VOLUME 3, ISSUE 5  •  APRIL 1, 2017

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VATICAN NEWS

Protection of minors event draws swath of top Vatican leaders

Papal audience with the heads of state and government of the European Union

Pastoral visit of the Holy Father Francis to the Archdiocese of Milan: Meeting with the residents of the Forlanini quarter ‘White Houses’

Pastoral visit of the Holy Father Francis to the archdiocese of Milan: Encounter with priests and consecrated persons in the Duomo

Pastoral visit of the Holy Father Francis to the Archdiocese of Milan: Holy Mass in Monza Park

Pastoral visit of the Holy Father Francis to the Archdiocese of Milan: Encounter with confirmands and newly-confirmed youngsters

The Pope’s words at the Angelus prayer

As abuse survivor leaves, Vatican group aims to listen better to victims

Message of His Holiness Pope Francis to the United Nations Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading Towards their Total Elimination

Visionaries’ canonization would ‘complete’ the Fatima centenary

General Audience: Hope against all hope

Holy Father’s letter to the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life for the Ninth World Meeting of Families (Dublin, 21-26 August 2018)

Audience with participants in the General Chapter of the Order of Clerics Regular of Somasca

Holy Father’s greeting to participants in the meeting promoted by the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, ‘Luther: 500 Years Later’

Pope Francis makes surprise ‘Year of Mercy’-style visit

WORLD NEWS

Abortion bill makes unlikely alliance of Bolivian clergy, feminists

Catholics are bringing health care to one of the world’s poorest countries

Peru’s March for Life transforms into aid for flood victims

In DR Congo, political uncertainty after bishops withdraw from peace talks

Facing large decline in priest numbers, an Irish diocese preps for change

Don’t believe in hell? You haven’t seen Syria lately, cardinal says

Scientists: Jesus’ tomb faces major risk of collapse

This Mexican bishop met with gang leaders to protect threatened priests

U.S. NEWS

Texas pro-lifers target ‘wrongful birth’ lawsuits, Planned Parenthood

New York City admissions error excludes Catholic school students

Arizona strengthens conscience protections for health care workers

Supreme Court rejects Texas’ standards for executing the intellectually disabled

New HHS official has strong background in religious freedom, civil rights

A lot more than just pensions could be decided in this Supreme Court case

What happens when babies survive abortion? A doctor’s alarming response

Planned Parenthood investigators reject ‘bogus’ felony charges

Pence casts tiebreaking vote as Senate advances pro-life measure

In North Carolina, more changes for disputed bathroom law

FEATURES

Double movie review: ‘Wilson’ and ‘Life’

Is the Church Judge, Therapist, or Mother?

How an American bishop became a Korean martyr

What’s the most convincing argument against porn? Science

This pregnant woman found her faith in 1930s Spain – and died for it

Priest visits church destroyed by ISIS: This is from the devil

Movie review: ‘The Zookeeper’s Wife’

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Sunday • April 2, 2017

Monday • April 3, 2017

Tuesday • April 4, 2017

Wednesday • April 5, 2017

Thursday • April 6, 2017

Friday • April 7, 2017

Saturday • April 8, 2017

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Volume 3, Issue 5 • April 1, 2017

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VATICAN NEWS

Protection of minors event draws swath of top Vatican leaders

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • March 24, 2017

St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. (Thoom via Shutterstock)

Vatican City — In a significant show of unity, officials from every Vatican department – including at least half a dozen cardinals who head various dicasteries – attended a recent Rome seminar on safeguarding minors.

“I actually come from a dicastery that takes up the issue of human rights and justice,” said Cardinal Peter Turkson, prefect of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

As head of an office that deals with human rights, awareness of what’s going on in the realm of abuse prevention is “very crucial,” he told CNA, stressing that “it’s so very important that we try to be on the same page with this commission and what they do.”

Every department of the Roman Curia was represented in some way at the March 23 seminar, an indication of its importance in the eyes of Vatican officials.

It is rare for the cardinals who head dicasteries to attend events outside of those hosted by their own department – more often, they send representatives to attend. The presence of several cardinals at Thursday’s event further indicated that the Vatican is seeking to place an emphasis on this issue, especially given that the one-day event was not specifically aimed at members of the Curia, but at a wider audience.

Joining Cardinal Turkson at the gathering was Cardinal Kevin Farrell, president of the Vatican’s mega-department for Laity, Family and Life.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley hosted the event in his capacity as head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, and the seminar was also attended by Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, head of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; Cardinal Marc Ouellet, head of the Congregation for Bishops and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America; and Cardinal Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy.

Cardinal Turkson said that in the case of his own department, he sent the official charged with the topic of international law, human rights, family law and other related topics, but also decided to come himself because it is “essential to see the new things that are being said about this issue.”

“There’s no pastor who is not interested in this issue, especially if he’s a bishop, because there was a way that bishops used to deal with this issue,” he said, noting that often times, priests were simply sent to treatment centers and then put into another parish once they had completed the program.

“Now the understanding about this is deeper,” he said. “The impression in those days was that people could go to treatment centers and get help, but that was all false.”

“So it’s good to deepen our understanding about this, very, very, very deeply and very well,” he said, explaining that he came not only to support Cardinal O’Malley, a longtime friend, but also to learn and hear updates on the issue.

Cardinal Farrell agreed. “It’s important for the Church to be here because … if you look back on the history of probably the last 20 years, it’s the greatest obstacle to preaching the Word of God and the credibility of doing what we’re supposed to do,” he told CNA.

Sponsored jointly by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) and the Pontifical Gregorian University’s Center for Child Protection, the day-long educational seminar focused on what the local church and institutions are doing to combat abuse of minors specifically in schools and the home.

It included presentations by several members and collaborators of the commission, including Kathleen McCormack, chair of the PCPM Working Group on Education of Families and Communities. It also featured presentations by representatives from Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, as well as Australia and Italy.

The event fell just weeks after clerical abuse survivor Marie Collins resigned from her position on the commission, citing pushback from certain Vatican dicasteries, specifically from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as one of the main reasons for stepping down.

According to Fr. Hans Zollner SJ, head of the Center for Child Protection and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, hearing and including the voice of survivors was a key point in the discussion during their plenary, which begins March 24.

In March 23 comments to CNA, Fr. Zollner said “we need to be informed by survivors and victims, we need to listen to them, and we need to take into account what has been and is their experience.”

Regarding the involvement of survivors in the process, he noted that Collins herself said in an interview that “a certain set of skills” is needed if a survivor wants to participate in any kind of panel or commission.

“So we will see, together with survivors, what this set of skills should look like,” he said, but cautioned that it isn’t as easy as it sounds. From his perspective as someone who travels around the world trying to raise awareness on the issue, in many countries “people are not so used to speaking out about this.”

“Even if they are a survivor and victim, in some parts of the world this is still taboo and we need to help people come out of that,” he said, explaining that when their mandate is up at the end of the year, the commission will re-visit their structure and development process “so that our journey continues.”

But in the meantime, he praised the seminar as a key step, saying it was a “very successful event,” particularly in “drawing many high-ranking members of the Curia, including a number of cardinals, and (with) all the dicasteries represented.”

Hannah Brockhaus contributed to this report.

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VATICAN NEWS

Papal audience with the heads of state and government of the European Union

The Holy See Press Office • March 24, 2017

Vatican City — This afternoon at 18:00, in the Sala Regia of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience 27 Heads of State and Government of the European Union, accompanied by their delegations, on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the Treaties of Rome.

The representatives of the European institutions were also present: Honorable Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament; Honorable Donald Tusk, president of the European Council; and Honorable Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission.

After the speech by the president of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, Paolo Gentiloni, and the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, the Holy Father gave the following address:

Holy Father’s address

Distinguished Guests,

I thank you for your presence here tonight, on the eve of the sixtieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaties instituting the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. I convey to each of you the affection of the Holy See for your respective countries and for Europe itself, to whose future it is, in God’s providence, inseparably linked. I am particularly grateful to the Honorable Paolo Gentiloni, President of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Italy, for his respectful words of greeting in your name and for the efforts that Italy has made in preparing for this meeting. I also thank the Honorable Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, who has voiced the aspirations of the peoples of the Union on this anniversary.

Returning to Rome, sixty years later, must not simply be a remembrance of things past, but the expression of a desire to relive that event in order to appreciate its significance for the present. We need to immerse ourselves in the challenges of that time, so as to face those of today and tomorrow. The Bible, with its rich historical narratives, can teach us a basic lesson. We cannot understand our own times apart from the past, seen not as an assemblage of distant facts, but as the lymph that gives life to the present. Without such an awareness, reality loses its unity, history loses its logical thread, and humanity loses a sense of the meaning of its activity and its progress towards the future.

25 March 1957 was a day full of hope and expectation, enthusiasm and apprehension. Only an event of exceptional significance and historical consequences could make it unique in history. The memory of that day is linked to today’s hopes and the expectations of the people of Europe, who call for discernment in the present, so that the journey that has begun can continue with renewed enthusiasm and confidence.

This was very clear to the founding fathers and the leaders who, by signing the two Treaties, gave life to that political, economic, cultural and primarily human reality which today we call the European Union. As P.H. Spaak, the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs stated, it was a matter “indeed, of the material prosperity of our peoples, the expansion of our economies, social progress and completely new industrial and commercial possibilities, but above all … a particular conception of life that is humane, fraternal and just” (P.H. Spaak, Address on the Signing of the Treaties of Rome, 25 March 1957).

After the dark years and the bloodshed of the Second World War, the leaders of the time had faith in the possibility of a better future. “They did not lack boldness, nor did they act too late. The memory of recent tragedies and failures seems to have inspired them and given them the courage needed to leave behind their old disputes and to think and act in a truly new way, in order to bring about the greatest transformation … of Europe” (ibid).

The founding fathers remind us that Europe is not a conglomeration of rules to obey, or a manual of protocols and procedures to follow. It is a way of life, a way of understanding man based on his transcendent and inalienable dignity, as something more than simply a sum of rights to defend or claims to advance. At the origin of the idea of Europe, we find “the nature and the responsibility of the human person, with his ferment of evangelical fraternity … , with his desire for truth and justice, honed by a thousand-year-old experience” (A. de Gasperi. La nostra patria Europa. Address to the European Parliamentary Conference, 21 April 1954, in Alcide De Gasperi e la politica internazionale, Cinque Lune, Rome, 1990, vol. III, 437-440). Rome, with its vocation to universality (cf. P.H. Spaak, loc. cit), symbolizes that experience and was thus chosen as the place for the signing of the Treaties. For here – as the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, J. Luns, observed – “were laid the political, juridical and social foundations of our civilization” (J. Luns, Address on the Signing of the Treaties of Rome, 25 March 1957).

It was clear, then, from the outset, that the heart of the European political project could only be man himself. It was also clear that the Treaties could remain a dead letter; they needed to take on spirit and life. The first element of European vitality must be solidarity. As the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, J. Bech stated, “the European economic community will prove lasting and successful only if it remains constantly faithful to the spirit of European solidarity that created it, and if the common will of the Europe now being born proves more powerful than the will of individual nations” (J. Bech, Address on the Signing of the Treaties of Rome, 25 March 1957). That spirit remains as necessary as ever today, in the face of centrifugal impulses and the temptation to reduce the founding ideals of the Union to productive, economic and financial needs.

Solidarity gives rise to openness towards others. “Our plans are not inspired by self-interest” (K. Adenaur, Address on the Signing of the Treaties of Rome, 25 March 1957), said the German Chancellor, K. Adenauer. The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, C. Pineau, echoed this sentiment: “Surely the countries about to unite … do not have the intention of isolating themselves from the rest of the world and surrounding themselves with insurmountable barriers” (C. Pineau, Address on the Signing of the Treaties of Rome, 25 March 1957). In a world that was all too familiar with the tragedy of walls and divisions, it was clearly important to work for a united and open Europe, and for the removal of the unnatural barrier that divided the continent from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic. What efforts were made to tear down that wall! Yet today the memory of those efforts has been lost. Forgotten too is the tragedy of separated families, poverty and destitution born of that division. Where generations longed to see the fall of those signs of forced hostility, these days we debate how to keep out the “dangers” of our time: beginning with the long file of women, men and children fleeing war and poverty, seeking only a future for themselves and their loved ones.

In today’s lapse of memory, we often forget another great achievement of the solidarity ratified on 25 March 1957: the longest period of peace experienced in recent centuries. “Peoples who over time often found themselves in opposed camps, fighting with one another … now find themselves united and enriched by their distinctive national identities” (P.H. Spaak, loc. cit). Peace is always the fruit of a free and conscious contribution by all. Nonetheless, “for many people today, peace appears as a blessing to be taken for granted” (Address to Members of the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Holy See, 9 January 2017), one that can then easily come to be regarded as superfluous. On the contrary, peace is a precious and essential good, for without it, we cannot build a future for anyone, and we end up “living from day to day.”

United Europe was born of a clear, well-defined and carefully pondered project, however embryonic at first. Every worthy project looks to the future, and the future are the young, who are called to realize its hopes and promises (cf. P.H. Spaak, loc. cit). The founding fathers had a clear sense of being part of a common effort that not only crossed national borders, but also the borders of time, so as to bind generations among themselves, all sharing equally in the building of the common home.

Distinguished guests, I have devoted this first part of my talk to the founding fathers of Europe, so that we can be challenged by their words, the timeliness of their thinking, their impassioned pursuit of the common good, their certainty of sharing in a work greater than themselves, and the breadth of the ideals that inspired them. Their common denominator was the spirit of service, joined to passion for politics and the consciousness that “at the origin of European civilization there is Christianity” (A. de Gasperi, loc. cit), without which the Western values of dignity, freedom and justice would prove largely incomprehensible. As Saint John Paul II affirmed: “Today too, the soul of Europe remains united, because, in addition to its common origins, those same Christian and human values are still alive. Respect for the dignity of the human person, a profound sense of justice, freedom, industriousness, the spirit of initiative, love of family, respect for life, tolerance, the desire for cooperation and peace: all these are its distinctive marks” (John Paul II, European Act, Santiago de Compostela, 9 November 1982: AAS 75/1 (1983), 329). In our multicultural world, these values will continue to have their rightful place provided they maintain a vital connection to their deepest roots. The fruitfulness of that connection will make it possible to build authentically “lay” societies, free of ideological conflicts, with equal room for the native and the immigrant, for believers and nonbelievers.

The world has changed greatly in the last sixty years. If the founding fathers, after surviving a devastating conflict, were inspired by the hope of a better future and were determined to pursue it by avoiding the rise of new conflicts, our time is dominated more by the concept of crisis. There is the economic crisis that has marked the past decade; there is the crisis of the family and of established social models; there is a widespread “crisis of institutions” and the migration crisis. So many crises that engender fear and profound confusion in our contemporaries, who look for a new way of envisioning the future. Yet the term “crisis” is not necessarily negative. It does not simply indicate a painful moment to be endured. The word “crisis” has its origin in the Greek verb kríno, which means to discern, to weigh, to assess. Ours is a time of discernment, one that invites us to determine what is essential and to build on it. It is a time of challenge and opportunity.

So what is the interpretative key for reading the difficulties of the present and finding answers for the future? Returning to the thinking of the founding Fathers would be fruitless unless it could help to point out a path and provide an incentive for facing the future and a source of hope. When a body loses its sense of direction and is no longer able to look ahead, it experiences a regression and, in the long run, risks dying. What, then, is the legacy of the founding fathers? What prospects do they indicate for surmounting the challenges that lie before us? What hope do they offer for the Europe of today and of tomorrow?

Their answers are to be found precisely in the pillars on which they determined to build the European economic community. I have already mentioned these: the centrality of man, effective solidarity, openness to the world, the pursuit of peace and development, openness to the future. Those who govern are charged with discerning the paths of hope – you are charged with discerning the paths of hope – identifying specific ways forward to ensure that the significant steps taken thus far have not been wasted, but serve as the pledge of a long and fruitful journey.

Europe finds new hope when man is the center and the heart of her institutions. I am convinced that this entails an attentive and trust-filled readiness to hear the expectations voiced by individuals, society and the peoples who make up the Union. Sadly, one frequently has the sense that there is a growing “split” between the citizenry and the European institutions, which are often perceived as distant and inattentive to the different sensibilities present in the Union. Affirming the centrality of man also means recovering the spirit of family, whereby each contributes freely to the common home in accordance with his or her own abilities and gifts. It helps to keep in mind that Europe is a family of peoples (cf. Address to the European Parliament, Strasbourg, 25 November 2014: AAS 106 (2014), 1000) and that – as in every good family – there are different sensitivities, yet all can grow to the extent that all are united. The European Union was born as a unity of differences and a unity in differences. What is distinctive should not be a reason for fear, nor should it be thought that unity is preserved by uniformity. Unity is instead harmony within a community. The founding fathers chose that very term as the hallmark of the agencies born of the Treaties and they stressed that the resources and talents of each were now being pooled. Today the European Union needs to recover the sense of being primarily a “community” of persons and peoples, to realize that “the whole is greater than the part, but it is also greater than the sum of its parts” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 235), and that therefore “we constantly have to broaden our horizons and see the greater good which will benefit us all” (ibid). The founding fathers sought that harmony in which the whole is present in every one of the parts, and the parts are – each in its own unique way – present in the whole.

Europe finds new hope in solidarity, which is also the most effective antidote to modern forms of populism. Solidarity entails the awareness of being part of a single body, while at the same time involving a capacity on the part of each member to “sympathize” with others and with the whole. When one suffers, all suffer (cf. 1 Cor 12:26). Today, with the United Kingdom, we mourn the victims of the attack that took place in London two days ago. For solidarity is no mere ideal; it is expressed in concrete actions and steps that draw us closer to our neighbors, in whatever situation they find themselves. Forms of populism are instead the fruit of an egotism that hems people in and prevents them from overcoming and “looking beyond” their own narrow vision. There is a need to start thinking once again as Europeans, so as to avert the opposite dangers of a dreary uniformity or the triumph of particularisms. Politics needs this kind of leadership, which avoids appealing to emotions to gain consent, but instead, in a spirit of solidarity and subsidiarity, devises policies that can make the Union as a whole develop harmoniously. As a result, those who run faster can offer a hand to those who are slower, and those who find the going harder can aim at catching up to those at the head of the line.

Europe finds new hope when she refuses to yield to fear or close herself off in false forms of security. Quite the contrary, her history has been greatly determined by encounters with other peoples and cultures; hers “is, and always has been, a dynamic and multicultural identity” (Address at the Conferral of the Charlemagne Prize, 6 May 2016: L’Osservatore Romano, 6-7 May 2016, p. 4). The world looks to the European project with great interest. This was the case from the first day, when crowds gathered in Rome’s Capitol Square and messages of congratulation poured in from other states. It is even more the case today, if we think of those countries that have asked to become part of the Union and those states that receive the aid so generously offered them for battling the effects of poverty, disease and war. Openness to the world implies the capacity for “dialogue as a form of encounter” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 239) on all levels, beginning with dialogue between member states, between institutions and citizens, and with the numerous immigrants landing on the shores of the Union. It is not enough to handle the grave crisis of immigration of recent years as if it were a mere numerical or economic problem, or a question of security. The immigration issue poses a deeper question, one that is primarily cultural. What kind of culture does Europe propose today? The fearfulness that is becoming more and more evident has its root cause in the loss of ideals. Without an approach inspired by those ideals, we end up dominated by the fear that others will wrench us from our usual habits, deprive us of familiar comforts, and somehow call into question a lifestyle that all too often consists of material prosperity alone. Yet the richness of Europe has always been her spiritual openness and her capacity to raise basic questions about the meaning of life. Openness to the sense of the eternal has also gone hand in hand, albeit not without tensions and errors, with a positive openness to this world. Yet today’s prosperity seems to have clipped the continent’s wings and lowered its gaze. Europe has a patrimony of ideals and spiritual values unique in the world, one that deserves to be proposed once more with passion and renewed vigor, for it is the best antidote against the vacuum of values of our time, which provides a fertile terrain for every form of extremism. These are the ideals that shaped Europe, that “Peninsula of Asia” which stretches from the Urals to the Atlantic.

Europe finds new hope when she invests in development and in peace. Development is not the result of a combination of various systems of production. It has to do with the whole human being: the dignity of labor, decent living conditions, access to education and necessary medical care. “Development is the new name of peace” (Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 26 March 1967, 87: AAS 59 (1967), 299), said Pope Paul VI, for there is no true peace whenever people are cast aside or forced to live in dire poverty. There is no peace without employment and the prospect of earning a dignified wage. There is no peace in the peripheries of our cities, with their rampant drug abuse and violence.

