campaigners,” she added. “This is not supported by most Irish people, who see the unborn child as a human being, and are increasingly uneasy with calls for abortion to be made freely available.”

The scientific and media climate have also changed in pro-lifers’ favor, according to Ui Bhriain.

“Science - and social media sharing - has revealed the humanity of the preborn baby, and we will make sure that the reality of slogans such as ‘repeal’ will be revealed in this debate”

Tracy Harkin of the group Every Life Counts noted the archbishop’s support for the disabled and everyone who lives with life-limiting conditions, born and unborn.

“We are hearing a never-ending media clamor to have abortion legalized for preborn babies who are diagnosed with a life-limiting condition, and the archbishop’s observation reminds us that if we truly believe in disability rights then we cannot argue for abortion on the basis on severe disability,” Harkin said.

Harkin’s daughter, Kathleen Rose, is a 9-year-old living with Trisomy 13, which is sometimes called a fatal abnormality. She said she was glad that Archbishop Martin spoke for her child’s right to life and the right of “every child who is valuable and important despite their disability.”

“The reality is that terms like ‘fatal fetal abnormality’ have been shown to be incorrect and misleading, and we are always talking about preborn babies who are alive and kicking at the time a diagnosis is made,” she said.

“The fact remains that many babies with these severe disabilities do have very short lives, but their families say that time together is precious, is important and is a bridge to healing.”

The Republic of Ireland allows abortion if there is a risk to a woman’s life, including from suicide. Official figures say 26 abortions were carried out in 2014 and again in 2015.

Abortion law was changed in 2013 after controversy over the death of Savita Halappanavar, who was admitted to a Galway hospital while miscarrying.

She reportedly asked for an abortion, which doctors refused because the baby still had a heartbeat. Halappanavar later died of a severe antibiotic-resistant infection following her miscarriage.

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WORLD NEWS

After Hurricane Matthew strikes Haiti, relief agencies are on the move

by Kevin J. Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • October 5, 2016

Hurricane Matthew hits Haiti on Oct. 4, 2016. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr CC BY 2.0)

Port au Prince, Haiti — Hurricane Matthew caused severe damage and several deaths in Haiti, and relief workers have already started to evaluate the damage.

“Catholic Relief Services teams are out today to get a sense of the level of damage in Les Cayes and surrounding areas and to determine the greatest needs,” Catholic Relief Services communications director Kim Pozniak told CNA Oct. 5. “Our response is likely to include distribution of potable water, hygiene and kitchen kits and shelter materials.”

The supplies were pre-positioned in a Les Cayes warehouse, Pozniak said, adding that if they are undamaged “we’re ready to respond as soon as we determine the areas of greatest need.”

The hurricane made landfall on Haiti at 7 a.m. local time Oct. 4 with winds up to 145 mph. The storm has passed Cuba and is in the Bahamas, and is set to arrive in Florida by Thursday in a weakened form. Some Florida residents are being evacuated from their homes. The storm is also expected to affect Georgia and the Carolinas.

There are several confirmed deaths in Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic. Several thousand people have been displaced from their homes.

Relief workers feared heavy rains and a storm surge that can cause heavy damage in a city with many hills and ravines and poor drainage infrastructure. Hill-dwellers faced risks from high winds and landslides.

Many people rejected calls to evacuate, fearing looters would steal their belongings.

CRS reported that crop damage and the destruction of stored food supplies could cause a short-term spike in food prices and long-term problems with food supplies. Les Cayes, in southwest Haiti, is a major agricultural center.

The hurricane is the worst disaster to hit Haiti since the massive 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince killed hundreds of thousands of people. The country is also suffering a cholera outbreak.

Haiti’s presidential election is scheduled for Sunday.

Chris Bessy, the agency’s country representative based in Port-au-Prince, said Oct. 4 that the infrastructure of Les Cayes is unable to handle immense rainfall in low-lying areas.

Bessey later told the Washington Post that the storm blew off part of the roof of Catholic Relief Services’ two-story building in Les Cayes and knocked out the generator. The storm cut off the main road to southern Haiti by washing out a bridge at Petit-Goave.

CRS is repairing damage to the facility in addition to evaluating the needs of area residents.

Catholic Relief Services said it has a “robust network of logistical and human resources.” It was prepared to provide emergency shelters in the hardest-hit areas and provide cash to those affected in the regional capitals of Jeremie and Les Cayes for critical supplies.

Before the storm made landfall, the agency was working with local governments to inspect and secure shelters and to move people there.

CRS has worked in Haiti since 1954’s Hurricane Hazel. The agency is seeking support for its hurricane response.

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WORLD NEWS

Catholic groups around the world break ties with fossil fuels

by CNA/EWTN News • October 6, 2016

Oil refinery. (TTstudio via Shutterstock)

Washington D.C. — On the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi this week, seven Catholic organizations on five continents announced they are divesting from fossil fuel companies in an effort to care for creation.

The announcement also fell on the last day of the Season of Creation, a Christian celebration and period of reflection on the state of the environment which began with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on Sept. 1.

The move is the largest joint faith-based divestment from fossil fuels to date. Earlier this year, four Catholic orders in Australia announced they were divesting of coal, oil and gas following the call of Pope Francis in his encyclical “Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home.”

The initiative is also part of a larger, global movement to divest from fossil fuels, one of the largest such movements in history. Almost 600 institutions worth over $3.4 trillion globally have announced divestment commitments, according to gofossilfree.org.

Among the seven Catholic groups divesting is the Diocese of the Holy Spirit of Umuarama in the Brazilian state of Paraná, the first diocese and Latin American institution to make such a move.

Bishop Dom Frei João Mamede Filho of Umuarama said he felt he was following the call of the Gospel and of Pope Francis to care for creation and therefore “protect all forms of life.”

“We can not accommodate and continue allowing economic interests that seek exorbitant profits before the well being of people, to destroy biodiversity and ecosystems, nor continue dictating our energy model based on fossil fuels,” he said.

“We know that Brazil has abundant sources of clean and renewable energy that do not harm our common home. Therefore, I believe that the proposal to turn the Diocese of Umuarama into low-carbon is a practical way to achieve what Laudato Si’ calls for.”

The Diocese is also taking steps to become low-carbon and is part of COESUS, an anti-fracking coalition in Latin America.

One United States group, St. Louis-based SSM Health, was also among the seven groups included in the announcement. Founded by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, SSM Health is one of the largest non-profit hospital systems in the country.

“As a Mission-based Catholic organization, SSM Health has always been deeply aware of the importance of caring for our natural resources. Our renewed commitment to the environment keeps us consistent in word and deed with the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, our founding congregation, and with the climate change encyclical released by Pope Francis in June 2015,” William P. Thompson, SSM Health President/Chief Executive Officer, said about the announcement.

The other groups included in the divestment announcement include the Federation of Christian Organisations for the International Voluntary Service (FOCSIV) in Italy; the Presentation Society of Australia and Papua New Guinea; the Missionary Society of St. Columban, based in Hong Kong and with a global presence in 14 countries; the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco – Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Milan and Naples (Italy), and the Jesuits in the English Canada province.

The announcement was coordinated by the Global Catholic Climate Movement, a community of lay people, priests, religious, bishops and a global network of member organizations “responding to the Pope’s call to action in the Laudato Si’ encyclical” by “working together on the climate change crisis.”

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WORLD NEWS

Is this bishop right about the rosary conquering Boko Haram?

by CNA/EWTN News • October 6, 2016

Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme of Maiduguri. (Aid to the Church in Need)

Maiduguri, Nigeria — Amid the apparent decline of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram, a Nigerian bishop who had a vision of Christ has repeated his belief that praying the rosary will bring victory over the group.

Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme of Maiduguri said his vision of Christ encouraged the people of his diocese to believe “that the rosary would ultimately give us victory over this evil.

“Boko Haram is evil, ISIS is evil,” he told the U.K. newspaper the Catholic Herald. “So as long as we go to a place with His Mother, especially by praying the rosary, which is the most pronounced form of Marian devotion, we will be victorious.”

According to the bishop, “Boko Haram will soon fizzle out, mostly because of the prayers of the people.”

“Before, Boko Haram members were everywhere. But now they are not everywhere,” he continued. “They have been pushed to the forests.”

Bishop Doeme heads the Diocese of Maiduguri, in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State. In 2009, there were around 125,000 Catholics under his guidance. A surge in violence from Boko Haram displaced tens of thousands of his people.

Due to the conflict, 2.6 million people in total have been displaced. An estimated 800,000 people are living in burned-out villages and camps across Borno. About 3.8 million people in the region suffer from malnutrition and as many as 49,000 children will die without assistance, a recent Unicef report said.

Last year Boko Haram pledged alliance to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or Daesh.

However, there are reports of a power struggle and a split within the organization, CNN reports. The Nigerian army says the group has been significantly weakened, and some civilians are returning home.

In December 2015, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari told BBC News that Boko Haram could no longer make conventional attacks, though some critics have questioned the degree of military success against the group.

Bishop Doeme said the rosary “has worked wonders, and has liberated nations.” He cited the 1571 Battle of Lepanto which defeated a Turkish fleet, and the deposition of President Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines in 1986.

He told the Catholic Herald he believes Christ appeared to him in 2014 “in order to console his people, that His mother is there for us.”

In April 2015 he recounted his vision to CNA. “Towards the end of last year I was in my chapel before the Blessed Sacrament … praying the rosary, and then suddenly the Lord appeared,” he said.

In the vision, the bishop said, Christ didn’t say anything at first, but extended a sword toward him, and he in turn reached out for it.

“As soon as I received the sword, it turned into a rosary,” Bishop Doeme said, adding that Christ then told him three times: “Boko Haram is gone.”

“I didn’t need any prophet to give me the explanation,” he said. “It was clear that with the rosary we would be able to expel Boko Haram.”

The bishop said he didn’t want to tell anyone about the vision, but he “felt that the Holy Spirit was pushing him to do so.”

He told CNA, “prayer, particularly the prayer of the rosary, is (what) will deliver us from the claws of this demon, the demon of terrorism. And of course, it is working.”

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WORLD NEWS

In Syria, more than one million children sign appeal for peace

by Aid to the Church in Need • October 6, 2016

Muslim and Christian children prepare appeals for peace at a gathering in Aleppo, Syria on Oct. 4, 2016. (Aid to the Church in Need)

Damascus, Syria — This week, children at more than 2,000 schools across Syria are drawing images of peace and writing messages to the political decision-makers of the European Union and the United Nations under the motto “Peace for Children.” More than one million children are also signing a petition.

This appeal for peace is a joint campaign sponsored by Catholic and Orthodox Christians in Syria, while all religious communities have been invited to take part.

Children of all Christian denominations in Damascus, Homs, Yabroud, Aleppo, Marmarita, and Tartus are marking today as the Action Day for Peace. They are expressing their desire for peace through songs, dances, theatrical performances, prayers and other activities. Several children in Aleppo will also talk about their personal experiences.

Sister Annie Demerjian, one of the local organizers of the event, said: “When a child talks about losing his father, for example, we will follow it up by praying for all children in Syria who have lost parents or siblings.”

The main ceremony will be held in Damascus Oct. 7and will be attended by groups of 50-75 children from each of the major urban centers of Syria.

In addition, Syrian schoolchildren – also including many Muslims – are writing messages to the global community on balloons. These include such messages as “We want peace!”, “Give us our childhood!”, “We don’t want any more war!” and “We want to go to school!”

Thousands of children in Syria have been killed during that country’s civil war. According to the Oxford Research Group, more than 11,500 children died in the first two years of the conflict alone.

Half of the 11.4 million Syrians who have fled inside or outside of the country are underage minors. More than 2.1 million Syrian children are unable to attend school because of the war, and many children are severely traumatized. Children are frequent victims, not only of direct acts of war, but of abductions, torture and sexual exploitation.

The children’s campaign for peace is an initiative of the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Since the Syrian conflict began in March of 2011, ACN has been active in supporting the victims of the war and providing financial support, in particular for families who have lost their homes, have been forced to flee the country or have been displaced within the country.

Aid is primarily granted to projects that secure the immediate survival of the people, and especially of children and babies. A sizable amount of the financial aid is used to procure accommodations for what are in general large families with many children, to supply essential foods and medicines as well as baby formula and diapers, warm winter clothing and heating oil and electricity.

The aid is also earmarked to ensure that children can attend school. The aid is provided directly to the families in need, irrespective of their religious affiliation, through a network Catholic bishops and local church structures. Since 2011, some $15 million in grants has gone to the various projects in Syria.

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WORLD NEWS

Argentine priest who denounced drug traffickers found dead

by CNA/EWTN News • October 6, 2016

Illegal drugs confiscated by Argentine police. (Ministerio de Seguridad Argentina via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina — A priest in the northern Argentine city of San Miguel de Tucumán who in recent days denounced drug traffickers in his homilies was found dead in his rectory on Wednesday.

The body of Father Juan Heraldo Viroche, 46, was found hanged Oct. 5 in his room at Our Lady of the Valley rectory. Police reported finding his belongings scattered on the floor.

The court has ordered an autopsy on the priest’s body to establish the cause of death.

The parish faithful said that days before, the priest had expressed his concern over threats received because of his denunciations of the gangs engaged in selling drugs.

One of Fr. Viroche’s actions was to say a Mass in November 2015 calling for a people free of drugs and thefts in Delfín Gallo, a rural settlement just 10 miles southeast of San Miguel de Tucumán.

Also, because of the repeated thefts in the last year, the priest decided to put a fence around the church and the blamed criminal activity on the growing drug trafficking which he said corrupts teens and young adults in the area.

The Archdiocese of Tucumán issued a statement lamenting Fr. Viroche’s death and adding: “We expect prompt clarification of the facts and trust in the action of the justice system, with which of course we will be cooperating in everything that depends on us.”

The Tucumán archdiocese added that they join with the priest’s family and the parish faithful in “their grief over the loss of their pastor” and commended Fr. Viroche “to the mercy of God, that the Lord may welcome him into heaven.”

