VOLUME 2, ISSUE 20  •  NOVEMBER 12, 2016

Table of Contents

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VATICAN NEWS

Fear is an ‘existential whip’ that can destroy society, Pope warns

During jubilee for prisoners, Pope tells inmates not to lose hope

Pope asks authorities to grant clemency for prisoners during Jubilee

Reported bishop ordinations in China not authorized by Holy See

Pope Francis lauds women religious in fight against trafficking

Vatican bishop lays out ‘roadmap’ for dialogue with Islam

What is a leader, really? A servant, Pope Francis says

Vatican prays Trump presidency will promote peace amid conflict

We have to meet people where they are, Pope Francis says

Unity is not the same as uniformity, Pope Francis says

When it comes to Trump, Pope says primary concern is about migrants

Pope tells homeless greater solidarity is found in poverty than wealth

On last Mercy Friday, Francis meets men who left the priesthood

WORLD NEWS

In the fight against prostitution, who’s talking about the clients?

In Canada, assisted suicide could also kill Catholic healthcare

British Columbia’s highest court upholds religious freedom

Australia’s proposed refugee ban is ‘deliberately cruel’

Can South Korean Catholics evangelize Asia?

How a Malawi bishop argues against abortion

U.S. NEWS

Don’t shift on assisted suicide, Catholics urge U.S. medical group

Bishop Conley rejects pro-death penalty ads distorting his words

Who will win the Catholic vote this week? It’s hard to predict

Knights of Columbus head: Catholics must be a source of post-election unity

Archbishop Joseph Tobin named as head of Newark archdiocese

What does the Catholic Church say about voting?

Priest slammed for using dead baby as ‘political prop’

With crippling fines still looming, Little Sisters serve ‘one soul at a time’

U.S. bishops encourage unity, prayer after election night

Three states keep death penalty in high-stakes election

For assisted suicide foes in Colorado, a loss at the ballot box

What was the breakdown of the Catholic vote Tuesday?

Clinton ignored pro-lifers at her own peril, Democrats say

FEATURES

The Irish forest that secretly grew a Celtic cross

Scripture: It’s not just for Protestants, says papal nuncio

‘Doctor Strange,’ scientism, and the Gnostic way station

How the hook-up culture is making women miserable

How can you tell if someone is demon-possessed?

No one’s talking about the trauma of abortion by pill

Double review: ‘Loving’ and ‘Moonlight’

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Sunday • November 13, 2016

Monday • November 14, 2016

Tuesday • November 15, 2016

Wednesday • November 16, 2016

Thursday • November 17, 2016

Friday • November 18, 2016

Saturday • November 19, 2016

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Volume 2, Issue 20 • November 12, 2016

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VATICAN NEWS

Fear is an ‘existential whip’ that can destroy society, Pope warns

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • November 5, 2016

Pope Francis speaks to the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square on June 15, 2015. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Vatican City — In a lengthy, wide-ranging speech to members of international NGOs, Pope Francis offered a clear and stern warning against modern attitudes of fear that close us to others and ultimately ruin society, suggesting love and collaboration as opposed to false solutions as a remedy.

In his Nov. 5 address, Pope Francis noted that the need for a dignified life and a change in societal structures focused on in the previous global encounter takes time, and is being threatened by “a growing destructive mechanism which operates in the opposite direction.”

Pointing to the problem of “terror and walls,” the Pope said powerful forces exist “that can neutralize this process of maturity of a change capable of displacing the primacy of money and putting the human being back in the center.”

“This unjust structure that links all exclusions … can harden and become a whip, an existential whip that enslaves, steals liberty, plunders without mercy and constantly threatens others, to drive everyone like cattle to what the divinized money wants,” he said.

Francis explained that there is “a basic terrorism” that emanates from the global control of money against humanity as a whole. From this basic terrorism, he said, “derived terrorisms” such as narcoterrorism, state terrorism “and what some mistakenly call ethnic or religious terrorism” are fed.

“No people, no religion is terrorist. It’s certain, there are small groups of fundamentalists everywhere on all sides. But terrorism begins when you have rejected the wonder of creation, man and woman, and put money there. This system is terrorist.”

Both the Church and the prophets for millennia have said “what is so scandalous that the Pope repeats at this time when everything reaches unpublished expressions,” Francis continued, explaining that the entire social doctrine of the Church and the Magisterium of his predecessors “rebel against the money-idol that reins in place of service, tyrannizes and terrifies humanity.”

“No tyranny is supported without exploiting our fears. Hence all tyranny is terrorist,” continued, add that in this terror, “sown in the peripheries” with massacres, looting, oppression and injustice, citizens who still maintain some rights “are tempted with the false security of physical or social walls.”

“Walls that enclose some and banish others. Citizens walled, terrified, on one side; excluded, exiled and even more terrified, on the other. Is this the life that God the Father wants for his children?” he asked, explaining that fear “feeds and manipulates.”

This, he said, is in addition to being “a good business for the merchants of arms and death,” fear weakens, unbalances and destroys us and our psychological and spiritual defenses; “it anesthetizes us in front of the suffering of others and in the end makes us cruel.”

When we hear about the death of someone who took the wrong path or see a growing preference for war and the spread of xenophobia, “behind this cruelty that seems to be massified there is the cold breath of fear.”

Pope Francis asked that those present pray for all who are afraid, so that God would give them courage to soften their hearts, because “mercy isn’t easy, it requires courage.”

The Pope’s comments were made to the nearly 5,000 participants in the Third World Meeting of Popular Movements, essentially a group of international NGOs, gathered in Rome Nov. 2-5 to discuss what Pope Francis calls in Spanish the “Three T’s: Trabajo, Techo, Tierra.”

In English, it translates roughly as: “Work, Home and Land.” A special emphasis was placed on the care of creation, migrants and refugees.

At its heart, the congress gathers international NGOs to discuss modern challenges facing the poor and marginalized. The Vatican hosted the First World Meeting of the Popular Movements in October 2014, and Pope Francis addressed the Second World Meeting in Bolivia during his 2015 tour of South America.

Before the Pope’s arrival, participants sang, watched videos, listened to various reflections and heard testimonies surrounding the topics of small farmers, the care of creation, families in difficulty and the centrality of the human person.

Upon his arrival he was welcomed by Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Also in attendance is the former president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica.

In his speech, the Pope stressed the need to promote “love and bridges” as a remedy for the fear and walls that increasingly go up in a world marked by conflict and inequality.

He recalled the biblical scene in which one day on the Sabbath, the disciples were hungry and picked ears of wheat to eat. Although the Pharisees got angry because they were working on the Sabbath, “in the face of hunger, Jesus prioritizes the dignity of the children of God over a formalistic, accommodating and interested interpretation of the norm.”

“He faced hypocritical and sufficient thought with humble intelligence of the heart which always prioritizes the human being and rejects certain logics that obstruct their freedom to live, love and serve their neighbor,” he said.

In healing a man’s hand later that same day, Jesus angered the Pharisees even more. However, the hand is a sign of work, the Pope said, noting that by healing him, “Jesus returned to this man the ability to work and with that returned his dignity.”

“How many atrophied hands, how many people deprived of the dignity of work because the hypocrites defend unjust systems and are opposed to healing,” he said.

Francis said this is a project that ultimately aims at integral human development, and noted that Cardinal Turkson will as of January be heading a new Vatican department with the same name.

On the other hand, the opposite of development, he said, “is atrophy, paralysis. We have to help so that the world heals from its moral atrophy.”

“This atrophied system can offer some certain cosmetic implants that are not true development: economic growth, technical advances, greater efficiency in order to produce things that are bought, used and disposed of, encompassing all of us in a vertiginous dynamic of waste,” he said.

However, the Pope cautioned that this model doesn’t allow for the development of the human being in their intelligence, and nor does it provide a system “that isn’t reduced to consumption, which isn’t reduced to the welfare of a few, which includes all peoples and people in the fullness of their dignity … this is the development we need: human, integral, respectful of creation.”

Pope Francis then turned to a point he called “bankruptcy and bailout,” noting how during their meeting participants dedicated a day to discussing the drama of migrants, refugees and displaced persons.

“What happens in the world today, that when there is the bankruptcy of a bank, scandalous sums immediately appear to save it, but when this bankruptcy of humanity occurs there is almost a thousandth of a part to save those brothers and sisters who suffer so much?” he asked.

The Pope said the Mediterranean has become “a graveyard, and not only the Mediterranean … so many graveyards by the walls, walls stained with innocent blood.”

“Fear hardens the heart and becomes blind cruelty which refuses to see the blood, the pain, the face of the other,” he said, adding that for many migrants, their situation is exacerbated when they turn to traffickers in order to cross the border.

As if their current situation wasn’t hard enough, their problems “are tripled” if when they reach the place they thought would bring a better life, they are instead “despised, exploited and enslaved.”

“This can be seen in any corner of hundreds of cities,” he said, and gave a shout out to the international organizations who “open their eyes” and adopt adequate means of welcoming and integrating those forced to leave their homes.

Francis then pointed to the relationship between people and democracy, saying it should be “fluid and natural,” but also runs the risk of “fading into the unrecognizable.”

The gap between peoples in current forms of democracy “is increasingly enlarged as a consequence of the enormous power of economic groups and media that seem to dominate them,” he said, saying the strength of popular movements lies in the fact that they are not political parties and can therefore promote different yet “vital” forms of social participation in public life.

Pope Francis then pointed to two different risks he said could thwart the efforts being made: that of letting oneself be “corseted” or corrupted.

“Don’t let yourselves be corseted,” he said, noting that while various plans, such as for a co-op, microenterprise or an agro ecological garden might be accepted, they are only permissible “as long as they remain in the corset of ‘social politics.’”

The idea of social politics as a policy “toward the poor but never with the poor, never of the poor,” he said, “seems to me like a type of dressed-up dump made to contain the waste of the system.”

“Thus democracy atrophies, becomes a type of nominalism, a formality, it loses representation, is disincarnated because it leaves the people outside in their daily fight for dignity, in the building of their destiny.”

When faced with these forms of paralysis, disorientation and destructive proposals, a protagonistic approach of those who seek the common good “can overcome, with the help of God, the false prophets who exploit fear and desperation, who sell magic formulas of hate and cruelty or of a selfish well-being and illusory security.”

“We know that as long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved, giving up absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and attacking the structural causes of inequality, the problems of the world will not be resolved and in the end, no problem,” he said, adding that inequality “is the root of social evils.”

Francis then turned to the problem of corruption, saying that anyone who has too heavy of an attachment to money, banquets, cars, fancy suits should pray so that God “frees them from these bonds.”

When faced with the temptation of corruption, austerity is the best solution he said, explaining that “there is no better antidote than austerity: and to practice austerity is, furthermore, to preach with example.”

“I ask you not to underestimate the value of example because it has more strength than a thousand words, a thousand leaflets, a thousand ‘likes,’ a thousand ‘retweets’ and a thousand videos on YouTube.”

Pope Francis closed his address by reading a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. included in his recent apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia.”

Calling him a man “who opted for fraternal love even in the midst of the worst persecutions and humiliations,” Francis quoted King’s own words in saying that “when you raise the level of love, of its great beauty and power, the only thing you seek to defeat are the evil systems.”

“To the people trapped in these systems, you love them, but you try to defeat that system … hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hatred and evil in the universe … it simply never ends,” he said.

“Somewhere, someone must have some sense, and that’s the strong person. The strong person is the person who can break the chain of hatred, the chain of evil.”

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VATICAN NEWS

During jubilee for prisoners, Pope tells inmates not to lose hope

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

Prisoners serve at Mass with Pope Francis on Nov. 6, 2016 for the Jubilee of Prisoners. (Lucia Ballester/CNA)

Vatican City — On Sunday, Pope Francis held a special Mass held for prisoners inside St. Peter’s Basilica, telling them that while paying the price for their crimes is necessary, they must never lose hope for the future or the desire for true freedom.

In his Nov. 6 homily, the Pope pointed to how St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, refers to God as “the God of hope.”

By saying this, “Paul almost seems to tell us that God too hopes. While this may seem paradoxical, it is true: God hopes! His mercy gives him no rest,” just like the father waiting for the return of the Prodigal Son, or the shepherd looking for his lost sheep.

“So if God hopes, then no one should lose hope. For hope is the strength to keep moving forward,” he said. “It is the power to press on toward the future and a changed life. It is the incentive to look to tomorrow, so that the love we have known, for all our failings, can show us a new path.”

Hope is ultimately proof of the power of God’s mercy, Francis said, adding that mercy “invites us to keep looking ahead and to overcome our attachment to evil and sin through faith and abandonment in him.”

The Jubilee of Prisoners - celebrated for prisoners and their families, penitentiary employees, prison chaplains and various associations that assist both inside and outside of the prison system - took place Nov. 5-6 in Rome as part of Pope Francis’ wider Jubilee of Mercy.

Roughly 4,000 people attended, of which 1,000 were prisoners from 12 countries around the world. Though the majority of the prisoners were from Italy, a Lutheran delegation was present from Sweden. Around 50 prisoners and ex-prisoners were also present from the U.S., including a group of 22 from Cincinnati.

Inmates of all types were included among the participants, including minors, people on house arrest, and those with varying sentences. Though Pope Francis has taken a special interest in individual cases of death row inmates, none were present during the Jubilee event.

Ahead of Sunday’s Mass, St. Peter’s Basilica opened at 7:30 a.m. for the jubilee event, which included singing, testimonies given by four participants and a rosary ahead of Pope Francis’ arrival.

All tickets for the Mass, as usual for Jubilee events, were completely free of cost. After Mass, attendees made their way to the “Reception Celebrating Mercy” in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, for which no ticket was required.

During Mass, it was the prisoners themselves who carried out various roles in the liturgy, such as lectoring. The hosts used during Communion were also made by prisoners of the Opera maximum security prison in Milan as part of “The Meaning of Bread” project organized for the Jubilee of Mercy.

In his homily, Pope Francis said the day’s readings offered a strong message of a hope “that doesn’t delude.”

Hope, he said, “is a gift of God” and as such “is placed deep within each human heart in order to shed light on this life, so often troubled and clouded by so many situations that bring sadness and pain.”

The roots of this hope must be nourished so as to bear fruit in the certainty “of God’s closeness and compassion, despite whatever evil we have done,” he said, adding that “there is no corner of our heart that cannot be touched by God’s love.”

Mercy, the Pope continued, is something that must be thought about “more deeply.” While breaking the law certainly involves “paying the price,” particularly when it comes to losing one’s freedom, at the same time “hope must not falter.”

“Paying for the wrong we have done is one thing, but another thing entirely is the breath of hope, which cannot be stifled by anyone or anything.”

Francis noted that at times “a certain hypocrisy” leads people to view prisoners as merely “wrongdoers, for whom prison is the sole answer.”

“We don’t think about the possibility that people can change their lives; we put little trust in rehabilitation,” he said, explaining that in doing this we forget “that we are all sinners and often, without being aware of it, we too are prisoners.”

Often times we are “locked up within our own prejudices or enslaved to the idols of a false sense of well-being,” he said. “We get stuck in our own ideologies or absolutize the laws of the market even as they crush other people.”

In these moments, we imprison ourselves behind walls of “individualism and self-sufficiency” and are deprived “of the truth that sets us free,” Pope Francis said, stressing that “pointing the finger against someone who has made mistakes cannot become an alibi for concealing our own contradictions.”

While no one can consider themselves just before God, no one can live “without the certainty of finding forgiveness,” he said, and prayed that none of the prisoners present would allow themselves to be “held captive by the past!”

“By learning from past mistakes, you can open a new chapter of your lives. Let us never yield to the temptation of thinking that we cannot be forgiven,” Francis said.

He noted that while there are some wounds that only God can heal, when violence is met with forgiveness, “even the hearts of those who have done wrong can be conquered by the love that triumphs over every form of evil.”

Pope Francis closed his homily by turning to Mary, praying that she would look upon each of them “with a mother’s love” and intercede so that their hearts “can experience the power of hope for a new life, one worthy of being lived in complete freedom and in service to your neighbor.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope asks authorities to grant clemency for prisoners during Jubilee

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

Pope Francis receives a cross made by an inmate at the CeReSo n.3 prison in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Feb. 17, 2016. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Vatican City — After celebrating Mass for prisoners in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis in his Angelus address appealed for better prison conditions and asked that as part of the Jubilee of Mercy, competent global authorities would consider granting clemency to eligible inmates.

“I would like to make an appeal for better conditions in prison life, so that the human dignity of the detained is fully respected,” the Pope said Nov. 6.

He emphasized the importance of the need for a criminal justice “which isn’t just punitive, but open to hope and the re-insertion of the offender into society.”

“In a special way, I submit to the consideration of the competent civil authorities the possibility to make, during this Holy Year of Mercy, an act of clemency toward those prisoners deemed eligible to benefit from such a measure.”

Legally speaking, clemency is a power given to a public official, such as a mayor, governor or the president, to in some way modify or lower the harshness of a punishment or sentence imposed on a prisoner.

While the crime committed is not completely forgotten as in cases of amnesty, they are forgiven and treated more leniently.

Pope Francis made his appeal after having celebrated Mass for some 4,000 people participating in a special Nov. 5-6 Jubilee for Prisoners inside of St. Peter’s Basilica, among whom were 1,000 inmates from 12 countries around the world.

Before leading pilgrims in the Angelus, the Pope pointed to the day’s readings, which speak of the essential Christian belief in the resurrection from the dead.

In his address, Francis noted that life after death “will be different from that on earth.” In responding to the Sadducees, who didn’t believe in the resurrection and tried to trick him, Jesus not only reaffirms the resurrection, but shows that “it’s not possible to apply the categories of this world to the realities that go beyond and are bigger than what we see in this life.”

“Jesus intends to explain that in this world we live in a provisionary reality that ends,” he said, explaining that after our resurrection, “we will no longer have death as a horizon and we will live entirely, even human bonds, in the dimension of God, in a transfigured way.”

Pope Francis stressed that heaven isn’t reserved for just “the privileged few,” but is intended for all men and women, because in dying on the Cross, the salvation Jesus bought is for each one of us.

Our life will be similar to that of the angels, dedicated completely to the light and praise of God, he said, but cautioned against viewing the resurrection as something we experience only after death. It’s something “that we already experience today” and is the final victory we can anticipate.

“The resurrection is fundamental to the Christian faith,” he said, adding that if there were no reference to eternal life, “Christianity would be reduced to an ethic, a philosophy of life.”

Rather, the message of Christian faith comes from heaven and “is revealed by God and goes beyond this world,” the Pope continued.