Europe finds new hope when she is open to the future. When she is open to young people, offering them serious prospects for education and real possibilities for entering the work force. When she invests in the family, which is the first and fundamental cell of society. When she respects the consciences and the ideals of her citizens. When she makes it possible to have children without the fear of being unable to support them. When she defends life in all its sacredness.

Distinguished guests, nowadays, with the general increase in people’s life span, sixty is considered the age of full maturity, a critical time when we are once again called to self-examination. The European Union, too, is called today to examine itself, to care for the ailments that inevitably come with age, and to find new ways to steer its course. Yet unlike human beings, the European Union does not face an inevitable old age, but the possibility of a new youthfulness. Its success will depend on its readiness to work together once again, and by its willingness to wager on the future. As leaders, you are called to blaze the path of a “new European humanism” (Address at the Conferral of the Charlemagne Prize, loc. cit., p. 5) made up of ideals and concrete actions. This will mean being unafraid to take practical decisions capable of meeting people’s real problems and of standing the test of time.

For my part, I readily assure you of the closeness of the Holy See and the Church to Europe as a whole, to whose growth she has, and always will, continue to contribute. Invoking upon Europe the Lord’s blessings, I ask him to protect her and grant her peace and progress. I make my own the words that Joseph Bech proclaimed on Rome’s Capitoline Hill: Ceterum censeo Europam esse aedificandam – furthermore, I believe that Europe ought to be built.

Thank you.

Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana (vatican.va)

VATICAN NEWS

Pastoral visit of the Holy Father Francis to the Archdiocese of Milan: Meeting with the residents of the Forlanini quarter ‘White Houses’

The Holy See Press Office • March 25, 2017

Vatican City — At 7:15 this morning the Holy Father Francis departed by air from Rome Fiumicino airport for his pastoral visit to the archdiocese of Milan.

Upon arrival at Milan Linate airport, the Pope was greeted by His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan; the Honorable Roberto Maroni, president of the Lombardy region; Luciana Lamorgese, prefect of Milan; Giuseppe Sala, mayor of Milan; Paolo Micheli, mayor of Segrate; and other figures.

The Holy Father then visited the Forlanini quarter – the “White Houses” of Via Salomone where, at 8:38, he was received by Don Augusto Bonora, parish priest of San Galdino.

Pope Francis subsequently visited various families in their respective apartments, and addressed greetings to residents in the square of the “White Houses.” He went on to meet representatives of Rom, Muslim and immigrant families, and inhabitants of the neighborhood.

The following are the words the Holy Father addressed to residents in the square of the “White Houses:”

Holy Father’s greeting

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Thank you for your very warm welcome! Thank you, thank you very much. You have welcomed me upon entry to Milan, and this is a great gift for me: to enter the city meeting faces, families, a community.

And thank you for the two special gifts that you have given me.

The first is this stole, a typical priestly sign, that touches me in a special way because it reminds me that here I come among you as a priest, I enter Milan as a priest. You did not buy this stole ready made; it was created here, it was woven by some of you, in the traditional way. This makes it much more valuable; and it recalls that the Christian priest is chosen by the people and in the service of the people; my priesthood, like that of your parish priest and other priests who work here, is a gift of Christ, but it is “woven” from you, our people, with your faith, your labors, your prayers, your tears. … This I see in the sign of the stole. The priesthood is a gift from Christ, but “woven” by you, and I see this in this sign.

Then, you have given me this image of your Madonnina: the way it was and as it is now after restoration. Thank you! I know that in Milan the Madonnina welcomes me, at the top of the Duomo; but thanks to your gift she already greets me from here, at the entrance. And this is important, because it reminds me of the kindness of Mary, who runs to meet Elizabeth. It is the concern and solicitude of the Church, who does not remain in the center waiting, but reaches out to all, in the peripheries, who also goes out towards non-Christians, even to non-believers, and takes Jesus to everyone; He Who is God’s love made flesh, Who gives meaning to our lives and saves us from evil. And Our Lady comes towards us not to proselytize, no! But to accompany us in the path of our life; and also the fact that it was the Madonnina who awaited me at the entry to Milan reminded me of when as children we returned from school and there was our mother at the door waiting for us. Our Lady is a mother! And she always arrives first, she goes ahead to welcome us, to await us. Thank you for this! And the fact of the restoration is meaningful too: your Madonnina has been restored, just as the Church always needs to be “restored,” because she is made by us, We Who are sinners, all of us, we are sinners. Let us allow ourselves to be restored by God, by His mercy. Let us be cleansed in the heart, especially at this time of Lent. Our Lady is without sin and does not need restoration, but the statue does, and in this way as a Mother she teaches us to let ourselves be cleansed by God’s mercy, to bear witness to Jesus’ holiness. And fraternally speaking, a good Confession is good for us all. But I also ask confessors to be merciful.

Many thanks for these gifts! And above all, thank you for being here, for your welcome and your prayer that accompanies me in my entry to Milan. May the Lord bless you and Our Lady keep you. And please, do not forget to pray for me. And now, let us pray to Our Lady. And goodbye!

At the end of the visit to the Forlanini quarter “White Houses,” the Holy Father transferred by car to the Duomo of Milan, to meet with priests and consecrated persons.

Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana (vatican.va)

VATICAN NEWS

Pastoral visit of the Holy Father Francis to the archdiocese of Milan: Encounter with priests and consecrated persons in the Duomo

The Holy See Press Office • March 25, 2017

Vatican City — This morning, shortly before 10:00, the Holy Father Francis met with priests and consecrated persons in the Duomo of Milan.

At the entrance, the Pope was received by the auxiliary bishops, the archpriest, the Metropolitan Chapter, the Milanese Episcopal Council and the bishops of Lombardy.

Then, in the Scurolo di San Carlo the Holy Father paused to adore the Most Holy Sacrament and to venerate the relics of St. Charles Borromeo.

After greetings from His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan, the Pope responded to several questions posed to him.

The following are the Holy Father’s answers.

Question 1 (Don Gabriele Gioia, presbyter):

Much of the energy and time of priests are absorbed in continuing the traditional forms of the ministry, but we are aware of the challenges of secularism and the irrelevance of faith within the evolution of Milanese society, which is increasingly plural, multiethnic, multireligious and multicultural society. It happens to us too at times to feel like Peter and the apostles after toiling without catching fish. We ask you: which purifications and priority choices are we called to make so as not to lose the joy of evangelizing and of being the people of God that witnesses His love for every man? Your Holiness, we wish you well and pray for you.

Pope Francis:

Thank you, thank you.

The three questions you have asked were sent to me. This is what is always done. Usually, I answer spontaneously, but this time I thought, during a day with such a dense program, that it would be better to write something to respond.

I have heard your question, Don Gabriele. I read it beforehand, but while you were speaking, two things came to mind. One is “fishing.” You know that evangelization is not always a synonym for catching fish: it is going out, into to deep, bearing witness … and then it is the Lord, He “catches the fish.” When, how and where, we do not know. And this is very important. And also starting from this reality, that we are tools, useless tools. Another thing you said, that concern you expressed which is the concern of all of you: not losing the joy of evangelization. Because evangelizing is a joy. The great Paul VI, in Evangelii nuntiandi – which is the greatest post-Conciliar pastoral document, and which is still relevant today – spoke about this joy: the joy of the Church is evangelizing. And we must ask for the grace not to lose it. He [Paul VI] told us, almost at the end [of the document]: let us conserve this joy of evangelizing, not as sad, bored evangelizers, this is not good; a sad evangelizer is one who is not convinced that Jesus is joy, that Jesus brings us joy, and when He calls you He changes your life and gives you joy, and He sends you in joy, even on the cross, but in joy, to evangelize. Thank you for having underlined these things you said, Gabriele.

And now, the things I thought about this question, at home, so as to say things that are more thought out.

A. One of the first things that comes to mind is the word challenge, which you used: “many challenges,” you said. Every historical age, since the first times of Christianity, has been continually exposed to many challenges. Challenges within the ecclesial community, and at the same time in the relationship with the society in which the faith was taking shape. We can recall the episode of Peter in the house of Cornelius in Caesarea (cf. Acts 10:24.35), or the controversy in Antioch and then in Jerusalem on the need or otherwise to circumcise the Gentiles (cf. Acts 15:1-6), and so on. Therefore we must not fear challenges, this must be clear. We must not fear challenges. How often do we hear lamentations: “Ah, these days, there are so many challenges, and we are sad … .” No. Do not be afraid. Challenges must be confronted like oxen, seizing them by the horns. Do not be afraid of challenges. And it is good that they exist, challenges. It is good, because they enable us to grow. They are the sign of a living faith, of a living community that seeks its Lord and keeps its eyes and heart open. We must instead fear a faith without challenges, a faith that considers itself complete, all complete: it does not need other things, all is done. This faith is so watered down that it is useless. We must be afraid of this. And it considers itself complete, as if all had been said and achieved. Challenges help us to ensure that our faith does not become ideological. There are the dangers of ideologies, always. Ideologies grow, they germinate and grow when we believe we have a complete faith, and it becomes ideological. Challenges save us from closed and defined thought and open us up to a broader understanding of what is revealed to us. As the dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum affirmed, “as the centuries succeed one another, the Church constantly moves forward toward the fullness of divine truth until the words of God reach their complete fulfilment in her” (8b). And in this, challenges help us to open up to the mystery revealed. This is the first thing I take from what you said.

B. Secondly, you spoke about a “multi” society: multicultural, multireligious, multiethnic. I believe that the Church, throughout all her history, unbeknownst to us, has much to teach us and help us for a culture of diversity. We must learn. The Holy Spirit is the master of diversity. Let us look at our dioceses, our presbyters, our communities. Look at our religious congregations. So many charisms, so many ways of realizing the experience of believing. The Church is One in a multiform experience. She is one, yes. But in a multiform experience. And this is the richness of the Church. Although one, she is multiform. The Gospel is one in its fourfold form. The Gospel is one, but there are four and they are different, but this diversity is richness. The Gospel is one in its fourfold form. This gives to our communities a richness that shows the action of the Spirit. The ecclesial tradition has a great experience of how to manage the multiple within its history and life. We have seen, and we see, everything: we have seen and we see many riches and many horrors and errors. And here we have a good key to helping us interpret the contemporary world. Without condemning it and without sanctifying it. Recognizing the bright aspects and the dark aspects, as well as helping us to discern the excesses of uniformity or of relativism: two tendencies that seek to cancel the unity of differences and of interdependence. The Church is One in differences. She is one, and those differences unite in that unity. But who makes the difference? The Holy Spirit: He is the master of differences! That great Artist, that great Master of unity in differences is the Holy Spirit. And we must understand this well. And then we will speak about it later on, with regard to discernment: discerning when it is the Spirit Who makes the differences and unity, and when it is not the Spirit that makes difference and division. How often have we confused unity with uniformity? And it is not the same. Or how many times have we confused plurality with pluralism? And it is not the same. Uniformity and pluralism are not good in spirit, they do not come from the Holy Spirit. Plurality and unity instead come from the Holy Spirit. In both cases what we try to do is to reduce tension and eliminate the conflict or the ambivalence we are subject to as human beings. To seek to eliminate one of the poles of tension is to eliminate the way in which God wanted to reveal Himself in the humanity of His Son. All that does not assume human drama can be a very clear and distinct theory but not coherent with the Revelation, and therefore ideological. Faith, to be Christian and not illusory, must be configured within processes: human processes, without being reduced to them. And this too is a major tension. It is the beautiful and demanding task that our Lord has left to us, the “already but not yet” of Salvation. And this is very important: unity in differences. This is a tension, but it is a tension that always makes us grow in the Church.

C. A third thing. There is a choice that as pastors we cannot elude: forming in discernment. Discernment of these things that seem opposed to one another, or that are opposed, to know when a tension or an opposition comes from the Holy Spirit and when it comes from the evil one. And for this, [it is necessary] to form in discernment. As I think I have understood from the question, diversity presents a very tricky scenario. The culture of abundance to which we are subjected offers a range of many possibilities, presenting them all as valid and good. Our young people are exposed to constant “zapping.” They can navigate on two or three screens open simultaneously, they can interact at the same time in different virtual scenarios. Like it or not, this is the world in which they find themselves, and it is our duty as pastors to help them through this world. So, I think it is good to teach them how to discern, so that they have the tools and elements to help them walk the path of lift without extinguishing the Holy Spirit that is in them. In a world without choices, or with fewer possibilities, perhaps things seem clearer, I don’t know. Today our faithful, and we ourselves, are exposed to these realities, and for this reason I am convinced that as an ecclesial community we must increase the habitus of discernment. And this is a challenge, and requires the grace of discernment, to try to learn to have the habit of discernment. This grace, from the young to adults, everyone. When we are children it is easy for our mother and father to tell us what we have to do, and that’s fine – today I don’t think it is so easy; in my day, yes, but today I don’t know, but anyway it is easier. But gradually as we grow, amid a multitude of voices where seemingly all are right, the discernment of what leads us to the Resurrection, to the Life and not to a culture of death, is crucial. This is why I underline this need. It is a catechetic tool, and also for life. In catechesis, in spiritual guidance, in homilies, we must teach our people, teach our young, teach our children, teach adults discernment. And teach them to ask for the grace of discernment.

On this issue I recommend that part of the Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium entitled “A Mission embodied within human limits” (Nos. 40-45 of Evangelii Gaudium. And this is the third point with which I answer you. They are little things that will perhaps help in your reflection on the questions and then on the dialogue between you. Thank you very much.

Question 2 (Roberto Crespi, permanent deacon):

Your Holiness, good morning. I am Roberto, a permanent deacon. The diaconate entered into our clergy 1990, and of whom there are now 143 of us; it is not a large number but it is a significant number. We are men who live their vocation fully; either in marriage or celibacy, but we also live fully in the world of work and of the professions, and therefore bring the clergy into the world of families and the world of work, we bring all those dimensions of beauty and experience but also hardship and at times suffering. So, we ask you: as permanent deacons, what is our role in giving form to the face that Church that is humble, that is selfless, that is blessed, that we feel she is in her heart, and of which often you speak to us? Thank you for your attention, and I assure you of our prayer, and that of our wives and families.

Pope Francis:

Thank you. You deacons have much to give, much to give. I think of the value of discernment. Within the presbytery, you can be an authoritative voice to show the tension there is between duty and will, the tensions that one lives in family life – you have a mother in law, for example! And also the blessings one lives within family life.

But we must be careful not to see deacons as half priests, half laypeople. This is a danger. At the end they will end up neither one nor the other. No, we must not do this, it is a danger. Looking at them in this way harms us and harms them. This way of considering them takes strength from the charism proper to the diaconate. I want to return to this: the charism proper to the diaconate. And this charism is in the life of the Church. Likewise the image of the deacon as a sort of intermediary between the faithful and pastors is inappropriate. Neither halfway between priests and laypeople, nor halfway between pastors and faithful. There is the danger of clericalism: the deacon who is too clerical. No, no, this is not good. At times I see someone who assists at the liturgy: it almost seems as if he wants to take the place of the priest. Clericalism, beware of clericalism. And another temptation is functionalism: it is a help that the priest has for this or that; a boy to carry out certain tasks and not for other things. No. You have a clear charism in the Church and you must build it.

The diaconate is a specific vocation, a family vocation that requires service. I like it very much when [in the Acts of the Apostles] the first Hellenistic Christians went to the apostles to complain because their widows and orphans were not well cared for, and they had a meeting, that “synod” between apostles and disciples, and they “invented” the deacons to serve. And this is very interesting for us bishops too, because they were all bishops, those who “made” the deacons. And what does this tell us? That deacons were servants. Then they understood that, in that case, it was to assist widows and orphans: but to serve. And to us as bishops: prayer and the proclamation of the Word; and this shows us what the most important charism of a bishop is: to pray. What is the task of a bishop, the first task? Prayer. Second task: proclaiming the Word. But you can see the difference clearly. And for you [deacons]: service. This word is the key to understanding your charism. Service as one of the characteristic gifts of the people of God. The deacon is, so to say, the custodian of service in the Church. Every word must be carefully measured. You are the guardians of service in the Church: service to the Word, service to the Altar, service to the poor. And your mission, the mission of the deacon, and your contribution consist in this: in reminding us all that faith, in its various expressions – community liturgy, personal prayer, the various forms of charity – and in its various states of life – lay, clerical, family – possesses an essential dimension of service. Service to God and to brothers. And how far we have to go in this sense! You are the guardians of service in the Church.

Therein lies the value of the charisms in the Church, which are a memory and a gift for helping all the people of God not to lose the perspective and wealth of God’s action. You are not half priests, half laypeople – this would be to “functionalize” the diaconate – you are the sacrament of service to God and to others. And from this word “service” there derives all the development of your work, of your vocation, of your being within the Church. A vocation that, like all vocations is not only individual, but lived within the family and with the family; within the People of God and with the People of God.

In summary:

- there is no altar service, there is no liturgy that is not open to the poor, and there no service to the poor that does not lead to the liturgy;

- there is no ecclesial vocation that is not of the family.

This helps us to re-evaluate the deaconate as an ecclesial vocation.

Finally, today it seems that everything must be useful to us, as if everything were targeted at the individual: prayer is useful to me, the community is useful to me, charity is useful to me. This is a feature of our culture. You are the gift that the Spirit gives us to show that the right path goes in the opposite direction: in prayer I serve, in the community I serve, with solidarity I serve God and my neighbor. And may God give you the grace to grow in this charism of safeguarding service in the Church. Thank you for what you do.

Question 3 (Mother M. Paola Paganoni, OSC):

Holy Father, I am Mother Paola of the Ursulines, and I am here in the name of all the consecrated life present in the Milanese Church, and also for all Lombardy. We thank you for your presence, but above all for the witness of life you offer us. Since Saint Marcellina, sister of Ambrose, consecrated life in the Milanese Church up to the present day has always been a lively and significant presence in this particular Church up to this day, with old and – as you have seen here – new forms. We would like to ask you, Father, how can we today, for the man of today, witnesses of prophecy, as you say, “guardians of wonder,” to bear witness with our poor life, but a life that is obedient, chaste, poor and fraternal? And then, given our few – we seem numerous, but we are elderly – given our limited strengths, for the future, what existential peripheries and which areas should we choose and favor, with renewed awareness of being a minority – a minority in society and a minority also in the Church? Thank you. We assure you of our daily remembrance.

Pope Francis:

Thank you, I like the word “minority.” It is true that it is the charism of the Franciscans, but we too must all be “minor”: it is a spiritual attitude, minority, that is like the seal of the Christian. I like the fact that you used this word. And I will begin from your final word: minority. Usually – although I am not saying this is your case – it is a word accompanied by a feeling: “It seems there are a lot of us, but many of us are elderly, there are few of us …” And what is the underlying feeling? Resignation. A bad feeling. Without realizing it, every time we think or see that we are few, or in many cases elderly, we experience the burden, fragility rather than splendour, and our spirit begins to be eroded by resignation. And resignation then leads to sloth. … Remember, if you have time, read what the Fathers of the desert say about sloth: it is something that has plenty of current relevance, today. I think that here there emerges the first action to which we must pay attention: that there are few of us, yes; that we are in a minority, yes; that we are elderly, yes; but resigned, no! There are very fine threads that are recognized only when examining our inner self before the Lord. The cardinal, when he spoke, used two words that I was very struck by. Speaking about mercy, he said that mercy “restores and gives peace.” A good remedy for resignation is this mercy that restores and gives peace. When we fall into the trap of resignation, and we stray from mercy, we must go immediately to someone, to the Lord, and ask for mercy, so that it restores us and gives us peace.

When we are resigned, we live with the imagery of a glorious past that, far from awakening the initial charisma, increasingly leads us into a spiral of existential heaviness. Everything becomes heavy and difficult to lift. And here, this is something that I had not written but I will say, because it is not very nice to say it; excuse me, but it happens, and so I will say it. The buildings start to become heavy to manage, empty, we do not know what to do and we think that by selling them for money, for our old age … The money we have in the bank starts to weigh on us. And poverty, where does it go? But the Lord is good, and when a religious congregation does not follow the road of the vow of poverty, usually He sends a nasty bursar who makes it all collapse! And this is a grace! I was saying that it all becomes heavy and difficult to bear. And the temptation is to seek out human securities. I spoke about money, which is one of the most human securities we have at hand. So, it is good for all of us to revisit our origins, to make a pilgrimage to the origins, a memory that saves us from any glorious but unreal imagining of the past.