Sustained threats against the priest by drug gangs led him to ask to be transferred, which had already been authorized. However, the priest wanted to finish the novena he had started in the community, Archbishop Alfredo Zecca of Tucumán said.

The Argentine bishops’ conference also expressed their “sorrow and dismay over the death” of Fr. Viroche, and asked for a “prompt clarification of the facts.”

“We ask God to welcome into his home our brother, Fr. Juan, and may his life and ministry be for the Church a priestly witness that encourages everyone to continue to work for a more fraternal society in the service of the most vulnerable,” they said.

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WORLD NEWS

Six dead after al-Qaeda ally attacks Christians in Kenya border town

by CNA/EWTN News • October 7, 2016

(Ikrcn via Shutterstock)

Nairobi, Kenya — A deadly attack on Christians in northeast Kenya was intended to drive them out of the region, a radio station run by the militant Islamist group al-Shabab has claimed.

The group said that its militants were behind a grenade and gun attack on a residential block in the town of Mandera, when people were sleeping, BBC News reports. The attack killed six people.

The group said via radio that the attack happened as planned and was aimed at Christians. A spokesman for the group told the BBC that the group wanted non-Muslims to leave areas it regards as Muslim.

Militants also attacked a telecommunications site, according to Mandera County commissioner Fredrick Shiswa, who said this was a diversion from the attack on the neighborhood.

Shiswa said the attack appeared to have been planned over a long period and was carried out with efficiency.

Mandera is on the border of Somalia, where the al-Qaeda affiliated group is based.

Many of the town’s Christians are skilled workers from other parts of Kenya who help contribute to hospitals and schools. Muslims not aligned with al-Shabab have sought to strengthen relations with Christians.

The militant group killed 148 people at Keya’s Garissa University College in April 2015, also reportedly targeting Christians.

Al-Shabab militants have fought against Kenya since a 2011 effort by the Kenyan military that entered Somalia to fight the group. Kenyan troops are among the African Union forces in Somalia to counter Al-Shabab.

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WORLD NEWS

Colombia’s President Santos wins Nobel Peace Prize, despite failed vote

by CNA/EWTN News • October 7, 2016

Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos (l) shake hands with FARC leadership after signing a peace deal on Sept. 26, 2016. (Presidencia El Salvador via Flickr/Public domain)

Oslo, Norway — Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos has won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to secure peace with the FARC rebel group, despite the rejection of a proposed peace deal in a national referendum.

“I am infinitely grateful for this honorable distinction with all my heart,” President Santos said Oct. 7. “I accept it not on my behalf but on behalf of all Colombians, especially the millions of victims of this conflict which we have suffered for more than 50 years.”

“It is for the victims and so that there not be a single new victim, not a single new casualty that we must reconcile and unite to culminate this process and begin to construct a stable and durable peace,” he added.

Since 1964, when the FARC uprising began, as many as 260,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in Colombia’s civil war.

The conflict has caused the rise of right wing paramilitaries aligned with the government, as well as secondary rebel groups such as the National Liberation Army.

The Norwegian Nobel committee said it hoped the prize would encourage all parties to continue peace efforts, The Guardian reports.

The proposed peace accord followed four years of negotiations in Cuba. The deal was to have incorporated some of FARC’s leadership into the government in exchange for their disarmament and renunciation of kidnapping and drug trafficking.

Pope Francis had expressed approval of the proposed peace deal when it was approved by Colombian government and FARC leaders in August. Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, attended the Sept. 26 signing in Cartagena.

When the peace deal was put to a vote Oct. 2, it narrowly failed. About 50.2 percent of voters rejected it, while 49.8 percent approved.

Fewer than 38 percent of voters participated in the referendum, and the result was divided regionally: voters in outlying provinces were in favor of the peace agreement, while those more inland tended to oppose it.

Kaci Kullmann Five, the Norwegian Nobel Committee chairwoman, said there is a real danger of an end to the peace process and renewed civil war.

“This makes it even more important that the parties, headed by President Santos and FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londoño, continue to respect the ceasefire,” she said.

Five said the vote against the peace agreement was not necessarily an end to the peace process. She said the Nobel committee wanted to stress the importance of Santos’ invitation to all parties to a national dialogue to advance peace.

Many Colombians who voted against ratification charged that it was too lenient on FARC. Members who confessed to crimes were to have been given more lenient sentences, and not face conventional jail time. Opponents of the deal, including former president Álvaro Uribe, wanted to renegotiate the agreement, with fewer concessions made to FARC.

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WORLD NEWS

New U.N. Secretary General nominee a committed Catholic

by CNA/EWTN News • October 7, 2016

António Guterres, the designate United Nations Secretary General. (OEA OAS via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

New York City, N.Y. — The United Nations Security Council has selected committed Catholic and human rights advocate as the nominee for Secretary General of the international organization.

“I have two words to describe what I’m feeling now – gratitude and humility,” António Guterres said.

“Humility about the huge challenges ahead of us, the terrible complexity of the modern world. But it is also humility that is required to serve the most vulnerable, victims of conflicts, of terrorism, rights violations, poverty and injustices of this world.”

Should Guterres’ nomination be approved by the 193-member UN General Assembly, he will begin his tenure as UN Secretary General Jan. 1, 2017. Guterres will replace outgoing secretary general Ban Ki-moon, who has served two five-year terms.

From 2005 to the end of 2015, Guterres ran the UN refugee agency, where he has oversaw aid and assistance for more than 60 million refugees and displaced persons around the world. As high commissioner, Guterres reformed the internal administration of the UN Refugee Agency and coordinated and expanded the response to the Syrian refugee crisis and refugee crises in Iraq, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among other locations.

While at the UN, Guterres also received a reputation for being a skilled diplomat, as well as for challenging wealthier and more powerful nations to do more to help the vulnerable and those facing human rights crises.

Previous to his work at the UN, Guterres also helped to found Portugal’s Socialist party and served as head of the party and then Prime Minister of the country from 1995-2002. While prime minister, he helped overturn attempts to legalize abortion in Portugal.

Guterres was also involved in combating Portugal’s heroin addiction problem through decriminalization accompanied by the promotion of therapy, family support, and social reintegration. In the 15 years since the implementation of the program, drug use and health problems related to addiction have dropped precipitously.

Guterres was selected as the nominee for UN Secretary General by representatives of the 15-member Security Council, which includes the United States, United Kingom, France, Russia and China, along with 10 temporary members from around the world. Also running for the position were 13 other candidates, including a record seven women. The United Nations has not been led by a woman in its 71-year history.

While Guterres has been the front runner due to his strong record with refugees and human rights, his selection did not come without conflict. His nomination has been criticized by those who hoped a woman would lead the international organization. Guterres has also been opposed by abortion-supporting organizations and advocates of same-sex marriage, who decry him for his defense of life as well as statements he has made in the past against same-sex marriage and concerns he has raised regarding the LGBT movement.

To address the issue of gender equality within the United Nations, Guterres has vowed gender parity in making appointments to high-level UN positions.

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U.S. NEWS

New bill would protect churches with political views from the IRS

by CNA/EWTN News • October 1, 2016

(Martin via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Washington D.C. — Churches concerned about Internal Revenue Service intervention if they engage in political speech should take a look at a proposed federal bill that promises fewer restrictions, the bill’s backers say.

“No tax exemption can be based on a requirement that a church or any other non-profit organization give up a constitutionally protected freedom, including free speech,” Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Erik Stanley said Sept. 29. “With regard to churches, they can decide for themselves what they should or shouldn’t say from the pulpit. Americans don’t need the IRS to be the referee.”

Reps. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Jody Hice (R-Ga.) have introduced the Freedom of Speech Fairness Act, which claims to restore free speech and religious freedom to churches and other nonprofits. It would allow churches to make political statements in the ordinary course of the organization’s regular and customary activities, and if any expenditures on such statements are minimal.

The bill would ensure that a minister may make a comment about a political candidate or issue as part of a sermon. It would also allow a charity that sends out a monthly newsletter to occasionally include comments on political issues or candidates, according to Rep. Scalise’s office.

The bill maintains some restrictions. It would not allow non-profits to create an entirely new mailing campaign dedicated solely to political information. It would not allow non-profit organizations or churches to engage in political activities outside the scope of their normal tax-exempt work. They also could not contribute to political activities or candidates.

Stanley spoke in support of the bill, contrasting it with the 1954 Johnson Amendment. Lyndon Johnson, who would later go on to become president, backed legislation as a U.S. Senator to bar non-profits from participation in any political campaign on behalf of or against any candidate for public office. That rule is still in place.

For Stanley, the Freedom of Speech Fairness Act is a needed corrective.

“The IRS has no business acting as the speech police of any non-profit organization, as its many scandals over recent years have made clear,” he said. “This bill corrects an unconstitutional restriction put in place in 1954 that was never intended to affect churches and other non-profit groups but has been used to intimidate them ever since.”

“By removing the threat of an IRS investigation and potential penalties based simply, for example, on what a pastor says from the pulpit, this bill brings the law into conformity with the First Amendment,” Stanley said.

Rep. Scalise’s office said that present law creates a “chilling effect” on religious institutions’ speech.

In response to a 2012 lawsuit settlement with the Freedom from Religion Foundation, the IRS created a unit called the Political Activity Referral Committee. It identified 99 churches for “potential impermissible political campaign intervention activities.”

Groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State often send letters to pastors warning them about the tax regulations.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of General Counsel has offered guidelines to Catholic organizations on political activity and lobbying.

The July 2016 edition of the guidelines runs to 44 pages. It offers careful rules concerning candidate forums, debates, photo-ops and facility rentals at churches and other Catholic organizations.

The guidelines are relevant to non-profit Catholic media organizations, including CNA’s parent organization the EWTN Global Catholic Network.

“Prudence dictates that Catholic periodicals reject columns that endorse, support or oppose candidates,” the bishops’ document states. It notes that Catholic news publications should avoid crossing the legal threshold of attempting “to promote or oppose a candidate through editorial policy” or through selective acceptance of political advertisements.

Alliance Defending Freedom organizes protests of the tax regulations in its Pulpit Freedom Sunday events.

The U.S. bishops’ guidelines caution against Catholic churches’ participation in the event, saying it could cause problems with the IRS non-profit requirements.

“If the IRS determines that an organization has violated this absolute prohibition against political campaign intervention, the IRS may revoke the organization’s tax-exempt status, including its ability to receive tax-deductible contributions,” the guidelines say.

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U.S. NEWS

Archbishop to public officials: Rely on the Holy Spirit

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • October 3, 2016

(Brandon Bourdages/Shutterstock)

Washington D.C. — Amidst the current environment of “political polarization,” one archbishop exhorted public officials on Sunday not to be discouraged, but to pray together and ask for “an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.”

“At this critical moment in our nation’s history, at this time when America seems to be almost paralyzed by a political polarization that impedes our ability to address effectively a whole host of pressing needs, we gather not just to pray for our country and its leaders in general, but to plead in a particular way for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on those who are involved in the administration of justice,” Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul-Minneapolis said on Sunday.

Archbishop Hebda preached the homily at the Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington, D.C. The Mass has been held annually for Supreme Court justices, judges, and other public officials since 1952, and the tradition of such a Mass for public officials dates back centuries in Europe. The Mass is named for the red vestments worn by the priest, the color of fire and a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Cardinal Wuerl celebrated the Mass and Archbishop Hebda was the homilist.

Three area attorneys and one legal firm were honored after the Mass by the John Carroll Society for their pro bono work for low-income persons. Professor Paul Kurth of Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law and lawyers Robert B. Fitzpatrick and Relinda Louisy all volunteered with the Catholic Charities Legal Network. The firm Hogan Lovells US LLP was also honored for its relationship with the Catholic Charities network.

At the Mass, Archbishop Hebda exhorted the justices, judges, and officials to not just pursue justice in their work but to practice mercy to all those they interact with. He pointed to the words of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia that “the rule of law is always second to the law of love.”

“Those of you who knew and worked with Justice Scalia or who are students of his jurisprudence know that we certainly should not be interpreting his statement as suggesting a lack of appreciation for the rule of law, but rather as a reflection of a heightened appreciation for the importance of the law of love – and for the mercy that flows from it – in the practice of law and in the administration of justice,” Archbishop Hebda explained.

This means that public service should be focused on persons and not just laws and cases, he said.

“Pope Francis has noted that mercy ‘does not approach cases’ but persons and their pain,” the archbishop said. “Working in an environment so often populated by Jane Does and John Does, we need to remember that real people are at the heart of what we do and are affected by the decisions that we make.”

That does not mean casting aside justice to be replaced with mercy, he insisted, or “that we blindly let another off the hook.”

Rather, he said, we must “assess” others’ problems “to the best of our abilities, to the best of our professional standards, using the tools available to us, so that we might be instruments of the Lord in bringing the real healing that redounds not only to the individual but also to the common good.”

The archbishop also encouraged those in attendance to not grow discouraged by acts of violence and terror, prejudice, and infringements on religious freedom.

“In a society in which shopping malls and discos and schools have all too often become places of unthinkable horror, at a time when old hatreds and prejudices seem to be rearing their ugly heads, or when our first freedoms are so easily put at risk, we could easily be tempted to throw up our hands and simply join the lament that we heard in our first reading: ‘How long, O LORD? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not intervene’,” he said.

Rather, “instead of giving up in discouragement, we, enlivened by the Spirit, need to join the Apostles in their fervent prayer: ‘Lord, increase our faith’,” he insisted.

And disciples must pray together, not just on their own. “There is surely strength in numbers,” he continued. “When we put our heads together, when we support each other in doing what’s right, when we pool our strengths and compensate for each other’s weaknesses, we can – by God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit – do amazing things.”

“Surely between us we will be able to come up with faith at least the size of a mustard seed, faith capable of moving the mountains of despair and division, faith capable of pursuing justice while manifesting mercy, faith capable of making a difference in our lives and in our communities,” he added.