“To believe in the resurrection is essential, so that each of our actions of Christian love is not ephemeral and doesn’t end in itself, but becomes a seed destined to bloom in the garden of God and produce fruit for eternal life.”

After leading pilgrims in praying the traditional Marian prayer, Pope Francis noted how just two days ago the Paris Climate Agreement, a fruit of the COP21 Summit in Paris last year, went into effect.

Calling the accord an “important step forward,” he said it demonstrates that “humanity has the ability to collaborate for the safeguarding of creation, to put the economy at the service of the people and to build peace and justice.”

Francis pointed to a new climate summit set to open tomorrow, in Marrakech, Morocco, which is aimed, among other things, at the implementation of the Paris agreement. He voiced his hope that the process would be “guided by the awareness of our responsibility for the care of the common home.”

Before concluding, he also noted how 38 martyrs were proclaimed Blessed in Albania Saturday, consisting of two bishops, several priests, a seminarian and some lay persons, all of whom were victims “of the strong persecution of the atheistic regime that long dominated that country in the previous century.”

“These ones preferred to undergo imprisonment, torture and in the end death, in order to remain faithful to Christ and to the Church,” he said, adding that their example “helps us to find in the Lord the strength that sustains us in difficult moments and which inspires attitudes of goodness, forgiveness and peace.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Reported bishop ordinations in China not authorized by Holy See

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • November 7, 2016

(FreshStock via Shutterstock)

Vatican City — A statement made by the Vatican on Monday declared that unverified reports of bishop ordinations taking place within the so-called “underground Church” in China had neither the authorization of the Holy See, nor had they been officially communicated.

“The Holy See has not authorized any ordination, nor has it been officially informed of such events. Should such episcopal ordinations have occurred, they would constitute a grave violation of canonical norms,” the Nov. 7 communique read.

Signed by Director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke, the statement referred to recent unsubstantiated reports that, without authorization from the Pope, the ordination of some bishops took place recently in the so-called “underground Church” in Continental China.

As the statement read: “In recent weeks, there has been a series of reports regarding some episcopal ordinations conferred without Papal Mandate of priests of the unofficial community of the Catholic Church in Continental China.”

“The Holy See hopes that such reports are baseless,” it continued. “If not, it will have to await reliable information and sure documentation before adequately evaluating the cases.”

“However, it is reiterated that it is not licit to proceed with any episcopal ordination without the necessary Papal Mandate, even by appealing to particular personal beliefs.”

The announcement was made amid recent reports of a possible agreement between the Holy See and China concerning the appointment of Chinese bishops.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, told nuncios gathered in Rome Sept. 16-18 that the talks with China deal with the appointment of bishops, and do not deal with any possibility of establishing diplomatic ties.

The agreement, if it takes place, will likely be based on Cardinal Parolin’s model implemented in Vietnam back in 1996: the Holy See proposes a set of three bishops to the Hanoi government, and Hanoi makes its choice.

Problems with this model do exist, however, including that the Vietnam administration often delays its approval, leaving dioceses vacant for years. Then, when they make the choice, they usually prefer a pro-government candidate.

Ever since the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, the Holy See has had a reduced diplomatic presence in Beijing, with the nunciature being 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.

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.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis lauds women religious in fight against trafficking

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • November 7, 2016

Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square during the Wednesday General Audience on Oct. 1, 2014. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis met in Rome with a unique group involved in the fight against human trafficking, where he noted the particular contributions of women religious, which often go unnoticed.

“Your activity in this area reminds us,” the Pope said Nov. 7, of ‘the enormous and often silent efforts which have been made for many years by religious congregations, especially women’s congregations, to care for those wounded in their dignity and scarred by their experiences.”

“I think especially of the distinctive contribution made by women in accompanying other women and children on a deeply personal journey of healing and reintegration,” he said.

The Pope met with RENATE, a European network of religious who are committed to work together in the fight against human trafficking and exploitation. Members consist of women religious, priests and laypersons who all have professional training in fields such as psychology, counseling, law and law enforcement.

During his audience with the group, Pope Francis acknowledged both what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done in combating the problem.

“Much more needs to be done on the level of raising public consciousness and effecting a better coordination of efforts by governments, the judiciary, law enforcement officials and social workers,” he said.

The group’s second assembly, titled “The End of Trafficking Begins with Us,” takes place in Rome Nov. 6-12. Taking place at the Roman hotel Tra Noi, the conference focuses on the mission that they are “Called to give voice to the voiceless.” In addition to the audience with Pope Francis, participants will also hear several talks and visit shelters.

Noting how it was fitting for the conference to take place during the Jubilee of Mercy, the Pope said how “in this season of grace, all of us are invited to enter more deeply into the mystery of God’s mercy.”

And like the Good Samaritan, we are all called to bring “the balm of that mercy” to the many “open wounds” in our society.

“One of the most troubling of those open wounds,” he stated, “is the trade in human beings, a modern form of slavery, which violates the God-given dignity of so many of our brothers and sisters and constitutes a true crime against humanity.”

Stressing how women and children are usually the most affected by the “scourge” of human trafficking, Francis expressed his appreciation for the efforts of those present to raise public awareness.

The Pope thanked them for their “faithful witness to the Gospel of mercy, as demonstrated in your commitment to the recovery and rehabilitation of victims.”

“As you well know, one of the challenges to this work of advocacy, education and coordination is a certain indifference and even complicity, a tendency on the part of many to look the other way where powerful economic interests and networks of crime are at play,” he said.

“I trust that your sharing of experiences, knowledge and expertise in these days will contribute to a more effective witness to the Gospel in one of the great peripheries of contemporary society.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Vatican bishop lays out ‘roadmap’ for dialogue with Islam

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • November 8, 2016

Pope Francis meets with the grand imam Sheik Ahmed Muhammad Al-Tayyib at the Vatican on May 23, 2016. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Vatican City — There is a roadmap for dialogue with Islam, and its three landmarks are peace, justice and education, says a leading bishop on the subject.

Bishop Miguel Ayuso Guixot, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, explained: “on a theological level, differences still remain, and they are known. Beyond any theological difference, however, we take each other’s hand, to build together the common good.”

There is a “diverse and rich dialogue with many Islamic institutions,” the bishop told CNA Nov. 4.

Bishop Ayuso discussed how the dialogue with Islamic institutions is progressing. He gave special mention to the restoration of relations between the Holy See and the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, which, along with its companion university, is the most prominent institution of Sunni Islam.

Al-Azhar had broken relations with the Holy See back in 2011, when the Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb labeled Pope Benedict XVI’s reaction to Christmas attacks on Alexandria churches as “interference” in Egyptian internal affairs.

Only this year has the Holy See succeeded in restoring dialogue with this institution. Bishop Ayuso made a first visit to Al-Azhar on Feb. 16 and met with the Mosque’s deputy imam, Abbas Shuman.

Then the Grand Imam el Tayeb came to visit Pope Francis in the Vatican on May 23. There, he decried Islamic extremist attacks against both Christians and Muslims.

Bishop Ayuso made follow-up visits to Al-Azhar July 13 and Oct. 23.

The aim of these frequent visits is to prepare a meeting in Rome to mark the official restoration of dialogue between the Holy See and Al-Azhar. This meeting should take place in April 2017, though no official date has been set.

“The dialogue we are entertaining with Al-Azhar,” Bishop Ayuso stressed, “is aimed at organizing joint initiatives to promote peace.”

This is the first landmark of the map for dialogue, the bishop said. He added that “in our initiatives, we will focus on a revision of the religious discourse and on how this religious discourse is renewed within our communities, both Muslim and Christian.” This is the commitment for peace, as “a new narrative would be able to prevent many dark paths recently taken in the name of religions.”

Justice, which is “the twin sister of peace,” is the second landmark on the roadmap, said Bishop Ayuso. This means that “we have to insist on much in relations among religions, so that these good relations will lead everyone to have the sacrosanct right to citizenship for everyone.”

“Members of every religion,” Bishop Ayuso underscored, “must all feel citizenship in their country, so that they can take part in building the common good and the social good.”

This is why Al-Azhar and the Holy See are called “to work together on the issue of religious freedom,” the bishop said.

The third landmark of this roadmap is education. The bishop said ignorance is the reason for many evils, adding “we always experience how great religious ignorance is.”

Religious leaders “are called to undertake again within their community the commitment to give a sound religious education,” the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue maintained.

“This education should be founded on the respect for the other person, as well as giving information on the other person that can enrich personal identity,” since “identity must always be preserved and valued.”

Bishop Ayuso spoke with CNA amid an international symposium sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the International Dialogue Centre, and the Lebanon-based Adyan Foundation.

The symposium, titled “Mercy as a Universal Value,” took place Nov. 3-4 at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Pope Francis delivered opening remarks to the representatives of different religions gathered there. He decried acts of violence, kidnappings, and terrorism, especially in the name of religion.

Bishop Ayuso stressed that the effort aimed to provide a place to share different religious views on mercy so that religious communities can “collaborate together to serve humanity.”

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VATICAN NEWS

What is a leader, really? A servant, Pope Francis says

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • November 8, 2016

Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square at the General Audience on Oct. 19, 2016. (Lucia Ballester/CNA)

Vatican City — During Mass at the Vatican Tuesday, Pope Francis warned that the desire for power and money is an obstacle which keeps us from God, and that true freedom can only be found when we serve others.

“Jesus taught us that he who commands must become like one who serves. Or, if one wants to be first he must be the servant of all,” he said at Mass Nov. 8 at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.

“And this desire for power is not the way to becoming a servant of the Lord, in fact: it is an obstacle, one of these obstacles we prayed to the Lord to remove from us.”

The presence of Jesus changes the world’s values, he noted: “The Lord has told us that no servant can have two masters. One either serves God or serves money.”

Another obstacle to a true relationship with Christ that often happens in the life of the Church is treachery, or disloyalty, Francis explained. This disloyalty occurs when someone wants to serve the Lord, but also serves things of the world.

The Pope clarified that this unfaithfulness is not the same as being a sinner, because we are all sinners, and must repent, but it is like playing a “double game.”

“Play right and left, play God and even play in the world, no? And this is an obstacle,” he said.

Not serving God first, the thirst for power and money, are all obstacles to true peace, Francis said, causing us to live in that “tension of worldly vanities.”

In order to have peace and serenity, he said that we must ask God to make us into his free servants. Because as God’s children, once the obstacles have been removed, that is when we can serve him freely, and not as slaves.

“And when we serve the Lord in freedom, we feel that deeper peace yet, right?” he said. “The voice of the Lord: ‘Oh, come, come, come, good and faithful servant.’”

This is not something we can do alone, however, Pope Francis explained, saying that we must repeat the words Jesus told his Apostles in the day’s Gospel, that we are only “useless servants.”

“And so,” the Pope concluded, “give us this serenity, this peace to be able to serve as a free child in the end, with so much love.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Vatican prays Trump presidency will promote peace amid conflict

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • November 9, 2016

Donald Trump. (Christopher Halloran via Shutterstock)

Vatican City — After Donald Trump pulled off what was for many a surprising victory in the United States election, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin offered his prayers that the new president-elect would promote peace in a world torn by conflict.

“First of all, we take note with respect the will of the American people in this exercise of democracy which they tell me was characterized by a large turnout. Then we congratulate the new president, so that his government can be truly fruitful,” Cardinal Parolin told Vatican Radio Nov. 19.

He also assured of his prayers, “so that the Lord illuminate him and sustain him in the service of his homeland, naturally, but also of the peace and wellbeing of the world.”

“I believe that today it is needed for everyone to work to change the global situation, which is a situation of serious laceration and grave conflict.”

Cardinal Parolin spoke at the inauguration of academic year of the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.

His comments came in wake of the election of Republican Donald Trump as the next president of the United States of America, concluding what has been seen as a particularly grueling election cycle.

To the shock and surprise of many, Trump, who walked into Election Day as the perceived underdog, came out on top with 289 electoral votes, well over the required 270 needed to win, while Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton lagged behind with just 218 electoral votes, according to CNN.

Although the Catholic vote was in large part divided due to prolife and immigration issues, one of the key topics that likely loomed large in the minds of Catholics as Trump’s victory was announced was his promise to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, and as well as Pope Francis’ response.

During his Feb. 19 inflight news conference en route from Juarez to Rome, Pope Francis responded to criticism of Trump, who had called the Pope “political” and threatened to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.

“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the Gospel,” the Pope said.

In a Feb. 19 statement the following day, the former Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ, assured that Francis’ comment “was never intended to be, in any way, a personal attack or an indication of how to vote.”

The Pope has repeatedly talked about the need to build bridges rather than walls throughout his pontificate, and his remarks should be understood in this sense, he said at the time.

“It is not a specific issue, limited to this case. It is his general attitude, very consistent with a courageous following of the Gospel’s teachings of welcoming and solidarity.”

When asked what the Vatican’s response to this situation was in light of Trump’s election, Cardinal Parolin said we must wait to “see how the president moves.”

“Normally they say: it’s one thing to be a candidate, it’s another thing to be president, to have a responsibility,” he said, explaining that for him, “even from what I’ve heard, although I have not looked into it much, the future president has already expressed himself as a leader.”

However, when it comes to specific issues and how Trump will act on them, “we will see what choices he makes and according to that you can also make a judgment,” he said, adding that “it seems premature to make judgments.”

After the final election results came in and Trump had officially received a call from Clinton conceding defeat, he gave a 17 minute speech in which he thanked Clinton for “a very hard fought campaign,” and offered thanks to those who supported him along the way.

He said the time has come for America “to bind the wounds of division, we have to get together … I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.”

Trump pledged that he would be a president “for all Americans,” and that by working together, “we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our country and renewing the American dream.”

Having spent his entire life in business and looking at the “untapped potential in projects and people” throughout the world, the president-elect said he wants every single American to have “the possibility to realize his or her fullest potential,” adding that the forgotten will be “forgotten no longer.”

Speaking of a stronger economy and better highways, infrastructure and care of veterans, Trump also offered a word on foreign policy, stating that “we will get along with all other nations willing to get along with us.”

“I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America’s interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone: all people and all other nations. We will seek common ground, not hostility, partnership, not conflict,” he said.

Although the election cycle “was tough,” Trump promised his best, adding “I look forward very much to being your president … I can only say that while the campaign is over, our work on this movement is really just beginning.”

However, with many Catholics perplexed and unsure as to what a Trump presidency will hold, some Catholic leaders have already spoken out on the need to remain unified and steadfast in maintaining and promoting Catholic values.

In a speech at the Catholic Distance University Founder’s Award Dinner, where he was the recipient of the Founder’s Award, Supreme Knight of Columbus said Nov. 5 that said that no matter the election result, Catholics must be a sign of unity, rather than division.

“The question we should ask ourselves is in what way Catholics in America can be a future source of unity and reconciliation or whether we will be a cause of further division and hostility,” he said, noting that the answer to the question “will depend in large measure upon what it means today to be a Catholic in America.”

“In other words, what is fundamental to our identity as Catholics?”

In a series of tweets before the final election results came in, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles offered his own insight as to what the answer of that question is, and where Catholics should be keeping their focus as things move forward.

“We are not Republicans or Democrats or liberals or conservatives. Before everything else, we are followers of Christ,” he said in a Nov. 8 tweet, adding in a second that “we are children of God, made in his image, called to be saints & to work for his Kingdom, which is the family of God on earth.”

In his comments at the Founder’s Award Dinner, Anderson stressed that no matter what the outcome of the election was, division would still run deep in the U.S., including within the Catholic community.

The solution to this, he said, will require “faithful Catholics to fully exercise their responsibilities as citizens” at a time when many are disheartened and frustrated.

“Now is the time for more – not less – Catholic values in our electoral process. Now is the time for more – not less – Catholic values in our nation.”

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VATICAN NEWS

We have to meet people where they are, Pope Francis says

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • November 9, 2016

Pope Francis gives a rosary to a disabled child during his General Audience on Feb. 24, 2016. (Daniel Ibañez/CNA)

Vatican City — On Wednesday Pope Francis said that in order to be more like Jesus, we must not be indifferent to others, but rather meet people where they are and show mercy to those in need, especially the sick and imprisoned.

“We can all be instruments of the mercy of God and this will do more good for us than others because mercy passes through a gesture, a word, a visit and this mercy is an act to restore joy and dignity to those who have lost it,” the Pope said Nov. 9 in St. Peter’s Square.

“Jesus did it,” he said, adding that when we do these things “we do not fall into indifference, but we become instruments of God’s mercy.”

Continuing his catechesis on the corporal works of mercy, which he has been reflecting on the past few weeks, Pope Francis focused on the works of visiting the sick and the imprisoned.

During the three years of his public ministry, Jesus constantly met with people, the sick always having a special place among them, the Pope noted.

“How many pages of the Gospels tell of these meetings! The lame, the blind, the lepers, the possessed, the epileptic, and countless sick of all kinds,” he said. “Jesus became close to each one of them and healed them with his presence.”

Therefore, among the works of mercy, we cannot skip visiting the sick, because “with these works of mercy the Lord invites us to an act of great humanity: sharing.”

“Those who are sick often feel alone,” Francis noted, saying a visit “can make people feel less lonely, and for the sick person a little bit of company is excellent medicine!”

“A smile, a caress, a handshake are simple gestures, but just as important for those who feel to be left on their own.”

Visiting the imprisoned is also an important work of mercy, the Pope said, noting that this one is especially important right now when everyone wants to “point a finger” at someone and lay the blame elsewhere.

“Rather, let us all be instruments of mercy, with attitudes of sharing and respect,” Francis said, recalling times when he has witnessed prisoners cry, probably for the first time, because they finally felt loved and cared for.

Combined with the often inhumane conditions of prisons, “a lack of freedom is undoubtedly one of the greatest hardships for a human being,” he said, adding that a Christian must do “everything to restore their dignity.”

Of course if someone is imprisoned because they broke the law then it is just for this person to serve his or her sentence, the Pope noted, “but whatever a prisoner may have done, he still remains loved by God.”

Who are we to judge the depths of his conscience, his remorse? Francis asked, explaining that too often it’s easy to wash our hands by saying that he or she was wrong. However, we can’t forget that Jesus and his apostles were also prisoners at different points, he said.

Jesus was even “captured, dragged like a criminal, mocked, scourged, crowned with thorns” and crucified even though he was completely innocent, the Pope noted.

He explained that whether or not we are physically free, an encounter with the mercy of Jesus is what gives us spiritual freedom and a new perspective on our personal situation. The same goes for visiting the sick and imprisoned.