“With the eyes of faith, we can see the light which the Holy Spirit always radiates in the midst of darkness, never forgetting that ‘where sin increased, grace has abounded all the more’ (Romans, 5:20). Our faith is challenged to discern how wine can come from water and how wheat can grow in the midst of weeds” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 84).

Our founding fathers and mothers did not think they were a multitude, or a great majority. Our founders felt moved by the Holy Spirit in a concrete moment in history to be the joyful presence of the Gospel for their brothers; to renew and build up the Church like leaven in the mass, like the salt and light of the world. I am thinking, I have in mind the phrase of a founder, but many have said the same thing: “Be afraid of the multitude.” That too many should not come, for fear of not forming them well, the fear of not passing on the charism. … It has been called the turba multa. No. They simply thought about bearing the Gospel, the charism.

I think that one of the reasons we are stalled, and which takes away our joy, is this aspect. Our congregations were not born to be the mass, but rather a little salt and a little leaven, that would have given its contribution so that the mass could rise; so that the People of God would have that “condiment” that was missing. For many years we were tempted to believe, and many of us grew with the idea that religious families had to occupy spaces rather than initiate processes, and this is a temptation. We must initiate processes, not occupy spaces. I am afraid of statistics, because they deceive, very often. They tell us the truth from one side, but then illusion enters and leads us to deception. Occupying spaces rather than initiating processes: we were tempted by this because we thought that since there were many of us, conflict could prevail over unity; that ideas (or our inability to change) were more important than reality; or that the part (our small part or vision of the world) was superior to the ecclesial whole (cf. ibid., 222-237). It is a temptation. But I have never seen a pizza chef who to make a pizza takes half a kilo of yeast and a hundred grams of flour, no. It is the opposite. A little leaven to make the flour grow.

Today reality challenges us, today reality invites us again to be a little leaven, a little salt. Yesterday evening, in the Osservatore Romano, that comes out in the evening but with today’s date, there is a farewell from the last two Little Sisters of Jesus in Afghanistan, among the Muslims, because there were no more sisters and so they, by now elderly, had to return. They spoke Afghan. They were beloved by all: Muslims, Catholics, Christians … Why? Because they were witnesses. Why? Because they were consecrated to God the Father by all. And I thought, I said to the Lord, while I read this – look for this, today, in the Osservatore Romano, which will make us think about what you asked about – “But Jesus, why do You leave those people like this?” And there came to mind the Korean people, who at the beginning had three or four Christian missionaries, at the beginning, and then for two centuries the message was borne by laypeople only. The ways of the Lord as He wants them to be. But it is good for us to make an act of trust: it is He Who leads history. It is true. We do everything to grow, to be strong. … But no resignation. Initiate processes. Today reality challenges us – I repeat, reality invites us again to be a little leaven, a little salt. Can you think of a meal with a lot of salt? No-one would eat it. Today, the reality – for many factors that we cannot stop to analyze now – calls us to initiate processes rather than occupy spaces, to struggle for unity rather than cling to past conflicts, to listen to reality, to open ourselves to the “mass,” to the holy faithful People of God, to the ecclesial whole. Open ourselves to the ecclesial whole.

A blessed minority, that is once more invited to leaven, to rise in harmony with what the Holy Spirit inspired in the heart of your founders, and in your hearts. This is what is needed today.

I will go on to one last thing. I would not dare say to you to which existential peripheries you must address your mission, because normally the Spirit inspired charisms for the peripheries, to go to places and corners that are usually abandoned. I don’t believe that the Pope can tell you: concern yourselves with this or that. What the Pope must tell you is this: there are few of you, but the few of you there are, go to the peripheries, go to the boundaries and encounter the Lord there, to renew the mission of origins, to the Galilee of the first encounter, return to the Galilee of the first encounter! And this will be good for all of us, it will make us grow and will make us a multitude. It brings to mind the confusion of our Father Abraham: they made him look at the sky: “Count the stars!” – but he could not – “so shall your offspring be.” And then: “Your only son” – the only one, the other had already gone, but this one had the promise – “offer him … on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” From that multitude of stars, to sacrificing his only son: the logic of God cannot be understood. One only obeys. And this is the road you must take. Choose the peripheries, reawaken processes, ignite the spent and weakened hope of a society that has become insensible to the pain of others. In our fragility as congregations we can make ourselves more attentive to the many forms of frailty that surround us, and transform them into a space of blessing. It will be the moment that the Lord will tell you, “Stop, there is a ram here. Do not sacrifice your only son.” Go and take the “anointment” of Christ, go forth. I am not sending you away! I merely say, go forth and bear the mission of Christ, your charism.

And do not forget that whenever “Jesus [is] in the midst of His people, they encounter joy. For this alone will bring back our joy and hope, this alone will save us from living in a survival mentality.” Please, no, this is resignation! Do not just survive, never! “Only this will make our lives fruitful and keep our hearts alive: putting Jesus where He belongs, in the midst of His people” (Homily at the Mass for the Presentation of the Lord, 21st World Day of Consecrated Life, 2 February 2017). And this is your task. Thank you, Mother, thank you.

And now, let us pray together. I will give you my blessing and I ask you, please, to pray for me as I need to be sustained by the prayer of the people of God, of consecrated persons and priests. Many thanks.

Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana (vatican.va)

VATICAN NEWS

Pastoral visit of the Holy Father Francis to the Archdiocese of Milan: Holy Mass in Monza Park

The Holy See Press Office • March 25, 2017

Vatican City — At 15:30 this afternoon, in Monza Park, the Holy Father Francis presided at Mass for the faithful of the archdiocese of Milan.

Upon arrival, the Holy Father toured the various areas into which the area was divided, greeting the faithful.

Then, in the area used as a sacristy, the Pope was welcomed by Giovanna Vilasi, prefect of Monza, Pietro Luigi Ponti, president of the Province, and Roberto Scannagatti, mayor of Monza. The Holy Father then briefly met with the concelebrating bishops and the organizers of the visit.

At the end of Mass, His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan, addressed some words of thanks to the Pope.

During the rite, after the proclamation of the Gospel, the Holy Father pronounced the following homily:

Holy Father’s Homily

We have just heard the most important proclamation of our history: the annunciation to Mary (cf. Luke 1:26-38). A dense passage, full of life, and which I like reading in the light of another announcement: that of the birth of John the Baptist (cf. Luke 1:5-20). Two successive announcements that are united; two announcements that, compared to each other, show us what God gives to us in His Son.

The annunciation of John the Baptist occurs when Zechariah the priest, ready to initiate the liturgy, enters into the Sanctuary of the Temple, while the whole assembly waits outside. The annunciation of Jesus instead takes place in a remote place in Galilee, in a peripheral city with a poor reputation (cf. John 1:46), in the anonymity of the house of a young girl named Mary.

This contrast is not insignificant, and signals to us that the new Temple of God, the new encounter of God with His people, will be in places that normally we do not expect, in the margins, in the periphery. There they will make their appointment, they will meet; there God will make Himself flesh so as to walk together with us from the womb of His Mother. It will no longer occur in a place reserved to the few while the majority remain outside waiting. Nothing and no-one will be indifferent to Him; no situation will be deprived of His presence: the joy of salvation begins in the daily life of the house of a young girl from Nazareth.

God Himself is the one Who takes the initiative and chooses to enter, as He did with Mary, into our homes, our daily struggles, filled with anxiety and with desires. And it is within our cities, in our schools and universities, our squares and hospitals, that the most beautiful announcement we can hear is made: “Rejoice, the Lord is with you.” A joy that generates life, that generates hope, that is made flesh in the way we look to the future, in the attitude with which we look at others. A joy that becomes solidarity, hospitality, mercy towards all.

Like Mary, we too can be bewildered: “How will this be” in a time so full of speculation? Speculation about life, work, the family. We speculate on the poor and on migrants; we speculate on the young and their future. Everything seems to be reduced to figures, while letting the daily life of many so families be tinged with uncertainty and insecurity. While pain knocks at many doors, while in many young people there is growing dissatisfaction at the lack of real opportunities, speculation abounds everywhere.

Certainly, the dizzying pace to which we are subject would appear to rob us of hope and joy. The pressures and powerlessness in the face of many situations would seem to wither the soul and make us insensitive to innumerable challenges. And paradoxically when everything accelerates so as to build, in theory, a better society, in the end we have no time for anything or anyone. We lose time for the family, for the community; we lose time for friendship, for solidarity and for memory.

It is good for us to ask ourselves: how is it possible to live the joy of the Gospel within our cities today? Is Christian hope possible in this situation, here and now?

These two questions touch our identity, the life of our families, of our towns and our cities. They touch the life of our children, our young people, and demand from us a new way of positioning ourselves in history. If joy and Christian hope are to continue to be possible, we cannot and we must not remain before many painful situations as mere spectators who look at the sky waiting for it to stop raining. Everything that happens demands that we look at the present boldly, with that boldness of he who knows that the joy of salvation takes shape in the daily life of the house of a young girl from Nazareth.

Before Mary’s bewilderment, before our own bewilderment, the Angel offers us three keys to help us accept the mission entrusted to us.

1. Evoking Memory

The first thing the Angel does is to evoke memory, thus opening the present moment of Mary to all the history of Salvation. He evokes the promise made to David as the fruit of the covenant with Jacob. Mary is the daughter of the Covenant. Today we too are invited to make memory of this, to look at our past so as not to forget where we come from; so as not to forget our ancestors, our grandparents and all they have been through to reach us where we are today. This land and its people have experienced the pain of two world wars; and at times they saw their deserved reputation for industriousness and civilization polluted by unregulated ambitions. Memory helps us not to remain prisoners of discourses that sow fracture and division as the only way to resolve conflicts. Evoking memory is the best antidote available to us against the magic solutions of division and estrangement.

2. Belonging to the People of God

Memory allows Mary to take possession of her belonging to the People of God. It is good for us to remember that we are members of the People of God! Milanese, yes; Ambrosians, certainly, but part of the great People of God. A people made up of a thousand faces, histories and provenances, a multicultural and multiethnic people. This is one of our riches. It is a people called upon to accommodate differences, to integrate them with respect and creativity, and to celebrate the novelty that comes from others; it is a people that is not afraid of embracing boundaries and frontiers; it is a people that is not afraid to welcome those in need as it knows that there the Lord is present.

3. The possibility of the impossible

“Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37): in this way the Angel’s answer to Mary ends. When we believe that everything depends exclusively on us, we remain prisoners of our abilities, of our efforts, of our short-sighted views. When instead we allow ourselves to be helped, to be advised, when we open ourselves to grace, it seems that the impossible starts to become reality. This is well known in those lands that, throughout their history, have generated many charisms, many missionaries, much wealth for the life of the Church! How many faces that, overcoming the sterile pessimism that divides, have opened themselves to the initiative of God and have become a sign of how fertile a land may be if it does not close itself in its own ideas, within its own limits and capabilities, instead opening up to others.

As before, God continues to seek allies; He continues to seek men and women capable of believing, capable of making memory, of feeling they are part of His people, to cooperate with the creativity of the Spirit. God continues to walk our neighborhoods and streets, going everywhere in search of hearts able to listen to His invitation and to make it flesh here and now. To paraphrase St. Ambrose in his comment on this passage, we can say that God continues to seek hearts like that of Mary, willing to believe even in entirely extraordinary conditions (cf. Exposition of the Gospel according to Luke II, 17: PL 15, 1559). May the Lord increase in us this faith and this hope.

Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana (vatican.va)

VATICAN NEWS

Pastoral visit of the Holy Father Francis to the Archdiocese of Milan: Encounter with confirmands and newly-confirmed youngsters

The Holy See Press Office • March 25, 2017

Vatican City — At 17:45 today, in the Meazza-San Siro Stadium, Milan, the Holy Father Francis met with newly-confirmed young people and those preparing for confirmation.

At the entrance to the Stadium he was welcomed by its president, Roberto Ruozzi.

During the event, the Pope replied to a number of questions posed by one confirmand, a married couple and a catechist.

At the end of the encounter, at 19:00, the Holy Father transferred to Milan-Linate airport where at 19:40 he received farewell greetings from the figures who had received him in the morning, to return to Rome. The aircraft carrying the Holy Father Francis landed at Rome-Ciampino airport at 20:45. The Pope returned to the Vatican at 21:15.

The following are the Holy Father’s answers to the attendees’ questions:

Holy Father’s answers to questions

Question from a boy: Hello, I am Davide and I am from Cornaredo. I would like to ask you a question: when you were our age, what helped your friendship with Jesus to grow?

Pope Francis:Good evening! David has asked a very simple question, to which it is easy to answer, because I just have to look back to the times in which I was your age. And your question is: “When you were our age, what helped your friendship with Jesus to grow?” There are three things, but there is a common thread that unites them all. The first thing was my grandparents. “But Father, grandparents can help our friendship with Jesus grow?” What do you think? Can they, or can’t they?

Youngsters: Yes!

Pope Francis:But grandparents are old!

Youngsters: No!

Pope Francis:No? Aren’t they old?

Youngsters: Yes!

Pope Francis:They are old … Grandparents are from a different age: grandparents don’t know how to use a computer, they don’t have a mobile phone … I ask you again, can grandparents help you grow in friendship with Jesus?

Youngsters: Yes!

Pope Francis:And this was my experience: my grandparents spoke to me normally about things in life. One grandfather was a carpenter and taught me how, in his work Jesus learned the same trade, and so when I watched my grandfather, I thought of Jesus. The other grandfather used to tell me never to go to bed without saying a word to Jesus, without saying “goodnight” to Him. My grandmother taught me to pray, and also my mother; the other grandmother was the same. … The important thing is this: grandparents have the wisdom of life. What do grandparents have?

Youngsters: The wisdom of life.

Pope Francis:They have the wisdom of life. And with that wisdom they teach us how to be closer to Jesus. They did this to me. First, grandparents. Some advice: speak with your grandparents. Speak, ask all the questions you like. Listen to your grandparents. It is important, in this time, to speak with your grandparents. Do you understand?

Youngsters: Yes!

Pope Francis:And you, those who have living grandparents, will you make an effort to talk to them, to ask them questions, and to listen to them? Will you make the effort? Will you do this job?

Youngsters: Yes …

Pope Francis:You aren’t very convinced. Will you do it?

Youngsters: Yes!

Pope Francis:Grandparents. Then, it helped me a lot to play with friends, because playing well, playing and feeling the joy of playing with friends, without insulting each other, and thinking that Jesus played in this way … But, I ask you, did Jesus play? Or not?

Youngsters: Yes!

Pope Francis:But He was God! God no, He cannot play … Did Jesus play?

Youngsters: Yes!

Pope Francis:You are convinced. Yes, Jesus played, and played with others And it is good for us to play with friends, because when you play fair, you learn to respect others, you learn to be a team, and to work together. And this unites us with Jesus. Playing with friends. But – it is something I think some of you have said – arguing with friends, does it help us to know Jesus?

Youngsters: No!

Pope Francis:What?

Youngsters: No?

Pope Francis:Good. And if we argue, because it is normal to argue, but then apologizes, the story is over. Is that clear?

Youngsters: Yes!

Pope Francis:It helped me a lot to play with friends. And a third thing that helped me grown in friendship with Jesus was the parish, the oratory, going to the parish, going to the oratory and meeting with others: this is important! Do you like this, going to the parish?

Youngsters: Yes!

Pope Francis:Do you like … but tell me the truth … do you like going to Mass?

Youngsters: Yes!

Pope Francis:[laughs] I’m not sure … Do you like going to the oratory?

Youngsters: Yes!

Pope Francis:Ah, this yes, you like it. And these three things – truly, this is a piece of advice I am giving you – these three things will help you grow in friendship with Jesus: speaking with your grandparents, playing with friends and going to the parish and the oratory. Because, with these three things, you will pray more. [Applause]. And prayer is that thread that unites the three things. Thank you. [Applause].

Question from two parents: Good evening. We are Monica and Alberto, parents of three, the youngest of whom will receive Holy Confirmation this October. The question we want to ask is this: how can we transmit the beauty of faith to our children? At times it seems so complicated to be able to speak of these things without being boring and dull, or worse still, authoritarian! What words should we use?

Pope Francis:Thank you. I had these questions earlier … Yes, because you sent them to me, and to be clear in my answer, I made some notes, I wrote something, and now I would like to answer to Monica and Alberto.

I think that this is one of the key questions that touches our life as parents: the transmission of faith, and it touches our life also as pastors, as educators. The transmission of faith. And I would like to address this question to you. I invite you to remember who the people were who left an impression on your faith, and what impressed you most about them. What the children asked me, I ask you. Who were the people, the situations, the things that helped you grow in faith, the transmission of faith. I invite you as parents to become children again for a moment, in your imagination, and to remember the people who helped you to believe. “Who helped me believe?.” Your father, your mother, grandparents, a catechist, an aunt, the parish priest, a neighbor, who knows … We all carry in our memory, but especially in our heart, someone who helped us to believe. Now I challenge you. Let us be silent a moment, and let each one of us think: who helped me to believe? And I will answer for my part, and to answer, in truth, I have to return with my memory to Lombardy [applause]. I was helped to believe, to grow in faith, by a priest from Lodi, from the diocese of Lodi; a good priest who baptized me and then accompanied me until the novitiate [of the Jesuits]. And I owe this to you Lombards, thank you! [Applause]. And I will never forget that priest, never ever. He was an apostle of the confessional, an apostle of the confessional. Merciful, good, a hard worker. And in this way he helped me to grow.

Has each of you thought of their person? I have said who helped me.

You will ask what the point is of this little exercise. Our children look to us continually; even if we do not realize, they observe us all the time, and learn. “The Children are Watching Us”: this is the title of a film by Vittorio De Sica, from 1943. Look for it, look for it. “The Children are Watching Us.” And, in parenthesis, I would like to say that those Italian films from the post-war period and shortly after were generally a true “catechesis” on humanity. The children are watching us, and you cannot imagine the anguish of a child when their parents argue. They suffer! [Applause]. And when parents separate, they pay for it. [Applause]. When you bring a child into the world, you must be aware of this: we take on the responsibility of raising this child in faith. It will help you greatly to read Amoris Laetitia, especially the first chapters on love: when you argue, children suffer and they do not grow in faith. [Applause]. Children know our joys, our sadness and our worries. They manage to grasp everything and, since they are very intuitive, they reach their own conclusions and their own teachings. They know when we set traps for them and when we do not. They know. They are very astute. Therefore, one of the first things I would say to you is: care for them, care for their heart, their joy and their hope.

The little eyes of your children memorize and read with all the heart how faith is one of the greatest legacies that you have received from your parents, from your ancestors. They realize. And if you give the faith and live it well, there is transmission.

Show them how faith helps us go ahead, to face the many dramas we have, with a trustful rather than pessimistic attitude; this is the best testimony we can give them. There is a saying that words are carried away by the wind, but what is sown in memory, in the heart, remains for ever.

Another thing. In many places, many families have the very nice tradition of going together to Mass and then going to a park, taking the children to play together. In this way faith becomes a need for the family with other families. This is good, and helps us live the commandment of sanctifying feasts. Not just going to Church and praying, or sleeping during the homily – it happens! – not only this, but then going to play together. Now that the good weather is coming, for example, on a Sunday after going to Mass as a family, it is a good thing if you can go to a park or to the square, to play, to stay together a while. In my country this is called “dominguear,” spending Sunday together. But our time is not a good time to do this, because many parents, to put food on the family table, have to work at the weekends too. And this is bad. I always ask parents, when they say to me that they lose their patience with their children, as a first question: “How many are there?” – “Three, four,” they say- And then I ask them a second question: “Do you play with your children? Do you play?” And they don’t know how to answer. Parents these days cannot, or have lost the habit of playing with their children, of “wasting time” with their children. Once a father said to me, “Father, when I leave to go to work, they are still in bed, and when I return in the evening they are already in bed. I only see them at the weekends.” This is bad! And this is the life that takes away our humanity. But keep this in mind: playing with your children, “wasting time” with children, is also transmitting faith. It is the gratuitousness, the gratuitousness of God.

And a final thing: the family education in solidarity. This is transmitting faith with education in solidarity, in works of mercy. Works of mercy make faith grow in the heart. This is very important. I like to place emphasis on festivity, on gratuitousness, on seeking out other families and living faith as a space for family enjoyment; I think it is necessary also to add another element. There is no feast without solidarity. Just as there is no solidarity without feast, because if one is united with others, one is joyful and transmits joy.