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Vermont law blasted for pushing doctors to discuss ‘benefits’ of suicide

by CNA/EWTN News • October 3, 2016

(Arina P Habich via Shutterstock)

Montpelier, VT — A medical ethics group and a Christian doctors’ group have challenged Vermont regulators who say that doctors must tell patients about assisted suicide or refer them to someone who will.

“The government shouldn’t be telling health care professionals that they must violate their medical ethics in order to practice medicine,” said Steven H. Aden, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom. “Because the state has no authority to order them to act contrary to that sincere and time-honored conviction, we are asking the court to ensure that no state agency is able to do that while this lawsuit moves forward.”

Aden’s organization, a religious liberty group, has filed a lawsuit against officials in the Vermont Board of Medical Practice and the Office of Professional Regulation.

The lawsuit’s plaintiffs, the Vermont Alliance for Ethical Healthcare and the Christian Medical and Dental Association, object to state officials’ requirements that could force physicians to refer for assisted suicide under the 2013 assisted suicide law known passed as Act 39, the Patient Control at End of Life Act.

“Vermont’s Act 39 makes the State the first and only one to mandate that all licensed healthcare professionals counsel terminal patients about the availability and procedures for physician-assisted suicide, and refer them to willing prescribers to dispense the death-dealing drug,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit charges that the law “coerces professionals to counsel patients about the ‘benefits’ of assisted suicide” that the plaintiffs and their members do not believe exist.

The Vermont Department of Health has published on its website a document of frequently asked questions on Act 39, which allows doctors to approve lethal drugs for terminally ill patients who desire to kill themselves.

One question about assisted suicide is “Do doctors have to tell patients about this option?”

It answers that the legislation and another law called the Patient’s Bill of Rights mean “a patient has the right to be informed of all options for care and treatment.”

“If a doctor is unwilling to inform a patient, he or she must make a referral or otherwise arrange for the patient to receive all relevant information,” the document says.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction against enforcement of the law against those who decline to counsel or refer patients with terminal conditions for physician assistant suicide. Enforcement of the law is “imminent,” the suit says.

The lawsuit charges that state officials’ actions contradict a federal law that protects the conscience rights of health professionals who object to participation in assisted suicide.

Vermont’s assisted suicide bill included some protections for healthcare providers opposed to the procedure.

Alliance Defending Freedom characterized these protections as “very limited.” They only protect attending physicians who do not wish to dispense lethal drugs themselves.

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A tale of two Catholic candidates – looking at the 2016 vice president picks

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • October 4, 2016

Mike Pence (l) and Tim Kaine (r). (Gage Skidmore via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0 and U.S. Department of Education via Wikipedia)

Washington, D.C. — Although both major 2016 vice presidential nominees were raised Catholic and still profess to be Christians, their public policy records have drawn concern from some members of the faithful, each for different reasons.

The “free exercise” of religion “is not simply about what you do in Church on Sunday morning,” Deacon Keith Fournier of the Common Good Foundation told CNA. “It’s how you exercise that faith in every sector, whether it’s commerce, politics, participation – all of it.”

Both major nominees for vice president are baptized Catholics. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine still identifies as a Catholic and was seen at Sunday Mass on July 24 after he was picked by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to be her running mate.

Indiana Governor Mike Pence, meanwhile, was raised Catholic but identified in 1994 as a “born-again, evangelical Catholic.” He started attending an evangelical megachurch with his family in the 1990s. It is unclear which church Pence attends now.

“I’m a pretty ordinary Christian,” freelance journalist Craig Fehrman reported him saying. Pence told the audience at the Republican National Convention that he was a “Christian, conservative, and a Republican, in that order.”

Sen. Kaine is a parishioner of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in the diocese of Richmond, Va. In his July 27 speech at the Democratic National Convention, he recalled his Jesuit education at Rockhurst High School where the motto was “men for others,” and spoke of his year of missionary work in Honduras with Jesuits.

Both Pence and Kaine have drawn controversy for their public policy positions. While Sen. Kaine has said he’s “personally opposed” to abortion, he has received a 100 percent rating in 2016 from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the political arm of the nation’s largest abortion provider, and a perfect rating in 2015 from NARAL Pro-Choice America.

More recently, it was reported that he privately told Hillary Clinton that he would support overturning the Hyde Amendment, a 40 year-old policy that prevents federal dollars from directly funding most abortions.

Just before Pope Francis’ U.S. visit last September, Sen. Kaine voted against bringing a 20-week abortion ban to a vote on the Senate floor. He explained his vote:

“Because it violates the 14th Amendment and 40 years of Supreme Court precedent, I voted against it. Nothing in my Catholic faith suggests that I should support legislation that violates the Constitution. In fact, I take an oath as a Senator to support the Constitution, ‘so help me God.’”

He added that he would “truly listen” to Pope Francis during his visit, “instead of using the Papal visit as just another political opportunity” as he accused the Senate Republicans of doing in trying to bring the bill to a vote.

After the Pope addressed the joint meeting of Congress, the senator noted how Pope Francis set “high expectations” for the members “because he can look into our history and culture and see these examples that have been really powerful, and that there isn’t any reason we can’t rise to that same level of achievement today - whether it’s tackling climate change or economic injustice or the migrant crisis that is seen throughout the world.”

As Governor of Virginia, Kaine also personally opposed the death penalty, but his term saw 11 executions with only one commuted death sentence, the New York Times reported.

Shortly after the announcement of Kaine’s candidacy, Bishop Francis DiLorenzo of Richmond issued a statement saying, “The Catholic Church makes its position very clear as it pertains to the protection of human life, social justice initiatives, and the importance of family life.”

“From the very beginning, Catholic teaching informs us that every human life is sacred from conception until natural death. The right to life is a fundamental, human right for the unborn and any law denying the unborn the right to life is unequivocally unjust.”

A Catholic cannot be “personally opposed” to abortion while allowing its public practice, Deacon Fournier told CNA.

Because “the dignity of every human person” is the “most important” part of public policy, he continued, to support the taking of innocent life in the womb is a gravely wrong position that undermines all other areas of public policy.

“If we do not recognize the dignity of every human life, everything else falls,” he said. “The entire structure of human rights falls.”

“It’s the very reason why we care for the poor and the needy and the migrant, and people in prison cells,” he continued. “It’s the very reason that we care for all of these horrible divisions that are beginning to once again manifest themselves in our midst, when we’re seeing people as less than us and less than others, or using them as products and instruments rather than receiving them as gifts.”

Christina Healy, a student at Case Western School of Medicine who works with the pro-life group Life Matters Journal, told CNA that when evaluated through the lens of a “consistent-life ethic,” Kaine misses the mark as a vice presidential candidate.

“Tim Kaine likes to claim that he is Catholic, that he’s a devout Catholic at that,” she said. “But I think that it’s very anti-Catholic to not be in favor of and live out the consistent life ethic.”

“He says that he is personally pro-life. I think is a very poor excuse to try to gain some pro-life voters. It’s not going to work on me. I don’t think it’s going to work on very many people,” she added.

Gov. Pence, meanwhile, had a strong pro-life record as a congressman, having a 100 percent rating from the group National Right to Life for almost his entire time in Washington. Multiple pro-life leaders hailed his vice presidential candidacy, especially after they publicly expressed their reservations about GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“Gov. Pence has proven to be a pro-life champion both during his time in Congress and as Governor of Indiana,” Marjorie Dannelfelser, head of the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List, stated of Pence being chosen for the vice presidential slot. “Mike Pence is a pro-life trailblazer and Mr. Trump could not have made a better choice.”

Pence has strongly supported traditional marriage – he favored passage of a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Last year, however, his initial support of – and subsequent amendment to – Indiana’s religious freedom law drew the ire of both liberals and conservatives.

Indiana’s version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act would have established legal protections for all those who conscientiously support traditional marriage and wish to live out their beliefs: a baker would not be hit with a discrimination lawsuit for respectfully declining to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding out of conscience, for example.

After a national uproar over the law’s perceived intolerance, Pence signed an amended version, one that Ryan Anderson of the Heritage Foundation argued effectively gutted religious freedom protections for entities other than non-profits. In conflicts involving sexual orientation and gender identity, the law only protected non-profits and their extensions.

As governor, Pence stated his public support for the death penalty in a 2014 interview, saying that “justice demands it in our most heinous cases.”

Pence also had a public disagreement with the Archbishop of Indianapolis Joseph Tobin last fall, over the archdiocese’s role in resettling Syrian refugees.

After it was alleged that a terrorist posing as a Syrian refugee was responsible in part for the Paris terror attacks last November, the governor asked for a temporary halt to resettlement programs in the state for Syrians.

Before he met with Governor Pence to discuss the matter a few weeks later, Archbishop Tobin asked Catholic Charities to resettle a Syrian refugee family in Indiana.

“Three years ago, this family fled the violence of terrorists in their homeland of Syria. After two years of extensive security checks and personal interviews, the United States government approved them to enter our country,” the archbishop stated of the refugee family.

“For 40 years the archdiocese’s Refugee and Immigrant Services has welcomed people fleeing violence in various regions of the world. This is an essential part of our identity as Catholic Christians and we will continue this life-saving tradition,” he continued.

After the meeting, Pence’s office responded that the governor “respectfully disagrees with their decision to place a Syrian refugee family in Indiana at this time.” The dispute between the governor and the archbishop drew significant media attention in the days that followed.

Pence’s disagreement with Archbishop Tobin – as well as with Kaine’s support for abortion – reveal the tension behind living one’s faith out in public service, suggested Robert Christian, editor of Millennial journal.

“Both Mike Pence and Tim Kaine seem to be very sincere Christian believers,” he said.

“Pence identifies as a ‘Christian first’ and we see that in his strong commitment to the protection of unborn life, but it is hard to see how this translates into his hardline stance against resettling Syrian refugees, his libertarian economic views, and comfort with a death penalty system that is grossly unjust.”

“Tim Kaine speaks very powerfully about how his faith shapes his commitment to social justice and we see it on issues like healthcare, protecting the environment, and civil rights,” Christian added.

However, Kaine’s support for legal abortion “is really disconnected from his overall approach to faith in public life and a clear demonstration of the pressure to conform with party orthodoxy, which is shaped by the powerful donor class in each party.”

This article was originally published on CNA Aug. 4, 2016.

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Who you gonna call (on murky moral issues)? Catholic bioethicists

by Adelaide Mena (CNA/EWTN News) • October 4, 2016

(Dmitrijs Bindemanis via Shutterstock)

Philadelphia, PA — What would you do if you’re a young medical student who was told that you must participate in abortion in order to get your degree?

Or if you and your family have to make the decision about what kind of life support and extraordinary care to provide a loved one in their final days?

Or if you’re a priest trying to counsel a couple in your parish through the difficult struggle with infertility?

These are all questions Catholics in the 21st century are facing – and each have complicated answers.

Luckily, the Church has the National Catholic Bioethics Center, an independent Catholic institution based in Philadelphia, Pa., working to provide guidance based in Church teaching to laity, clergy, and scientific professionals to help them clarify the murky bioethical issues Catholics wade through in our world today.

“What makes us unique,” said Dr. Marie Hilliard, director of bioethics and public policy for the National Catholic Bioethics Center, or NCBC, “is that we are not a part of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.”

Hilliard added that the group is recognized by the U.S. bishops and has their support and has many bishops and cardinals and board members, but pointed out that the NCBC is focused not on creating doctrine or defining teaching for new situations, but putting existing Church teaching in practice in difficult situations.

“We are there applying the principles with great adherence to the teaching of the Church,” she said. “We fill a very unique roll that’s very different.”

The NCBC was founded in 1972 as the Pope John XXIII Medical-Moral Research and Education Center, in order to deal with new bioethical challenges facing the scientific and Catholic communities. The organization’s founding was “ahead of the times,” as it was there to address game-changing bioethical challenges like the Supreme Court decisions permitting abortion in 1973, the HIV/AIDS crisis, stem cell isolation and research and the sequencing of the human genome, said president Dr. John M. Haas.

The council’s existence has enabled the NCBC to respond quickly to major developments in biotechnology, or even anticipate them, Haas said. He recalled a workshop the NCBC ran for the U.S. bishops in the late 1990s on the nature of man and how to approach the subject of humanity in the wake of new medical developments: one week after the conference ended, scientists announced that they had sequenced the human genome.

“It couldn’t have been more timely or convergent with our program,” Haas told CNA.

Over the years, the NCBC has developed a set of specialties where they focus their efforts. Their main areas of focus are publishing, including their award-winning National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, along with various commentaries and books; public policy; education for scientists, bishops, and medical professionals; and consultations. In their consultation work, the team fields and responds to more than 2000 individual consultation requests a year, as well as consultations for Catholic organizations like Catholic Relief Services and Catholic hospitals, along with consultations for bishops and dioceses.

Most laypeople people who interact with the NCBC do so through their individual ethical consultations – the organization’s personal consultations for people facing ethical dilemmas involving science or health care. Among the most common requests the staff ethicists receive are end-of-life issues, career selection, questions regarding sexuality and infertility, and resolving perceived contradictions between science and religion.

“In terms of cases, we don’t get the easy ones – and that’s when they call us,” said Dr. Edward J. Furton, director of publications for the NCBC.

Even though the cases the team receives are difficult ones, and each case is different, the NCBC strives to provide practical answers to people’s ethical dilemmas.

“We are so practical,” Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of education and ethicist for the NCBC told CNA. “It’s not like sitting and writing scholarly journals at the university – we do some of that as well – but our focus is an intensely practical one.”

The NCBC’s consultation work also is an opportunity for ministry and even to provide comfort for people facing some of life’s most difficult challenges, Fr. Pacholczyk said. Whether it’s a doctor facing a difficult choice in treating a patient or a family weighing their options as a loved one reaches the very end of life, the ethicists try to assist and guide those they counsel as best as they can. Often, Dr. Haas added, they receive notes thanking them for being so helpful in life’s most difficult choices.