“When done in the name of the Lord, then it also becomes an eloquent and effective expression of mercy.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Unity is not the same as uniformity, Pope Francis says

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • November 10, 2016

Interfaith leaders hold objects expressing their beliefs in Pope Francis’ video message on prayer for interreligious dialogue. (Apostleship of Prayer)

Vatican City — On Thursday, Pope Francis spoke about Christian unity and ecumenism, specifically what they are not. Namely, they aren’t about uniformity or the total absorption of one religion by another, but instead consist of a common communion in Christ.

“Ecumenism is true when Christians are able to shift the focus from themselves, from their arguments and formulations, to the Word of God who demands to be heard, accepted and witnessed in the world,” the Pope said Nov. 10.

“Because of this, the various Christian communities are called not to ‘compete,’ but to cooperate.”

Pope Francis addressed members of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity gathered in Rome for their plenary assembly at the Vatican.

Throughout his pontificate Francis has placed a strong emphasis on ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. The last few months alone have included several ecumenical meetings, such as in Lund, Sweden, and in Georgia and Azerbaijan.

In his speech, the Pope gave three examples of what he considers to be “false models of communion” that don’t really lead to unity, but instead “contradict it in its true essence.”

The first of these, he said, is believing that unity is a result of human effort, when in reality, it is always and only a gift of the Holy Spirit.

“We humans are not able to create unity alone, nor can we decide on the forms and times. So what is our role? What must we do to promote unity among Christians?” he asked, explaining that “our task is to accept this gift and make it visible to all.”

The best way to do this? Francis believes it is by “journeying” along the path. Though we may be far from full communion, there are often glimpses of hope, he said. Putting aside presumption, we can recognize how everyone is a sinner and everyone is in need of God’s love and mercy.

“Likewise, the unity of love is already a reality when those whom God has chosen and called to form his people together announce the wonders he has done for them, especially by offering a testimony of life, full of love for all people,” he said.

When we meet “as brothers, we pray together, we work together in proclaiming the Gospel and in service to the least we are already united,” he continued.

Only along this path, he said, can the theological and ecclesiological differences between Christians be surpassed, according to the Holy Spirit and “for the good of the Church.”

The second false model of unity Francis proposed is to believe that unity is equivalent to uniformity.

When the different theological, liturgical, spiritual and canonical traditions are “genuinely rooted in the apostolic tradition,” he noted, they are an “asset, not a threat” to the unity of the Church.

If we let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit, he said, the “richness, the variety, diversity” do not become a source of conflict, but are instead a point of enrichment.

The “ecumenical task,” then, is to respect “legitimate diversity” and work to successfully address what seem like irreconcilable differences, even when they persist.

Similarly, Pope Francis said that unity is not “absorption,” but a unification around the same center, the Lord.

“It is not enough to be unanimous in understanding the Gospel, but it is necessary that all believers are united to Christ and in Christ,” he said.

“In doing so, we Christians can recognize ourselves as brothers and sisters who believe in the one Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, engaged together to find ways to obey the Word of God.”

It is both personal conversion, and conversion as a community, to conformity with Christ which allow us to grow in communion among ourselves, the Pope said, explaining that this must be the spirit of every meeting which strives to bring differences closer together.

Jesus himself prayed in John 17:21 that “they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you,” Francis noted.

“The unity of Christians is an essential requirement of our faith. A requirement that flows from the depth of our being believers in Jesus Christ,” he said. “We call for unity, because we invoke Christ.”

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VATICAN NEWS

When it comes to Trump, Pope says primary concern is about migrants

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • November 11, 2016

Pope Francis (l) and Donald Trump (r). (Stephen Driscoll/CNA and Tinseltown via Shutterstock)

Vatican City — When asked in a new interview what he thinks of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, Pope Francis said he doesn’t judge politicians, but noted that main concern is for migrants and refugees.

“I don’t make judgements on people and on political men, I only want to understand what the sufferings are that their way of proceeding causes to the poor and excluded,” the Pope told Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari in an interview published Nov. 11

Scalfari, 92 and an atheist, is the founder of Italy’s leftist paper “La Repubblica,” and has spoken to the Pope on several occasions, however, he doesn’t not record his conversations with the Pope, and the Vatican has on numerous occasions had to issue corrections on things Sclafari has written about the Pope.

According to Scalfari, he met with the Pope the day before the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election that climaxed with the nomination of Republican Donald Trump as the next president-elect.

While Francis was clear that he doesn’t judge politicians, he said his primary concern given the current global climate is “that of refugees and of migrants.”

“A small part of them are Christians, but this doesn’t change the situation for what regards their suffering and their hardship,” he said. “The causes are many and we’re doing what is possible to remove them.”

However, the Pope said that many times the measures proposed are then opposed by people who fear losing their jobs or having their salaries lowered.

“Money is against the poor besides being against immigrants and refugees,” he said, but noted that “there are also the poor from rich countries who fear welcoming those who are similar coming from poor countries. It’s a perverse circle and it must be interrupted.”

Francis stressed that we must “bring down the walls of division,” but cautioned that in order to do this, we must “build bridges” that seek to decrease inequalities and increase “freedom and rights.”

Scalfari then referred to a previous conversation in which the Pope had allegedly suggested that the saying one must “love your neighbor as yourself” be modified to “more than yourself.”

The journalist insinuated that this comment must mean the Pope prefers a society “dominated by equality,” which is the same program adopted by Marxist socialism and communism.

When asked by Scalfari if he thinks “of a type of Marxist society,” Pope Francis, who has repeatedly referred to the Gospel when accused of being communist, responded that if anything, “it’s the communists who think like Christians.”

“Christ spoke of a society where the poor, weak, excluded, have the right to decide. Not the demagogues, not Barabbas, but the people, the poor, who have faith in the transcendent God or not, it is they who must be helped to achieve equality and liberty,” he said.

The two then shifted their discussion to Francis’ Nov. 5 encounter with representatives of popular movements, which he closed with a lengthy, wide-ranging 6-page speech in which he quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Francis said he quoted King “because I admire him.”

On the uniqueness of his pontificate and the “adversaries” he has in the Church opposing his reforms, the Pope said he wouldn’t use the word adversary because “faith unites us all.”

“Naturally each one of us individuals sees the same things in a different way; the framework is objectively the same, but is subjectively different,” he said.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope tells homeless greater solidarity is found in poverty than wealth

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • November 11, 2016

Francis meets with participants in the Jubilee for Socially Excluded People at the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Nov. 11, 2016. (Lucia Ballester/CNA)

Vatican City — After hearing testimonies from two homeless men Friday, Pope Francis spoke off-the-cuff about the dignity and solidarity that can be found in poverty, but which is often lacking in situations of wealth.

“We must always look for those poorer than I” and seek to increase solidarity by “giving the hand to the one suffering more than me,” the Pope said.

“The ability to have solidarity is one of the fruits that poverty gives us. When there is a lot of richness, one forgets this solidarity,” he said, thanking the homeless for being “the example of this hand a sign of solidarity for the world.”

Pope Francis spoke to a group of around 3,600 people in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall Nov. 11. Of those present, most were from precarious situations such as extreme poverty and homelessness who traveled to Rome as part of the European Festival of Joy and Mercy being held Nov. 11-13 in the context of the Jubilee of Mercy.

Organized by the French organization Fratello, the event brought in groups of pilgrims from 22 different countries, including a large number from France, Poland, and Rome itself. It was conceived as a way to help the homeless participate more fully in the Church and in the Jubilee of Mercy.

The weekend’s schedule includes a mix of both sightseeing and religious activities, including Morning Prayer, Mass, and walking through the Holy Doors of Rome’s four papal basilicas. It will conclude with a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica Nov. 13.

Responding to the testimony of one of the men at the audience, Pope Francis said that what struck him most was the man’s words about not being different, about having the same hopes, dreams, and passions as everyone else.

“Poverty is in the heart of the Gospel,” he said, noting that people followed Christ “because they dreamed, because he healed them, he served them and in the end he liberated them.”

“With your dreams you teach us to dream of the Gospel where you are, in the heart of the Gospel,” he said, explaining that while they might be poor, “you are not overcome … poor, yes; defeated, no.”

Because of the Christian belief in the dignity “of every man and woman,” we can be assured of seeing that life is beautiful, no matter how difficult it may be or how much suffering it may involve, he said.

The Pope, moved by the second man’s testimony, said what impressed him most about it was his “insistence on the word peace.”

“He spoke of interior peace,” Francis noted, saying it is a peace that destroyed by war, and “the greatest poverty is war. The poverty that destroys.”

“To listen to this from the lips of a man who suffered material poverty, physical poverty” is a call for everyone “to work for peace,” he said.

This is the peace “that God wants for each one of your children, and you,” he added. A peace which began with the Holy Family, who were also “marginalized.”

“Make peace, create peace, be the example of peace. We need peace in the world. We need peace in the Church,” he said, adding that “all churches need peace, all religions need to grow in peace because all religions are messengers.”

Francis finished his speech by asking everyone present to please forgive him if he has ever caused offense or not done something that he should have done to help.

He also asked forgiveness for all Christians who do not think the poor are at the center of the Gospel, or who have looked the other way instead of helping those in need.

Concluding with a prayer, the Pope asked God the Father to give them each strength and joy, asking that he teach them “to dream, to look forward.”

Francis prayed that God would “teach us to show solidarity because we are brothers,” and “that you teach us to defend our dignity. You are the Father of each one of us. Bless us, Father. Amen.”

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VATICAN NEWS

On last Mercy Friday, Francis meets men who left the priesthood

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • November 11, 2016

Pope Francis meets former priests and their families at an apartment in Rome’s Ponte di Nona neighborhood as his last Mercy Friday initiative on Nov. 11, 2016. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Vatican City — For his last “Mercy Friday” during the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis spent the afternoon visiting seven young men who have left the priesthood, as a sign of closeness and affection after the difficult decision they made.

Francis left his residence at 3:30 p.m. and traveled to the Ponte di Nona neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Rome, where he met with seven families formed by young men who have left the priesthood in recent years.

According to a Nov. 11 communique from the Vatican, the Pope wanted “to offer a sign of closeness and affection to these young men who have made a choice not often shared by their brother priests and families.”

After several years dedicated to carrying out priestly ministry in the parish, eventually “loneliness, misunderstanding and fatigue due to the great effort of pastoral responsibility put their initial choice of the priesthood in crisis.”

Thrown into feelings of uncertainty and doubt that led them to question whether they made the wrong choice with their decision to enter the priesthood, the young men eventually chose to leave and start a family.

Of the seven young men present, four were from the Diocese of Rome; the others were from Sicily, Madrid, and Latin America.

According to the Vatican, when the Pope entered the apartment he was met with “great enthusiasm” both on the part of the children, who gathered around his legs to give him a hug, as well as the parents.

The young men felt the Pope’s “closeness, and the affection of his presence.”

Francis listened attentively to each of their stories, paying particular attention to the development of the legal proceedings in each of the individual cases. When a man leaves the priesthood, he must undergo a process called “laicization,” in which his priestly faculties for administering the sacraments are removed.

The Pope conveyed to everyone his friendship and personal interest, the communique noted.

By visiting the young men and their families, Pope Francis “wanted to give a sign of mercy to those who live in a situation of spiritual and material hardship, highlighting the need that no one feel deprived of the love and solidarity of the pastors.”

Francis kicked off his monthly works of mercy in January by visiting a retirement home for the elderly, sick, and those in a vegetative state, and a month later traveled to a center for those recovering from drug addiction in Castel Gandolfo.

The Pope’s act of mercy in March took place on Holy Thursday, when he traveled to the CARA welcoming center for refugees at Castelnuovo di Porto, washing the feet of 12 of the guests.

Migrants were also the center of Francis’ act of mercy in April, when he visited refugees and migrants during a daytrip to the Greek island of Lesbos. In May, he traveled to the “Chicco” community for people with serious mental disabilities at Ciampino.

In June, Pope Francis visited two communities of priests – the “Monte Tabor” community, which consists of eight priests suffering from various forms of hardship, and the Diocese of Rome’s “Casa San Gaetano” community which houses 21 elderly priests, some of whom are sick.

The following month Francis’ work of mercy took place while he was in Krakow for World Youth Day when he offered silent prayer at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and visited sick children at the pediatric hospital of Krakow.

In August he visited a special community for women freed from prostitution, while in September he melted hearts around the world by visiting the neonatal unity of Rome’s San Giovanni hospital before stopping by a hospice for the terminally ill.

Last month Francis spent his “Mercy Friday” with children, when he visited the “SOS Village” in Rome, a community made up of homes for children who are in positions of family or social hardship, as recommended by social services.

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WORLD NEWS

In the fight against prostitution, who’s talking about the clients?

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • November 5, 2016

(Catholic News Agency CC 1.0)

Rome, Italy — For religious sisters working to end forced-prostitution through human trafficking, there is one thing consistently left out of the conversation: the clients – who they are and how they are dealt with.

“We are especially looking at the problem of clients. It’s a topic no one talks about. Everyone talks about victims, victims, victims. It’s true, women become victims – of the passion of men,” Sr. Monica Chikwe told journalists Nov. 4.

She pointed to how in the bible, there was a woman who had been caught in adultery and brought to Jesus, but “if in the act of adultery, I ask ‘where is the man?’ No one speaks about the man.”

“It’s the same thing today. Many speak about the victims, but who is using these victims? Who is the client?” Sister Monica asked, explaining that the clients aren’t homeless living on the street or men with some sort of mental disability. Instead, they are “good men, office men, fathers of families, men who put on a tie and go out on the street as if it weren’t a bad thing.”

It’s these men who go out to exploit and use women, she said, adding that her organization seeks to address the problem of clients more directly at the State and government level.

Sr. Monica, a member of the RENATE network against human trafficking, spoke to journalists at a press briefing about their upcoming Nov. 6-12 conference in Rome, titled “The End of Trafficking Begins with Us.”

RENATE is a European network of religious who are committed to work together in the fight against human trafficking and exploitation. Members consist of women religious, priests and laypersons who all have professional training in fields such as psychology, counseling, law and law enforcement.

Taking place at the Roman hotel Tra Noi, the conference focuses on the mission that they are “Called to give voice to the voiceless.” In addition to hearing several talks and visiting shelters, participants will also have an audience with Pope Francis Monday, Nov. 7.

In her comments to journalists, Sr. Monica, who has worked in Italy for a number of years, said what they will focus on, other than their slogan, will be how “to stop human trafficking beginning with you.”

“It’s a topic in which each one of us must say, ‘what can I do so that this modern phenomena, this cancer, ends?’” she said, explaining that in her work with trafficked women forced into prostitution, the topic of clients is one of the most urgent.

She recounted the story of a young man who went with a group to distribute food and clothing to prostitutes in Rome. When they were getting out of their vehicle, he looked out and saw father’s car.

“He was very shocked. It was something so big that this young man had to do rehab, because it destroyed everything for him,” Sr. Monica said.

In another example, the Sister recalled the story of a married man who worked in office, and one night called a prostitute before going home.

As the two were headed out to have sex, the man’s wife called and asked if she should throw in the pasta, since it was his usual time to get home. However, the man said he still had a lot of work to do and that he’d call when he was on his way.

Once he hung up the phone, the prostitute looked at him and said, “What love do you have for your family?” particularly given the love his wife had just shown him.

This problem, Sr. Monica said, “is one everyone needs to face,” particularly in a country like Italy, where domestic violence rates are especially high and a campaign is currently ongoing in a bid to end violence against women.

“Today we have many feminicides (killings of women) in society … because men use family resources and give them to the prostitute. The love he should have for his wife and family, goes to the prostitute,” she said, noting that when a man then goes home, “his wife is no longer anything.”

“His wife is someone to eliminate, to kill. So this problem needs to be confronted from all sides! Because it’s ruining society at every level,” she said. “It must be confronted with the problem of the clients. And the clients aren’t in the sky, they’re among us.”

Sr. Imelda Poole, President of RENATE and a member of the English province of IBVM Loreto Congregation, told CNA that she thinks greed is the ultimate cause of human trafficking.

“We’ve developed a society globally through consumerism, but it’s one in which to be rich, to be powerful, to reach your goal. But the richer you become, the more riches you want. And in that greed there’s an annihilation of love,” she said.

Greed also brings an annihilation of respect and human rights, she said, since the “total selfishness” driving greed “leads a person to become very brutal because their conscience becomes totally suppressed, because they’re only operating from themselves.”

It’s ultimately “the ruination that’s the human being,” whether they are the trafficker or those being trafficked, she said.

Sr. Monica said that to end the market for trafficking, particularly forced-sex trafficking, education and the enforcement of laws are needed.

“If a girl is there all day today, tomorrow and no one calls her, the traffickers will understand that this merchandise needs to change,” she said. “It starts with the law, it starts with good education.”

Modern society has lost the fundamental values that ought to govern the life and actions of the human being, she said, adding that “we must reform our conscience.”

While in many cases laws do exist, they are not applied, the Sister noted, saying they have helped several girls and young women that reported their traffickers, only to have them go to prison for a few days and end up back on the streets.

If the problem of trafficking is faced at its roots, “automatically the traffickers bring their product to the market, it’s not purchased, they will change their craft. The government must have a law that punishes and the law must be applied, whatever it is,” she said.

Referring to Red Light Districts in some countries where prostitution is legal, Sr. Monica said “thank God” it wasn’t legalized in Italy, but in other European countries such as Germany the girls aren’t simply wandering the streets, but “are put in a glass container.”

“You have to go and cry” after seeing this, she said, “because they are in glass cases like dresses to go and choose.”

“Many times this makes me cry,” she said. “It makes me cry because women shouldn’t be reduced in this way! Woman was not created for this! It isn’t licit for men to take women and make them merchandise!”

We must “appeal to the consciences of men,” Sr. Monica said. Since 2012, her organization has rescued and re-integrated 34 women in a systematic, personalized process.

The problem must also be tackled at the root in the girls’ home countries, she said, because when they feel the need to leave due to a lack of opportunities or in order to provide for their families, “this is trouble.”

“Even when we rehabilitate them psychologically, they are damaged,” she said. “Effectively they are destroyed. Even humanly speaking, they are no longer persons. Because what happened is terrible.”

In her comments to CNA, Sr. Imelda said the role of religious women in the effort to end trafficking is key not only due to the professional skills of the members of their organization, but because “we come with a careful understanding that we’re here for protection.”

“We’re here for rescue, but for protection and we understand the boundaries of our work,” she said, adding that “we work right across every discipline that can help support this work holistically.”

The key element of RENATE, she said, “is that we have love at the heart of our mission, and we are passionate about this.”