I do not want to bore you; I will tell you something that I encountered in Buenos Aires. A mother was at lunch with her three children, who were six, four and a half and three years old; then, they had another two. Her husband was at work. They were having lunch and were eating cotolette alla Milanese, she told me, and each child had one on his plate. There was a knock at the door. The eldest went to open the door, looked, and said, “Mama, there is a poor man, he is asking for something to eat.” And the mother, wise, asked the question; “What shall we do? Shall we give something or not?” “Yes, mama, let’s give him something!.” There were other cutlets there. The mother said, “Ah, good, let’s make two sandwiches: each one can cut his own in half and we’ll make two.” “But mama, there are the others!” “No, those are for dinner.” And the mother taught them solidarity, but that which costs, not what is left over! For example, this would be enough, but the way this story ends will make you laugh. A week later, the mother had to go shopping in the afternoon, at around four o’clock, and she left all three children alone – they were good – for an hour. And she went. When she returned, there were no longer three of them – there were four! There were the three children and a homeless man, who had asked for alms, and they had let him in. They were drinking coffee and milk together. Educating in solidarity, that is, in the works of mercy. Thank you.

Question from a catechist: Good evening. I am Valeria, mother and catechist from a parish in Milan, in Rogoredo. You have taught us that it takes a village to educate a child; our archbishop too has urged us in these years to collaborate, so that there is collaboration among educators. So, we would like to ask for your advice on how to open up dialogue and exchange among all the educators who are in contact with our young people.

Pope Francis:I would advise education based on “thought – feeling – action,” that is an education involving the intellect, the heart and the hands, the three languages. Educating in harmony among the three languages, to the point that young boys and girls are able to think about what they feel and do, feel what they think and do, and do what they think and feel. Do not separate the three things: all three together. Do not educate only in terms of intellect: this is giving intellectual notions, which are important, but without the heart and without the hands it is useless. Education must be harmonious. But one may also say: educate with the content, the ideas, the attitudes of life and values. One may also say this. But never educate solely, for example, with notions, with idea. No. The heart too must grow in education; and also doing, the attitude, the way of behaving in life.

With reference to the previous point, I remember that once in a school there was a pupil who was phenomenal at playing football and a disaster in terms of conduct in class. A rule that they gave him was that if he did not behave well he would have to give up football, which he liked so much. Given that he continued to behave badly he did not play for two months, and things just got worse. Be careful when you punish: that boy worsened. It is true, I knew him, that boy. One day the coach spoke with the head teacher, and explained: “This isn’t working; let me try,” he said to the head, and he asked for the boy to resume playing football. “Let’s try,” she said. And the coach made him the captain of the team. That boy then felt that he was being considered, he felt that he could give the best of himself and he began not only to behave better, but also to improve his performance in school This seems very important to me in education. Very important. Among our students there are some who are gifted in sport but not so much for science, and others who are better at art than mathematics, and others excel in philosophy rather than sport. A good teacher, educator or coach knows how to stimulate the good qualities of his or her pupils and not to neglect the others. And this gives rise to that pedagogical phenomenon known as transference: doing one thing well and with pleasure, the benefit transfers to other things too. Looking for where to give greater responsibility, what a child likes the best, and he will do well. And it is always good to stimulate them, but children also need to enjoy themselves and to sleep. Educating alone, without the space for gratuitousness, is not good.

And I will finish with this. There is an ugly phenomenon in our time, which worries me, in education: bullying. Please, be careful. [Applause]. And now, I ask you, confirmands. In silence, listen to me. In silence. In your school, in your neighborhood, is there someone whom you tease, who you taunt because they have a flaw, because they are fat, they are thin, for this reason or another? Think about it. And do you like to shame them or even hit them for this? Think about it. Please, for the sacrament of Holy Confirmation, make a promise to the Lord never to do this, and never let it be done in your college, in your school, in your neighborhood. Do you understand?

Youngsters: Yes! [Applause]

Pope Francis:Promise me: never, never tease or make fun of a schoolmate, someone in your neighborhood. Will you promise me this, today?

Youngsters: Yes.

Pope Francis:The Pope isn’t satisfied with your answer … Do you promise?

Youngsters: [loudly] Yes!

Pope Francis:Good. You have said this “yes” to the Pope. Now, in silence, think about how ugly this is, and think about how you are able to promise it to Jesus. Will you promise Jesus you will never bully?

Youngsters: Yes!

Pope Francis:To Jesus!

Youngsters: [loudly] Yes!

Pope Francis:Thank you. And the Lord bless you! My compliments to you [the young people responsible for choreography in the field]. You were very good!

Let us pray together. Our Father … [Blessing]

Pope Francis:Please, I ask you to pray for me. And before I leave, a question: who must I speak with more, at home?

Youngsters: With grandparents!

Pope Francis:Good! And you, parents, what must you do a bit more of with your children?

Parents: Play!

Pope Francis:Play. And you, educators, how must you go ahead with education, with which language? With that of the head, that of the heart, and that of the hands!

Thank you, and goodbye!

Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana (vatican.va)

VATICAN NEWS

The Pope’s words at the Angelus prayer

The Holy See Press Office • March 26, 2017

Vatican City — At midday today, fourth Sunday of Lent, the Holy Father Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to pray the Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

The following is the Pope’s introduction to the Marian prayer:

Before the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

At the center of the Gospel, this Fourth Sunday of Lent, are Jesus and a man blind from birth (John 9: 1-41). Christ restores his sight and works this miracle with a kind of symbolic ritual: first, He mixes the earth with saliva and rubs it on the blind man’s eyes; He then orders him to go and wash himself in the Pool of Siloam. The man goes, washes, and regains his sight. With this miracle, Jesus reveals Himself as the light of the world; and the man blind from birth is each one of us, created to know God but, because of sin we are like the blind, and need a new light. We all need a new light, that of faith, that Jesus has given us. Indeed, the blind man of the Gospel, regaining his vision, opens up to the mystery of Christ. Jesus asks him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (v. 35). “Who is He, sir, that I may believe in Him?” replies the healed blind man (v. 36). “You have seen Him and the one speaking with you is He” (v. 37). He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshipped him.

This episode causes us to reflect on our faith, our faith in Christ, the Son of God, and at the same time, it also refers to Baptism, which is the first Sacrament of the faith, the Sacrament that makes us “come to the light” by rebirth from water and from the Holy Spirit; as with to the man born blind, who opened his eyes after being washed in the Pool of Siloam. The man born blind and cured represents when we do not realize that Jesus is “the light of the world,” when we look elsewhere, when we prefer to rely on small lights, when we fumble in the dark. The fact that the blind man does not have a name helps us to see ourselves reflected, without our face and our name in his story. We too have been “enlightened” by Christ in Baptism, and so we are called to behave like children of light. This requires a radical change in mentality, an ability to judge men and things according to a new scale of values, which comes from God. The Sacrament of Baptism, in fact, demands a choice, firm and decisive, to live as children of light, and to walk in the light. If now I were to ask you, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Do you believe He can change your heart? Do you believe that He can show you reality as He sees it, not as we see it? Do you believe that He is light, that He gives us the true light?” What would you reply? Each one of you, answer in your heart.

What does it mean to have the true light, to walk in the light? It means first of all abandon false “lights”: the cold and foolish light of prejudice against others, because prejudice distorts reality and burdens us with aversion towards those whom we judge without mercy and condemn without cause. This is everyday life! When we talk of others, we do not walk in the light, we walk in the shadows. Another false “light,” seductive and unclear, is self-interest: if we evaluate people and things based on the criterion of how useful they are to us, of our pleasure, of our prestige, we do not make truth in relationships and situations. If we walk this path of seeking only personal interest, we walk in the shadows …

May the Blessed Virgin, who first welcomed Jesus, light of the world, grant us the grace to welcome again this Lent the light of faith, rediscovering the inestimable gift of Baptism, that we have all received. And may this new enlightenment transform us, in our attitudes and our actions, starting from our poverty, our littleness, to be bearers of a ray of Christ’s light.

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters,

Yesterday in Almería, Spain, José Álvarez-Benavides y de la Torre, and 114 companions, martyrs, were beatified. These priests, religious and lay people were heroic witnesses to Christ and His Gospel of peace and fraternal reconciliation. May their example and their intercession sustain the Church’s involvement in building the civilization of love.

I greet all of you from Rome, from Italy and from other countries, in particular the pilgrims from Córdoba, Spain, the youth of the Saint-Jean de Passy College in Paris, the faithful of Loreto, the faithful of Quartu Sant’Elena, Rende, Maiori, Poggiomarino and teenagers from the “Romana-Vittoria” deanery in Milan. And speaking of Milan, I would like to thank the Cardinal Archbishop and all the Milanese people for their warm welcome yesterday. I felt truly at home, with everyone, believers and non-believers. Thank you so much, dear Milanese, and I’ll tell you something: I found that it is true what they say: “In Milan, they welcome you with their heart in their hand!”

I wish you all a good Sunday. Please do not forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch, and goodbye!

Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana (vatican.va)

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As abuse survivor leaves, Vatican group aims to listen better to victims

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • March 27, 2017

Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. (Luxerendering via Shutterstock)

Vatican City — After a victim who suffered past clerical abuse resigned from the Vatican’s anti-abuse commission, the group is aiming for more effective ways to communicate with survivors and include them in its work.

According to a March 26 press release from the commission, members “unanimously agreed to find new ways to ensure its work is shaped and informed with and by victims/survivors.”

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) met March 24-26 at the Vatican for their eighth Plenary Assembly since being formed by Pope Francis in Dec. 2013.

The session came less than one month after clerical abuse survivor Marie Collins resigned from her position on the commission, citing pushback from certain Vatican dicasteries, specifically from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as one of the main reasons for stepping down.

In a March 1 communique announcing her decision, the commission praised Collins as someone who has “consistently and tirelessly championed for the voices of the victims/survivors to be heard, and for the healing of the victims/survivors to be a priority for the Church.”

In their latest meetings, commission members again voiced “strong support” for Collins and for “her continuing work to promote healing for victims of abuse and the prevention of all abuse of minors and vulnerable adults,” the press release stated.

Members also expressed gratitude that Collins has agreed to continue working with the commission in their educational programs for new bishops and with other offices of the Roman Curia.

With relation on how to best include survivors as they go forward, the commission’s statement said that they are carefully considering several ideas that have been successfully implemented in other places for recommendation to Pope Francis.

In addition, the commission discussed the response to communications from survivors/victims directly to their office and other offices of the Holy See, agreeing that “acknowledging correspondence and giving a timely and personal response is one part of furthering transparency and healing.”

They talked over the importance of responding “directly and compassionately,” while acknowledging that this is a major undertaking due to the volume of this type of correspondence the Holy See receives.

Each letter also requires a large amount of attention in order to give the specific resources and assistance necessary.

However, the commission agreed to send further recommendations on this matter to Pope Francis for consideration.

The latest plenary session of the PCPM immediately followed an educational seminar held March 23 at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. The event was co-hosted by the PCPM and the Gregorian University’s Center for Child Protection.

The day-long educational seminar focused on what the local church and institutions are doing to combat abuse of minors specifically in schools and the home, and was attended by at least half a dozen heads of Vatican departments, with every Vatican department represented in some way.

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Message of His Holiness Pope Francis to the United Nations Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading Towards their Total Elimination

The Holy See Press Office • March 27, 2017

Vatican City — Below is the full text of the message His Holiness Pope Francis sent from the Vatican on 23 March 2017 to Her Excellency Elayne Whyte Gómez, President of the United Nations Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading Towards their Total Elimination.

I extend cordial greetings to you, Madam President, and to all the representatives of the various nations and international organizations, and of civil society participating in this Conference. I wish to encourage you to work with determination in order to promote the conditions necessary for a world without nuclear weapons.

On 25 September 2015, before the General Assembly of the United Nations, I emphasized what the Preamble and first Article of the United Nations Charter indicate as the foundations of the international juridical framework: peace, the pacific solution of disputes and the development of friendly relations between nations. An ethics and a law based on the threat of mutual destruction – and possibly the destruction of all mankind – are contradictory to the very spirit of the United Nations. We must therefore commit ourselves to a world without nuclear weapons, by fully implementing the Non-Proliferation Treaty, both in letter and spirit (cf. Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations, 25 September 2015).

But why give ourselves this demanding and forward-looking goal in the present international context characterized by an unstable climate of conflict, which is both cause and indication of the difficulties encountered in advancing and strengthening the process of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation?

If we take into consideration the principal threats to peace and security with their many dimensions in this multipolar world of the twenty-first century as, for example, terrorism, asymmetrical conflicts, cybersecurity, environmental problems, poverty, not a few doubts arise regarding the inadequacy of nuclear deterrence as an effective response to such challenges. These concerns are even greater when we consider the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences that would follow from any use of nuclear weapons, with devastating, indiscriminate and uncontainable effects, over time and space. Similar cause for concern arises when examining the waste of resources spent on nuclear issues for military purposes, which could instead be used for worthy priorities like the promotion of peace and integral human development, as well as the fight against poverty, and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

We need also to ask ourselves how sustainable is a stability based on fear, when it actually increases fear and undermines relationships of trust between peoples.

International peace and stability cannot be based on a false sense of security, on the threat of mutual destruction or total annihilation, or on simply maintaining a balance of power. Peace must be built on justice, on integral human development, on respect for fundamental human rights, on the protection of creation, on the participation of all in public life, on trust between peoples, on the support of peaceful institutions, on access to education and health, on dialogue and solidarity. From this perspective, we need to go beyond nuclear deterrence: the international community is called upon to adopt forward-looking strategies to promote the goal of peace and stability and to avoid short-sighted approaches to the problems surrounding national and international security.

In this context, the ultimate goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons becomes both a challenge and a moral and humanitarian imperative. A concrete approach should promote a reflection on an ethics of peace and multilateral and cooperative security that goes beyond the fear and isolationism that prevail in many debates today. Achieving a world without nuclear weapons involves a long-term process, based on the awareness that “everything is connected” within the perspective of an integral ecology (cf. Laudato Si’, 117, 138). The common destiny of mankind demands the pragmatic strengthening of dialogue and the building and consolidating of mechanisms of trust and cooperation, capable of creating the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons.

Growing interdependence and globalization mean that any response to the threat of nuclear weapons should be collective and concerted, based on mutual trust. This trust can be built only through dialogue that is truly directed to the common good and not to the protection of veiled or particular interests; such dialogue, as far as possible, should include all: nuclear states, countries which do not possess nuclear weapons, the military and private sectors, religious communities, civil societies, and international organizations. And in this endeavor we must avoid those forms of mutual recrimination and polarization which hinder dialogue rather than encourage it. Humanity has the ability to work together in building up our common home; we have the freedom, intelligence and capacity to lead and direct technology, to place limits on our power, and to put all this at the service of another type of progress: one that is more human, social and integral (cf. ibid., 13, 78, 112; Message for the 22nd Meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Agreement on Climate Change (COP22), 10 November 2016).

This Conference intends to negotiate a Treaty inspired by ethical and moral arguments. It is an exercise in hope and it is my wish that it may also constitute a decisive step along the road towards a world without nuclear weapons. Although this is a significantly complex and long-term goal, it is not beyond our reach.

Madam President, I sincerely wish that the efforts of this Conference may be fruitful and provide an effective contribution to advancing an ethic of peace and of multilateral and cooperative security, which humanity very much needs today. Upon all those gathered at this important meeting, and upon the citizens of the countries you represent, I invoke the blessings of the Almighty.

Francis

Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana (vatican.va)

VATICAN NEWS

Visionaries’ canonization would ‘complete’ the Fatima centenary

CNA/EWTN News • March 28, 2017

Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto. (Public domain)

Fatima, Portugal — Fatima’s bishop has said the centenary of the locale’s Marian apparition would not be complete without the announcement of the canonization of Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the children who witnessed the apparition.

“I would consider the centenary to be incomplete without the canonization. I have had this hope. We are in time for it to be May 13, but everything depends on the exclusive competency of the Pope,” Bishop Antonio dos Santos Marto of Leiria-Fatima said at a recent press conference.

The bishop also spoke about the news that Pope Francis approved March 23 the decree recognizing a second miracle attributed to the intercession of both siblings. This opens the way for their canonization.

Together with their cousin Lucia Santo, the brother and sister witnessed the 1917 apparitions of Mary.

Francisco and Jacinta died soon after, in 1919 and 1920, respectively. Lucia became a Carmelite nun, and died in 2005.

Bishop dos Santos Marto said he received with “enormous satisfaction the news of the approval of the miracle.”

He acknowledged that the announcement was not a surprise because “I had confident hope.” However, he said, “I must confess I was caught by surprise by the date; I didn’t expect it to be so soon.”

“After this there’s just one remaining decisive step, which belongs to the Holy Father: choosing the date and location of the canonization.”

He indicated that information will not be available until the April 20 consistory.

Also present at the press conference was the postulator for the cause of canonization of Francisco and Jacinta Marto, Sister Angela Coelho. The religious is also the vice-postulator of the cause for the beatification of Sister Lucia.

Sister Coehlo pointed out that “the little shepherds, who died at the age of 10, will be the youngest saints in the history of the Church, with the exception of child martyrs.”

She said the miracle attributed to the intercession of the blessed involves the cure of a child in Brazil. The healing began to be studied in 2013, but “more details on the case are not allowed to be revealed” because it concerns a child and the need to protect the child’s identity.

Sister Coelho also spoke about the speed with which the theological approval came about after the medical validation of the miracle. “The theological argumentation was already prepared previously and all the documentation for Rome was immediately sent,” she said.

The postulator clarified that no announcement is expected concerning the process of beatification for Sister Lucia. “That’s a separate cause,” she explained.

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General Audience: Hope against all hope

The Holy See Press Office • March 29, 2017

Vatican City — This morning’s General Audience took place at 9:30 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, where the Holy Father Francis met with groups of pilgrims and faithful from Italy and all over the world.

In his address in Italian the Pope focused on the theme “Hope against all hope” (cf. Romans 4:16-25).

After summarizing his catechesis in several languages, the Holy Father addressed special greetings to the groups of faithful present. Then, after greeting the delegation of Iraqi superintendents, composed of representatives of different religious groups present at the audience, he invited those present to pray for reconciliation in Iraq.

The General Audience concluded with the recital of the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostolic Blessing.

Catechesis of the Holy Father

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

The passage from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans that we have just listened to is a great gift to us. Indeed, we are used to recognizing Abraham as our father in faith: today the Apostle enables us to understand that Abraham is, for us, a father in hope; not only father in faith, but also father in hope. And his is because in his story we can already perceive an announcement of the Resurrection, of the new life that defeats evil and death itself.

In the text we read that Abraham believed in the God that “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Rm 4:17), and then specifies, “He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead … or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb” (Rm 4:19). This here is the experience that we too are called to live. The God Who reveals Himself to Abraham is the God Who saves, the God Who brings us out from desperation and from death, the God Who calls to life. In the story of Abraham, everything becomes a hymn to the God Who liberates and regenerates; everything becomes prophecy. And it becomes thus for us, for we who now recognize and celebrate the fulfilment of all this in the Paschal mystery. Indeed, God “raised from the dead Jesus our Lord” (Rm 4:24), so that we too can pass in Him from death to life. And truly then Abraham will be well able to describe himself as “father of many nations,” inasmuch as he shines like the proclamation of a new humanity – us! – redeemed by Christ from sin and death, and introduced once and for all in the embrace of God’s love.

At this point, Paul helps us to bring into focus the very close bond between faith and hope. Indeed, he affirms that “in hope he believed against hope” (Rm 4:18). Our hope is not based on human reasoning, predictions and reassurances; and it manifests itself where there is no longer hope, where there is nothing to hope in any more, as with Abraham, faced with his imminent death and the barrenness of his wife Sara. The end was near for them, they could not have children, and in that situation Abraham believed and had hope against all hope. And this is great! The great hope is rooted in faith, and it is precisely for this reason that it is able to go beyond all hope. Yes, because it is based not on our word, but on the Word of God. In this sense too, then, we are called to follow the example of Abraham, who despite the evidence of a reality that seemed destined for death, he trusts in God, “fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised” (Rm 4:21). I would like to ask you a question: are we all convinced of this? Are we convinced that God wishes us well and that all that He promised us is able to bring it to fruition? But Father, how much do we have to pay for this? There is just one price: opening your hearts. Open your hearts and this strength of God will lead you ahead, it will do miraculous things and will teach you what hope is. This is the only price: open your heart to faith and He will do the rest. This is the paradox and at the same time the strongest, highest element of our hope! A hope based on a promise that from a human point of view seems uncertain and unpredictable, but which is no less even when faced with death, when it is the God of Resurrection and of life Who promises. This is not a promise from anyone? He Who promises is the God of Resurrection and of life.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us ask the Lord today for the grace to remain founded not on our securities, on our abilities, but rather on the hope that springs from God’s promise, like true children of Abraham. When God promises, He keeps His promise. He never reneges on His word. And so our life will assume a new light, in the awareness that He Who revived His Son will revive us too, and will make us truly one with Him, together with all our brothers in faith. We all believe. Today we are all in the square, we praise the Lord, we will sing the Lord’s Prayer, then we will receive the blessing. But this passes. But this is also a promise of hope. If today we have an open heart, I assure you that all of us will meet in the square of Heaven that never comes to an end. This is God’s promise, and this is our hope, if we open our hearts. Thank you.