The National Catholic Bioethics Center extends its ministerial efforts to more than individual consultations. Fr. Pacholczyk’s work focuses on outreach and education, as well as answering consultations – especially those of priests and clergy. Throughout the year, Fr. Pacholczyk travels the country giving talks, helping to run National Catholic Bioethics Center’s certification program in healthcare ethics, and a workshop for bishops on how to apply Catholic teaching on ethics in practical situations.

“It’s a multi-pronged form of outreach,” Fr. Pacholczyk said.

This multi-pronged approach also applies to the center’s work on public policy, which is headed by Dr. Hilliard. The center’s work in responding to topics such as physician-assisted suicide, abortion, disabilities, conscience rights and religious freedom, scientific advancement and public funding of various research and public health measures, is an essential conversation for Catholics to be involved in, Dr. Hilliard said.

“We live in a real world and we have to be there,” she said, stressing that Catholics need to be there to respond to “policies that are going to impact the world.”

Her role in offering an ethical analysis of policy proposals and measures has gained Dr. Hilliard recognition outside the Church as well.

“Sometimes I get called ahead of time because they know I’ll be commenting extensively on something they’re proposing,” Dr. Hilliard said of notifications she receives of upcoming policy proposals from various government figures.

Other faith traditions and secular institutions also look to Dr. Hilliard and the NCBC for collaboration and explanations of the natural moral law, because “we don’t have to pull out the Bible,” but can justify their positions from a position of both faith and reason.

The NCBC’s publications also have garnered attention within the scholarly community as well. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly is an award-winning publication and major journal of medical ethics, and its readers include major pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and ethics professors of medical schools.

The publications and the work the NCBC does more broadly fill a much-needed role in rigorously examining ethical issues. “No one out there has a moral tradition as highly sophisticated as that of the Catholic Church,” Dr. Furton said.

“There’s a great need for what we do, not only in the larger sphere in public comment and publications and educating people, but just one on one, it’s a challenging thing to deal with these difficult moral questions that come to you in the course of a day.”

Part of that great need has come in recent decades from a growing perception that science and religion are at odds with one another. “These researchers think you just divide the world into objective and subjective. We scientists are objective; religious believers are subjective and make a leap of faith without any standing,” he said.

Dr. Haas added that this false distinction mistakenly drives faithful college students from scientific fields.

“We’re losing young people by the dozens and the primary reason is they see an incompatibility between science and the faith,” he said. “If there is one area where there ought not to be any perceived incompatibility between science and a religion it’s within the framework of Catholicism.”

Adding to the confusion is poor catechism and a misunderstanding of the Church’s natural law tradition, substituting Protestant or materialist views of science, reason, and faith that drive false wedges between faith and reason.

Also, misunderstandings of the Church’s moral tradition can drive people to take a position that is “too rigid” and misunderstands what the Church teaches, he said. “There’s a lot of ignorance out there that needs to be overcome.”

However, overcoming ignorance and providing people with practical answers is precisely what the NCBC seeks to do.

“The Church brings something very substantive and when people can tap into that they realize that this goes back centuries – centuries of moral reflection,” Fr. Pacholczyk said. That tradition of the Church, he offered, is the center’s secret weapon.

“It’s a very powerful thing to have an institute or a group like this where we can sit and no two days working on this job are ever the same.”

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Dioceses of Anchorage, Arlington get new bishops from Pope Francis

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 4, 2016

Opening Mass for the Synod of Bishops on the Family Oct. 8, 2015. (Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk)

Vatican City — Pope Francis has tapped two active bishops to head new dioceses, naming Bishop Paul D. Etienne of Cheyenne as the new Archbishop of Anchorage, and Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh as Bishop of Arlington.

Announced in an Oct. 4 communique from the Vatican, the appointments came as the former bishops of Anchorage and Arlington go into retirement, after having reached the age limit.

Archbishop-elect Paul D. Etienne, 57, is an Indiana outdoorsman with many relatives also in the priesthood or religious life.

Born in Philadelphia in 1959, the bishop grew up as one of six children to parents who have been married more than 50 years. Two of his brothers are priests, and his sister is a religious.

He graduated from the University of St. Thomas/St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, Minn. with a degree in Business Administration before studying at the North American College in Rome and receiving a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Following his priestly ordination in 1992 for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Fr. Etienne worked as an associate pastor and assistant vocation director before returning to Rome to receive his License in Spiritual Theology.

Upon his return to the U.S. in 1995, he served as the vocation director for the archdiocese, vice-rector of the Bishop Simon Brute College Seminary in Indianapolis and as a parish priest.

He also served as a member of the Council of Consultors and Council of Priests for the diocese before being appointed as Bishop of Cheyenne in 2009. No date has yet been announced for when he will take over as Archbishop of Anchorage, Alaska.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, 59 and who until now has served as the bishop of Raleigh, North Carolina, will be present in Arlington, Virginia to announce his appointment as the fourth Bishop of the diocese.

Born June 16, 1957, he attended Catholic grade schools and graduated from Cardinal O’Hara High School, Springfield, PA, in 1975. He then entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia by John Cardinal Krol in 1984.

The bishop holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Masers in Theology from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, as well as a Masters in Education Administration from Villanova University. He also holds a doctorate in Education from Immaculata College.

He served as a parish priest for St. Bernard Church in Philadelphia before being named to the faculties of, successively, Cardinal O’Hara High School, Archbishop Wood High School and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, where he also served as Dean of Students until 1992.

In 1992 he was named Administrative Secretary to Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia, a role that he held until 1999. A year earlier, he was made Honorary Prelate to Pope John Paul II, receiving the title of Monsignor. He then served as Rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary until 2004.

Bishop Burbidge was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia in 2002, and in 1006 was named the fifth Bishop of Raleigh. The bishop currently serves as Chair of the USCCB Committee for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, which he has been a member of since 2007.

He is also a member of the Administrative and Communications Committees, and is an advisor for the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors.

The bishop is also a current member of the Board of Trustees for The Catholic University of America, and has recently completed a 5-year term as Co-Chair of the International Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue, which is sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

In an initial Oct. 4 statement on his appointment as the new Bishop of Arlington, Burbidge said serving in Raleigh has been a “profound pleasure,” and that he has never forgotten the “warmth and love” he was welcomed with.

He thanked the priests, deacons, religious and lay people for their support and kindness, and voiced his certainty that he will be welcomed to Arlington with “the same joy and love” he found in his former diocese.

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Catholic University of America releases toolkit to fight domestic violence

by CNA/EWTN News • October 5, 2016

(VectorLifestylepic/Shutterstock)

Washington D.C. — Marking the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, The Catholic University of America has released a toolkit to help connect victims with the resources they need.

The toolkit was assembled by Catholics for Family Peace Education and Research Initiative, a part of the university’s National Catholic School of Social Service.

It includes several links to resources from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Charities, the National Domestic Violence Hotline and other organizations that combat domestic abuse. The materials strongly encourage the faithful to spread this information.

“Domestic violence affects the whole family, including any children,” reads the resource kit. “Faith communities are called to offer hope, help, and healing to all harmed by domestic abuse and violence.”

The kit stresses the importance of education about sexual assault, as well as aids for a social media campaign to help spread awareness and support. It also stresses that domestic abuse “is not a private family matter” and that it is “serious, preventable public health problem that affects millions of Americans.”

According to a 2010 survey by the Centers for Disease Control, more than 1 in 3 women and more than 1 in 4 men in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate or domestic partner in their lifetime.

Domestic violence also encompasses psychological harm, in addition to physical and sexual harm. According to statistics by the Bureau of Justice, nearly 4 out of 5 victims of domestic violence are female.

The toolkit instructs those close to victims of domestic abuse to believe their friend’s stories and reaffirm that “the abuse is not God’s will.”

The school’s materials instruct those who know of abuse to refer victims to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, noting that “without intervention, abuse often escalates in frequency and severity over time.” They also strongly encourage victims and their partners to seek out counseling for domestic violence, not just couples’ counseling, which can prolong the issue or shift the blame to the victim.

Furthermore, the resources point to the saints as “an ever present help” and suggest several prayers and novenas to St. Jude and to the Holy Spirit for guidance for those dealing with difficult situations.

The university’s materials invite the faithful to join in a moment of solidarity and prayer for the intentions of those suffering from domestic violence at 3:00 p.m. every day in October. Prayers and quotes from Pope Francis and the saints regarding domestic abuse are also included, as well as intentions to pray at the Prayer of the Faithful each Sunday in October.

With these tools as a starting point, The Catholic University of America and the Catholics for Family Peace hope to “inform the Catholic community on ways to promote family peace and to prevent and respond to domestic abuse and to provide resources and promote prayer for all families.”

To learn more visit catholicsforfamilypeace.org.

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There’s a new national shrine dedicated to St. Therese of Lisieux

by CNA/EWTN News • October 5, 2016

Shrine Island at the St. Therese Shrine in Juneau, Alaska. (St. Therese Shrine)

Juneau, Alaska — Adding to the more than 70 national shrines in the United States, the St. Therese Shrine in Juneau, Alaska was added by the U.S. bishops to the national list on her Oct. 1 feast day this year.

“We are pleased to have the Conference of Bishops recognize the Shrine of St. Therese as a National Shrine,” stated Bishop Edward J. Burns of Juneau, Alaska after the official announcement.

“The shrine is a place of tremendous spiritual and natural beauty for all who visit, and we are happy the Bishops have confirmed what so many shrine visitors have felt in their hearts – that the National Shrine of St. Therese, Juneau, is a gift from God and a treasure to all who pilgrim to her shore,” he continued.

The Shrine of St. Therese started in the 1930s from the inspiration of Jesuit priest Fr. William G. LeVasseur, who wanted to dedicate a holy place where individuals could grow in their devotion to God, while bringing people closer to “the true source of life.”

After approval from then-Bishop of Alaska Joseph Crimont, Fr. LeVasseur obtained land from the U.S. government, and in 1933, the retreat house at the shrine was under construction. In 1935, the chapel broke ground, with the first Mass taking place in 1941.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus became the namesake of the shrine because of Bishop Crimon’s devotion to the Little Flower, as well as his connections to some members of the Martin family in France. St. Therese is also named as the patron of the state of Alaska and the diocese of Juneau.

Bishop Burns made the announcement of the shrine’s new national designation at the Southeast Alaska Catholic Conference, after the entire diocese had prayed a novena to St. Therese leading up to her feast day. Although the U.S. Bishops Conference approved the shrine’s national designation on Sept. 13, the official decree was dated on Oct. 1 to honor St. Therese.

In order to qualify for a national decree, shrines must align with the teachings of the Catholic Church and promote the advancement of the faith, while catering to the needs of pilgrims who visit through common prayer and pastoral care. They must be officially approved by a committee of the U.S. bishops, who believe that national designations “enhance the significance of shrines and their service in evangelization in the United States,” according to their conference website.

Over the years, the St. Therese shrine has been used as a center for pilgrimages, retreats, and weddings, and continues to be under the care of the Catholic Diocese of Juneau. Although the shrine does not belong to one particular parish, sacraments which are performed there are administered through St. Paul the Apostle parish in Juneau.

The shrine is located about 22 miles from downtown Juneau, and has been visited by thousands of pilgrims over the past 75 years. The grounds contain a chapel, outdoor Stations of the Cross, a rosary trail, and a prayer labyrinth to promote spiritual experiences outdoors.

“I am profoundly grateful to so many who have given their time, talent and treasure over the past 75 years to make the National Shrine of Saint Therese in Juneau what it is today,” Bishop Burns stated.

“This a place of spiritual refuge for people of all faiths and nations – a place where people hear the call of Jesus to ‘come with me by yourself to a quiet place and rest.”

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Here’s what the VP candidates said about abortion last night

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • October 5, 2016

Democrat VP nominee Tim Kaine (l) and Republican VP nominee Mike Pence (r) debate at the Vice Presidential Debate at Longwood University on October 4, 2016. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Farmville, VA — The topic of abortion made an appearance at the vice presidential debate last night, as both candidates discussed the role of faith in their lives, and how it aligns with their political views.

Democratic candidate Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) insisted he was personally opposed to abortion but would not, as a public official, infringe upon a woman’s choice to have an abortion.

“We support Roe v. Wade. We support the constitutional right of American women to consult their own conscience” and “make their own decision about pregnancy,” he said.

People of faith should be “convincing each other, dialoguing with each other about important moral issues of the day,” he added, “but on fundamental issues of morality, we should let women make their own decisions.”

His words met harsh criticism from Republican Mike Pence, governor of Indiana, who reiterated his support for the pro-life cause and noted that his state has significantly increased its adoption rate in recent years.

The topic was raised toward the end of the Oct. 4 vice presidential debate.

“You have both been open about the role that faith has played in your lives. Can you discuss, in detail, a time when you struggled to balance your faith and a public policy position?” moderator Elaine Quijano of CBS News asked both candidates.

Sen. Kaine, a baptized Catholic who has attended St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in the diocese of Richmond, Va., made it clear that he tries to follow Church teaching in his personal life but is careful not to let that same teaching determine his decisions as a public servant.

“I try to practice my religion in a very devout way and follow the teachings of my church in my own personal life,” he said at Tuesday’s debate. However, he added, “I think it is really, really important that those of us who have deep faith lives don’t feel like we can just substitute our views for everybody else in society regardless of their views.”

“It is not the role of the public servant to mandate that [faith] for everybody else,” he insisted.

Kaine has openly conflicted with Church teaching on both abortion and same-sex marriage while on the campaign trail, drawing criticism from several Catholic bishops for doing so.

However, he gave the example of his inner conflict on the death penalty as the governor of Virginia, because he personally opposed its use but allowed for it as governor because it was the law of the state.

On the death penalty, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “Assuming that the guilty party’s identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.”

“If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person,” it adds, saying that because of advances in modern security, “the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity ‘are very rare, if not practically nonexistent’.”