Rather than seeking “competition or power or business acumen,” the Sisters are there because “we actually love the human person and we believe that it’s God’s will that each human being has a right to be fully who they were born to become.”

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WORLD NEWS

In Canada, assisted suicide could also kill Catholic healthcare

by CNA/EWTN News • November 8, 2016

(Arina P. Habich via Shutterstock)

Vancouver, Canada — Only months after the Canadian Parliament approved legal assisted suicide, Catholic hospitals, palliative care centers and individual doctors have been put on the defensive amid calls to require them to help patients kill themselves.

Five doctors have filed a legal challenge against the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario for its policy that requires doctors who refuse to participate in assisted suicide and abortion to refer those patients to other doctors.

“In my view, it’s the future of Catholic healthcare that’s at stake,” said their spokesman, Larry Worthen. “No other jurisdiction outside of Canada where assisted suicide is legal requires referral.”

He said the college has been “extremely aggressive” in its handling of their case. The doctors are being cross-examined about their religious beliefs. One is Catholic, while four are evangelical Christians.

The college has authority to regulate the practice of medicine in the Ontario province. Refusal to comply with its policies could cost a doctor his or her medical license.

The doctors have the support of the Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Catholic Physicians’ Societies and Canadian Physicians for Life, though they face increasing legal costs, Canadian Catholic News reports.

The Attorney General of Ontario has sided with the college, with a spokesperson deeming its policy “a reasonable balance between the sincerely held religious beliefs of objecting physicians and the important state interest in ensuring vulnerable patients are able to access legally available medical procedures.”

The three doctors’ groups are part of the new organization called Coalition for HealthCARE and Conscience, which includes the Catholic archdioceses of Toronto and Vancouver.

Bishop Ronald Fabbro of London, who is president of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario, said the province’s bishops have agreed to make conscience protection a top priority.

The Canadian parliament legalized assisted suicide in June on orders from Canada’s Supreme Court.

In British Columbia, a local health authority suggested requiring that all publicly funded institutions provide assisted suicide services, including Catholic hospitals and hospice care.

Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver wrote in protest of the proposal.

The proposal followed strong criticism of a Catholic hospital in Vancouver that transferred an elderly man in severe pain to another hospital because it would not provide assisted suicide.

Ian Shearer, 84, suffered multiple afflictions, including a spinal condition and sepsis. In late August he requested a doctor-assisted suicide at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, which does not provide assisted suicide because it is Catholic.

Shearer was transferred to a hospital about 2.5 miles away. His daughter Jan Lackie alleged that the trip and inadequate pain control put him in agony.

The ambulance arrived three hours late. In order to ensure he was mentally lucid to give legal consent to assisted suicide, his pain drug dosage had been reduced. According to Lackie, there was also a shortage of the narcotic drug in his ward. She added that she wanted religious-operated facilities, like hospitals, nursing homes and hospices, to be required to allow assisted suicide.

“We have nine judges who said ‘Yes’ to medical assistance in dying,” she said. “I don’t understand how the Vatican has so much power, even here in Canada.”

Shaf Hussain, a spokesman for the hospital’s parent group Providence Health Care, said the health care group finalized a policy this summer that arranges to transfer patients as comfortably as possible when they voice a desire for assisted suicide.

“We’ll be working with our partners in the health care system to ensure the patients’ needs do come first … and to minimize the discomfort and pain,” he said.

St. Paul’s Hospital does not host the medical assessment or the signing of consent forms required by the assisted suicide law.

“Life is sacred and the dignity of the person is important,” Michael Shea, president of the Catholic Alliance for Canada, told the National Post. “These organizations neither prolong dying nor hasten death, and that’s a pretty fundamental value for them.”

Shanaaz Gokool, who heads the pro-assisted suicide group Dying with Dignity, charged that facilities that do not provide assisted suicide cause suffering for transferred patients and deny them a right to a legal procedure in places where faith-based health care organizations are the only provider.

“This is going to be a real issue, and it’s going to be a real issue across the country,” Gokool said.

The Canadian newspaper the Catholic Register in an Oct. 13 editorial drew a warning from the controversy.

“What is playing out in Vancouver is just the beginning,” it said. “Catholic and other faith-based institutions across Canada will face increasing public and political pressure to set aside religious and conscience objections to facilitate assisted suicide.”

The editorial noted that organ transplants and other surgeries are routinely referred to other hospitals, and Catholic hospitals are not forced to perform abortions.

“But the assisted-suicide lobby offers no such hint of religious tolerance or accommodation when it comes to their issue,” the Catholic Register said.

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WORLD NEWS

British Columbia’s highest court upholds religious freedom

by CNA/EWTN News • November 8, 2016

(Masterchief Productions via Shutterstock)

Vancouver, Canada — In a unanimous ruling, the highest court in British Columbia said that a Christian law school could not be denied accreditation merely for holding biblical beliefs on sexual morality.

“A society that does not admit of and accommodate differences cannot be a free and democratic society – one in which its citizens are free to think, to disagree, to debate and to challenge the accepted view without fear of reprisal,” the high court said.

“This case demonstrates that a well-intentioned majority acting in the name of tolerance and liberalism, can, if unchecked, impose its views on the minority in a manner that is in itself intolerant and illiberal.”

In a unanimous Nov. 1 decision, the British Columbia Court of Appeal agreed with a lower court that the Law Society of British Columbia had wrongly denied accreditation to Trinity Western University’s proposed law school.

The law society had initially voted to accept the school’s graduates, but then reversed its decision in late 2014, because the university holds beliefs about sexual ethics based on the Bible.

Religious freedom advocates applauded the decision.

“All Canadians benefit from this decision,” said Gerald Chipeur, a member of a Canadian law firm involved in the case. “It affirms the principle that everyone should be free to live and work according to their sincerely held beliefs and convictions.”

“Faith-based educational institutions should always be welcome in a diverse society and be free to operate according to the faith they teach and espouse,” he said.

“No one can be banned from their profession because they hold biblically based views, and no Christian institution of higher education can be sanctioned because it reflects essential tenets of the Christian religion,” added Benjamin Bull, chief counsel with the religious freedom group ADF International.

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WORLD NEWS

Australia’s proposed refugee ban is ‘deliberately cruel’

by CNA/EWTN News • November 9, 2016

(Mikael Damkier via Shutterstock)

Canberra, Australia — The Australian government’s proposed permanent ban on visas for refugees and asylum seekers who have recently arrived by boat drew strong criticism from a bishop who is a former refugee himself.

“Seeking asylum even by boat is not illegal. It is a basic human right. Yet not content with demeaning them, the Australian government now wants to introduce laws that will ban them from ever coming here,” Bishop Vincent Long of Parramatta said.

The bishop is the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Delegate for Migrants and Refugees. He fled Vietnam by boat at a young age.

He spoke against the ban in a Nov. 7 statement on the media blog of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

For Bishop Long, the motives for the measures are “questionable at best and sinister at worst.”

He cited the situations on Manus Island, located in northern Papua New Guinea, and the island Micronesian country of Nauru, where about 1,800 people have been indefinitely detained. Australian authorities typically remove refugees who arrive at the mainland to these islands, in the name of offshore processing.

“Domestic advocates and international agencies have been appalled by the conditions under which asylum seekers live and the effects on their health, spirits and self-respect,” the bishop said. “To single out and punish further a small number of people who came by boat, even if they are found to meet the refugee definition is deliberately cruel and un-Australian. It betrays the tradition, status and character of the country that we are proud of – a richly resourced country with a big heart for migrants and refugees.”

The ban would be in effect for a lifetime, even if a refugee were to establish himself in another country and try to revisit Australia decades later.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull spoke about the proposal Oct. 31 “the door to Australia is closed to those who seek to come here by boat with a people smuggler.”

“That absolutely unflinching, unequivocal message has to be loud and clear,” he told media.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop cited the need to discourage dangerous boat trips.

“I will never forget 1,200 people that we know of drowned at sea coming to Australia under these people smuggling networks,” she said, according to news.com.au. “We cannot have situations where people are drowning at sea.”

Critics of the ban say it may violate the international refugee convention.

Bishop Long urged Australians to reject the “cruel and unnecessary measures” of banning the refugees from applying for visas. He asked political leaders to “resist this latest mean-spirited move against asylum seekers and to reclaim the reputation of a decent, humane and generous country.”

“It is the kind of country that refugees like myself are indebted to and proud to call home,” he said.

“We must find a more just, humane and effective way in dealing with the complex issues of seeking asylum and refugee protection.”

On Manus Island, asylum seekers appear to suffer medical neglect, wasting and severe ill health, the Australian Medical Association has told a Senate inquiry.

While the association said the medical accounts it received could not be independently verified, it accused Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection authorities of failing to respond to its inquiries in a timely and comprehensive way, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Health workers had until recently been under legal sanctions that barred them from speaking about conditions on Manus Island. The medical association’s president Dr. Michael Gannon said there was an “inappropriate degree of secrecy” about the department’s attitude to asylum seeker patients, as well as “hyperbole from refugee advocates.”

“It’s actually very hard to get accurate clinical information,” Dr. Gannon said.

There are presently negotiations underway to resettle the refugees, possibly in Canada and the United States.

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WORLD NEWS

Can South Korean Catholics evangelize Asia?

by CNA/EWTN News • November 10, 2016

Seoul, South Korea. (Sean Pavone via Shutterstock)

Seoul, South Korea — Catholics in South Korea have a unique position to evangelize, one scholar says.

“Since the 1990s, the Vatican has been encouraging the Korean Church to take responsibility for evangelizing the rest of Asia,” Prof. Kirsteen Kim said. “Not only the quality of its witness but also practical considerations lie behind this.”

Kim, a professor of theology and world Christianity at Leeds University in the United Kingdom, profiled the Church in South Korea and its missionary activity in the U.K. newspaper The Catholic Herald Nov. 11.

About 200 South Korean priests are serving as missionaries in other countries, while 400 serve overseas Korean communities. The Korean Mission Society, founded in 1975, has sent more than 70 priests abroad.

Another 700 Koreans, mostly religious women, are serving in missionary congregations overseas.

There are five million Catholics in South Korea, over 10 percent of the population. They tend to be above average in socio-economic status.

The country has a good reputation around the world. Its people are highly educated and its seminaries train many priests from other countries. The country’s culture, in the form of music, soap operas, fashions and films, is popular in places like China.

Tensions with North Korea, of course, cannot be ignored.

“Korean missionary activity is driven partly by the desire to share religious freedom and partly by the hope of a world peace that would lead to reunification with North Korea,” Kim said in The Catholic Herald.

The Catholic faith first came to Korea through lay people, not missionaries or bishops, in the late 1700s.

The Korean Church then survived intense religious persecution, with martyrs who have been raised to the altars. Pope John Paul II canonized 103 Korean Martyrs in 1984, while Pope Francis beatified another 124 during his August 2014 visit to the country.

Korean Catholic history includes 35 years of Japanese occupation and the Korean War. According to Kim, this has given the Church awareness about the need to be “a poor Church for the Poor,” in the words of Pope Francis.

The Church further played a large role in civil rights and democracy advocacy in the 1980s and 1990s.

There is “a strong social dimension” to its evangelization, Kim said. “Its martyr history has given the Korean Church special identification with the poor and suffering and a willingness for self-sacrifice.”

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WORLD NEWS

How a Malawi bishop argues against abortion

by CNA/EWTN News • November 11, 2016

(Alex Krisan via Shutterstock)

Karonga, Malawi — St. Joseph the Worker’s care for the infant Jesus is the model for opponents of an abortion bill in Malawi.

Archbishop Thomas Luke Msusa of Blantyre praised St. Joseph’s bravery in accepting responsibility to care for, defend, and protect the infant Christ from all harm.

The chairman of the Malawi bishops’ conference spoke in Karonga Nov. 5 at the consecration of a cathedral named for St. Joseph the Worker, the Catholic News Agency for Africa reports.

Citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the archbishop said, “human life is sacred because from its beginning until end, no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.”

He called on the Catholic faithful to oppose the Termination of Pregnancy Bill. Abortion is currently criminalized in the country except in cases of saving the mother’s life.

The bill would allow abortions in circumstances like rape, incest or “defilement,” when a pregnancy poses a threat to the mother’s health, or when there is evidence the unborn baby is severely deformed, the German news site Deutsche Welle reports.

Archbishop Msusa said the Catholic faithful should stand against the abortion bill’s advocates.

Those present for the consecration of the included Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of Karonga and Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect for the Congregation of the Evangelization of Peoples. Malawi’s vice president Saulosi Chilima also attended.

The abortion bill has support from the Malawi Council of Churches, an umbrella group for 25 Christian organizations.

However, several ecclesial communities under the MCC have distanced themselves from the group’s claims, and the Evangelical Association of Malawi has called on members of parliament to reject the bill.

Backers claim legal abortion will reduce maternal deaths. The Malawi Ministry of Health said that more than 70,000 women seek illegal abortions each year. It said about 31,000 of these women suffer complications, sometimes including death. It blamed botched abortions for 17 percent of maternal deaths in the country.

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U.S. NEWS

Don’t shift on assisted suicide, Catholics urge U.S. medical group

by CNA/EWTN News • November 5, 2016

(Sandra.Matic via Shutterstock)

Washington D.C. — For years, the American Medical Association has held a strong stance against measures promoting physician-assisted suicide. But that could change.

Recently, the American Medical Association announced that it is reconsidering its position, prompting groups such as the Society of Catholic Social Scientists to speak out, urging that they maintain a firm “no” to “intentionally induced deaths.”

“Our organization strongly urges you not to change your policy,” stated an Oct. 31 letter from Society of Catholic Social Scientists president, Dr. Stephen M. Krason.

“Your organization has enormous influence in the shaping of public policy concerning healthcare and medical issues and a change in your position would almost certainly give momentum to the effort to legalize physician-assisted suicide in the U.S.”

Over the past few years, a handful of states have legalized physician-assisted suicide. The state of Colorado will vote on the measure this November.

The assisted suicide movement gained traction with the controversial case of Brittany Maynard, a brain cancer patient who relocated to Oregon in 2014 to pursue physician-assisted suicide.

Since its popularization, stories have surfaced about health-insurance companies denying medical treatment to the terminally ill, but instead insuring lethal pills that would end the patient’s life.

The Society of Catholic Social Scientists is among many groups advocating against physician-assisted suicide. Opponents also include disability rights advocates, who have called the measure “ignorant,” and Catholic leaders including Pope Francis, who said that assisted suicide is “false compassion.”

Among the many dangers listed by the Society of Catholic Social Scientists is the fine line of transforming “a healing profession into a killing profession,” and driving “a wedge between physicians and their patients, causing people to deeply distrust their physicians who they will not be sure will be faithful to an ethic to help them when they are seriously ill.”

The letter also mentioned that terminally ill patients will be viewed as expendable if assisted suicide becomes acceptable, and that the basic dignity of the human person will be undermined, which in turn will undermine end-of-life palliative care and depression treatment for the terminally ill.

Krason also said that acceptance of the “right to die” will undoubtedly break the boundaries of just the terminally ill, eventually spreading to other groups of individuals.

“It inevitably will spread to more and more categories of people, including those who aren’t even seriously ill and children with serious illnesses and birth defects, as the European experience is making clear,” Krason wrote.

“Instead of pediatric and neonatal specialists working to save handicapped newborns, they will be increasingly looked to for the purpose of ending their lives.”

Krason also said that the “right-to-die” will quickly turn into the “duty-to-die,” placing unneeded pressure on the elderly and sick to not be a burden on their families.

“Indeed, there is evidence that the elderly are becoming increasingly fearful that medical authorities might think of them as undeserving of care, even if they wish to have it, so they should just be allowed die,” Krason wrote, pointing to the example of the elderly woman who tattooed “don’t euthanize me” on her arm.

The letter also highlighted the “multitude of legal issues will result from it that will cause potentially serious problems for the medical profession.”

Krason urged the American Medical Association to consider these costly implications of the “right to die,” saying that it will only lead to “a further erosion of respect for innocent human life.”

“As social scientists, we are very well aware of where societal trends are going and the likely consequences of them, and allowing physician-assisted suicide will have calamitous effects for vulnerable populations, for the medical and healing professions generally, and for American life and society in general,” Krason wrote.

“We strongly urge your organization to continue its official opposition to physician-assisted suicide.”

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U.S. NEWS

Bishop Conley rejects pro-death penalty ads distorting his words

by CNA/EWTN News • November 5, 2016

Bishop James D. Conley prays with brother bishops at his installation as the ninth bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska. (Seth DeMoor)

Lincoln, NE — Bishop James Conley of Lincoln has called on the group “Nebraskans for the Death Penalty” to retract social media advertisements which distort his words to promote a capital punishment initiative in the state.

The advertisements use heavily redacted quotes, taken out of context, from one of Bishop Conley’s interviews regarding Referendum 426, a state ballot measure attempting to maintain the death penalty after legislators voted to abolish it.

On October 26th, Bishop Conley conducted a 12-minute radio interview with Coby Mach, host of KLIN’s Drive Time Lincoln. The bishop explained the Catholic Church’s theological and pastoral positions on the death penalty.

While the Church allows for the death penalty in principle, he said, it holds that in contemporary times, “the circumstances where that would be an option are practically non-existent … we can protect people without recourse to the death penalty.”

Bishop Conley noted that the bishops of Nebraska encourage Catholics to retain the death penalty’s repeal because “the death penalty is a way that we resort to a violent act to try to solve problems.”

The state’s bishops have said that while Catholics are not formally required to support the bishops’ judgment on this issue, they are required to evaluate the Nebraska’s death penalty in light of the Church’s moral framework: especially the requirement that the death penalty be used only when it is absolutely necessary for public safety.

Bishop Conley also called for prison reform across Nebraska, encouraging state officials to make prison safety a serious priority. “Violence to deal with violence,” the bishop said, “is not the answer.”

Days later, however, the death-penalty advocacy group “Nebraskans for the Death Penalty” used an edited version of the bishop’s remarks, without providing context, in paid social media advertising.

JD Flynn, spokesman for the Diocese of Lincoln, said that the advertisements “unfairly cherry-picked portions of Bishop Conley’s comments, from one radio interview, to misrepresent the central message of our bishops: that executing people solves no problems in our state, there is clearly no need for it, and no convincing justification for it.”

On Thursday, November 3rd, Bishop Conley asked that the advertisements be retracted. According to the Nebraska Catholic Conference, the advertisements were still being used on Facebook on Saturday, November 5th.