Greetings in various languages: English

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from England, Scotland, Finland, Norway, the Philippines and the United States of America. I offer a special welcome to the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Holy See, with appreciation for their work. With prayerful good wishes that this Lent will be a time of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all.

Holy Father’s appeal

I am pleased to greet the delegation of Iraqi superintendents, composed of representatives of different religious groups, accompanied by His Eminence Cardinal Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. The richness of the dear Iraqi nation consists precisely in this mosaic that represents unity in diversity, strength in union, prosperity in harmony. Dear brothers, I encourage you to go ahead on this road and I invite you to pray that Iraq may find peace, unity and prosperity in reconciliation and harmony between the various ethnic and religious groups. My thoughts go to the civil populations trapped in the western districts of Mosul and those displaced by war, to whom I feel united in suffering, through prayer and spiritual closeness. In expressing my profound sorrow for the victims of the bloody conflict, I renew to all my appeal for every effort to be made to protect civilians, an imperative and urgent obligation.

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VATICAN NEWS

Holy Father’s letter to the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life for the Ninth World Meeting of Families (Dublin, 21-26 August 2018)

The Holy See Press Office • March 30, 2017

Vatican City — The following is the full text of the letter the Holy Father has sent to the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, His Eminence Cardinal Kevin Farrell, in preparation for the Ninth World Meeting of Families, to take place from 21 to 26 August in Dublin on the theme: “The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the world.”

Letter of the Holy Father

To the Venerable Brother Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life

At the end of the Eighth World Meeting of Families, held in Philadelphia in September 2015, I announced that the subsequent meeting with Catholic families of the world would take place in Dublin. I now wish to initiate preparations, and am pleased to confirm that it will be held from 21 to 26 August 2018, on the theme “The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the world.” Indeed, it is my wish for families to have a way of deepening their reflection and their sharing of the content of the post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia.

One might ask: does the Gospel continue to be a joy for the world? And also: does the family continue to be good news for today’s world?

I am sure the answer is yes! And this “yes” is firmly based on God’s plan. The love of God is His “yes” to all creation and at the heart of this latter is man. It is God’s “yes” to the union between man and woman, in openness and service to life in all its phases; it is God’s “yes” and His commitment to a humanity that is often wounded, mistreated and dominated by a lack of love. The family, therefore, is the “yes” of God as Love. Only starting from love can the family manifest, spread and regenerate God’s love in the world. Without love, we cannot live as children of God, as couples, parents and brothers.

I wish to underline how important it is for families to ask themselves often if they live based on love, for love and in love. In practice, this means giving oneself, forgiving, not losing patience, anticipating the other, respecting. How much better family life would be if every day we lived according to the words, “please,” “thank you” and “I’m sorry.” Every day we have the experience of fragility and weakness, and therefore we all, families and pastors, are in need of renewed humility that forms the desire to form ourselves, to educate and be educated, to help and be helped, to accompany, discern and integrate all men of good will. I dream of an outbound Church, not a self-referential one, a Church that does not pass by far from man’s wounds, a merciful Church that proclaims the heart of the revelation of God as Love, which is Mercy. It is this very mercy that makes us new in love; and we knowhow much Christian families are a place of mercy and witnesses of mercy, and even more so after the extraordinary Jubilee. The Dublin meeting will be able to offer concrete signs of this.

I therefore invite all the Church to keep these indications in mind in the pastoral preparation for the next World Meeting.

You, dear Brother, along with your collaborators, have the task of translating in a special way the teaching of Amoris Laetitia, with which the Church wishes families always to be in step, in that inner pilgrimage that is the manifestation of authentic life.

My thoughts go in a special way to the archdiocese of Dublin and to all the dear Irish nation for the generous welcome and commitment involved in hosting such an important event. May the Lord recompense you as of now, granting you abundant heavenly favors.

May the Holy Family of Nazareth guide, accompany and bless your service, and all the families involved in the preparation of the great World Meeting in Dublin.

From the Vatican, 25 March 2017

Francis

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VATICAN NEWS

Audience with participants in the General Chapter of the Order of Clerics Regular of Somasca

The Holy See Press Office • March 30, 2017

Vatican City — At 12:20 today, in the Consistory Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the participants in the 138th General Chapter of the Order of the Clerics Regular of Somasca, held in Albano Laziale, Rome, from 14 March to 1 April 2017 on the theme “Let us go over to the other side of the lake with our brothers with whom we want to live and die.”

The following is the full text of the Pope’s address to those present at the audience:

Holy Father’s address

Dear Brothers,

I am glad to welcome you and I greet you warmly, beginning with the Superior General, whom I thank for his words. The motto you have chosen for your general Chapter, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake with our brothers with whom we want to live and die,” is inspired by the words of Jesus (cf. Lk. 8:22) and refers to a crucial passage in the history of your Institute, grasping its prophetic value. Indeed, from 1921 a small group of Somascans left Europe for the distant shores of the American continent. It was a decisive missionary opening, which conferred new momentum and broad apostolic prospects to your religious family.

Now you have proposed to draw on the ideal motivations of that evangelizing impulse, to put them into effect today in the Church and in society, faithful to the charism of your Founder and taking into account the changing social and cultural conditions. In this discernment you are sustained by the spiritual fruits of the Somascan Jubilee 2011-2012, which have brought, and continue to bring, great benefits to your communities. In that significant circumstance, in which you gratefully commemorated the fifth centenary of the foundation of your Order, my venerated predecessor Benedict XVI sent a Message in which he urged you to follow the shining example of St. Jerome Emiliani, being sure to “take to heart every form of poverty in our young people, whether moral, physical or existential, and especially the poverty of love, the root of every serious human problem” (20 July 2011).

The ideal that drove Jerome Emiliani was the reform of the Church through works of charity. His plan was first to reform oneself in faithfulness to the Gospel, then the Christian communities and civil society, that cannot ignore the least and the marginalized but must instead go to their aid and promote their full human development. I too encourage you to remain faithful to the original inspiration and to “go out” towards injured and discarded humanity, with evangelically effective choices born of the ability to look at the world and at humanity with the eyes of Christ. The characteristic feature of your vocation is above all care for the least among us, especially orphans and troubled youth, according to the educational methods of your Founder, strongly focused on the person, on his or her dignity, and on the development of intellectual and manual abilities. And speaking of orphans, there are the new “semi-orphans”: those migrants, youngsters, children who come alone to our lands and are in need of paternal and maternal care. I would like to underline this: many come alone on the boats and are in need of this. This, among other things, is your task.

To make your service to the Gospel closer to the concrete situations of the life of people, you are working on new ways to accomplish your mission. In particular, starting from the current situation of your Order, you are facing the question of its international and intercultural features in relation to service to the poor and the least. I urge you to be attentive to the new forms of marginalization in the geographic and existential peripheries. Do not be afraid of “leaving the old wineskins,” addressing the transformation of structures where this prove useful to a more evangelical service that is more coherent with the original charism. These structures, in some cases, give false protection and limit the dynamism of charity and service to the Kingdom of God. I would like to repeat this: the structures, in certain cases, give false protection and limit the dynamism of charity and service to the Kingdom of God. But at the root of these processes there is always the joyful experience of the encounter with Christ and consecration to Him; there is the joyful demand of the primacy of God and of not placing anything before Him or things of the Spirit; there is the gift of expressing His mercy and His tenderness in brotherly life and in mission.

To offer adequate service in the field of child and juvenile disadvantage, you have the opportunity of involving Somascan laypeople, for greater effort in the social aspect of the charism. Human rights, protection of minors, the rights of children and adolescents, protection of child labor, and the prevention of exploitation and trafficking are the issues that must be faced with the liberating force of the Gospel, and at the same time, with suitable operational instruments and professional competences.

St. Jerome Emiliani, a contemporary of Luther, lived the laceration of Catholic unity with suffering; he cultivated and promoted in Italy the reform of the Church, “his most ardent thirst,” with works of charity, obedience to pastors, the contemplation of the crucified Christ and His mercy, catechistic teaching, fidelity to the Sacraments, the worship of the Eucharist, and love for the Virgin Mary. His example and his intercession drive us to consecrate our efforts to the proclamation of salvation in Christ, so that it may reach the people and communities of the nations in which you are present, and their traditions; in this way inculturation may proceed, the necessary condition for enabling the Church to take root in the world. In particular, I would like to encourage you to continue actively your work of forming catechists, lay animators and clergy. One of the gravest dangers, one of the strongest in the Church today, is clericalism. Work with laypeople, and may they carry on the work, may they have to courage to go on; while you sustain them and help them as priests, as religious. And this is a very valuable service to the local Churches, in communion with pastors and in union with all the Church and her living tradition.

Ecumenical dialogue also merits your contribution. The path to full unity is long, and requires patient listening to what the Spirit says to the Churches and, today in particular, to the ecclesial communities in Africa and in Asia, in which you work with apostolic zeal. The possible collaborations between all the baptized, and the search for greater fidelity to the one Lord, directly form part of the mission. May the Lord sustain your efforts in this regard.

Dear Brothers, there lies before you the task of continuing and developing the work, inspired by God, of St. Jerome Emiliani, declared by Pope Pius XI universal Patron of orphans and troubled youth. May renewed missionary zeal drive you to dedicate yourselves to the service of the Kingdom of God through the education of the young, so that they grow steadfast in faith, free and responsible, courageous in witness and generous in service. I encourage you to continue your journey of discipleship and your apostolic zeal, rich in numerous works and always open to new expressions, according the urgent needs of the Church and society in different times and places. Faithful to the charism of the Institute and united with pastors, you will continue to make a fruitful contribution to the evangelizing mission of the Church. I ask the Holy Spirit, by the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary, to enlighten you in the work of the Chapter, and I impart to you my heartfelt Apostolic Blessing.

Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana (vatican.va)

VATICAN NEWS

Holy Father’s greeting to participants in the meeting promoted by the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, ‘Luther: 500 Years Later’

The Holy See Press Office • March 31, 2017

Vatican City — At 11:50 this morning, in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the participants in the International Study Convention organized by the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences, on the occasion of the fifth centenary of the Lutheran Reformation (1517-2017) on the theme: Luther 500 years later: A rereading of the Lutheran Reformation in its historic ecclesial context, which took place in Rome from 29 to 31 March 2017.

The following is the full text of the Pope’s greetings to those present at the Audience.

Holy Father’s greeting

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Ladies and Gentleman,

I am pleased to greet all of you and to offer you a warm welcome. I thank Father Bernard Ardura for his introduction, which summarizes the purpose of your meeting on Luther and his reform.

I confess that my first response to this praiseworthy initiative of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences was one of gratitude to God, together with a certain surprise, since not long ago a meeting like this would have been unthinkable. Catholics and Lutherans together, discussing Luther, at a meeting organized by an Office of the Holy See: truly we are experiencing the results of the working of the Holy Spirit, Who overcomes every obstacle and turns conflicts into occasions for growth in communion. From Conflict to Communion is precisely the title of the document of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission prepared for our joint commemoration of the fifth centenary of the beginning of Luther’s reform.

I am particularly happy to know that this commemoration has offered scholars from various institutions an occasion to study those events together. Serious research into the figure of Luther and his critique of the Church of his time and the papacy certainly contributes to overcoming the atmosphere of mutual distrust and rivalry that for all too long marked relations between Catholics and Protestants. An attentive and rigorous study, free of prejudice and polemics, enables the churches, now in dialogue, to discern and receive all that was positive and legitimate in the Reformation, while distancing themselves from errors, extremes and failures, and acknowledging the sins that led to the division.

All of us are well aware that the past cannot be changed. Yet today, after fifty years of ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Protestants, it is possible to engage in a purification of memory. This is not to undertake an impracticable correction of all that happened five hundred years ago, but rather “to tell that history differently” (Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, From Conflict to Communion, 17 June 2013, 16), free of any lingering trace of the resentment over past injuries that has distorted our view of one another. Today, as Christians, we are all called to put behind us all prejudice towards the faith that others profess with a different emphasis or language, to offer one another forgiveness for the sin committed by those who have gone before us, and together to implore from God the gift of reconciliation and unity.

I assure you of my prayers for your important historical research and I invoke upon all of you the blessing of God, who is almighty and rich in mercy. And I ask you, please, to pray for me. God bless us all. Thank you.

Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana (vatican.va)

VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis makes surprise ‘Year of Mercy’-style visit

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • March 31, 2017

Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on March 16, 2016. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — Although the Jubilee Year of Mercy has officially ended, Pope Francis today made a surprise “Mercy Friday” visit to a center for the blind and visually impaired in Rome – showing that he doesn’t think works of mercy are just for special occasions – or years.

Continuing his tradition of performing a spiritual or corporal work of mercy on one Friday a month during the Church’s Jubilee of Mercy in 2016, the Pope went in the afternoon of March 31 to the St. Alessio-Margherita di Savoia Regional Center for the blind in Rome.

According to a March 31 communique from the Vatican, the Pope wished to make this visit as a “follow-up” to the private visits of the Jubilee.

This particular act of mercy, the communique stated, was to guests of the center, which organizes activities “aimed at social inclusion of the blind and visually impaired.”

During his visit, the Pope met with the different guests, some of whom have been blind from birth and others who have no vision or impaired vision due to a serious disease. Some of the guests have multiple disabilities.

Among the guests there are around 50 children who attend the center to receive practical training in life skills and in navigating daily activities, as well as 37 elderly people who are permanent residents of the facility.

Francis also greeted the president and director general of the center, the medical staff and volunteers.

Before leaving, he left a gift and signed a parchment for the center’s chapel, in memory of his visit. He returned to the Vatican around 6:00 p.m.

Pope Francis kicked off his monthly works of mercy in January 2016 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.

Other visits throughout the year included refugees, children, formerly sex-trafficked women, former priests, infants and the terminally ill.

In December 2016, Pope Francis said in an interview with the official website for the Jubilee of Mercy that he would be making “different gestures” of mercy once a month on Fridays during the Holy Year.

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WORLD NEWS

Abortion bill makes unlikely alliance of Bolivian clergy, feminists

CNA/EWTN News • March 27, 2017

(Unsplash)

Sucre, Bolivia — A bill in Bolivia that would allow abortions only for certain groups of women is uniting unlikely groups in opposition to the policy - namely, Bolivian bishops and pro-choice feminists.

Abortion is currently illegal in Bolivia except in certain rare cases, such as rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at risk.

The new legislation, proposed by the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, would decriminalize abortion during the first eight weeks of pregnancy in situations of extreme poverty, and would allow students and women with three or more children to be eligible for an abortion up to eight weeks.

The Catholic Bishops of Bolivia have said that the new proposal “seriously threatened” the right to life found in the Bolivian constitution.

“Life is a gift from God and no one can dispose of it under any circumstances,” said Bishop Aurelio Pesoa Ribera, the Secretary General of the Bishop’s Conference, according to Vatican Radio.

He also decried the new policy as targeting children born into poor circumstances, and said that it does not address the issues that lead to poverty.

“The proposal introduces a foreign ideological colonization that discards boys and girls born in fragile situations and accepts the sad violence of abortion as a way of providing solutions to social and economic problems.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, pro-choice feminists also voiced opposition to the bill, in part because it targets poor women.

“They should then promote vasectomies for poor and irresponsible men,” the feminist group Mujeres Creando told The World Weekly.

However, they believe that the government should allow access to abortion for all women up to eight weeks of pregnancy.

Although President of Bolivia Evo Morales is a member of the Movement for Socialism party, he has distanced himself from the controversy surrounding the bill, saying that he has not been involved in the proposal process. Abortion was decriminalized under certain circumstances in the country under Morales in 2014.

Most countries in majority-Catholic Latin America have very strict laws on abortion, with some countries allowing for it in certain circumstances, and only four countries allowing for abortion without restrictions.

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WORLD NEWS

Catholics are bringing health care to one of the world’s poorest countries

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 28, 2017

Children in Haiti. (Arindambanerjee via Shutterstock)

Port au Prince, Haiti — Catholics are banding together to bring life-saving health care to rural areas in one of the poorest countries in the world.

“The key thing that I saw was partnership. Catholic Medical Mission Board can’t do it alone,” Adam Kerrigan told CNA.

Kerrigan is the Catholic Medical Mission Board’s senior vice president for partnerships. In an interview, he described the new hospital his organization helped build in Côtes-de-Fer on Haiti’s Southern coast.

“We work with the bishops’ conference, with the ministry of health, and with the community together,” he continued.

The Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Center for Health, named for a late board member of the CMMB and the former auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn, opened on Haiti’s southeastern coast on Monday, providing health care to the area’s population who previously would have had to travel for hours to the nearest hospital for care.

After a catastrophic 2010 earthquake shook the country, most of the aid response focused on the country’s capital of Port-au-Prince, Kerrigan told CNA.

In the wake of the earthquake, there was “little attention was being paid to the Southern tier,” which was just as devastated as the north but harder to get to, Kerrigan said. The local bishop had asked the Catholic Medical Mission Board to bring supplies and volunteers to the area, which they did.

Bishop Guire Poulard was eventually moved to the archdiocese of Port-au-Prince but he still insisted that a hospital should be built in the south.

With the help of a $2 million matching grant from Mercy Health, a Cincinnati-based Catholic health care system, construction began on the hospital in Côtes-de-Fer in 2013. It will serve 50,000 Haitians in the region.

Child and maternal mortality is a big problem in the region, Kerrigan said, and the hospital will be primarily addressing the health of women and children. According to recent UN estimates, Haitian women have “a one in 80 chance of dying due to pregnancy or child birth, compared to the region-wide risk of one in 510.”

“Nutrition is really poor there, they have really poor crops,” he said, and so in addition to “trying to get the moms to come to the hospital and deliver” where they can receive the proper care, the board is also working to improve nutrition and reduce anemia in the area.

Also, “clean, potable water is essential,” he added, as the water in the area has high salinity.

The hospital was a partnership effort between the board, Mercy Health, the local church, the community, and Haiti’s public health ministry, he insisted.

“The community was at the very base of this beginning. We assessed what their needs were as they told us, and worked with them on those issues. We have a really strong commitment from the community to work with us to improve their health overall.”

Americans were quite responsive to the fundraising for the $2 million, Kerrigan said, from individuals and corporations to foundations and health systems contributing.

A “team from the Mercy Health system of doctors, nurses” and other medical staff also traveled down to Haiti to help local staff, he added.

The board has also started a CHAMPS program, or “children and mothers’ partnerships,” in order to provide a health center and better sanitation, clean water and nutrition in the area.

The whole health care initiative will be a 15-to-20 year project, Kerrigan acknowledged. Over the next 10 years, dental and ophthalmology facilities will be added to the hospital,” CMMB stated, and future doctors and nurses will be trained at the center.

“It’s a long-term struggle to overcome the health needs of a poor, rural community. And Côtes-de-Fer can be a model for us for the rest of Haiti,” he said.

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WORLD NEWS

Peru’s March for Life transforms into aid for flood victims

CNA/EWTN News • March 28, 2017

The March for Life in Lima, Peru. (March for Life Peru/Facebook)

Lima, Peru — The March for Life in Lima, Peru on Saturday was transformed into a Solidarity March, with volunteers gathering several tons of food and nearly 4,000 gallons of water for those who have lost their homes in the ongoing devastating floods throughout the country.

“The March for Life, faithful to its commitment to life, today becomes a Solidarity March with all the victims, because the Church must live with a beating heart, not just with prayer and the sacraments, but also with love for our neighbor with works of charity” said Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani of Lima.

In his Saturday radio program “Dialogue of Faith,” Cardinal Cipriani explained that the volunteer program had already set up canteens, tents and medical care in some of the hardest hit areas.