Kaine presided over the execution of 11 people as governor of Virginia. “I had to grapple with that,” he explained, saying that as governor he had to operate by the laws of the state.

“It was very, very difficult to allow executions to go forward, but in circumstance here I didn’t feel like there was a case for clemency, I told Virginia voters I would uphold the law, and I did,” he said.

Pence, meanwhile, who was raised Catholic, answered that “my Christian faith became real for me when I made a personal decision for Christ when I was a Freshman in college. And I’ve tried to live that out, however imperfectly, every day of my life ever since.”

For his part, Pence left out his own support of the death penalty, as well as his public conflict last year with Archbishop Joseph Tobin of Indianapolis when Catholic Charities was set to resettle a Syrian refugee family that had been waiting in line for two years. Gov. Pence had tried to halt resettlement of Syrian refugees in his state until the federal government gave sufficient confirmation that the resettlement program was secure.

Archbishop Tobin went ahead and resettled the family against Pence’s wishes. Pence met with the archbishop and afterwards said he “respectfully disagreed” with the resettlement.

Pence referred to himself as an “Evangelical-Catholic” in a 1994 interview, began attending an Evangelical megachurch with his family, and now says he is a “Christian.” Pence emphasized that his faith hinges upon upholding the “sanctity of life.”

“It all for me begins with cherishing the dignity, the worth, the value of every human life,” Pence said on the debate stage. “For me the sanctity of life proceeds out of the belief that ancient principle that where God says before you were formed in the womb I knew you,” he stated.

And then Pence took Kaine to task for his – and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s – support for abortion. Kaine has earned a 100 percent rating by the abortion rights group NARAL in his time in the Senate.

“The very idea that a child that is almost born into the world could still have their life taken from them is just anathema to me. And I can’t conscience about a party that supports that,” Pence said.

Pence also noted Hillary Clinton’s support of partial-birth abortion, and defended the Hyde Amendment, a decades-old provision with bipartisan support that prohibits the taxpayer funding of elective abortion. The Democratic Party platform and Hillary Clinton have called for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, but Kaine after several different answers said he supported it, back in July.

Kaine reiterated his support for a woman’s right to “consult their own conscience” on abortion.

Pence countered that “we can create a culture of life,” invoking Mother Teresa’s famous address to the National Prayer Breakfast in 1994 where she called abortion “the greatest destroyer of peace today … because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child.”

“As Mother Teresa said at that famous National Prayer Breakfast, let’s welcome the children into our world. There are so many families around the country who can’t have children,” Pence said.

“Because a society can be judged by how it deals with its most vulnerable, the aged, the infirm, the disabled, and the unborn.”

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Nebraska better off without death penalty, Catholics say

by CNA/EWTN News • October 5, 2016

(Giuseppe Costantino via Shutterstock)

Lincoln, NE — Catholic leaders in Nebraska spoke out in favor of a vote to maintain a ban on the death penalty, calling it unnecessary and “unjustified.”

“The Catholic Church and Nebraska bishops oppose the death penalty because it is not necessary to protect society,” Tom Venzor, executive director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference, said at a Sept. 29 press conference.

“We urge Catholics and all people of good will to vote to retain the repeal of the death penalty on Referendum 426.”

This November, voters can decide whether to approve or reject the Nebraska Death Penalty Repeal Veto Referendum, Referendum 426. The referendum would repeal the Nebraska legislature’s May 2015 vote to ban the death penalty. Gov. Pete Ricketts vetoed the bill, but the legislature overrode it.

The Catholic conference is hosting speaking events about the referendum at each cathedral parish and other parishes and venues.

Venzor said Nebraska’s bishops and the Catholic conference will engage in “significant efforts” to ensure Catholics understand Catholic teaching on the death penalty and are encouraged to vote to retain the legislature’s death penalty repeal.

Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha spoke in favor of retaining the ban in an Oct. 3 video.

“In our particular circumstance, the death penalty is unnecessary and therefore unjustified. This principled Catholic response is shaped by our commitment to the life and dignity of every human person and the common good,” he said.

He cited Catholic teaching that the state may impose the death penalty if it is “the only available means to protect society.” The option should not be exercised when “other non-lethal means that are more respectful of human life are available.”

Father Douglas Dietrich also backed a vote to retain the ban. He is pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Lincoln, not far from the capitol building,

Human lives are “unrepeatable, intrinsically valuable gifts that we must not deprive others of,” he told the Sept. 29 press conference.

“Along with my brother priests we are taking a principled pro-life stance in proclaiming we do not need the death penalty in Nebraska,” he said adding “what human life God creates, we must not destroy.”

About 49 percent of Americans support the death penalty for convicted murderers, down from 80 percent in 1995. In 1995 only about 16 percent of Americans opposed the death penalty. That figure has risen to 42 percent.

Since 1936, opposition to the death penalty peaked in the mid-1960s when 47 percent of Americans opposed it and only 42 percent supported it, according to the Pew Research Center.

Death penalty opposition is the highest since 1972.

About 72 percent of Republicans support the death penalty, compared to 44 percent of unaffiliated voters and 34 percent of Democrats. 43 percent of Catholics support the death penalty, while 46 percent oppose it. White Catholics are somewhat more likely to support the death penalty.

Fr. Dietrich said alternatives to the death penalty offer the convict the chance at rehabilitation and conversion.

He cited St. John Paul II’s words during his 1999 visit to the United States: “A sign of hope is the Increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil.”

Sister Jean O’Rourke, a Sister of Mercy from Omaha, Neb., said that women religious have advocated for the abolition of the death penalty for decades.

She said the death penalty is an “ineffective and unfair” policy, given the risk of executing innocent people, the costs of appeal, and the personal effects of the lengthy appeals process on victims’ families.

“It promises closure, but all too often brings prolonged agony,” Sister O’Rourke said.

“The Death penalty is not merciful, because it views a person as not deserving God’s gift of life,” she said. “When the state kills, in our name, we have blood on our hands.”

The Nebraska Catholic Conference has a webpage about the death penalty measure at necatholic.org/deathpenalty.

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Read Donald Trump’s letter to Catholic leaders

by CNA/EWTN News • October 6, 2016

Trump speaks at the Republic National Convention in Cleveland on July 21, 2016. (Addie Mena/CNA)

Denver, CO — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wrote a letter to Catholic leaders during a two-day conference in Denver this week, identifying himself as pro-life and vowing to support core values such as religious liberty and school choice.

“I have a message for Catholics: I will be there for you. I will stand with you. I will fight for you,” he wrote Oct. 5. “I am, and will remain, pro-life. I will defend your religious liberties and the right to fully and freely practice your religion, as individuals, business owners and academic institutions.”

Trump’s letter was addressed to the 18th Annual Catholic Leadership Conference, being held Oct 4-6 in Denver.

He stated that Catholics are “a rich part of our nation’s history” and that “the United States was, and is, strengthened through Catholic men, women, priests and religious Sisters.”

The GOP candidate has met a mixed reaction among Catholics. His commitment to the pro-life cause has been questioned by some advocates, due to his strong pro-choice statements in 1999 and 2000, as well as his comments during the campaign that his sister Maryanne Trump Barry would be an ideal Supreme Court nominee, despite her striking down New Jersey’s ban on partial-birth abortions as a judge. He has also pushed for an expansion of the death penalty.

While he later said that he is committed to appointing pro-life judges, his earlier statements have left some Catholics wary of his sincerity in being pro-life.

In his letter, Trump pointed to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s extreme pro-abortion record and support for the HHS mandate, which requires many religious non-profits to fund and facilitate abortion and related products against their religious convictions.

“Hillary Clinton supports forcing The Little Sisters of the Poor who have taken care of the elderly poor since 1839, pay [sic] for contraceptives in their health care plan (even though they have never wanted them, never used them and never will), and having the government fine them heavily if they continue to refuse to abide by this onerous mandate,” Trump wrote.

He added that Clinton “has been hostile to the core issues and policies of greatest concern to Catholics: life, religious liberty, Supreme Court nominations, affordable and quality healthcare, educational choice and home schooling.”

The GOP candidate also noted that Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, has a 100 percent voting record from the National Abortion Rights Action League and supports same-sex marriage, despite professing to be Catholic.

“On issues and policies of greatest concern to Catholics, the differences between myself and Hillary Clinton are stark. I will stand with Catholics and fight for you,” he said. “Hillary Clinton has been openly hostile to these core Catholic issues for a long time, and is only going to be worse with Tim Kaine now following her lead.”

Trump’s commitment to religious freedom has been questioned, due to his proposal for an indefinite ban on allowing Muslims into the U.S. and a potential system of monitoring those already in the country.

And while the GOP candidate says he opposes same-sex marriage, he has attracted criticism from defense-of-marriage groups who note that he has bragged in the past about having affairs with other married women. Additionally, Trump’s casino was the first in Atlantic City to have an in-house strip club.

Trump concluded his letter by saying that he “offers a much brighter future for our beloved country” than does Clinton.

The presidential candidate’s letter comes amid a tumultuous election season.

Last month, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia said he believes “that each candidate is very bad news for our country, though in different ways.”

“One candidate, in the view of a lot of people, is a belligerent demagogue with an impulse control problem. And the other, also in the view of a lot of people, is a criminal liar, uniquely rich in stale ideas and bad priorities,” the archbishop added.

And in March, more than 30 Catholic intellectual leaders signed an open letter authored by George Weigel and Robert George denouncing Trump as a man “manifestly unfit to be president of the United States” who has “driven our politics down to new levels of vulgarity,” pleading with Catholics not to vote for Trump in the primaries, which were then in full-swing.

Read Donald Trump’s full letter to the Catholic Leadership Conference here.

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Moral theologian: Tim Kaine ‘gravely wrong’ to treat abortion as a personal matter

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • October 6, 2016

Vice presidential candidate Sen. Tim Kaine. (George Sheldon via Shutterstock)

Washington D.C. — Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine was gravely wrong to say he personally opposed abortion while taking a pro-choice stance in public office, a moral theologian says.

Kaine, a Catholic, took a “gravely immoral position” and one “that is incorrect,” Fr. Thomas Petri, dean of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., told CNA of Kaine’s argument that he tries to “follow the teachings of my church in my own personal life” but will not “mandate that [faith] for everybody else” through opposing abortion in public office.

“This is a human issue, not a religious issue,” Fr. Petri said of abortion. He pointed to Pope St. John Paul’s encyclical “Evangelium Vitae” which insisted that right to life is the “primary right” and “without life, there are no other rights.”

One must oppose abortion not just on religious grounds, but as the primary human rights issue, Fr. Petri said.

At Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, the candidates were asked to reveal “a time when you struggled to balance your faith and a public policy position” from their time in public office.

Kaine, a baptized Catholic who attends St. Elizabeth parish in the Diocese of Richmond, Va., answered that when he was governor of Virginia, he was religiously opposed to the death penalty, but allowed executions because the law of the state demanded it in certain “heinous” cases.

“I think it is really, really important that those of us who have deep faith lives don’t feel like we can just substitute our views for everybody else in society regardless of their views,” he said at the debate.

Kaine was then pressed by his opponent Mike Pence, the Republican governor of Indiana, about his support for legal abortion, and Kaine repeated the same defense – a politician’s religious beliefs shouldn’t be imposed on others through governance and legislation.

Pope St. John Paul II wrote in “Evangelium Vitae” that “laws which legitimize the direct killing of innocent human beings through abortion or euthanasia are in complete opposition to the inviolable right to life proper to every individual; they thus deny the equality of everyone before the law.”

“Consequently, a civil law authorizing abortion or euthanasia ceases by that very fact to be a true, morally binding civil law,” he continued. “There is no obligation in conscience to obey such laws; instead there is a grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection.”

Kaine insisted that for the Hillary Clinton campaign, “we support Roe v. Wade. We support the constitutional right of American women to consult their own conscience” and “make their own decision about pregnancy.”

People of faith should be “convincing each other, dialoguing with each other about important moral issues of the day,” he continued, “but on fundamental issues of morality, we should let women make their own decisions.”

However, religion can’t be just a private thing, but should play a key role in how a politician governs, Fr. Petri insisted.

“We don’t expect legislators to be blank slates,” he said. “We expect them certainly to represent the interests of their constituents, but we vote for our legislators based on their positions on things, which one would hope would be shaped by experience, by life, by family, by faith – all of these things.”

“And so one naturally has to ask how important is the faith for any person who says ‘my faith has no bearing on my work or what I do in life’,” he continued.

Kaine has received a 100 percent rating from the National Abortion Rights Action League during his time in the Senate. Planned Parenthood’s political arm has hailed him as “a strong advocate for reproductive health and rights” and gave him a 100 percent rating.

“He supports access to affordable birth control and has consistently voted to ensure women have access to safe, legal abortion care,” the Planned Parenthood Action Fund stated of Kaine.

The candidate has said he personally supports the Hyde Amendment – which prohibits the taxpayer funding of elective abortions – but Clinton wants it repealed, and a Clinton spokesperson previously said that Kaine “is committed to carrying out Secretary Clinton’s agenda.”

When Kaine was picked by Clinton to be her running mate, his bishop issued a statement about Church teaching on abortion and legislating.

“From the very beginning, Catholic teaching informs us that every human life is sacred from conception until natural death. The right to life is a fundamental, human right for the unborn and any law denying the unborn the right to life is unequivocally unjust,” Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo of Richmond stated on July 22.

Kaine also said that he believed the Catholic Church would eventually change its teaching and allow for same-sex marriage, speaking at a national dinner of the LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign.

Three days later, his bishop issued another statement that Church teaching on marriage could not, and will not, change.

“More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage, and despite recent statements from the campaign trail, the Catholic Church’s 2000-year-old teaching to the truth about what constitutes marriage remains unchanged and resolute,” Bishop DiLorenzo stated on Sept. 13.

“As Catholics, we believe all humans warrant dignity and deserve love and respect, and unjust discrimination is always wrong,” he added. “Our understanding of marriage, however, is a matter of justice and fidelity to our Creator’s original design.”