Flynn explained that “Bishop Conley has asked civilly and politely that his words and images not be used, disingenuously, to promote the death penalty. But ‘Nebraskans for the Death Penalty’ has been unwilling to respond with civility. These ads are intended to confuse Catholics about what Nebraska’s bishops believe.”

“Bishop Conley certainly has encouraged Catholics to pray about the death penalty, and to seriously study the Church’s teaching on this matter. But using Bishop Conley’s image, and selectively misrepresenting his words, to promote the death penalty is disingenuous, unfair and disrespectful,” Flynn said.

“I hope ‘Nebraskans for the Death Penalty’ will retract these ads, and I hope their major donors and supporters will call on the group to do so.”

Among the prominent supporters of “Nebraskans for the Death Penalty” is Nebraska’s Catholic governor, Peter Ricketts. According to media reports, Ricketts has personally donated $300,000 to the death penalty group, making him one of the campaign’s largest personal donors.

“Governor Ricketts is a man of integrity, a great Catholic, and a friend to the Church,” Flynn said. “I don’t think he’d appreciate the disrespect and duplicity of ‘Nebraskans for the Death Penalty.’ I’m sure that as he becomes aware of the situation, he’ll encourage the group to stop using the face of Bishop Conley, a consistent opponent of the death penalty, in order to confuse Catholics before the election.”

“I also hope,” Flynn said, “that Nebraska’s Catholics will choose to build a culture of life, by keeping the needless violence of execution out of our state. We don’t need the death penalty. I hope they’ll vote to ‘Retain the Repeal’ of the death penalty.”

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U.S. NEWS

Who will win the Catholic vote this week? It’s hard to predict

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • November 6, 2016

(Vox Efx via Flickr CC BY 2.0)

Washington D.C. — A new poll released Friday shows Donald Trump winning the Catholic vote by 16 points – but is it an accurate prediction of how Catholics will vote next Tuesday?

“We just don’t have enough data to say anything very reliable this year,” cautioned Dr. Mark Gray of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, which conducts social science research on the Catholic Church, at Georgetown University.

“The Exit Polls will provide better insight but we won’t see these until after the fact,” he told CNA.

Of all the general election polls, only a few of them have reported the religious affiliations of respondents. And for those that have, their revelations of the Catholic vote vary widely.

The latest survey of likely voters by Investor’s Business Daily and TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence shows Catholics supporting Trump by a 16-point margin – 54 to 38 percent, with three percent supporting the Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson. Four percent are “not sure” who they will support.

While an Oct. 21 IBD/TIPP survey had Trump winning Catholic voters 49 to 36 percent, with five percent voting for Johnson, Trump’s lead narrowed to just 46 to 41 percent on Oct. 28, with Johnson’s support increasing to eight percent.

However, after the FBI announced Oct. 28 that it was again investigating Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server from her time as Secretary of State, Trump’s margin of support among Catholics increased again to 16 percent by Friday, Nov. 4.

Other polls – conducted before the FBI’s Oct. 28 announcement – show markedly different results in the Catholic vote.

A Pew Research poll, released Oct. 27, showed Clinton narrowly winning the Catholic vote among registered voters, 46 to 44 percent.

The Public Religion Research Institute, meanwhile, showed Trump winning among White Catholics 48 to 41 in a compilation of surveys from Sept. 22 to Oct. 17, but Clinton winning Latino Catholics by a vast margin, 84 percent to 12 percent.

What is to be made of these poll numbers?

“There is so much volatility in the polls in what appears to be a close race,” Dr. Gray noted, and in what is expected to be a close race, that “volatility” will be magnified.

“We also have fewer polls this year than in previous elections,” he added, and “on top of that the Catholic sample is typically 18 percent to 25 percent of survey respondents so the problems with margin of error are even bigger. You get more volatility with a smaller sample.”

Thus, it is hard to accurately predict how the general public will vote, much less a sub-group like Catholic voters, he said.

Joshua Mercer, co-founder of CatholicVote.org, agreed that the Catholic vote is hard to predict with certainty right now.

There has been “a lot more fluidity” in the public’s support for the candidates this year than in 2012, he noted. “Overall, there’s a lot less polling,” he added, which means that “there’s a lot less information to go around.”

Ultimately, the election result may come down to several key swing states like Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, and Ohio, he said, and those states have sizeable Catholic populations. “They are all states where Catholic voters are going to decide the next president,” he insisted.

Catholics are expected to vote as the rest of the populace votes, as this has been the case in recent elections.

Catholics have voted along with the popular vote in the last few presidential elections, choosing Al Gore in 2000 when Gore won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote, as well as voting for George W. Bush in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, always mirroring the rest of the electorate.

In the mid-term elections, Catholics went for the victorious party, voting for Democrats in 2006 when the party took control of Congress, and then voting for the victorious Republicans in 2010 and 2014.

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U.S. NEWS

Knights of Columbus head: Catholics must be a source of post-election unity

by CNA/EWTN News • November 7, 2016

Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson speaks with CNA in Rome on June 26, 2014. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Arlington, VA — Following a tumultuous and divided election season, Catholics in the U.S. should find ways to create unity and healing, said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson of the Knights of Columbus.

“(T)he question we should ask ourselves is in what way Catholics in America can be a future source of unity and reconciliation or whether we will be a cause of further division and hostility,” Anderson said Nov. 5.

“The answer to that question will depend in large measure upon what it means today to be a Catholic in America. In other words, what is fundamental to our identity as Catholics?”

Anderson spoke in Arlington, Virginia at the Catholic Distance University Founder’s Award Dinner, where he was the recipient of the Founder’s Award.

He referenced the WikiLeaks emails involving John Podesta, campaign manager for Hillary Clinton.

In one leaked email, Podesta discusses the idea of planting seeds for a possible “Catholic Spring” in which the laity would revolt against the bishops to demand changes in Church moral teaching.

In another email, Center for American Progress fellow John Halpin, himself a Catholic, calls conservatism among Catholics “an amazing bastardization of the faith,” and Podesta suggests that conservative Catholics are attracted to the Church’s intellectual tradition because “They can throw around ‘Thomistic’ thought and ‘subsidiarity’ and sound sophisticated because no one knows what the hell they’re talking about.”

Part of what is so troubling about these emails, Anderson said, is that some of the disparaging comments about Catholics were made by other Catholics.

“This episode presents a serious challenge to Catholics,” Anderson said, “regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s election, our country will remain deeply divided and those divisions are, to a very real extent, also reflected within our own Catholic faith community.”

The solution to this, he continued, will require “faithful Catholics to fully exercise their responsibilities as citizens” at a time when many are disheartened and frustrated.

“Now is the time for more – not less – Catholic values in our electoral process. Now is the time for more – not less – Catholic values in our nation.”

Anderson proposed six concrete areas where Catholicism in the United States has an opportunity to grow and promote unity.

First, he said, is “the renewal of parish life as a true Eucharistic community,” with a greater appreciation for the Eucharist as the source and summit of unity, charity and Christian life.

Next, a “renewed evangelization of family life” is needed, “centered upon the calling of every Catholic family to be a domestic church which, in solidarity with other families, would be a source of unity, charity and reconciliation.”

In addition, Anderson said, Catholics should grow in their devotion to Mary as the Patroness of the U.S., seeing in her a model of “understanding our responsibilities toward our neighbors and for the common good as citizens.”

Also necessary is a “deeper understanding of those moral principles and issues that are non-negotiable for us as a faith community,” which leads to a deeper understanding and application of the Church’s Social Doctrine.

A greater commitment to authentic Catholic education that forms the entire person at every academic level is also important for Catholic identity, he said.

Finally, he concluded, the Church in the U.S. needs “a greater appreciation of the office of bishop as the source of unity for the local church” and deeper communication among clergy, religious and laity.

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Archbishop Joseph Tobin named as head of Newark archdiocese

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

Episcopal ring. (Alexey Gotovskiy/CNA)

Vatican City — The Vatican announced Monday that recently nominated Cardinal-elect Archbishop Joseph William Tobin of Indianapolis will soon be taking over as the new head of the Newark, N.J. Archdiocese.

Born in Detroit May 3, 1952, Tobin has since 2012 served as the 6th Archbishop of Indianapolis. He was ordained a Redemptorist priest in 1978 and served as the order’s superior general from 1997 to 2009.

On Oct. 9 Pope Francis named him as one of three Americans on his list of 17 new cardinal-elects, who will be elevated during a special Nov. 19 consistory set to coincide with the end of the Jubilee of Mercy.

Other Americans getting the red hat are Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago and Bishop Kevin Farrell, former head of the Dallas diocese but who recently moved to Rome to carry out his new role as prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Laity, Family and Life.

As head of the Newark Archdiocese, Tobin will be taking over for Archbishop John J. Myers, who will retire after having reached the age limit of 75 in July.

Tobin’s appointment and elevation as cardinal will mark the first time in its 163 year history that the Archdiocese of Newark has been led by a cardinal. It also signals the first time a member of a religious order will preside over the diocese, which serves roughly 1.2 million Roman Catholics.

The decision fits with Francis’ tendency to appoint cardinals to non-traditional “red-hat sees,” meaning dioceses that typically always have a cardinal, such as Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington.

While Tobin will be taking over in another diocese, he already has an extensive tenure in and around the Vatican, as well as in leadership.

Prior to his appointment as Archbishop of Indianapolis, Tobin served as the Superior General for his congregation from 1997-2009, and then in the Vatican as Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life from 2010-2012, where he helped oversee the more than 1 million men and women who are vowed religious.

During his time at the congregation, he conducted two separate investigations of American nuns. He was also responsible for the visit and reform of the male communities in Ireland during the sex abuse crisis in the country.

In May he was appointed by the Vatican as the delegate to oversee the ongoing reforms of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae after scandals involving their founder, Luis Fernando Figari, were made public last year.

Archbishop Tobin also seems to share Pope Francis’ sympathy for migrants and refugees. He recently sparred with Indiana governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence over the resettlement of Syrian refugees, saying he was determined to welcome them despite Pence’s objections.

Under his guidance, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis has also set up several events to help foster Catholic-Muslim dialogue.

He has also been a papal appointee to five synods of bishops: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005 and 2008, though he did not attend the 2014-2015 Synod of Bishops on the Family.

In addition to English, the archbishop speaks Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

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What does the Catholic Church say about voting?

by Adelaide Mena (CNA/EWTN News) • November 7, 2016

(Erik (HASH) Hersman via Flickr CC BY 2.0)

Washington D.C. — As Americans across the country prepare to step into the voting booth tomorrow, what are the most important principles for Catholics seeking to form their consciences according to Church teaching?

The answer can’t be reduced to a single issue, but is a matter of weighing candidates’ positions on the different topics at stake, examining the moral hierarchy of issues and rejecting intrinsically evil acts.

The U.S. bishops’ conference attempts to offer guidance through its document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.

“It is our hope that by reading the document, they will inform their own consciences as to Church teachings, which require us to make sound moral judgements based on the truths and tenets of our faith,” said Norma Montenegro Flynn, assistant director of media relations at the U.S. bishops’ conference Office of Public Affairs.

She said that while the document is “not a ‘voter’s guide’,” it does seek to form Catholics’ consciences and explain the responsibilities Catholics have in our democracy.

“As Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship reminds us, while the Church is involved in the political process and shaping policy, it is not partisan and therefore, cannot support or recommend any candidate or party,” Montenegro Flynn told CNA in a statement. “Nor can we compromise basic principles or moral teachings.”

“Our cause is the defense of human life and dignity as well as the protection of the weak and the vulnerable. Therefore, we continue our call to Catholics across the U.S. to faithful reflection and discernment as we approach the elections.”

Forming Consciences lays out principles of Catholic thought, reminding Americans that in “the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation.”

But the Church’s vision of political engagement differs from the partisanship and maneuvering of power that tends to define secular politics, the bishops’ document says, emphasizing the importance of well-formed consciences shaped by fundamental moral truths more than party affiliation.

Forming Consciences discusses the idea of “intrinsically evil” actions, those that are “so deeply flawed that they are always opposed to the authentic good of persons.”

“There are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society, because they are always incompatible with love of God and neighbor,” it says. “They must always be rejected and opposed and must never be supported or condoned.”

A prime example of an intrinsically evil action is the intentional taking of innocent human life, such as through abortion or euthanasia, the document says.

Other acts listed in Forming Consciences as always unjustifiable include human cloning, destructive research on human embryos, genocide, torture, the targeting of noncombatants in acts of war, acts of racism, treating workers as a mere means to an end, intentionally subjecting workers to subhuman living conditions, treating the poor as disposable, and redefining marriage to deny its essential meaning.

It is important to note that not all issues are morally equivalent, the document emphasizes. “The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many.”

At the same time, the “necessary moral distinctions” between issues must not be used to dismiss or ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity.

“As Catholics we are not single-issue voters,” the bishops’ document states. “A candidate’s position on a single issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter’s support. Yet if a candidate’s position on a single issue promotes an intrinsically evil act, such as legal abortion, redefining marriage in a way that denies its essential meaning, or racist behavior, a voter may legitimately disqualify a candidate from receiving support.”

It is always wrong for Catholics to vote for candidates who support policies promoting intrinsic evils “if the voter’s intent is to support that position,” Forming Consciences explains.

However, it adds, “(t)here may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position even on policies promoting an intrinsically evil act may reasonably decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil.”

The document also notes the possibility of a situation in which all candidates hold positions that promote an intrinsically evil act. In such a case, the bishops say, voters “may decide to take the extraordinary step of not voting for any candidate or, after careful deliberation, may decide to vote for the candidate deemed less likely to advance such a morally flawed position and more likely to pursue other authentic human goods.”

Reflecting on the document’s underlying themes, Joseph E. Capizzi, associate professor of Moral Theology at The Catholic University of America, said that the guidance the bishops offer in how to form the conscience is the most important – and most challenging – point the bishops make.

“Too often we think of our consciences as immune to – and free from – external sources of guidance,” told CNA. “Our particularly American understanding of ‘self-reliance,’ and even ‘self-creation’ balks at the idea that a ‘well-formed conscience’ is a conscience tutored by the world; by experiences shared by others, by reason and the natural law, and by the teachings of the Church that express that law.”

But these principles are important, he maintained, because without them, “we have no way of distinguishing conscience as the voice of God guiding us toward freedom and fulfillment from conscience as the voice of self, unintentionally and unknowingly leading us in circles.”

This is not to say, however, that Catholics will be able to find perfect candidates, Capizzi said. “I think it’s unavoidable that Catholics choose among candidates holding problematic views,” he explained, but he added that the document’s guidance on forming one’s conscience can help Catholics work “to limit the harms in such situations.”

And the principles outlined in the bishops’ document apply not only to national races but to all kinds of political actions that call Catholics to consider and discern issues at hand. The point of the Forming Consciences document, Capizzi said, “is to help in conscience formation. A well-formed conscience, one that seeks to advance the common good and contribute to the ‘human ecology’ necessary for human flourishing.”

Capizzi suggested that Catholics read the document and to “pray deeply after thinking about the principles explained in the document and the issues it mentions.”

“The faithful should focus in particular on their own biases and weaknesses, exploring those areas where they find themselves most challenged by the guidance the bishops provide,” he offered. He also said that Catholics should not limit their political involvement to voting, but to continue in their commitment and involvement with others.

“We are always growing and learning in our engagement with others,” he encouraged. “So, vote next Tuesday and regardless of the outcome, keep up the good work of Christ!”

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Priest slammed for using dead baby as ‘political prop’

by CNA/EWTN News • November 7, 2016

Fr. Frank Pavone. (American Life League via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0)

New York City, N.Y. — Fr. Frank Pavone, head of the controversial pro-life group Priest for Life, came under fire Monday for a video of him standing behind an altar with an aborted baby in an effort to support Donald Trump.

Ed Mechmann, director of public policy for the Archdiocese of New York, said the use of an aborted baby “as a prop” is “absolutely appalling, and deserves to be repudiated by all of us who consider ourselves to be pro-life in the fullest meaning of that word.”

On Nov. 7, Fr. Pavone posted a video on Facebook supporting Donald Trump for president. The video includes a naked, dead baby lying on an altar, as Fr. Pavone stands behind the altar, talking about abortion.

“A human being has been sacrificed and the altar of God has been desecrated, all for politics,” Mechmann said in a blog post on the Archdiocese of New York website. “Everyone who respects the dignity of every human person should reject and disavow this atrocity.”

“A priest of the Catholic Church publicly displayed on a sacred altar a dead baby who was the victim of a terrible crime as part of a propaganda video in favor of a political candidate,” he said. “It is hard for me to express in calm, measured terms, the revulsion I feel about this.”

While there has long been debate within the pro-life movement about whether to show images of aborted babies in order to reveal the graphic reality of abortion, that discussion is “beside the point,” Mechmann said.

“The real question is, what about that baby as a human being? That baby is an individual human person, someone’s son or daughter, made in the image and likeness of God, unique and unrepeatable, and deserving of our love and mercy,” he said. “To use her body in this way is to treat that poor lost girl or boy as an object to be used – which is the antithesis of love – and not as a brother or sister to be mourned.”

Fr. Thomas Petri, vice president and academic dean of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., echoed Mechmann.

“The issue here is the dignity of the child that was used, and violating the dignity of his or her body on an altar of God – which is supposed to be used for divine worship. It really is a profane violation,” he told CNA.

“The Catholic Church is very strict that human bodies are to be treated reverently after a person dies.”

The video also drew fire in the Catholic blogosphere. In a Nov. 7 blog post, Mary Pezzulo, a blogger on Patheos, noted that the baby’s body had not even been cleaned or dressed before being placed on the altar.

“It is wrong to use dead people as political props. Most people know that,” she said, pointing to the teaching of the Catechism that “The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity.”

“Human bodies are not objects for us to exploit. As we do to them, we do to Christ,” Pezzulo said.

Blogger Mark Shea also rejected the treatment of the baby.

“(T)he Church does indeed insist on the right to life of the unborn baby,” he said in a post on Patheos. However, he continued, “That does not mean that in the name of fighting abortion, you get to use the unborn’s naked body as a prop for attacking your culture war enemies on the eve of an election. It does not make the unborn’s body a thing for you to manipulate as political imagery.”

Scott Eric Alt, a third Patheos blogger, called for Fr. Pavone to have his faculty to celebrate Mass suspended. He pointed to Canon law, which stipulates: “An altar, whether fixed or movable, is to be reserved for divine worship alone, to the exclusion of any secular usage.”

“The altar is intended for a sacramental purpose, as the place where the priest celebrates Mass,” Alt said.

“There is no other way to put it than that this is a sacrilege and a scandal. The human person is not a prop for a political stunt. This is an offense to the purpose for which priests are ordained to use the altar.”