Heavy rains in Peru recently have led to devastating flooding and mudslides, with some 85 people dead and more than 111,000 suffering some damage or material loss, according to the latest report from the Center for National Emergency Operations.

The need for aid in the area is great, particularly for those who have lost their homes.

In light of the ongoing devastation, Cardinal Cipriani decided to cancel the March for Life and replace it with a collection drive for victims.

According to a news brief from the Archdiocese of Lima, the collection of donations was facilitated by more than 3,000 volunteers for the March for Life, who reached out to some 100 parishes in the Peruvian capital.

Fr. Luis Gaspar, representative of the Archdiocese of Lima, thanked “the thousands of Peruvians who today marched not only for the lives of the unborn children, but brought aid for our brothers in need. We are the largest march in Peru and today it was up to us to shoulder our responsibility.”

“Over the next few days, we will get organized to bring all this aid to the different places in Peru where this it is needed,” he added.

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WORLD NEWS

In DR Congo, political uncertainty after bishops withdraw from peace talks

CNA/EWTN News • March 29, 2017

(Imeduard via Shutterstock)

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo — Political unrest and uncertainty about the future have grown in the Democratic Republic of Congo, following the Catholic bishops’ withdrawal from mediation talks aimed to resolve national political tensions.

“We think that there’s no longer anything to do,” Msgr. Donatien Nshole, secretary general of the Congolese bishops’ conference, told Reuters on Tuesday. “We have given all our time and all our energy.”

The bishops’ conference helped negotiate a Dec. 31 agreement that aimed to avoid political crisis through securing a 2017 election that would choose the successor of Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila.

The agreement brought the country back from the brink of renewed civil war.

After the bishops’ latest announcement, the president’s opposition announced a nationwide protest for April 10. The largest party in the opposition coalition, UDPS, called on its supporters to hold “a big, peaceful march” and to “resist the dictatorship taking root.”

President Kabila’s office announced on television that talks would continue, saying “the current impasse must in no way signify a definitive rupture of the dialogue.”

Sporadic unrest and protests also broke out after the bishops’ announcement. Police fired shots and tear gas to dissuade some protesters.

Political unrest in Congo under President Kabila has been increasing since January 2015, after a bill proposed that the president could remain in power while a national census was conducted, potentially delaying presidential and parliamentary elections.

Protesters who saw the bill as a power grab by President Kabila took to the streets in what sometimes turned into deadly clashes with the country’s security forces.

In January 2017, the bishops had warned that the Dec. 31 agreement was at risk of unraveling unless political leaders worked quickly to compromise and implement it.

In February, Cardinal Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, the country’s capital, reported an arson attack on a seminary and a gang attack on a church that overturned a tabernacle, ransacked the altar, smashed some pews, and tried to set fire to the church. The cardinal told the pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need he thought the Church was being targeted deliberately “in order to sabotage her mission of peace and reconciliation.”

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WORLD NEWS

Facing large decline in priest numbers, an Irish diocese preps for change

CNA/EWTN News • March 30, 2017

(Diego Cervo via Shutterstock)

Longford, Ireland — In one Irish diocese, the number of active priests may halve in fewer than 15 years. As a result, Bishop Francis Duffy of Ardagh and Clonmacnois has aimed to prepare his flock to take on more active roles.

“This ongoing development will impact every parish in the diocese and will bring about considerable change in how the parishes are organized and also in the way the Good News of Jesus Christ is passed on to succeeding generation,” he said in a new pastoral letter. “Critically, there will also be an impact on the workload of priests and their welfare is our concern in this changing context.”

Bishop Duffy’s March 24 pastoral letter focused on sustaining the Catholic faith community in the diocese.

“Many of you will fondly remember when there were two or three priests working in your parish and where now there is only one. Three of our parishes do not have a resident priest,” he said. “This trend of a declining number of clergy is set to continue.”

The diocese is located in the northern area of the Republic of Ireland. At present, its 53 diocesan priests serve 41 parishes. The diocese has four priests serving from abroad and from missionary congregations.

The diocese has no seminarians in formation.

By 2030, 28 of the diocese’s 53 diocesan priests will have reached the retirement age of 75.

Bishop Duffy said that soon parishes may lack a resident priest or have to share a priest with a neighboring parish. This will affect every parish in the diocese and bring “considerable change.”

He offered his blessing and “heartfelt gratitude” to deacons, parish catechists, religious educators, lay ministers, and volunteers and workers in parish support roles.

These are “positive developments” amid the decline in the numbers of priests, Bishop Duffy said.

But the decline in priests’ numbers make it important that some responsibilities of the clergy will be shared with parishioners “even more so than at present.”

“At this time you and our priests have a unique and precious opportunity to serve the Lord by encouraging and engaging with each other to prepare for and take on responsibility for the formation, promotion and practice of the faith at local level in changing circumstances,” Bishop Duffy continued.

“We continue to pray for and promote vocations to priesthood and religious life. A time of decline in one area can be an opportunity for growth in other areas. I firmly believe the Lord is with us in change and will provide opportunities for the local church communities to continue to flourish in new ways.”

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WORLD NEWS

Don’t believe in hell? You haven’t seen Syria lately, cardinal says

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA/EWTN News) • March 30, 2017

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Rome, Italy — Six years after the start of the Civil War, Syria’s apostolic nuncio said that the country is in a “bloodbath” – a situation so desperate it leaves you with the impression of being in hell.

“I do not know how to describe these atrocities,” Cardinal Mario Zenari told CNA March 25. “I always say, whoever does not believe in hell, just go to (Syria) and it will convey the weight of hell.”

“In Damascus ten days ago we saw on the television, this display, these Kamikaze, seventy dead, forty dead, it is a bloodbath,” he said.

Cardinal Zenari has been the Vatican’s Apostolic Nuncio to Syria since 2008. A new cardinal, he was appointed by Pope Francis in the last consistory in November and came to Rome from Syria for his installation Mass at the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci March 25.

March 15 marked the sixth anniversary of the start of the Syrian Civil War. What began as peaceful demonstrations protesting ongoing human rights abuses and suppression of free speech erupted into a war that has killed hundreds of thousands and forced millions from their homes.

Today an end to the violence is nowhere in sight. The majority of Syria’s population has been displaced. And new threats that have grown out of the situation – most prominently ISIS – have only added to the chaos.

Asked if Pope Francis is likely to visit Syria, Cardinal Zenari said that “he’s ready to come,” but it’s a question of security, not only for him, but also for the people there.

“If the Pope comes to Syria he would have to stay at the nunciature” for safety, he said, but this causes problems because when the Pope visits a country he “must meet the people, meet the crowds.”

With the danger of suicide bombers in Damascus right now, the responsibility is too high for him to come, Zenari said. “If he’s ready, he’s ready but you have to say wait a bit just for the safety of all, of the faithful … because of what we see, really, these huge bloodstains.”

It is very important, the cardinal said, to continue to raise awareness of the “enormous suffering.” He is afraid that after a few years, people will gradually forget the trauma, stop talking about it. It is necessary that we keep talking, praying, and working to influence governments to help as well, he said.

“There are so many of our brothers and sisters here, and, I would say, all-in-all, there are people of all faiths suffering …”

However, minority groups such as Christians are under the highest risk from others, he said. They understand very well the Christian view of suffering as universal and like the cross.

But though there is so much atrocity, Cardinal Zenari explained that “there are also many beautiful examples of altruism.”

Many volunteers, probably more than one thousand by now, have lost their lives bringing aid to Syria, he said, so they have these examples of generosity, people he calls, “desert flowers.”

Several times he has heard people list these atrocities before international communities, Zenari said, and every time, they see and do nothing.

“You should notice more of this suffering of the civilians, especially women and children,” he said. “It is time to notice and not just read about this but realize it means to do something.”

Alvaro de Juana contributed to this story.

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Scientists: Jesus’ tomb faces major risk of collapse

CNA/EWTN News • March 31, 2017

Christ’s tomb within The Edicule (shrine) inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Israel. (Vadim Petrakov via Shutterstock)

Jerusalem, Israel — Having just undergone an extensive restoration, the site of Jesus’ tomb at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is at risk for significant structural failure if nothing is done to reinforce its foundations, scientists have said.

“When it fails, the failure will not be a slow process, but catastrophic,” Antonia Moropoulou, chief scientific supervisor with the National Technical University of Athens, told National Geographic in an exclusive interview.

A team of scientists with NTUA just recently completed a year-long restoration of the site believed to be the tomb of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. National Geographic has been extensively covering the restoration process.

During the restoration process, the team of scientists determined that The Edicule (Latin for “little house”), a small shrine within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre that encloses Jesus’ tomb, was resting on an unstable foundation of tunnels, channels, rubble and crumbling foundation mortar.

According to the Gospels, the body of Christ was laid in a new tomb hewn out of rock, in which no one had ever been buried. The Gospel of Mark details that the women who went to the tomb to anoint Christ’s body instead found that he had risen.

Veneration of Christ’s burial place dates back to St. Helena in the fourth century, who discovered and identified the tomb. St. Helena’s son, Emperor Constantine, built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 326 and enshrined the tomb.

The shelf on which Christ’s body was laid is the central point of veneration, which has been encapsulated by a 3-by-5 foot marble structure - the Edicule - since at least 1555.

Part of the reason for the unstable foundation is because the site was built on the remains of a limestone quarry that was once used to house tombs of upper class Jews.

Throughout the early history of the Christian church, various shrines surrounding the tomb of Jesus were built and subsequently destroyed, depending on who was in power.

The Edicule and the surrounding rotunda of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, complete with massive 22-ton pillars, rests on this unstable foundation of rubble and tunnels today. The site sees nearly 4 million visitors a year.

While the structural integrity of the site has been a concern for almost 100 years, National Geographic reports, disputes between the three main Christian groups that control the site - the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Patriarchates of Jerusalem and the Roman Catholic Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land - and a lack of funds prevented much restoration progress from being made.

Now, scientists are working with Church authorities to determine the best plan for restoration work on the foundation, which is estimated to cost 6 million euro and would take about 10 months.

Archeologists are also hoping to take advantage of the process, which would expose important archeological sites for the first time in centuries.

Scientists on the restoration team with NTUA are compiling the latest data into a report, which will be given to Church authorities of the three main Christian groups, who must reach an agreement before the process moves forward.

“This work is a collective work,” Moropoulou said. “It doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to all humanity.”

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This Mexican bishop met with gang leaders to protect threatened priests

by Eduardo Berdejo (CNA/EWTN News) • March 31, 2017

(Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Chilpancingo, Mexico — A bishop in Mexico’s Guerrero state, which suffers the most from drug- and gang-related violence, recently met with gang leaders in order to protect priests who were receiving death threats.

Bishop Salvador Rangel Mendoza of Chilpancingo-Chilapa told Radio Fórmula March 27 that since he came to the diocese in June 2015 his great concern has been to “promote peace, harmony, dialogue.”

“When I saw that some priests had been threatened by them, including one quite seriously, I took up the task of going to go see these people (the gang leaders) and talking with them,” he said.

Bishop Rangel related that he made the contact through third persons, and in his meetings he told the leaders of these gangs that “with the death (of a priest) we’re not going to be able to settle anything,” and that the situation in Guerrero will only deteriorate.

“As a bishop I must seek dialogue and peace,” he said.

He clarified that he has not met with all the violent groups present in the area and that there is a need “to engage in dialogue.” He recalled that “almost all of Guerrero is in the hands of drug traffickers” and that the solution also involves social development of the poorest population, with whom the authorities need to get involved.

Regarding the local authorities’ request for him to provide them information on these groups, the bishop pointed out that “I’m doing my pastoral work. I’m the bishop, I’m not the prosecutor. I think it’s up to him to investigate.”

“I’m a simple instrument of dialogue, of reaching out, because it’s not my obligation to bring people in or report on people. If they have opened up with me, if they’ve been sincere with me, I have to be loyal to them,” he said.

Fr. Benito Cuenca Mayo, spokesman for the Chilpancingo-Chilapa diocese, told CNA that more than one priest “has been caught up in this situation of the lack of security” and therefore the bishop “had to reach out to some crime group to dialogue with them.”

“Thanks to those meetings for dialogue he’s had with them, it has been possible to not have these lamentable incidents of death threats against some of our brother priests,” Fr. Cuenca said.

The spokesman noted that since his arrival at Chilpancingo, one of Bishop Rangel’s main pastoral actions “was to get to know the actual situation in the diocese and slowly he became more and more advised that violence in fact was a very delicate issue to address.”

In this regard, he recalled that more that once the bishop has stated his willingness to be an intermediary between the authorities and the criminal groups to bring about peace in the area, provided that “the parties to the conflict agree”

“A lot of progress would be made in the process of pacification in this area of Guerrero, but it’s not easy, it is a very delicate issue,” Fr. Cuenca pointed out. “He is willing to be an intermediary, which he has stated more than once.”

Earlier this month, the attorney general of Guerrero, Xavier Olea, acknowledged that the crime rate has gone up in Guerrero due to organized crime.

According to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, in January there were 165 murders throughout Guerrero, while in February, the number was 175, making this state the most violent in the country.

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U.S. NEWS

Texas pro-lifers target ‘wrongful birth’ lawsuits, Planned Parenthood

by Kevin J. Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • March 25, 2017

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Austin, Texas — Among the targets of Texas pro-life advocates are so-called ‘wrongful birth’ lawsuits and Planned Parenthood’s alleged involvement in the sale of unborn baby parts. Both are finding some success in the State Senate.

In some cases, parents of a child born with a disability such as Down syndrome have filed lawsuits against doctors claiming that they were not informed of a disability in time to procure an abortion. Such claims aim to secure the costs of raising the child, even lifetime costs.

Senate Bill 25 would prevent parents of children born with disabilities from suing their physician.

The bill, which has the support of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, passed the state senate by a vote of 21-9 March 21. It now heads to the Texas House of Representatives for consideration.

“We are thrilled that the Senate has passed S.B. 25, because it reverses a decades-old injustice and bad public policy that devalues babies, both unborn and born, who have a disability,” Joe Pojman, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life, told CNA March 23. “In our view, S.B. 25 eliminates wrongful birth lawsuits while holding doctors accountable to practicing good medicine.”

While opponents of the bill charged it would allow doctors to withhold information from parents about an unborn child, Pojman said the bill’s text explicitly excludes such a possibility.

He added that the bill is consistent with tTexas’ policy of promoting childbirth over abortion.

Meanwhile, Texas Alliance for Life’s top priority is the passage of S.B. 8, provisions of which would, in Pojman’s words, “shut down Planned Parenthood’s harvesting and sale of body parts harvested from the bodies of aborted babies.”

The bill passed the state senate March 15 by a bipartisan vote of 24-6. The House considered its own version March 22.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had called for such a bill in his January State of the State Address.

The bill follows an undercover investigation from the Center for American Progress which found Planned Parenthood staffers and leaders appearing to encourage the illegal sale of fetal tissue and unborn baby body parts for profit.

A Dec. 7, 2016 letter from the Select Investigative Panel of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce referred an unnamed Houston abortionist to the State Attorney General for alleged violations of a federal partial-birth abortion ban.

S.B. 8 would also bar partial-birth abortion, creating a criminal penalty for the physician and a cause for civil action for the father.

The bill has the support of the Texas Catholic Conference.

Another bill, S.B. 415, passed the state senate by a 21-9 vote.

The ban on “dismemberment abortions” would bar “dilation and evacuation” procedures, which use surgical instruments to grasp the unborn baby and remove his or her parts while he or she is still alive. The procedure is the most common second-trimester abortion procedure.

However, the Texas Alliance for Life opposed it.

“We look forward to the day when laws protect all unborn babies from abortion and the courts uphold those laws,” Pojman said. “Unfortunately, a ban on dismemberment abortion would never be enforced, and it would save no lives.”

He said the bill had zero chance to survive a federal court challenge and could create a precedent to make overturning Roe v. Wade more difficult.

“We believe it to be naive and harmful to pursue such legislation this session given the makeup of the Supreme Court now and for the foreseeable future. Since these bills will set the pro-life movement back rather than moving us forward, we cannot support these bills.”

A loss in federal court would also fund the abortion movement, as the state is required to pay plaintiff attorney fees if the plaintiff wins on constitutional issues.

Pojman pointed to the Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt case, which successfully challenged parts of a Texas law requiring more safety regulations at abortion clinics.

The abortion providers are asking for $4.5 million in legal costs.

“We do not know what they will end up receiving,” Pojman said. “We do know, however, that whatever the attorneys for the abortion providers receive will be used to attack other pro-life laws in Texas and in other states.”

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U.S. NEWS

New York City admissions error excludes Catholic school students

CNA/EWTN News • March 27, 2017

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New York City, N.Y. — Amid charges that a selective public high school excluded Catholic school students from admission, the principal insists it was due to a clerical error but still faces heavy criticism.

Maspeth High School, in the New York City borough of Queens, gives admission priority to students who live nearby and attend information sessions or open houses.

The school selected about 250 prospective students out of 1,000 applicants in its lottery.

However, the principal had failed to mark for priority status 207 students of Catholic schools who had attended an information session for Maspeth. Priority status would have placed them in the random lottery.

Instead, none of those 207 students were accepted, the New York Post reports.

Principal Khurshid Abdul-Mutakabbir told parents the omission was due to a “clerical error.”

“There was an error. There was a problem,” the principal said at a March 16 meeting of the Juniper Park Civic Association, the Queens Chronicle reports. “So there is no vast conspiracy against any of the parochial schools. Some of our best students come from parochial schools.”

As controversy grew, New York City Department of Education officials then entered 207 of the applicants from parochial schools into a second lottery. It offered seats to 66 of these students, who would make up about 15 percent of the freshman class.

Critics of the system charge that it is vulnerable to abuse by principals who want to exclude or favor certain students.

The president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, Bob Holden, told the New York Post that the principal had in a phone call described parochial schools as “a problem” because “many of the students opt out and don’t go to my school,” which costs the school funding.

Holden called for an investigation.

Parents may ask the city to re-do the entire lottery for the high school.

Among the parents critical of the school was Jimmy Guarneri, whose son Michael was not accepted. “We’re very angry,” he told the New York Post.

His son will go to a Catholic high school, but only received a partial scholarship. “I’m working two jobs as it is,” he said.

The second lottery meant many students were rejected twice, including the son of parent Santo Vicino.

“I haven’t seen my son cry before and he’s cried twice this past week,” Vicino told the New York Post.

“I need this school for my son’s health, safety and well-being,” he added. “I’m demanding a seat. I want what’s right.”

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U.S. NEWS

Arizona strengthens conscience protections for health care workers

CNA/EWTN News • March 28, 2017

The Arizona State Capitol building. (Ted Eytan via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0)

Phoenix, AZ — Health care providers and institutions opposed to assisted suicide gained more legal protections under a new Arizona law that aims to help ensure doctors and nurses aren’t fired for their beliefs if the practice is ever legalized.

Senate Bill 1439 was “an important rights of conscience bill,” according to the bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference.

“S.B. 1439 will help protect health care providers not wanting to participate in services causing the death of their patients,” the state’s four bishops said March 24, adding they were grateful that it has become law.

The bill lists assisted suicide, euthanasia, or “mercy killing” as some activities that a doctor, nurse or health care entity may decline to participate in.

Bill sponsor Sen. Nancy Barto said the bill would help ensure that individuals would not lose their jobs if they have objections to these practices.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed the legislation on Friday.

The Arizona bishops’ conference said federal law already protects health care providers who decline to participate in assisted suicide or similar actions, but the bill adds state-level protections and clarifies that providers cannot face discrimination in employment.

The bill bars discrimination against state health care providers and facilities if they refuse to assist in services that result in a person’s death or if they refuse to provide items that result in a person’s death.

Assisted suicide is illegal in Arizona, though the conscience protection bill comes at a time when several other states have legalized the practice.

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Supreme Court rejects Texas’ standards for executing the intellectually disabled

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 28, 2017

(FreeBird Photos via Shutterstock)

Washington D.C. — In a death penalty case with national implications, the Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a Texas court ruling that a man with possible intellectual disabilities was eligible for execution.

The Catholic Mobilizing Network hailed the Court’s ruling in Moore v. Texas as “the needed step towards justice for some of the most vulnerable in our society” and a “victory for life.”

“In affirming a person with intellectual disabilities should not be executed, the Court made it clear that states must uphold the needs of all of its citizens,” said Karen Clifton, executive director of the network. “CMN applauds the Court for calling attention to this grave injustice and demanding that we do better to provide justice for all involved in the legal system.”