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Federal court blocks Pence’s ban on Syrian refugees in Indiana

by CNA/EWTN News • October 6, 2016

Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana governor Mike Pence. (Gino Santa Maria via Shutterstock)

Indianapolis, IN — Indiana Governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence’s bid to keep Syrian refugees out of his state was blocked by a federal appeals court this week.

The appeals court, made up of a panel of three well-known conservative judges, upheld a lower court’s decision, which said Pence was discriminating against Syrians by blocking them from receiving federal funds to resettle in his state.

One member of the appeals court is on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees.

In a unanimous decision, the appeals court said that Pence acted illegally by accepting federal funds to resettle refugees from other countries and denying them to Syrian refugees.

In November 2015, Pence suspended state agencies’ involvement in the relocation of Syrian refugees following terrorist attacks that killed more than 120 people in Paris on Nov. 19, 2015.

This week, the federal appeals court said Pence’s security concerns regarding Syrian refugees are “nightmare speculation” based on no evidence. The court also said the state presented no evidence that any Syrian refugee had been involved in a terrorist act in the U.S.

Judge Richard Posner, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, wrote for the court that Pence’s refusal to resettle Syrians is still “discrimination on the basis of nationality.” Judges Frank Easterbrook and Diane Sykes joined the decision. Sykes, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, is on Trump’s list of potential Supreme court nominees.

The decision came just one day before the vice presidential debate on Oct. 4, during which Pence said he stood by his policy to block Syrian refugees.

“As governor of the state of Indiana, I have no higher priority than safety and security of people in my state,” he said. “So you bet I suspended that program. And I stand by that decision.”

He also said he would stand by similar policies as vice president, should he be elected.

“Donald Trump and I are committed to suspending the Syrian refugee program and programs and immigration from areas of the world that have been compromised by terrorism,” Pence said.

Pence’s blockade of Syrian refugees almost impeded Catholic Charities and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis from resettling a family in Dec. 2015. Pence identified in 1994 as a “born-again, evangelical Catholic.” He started attending an evangelical megachurch with his family in the 1990s, though it is unclear which church he attends now.

The Indianapolis archdiocese was asked to help settle the family through a public-private partnership program between the federal government, the U.S. bishops’ conference, and the conference’s Migration and Refugee Services office. The family had fled Syria three years prior, and had undergone the two-year refugee screening process and were approved for entry to the United States. The archdiocese regularly participates in the program and the local Catholic Charities agency has resettled refugees for more than 40 years.

Pence met with Archbishop Tobin for an hour to discuss the matter, saying that he respectfully disagreed with the proposal to resettle a Syrian family in Indiana. While Archbishop Tobin said he “prayerfully considered” Pence’s security concerns, he moved ahead with resettling the Syrian family in Indiana.

According to Crux, an aide to Pence said at the time that Pence hoped the people of Indiana would welcome the family, despite his objections. Pence also said on Twitter at the time that Donald Trump’s proposal to block all Muslims refugees from the United States was “offensive.”

Under the 1980 Refugee Act, the president determines how many refugees to admit into the United States each year based on humanitarian or other concerns or needs. In 2016, President Obama set the number at 85,000, including 10,000 Syrians.

In late August of this year, the United States met its goal and admitted the 10,000th Syrian refugee, bringing the total number of Syrian refugees to 12,000 since the country’s civil war began five years ago.

Authorities say that of all refugees, Syrians must undergo the most intense screening process available in order to be approved to enter the United States; a process that typically takes between a year and a half to two years.

The Syrian civil war began in March 2011 with demonstrations against Assad. The war has claimed the lives of more than 280,000 people, and forced 4.8 million to become refugees. Another 8 million Syrians are believed to have been internally displaced by the violence. Approximately half of the displaced are Syrian children.

The already dire situation in Syria has only worsened in recent days and weeks as an attempted ceasefire collapsed and other diplomatic efforts failed.

Catholic leaders in the city, including Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart of Aleppo, have made continual appeals to the international faith community for prayers and humanitarian aid.

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New Arlington bishop to continue devotion to Holy Name of Jesus

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • October 7, 2016

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Va. (CNA)

Arlington, VA — The new Bishop of Arlington, Virginia says he wants to accompany his flock as much as possible, teaching and administering the sacraments.

“And that would be my highest priority, to teach the truth in love, and to give them the sacraments which will sustain them. And so with God’s word and with the sacraments, that’s how we grow in holiness,” Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, the new Bishop of Arlington, told CNA Tuesday at a press conference announcing his appointment.

Bishop Burbidge was tapped by Pope Francis to become the new Bishop of Arlington, Va., the Vatican announced on Tuesday morning. He will replace Bishop Paul Loverde, 76, who is retiring after 17 years as bishop there. Bishops must submit a letter of resignation to the Pope at age 75, according to Canon Law. Bishop Burbidge will be installed as Arlington’s bishop at a Dec. 6 Mass.

Bishop Burbidge comes from Raleigh after spending 10 years there. Before that time he was an auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia and the rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary there, after serving as an Honorary Prelate to Pope St. John Paul II.

He saw a 40 percent growth in the number of Catholics in Raleigh in the last decade, as well as the construction of a new diocesan Cathedral of the Holy Name of Jesus, which will be dedicated in 2017. Bishop Burbidge recently wrote a pastoral letter to Catholics in the diocese encouraging devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, and told CNA that he plans to continue to encourage this devotion in Arlington.

He admitted that as his first reaction to the news of his appointment, he was “stunned.”

“There is a very significant consultative process with other bishops, and the congregation of the bishops. The only thing is, the candidate doesn’t know he’s being discussed,” he explained.

“So when you get the phone call, it is just to relay the Holy Father has appointed you. There’s no ‘can we dialogue about this?’ in the life of a priest, the life of a bishop, just to say ‘yes’ to whatever the Church asks of them.”

When asked how he would lead the faithful closer to Christ, he insisted that a bishop must “be with” his people.

“And so my highest priority is to, like Bishop Loverde, to be out as much as possible in the parishes, in the schools and the campuses, celebrating the sacraments, teaching and preaching. I love to teach. I love to preach,” he said.

He has been strongly influenced by the witness of both Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who appointed him as Bishop of Raleigh, and Pope Francis, who appointed him in Arlington.

“I look to both of them,” he said, noting his admiration for Benedict’s “great intellect” and his reputation “to teach so clearly.”

“And I think that’s something I would always try to do, we have the truth but we need to convey it in a way that people can grasp and understand without watering that down or anything like that,” he said.

“Pope Francis is leading us by example also, and I think one of his greatest messages is that, what I was talking about earlier, is that we have to begin to dialogue differently. And begin to listen to one another, especially those that are disenchanted or people who have wandered away.”

Raleigh is a neighboring diocese to Charlotte, N.C., where riots erupted a few weeks ago after a young black man was killed by a police officer in a confrontation. Protests and demonstrations have taken place in other U.S. cities, highlighting racial tension and pointing to claims of pervasive police violence and distrust.

Bishop Burbidge noted that where such unrest and tension is so widespread, “you bring people together in prayer.”

“In other words, all this is all around us. And we’re not going to solve all these problems,” he admitted. “But we can do something. We can get together, as men and women of faith and good will, even if that faith is not shared by all.”

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N.Y. archdiocese offers compensation to sex abuse victims

by CNA/EWTN News • October 7, 2016

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. (Archdiocese of Boston via Flickr CC BY-ND 2.0)

New York City, N.Y. — Cardinal Timothy Dolan announced Thursday that the New York archdiocese is establishing an independent compensation program for victims of sexual abuse committed by clergy of the local Church.

“This program will, please God, continue to help bring a measure of peace to those who have suffered abuse by a member of the clergy of the archdiocese,” the Archbishop of New York wrote in an Oct. 6 letter to the faithful.

“While the Church … has made great strides in dealing vigorously with clergy accused of abuse, and in preventing acts of abuse through our Safe Environment programs, we continue to hear from victim-survivors that more needs to be done to reach out to those who have been harmed in the past.”

He added, “As this Year of Mercy nears its conclusion, it is fitting and proper that we take this opportunity to ask forgiveness for mistakes that have been made by those – only a tiny percentage of our priests – representing the Church, and seek reconciliation with those who have been hurt and feel alienated from the Church.”

The Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program will be headed by Kenneth Feinberg, an attorney and mediator who led the Sept. 11 victims’ fund, and who will be assisted by Camille Biros. They will determine issuance and amount of compensation to be given to victims.

The Archdiocese of New York has said the compensation “will be just and fair, based on the experience and judgment of Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros,” and that it will “fully cover compensation awarded by the IRCP at whatever amount that is determined to be.”

Those who accept financial compensation waive their right to sue the archdiocese for more money over the abuse.

“Beginning immediately, they will work with those individuals who have previously notified the archdiocese that they suffered abuse,” Cardinal Dolan wrote. “We are contacting these individuals to invite them to participate in the program.”

Having completed that work, Feinberg and Biros are to begin reviewing new allegations against archdiocesan clergy in a process that will include the district attorney as well as independent investigators and a lay review board.

Those who have already brought forward sex abuse allegations to the archdiocese and who have not yet been otherwise compensated – about 170 persons – must apply for compensation under the program by Jan. 31, 2017. Those who have not already reached out to the archdiocese over sex abuse allegations are not bound by the Jan. 31 deadline.

Feinberg commented: “We hope the program will be successful and that any victims of abuse come forward in a timely fashion to seek compensation through this independent program.”

The progress of the compensation program will be tracked by an independent oversight committee, “although the decisions reached by Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros regarding compensation to victim-survivors are final and cannot be appealed or overturned by the archdiocese or the Independent Oversight Committee,” the cardinal said.

The oversight committee will be composed of Raymond Kelly, a former New York City police commissioner; Loretta Preska, a federal district judge; and Dr. Jeanette Cueva, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University.

Kelly commended Cardinal Dolan for “his proactive leadership in redressing the wrongs committed in the past by some clergy in the New York Archdiocese” and added, “I’m honored to support the IRCP as it seeks to provide justice and restitution to victims of abuse.”

Cardinal Dolan continued in his letter that “I hear from you, my people, that, while still bruised and angry about this past crisis, you do appreciate very much the reform and progress that has been made. But, you also tell me that more outreach needs to be done to the victim-survivors. I hope this helps.”

He noted that the compensatory funds will be borrowed in a long-term loan “to be paid back gradually by scraping to find income from sources not designated for specific Church or charitable use.” They will come from neither money given to parishes and schools nor the archdiocese’s capital campaign or stewardship appeal.

Joseph Zwilling, communications director of the New York archdiocese, told the Wall Street Journal that the loan would be repaid with other assets, such as investments.

New York state has recently considered changing its law regarding the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases to make it less restrictive on lawsuits. The New York Catholic Conference has lobbied against the effort, saying that while they support increasing the statute of limitations, the proposed legislation was too broad, because it allowed for a limitless window, even over allegations from more than half a century ago, in which the alleged perpetrators were no longer living.

“This extraordinary provision would force institutions to defend alleged conduct decades ago about which they have no knowledge, and in which they had no role, potentially involving employees long retired, dead or infirm, based on information long lost, if it ever existed,” the conference said.

Cardinal Dolan concluded his letter announcing the program, saying, “May I ask your prayers that this outreach might accomplish its goal of helping bring peace and reconciliation to those victim-survivors who have not only experienced the horror of abuse, but have also felt as if they were abandoned by the Church.”

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FEATURES

101-year-old woman receives First Communion

by CNA/EWTN News • October 2, 2016

Doña Penha, 101, receives First Communion. (Our Lady of Mount Carmel Nursing Home)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — At 101 years old, Doña Penha has seen quite a bit of life. But the centenarian experienced something new on September 28, as she received her First Communion during Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel nursing home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

For those who witnessed the occasion, it was a great testimony to the love of God.

“It was a very beautiful moment that showed us that it is never too late to receive the Eucharist, which for someone seeking God, neither time nor shame can prevent,” said the administrative assistant of the nursing home, Josiane Ribeiro. She added that occasions like this help “reaffirm faith.”

Ribeiro told CNA that Doña Penha arrived about a year ago at the nursing home, which is run by the Sisters of the Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima Association. There is a chapel on site where Mass is celebrated during the week.

Doña Penha began to attend Mass with the other women. One day, she asked to go to Confession. Father Domingos Sávio Silva Ferreira realized she had not yet received Communion and asked the sisters to prepare her to receive the sacrament, Ribeiro recalled.

After that preparation, Doña Penha received Communion for the first time. According to nursing home officials, those who were with her could see that “that was what she really wanted.” Even at 101 years of age, they said, “she is very lucid, and prepared to receive First Communion from the heart.”

For Ribeiro, the occasion was a witness of God’s love – not just for the people who live with Doña Penha at the nursing home, but also for the many others who could share the moment through social media.

“We put the photos on the nursing home’s Facebook page, and many people saw it, commented and congratulated,” she said.

The nursing home’s Facebook post received hundreds of likes and shares. Among the comments, one subscriber emphasized: “There is always time, and her time was now! God bless you!”

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FEATURES

Satellites, the Internet, and the Communion of Saints

by Bishop Robert Barron • October 4, 2016

Recently, while working at my computer in Santa Barbara, I encountered a confounding problem and decided to call Brandon Vogt, who is not only the excellent content director at Word on Fire, but also a trained engineer and tech whiz. After trying in vain to talk me through the problem, Brandon said, “Look, let me just take over your screen.” And with that, he pressed some buttons in Atlanta, where he was attending a conference, and then commenced to move my cursor around the screen, click on all the right settings, and resolve the difficulty.

Though I had seen him do this before, I was, once again, impressed by this long-distance maneuver. Displaying my utter lack of scientific expertise, I asked, “Now Brandon, is this being done through the phone lines or is outer space involved?” I’m sure he was suppressing a laugh, but he patiently explained that when we send data over the Internet, the data is broken down into invisible electromagnetic waves, which are then passed through miles and miles of cables, telephone lines, and sometimes satellites. What’s remarkable, he explained, is how the same cables and satellites handle information from billions of computers, phones, and other devices simultaneously.