Furthermore, Alt charged, “what Fr. Pavone did is the opposite of pro-life.”

“Being pro-life is about respecting the dignity of the human person. It is the antithesis of respect for the dignity of the human person to use a dead child as a political prop to lobby for your presidential candidate the day before an election. This does no honor to the dead.”

Although Priests for Life claims to be in good standing with the Vatican, Fr. Pavone has previously sparked controversy over his contentious relationship with Bishop Patrick J. Zurek of Amarillo – whose jurisdiction he is under – given charges that he had disobeyed the bishop and had failed to allow the Priests for Life to undergo auditing.

Fr. Pavone also had a severe run-in with Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York - where Priests for Life is headquartered - in 2014. That November, Cardinal Dolan wrote in a letter to fellow bishops that he wanted “nothing further to do” with Fr. Pavone given the priests refusal to cooperate in “several necessary reforms” of the organization after requests made by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy.

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With crippling fines still looming, Little Sisters serve ‘one soul at a time’

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • November 8, 2016

Little Sisters of the Poor at their Denver, Colorado house. (El Pueblo Catolico/James Baca)

Arlington, VA — Despite ongoing religious freedom threats, humility and cheerfulness in serving the poor are at the heart of the mission for the Little Sisters of the Poor, the order’s vocations director said.

“One soul at a time – this is what we’re about,” Sister Rosemarie Yao, director of vocations for the Little Sisters of the Poor, said at a religious freedom discussion at Marymount University in Arlington, Va. on Saturday, three days before the 2016 election.

“To value the dignity of the human person, to care for them with love and respect until Almighty God calls them home to Himself, not one minute before or one minute after,” she continued, outlining the mission of the sisters.

Sister Rosemarie addressed an audience at the event titled “Is America Still the Land of the Free?” It was sponsored by the Arlington Diocesan Council of Catholic Women and the diocesan Office for Family Life.

The speakers, which included author Mary Eberstadt and Fr. Paul Scalia of the Arlington Diocese, discussed religious freedom concerns, particularly the case of the Little Sisters that was before the Supreme Court last term before being sent back down to the federal level. That case of Zubik v. Burwell was a bundle of cases of charitable organizations like the Little Sisters opposing the Department of Health and Human Services.

“The punitive treatment of today’s religious believers in a time of secularist ascendancy is unjust,” Eberstadt stated of the cases, and other cases where charities or business owners are being forced by the government to violate their consciences and obey a secularist mandate.

“Beneath the merciless vindictiveness of today’s anti-religious inquisitors, is something deep and new in history,” she added. It is “the development of a rival faith that does not acknowledge itself as faith,” she explained, which “sees Christianity as a rival to be crushed.”

In Zubik v. Burwell, the religious groups opposed the Obama administration’s so-called “accommodation” offered to objecting non-profits to comply with its birth control mandate.

In this “accommodation,” employers would notify the government of their religious objections to the mandate to provide cost-free coverage in employee health plans for contraceptives, sterilizations, and drugs that can cause abortions. After receiving their notice of objection, the government would have the employer’s insurer — or third-party administrator of their own health plan – provide the coverage.

The plaintiffs in the case, which included the sisters, the Archdiocese of Washington and the Bishop of Pittsburgh, said that proposal still forced them to unacceptably cooperate with an immoral act of providing contraception coverage to others.

In a highly unusual move in the middle of a case, the Supreme Court asked both the plaintiffs and the government to outline how they might come to a compromise where the religious freedom of the objecting parties was respected, but their employees still received contraception coverage as mandated by the Affordable Care Act.

The sisters and fellow non-profits said that if they notified their insurer of their objection, and their insurer then provided the coverage outside of their health plan and at a separate cost, that would be an acceptable compromise. Another acceptable way would be for the government to have insurers set up the coverage themselves, outside of the health plans.

All coverage would have to be “truly independent” of the health plans, they insisted, with separate cards, payment, and enrollment.

The compromise between the government and the sisters has not been finished yet, the lead attorney for the sisters Mark Rienzi said. “We are still in the midst of that process and the Little Sisters remain hopeful that the government will obey the Supreme Court’s order and find a reasonable alternative,” he stated.

During his 2015 visit to the U.S., Pope Francis visited the sisters’ home for the elderly in Washington, D.C. to encourage them while their legal case against the mandate was ongoing.

According to their foundress Sister Jeanne Jugan, the sisters are called to “be very little before God,” Sister Rosemarie stated on Saturday. She pointed to Sister Jugan’s witness of helping the poor before she “died in oblivion.”

“Her silence gave flesh to the recurring counsels to the novices, ‘Be little. Be very little before God’,” Sister Rosemarie explained.

She has seen this charism lived out in her 33 years as a sister, she added.

“I have witnessed for myself many holy sisters who have worked day and night at the beck and call of the residents. Always very humble, very cheerful in their countenance.”

“I learned from them that what we do for the old people we do for Jesus. And more so, we are working for souls. We are gathering souls for heaven, they told me. And one of the counsels of St. Jeanne Jugan is ‘knock at the door of heaven for souls.’”

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U.S. bishops encourage unity, prayer after election night

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • November 9, 2016

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 21, 2016. (Addie Mena/CNA)

Washington D.C. — Bishops in the United States called on Catholics to pray for elected officials on the morning following the 2016 presidential election, and exhorted them to work for unity and to promote the common good.

“Now is the moment to move toward the responsibility of governing for the common good of all citizens,” Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, stated Wednesday following Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s electoral victory.

“Let us not see each other in the divisive light of Democrat or Republican or any other political party, but rather, let us see the face of Christ in our neighbors, especially the suffering or those with whom we may disagree,” he added Nov. 9.

Trump scored a surprising victory in the Electoral College Tuesday night, ascending to the presidency despite being projected to lose the popular vote to his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Trump picked up traditionally-Democratic states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and swept through swing states like Ohio and Florida. In states not yet called for one candidate by late Wednesday morning, he held narrow leads in New Hampshire, Michigan, and Arizona, and trailed Clinton slightly in Minnesota.

Republicans kept the Senate as well as their lead in the House, winning key Senate races in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Pennsylvania to hold their majority.

According to New York Times exit polls, Catholics overall voted 52 percent for Trump and 45 percent for Clinton. NBC News exit polls showed the results fell sharply along racial lines: Trump won white Catholics by 23 percentage points, 60 to 37, while Clinton won Hispanic Catholics 67 percent to 26 percent.

In his victory speech at a hotel in Manhattan, Trump called for unity. “Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American Dream,” he told his audience.

Clinton, in her concession speech later Wednesday morning, said Trump is owed “an open mind and a chance to lead,” adding that “We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought.”

Other bishops called for prayers for the newly-elected and re-elected officials.

“We are now called to commend our new president and all other newly elected officials to God, that they may be guided by Our Lord as they prepare to take office and serve the common good of those entrusted to their care,” Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington staed.

“Congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump. May God grant you good health, wisdom and courage during your presidency,” Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston tweeted.

“Jesus Christ is sovereign King; yesterday, today, and tomorrow,” Bishop James Conley of Lincoln tweeted on Wednesday.

Archbishop Kurtz cited Pope Francis’ 2015 address to Congress, in which he urged members to promote the common good and human dignity.

“Yesterday, millions of Americans who are struggling to find economic opportunity for their families voted to be heard. Our response should be simple: we hear you,” the archbishop said. “The responsibility to help strengthen families belongs to each of us.”

He reaffirmed the bishops’ commitment to upholding the sanctity of all human life, welcoming “migrants and refugees,” and defending religious freedom at home and abroad.

Pro-life groups applauded the victory of pro-life Senate candidates and expressed their desire to work with Trump’s administration to pass pro-life legislation.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List, called it “an historic moment for the pro-life movement” and said that “four critical pro-life goals now within our reach: end painful late-term abortions, codify the Hyde Amendment, defund Planned Parenthood, and appoint pro-life Supreme Court Justices.”

“Acknowledging the divisiveness in our country we also commit to working for the day when all Americans know that abortion is unthinkable, and to building a lasting culture of life,” Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, stated Wednesday morning. “We applaud candidates that took a stand on the most critical human rights issue of today, abortion,” she said.

In Defense of Christians, an advocacy group for persecuted Christian minorities in the Middle East and North Africa, congratulated Trump on his victory and asked that he “make the plight of religious minorities in the Middle East a foreign policy priority for the United States.”

“The Christian values of tolerance and coexistence, and the innovations that these communities have contributed to their societies for so many centuries are essential for a stable and secure Middle East, which is in the national security interests of the United States and the world,” the group’s executive director Philippe Nassif stated.

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Three states keep death penalty in high-stakes election

by CNA/EWTN News • November 9, 2016

(OFFSTOCK via Shutterstock)

Washington D.C. — The death penalty was up for a vote in California, Nebraska and Oklahoma on Tuesday, but stands against capital punishment proved unpopular with voters in all three states.

In California, Proposition 62 promised to end the death penalty and reduce death sentences to life in prison without parole.

California’s Catholic bishops had strongly backed the measure.

“In a culture of death, I believe mercy alone can be the only credible witness to the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person,” Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles said in September.

A contrary proposal, California ballot measure Prop. 66 limited the appeal process for death row inmates and shortened the time from sentencing to execution.

In voting results, Prop. 62 went down to defeat, taking only 46 percent of the vote. Prop. 66 won 50.9 percent of the vote.

Another death penalty fight took place in Nebraska, whose unicameral legislature had repealed the death penalty earlier this year.

The Nebraska vote on the death penalty required anti-death penalty voters to vote “retain” to secure the legislature’s anti-death penalty veto. A “repeal” vote would have overridden the legislature.

Nebraska’s three bishops backed a “retain” vote.

But the ballot measure to repeal the Senate’s anti-death penalty stand succeeded by a vote of about 61 percent, with nearly 800,000 people voting.

“We express our disappointment that the death penalty will be reinstated in Nebraska,” Nebraska’s three bishops, led by Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, said in a joint statement Nov. 9. “We will continue to call for the repeal of the death penalty when it is not absolutely necessary to protect the public safety.”

In May, the Nebraska Senate had overridden Gov. Peter Ricketts’ veto of a death penalty repeal by a vote of 32-15.

Gov. Ricketts, a Catholic, personally donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the pro-death penalty group Nebraskans for the Death Penalty, according to media reports. At one point in the campaign, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln asked the group to retract advertisements he said distorted his words.

In Oklahoma, a state with the highest execution rate per capita, voters decided on State Question 776. The measure affirmed the death penalty’s use and declared it not to constitute “the infliction of cruel or unusual punishment.”

The state had faced controversy given the botched execution of Clayton Lockett, who took 45 minutes to die. The Oklahoma death penalty protocol had survived a Supreme Court challenge from inmates who charged it constituted was cruel and unusual punishment.

The Oklahoma measure passed by a vote of 66 percent.

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For assisted suicide foes in Colorado, a loss at the ballot box

by CNA/EWTN News • November 9, 2016

(Ashley rose via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Denver, CO — In a lopsided Election Day vote, Colorado voters decided to legalize assisted suicide. Foes of the ballot measure warned that it will have grave consequences for the vulnerable.

“The mission we have as citizens of Colorado should be to help people live with dignity – not to offer them more options to kill themselves,” the Colorado Catholic Conference said Nov. 9.

Colorado voters approved assisted suicide by a vote of 65 percent to 35 percent.

The conference said the passage of the assisted suicide measure was “a great travesty of compassion and choice for the sick, the poor, the elderly and our most vulnerable residents.”

The ballot measure, modeled on a 22-year-old Oregon law, is called the Colorado End-of-Life Options Act. It uses the language of “medical aid in dying.”

It will allow an adult with a terminal illness to request a lethal prescription from their physician. The person must be deemed mentally competent and two physicians must diagnosis the person as having six months or fewer to live. The measure requires self-administration of the drug, called secobarbital, which is also used for lethal injections in some states.

The ballot measure requires the official cause of death to be listed as a patient’s underlying condition, not as an assisted suicide.

Barbara Coombs, president of legal assisted suicide advocacy group Compassion and Choices, said the vote was “an especially tremendous victory for terminally ill adults who worry about horrific suffering in their final days,” the Associated Press reports.

The state’s Catholic conference rejected depictions of assisted suicide as a private choice: “killing, no matter what its motives, is never a private matter; it always impacts other people and has much wider implications.”

The measure will deepen divisions of race, ethnicity, and income, the conference charged.

“As Pope Francis has noted it only furthers a ‘throwaway’ culture,” it said. “Proposition 106 has legalized the ability of a doctor to write prescriptions for the sole purpose of killing another human being and the ability of insurance companies to refuse treatment of patients they consider terminal.”

Divine Mercy Supportive Care, a Colorado-based nonprofit hospice and palliative health care provider, declared itself a “no-kill provider” in the wake of the vote. The Catholic organization’s policies follow the U.S. bishops’ ethical and religious directives for Catholic health care.

The organization presented itself as “the antidote to assisted suicide.” It said advances in pain and symptom management have helped alleviate the suffering of advanced illness.

At the same time, it said several other Colorado hospice agencies have said they are willing to accommodate assisted suicide.

Proponents of legal assisted suicide failed to pass bills in the Colorado legislature in 2015 and 2016, before placing the proposal on the ballot.

The ballot measure’s supporters raised $4.8 million from groups like the Compassion & Choices Action Network, the Denver Post reports. It presented the story of Brittany Maynard, who killed herself in Oregon in 2014 while suffering an aggressive brain tumor.

Catholic, Mormon, and Evangelical leaders played a role in the opposition to the ballot measure. Opponents raised $2.3 million, including contributions from the Dioceses of Denver, St. Louis, and Arlington.

Five other states have similar laws or court action permitting assisted suicide: Oregon, Washington, California, Montana, and Vermont.

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What was the breakdown of the Catholic vote Tuesday?

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • November 9, 2016

(Asterchief Productions via Shutterstock)

Washington D.C. — Catholics voted once again for the winning presidential candidate in Tuesday’s election, as they have done in recent elections.

“Catholics continue to be the only major religious voting block that can shift from one election to the next,” Dr. Mark Gray of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University stated on Wednesday.

“This is what makes the Catholic vote such an important swing vote. Presidential candidates who win the Catholic vote almost always win the presidency,” he added.

The few election polls that did list respondents by religion showed results for Catholics that varied widely depending on the day. Polling experts who warned of “volatility in the polls” insisted that the Catholic vote would be almost impossible to predict before the election.

For instance, one Investor’s Business Daily tracking poll showed Trump winning Catholics by 16 points on Nov. 4, only to have Clinton winning Catholic voters by three points on Nov. 7.

After President Obama narrowly carried the Catholic vote by two points in his 2012 re-election bid, Trump won the Catholic vote by seven points on Tuesday, according to exit polls. The Pew Research Center reported on the religious voter data. This marks the fourth straight election that Catholics have voted for the winning president.

In 2000, Catholics also voted for the winner of the popular vote Al Gore, who narrowly lost the Electoral College. Trump lost the popular vote, thus breaking the trend of Catholics voting with the popular vote in presidential elections.

Trump’s margin of victory among White Catholics on Tuesday was striking. While that bloc normally votes Republican – Mitt Romney won it by 19 points in 2012 – Trump went even further and won it by 23 points according to exit polls, the highest margin of victory in that bloc since before the 2000 election.

As expected, Trump lost the Hispanic Catholic vote decidedly – 67 to 26 percent – but still at the lowest margin of defeat for a Republican presidential ticket for that bloc since the 2004 election. And, the group CatholicVote.org noted in its post-election statement, “among non-Spanish speaking Latino Catholics the margin was likely significantly closer.”

Dr. Gray cautioned that, although Catholics clearly supported Trump in the exit polls, more data may be needed for the full context. “What we don’t know yet is why Catholics voted as a majority for Donald Trump,” he told CNA.

Historically, Catholics vary in their ultimate party preference – usually voting for the winning party in an election. “No other major religious group does this,” Dr. Gray emphasized. “Other Christians reliably vote majority Republican. Those of non-Christian affiliations or no religious affiliation vote consistently Democrat.”

There was a divide in support among weekly churchgoing Christians and those who do not attend church as frequently. Exit polls showed Trump winning among weekly churchgoers 56 to 40 percent, while among those attending a “few times a year” there was basically an even split.

Clinton enjoyed a large victory (31 points) among those who do not attend religious services.

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U.S. NEWS

Clinton ignored pro-lifers at her own peril, Democrats say

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • November 11, 2016

Hillary Clinton. (Evan El-Amin via Shutterstock)

Washington, D.C. — In the wake of Hillary Clinton’s electoral defeat in Tuesday’s presidential election, pro-life Democrats and faith voters criticized the party’s pro-abortion support and lack of religious outreach.

“Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party decisively lost Tuesday’s election, thanks in large part to the party’s extreme abortion position, which alienated would-be Clinton voters,” the group Democrats for Life of America stated in a press release on Wednesday.

“We cautioned in our DNC Report – Make Room for Pro-Life Democrats & Achieve Party Goals Nationwide – that the party is slowly dying and on the way to being irrelevant if it does not start a dialogue with its pro-life members,” Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America, stated.

On Nov. 8 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, earning a majority of electors to become the next president although Clinton narrowly won the popular vote.

Trump, who in 1999 had supported partial-birth abortion, campaigned on a pro-life platform that included promises like a late-term abortion ban and the appointing of pro-life Supreme Court justices.

Clinton, meanwhile, championed access to abortions for women and supported the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, a 40 year-old policy that prohibits federal tax dollars from funding abortions.

Democrats lost many potential voters because of their party’s extreme pro-abortion platform, Day insisted.

She said that in key traditionally-Democratic states that Trump picked up like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, Clinton lost many voters like “soft Republicans; anti-abortion Independents, and millions of pro-life voters in her own party” who might have listened to her had she not supported abortion so staunchly.

“One of the reasons she lost these groups is that she championed an extremist abortion platform,” Day said.

The abortion plank of the platform – criticized even by President Obama’s 2012 campaign director of faith outreach Michael Wear as “morally reprehensible” – supported late-term abortions, the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, and also the repeal of the Helms Amendment which prohibited the funding of abortions in foreign aid.

Abortion was mentioned 19 times in the party’s platform, Dr. Matthew Bunson, EWTN senior contributor, told EWTN News Nightly during the Democratic National Convention in July, adding “that itself gives us an idea of the seriousness of this issue for them.”

Many voters – especially those in traditionally-Democratic Rust Belt states that surprisingly fell for Trump – were turned off by this “extremist abortion platform,” Day said.