In Moore v. Texas, a man Bobby James Moore had been convicted in 1980 – and again in 2001 on a retrial – of robbing a convenience store and killing an employee. He was given a death sentence.

A state habeas court, however, said that Moore met the clinical criteria for being intellectually disabled – which would exempt someone from execution under the Eighth Amendment, as the Supreme Court had ruled in Atkins v. Virginia in 2002.

With Moore, the habeas court used the standard “three-prong” test to determine intellectual disability, which is part of the clinical consensus on the matter, the Supreme Court found.

This test looked for “intellectual functioning deficits,” or an IQ score of around 70 adjusted for error, “adaptive functioning deficits,” and whether these deficits began to show when the person was still a minor.

A Texas criminal appeals court, however, disregarded five of Moore’s seven IQ scores that factored into the habeas court’s ruling, keeping only scores of 74 and 78 that Moore received in 1989 and 1973, respectively, and “discounted the lower end of the standard-error range associated with those scores,” as the Supreme Court’s opinion noted.

The appeals court ruled that according to an earlier medical standard of intellectual disability – which was in place before Moore was convicted in his 2001 re-trial – as well as according to the state’s “Briseno factors” test, Moore was eligible for the death penalty.

The Briseno factors test is a standard used by Texas in addition to the three-pronged standard for disability. The test includes questions like whether someone is able to lie, and if their neighbors thought they were disabled as a child. Critics have insisted that the factors are non-clinical.

Critics also note that the Briseno factors are not used to determine one’s eligibility for other state programs like social services. They have been used to deem others in Texas fit for the death penalty, including, in 2012, a man who scored a 61 on an IQ test.

Moore’s case was eventually appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5-3 decision on Tuesday, the Court overturned the criminal appeals court’s decision, saying the Briseno factors were outside of the clinical consensus means of evaluating one’s mental capacity and adding that the appeals court strayed from Supreme Court precedent in its decision.

Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said that although the Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia that executing an intellectually disabled person violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, states could still determine one’s eligibility for the death penalty so long as their standards were within the clinical consensus.

Some states, however, thought this decision gave them broader discretion than was warranted to determine disability, he said. States like Texas and Florida used non-clinical standards, which led to later cases like Moore and Hall v. Florida where the Court found those standards unconstitutional.

“I think what the Court intended in Atkins, that discretion was not set up so that states could nullify Atkins by creating inappropriate hurdles for proving intellectual disability,” Dunham noted.

The majority opinion in Moore, authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Anthony Kennedy, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan, “said the state’s discretion is not unfettered,” Dunham said.

“All the members of the Court agreed that the intellectual disability determination needs to be informed by the diagnostic framework.”

Texas’ Briseno standard for evaluating intellectual disability is “an invention of the CCA [Criminal Court of Appeals] untied to any acknowledged source,” the Court stated, saying the standards were an “outlier” as other states had not adopted them and Texas did not even use them for cases other than the death penalty.

“Not aligned with the medical community’s information, and drawing no strength from our precedent, the Briseno factors ‘creat[e] an unacceptable risk that persons with intellectual disability will be executed,’” the opinion stated.

“Mild levels of intellectual disability, although they may fall outside Texas citizens’ consensus, nevertheless remain intellectual disabilities,” they insisted.

The dissent, written by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, admitted that the Briseno factors “are an unacceptable method of enforcing the guarantee of Atkins.”

However, Roberts added that he did not think the appeals court “erred as to Moore’s intellectual functioning.”

Furthermore, the Court majority set about determining what was the “medical consensus about intellectual disability” when that judgment should be left to “clinicians,” Roberts insisted.

Ultimately, the Court sent a strong message not only to Texas but to other states who craft their testing for intellectual disability outside of the clinical consensus, Dunham said.

“This case, Moore and Hall read together, sends a clear message. That is, if you follow the clinical definitions of intellectual disability, you aren’t going to have these kinds of problems. When you start substituting lay stereotypes and myths for the clinical criteria, you’re risking having your court judgments overturned.”

“This decision sheds light on one of the many broken aspects of the death penalty. Today’s Supreme Court ruling is another step towards justice for all life,” Clifton stated.

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U.S. NEWS

New HHS official has strong background in religious freedom, civil rights

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 28, 2017

(Michal Kalasek via Shutterstock)

Washington D.C. — A new high-ranking official at the Department of Health and Human Services could give the agency a significant shift in how it treats religious freedom and life issues.

“Roger Severino, a seasoned champion of religious liberty and the pro-life cause, is just the right person to correct the course of HHS’s efforts at enforcing anti-discrimination principles in federal law,” said Matthew Franck, director of the William E. and Carol G. Simon Center on Religion and the Constitution at the Witherspoon Institute.

Franck spoke to CNA following Severino’s appointment as director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights.

Severino, a Harvard Law graduate, comes to HHS from the Heritage Foundation, where, according to his bio, he worked on religious freedom, marriage, and life issues and directed the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society in the Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity.

He wrote about concerns over the Pentagon’s radical new gender policy, his disagreements with the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Hellerstedt abortion case, and religious freedom concerns in the Little Sisters of the Poor case at the Supreme Court, among other issues.

Severino brings with him a strong background in the field of civil rights law. Prior to his work at Heritage starting in 2015, he served as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights division for seven years.

There, Severino litigated cases including HIV discrimination, racism, and housing discrimination.

One of the cases he worked on was United States v. Birdie Wren, where a 26 year-old mother – who was HIV-positive – and her four year-old son were denied consideration for an apartment lease in Chicago because of the woman’s medical condition.

In another case he worked on, United States v. Stonebridge at Bear Creek LLP et al., an apartment complex and the management company had systematically screened out persons of perceived Middle Eastern or South Asian descent and segregated them into separate buildings from the rest of the tenants.

The Justice Department successfully sought fines and damage payments for violations of the Fair Housing Act.

Before his time at the Justice Department, Severino was chief operations officer at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

He will be needed at HHS because of the agency’s recent bias against pro-life groups, Franck argued:

“During the Obama administration, HHS became an aggressive discriminator against employers, insurers, and health care providers who only wanted to be left alone to act on their moral principles in favor of innocent human life, and on their religiously informed consciences against cooperation with evil.”

For example, when the state of California forced employers – including churches – to include abortion coverage in health plans, the HHS office for civil rights would not honor a challenge to that mandate from churches and religious freedom advocates.

Then-director Jocelyn Samuels said the mandate did not violate the Weldon Amendment, which bars federal funding of states and localities that discriminate against health providers who refuse to perform or assist abortions. Samuels said the entities bringing the challenge were not themselves health providers.

The U.S. bishops’ conference called the office’s decision “shocking.”

Franck predicted that Severino could help in such cases, and that his appointment “is very good news for the advancement of that office’s true mission.”

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A lot more than just pensions could be decided in this Supreme Court case

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 29, 2017

The U.S. Supreme Court building. (Addie Mena/CNA)

Washington D.C. — A Supreme Court case about pension plans of religious hospitals could decide something much bigger – whether religious groups are legally part of churches.

“There’s really a big problem if you decide ‘church’ is sort of narrowly ‘worship,’” said Eric Rassbach, deputy general counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

“That’s really something that a church should be deciding, whether they just worship or whether they go out and serve other people outside of the four walls of the sanctuary,” Rassbach told CNA.

The Supreme Court on Monday heard oral arguments in Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton, a consolidation of three cases involving the pension plans of religious hospitals like Advocate and St. Peter’s HealthCare System in New Jersey.

The employers are looking to move the plans, regulated like other plans of for-profit corporations, into a religious category exempt from some of those regulations.

The law in question, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, regulates pension plans of for-profit corporations, requiring the employers to hold an additional amount of funds in reserve. Setting up these reserves could be cost-prohibitive especially for community hospitals, some of whom “are not going to be able to do that,” Rassbach said.

“If Advocate and hundreds of other religious hospitals around the country were forced to follow for-profit rules, money currently used to serve the poor and inner city communities would be lost and many would be forced to shut down,” the Becket Fund argued.

Congress has recognized a religious exemption for pension plans of churches, and entities like St. Peter’s Hospital in New Jersey applied for this exemption after operating their pension plans according to the federal regulations for years. The plaintiffs bringing the suit, employees of the health care networks, claim their pension plan agreements are being unfairly altered.

The religious exemption applies to plans “established” and “maintained” by churches. In the case of St. Peter’s HealthCare, decided by the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the court ruled that since the Catholic Church (through a diocese or parish) did not “establish” the pension plans, they were not eligible for the ERISA religious exemption, even if a “church agency” like a religious order set up the plan.

St. Peter’s is a non-profit health care system sponsored by the Diocese of Metuchen. The court conceded that it has Catholic ties, like daily Mass offered at the hospital, Catholic devotionals present there, and many board members who are appointed by the local bishop.

“But can a church agency, in addition to maintaining an exempt church plan, also establish such a plan? The District Court concluded that it cannot. We agree,” the appeals court decided.

It also conceded that for years, plans set up by “church agencies” were recognized by the courts as religiously exempt: “In the decades following the current church plan definition’s enactment in 1980, various courts have assumed that entities that are not themselves churches, but have sufficiently strong ties to churches, can establish exempt church plans.”

“However,” the court added, “a new wave of litigation, of which this case is a part, has sprung up in the past few years and has presented an argument not previously considered by courts – that the actual words of the church plan definition preclude this result.” New lawsuits are shedding light on the “plain text” of ERISA that churches and only churches can set up pension plans that meet the religious exemption, the court said.

There are around 100 similar lawsuits involving religious hospitals – many of which are Catholic, Rassbach noted. New litigation is “taking from the poor to give to the rich class-action lawyers,” he argued.

Not only did the courts recognize that these religious entities were eligible for the pension exemption, but the IRS did as well, he maintained.

This question was raised in Monday’s oral arguments, where Justice Stephen Breyer pressed James Feldman, representing the respondents suing the health care networks, on whether orders like the Little Sisters of the Poor should be recognized as part of churches.

Justice Breyer asked “if it’s a legitimate organization like, let’s say the Little Sisters of the Poor, really affiliated with the church,” if they would be recognized as part of a church.

The U.S. bishops’ conference and religious freedom legal groups like the Becket Fund and Alliance Defending Freedom have sided with the health care networks in the case, saying that it is a religious freedom issue.

In their amicus brief siding with the St. Peter’s HealthCare and Dignity Health, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops argued that while Catholic health care providers may not be officially part of a church or parish structure, their plans should meet the religious exemptions under ERISA.

“Indeed, charity has always been a core component of the Catholic Church’s activities, ‘as essential to her as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel,’” the USCCB said, quoting Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Deus Caritas Est.”

This charity is lived out “through myriad Catholic ministries” like health care providers, they added, which should be treated as part of the Church.

And these charities may or may not be directly affiliated with Catholic dioceses and parishes or with the Holy See, they continued, “yet, as a matter of Catholic theology, the various ministries that the Church recognizes as Catholic ministries are all part of the Church” even though “they may be (and often are) civilly, structurally, and financially independent entities.”

These employers must be given a religious exemption, the bishops’ conference added, saying that “long before” the ERISA regulations were enacted for pension plans, “Catholic charitable organizations provided their workers with generous benefits.”

“In recognition of that reality (which is not unique to the Catholic Church), and to avoid imposing potentially crushing new obligations on such organizations, Congress has long exempted the benefit plans of church-affiliated organizations from the sometimes burdensome requirements of ERISA,” they continued.

And the Court must recognize this, they concluded, or this could bring about more problems in determining which religious groups are treated as part of a church.

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What happens when babies survive abortion? A doctor’s alarming response

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 29, 2017

(Unsplash)

Washington D.C. — A new undercover video shows an Arizona abortion clinic doctor saying her facility’s treatment of babies who show “signs of life” after an abortion depended on “who’s in the room.”

Dr. DeShawn Taylor, who runs an abortion and Ob/Gyn clinic in Phoenix, Ariz. and who was formerly the medical director at Planned Parenthood Arizona, was filmed undercover saying that according to Arizona law “if the fetus comes out with any signs of life” at an abortion clinic, “we’re supposed to transport it … to the hospital.”

However, when asked on camera, if at her clinic “is there any standard procedure for verifying signs of life?,” she didn’t answer with a specific procedure, but rather said: “I mean, the key is you need to pay attention to who’s in the room, right? Because the thing is the law states that you’re not supposed to do any maneuvers after the fact to try to cause demise so it’s really tricky.”

Arizona law mandates that clinics call emergency services if a fetus survives an abortion or has signs of life such as breathing, heartbeat, “umbilical cord pulsation,” or “definite movement of voluntary muscles.”

Additionally, if an abortion is performed after 20 weeks gestation, there must be “at least one person who is trained in neonatal resuscitation … present in the room” to provide emergency care to a “viable fetus.”

The undercover video was filmed by members of the Center for Medical Progress and is the latest in their Human Capital Project, a series of investigative videos on the fetal tissue trade that first aired in 2015.

David Daleiden, the project lead for Center for Medical Progress, was charged with 15 felonies by California Attorney General Xavier Beccera on Tuesday, related to his work on the undercover videos of conversations with Planned Parenthood and tissue procurement officials.

Beccera is a former Democratic member of Congress. He and former state attorney general Kamala Harris – now a U.S. senator – received thousands of dollars from Planned Parenthood and other pro-choice groups in their congressional elections, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Members of the Center for Medical Progress, posing as representatives of a tissue procurement company, approached current and former Planned Parenthood officials at a George Tiller Memorial Networking Reception in October of 2014, and secretly taped their conversations.

One of the former officials was Taylor, who worked at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and was the medical director at Planned Parenthood Arizona before moving to her own abortion and Ob/Gyn practice in Phoenix, where she was at the time of the conversation.

She said her clinic received abortion referrals from Planned Parenthood, and performed an average of 30 abortions per week.

Posing as representatives of BioMax, CMP asked Dr. Taylor how they could collaborate on the transfer of fetal tissue from abortion clinics in the Phoenix area.

When asked about abortion procedures for ensuring intact baby body parts for tissue harvesters, Taylor noted that “part of the issue is, it’s not a matter of how I feel about it coming out intact, but I got to worry about my staff and peoples’ feelings about it coming out looking like a baby.”

She was then asked about using digoxin, a feticide sometimes used to kill the baby before an abortion procedure, which could render the fetal tissue unsuitable for harvesting.

Taylor said, “that really presents an issue because in Arizona, if the fetus comes out with any signs of life, we’re supposed to transport it … to the hospital.” Digoxin, she said, ensures the baby is dead after an abortion procedure.

Taylor was asked if her clinic had a procedure for determining if a baby showed signs of life after an abortion. She replied that “the key is you need to pay attention to who’s in the room, right?”

She continued, explaining the law’s requirements as a reason for why she mostly uses digoxin to ensure the baby is dead in an abortion.

“Because the thing is, the law states that you’re not supposed to do any maneuvers after the fact to try to cause demise so it’s really tricky,” she said, adding that “most of the time we do dig[oxin], and it usually works. And then we don’t have to worry about that because Arizona state law says if there’s signs of life, then we’re supposed to transport them. To the hospital.”

“Yeah, it’s a mess, it’s a mess,” she said.

Daleiden accused Taylor of breaking the law.

“This footage shows a longtime Planned Parenthood abortion doctor willing to sell baby parts for profit, use criminal abortion methods to get more intact body parts, and even cover up infanticide. This doctor was trained by Planned Parenthood’s Senior Director of Medical Services, and encouraged by her to participate in the fetal body parts market.”

Taylor clarified in the video that she no longer worked at Planned Parenthood, but had her own clinic.

“Well I used to work for them [Planned Parenthood Arizona], and then I left them, and so they’re still recovering,” she said to laughter, when asked why she sees referrals from Planned Parenthood.

Also in the video, she expressed her concern when a dead baby is delivered intact after an abortion procedure. “Arizona is so conservative, I just don’t even want to send a full fetus to – for cremation, or any of that,” she said.

Taylor also went into graphic detail on obtaining intact body parts from abortion procedures, especially through induction.

She noted that “we’re going to start the procedure before we get to that point” of where the baby’s head comes out with enough dilation. “So it’s really like, in order to get you an intact calvarium, the patient’s really going to have to go into labor,” she added.

“So, ideally, you know the patient would have dilated in the E-phase enough that it’s all just going to come out,” she said.

She joked about going to the gym to better perform more strenuous late-term abortions.

“Research shows that dig[oxin] doesn’t make the procedure easier in someone who is well-trained, but I have to tell you anecdotally, my biceps appreciate when the dig works,” she said of procedures where digoxin kills the baby in an abortion.

“So I remember when I was a fellow and I was training and I was like ‘oh, I have to hit the gym for this … I need to hit the gym,” she said. When asked “at what age does it start getting really difficult?” she responded “at 20 weeks [gestation].”

Pro-lifers were appalled at the revelations in the video.

It “once again lays bare the inhumanity of abortion,” stated Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List.

“The abortionist may laugh as she describes the force needed to dismember a five-month-old unborn child struggling to survive, but even the staff are not immune to the terrible sight of aborted children and babies possibly born alive and left to die.”

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) argued for a ban on abortions performed after 20 weeks gestation – the late-term abortions described in Taylor’s “gym” comments.

“Science has shown that children as young as 20-weeks-old can feel pain, yet these same children are subjected to horrific abortions, being crushed and dismembered,” he said.

He also insisted on federal legislation protecting infant survivors of abortion.

“Some babies, though miraculously, survive a botched abortion and instead of receiving life-saving care, are left to die on a hospital table. It’s time to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. We cannot be a nation that does this to our children,” he said.

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Planned Parenthood investigators reject ‘bogus’ felony charges

CNA/EWTN News • March 29, 2017

(Glynnis Jones via Shutterstock)

San Francisco, CA — The undercover journalists whose work appeared to implicate Planned Parenthood officials in the illegal sale of unborn baby body parts now face 15 felony charges in California, but one insists the allegations are phony.

David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress characterized the allegations as “bogus charges from Planned Parenthood’s political cronies.”

“The public knows the real criminals are Planned Parenthood and their business partners like StemExpress and DV Biologics – currently being prosecuted in California – who have harvested and sold aborted baby body parts for profit for years in direct violation of state and federal law,” he said March 28.

California Attorney General Xavier Beccerra has charged that Daleiden and his co-investigator Sandra Merritt filmed 14 people without their consent in Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Francisco and El Dorado. The two are also charged with conspiracy to invade privacy.

Beccerra said his office “will not tolerate the criminal recording of confidential conversations.”

“The right to privacy is a cornerstone of California’s Constitution, and a right that is foundational in a free democratic society,” he said Tuesday.

Data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit, nonpartisan funding watchdog, appear to show that Beccerra has received several minor donations from Planned Parenthood, totaling some $6,000 in the last 20 years.

In the current case, court papers claim the undercover investigators’ surreptitious recording of officials involved in Planned Parenthood and other sections of the abortion industry were illegal. An affidavit filed in San Francisco Superior Court justified the conspiracy charges on the grounds the investigators used pseudonyms, fake California drivers’ licenses, and a front medical research company, Biomax Procurement Services, in order to secure a booth at the National Abortion Federation’s 2014 conference in San Francisco.

Daleiden compared the California charges to Texas charges that had been filed against him and dismissed in June 2016, including a charge he had used a fake California driver’s license to access a Texas Planned Parenthood building.

“They tried the same collusion with corrupt officials in Houston, Texas and failed: both the charges and the district attorney were thrown out,” he said.

The Center for Medical Progress videos gave great momentum to efforts to end state and federal taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, which receives about half a billion dollars in federal funds annually, about 40 percent of its operating budget. While this money is forbidden by law from funding abortions, critics charge that these rules may not always be followed, and that any federal funding frees up other money for abortions.

In January 2017, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives Select Investigative Panel investigating fetal tissue procurement released its report declaring that there are abuses and possible criminal violations in the area. The procurement of fetal tissue for profit is illegal.

Although a dozen states opened investigations into the organizations involved, they did not find legally admissible evidence of wrongdoing.

Backers of Planned Parenthood have charged that the videos were deceptively edited, a charge Daleiden has strongly contested, releasing the full videos to support his claim.

Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Mary Alice Carter said that the California charges show “the only people who broke the law are those behind the fraudulent tapes.” Carter denied that Planned Parenthood has done anything wrong.

Vicki Saporta of the National Abortion Federation charged that the videos resulted in a “flood of hate speech, threats and violence” to abortion providers.

Daleiden, however, defended his work.