At this point in the conversation, Brandon remarked, “You know, I’ve often thought it analogous to the communion of saints.” “You’ll have to unpack that for me,” I said. “Well,” he replied, “people always seem puzzled that the saints in heaven can hear and answer millions of prayers without being omnipotent; but yet, something similar is happening all the time through our technology. Each second we send and receive an unfathomable amount of data through our cables and satellites, yet they handle it. The relatively small number of intercessions we pray each day pales in comparison.” “Ah,” I said, “wouldn’t that make for an interesting column!” So at Brandon’s prompting, here is a little reflection on prayer and the communio sanctorum.

One of the forms of Catholic prayer is an invocation of those in the heavenly realm. Every time we say the Hail Mary, for instance, we are confident that Mary, the Queen of Heaven, hears that prayer and engages us. Every time we call upon one of the saints, we are convinced that he or she takes in what we say and can, in point of fact, respond to us with information or inspiration. Indeed, we believe that our prayer can prompt the saints to act on our behalf, effecting real change in the world. I realize how counter-intuitive this can all seem to most moderns. In our more “realistic” moments, we feel that the dead are just gone, that they can’t possibly hear us. Or maybe we think that, if they still exist, they are far away, infinitely removed from the things of this world. And how, we wonder, could the Blessed Mother possibly “hear” every single Hail Mary that goes up to her every day from across the globe? Isn’t all of this just wishful thinking, so much pre-scientific mumbo-jumbo?

Well, remember Brandon’s insight. A machine of our contrivance is capable of receiving and transmitting extraordinary amounts of information simultaneously to and from numberless locales. How much more thoroughly and powerfully, therefore, can an intelligence at a higher pitch of reality, in a qualitatively different dimensional system, receive and transmit information? The faith of the Church is that those who are in the heavenly realm participate more intensely in the infinite intelligence of God, that intelligence which embraces all of space and all of time. Can a saint, therefore, receive and send a staggering amount of information? Why not? But can a saint exert a causal influence on the physical dimension? Can they actually do something for us? We mustn’t think of the spiritual as simply “other” than the material, as though the two could never interact. Rather, the spiritual contains the physical in the measure that it subsists at an elevated, more ontologically complete, level of existence. Representing the medieval consensus, Thomas Aquinas said that the soul is in the body “not as contained by it, but as containing it.” Instead of being a “ghost in the machine,” as many modern philosophers speculated, the soul, on Aquinas’s reading, is inclusive of the body. It can move matter, for it is greater than matter. And so the saints, from their heavenly place, can indeed influence, impact, and shape the material world.

Perhaps a last point of comparison would be in order. The satellites that facilitate so much of our world’s communication are entirely out of sight. We don’t, in the ordinary sense of the term, interact with them at all as we do with other persons and objects. And yet, from their celestial abode, they massively affect and aid us. In one of the prefaces for saints in the Roman Missal, we find this language: “From their place in heaven, they (the saints) guide us still.” We don’t deal with the denizens of heaven as we do with those of earth, but yet they listen to us, speak to us, and influence us constantly.

So next time you receive some instruction on your GPS or make a call on your iPhone, think of the communion of saints.

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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Will the real St. Francis please stand up?

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • October 4, 2016

St. Francis of Assisi. (Bradley Weber via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Washington D.C. — St. Francis of Assisi is widely known for his life of poverty and love of creation. But there’s a lesser-known side to the friar as well – a side that showed a deep reverence for the Eucharist and attentive care to the sacred vessels at Mass.

Francis’ love of creation really points to “the Christo-centrism of his spirituality,” said Brother William Short, a professor of spirituality at the Franciscan School of Theology in California.

“We can trivialize it and make Francis kind of a tree-hugger,” he told CNA, but “his Canticle of the creatures is a really profound way of understanding not just the presence of God, but the presence of Christ within all of creation.”

On Oct. 4, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a deacon from Assisi, Italy who renounced his wealth to follow Christ and founded the Order of Friars Minor, later called the Franciscans; the Order of Poor Ladies, now the Poor Clares; and the Third Order of Penance, now the Third Order Franciscans. Born in the 1180s, he died in 1226 and was canonized in 1228.

St. Francis is often cited as an example of poverty – he and his friars worked and begged for just enough food and resources to survive. The saint is also known for his love of creation, and statutes of the friar adorn many gardens. He is the patron of animals, ecology, and the environment and wrote the Canticle of the Sun where he praises God and His creation.

But the saint loved God first and creation in its proper order, stressed Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P., a biographer of St. Francis.

“He loved nature and animals, and they caused him not only to pray and praise God but to become ecstatic. Nature was a reason for him to praise God, and he loved nature. But there was no confusion between nature and God for Francis,” he said.

Fr. Augustine wrote the book, “Francis of Assisi: A New Biography,” published in 2012. “One of the principal conclusions of my book is that Francis had no political projects, whether for the Church or for the society,” he told CNA.

“In fact, the idea that he would put himself in a position of knowing better than other people is completely contrary to his desire to be a servant of all and be below everyone else,” he said.

Brother William noted that there are false assumptions that Francis was eccentric and was purely a poet and mystic who was “vague on the details” and “not very well organized.” On the contrary, he said, Francis actually showed “very clear ideas and was very good at expressing them” and had “organizational and administrative skill” in founding three orders.

And while he preached peace and some may have seen him as “gentle” and perhaps “weak,” there was a “very demanding side of him,” Br. William added, as Francis demanded much not only of himself but also of his fellow friars in following Christ.

He has also been perceived as “simple” and “not very well educated,” but Francis was actually better educated than most of his contemporaries, Br. William added. He was literate in two languages and composed poetry in the Umbrian dialect of Italian.

“He misleads people by referring to himself as simple, but he was more educated than we might think.”

Another lesser-known side of Francis is the deeply religious and pious man who put a strict emphasis on care for the sacred vessels at Mass, reverence for the Eucharist, and obedience to the Church.

“The one case where he’s harsh in his deathbed confession is he says if there are any friars who are not Catholic or do not follow the books of the Roman Church for their services, they are to be arrested, put in chains, and held to be handed over to the corrector of the order, the Cardinal of Ostia,” Fr. Augustine said.

Of Francis’ nine letters, he added, “seven of them are basically dedicated to chastising priests for using unpolished chalices, dirty altar linen, and not keeping the sacrament in a suitable place.”

This was actually a common practice of the time, Br. William noted, so much so that the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 spoke out about the need for better cleanliness in churches and for the Blessed Sacrament to be reserved in a suitable place.

Francis “made it a personal crusade of his not only to encourage others, particularly the clergy, to take care of churches a little bit better, but he personally would go with a broom and actually sweep out a church as a volunteer simply out of respect for the Eucharist and for the Lord,” he noted.

And Francis also drew a “very strong connection between the Eucharist and the Nativity,” he added, “that for him, his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the one who gives to the faithful the body of her son, is mirrored in the action of the priest at the Eucharist.”

“So there’s a strong connection between the Blessed Virgin and what he calls the hands of the priest and the womb of the Blessed Virgin – as these means by which the body of the Lord is given to the faithful.”

Francis’ devotion to the Eucharist also comes out in a letter he wrote to the Brothers and Sisters of Poverty where he described the “perfect act of poverty,” as Fr. Augustine summarized it:

“And the perfect act of poverty was when God Who was ruler of the universe took on weak human flesh in the Incarnation, and then not only did God Who was the ruler of all take on weak human flesh, he allowed Himself to be subject to being rejected, maltreated, tortured and killed, and then not only that, even more perfectly as an act of poverty, God Who became Incarnate and died on the cross gave us His body as our own food.”

That teaching “sums up everything about Francis,” he said.

Claims that Francis excoriated the clergy for their decadence were false and circulated by excommunicates decades after his death, Fr. Augustine added.

“Francis never displays in any authentic documents about him or his own writings anything except absolute submission, obedience to the hierarchy,” he said.

“The stories about him humiliating prelates and so forth about not living poorly are stories that date to over 100 years after his death and come out of circles of radical Franciscans who have been excommunicated by the Pope and are against the hierarchy.”

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Yeast as a Metaphor: Élisabeth and Félix Leseur

by Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, C.S.J. • October 5, 2016

It’s a wonderful phenomenon — yeast. It permeates lifeless flour and causes it to rise and expand. The power of yeast effects the brewing of beer and the making of wine. The yeast plant is a fungus that grows without limits to its borders. Only if yeast is alive and active will it interact with the dough.

On her TV program, “Martha Bakes,” the talented Ms. Stewart cannot contain her delight when she makes yeast dough: “Look at the sheen — so soft and shiny! The aroma is “bee-you-tee-ful,” and the fragrance gratifies all the senses!” Follow these instructions: proof active yeast, blend it into the flour mixture, and let it rise to double the size. From yeast dough come baked goods such as breads, sticky buns and sugar buns, and monkey bread. “Soo pretty, soo delicious,” Ms. Stewart swoons over her culinary works of art.

Yeast as a Metaphor

In the Matthean parable (13:33), the reign of God is like yeast that a woman took and kneaded into three measures of flour. Eventually the entire mass of dough began to rise. The image of yeast was a favorite in the Early Church. Everyone understood the inner power of yeast with its limitless ability to make things grow, even in small beginnings with “three measures of flour.” They grasped the comparison. The yeast referred to the Church as an unlimited and growing reality, “destined ultimately to be present everywhere and to affect everything, though by no means to convert everything into itself” (Walter J. Ong, “Yeast: A Parable for Catholic Higher Education,” America Magazine, April 7, 1990). The Church is catholic because it has always been expanding into new and shiny ‘dough’ without limit. Katholicos, from kata or kath and holos, means “through-the-whole or “throughout-the-whole.”

The Laity: Worldly and Yet Unworldly

The laity are catholic, yeast in business and finance, entertainment, nursing and medicine, arts and science, law and law enforcement, politics, and sports. They are the inner power with its limitless ability to make things grow, even in small ways. The laity find their holiness in the world with its financial concerns and family responsibilities. Those who marry and have children become not just a family but also the Domestic Church.

In 1987, the Catholic Church held a World Synod on the Laity, one of many, beginning with Vatican II in the 1960s. According to the synod’s final document, the laity are equal with clergy and consecrated religious in the life and mission of the Church.

The call to holiness of the laity differs from the vocation of consecrated religious. The laity are to be in the world in an unworldly way. They approach life with wisdom that teaches the limited and relative value of material things. This would seem to be a contradiction in terms. How to be worldly and unworldly at the same time? It cannot be easy, for at times, the challenges seem insurmountable. Yet, it remains for the lay vocation to find a theology of being present in the world. It is a practical spirituality of the family and the workplace. For the laity, this is where holiness resides.*

Holiness of the Laity

The holiness of the laity began with Jesus himself. He was a rabbi and teacher, as were his disciples. Peter was a married man, and for all we know, so were the other apostles, the exception being John, the Beloved Disciple.

St. Paul addresses and refers to those he evangelized as ‘saints,’ meaning that they were on their way to becoming saints. In the Early Church, there were no consecrated institutes of men and women. All Christians grasped the importance of living as disciples and ambassadors of the Lord.

As increasing numbers of Christians came to view the world as wicked, they flocked to the desert to live alone. When the desert grew so overcrowded with these solitaries, they came together and formed religious communities. Thus, the start of monastic orders of men and women.

Prayer

Consecrated men and women, and especially those who live in cloisters, spend several hours a day in prayer.

This is not the way of the laity. Their days focus almost entirely on family and the means of supporting it. Their prayer is measured not in hours but in minutes — two here, five there, perhaps a Holy Hour or Retreat Day on rare occasions.

The conciliar document on the sacred liturgy encourages Catholic families to pray portions of the Liturgy of the Hours (#102-111). The Hours are not private or devotional prayer but the prayer of the entire Church, the Church at prayer. Praying the psalms nourishes Catholic family life whose welfare is daily beset with conflicting external forces. If prayer is the underlying power of strong family life, then parents can find ways to incorporate parts of the Hours into their daily schedule. In prayer, married couples derive the strength of God’s grace to live their married vocation.

As children mature, they too must learn to travel the road to discipleship in the Lord. Small children can be taught to pray a psalm or two at bed time. If this is not feasible during the week, then prayer on weekend is an alternate possibility.

A minimal and external Christianity will not fortify today’s Domestic Church but only a vibrant Christianity in which Christ is a living reality. It takes a few minutes to pray short sections of the Hours, even on public transit. It is a consoling thought to recall that “in him, we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

At Pre-Cana instructions, couples can learn the practice of making the Hours an integral part of their married life.

Can Yeast Corrupt?

The image of yeast is not always positive. In First Corinthians 5:6-8, St. Paul mentions what all Jews understood. At the Paschal festival time, they were to destroy all yeasted products because leaven was a metaphor for the corruptive influence of evil, for puffing up the self, leaving no room for God.

Proofing the yeast in warm water will yield bubbles around the surface, and the yeast will become puffed up if it does not interact with the flour dough. The puffed up yeast will die. In this sense, neither the laity, nor any minister in the Church, can afford to be puffed up with pride.

Élisabeth Leseur (1866-1914) and Félix Leseur (1861-1950)

The story of Élisabeth Arrighi Leseur exemplifies the limitless power of marital love. Élisabeth was born into a wealthy French Catholic family of Corsican descent. As a child, she had contracted hepatitis, a disease from which she suffered all her life. At twenty-one, she met Félix Leseur, a medical doctor, who also came from an affluent Catholic family. Shortly before they were to be married, Élisabeth discovered that Félix was no longer a practicing Catholic. Soon he became well known as the editor of an anti-clerical, atheistic newspaper.