“Americans want to see wages rise, and they want to see more people protected with health insurance, and they want to protect the environment, but they absolutely do not support abortion-on-demand,” she said. “The Democratic Party is going to be the party of coastal, urban elites if it does not change course and respect the social conscience of pro-life voters.”

One young voter agreed that the pro-abortion platform and rhetoric from Democratic circles was toxic to many Democrats and Republicans.

“The abortion plank of the platform was a figurative middle finger, not only to the 21 million plus pro-life Democrats, but also to those who vote Republican purely because of abortion and the tens of millions of other Democrats who favor some restrictions on abortion,” Robert Christian, editor of Millennial journal, told CNA/EWTN News.

“In a tight election, a lot of things would have pushed Hillary over the top, but we can be certain that abortion absolutism was one that cost her the election,” he added.

Christian said that he heard “from dozens upon dozens of fellow pro-life Democrats and progressives” and “young Catholics who sincerely believe in Catholic moral and social teaching” who could not vote for Hillary due to her pro-abortion policies and rhetoric.

Others complained that the Clinton campaign had overlooked certain religious voters. For example, Clinton lost White Catholics to Trump by 23 points, the largest margin of defeat for that voting bloc for a major presidential candidate since at least the 2000 election. Clinton lost Catholics overall by seven percent.

Michael Wear tweeted on Thursday that “The most basic understanding of religious demographics in America suggested Trump’s only path to victory was Rust Belt White Catholics.”

Wear also implied that the Democrats’ support for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment hurt their standing with Evangelical voters.

“I believe there was an absolute failure to reach out to people of faith by the Clinton campaign,” Christian said, noting that Clinton “rarely talked” about her faith.

“It is tough to overstate how foolish this decision was,” he added.

“Bourgeois liberalism, rooted in enlightened self-interest, social libertarianism, and technocratic pragmatism, is not the right answer to populist nationalism.”

“Democrats need to recommit to solidarity, human dignity, and genuine human equality and rebuild the party around a shared vision of social, economic, and global justice; this can only be done by working with religious humanists of all faith traditions to rebuild the party from the ground up.”

Christopher Hale, executive director of the group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, tweeted that last year, “one Dem official told me that they were going to pursue a ‘post-Christian’ outreach strategy.”

“That worked well,” he tweeted sarcastically.

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The Irish forest that secretly grew a Celtic cross

by CNA/EWTN News • November 5, 2016

Liam Emmery’s Celtic cross in Ireland’s Donegal forest, as seen from the air. (Eye in the Sky/YouTube)

Dublin, Ireland — The Celtic cross has been recognized as an emblem of Irish Christianity for centuries.

Today, the symbol is visible from thousands of feet in the air, greeting passengers who fly into the City of Derry airport in County Londonderry, Ireland.

More than 300 feet long and 200 feet wide, the cross is set on a hill, made of thousands of lighter trees amidst a backdrop of darker trees in Ulster forest.

While the cross has been visible for several years, its origins remained a mystery, until recently when Irish TV station UTV uncovered the history of the wooded cross.

It was planted by the late forester Liam Emmery, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 51 after suffering from poor health for a couple years.

The cross had remained mostly a mystery even to his family, until recently.

“Liam was in an accident and he was unwell for two years, and he had suffered brain damage. So that’s why I suppose I had forgotten about (the Celtic cross in the forest),” Liam’s wife, Norma Emmery, told UTV.

“Because if he was here, we’d all have heard about it because he would have been so proud.”

Gareth Austin, a horticultural expert, told UTV that the cross was a feat of horticultural engineering. The dry autumn has made the cross particularly visible this year.

“For Liam to have created that and to give the gift of that to the rest of us, we’re going to be appreciating this for the next 60 or 70 years,” Austin said.

The origins of the Celtic cross have been debated by historians for years. Some say the ring around the cross-section of the cross represents the halo of Christ, while others say it is a symbol adopted from pagan beliefs about the sun, to show Christ’s supremacy over the life-giving pagan solar deities. Many believe that either St. Patrick or St. Declan introduced the cross to Ireland.

Other historians believe it came about because of its structural advantages - the ring helps support the arms of the cross.

Regardless of its exact origins, the cross became a symbol for Irish Christianity over the decades, and experience renewed popularity with the Celtic Revival of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Norma said that it made sense that it was the symbol her husband chose to plant in the forest.

“He just loved things to be perfect, and I think the Celtic cross is perfect for him.”

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Scripture: It’s not just for Protestants, says papal nuncio

by CNA/EWTN News • November 8, 2016

(Ryk Neethling via Flickr CC BY 2.0)

Philadelphia, PA — While reading the Bible may be associated with Protestantism in the minds of some, love of Scripture is at the core of the Catholic Church, said the apostolic nuncio to the United States.

“The love and veneration of the Word of God is an expression of the heart of the Catholic Church which is increasingly promoting a ‘new hearing’ of God’s Word through the new evangelization of our cultures,” Archbishop Christophe Pierre said Oct. 26. “This new hearing is a recovering of the centrality of the divine Word in our Christian life and in our dialogue with those who do not share our Catholic faith.”

The archbishop addressed a gathering of the American Bible Society in Philadelphia, where the 200-year-old organization is now based. The non-denominational organization is dedicated to translating, publishing and distributing editions of the Bible.

Among those present for the nuncio’s remarks were Archbishop of Philadelphia Charles J. Chaput and Dr. Roy Peterson, the president and CEO of the American Bible Society.

Archbishop Pierre said Sacred Scripture is “at the very heart of the Christian life.” He noted the ancient Catholic tradition to teach and pray Sacred Scripture. The Church Fathers venerated God’s word and prayed it through the practice of Lectio Divina.

“The nature of the Sacred Scriptures calls for an audience of faith who opens the sacred texts to discover the presence of the living God speaking to the soul of the believer,” he said.

This has helped drive the Church’s concerns for proper renditions and translations of the sacred texts, the nuncio recounted.

Different Latin variants of Sacred Scripture in the early Church put at risk the shared story of the Church. In the year 382, responding to concerns about the variant texts of the Bible, Pope Damasus I commissioned St. Jerome to revise the texts for a new version “that would embrace more faithfully the truth of the revelation,” the archbishop noted.

“His dedication to Scripture motivated Jerome to further study the Hebrew and the Semitic tradition involved in the sacred texts. Thus Jerome grew in a deeper and more profound union with the mystery of God though the knowledge of Scriptures,” Archbishop Pierre said.

Over time, the Latin language itself became an obstacle to spreading the Biblical message, as Latin’s use became restricted to a small group of educated people. The Latin Vulgate maintained its dominance as the official version of Scripture in the Roman Catholic Church, while other translations were regarded with suspicion for misleading the faithful.

“The love and devotion of the Catholic Church was, and continues to be, the true motivation behind the faithful custody and zealous preservation of the truth that God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation,” the archbishop said.

He reflected on Martin Luther’s “painful separation” from the Catholic Church. Though he praised the Protestant leader’s dedication to accessible Scripture, he noted that Luther modified the biblical canon from 46 books to 39 and modified the Letter of the Romans’ text to add his concept of “through faith alone.”

The response to the Protestant movement by the Council of Trent established that all Sacred Scripture “must be read according to the spirit in which they were written.”

“This implies that Scripture must go hand-in-hand with the holy Tradition preserved in the ecclesiastic experience of the faith of the apostles,” Archbishop Pierre said.

The development of different languages continued to separate people from a close reading of the Latin Scriptures and, the archbishop said, separated them from “having a personal encounter with the risen Lord manifested in the Bible.”

“The separation produced by the Protestant Reform left a painful wound in the mystical body of Christ and as a consequence of this, the belief that a personal reading of the Bible is a typical Protestant practice grew in the common Catholic mindset,” he said. “The reality manifested in our Roman Catholic Tradition, however, indicates that this common assumption is far from the truth.”

Archbishop Pierre recounted developments since the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII. In the mid-20th century, Pope Pius XII opened the way for translation of Scripture to help Christians return to the sources of faith, while the Second Vatican Council opened the way to dialogue with Protestant Christians in its main document on Scripture, “Dei Verbum.”

“During the decades after ‘Dei Verbum,’ the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church has insisted on the continued study, research, and education of Holy Scripture by the faithful people of God, establishing stronger bonds of ecumenical dialogue and relationships of unity with our brothers and sisters of different denominations,” he said.

The archbishop cited the work of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, the Biblical studies in Rome’s pontifical universities, and the biblical institutes throughout the Catholic world that train pastors and the laity to bring biblical truth “to those who are hungry for the nourishment of God’s Word.”

The nuncio praised the American Bible Society as “a providential instrument that exemplifies the ecumenical bonds built upon the treasure of the Scriptures.” He welcomed its collaboration with Catholic ministries, saying its propagation of the Word of God is “a vivid expression of the love of God that unifies us with the purpose of inspiring hunger and thirst for the Scriptures.”

The Bible society supported the October 2008 Synod of Bishops and has created a polyglot Bible. It has distributed Bibles to Spanish-language Catholic communities and has supported Catholic pastoral activities like the World Youth Day events in Poland and Brazil. The society also collaborated with the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

It is presently working with the U.S. bishops’ conference to present the Bible as the Book of Mercy for National Bible Week Nov. 13-19.

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‘Doctor Strange,’ scientism, and the Gnostic way station

by Bishop Robert Barron • November 8, 2016

Scott Derickson’s new film, Doctor Strange, has received rave reviews for its special-effects, its compelling story-telling, and the quality of its actors, but I would like to focus on the spirituality implicit in it. Doctor Strange is far from a satisfying presentation of the spiritual order, but it represents a significant step in the right direction, which proves especially helpful for our time.

Played by the always splendid Benedict Cumberbatch, Dr. Strange is dashing, handsome, ultra-cool, a brilliant neuro-surgeon, called upon to handle only the most delicate and complex surgeries. He is also unbearably arrogant, pathologically self-absorbed, utterly dismissive of his colleagues, something of a first-class jerk. While racing in his Lamborghini to an evening soiree, he runs his car off the road and suffers grievous injuries to his hands. Despite the heroic efforts of the best surgeons, his fingers remain twisted, incapable of performing the operations which made him rich and famous.

In his desperation, he travels to a mysterious treatment center in Katmandu, where people with horrific and irreversible physical damage have, he hears, been cured. There he confronts a bald-pated female figure, played by Tilda Swinton, who claims that she has healed severed spinal cords through the manipulation of spiritual forces. When he hears this, the rationalist Dr. Strange explodes in anger and, poking her in the chest, he asserts his conviction that matter is all there is and that we human beings exist for a brief moment in the context of an indifferent universe. With that, she shoves him backward and, to Dr. Strange’s infinite astonishment, his astral body suddenly leaves his ordinary body. This is his introduction to a world that he never knew existed, and the beginning of his mystical apprenticeship. By the way, if you want a compelling Christian take on this phenomenon, look at Fr. Robert Spitzer’s musings on “trans-physical consciousness,” or in more ordinary language, the “soul.”

What I particularly liked about this confrontation in Katmandu is how it represents a challenge to the comically arrogant scientism of our time, by which I mean, the fallacy of reducing all forms of knowing to the scientific manner of knowing. This attitude, though widespread today through the influence of the “new” atheists, is utterly self-refuting. How, precisely, did the advocate of scientism see, measure, or empirically verify through experimentation the truth of the claim that only empirically measurable things are true? Though as I say widely held in many circles today, this crude attitude was not characteristic of the founders of the modern sciences, many of whom — Descartes, Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton come readily to mind — were devoutly religious, nor was it embraced by such key scientific figures as Gregory Mendel, an Augustinian friar or Georges LeMaitre, the formulator of the Big Bang theory of cosmic origins and a Catholic priest. The coolly arrogant but hopelessly narrow Dr. Strange is an apt representation of the clueless advocates of scientism on the contemporary scene, those who have simply closed themselves off to what a thousand generations of human beings have taken for granted.

In order to participate in the dynamics of the higher world, Dr. Strange has to go through a lengthy and demanding training, not unlike, his master explains, the formation he went through to become a neurosurgeon. But now he has to leave his ego aside and surrender to something he can’t entirely understand. This disciplining of the grasping self, of course, is at the heart of monastic and spiritual traditions the world over. Therefore, in the measure that it reminds young people that there is more to reality than meets the eye and in the measure that it encourages them to embark upon a properly spiritual path, Doctor Strange performs, I would argue, an important service.

However, all is not well with this film from a spiritual point of view, for it stops, as many contemporary movies do, at a sort of way station to the real thing. As does Star Wars, which also features a young man going through a needed apprenticeship, Doctor Strange initiates us into a fundamentally Gnostic space, a realm of spiritual powers, both good and evil, engaged in a relentless and never-ending struggle. Dark and light side of the Force, anyone? And its basic game is the learning of spells and incantations — secret gnosis — that will enable one to manipulate the higher powers to a good purpose. To be sure, there are elements of the Biblical story in Doctor Strange, as there are in Star Wars, for instance the theme of salvific suffering and embrace of mission on behalf of others. But Gnostic visions always miss the essential teaching contained in Biblical revelation, namely that God is a personal power, who can never, even in principle, be manipulated by us and who reigns supreme and victorious over any and all powers of evil at work in the cosmos. The point of the spiritual life, on the Biblical reading, is not to control the powers through knowledge, but to surrender in faith to the purposes of God and to accept from God a mission to incarnate his love in the world.

I’m sure it’s asking too much to expect escapist popcorn movies to get Biblical spirituality right. And if Doctor Strange can beguile young people out of a deadening and self-contradictory scientism, opening them to a world beyond ordinary experience, I say “two cheers for it.”

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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How the hook-up culture is making women miserable

by CNA/EWTN News • November 10, 2016

(Verne Ho via Unsplash)

New York City, N.Y. — Leah Fessler considers herself a feminist.

And the standard feminist narrative is that women can have, and indeed enjoy, casual sex without consequences – physical, emotional, or otherwise.

But when her experience with hookup culture (and that of her friends’) in college failed to live up to its empowering promises and left her emotionally empty, Fessler decided to look a little deeper.

In an article written for Quartz, Fessler explains her quest to examine what it was about the prominent hookup culture, and the ill-defined, non-committal “pseudo-relationships,” at her Middlebury college campus that were making her miserable.

“Far more frequent, however, were pseudo-relationships, the mutant children of meaningless sex and loving partnerships. Two students consistently hook up with one another – and typically, only each other – for weeks, months, even years,” Fessler wrote.

“Yet per unspoken social code, neither party is permitted emotional involvement, commitment, or vulnerability. To call them exclusive would be ‘clingy,’ or even ‘crazy.’”

These pseudo-relationships would typically follow the same cycle, she notes. She’d meet a guy she was interested in, they’d start texting, meet up in their dorms late at night to discuss their mutual interests and hobbies and families, and have sex. This would happen off and on over the course of a few months with the same guy, then the relationship of sorts would just fizzle and die. Wash, rinse repeat with the next. Fessler wrote that she experienced this with at least five men by her senior year.

She felt used and desperate for emotional intimacy. At the same time, she felt bad for being unable to reconcile the fact that she couldn’t achieve the carefree, empowering feeling that her feminists beliefs told her was possible.

Fessler decided to devote her senior thesis to this phenomenon that was taking its toll on herself and so many of her friends, who for all other intents and purposes were successful, involved, well-rounded students.

Fessler interviewed 75 male and female students and conducted more than 300 online surveys. She found that 100 percent of female interviewees and three-quarters of female survey respondents stated a clear preference for committed relationships. Only 8 percent of about 25 female respondents, who said they were in pseudo-relationships, reported being “happy” with their situation.

“The women I interviewed were eager to build connections, intimacy and trust with their sexual partners. Instead, almost all of them found themselves going along with hookups that induced overwhelming self-doubt, emotional instability and loneliness,” she wrote.

The male responses were just as complex, she adds. Most men interviewed and surveyed also preferred a committed relationship, but felt pressured to have casual sex with numerous beautiful women in order to discuss these “escapades” with their friends and boost their status in a culture where hookups are the norm.

Perhaps it’s time that casual sex ceases to be the progressive norm, and that women recognize the connection between their need for an emotionally fulfilling relationship and their sex lives, Fessler notes.

“The truth is that, for many women, there’s nothing liberating about emotionless, non-committal sex. The young women I spoke with were taking part in hookup culture because they thought that was what guys wanted, or because they hoped a casual encounter would be a stepping stone to commitment.”

“In doing this, we actually deny ourselves agency and bolster male dominance, all while convincing ourselves we’re acting like progressive feminists. But engaging in hookup culture while wholeheartedly craving love and stability was perhaps the least feminist action I, and hundreds of my peers, could take.”

Fessler’s thesis, “Can She Really ‘Play That Game, Too’?” recently became available for download and is available at her website: hookupmiddlebury.weebly.com.

This article originally ran on CNA May 20, 2016.

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How can you tell if someone is demon-possessed?

by CNA/EWTN News • November 10, 2016

(Luismartin via Shutterstock)

Rome, Italy — Recognizing the difference between a person who’s possessed and a person struggling with a mental illness or other infirmity is a vital part of the ministry of exorcism, according to a long-time exorcist and priest.

Father Cipriano de Meo, who has been an exorcist since 1952, told CNA’s Italian agency ACI Stampa that typically, a person is not possessed but is struggling with some other illness.

The key to telling the difference, he said, is through discernment in prayer on the part of the exorcist and the possessed – and in the potentially possessed person’s reaction to the exorcist himself and the prayers being said.

The exorcist will typically say “(a) prolonged prayer to the point where if the Adversary is present, there’s a reaction,” he said.

“A possessed person has various general attitudes towards an exorcist, who is seen by the Adversary as an enemy ready to fight him.”

Fr. de Meo described the unsettling reaction that a possessed person usually has, detailing a common response to the exorcist’s prayer.

“There’s no lack of frightening facial expressions, threatening words or gestures and other things,” he said, “but especially blasphemies against God and Our Lady.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between demonic activity and mental illness. From paragraph 1673: “Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore, before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness.”

In April of last year, the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy and the Sacerdos Institute hosted a seminar at Rome’s Regina Apostolorum University, specifically aimed at training priests and lay people in spotting the differences between psychological problems and demonic possession.

The conference included interventions from a wide range of experts in the field of exorcism, including practicing exorcists, medical professionals, psychologists, lawyers, and theologians.

Fr. de Meo also emphasized that not all cases of possession are going to look the same, which is why it is so important for exorcists to go through rigorous training.

“It’s up to the priest serving in this ministry to know how to deal with the case, by the will of God, with love and humility,” he said.

“For this reason, with my bishop’s authorization, for 13 years, I’ve led a school for exorcists. I’ve tried to especially prepare those who are beginning this ministry,” he said.

However, even though cases of demonic possession are not as common as cases of psychological illness, most people are too unaware and unfamiliar with spiritual realities, he said.

In 2014, the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) called the rise of occult activity a “pastoral emergency.”

“It usually starts out of ignorance, superficiality, stupidity or proselytizing, actively participating or just watching,” AIE spokesperson Dr. Valter Cascioli told CNA at the time.

“The consequences are always disastrous.”

Father de Meo said that people often turn to “the chatter of magicians and Illusionists” for answers, rather than “the weapons the Lord has put at our disposal.”

While people often seek radical answers or signs, the best defense against demonic possession is a simple and sacramental life of prayer, the priest said.

“It’s absolutely fundamental to get rid of sin and live in the grace of God,” he said.

“The Church in fact, wants a life of prayer, Not just on the part of the priest but also the (member of) the faithful asking for the intervention of the exorcist, who benefits from the help of family members as well,” the exorcist explained.

The Catechism offers further guidance on how to avoid demonic activity: anything that involves recourse to Satan or demons, or that attempts to conjure the dead or reveal future events, is to be rejected.

From CCC paragraph 2116: “Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.”

As for the exorcists themselves, it is important to remain humble and to remember that their power comes from Christ, Father de Meo added.

“Regarding spiritual preparation, humility and the conviction that we exorcists aren’t the ones who are going to cast out the demon that’s fighting Christ. We’re called to fight on behalf of Christ.”

This article was originally published on CNA March 17, 2016.

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No one’s talking about the trauma of abortion by pill

by Mary Rezac (CNA/EWTN News) • November 11, 2016

(Mike Rogal via Shutterstock)

Washington D.C. — While the number of abortions in the United States has declined, a recent report shows that women seeking abortions are increasingly preferring medical abortions, rather than surgical ones.

According to data from Planned Parenthood, in a report from Reuters, medical abortions – those by pill – made up 43 percent of all abortions in the U.S. in 2014, up from 35 percent in 2010.

In some places, the demand for the abortion pill tripled after March, when the FDA expanded the use of the abortion pill (mifepristone or RU486 misoprostol used together with misoprostol) to include pregnancies up to 10 weeks. Previously, only women who were up to seven weeks pregnant were able to take the pill, due to concerns about side effects.

Some have hailed it as a victory – the popping of two pills seems more accessible and less invasive, expensive and time consuming than a surgical abortion, which requires anesthesia, multiple appointments and walking past picket lines.

But for those who have worked with post-abortive women, and for doctors who perform abortion pill reversals, the rise in medical abortions is nothing to be celebrated.

Vicki Thorn is the founder of Project Rachel and the National Office for Post Abortion Reconciliation and Healing, and has worked with post-abortive women for decades.

Thorn said while a medical abortion may seem like an easier method, in reality, it can actually be more traumatic for women and families, in large part because women who take these pills abort their babies in their own homes.

The trauma of aborting at home

Because of this expanded use, Thorn said, the fetuses that are aborted this way look more and more like recognizable babies than just clumps of cells.

“I’ve talked to these women – some of them get really panicked because they see the baby,” she said, which typically doesn’t happen during a surgical abortion.

Dr. John Bruchalski is an obstetrician-gynecologist with the Tepeyac Family Center in Fairfax, Virginia. A former abortion doctor, he is now part of a network of doctors that provide abortion pill reversals.

Dr. Bruchalski also said that seeing the baby, which is the size of a blueberry at seven weeks, and the size of a kumquat at ten weeks, is what makes medical abortions possibly more traumatic than surgical abortions for women.

“When you subject a woman who’s pregnant to watch the process happen, it’s a challenge, it can be brutal,” he told CNA. “There’s lots of contractions without anesthesia, lots of clots, that’s not even the issues that come with seeing the tissue with the baby.”

“Now these women are miscarrying at home? And you call that more empowering?” he added.

Clinics that prescribe abortion pills instruct women to flush their baby down the toilet. But many women panic once they see their baby and don’t know what to do.

Thorn said some women she has worked with did not own the property they lived on, and so did not want to bury their baby at a place that wasn’t their permanent residence. Some women were at such a loss that they kept their baby in the freezer.

This problem compounds when a teenage girl takes the abortion pill without the knowledge or permission of her parents, which is legal in many states. She may leave her baby in the bathroom at her high school or other public places, Thorn said.

Some Catholic cemeteries offer special burial services for aborted or miscarried babies, but many women either don’t know about them or are too ashamed to call and ask.

The place in the home where the baby was aborted – often the bathroom or a bedroom – also often becomes a place of trauma and recurring memories for these women, Thorn said.

“Women talk about how the place where they lost the baby becomes traumatic to them, so the bathroom at home where they lost the baby, they can’t use that bathroom anymore, because it triggers the memory,” she said.

Another “advantage” of the pill versus surgical abortions touted by abortion proponents is that a woman can take the second pill and medically abort at home with her partner. But men also experience trauma after seeing their aborted children, Thorn said.

“What happens to him? Because fathers involved in miscarriages grieve profoundly. And they see the baby,” Thorn said.

“It’s an incredibly complex thing, and there’s no good answer.”

Reversing the abortion pill

A medical abortion consists of a woman taking two different medications within about 48 hours of each other – the first, mifepristone, blocks the progesterone that makes the womb an inhabitable place for a baby. The second, misoprostol, is taken 48 hours after the first pill, and makes the uterus contract and expel its contents – the baby.

But what happens if a woman takes the first pill and regrets her decision?

Several doctors throughout the country, including Dr. Bruchalski, do abortion pill reversals, though women are not likely to hear about them from Planned Parenthood or other clinics that prescribe abortion pills.

Typically, women are told that the abortion begins the hour they take the first pill (mifepristone), Dr. Bruchalski said, which is not true.

While the mifepristone blocks progesterone to make the womb uninhabitable, it does not directly affect the fetus or have any direct side effects to the fetus. A woman who takes mifepristone and decides not to take the second pill still has a 7-20 percent chance that her baby will survive.

If she receives abortion pill reversal treatment, which typically involves progesterone injections, her baby’s chances of survival increase to 60 percent.

“So all is not always lost,” said Dr. Bruchalski.

Dr. Edwin Anselmi in Centennial, Colorado also performs abortion pill reversals.

He told CNA that of the babies who survive the first abortion pill and the reversal procedure, the outlook is very good – he is not aware of birth defects in children who have survived the treatment.

Both Dr. Anselmi and Dr. Bruchalski are part of a network of doctors that provide abortion pill reversal throughout the country. If a woman looking to undo the procedure Googles “abortion pill reversal,” the first result is abortionpillreversal.com, a website that is a project of Culture of Life Family Services in San Diego, California, which includes a hotline that connects women to doctors in their area who can perform abortion pill reversal procedures.

Since the launch of the abortion pill reversal hotline in 2012, more than 200 babies have been saved, and over 100 more are expected to be born in the coming months, a representative from the hotline told CNA.

Dr. Anselmi said he is willing to meet with these women at any time, because the sooner they start the reversal process, the better.

“(When) they know that they don’t want to go through with (the abortion), I’ll meet them at the office as soon as possible, in the evening or on the weekends, to get the process started,” he said.

Dr. Bruchalski said that besides medical treatment, his clinic offers patients counseling to deal with any trauma that they may have experienced throughout the process.

“It’s about meeting this woman in a place where you can give her positive affirmation and hope in the middle of a very difficult situation,” he said.

“There’s many different types of counseling, but you have to meet the woman where she is, and you can’t push her, you can’t rush her, she has to do it on her own, and you have to accompany her.”

Follow-up for completed medical abortions can also be problematic, Dr. Bruchalski explained, because women often don’t have a relationship with the clinic where they received the abortion pills, making them less likely to go back for regular follow-up appointments or if they experience complications.

“They’re only going there for a service, they’re not going there for their regular care, usually. It’s like a vending machine. I want an abortion, I go here,” he said.

It’s even more difficult in third-world countries, where abortion pills are increasingly being used in order to expand women’s access to abortion, but where women are less connected to a system of support – many of them don’t have their own phones, or reliable access to transportation, Dr. Bruchalski said.

The after-effects of an at-home abortion

Thorn said that immediately following an abortion, it’s normal for many women to feel relief. It’s afterwards – in the following months and years – that trauma can hit, perhaps when a woman is trying to conceive again, or when she thinks about the person who may be missing from her family.

With medical abortions, the feelings of guilt can be even more intense than women who had surgical abortions, Thorn said.

“A surgical abortion in some respects is much easier on the woman,” Thorn said. “She’ll grieve eventually, but it happened somewhere else, it happened at that clinic, I don’t have to go that clinic anymore, somebody else did it, I for the most part didn’t see the baby.”

“But the issue women have with medical abortion is: ‘I did it’,” she said. “There is no outside party that I can blame or hold accountable … and that bothers women.”

Abortion pill rates are much higher in Europe than in the United States, although its proponents in the U.S. would like to see its use increase. Proponents of the pill argue that it’s easier, more private, and normalizes the procedure of abortion, making it seem more like a normal medical procedure than an intrusive surgery.

But the rhetoric that treats abortion like a non-event is dismissive of the scores of women who experience serious trauma after the procedure, Dr. Bruchalski said.

“In the pejorative, abortion is talked about as no big deal, as this really common procedure. But the reality for me as a doctor? It’s visceral, it goes through my hands and my heart. For these women, it’s going to happen in the privacy of their own home – and it’s not always ‘that easy’.”

Another reason women have a hard time forgetting abortions is because they carry cells from their children inside them for the rest of their lives, Thorn said – a phenomenon known as microchimerism. During an abortion, studies show that more cells from the baby transfer to the mother than during a full-term pregnancy.

“The fact of the matter is there’s still footprints in her body from her baby,” Thorn said. “I carry cells from that child, I can’t forget it, and at some point, I have to resolve it.”

That women are not told the full truth about the trauma they may experience after taking an abortion pill is highly problematic, Thorn added.

“It’s the continuing theme that, in the apparent guise of freedom for women, we get used and abused all the time on all kinds of health issues,” she said.

“The reality of this is that this is not a non-event, which is what people try to portray it as.”

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Double review: ‘Loving’ and ‘Moonlight’

by Carl Kozlowski • November 11, 2016

Next to the primal needs of eating and sleeping, there is perhaps no more universal need among humans than to feel loved. Two relatively new art house movies – “Moonlight” and “Loving”— offer complicated explorations of that desire, with both touching on the additional complications of being black in American society as well.

“Loving” tells the true story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a white man and black woman who challenged the US laws against interracial marriage and won in the Supreme Court in 1967 after a nine-year battle for justice.

The movie opens in 1958, when the young interracial couple Mildred (Ruth Negga) and Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton) decide to get married when they find she is pregnant. They go to Washington, DC, because their home state of Virginia won’t allow interracial marriage, but when they return, the local sheriff busts into their home in the dead of night and arrests them for violating state law.

Their local lawyer can only get them the right to move away as soon as possible, or split up, as a means of avoiding prison time. But when they return months later in order to have their baby delivered by Richard’s midwife mother, they are caught again and this time they are told if they don’t move out of state permanently or divorce, they will be thrown in prison for 25 years.

Ruth writes to then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy, a prominent civil rights leader, for help in their case, and he sends an ACLU lawyer named Bernie Cohen (Nick Kroll) to help them. Thus begins a series of maneuvers that take years to resolve in their favor.

“Loving” has a beautiful, understated tone with strong performances from the leads, whose performances playing rural Southerners are even more impressive considering Negga is actually Irish and Edgerton is Australian. While Negga offers a strong and dignified resolve throughout her performance, Edgerton is a marvel, changing his entire physical presence tremendously without apparent makeup through the way he walks, talks, and has his head shaved.

Writer-director Jeff Nichols (“Mud,” “Midnight Special”) continues an impressive string of character-driven films set in rural America, this time taking a complex historical subject and providing a strongly human, emotional touch. The one weakness of “Loving” is its occasional overly-deliberate pacing, which makes this a film that moves more than it entertains. Yet it proves that love conquers all – even the legal machinations of the nation’s judicial system.

“Loving” is rated PG-13, even though it has literally zero foul language, doesn’t show any sex or nudity, and its only implied violence or threat of it comes from the cops busting open the couple’s door in the dead of night to initially arrest them. The film does show that the judges who ruled against the Lovings tried to apply the Bible against them, claiming that verses of Scripture stated that there was to be no intermingling of the races, but while the ACLU lawyer mildly smirks at these moments, the film makes it clear that the judges are wrong or overly harsh in their assessments and doesn’t mock Judeo-Christian faith at all.

This is a film that should provide no offense to any viewer, but it certainly is a movie that kids or most teens would have no interest in anyway. While it’s a very solid film, it’s for adult interest or very serious-minded teens anyway.

Meanwhile, “Moonlight” offers an even more thoughtful and deliberate story that manages to make a personal quest for companionship thoroughly universal. Focused on the life of one young African-American boy named Chiron who is derided for being “soft” or “different” from the time he was a child, and key moments from his adolescence and adulthood that turn him into a deeply lonely and closeted gay man, “Moonlight” is driven less by plot than by writer-director Barry Jenkins’ desire to make audiences become fully immersed and invested in Chiron’s emotional state.

Using three impressive yet unknown actors to portray Chiron in three distinct segments breaking down important phases of the years from age 9 to 28, “Moonlight” opens on him being gently derided with the nickname “Little” (Alex Hibbert). Little can’t fit in with other roughhousing boys, and flees bullies one day by hiding in a dilapidated drug den controlled by a conflicted yet kindhearted dealer named Juan (Mahershala Ali).

Juan and his girlfriend Teresa (Jonelle Monae) take Little under their wing since it’s obvious the boy has no father figure, and a mother (Naomie Harris) who is well-meaning but constantly tired from working overtime to survive. As Little gets older, his mother sinks into a drug addiction fueled by purchases made through Juan.

Little becomes known by his real name of Chiron in high school, where the bullying against him turns vastly more vicious and at the same time his lifelong friendship with a nicer boy named Kevin crosses the line into sexual contact. When a particularly tragic bullying incident drives Chiron to take a desperate measure of revenge, his life is shaped toward a decade of loneliness, in which he reinvents himself as a muscle-bound Atlanta-based drug dealer named Black. That loneliness is suddenly broken by two phone calls – one from Kevin at 28 (Andre Holland) and another from his now-rehabbing mother – which force him to decide the direction the rest of his life will take.

“Moonlight” doesn’t rely on a linear plot to make its powerful points about how hard it is to grow up different – in this case, black and gay in a Miami ghetto where being the toughest dude on the block is the only way to survive. Jenkins has pulled off a powerful film that can make even straight white audience members feel sympathy for the aching pain that Chiron lives with, and root for him to overcome it.

From a Catholic Christian perspective, “Moonlight” provides some challenges. The movie has some foul language and crude slang about sex and also anti-homosexual slurs from bullies in the film’s portrayal of Chiron’s teen years. There is also a scene in which he hear moaning and comes across another male friend of his having sex with a girl, in a moment that is obvious about what’s occurring, yet doesn’t show any nudity. And when the two teenage males cross the line from friendship, they are shown passionately kissing for about a minute and sexual contact is implied; yet no other sex implied in the film and nothing actually seen in that regard either.

While “Moonlight” is about how a young black gay man became who he is, and viewers are expected to sympathize with him, it’s not quite accurate to consider it propaganda for homosexuality. The movie is very specifically about the life path of Chiron himself, not a broader statement, and it really is about being an outsider and the pain of being alone in the world, which are universal fears and feelings.

Ultimately, it’s a film that invites viewers to understand the Chirons of the world without advocating the lifestyle in a direct way. Thus, for viewers who are not easily offended by such a concept, it’s a powerfully emotional film that fits the idea of loving the sinner in the case of homosexuality, if not the sin.

In a time when Hollywood is facing huge demands for a change to more minority-driven films, both “Moonlight” and “Loving” stand excellent chances for attaining Oscars and on an artistic level deserve them.

“Loving” should provide no moral challenges to viewers, while “Moonlight” is handled with enough discretion to not cause major problems for adult viewers who are aware of its themes.

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 • NOVEMBER 13, 2016

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Mal 3:19-20a; NRSVCE)

See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.

Second Reading (2 Thes 3:7-12; NRSVCE)

You yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

Gospel Reading (Lk 21:5-19; NRSVCE)

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”

They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.

“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.”

MONDAY • NOVEMBER 14, 2016

Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Rv 1:1-4; 2:1-5; NRSVCE)

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near.

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne.

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands:

“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

Gospel Reading (Lk 18:35-43; NRSVCE)

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 15, 2016

Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Rv 3:1-6, 14-22; NRSVCE)

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:

“I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Yet you have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot your name out of the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation:

“I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”

Gospel Reading (Lk 19:1-10; NRSVCE)

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

WEDNESDAY • NOVEMBER 16, 2016

Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Rv 4:1-11; NRSVCE)

I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads. Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God; and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.

Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing,

“Holy, holy, holy,

the Lord God the Almighty,

who was and is and is to come.”

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing,

“You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they existed and were created.”

Gospel Reading (Lk 19:11-28; NRSVCE)

As people were listening to Jesus speak, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. So he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, ‘Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.’ He said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’ Then the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ He said to him, ‘And you, rule over five cities.’ Then the other came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’ He said to the bystanders, ‘Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ (And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds!’) ‘I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them — bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.’”

After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

THURSDAY • NOVEMBER 17, 2016

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

First Reading (Rv 5:1-10; NRSVCE)

I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals; and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne. When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sing a new song:

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God

saints from every tribe and language and people and nation;

you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God,

and they will reign on earth.”

Gospel Reading (Lk 19:41-44; NRSVCE)

As Jesus came near Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”

FRIDAY • NOVEMBER 18, 2016

Friday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Rv 10:8-11; NRSVCE)

The voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, “Take it, and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth.” So I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.

Then they said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

Gospel Reading (Lk 19:45-48; NRSVCE)

Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, “It is written,

‘My house shall be a house of prayer’;

but you have made it a den of robbers.”

Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.

SATURDAY • NOVEMBER 19, 2016

Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Rv 11:4-12; NRSVCE)

These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; anyone who wants to harm them must be killed in this manner. They have authority to shut the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.

When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days members of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb; and the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to the inhabitants of the earth.

But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them were terrified. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them.

Gospel Reading (Lk 20:27-40; NRSVCE)

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.” Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” For they no longer dared to ask him another question.