Despite the circumstances, the couple married, for Élisabeth was deeply in love with Félix. They were unable to have children, a fact that made their marriage all the more difficult. His attack on her religious devotion prompted an even more serious fidelity to the faith. She bore the brunt of his hatred of the Church with patient love. At thirty-two years of age, Élisabeth experienced the grace to a deeper form of prayer. She was convinced that her task now was to love her husband and pray for his conversion while remaining steadfast during his taunts against religion, and the Church in particular.

Homebound and Bed-Ridden

Élisabeth’s deteriorating health forced her to lead a sedentary life. She received visitors and was able to conduct a vibrant apostolate from the confines of her home. She became a devotee of St. Francis de Sales who wrote for the layperson in the seventeenth century. His Introduction to the Devout Life, perhaps the most famous spiritual guide of all time, is an offshoot of the Ignatian Exercises. During this period, Élisabeth kept a secret spiritual diary.

When, at the age of forty-five, Élisabeth underwent surgery and radiation for the removal of a malignant tumor, she recovered and continued to receive visitors to her home. Three years later, she succumbed to cancer. Her life has been recommended for sainthood. Why? We turn the page to continue the narrative of her husband.

Dr. Félix Leseur

After Élisabeth’s death, Félix found a note addressed to him. Not only did it predict his conversion, but he would also become a Dominican priest. His hatred of the Church prompted him to expose her note as a fake, and he decided to do so at Lourdes, the famous Marian shrine in France. There, something prevented him from carrying out his intended project — call it God’s intervening grace. As Élisabeth had predicted, he experienced a conversion and published her spiritual journal. In 1919, Félix entered the Dominican Order, was ordained a priest four years later, and spent his remaining years speaking about his wife’s difficult yet remarkable life with him.

In 1924, the future Archibishop Fulton J. Sheen made a retreat under Fr. Leseur’s direction. It was at this time that he learned of Élisabeth’s life and her husband’s conversion. In 1934, Fr. Leseur, O.P. worked to begin the cause for her canonization, and the Archbishop shared the story of this remarkable married couple in many presentations. Élisabeth is currently a Servant of God, the first step in the cause for sainthood.

Élisabeth Leseur’s suffering was not wasted. On the contrary, her lifelong devotion to Félix was central to his conversion. She became the yeast that permeated the lifeless soul of her husband. It forever transformed his life so that he could affect change in the lives of others. Love begets love.

* The Ignatian “Prayer for Finding God in All Things” by Joan L. Roccasalvo, C.S.J. can help the busy person find God throughout the day. Copies are available from the Institute of Jesuit Sources, Boston, MA.

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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Mark Wahlberg made a video about why he loves priests

by CNA/EWTN News • October 5, 2016

Mark Wahlberg’s video address to the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors. (Diocese of Providence, Office of Vocations/Facebook)

Boston, MA — In an online video, actor Mark Wahlberg said that he will be praying for vocations to the priesthood, which he deeply values because of the role that priests have played in his own life.

Wahlberg recorded the video as a greeting to those present at the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors, taking place in his hometown of Boston.

“I want you to know my support for your work to foster vocations to the priesthood, because I want my children and future generations to have good priests in their lives, just like I had,” he says in the video, posted on Facebook by the Diocese of Providence’s vocations office.

“My Catholic faith is the anchor that supports everything I do in life. In my daily prayers, I ask for guidance, strength in my vocation as a husband and as a father,” he says.

Wahlberg, known for his work in movies including “The Perfect Storm,” “Planet of the Apes,” “The Departed,” and “The Fighter,” is open about his Catholic faith and his love for the Church. He attends daily Mass and talks frequently about the role of faith in his life.

Last year, Wahlberg served as emcee when Pope Francis came to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families.

In the video, he reflects on the “many wonderful priests” he had been blessed to know throughout his life.

“Growing up in Dorchester, I got myself into trouble now and then but I always had a priest to stick by me,” he says.

“I was married by a priest. My children were baptized by a priest. And whenever somebody in my family passed away, they’ve all been buried by a priest. My sins have been forgiven when I go to confession to a priest. Every time I go to Mass, it’s through a priest’s hands that I receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, which strengthens me to share my Catholic faith with others.”

“We the Catholic faithful are counting on you to bring us good and holy priests,” Wahlberg concludes. “Enjoy my hometown this week, and know that I will pray for you and for your success. Thank you for all that you do, and God bless.”

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This 81-year-old woman got a ‘Don’t Euthanize Me’ tattoo

by CNA/EWTN News • October 5, 2016

Christine Nagel’s tattoo. (Global News)

Calgary, Canada — An 81-year-old walking into a tattoo shop may sound like the start of a joke, but to Christine Nagel, her new ink is no laughing matter.

The Calgary grandmother recently had the words “Don’t euthanize me” tattooed on her arm.

“It’s drastic, but this very clearly says, ‘I’m going to live until God’s ready for me’,” she told Canadian news outlet, Globalnews.ca.

A devout Christian, Nagel opposes assisted suicide, which was legalized in Canada this summer. It is already legal in several other European countries.

In the U.S., a handful of states currently allow for assisted suicide, and numerous states have seen legislative pushes to legalize it in the past year. The citizens of Colorado will vote next month on a ballot measure proposing the legalization of assisted suicide.

The Catholic Church opposes all forms of suicide as violating the inherent dignity of human life. Catholic teaching supports palliative care and other options to alleviate suffering without killing a human person.

Critics of assisted suicide laws say they send the message to society that suicide is an acceptable way to handle suffering, and that they are ripe for abuse, from financially motivated killings and lack of consent to lethal pills changing hands.

Disability rights groups have argued that legalizing assisted suicide discriminates against the disabled and elderly, pressuring them to end their lives. They also note that the majority of patients who request assisted suicide withdraw that request when treated for depression, a statistic recognized by the Supreme Court.

To Nagel, assisted suicide can all too quickly come to be viewed as an easy way out, preferable over caring for the sick and elderly.

“All these old people are darned expensive to look after. And they’re cranky. And they’re messy. And you can’t help thinking, ‘This would be a really good solution’.”

She lamented the lack of respect for life, and said that she does not want anyone interfering with God’s plan for her own life.

“How would you feel if you turned up at the gates, and St. Peter got out the book and said, ‘Just a minute – we weren’t expecting you for another 18 months’?” she joked.

Nagel’s children respect her decision and will honor her intentions.

“She doesn’t want to be thrown away,” her daughter Juliana told Globalnews.ca.

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Double review: ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home’ and ‘The Girl on the Train’

by Carl Kozlowski • October 7, 2016

Sometimes it’s hard to find a great movie to pinpoint for families. Sure, there are cartoons like “Finding Dory,” “The Secret Lives of Pets” or “Storks” that are obviously OK for kids, so I tend not to review those because I feel it’s more important to look at movies that people might truly wonder about. And of course, many weeks only movies for older teens and adults are out, and that’s what I focus on then.

But this week, there couldn’t be a starker contrast in movies to consider. One is the delightful, instant classic “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” which is the latest film by Tim Burton (and one of his greatest). The other is the well-made but lurid mystery “The Girl on the Train,” which is packed with broken relationships, graphic sex and nudity, and brief but highly visible grisly violence.

“Miss” follows the story of a Florida boy named Jake (Asa Butterfield), an awkward teen whose only real friend is his grandfather Abe (Terence Stamp), who has spent his life telling him what seemed to be wild bedtime stories about a children’s home in England that was filled with kids who basically were comical X-men-style mutants. One is a boy who’s filled with bees that fly out whenever he opens his mouth, another is a girl who has to wear heavy metal shoes because she is lighter than air and floats like a balloon whenever she is untethered.

Jake has grown up to disbelieve his grandfather, even as he still loves and appreciates his stories. But when Abe dies after a mysterious home invasion one night – one in which Jake could swear he saw a strange man (Samuel L. Jackson) with spooky white eyes and a giant shadow monster that disappears after a friend shoots at it.

As a result of having a hard time processing Abe’s death, Jake proposes going to England with his father and seeing once and for all if the children’s home was real or a fantasy. What he discovers involves ageless youths living under the care of Miss Peregrine (Eva Green), but in a time loop that traps them in the same day forever – a day that ends with Nazi planes coming to bomb their home.

Once Jake figures this out, his surprise turns to a determination to save them from their predicament. What unfolds from there is a wondrous thing to behold: a magical experience in the best possible sense with vibrant visuals, a lush score, its own utterly unique world that calls to mind Burton’s masterpiece “Edward Scissorhands,” and expertly done performances that are a delight.

There are some scary moments in the film, due to the prospect of the daily bombings, though they are shown in aftermath, as well as some of the goofily scary creatures the kids encounter, including giant moving skeletons that get in the way of how they break themselves free. But the tone of the movie is always perfect in keeping things fun rather than truly frightening – especially for those who are 10 and up - as well as wondrously whimsical. This is a great one for families to enjoy together.

Meanwhile, ”The Girl on the Train” stars perpetually-rising star Emily Blunt as a blackout-drunk alcoholic woman whose daily spying on her ex-husband’s house from a passing commuter train gives her unique insights into the mysterious murder of his gorgeous nanny. Like 2014’s smash hit “Gone Girl,” this movie is based on a hit page-turning novel (by Paula Hawkins) and is packed with lurid twists and turns tying together a mix of occasional, yet graphic, sex and even more sporadic yet surprising violence, with Blunt at the center of it all in a role that should take her into the big leagues of marquee movie stars once and for all while earning a much-deserved shot at an Oscar as well.

“Girl” stars Blunt as Rachel, a desperately depressed woman who discovered two years ago that her husband Tom (Justin Theroux) was cheating on her with their real estate agent Anna (Rebecca Ferguson), and dumped her for Anna because she was infertile. She’s been simply existing ever since, occupying a room in her best friend’s suburban apartment while riding drunkenly to and from New York City every day on a commuter train and using her same specific seat as a vantage point to spy on Tom and Anna.

She starts to also wonder who the beautiful blonde younger woman spending time with the couple is, not knowing it’s their nanny Megan (Haley Bennett), who has her own dark secrets and ample issues. In fact, viewers actually see Megan first, as her voiceover narration lets them know that she’s actually been reinventing herself in a series of false identities ever since high school, and that she’s now living just two doors down from Tom and Anna, married to an abusive lout named Scott (Luke Evans).

Add into this heady mix of messed-up humanity her shrink, a guy named Kamal Abdic (Edgar Ramirez), with whom Megan is engaging in an affair. Megan disappears one evening just after Rachel has followed her and called her a whore in front of Tom, thinking that she’s stalking Anna.

When Rachel wakes up the next morning, with her clothes covered in blood and the TV news describing the discovery of Megan’s corpse, she finds that she’s the prime suspect of Detective Riley (Alison Janney). She manages to keep herself free long enough to recover shards of memory, including the fact that she saw Megan kissing a mysterious man on the porch of Tom’s house during one of her ride-bys.

She figures that if they can figure out who the mystery man is, Megan’s death can be avenged and her own name can be cleared. And from here, the story only gets crazier as the movie takes one unpredictable turn after another.

This may sound like “The Girl On the Train” might be as shamelessly enjoyable as “Gone Girl,” as viewers sort through the ever-growing puzzle formed by the seedy relationships of the super-rich. But “Train” has a more somber tone, a heavy weight born of the tragic secrets it reveals all the way to the finish, and that joylessness results in this exciting and engaging thriller being kind of a downer compared to the wickedly acid wit of “Gone.”

The question is, of course, whether – no matter how well-made a movie is on artistic terms – if it’s a bad choice in viewing for a discerning person of faith. With its portrait of broken relationships, deception, affairs, murder, cover-ups mixed in with sex, nudity and ultimately graphic violence, this is certainly not the healthiest way to find one’s entertainment, and possible viewers should use real caution here.

Make no mistake, however, that Emily Blunt delivers perhaps the most impressive performance by an actress this year so far. Conveying depression and alcoholism, as well as a growing strength and determination to prove she’s sane and can get both her sobriety and her life back, she is stunning to watch.

In the end, this “Girl” manages to be solid enough to be worth a look once on an artistic if not moral level. But be careful letting movies like this become obsessions like Rachel’s.

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 • OCTOBER 9, 2016

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading (2 Kgs 5:14-17; NRSVCE)

Namaan went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of Elisha, the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing!” He urged him to accept, but he refused. Then Naaman said, “If not, please let two mule-loads of earth be given to your servant; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god except the Lord.”

Second Reading (2 Tm 2:8-13; NRSVCE)

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David — that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he will also deny us;

if we are faithless, he remains faithful —

for he cannot deny himself.

Gospel Reading (Lk 17:11-19; NRSVCE)

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

MONDAY • OCTOBER 10, 2016

Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Gal 4:22-24, 26-27, 31 – 5:1; NRSVCE)

It is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother. For it is written,

“Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children,

burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs;

for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous

than the children of the one who is married.”

So then, friends, we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman.

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Gospel Reading (Lk 11:29-32; NRSVCE)

When the crowds were increasing, Jesus began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!”

TUESDAY • OCTOBER 11, 2016

Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Gal 5:1-6; NRSVCE)

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.

Gospel Reading (Lk 11:37-41; NRSVCE)

While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.”

WEDNESDAY • OCTOBER 12, 2016

Wednesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Gal 5:18-25; NRSVCE)

If you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

Gospel Reading (Lk 11:42-46; NRSVCE)

Jesus said, “Woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.”

One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too.” And he said, “Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.”

THURSDAY • OCTOBER 13, 2016

Thursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Eph 1:1-10; NRSVCE)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Gospel Reading (Lk 11:47-54; NRSVCE)

Jesus said, “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile toward him and to cross-examine him about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

FRIDAY • OCTOBER 14, 2016

Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Eph 1:11-14; NRSVCE)

In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Gospel Reading (Lk 12:1-7; NRSVCE)

When the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

SATURDAY • OCTOBER 15, 2016

Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus

First Reading (Eph 1:15-23; NRSVCE)

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Gospel Reading (Lk 12:8-12; NRSVCE)

Jesus said to his disciples, “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.”