“We look forward to showing the entire world what is on our yet-unreleased video tapes of Planned Parenthood’s criminal baby body parts enterprise, in vindication of the First Amendment rights of all,” he said Tuesday.

On March 29, the Center for Medical Progress released its latest video, which involved Dr. DeShawn Taylor, a past medical director of Planned Parenthood who served as an abortion provider at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles.

The video appeared to show Taylor saying her facility’s treatment of babies who show “signs of life” after an abortion depended on “who’s in the room.”

The release of the investigation’s first video took place in July 2015. It and subsequent videos have drawn a massive response from Planned Parenthood and its allies. A 2015 grant listing from the Open Societies Foundation, published after a foundations’ computer system was hacked, found a planned $7-8 million campaign to respond to the videos. The Hewlett Foundation and the Democracy Alliance were named as other partners in the campaign.

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Pence casts tiebreaking vote as Senate advances pro-life measure

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 30, 2017

Vice president Mike Pence. (Gino Santa Maria via Shutterstock)

Washington D.C. — Vice President Mike Pence cast the deciding vote in the Senate Thursday to advance a measure allowing states to once more have the freedom to avoid funding Planned Parenthood clinics with federal “family planning” grants.

The vote was “a victory for all Americans who don’t want to see their tax dollars subsidizing the abortion industry and its ghoulish trafficking in aborted baby’s organs,” Maureen Ferguson, senior policy advisor with The Catholic Association, stated on Thursday.

At issue is a rule created by the Obama administration last December which forbade states to withhold Title X “family planning” grants to Planned Parenthood clinics on account of the fact that they perform abortions. States had been instead looking to fund other health clinics.

On Thursday, the Senate was voting to advance a joint resolution of disapproval that already passed the House. It would cancel the HHS rule.

With Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) joining Democrats in opposing the repeal, the vote was evenly divided 50-50 before Pence broke the tie and voted for its advancement.

It was the “first abortion-related vote in the Senate” since 2015, according to the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List.

“We are so grateful that Vice President Mike Pence, who began the battle to defund the Planned Parenthood abortion corporation when he was a Congressman, traveled up Pennsylvania Avenue to cast the tie-breaking vote in defense of human dignity and babies lives,” Ferguson stated.

Back in December, the Department of Health and Human Services ruled that states could only withhold Title X “family planning” funds from health centers if the clinics failed to adequately provide the range of services the funding was meant for, like contraceptives, pregnancy tests, and infertility treatments.

Thus, the fact that Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider could not be the factor for states withholding Title X funds from their clinics.

According to Planned Parenthood’s most recent fiscal year report from 2014-15, the organization performed over 323,999 annual abortions. It received over $550 million in federal, state, and local funds in that year, or “government health services grants & reimbursements.”

The organization has drawn controversy for its role in the trade of fetal body parts from aborted babies, obtained by tissue harvesters and ultimately used for purposes like medical research.

The Center for Medical Progress had aired a series of undercover videos, starting in the summer of 2015, from conversations they had with Planned Parenthood officials. The videos showed doctors discussing prices for fetal tissue with actors posing as tissue harvesters.

The organization was investigated by states, but has not currently been charged for illegal sales of tissue – reimbursement at “reasonable” levels for expenses like operating costs is allowed by federal law. However, a House Select Investigative Panel released a report in January detailing some abuses within the organization.

For instance, Planned Parenthood officials had admitted that clinics had not followed the organization’s procedures on important matters like fetal tissue transfers or ensuring that abortion procedures were not illegally altered for the purpose of tissue harvesting.

Another investigative report released around the same time by the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute showed that, according to federal audits, Planned Parenthood clinics had overbilled Medicaid reimbursements and other public health funds by a total of over $130 million.

In some cases in Nebraska and New York, public funds including Medicaid reimbursements had paid for abortion-related claims and services at Planned Parenthood clinics, according to audits.

States should be free to disperse Title X funds to clinics they believe provide true health care, especially in light of Planned Parenthood’s recent controversies, insisted Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List.

If the resolution is passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump, it would “undo former President Obama’s parting gift to the abortion industry,” she stated.

“Never again will the federal government thwart efforts by states that – acting on the will of the people – want to fund real women’s health care, not abortion.”

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In North Carolina, more changes for disputed bathroom law

CNA/EWTN News • March 31, 2017

(AR30mm via Shutterstock)

Raleigh, N.C. — North Carolina has modified its law on gender identity and the use of bathrooms and locker rooms, after facing pressure from LGBT activists and their allies in business, sports and entertainment.

But some say the changes take the wrong path.

“Every North Carolinian deserves to have their privacy respected in intimate settings like locker rooms and restrooms,” said Kellie Fiedorek, legal counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom, March 30.

“One of government’s essential duties is to protect the citizens it governs, not to create uncertainty about whether showers and locker rooms will still be safe for women and girls,” she said. “North Carolina’s economy is booming, so the state should not let the NCAA and others dictate the state’s policies and sell out their citizens’ interests based on flat-out lies about an economic doomsday that never happened.”

Fiedorek charged that the legislature “failed families by giving into hypocritical bullies.”

The repeal bill removes the portion of the 2016 law H.B. 2 that had said that in public buildings and schools, people must use the restrooms and locker rooms that align with the biological sex on their birth certificate, rather than their self-perceived “gender identity.”

Supporters of the 2016 law said distinctions on the basis of sex are necessary for private areas such as restrooms and shower facilities. They warned that the ordinance would allow any biological male into the women’s restrooms, which could lead to instances of assault.

The law drew protests from influential corporations and entertainment figures, while the Obama administration’s Justice Department, operating under a new interpretation of anti-discrimination law, contended that it violated civil rights protections on the basis of sex.

The National College Athletics Association had moved its 2016-2017 championship events out of the state because of the bill.

H.B. 2 was passed in response to a Charlotte City Council Ordinance that would have, among other provisions, allowed individuals to use restroom facilities based on their self-perceived “gender identity.”

The 2016 measure had been signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory, who was defeated in the 2016 elections by Democrat Roy Cooper. Gov. Cooper had promised to repeal the law.

The new governor, who is seeking anti-discrimination protections for sexual orientation and gender identity, said the latest legislation was not his preferred solution.

The new modifications passed the House 70-48 and the Senate 32-16. It reserves to the state legislature the right to regulate bathroom access. It also bars local governments from passing any new nondiscrimination ordinances or amendments applying to private employment and public accommodation until the year 2020.

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Double movie review: ‘Wilson’ and ‘Life’

by Carl Kozlowski • March 24, 2017

This week, we offer two very different kinds of movies: the new character-driven, quirky comedy “Wilson” starring Woody Harrelson in a role tailor-made for his offbeat personality and edgy humor, and the sci-fi horror thriller “Life,” which stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds among a team of astronauts aboard the International Space Station fighting for their lives against a malevolent life form from Mars.

While Harrelson has morphed with age from being a full-on movie star to one of the most in-demand supporting actors around, his new movie “Wilson” offers him a chance to stand front-and-center in a role that colorfully covers a spectrum of emotions. The problem is that, despite tackling their roles with gusto, Harrelson and an ace supporting cast play mostly obnoxious characters stuck in a plot that never really goes anywhere.

Harrelson plays the title character, an aimless, sarcastic misanthrope living in the nondescript city of St. Paul, Minnesota, who spends his days walking around with his dog and attempting to force conversations with strangers who want to run away within moments of encountering him. Middle-aged and alone, he is shocked out of his static existence by two pieces of news: that his best and only friend Robert (Brett Gelman) is moving to St. Louis and that his elderly father is dying of lung cancer. A string of odd encounters, including a bad date with a woman (Margo Martindale) he has absolutely nothing in common with, leads to him tracking down Pippi (Laura Dern), his former wife who seemingly had an abortion before leaving him 17 years ago.

Wilson thought that Pippi had ruined his chances at ever being a father, but after they get involved again, Pippi reveals that she actually had the baby and gave it up for adoption. Elated that he is a dad after all, Wilson convinces the equally scruffy Pippi — who at one point after leaving him became a crack-addicted hooker, but is now recovered — to join him in tracking down the now-teenage Claire (Isabella Amara), only to find that she’s an overweight and comically embittered misfit.

Attempting to make up for lost time in his own oddball way, Wilson keeps attempting to hang out with Claire, and eventually convinces her to come along with himself and Pippi to visit Pippi’s upper-crust, perfect sister Polly (Cheryl Hines). The idea is to make Polly believe that they’ve attained familial bliss, but things quickly go awry, resulting in all manner of mishaps.

This may sound like a clever set of circumstances, but the screenplay by Daniel Clowes — who adapted his own graphic novel of the same name — is too random for its own good. It’s impossible to describe the plot concisely because events keep spinning the characters into endless directions that often change without making much of a mark.

“Wilson” is stuffed with moments that director Craig Johnson (“The Skeleton Twins”) clearly hopes will be hilarious but which mostly fall flat because of the characters’ utterly unpleasant natures. While properly placed profanity can help spark huge laughs in some comedies, the foul language here is almost non-stop and winds up feeling like a crutch for shapeless and uncertain writing. There is also a brief, clothed sex scene.

Even worse, the movie features a couple of scenes in which Wilson openly mocks the Christian faith. Add in the fact that there are plot and character holes throughout, and “Wilson” winds up being too much flash and not enough substance on an artistic level, and offensive on a moral one.

Meanwhile, “Life” features the story of a crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) who find themselves fighting for their lives after a seemingly innocent, tiny cellular life form adapts quickly into an ever-growing, malevolent creature that seeks to kill them and absorb their strength and intelligence when the astronauts try to exploit it for science.

The movie opens with the ISS crew awaiting an approaching probe from Mars, which is hurtling through space towards them with soil samples they hope will include the first evidence ever of life existing beyond earth. The lead analyst, Hugh (Ariyon Bakare), discovers that there is indeed a moving, microscopic organism that has come with the sample, and is excited because it’s the first evidence of life ever beyond Earth.

Humanity is excited as well, with a young girl winning a contest to name the organism and calling it Calvin. Hugh quickly becomes attached to Calvin, speaking of it with affection, while the other scientists, led by Miranda (Rebecca Ferguson) and a doctor named David (Jake Gyllenhaal), are first in awe of Calvin, while sarcastic engineer Rory (Ryan Reynolds) warns them that they’re getting too attached.

When Hugh attempts to sting Calvin with an electric wand to see how it reacts, it latches onto and crushes his hand and almost instantly grows to a very visible size, appearing akin to an octopus. Hugh manages to break away from it, but Calvin gets loose and the team quickly has to seal the lab to keep it from entering the ventilation system and wreaking havoc throughout the station.

But Hugh has passed out from the pain and the crew fears for his safety, so Rory recklessly floats into the lab and attempts to pull his body out. He succeeds, but gets trapped himself. After failing to kill Calvin with an incinerator, the creature grabs his head, slides down his throat and crushes his internal organs.

What the crew quickly realizes is that each time Calvin latches onto one of them, it not only gets instantly bigger and more powerful, but also absorbs their knowledge. Thus, the remaining survivors not only have to figure out how to kill the Calvin but outwit it as well.

Eventually, they realize that Calvin may even be able to figure out how to get off the station and fly to earth, putting the entire planet in jeopardy. Thus begins a cat and mouse battle royale that alternates intense action with thoughtful moments in which the characters discuss what inspired them to pursue their careers.

“Life” is an impressively shot and paced horror thriller, as director Daniel Espinosa and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have fashioned a movie that relies more on tense atmospherics and exciting mind games than graphic blood and guts, a refreshing change from many recent movies such as “Kong: Skull Island.”

It does have some unmistakably intense and stomach-churning moments, particularly in the scene where Rory chokes on Calvin and winds up spitting up blood that floats in slow-motion, and a scene in which another astronaut has her space suit’s cooling system broken and chokes on the toxic fluid, but there are no exploding fountains of blood. Otherwise, the movie does feature about 60 profanities and obscenities, mostly F-words, that blend into the tension in quick bursts during disastrous and deadly moments, with long stretches of the movie also foul language-free.

To its credit, the movie also has several well-written thoughtful scenes, particularly two involving David, who first describes that he loves being in space because he hates being around the murder and mayhem of earthly war zones that he had previously worked in. He later shares a beautifully written scene with Miranda in which he reads the classic children’s book “Goodnight Moon” during a brief respite from their peril.

Despite the high-quality scares and thoughtful moments, “Life” does have weak spots in the fact that there are a couple of key moments of poor story logic and an ending that some audience members may find is too big a surprise for its own good. For those who enjoy sci-fi horror movies in the vein of “Alien,” however, it does deliver enough scares to work.

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’s 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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Is the Church Judge, Therapist, or Mother?

by Msgr. M. Francis Mannion • March 25, 2017

In his book titled Images of the Church in the New Testament, the Lutheran theologian Paul Minear found that in the New Testament there are 96 images of the Church. In the area of the Christian moral life, I suggest, there are three principal images at work: the Church as judge, the Church as therapist, and the Church as mother.

The notion of the Church as judge enshrines important values. Despite the professed cultural ideal of living non-judgmentally, no individual or institution can function without making judgments about people, ideas, and behaviors. The Church, like Christ, must unavoidably make judgments about right and wrong, virtue and sin.

Yet, the image of the Church as judge can easily harden in a direction that compromises Christian compassion and mercy. Pastoral ministry in this scheme can become rigorous and unbending, holding that Catholics who do not follow the Church’s moral teaching completely must be dealt with sternly. This can leave the penitent after Confession, for instance, feeling that, while technically forgiven, at a fundamental level he or she remains in God’s bad books.

At the other end of the spectrum is the image of the Church as therapist. Modern psychology generally views the therapist as non-intrusive facilitator of the process by which the individual sorts out personal problems and arrives at solutions. The therapist does not impose his or her moral system on the client. He or she remains painstakingly “non-judgmental,” avoiding words like “right” and “wrong,” “good” and “bad.”

In the Church-as-therapist approach, adapting the Gospel and its moral demands to situations, circumstances, and individual motivations is paramount. In this view, personal conviction is the ultimate arbiter of moral action. The notion of moral objectivity is played down.

The images of the Church as judge and as therapist enshrine important insights: The first in that it emphasizes moral objectivity, and the second in that it pays strong attention to conscience. Yet both only partially represent the Gospel of Christ and the moral tradition of the Church.

While initially they appear very different, both approaches have one thing in common: They are perfectionistic and unable to tolerate failures and imperfections. They cannot bear tension, ambiguity, and the paradox that God can love the sinner.

Catholics, whether priests or people, who live by the image of the Church as judge can be perfectionistic in the sense that they literally tolerate only perfection. They grasp inadequately the truth that the saint and the sinner can co-exist in the Christian at the same time.

On the other hand, Catholics who think of the Church as therapist can easily close their eyes to the Church’s moral tradition, and are prone to establishing themselves in a very comfortable morality. They cannot live with the idea that they might be sinners.

The more adequate and inclusive model of the Church is that of mother. The good mother holds high ideals, yet she can live with the sins of her children. She is principled and high-minded, yet has a tender heart when her children sin, wander away, and betray their training. The good mother never disowns her children, but grieves over their sins. She awaits the awakening in them of what she has taught them in their formative years.

The Church as mother incorporates the best of the roles as judge and therapist. She knows that the tension between Christian ideals and the actual behavior of believers is part of the process of God’s children growing toward salvation and the full stature and maturity of Christ.

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

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How an American bishop became a Korean martyr

by Kevin J. Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • March 26, 2017

Bishop Patrick Byrne, apostolic delegate to Korea from 1949 until his Nov. 25, 1950 death in a North Korean prison camp. (Maryknoll Mission Archives)

Washington D.C. — Bishop Patrick James Byrne was born in the United States, but he died on a forced march in the harsh Korean snows under the watch of communist soldiers.

Now the Catholic bishops of South Korea are considering whether he should beatified among a group of Korean martyrs.

“Bishop Byrne is one of the unsung heroes of Maryknoll,” Father Raymond Finch, Superior General of the Maryknoll Society, told CNA. “We remember him as an example of a missioner who stayed at his post.”

As a newly ordained priest in 1915, Bishop Byrne joined the Maryknoll Society, just four years after its founding. He led the society’s mission to Korea in the early 1920s, and he served as prefect apostolic of Pyongyang from 1927 to 1929.

In the 1930s he was transferred to Japan, and during World War II he was held under house arrest.

After the war’s conclusion, he was named the first apostolic delegate to Korea, in April 1949. He was promptly ordained a bishop, at the age of 60.

His ordination came at a portentous moment early in the Cold War. Korea was splitting between the North Korean communists, backed by China and the Soviet Union, and the U.S.-backed South Korea.

With the rise of communism in northern Korea, many of the Catholics in the north, including Maryknoll clergy, had to escape to the south in order to continue to practice their Catholic faith.

But not Bishop Byrne.

“It was then, remaining at his post, that he was taken with many other religious priests and members of the Church, taken prisoner on a forced march,” Fr. Finch said. “And he died on that march.”

In July 1950, after the capture of Seoul by North Korean forces, Bishop Byrne was arrested by communists and put on trial. According to Glenn D. Kittler’s history “The Maryknoll Fathers,” he was threatened with death if he did not denounce the U.S., the United Nations, and the Vatican. He refused.

He and other priests were put on several forced marches with Korean men and women and captured American soldiers.

Bishop Byrne was known for trying to help others on the marches through the cold, wet Korean weather, Fr. Finch said.

Aiding others was risky. Some of the prisoners were shot for dropping out of line, while others were executed for aiding those who had become immobilized. Nonetheless, the bishop would help others. At one point he gave his entire blanket to a Methodist missionary who was suffering worse than he.

During a four-month-long forced march, suffering from bad weather and a lack of food and shelter, he began to succumb to pneumonia at Chunggan-up, not far from the Yalu River on the border with China.

He knew he was dying.

“After the privilege of my priesthood, I regard this privilege of having suffered for Christ with all of you as the greatest of my life,” he told his companions.

He received absolution from his secretary, Father William Booth, the bishop’s biography at the Maryknoll Mission Archives website says.

He died Nov. 25, 1950. News of his death took two years to reach the world, when U.N. prison camp inspectors found survivors of the march.

Bishop Byrne was buried by Msgr. Thomas Quinlan, an Irish-born Columban Father who placed his own cassock on the bishop. The monsignor was later named Bishop of Chunchon, South Korea.

Now, a special commission of South Korean bishops has begun a process that could make Bishop Byrne a candidate for beatification. The bishops have grouped him with Bishop Francis Borgia Hong Yong-ho of Pyongyang and 80 companions, who were killed in persecutions from 1901 to the mid-20th century.

Fr. Finch said the launch of the beatification process for Bishop Byrne was “a tremendous honor” and showed he was an example for the Maryknoll Society to follow.

“He answered the call to mission, from the very beginning, and stayed with it, and gave his life to that,” he said. “That’s what we want to do, one way or another, whether it’s through a lifetime, or in a moment in which supreme sacrifices are asked for.”

“We’re inspired,” the Maryknoll superior general said. “We’re inspired by him, and we’re inspired by a number of other Maryknollers who have given their lives over the years in Asia, in Latin America and in Africa.”

Other victims of the Korean conflict include Maryknoll Sisters like Sister Agneta Chang, who was kidnapped by the communist military in late 1950 and is believed to have been martyred.

“I believe they never found her body,” Fr. Finch said.

While the context of the conflict was very difficult, it led to “tremendous Church growth” in South Korea after the war from people who were dedicated to the Church.

“Korea is one of the tremendous success stories of Asia: a Church that started out with 20-25,000 of people of the faith at the start of the last century and ended up with 10 percent of the population today,” Fr. Finch told CNA.

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What’s the most convincing argument against porn? Science

by Mary Rezac (CNA/EWTN News) • March 26, 2017

(Oneinchpunch via Shutterstock)

San Francisco, CA — In 2013, Beyonce Knowles topped GQ’s list of “The 100 Hottest Women of the 21st Century.”

That same year, the “definitive men’s magazine” that promises “sexy women” along with style advice, entertainment news and more ran a shorter listicle: “10 Reasons Why You Should Quit Watching Porn.”

The list included reasons such as increased sexual impotence in men that regularly viewed pornography, and a reported lack of control of sexual desires. It was inspired by an interview with NoFap, an online community of people dedicated to holding each other accountable in abstaining from pornography and masturbation.The site clearly states that it is decidedly non-religious.

Matt Fradd, on the other hand, is a Catholic. Fradd has spent much of his adult life urging people to quit pornography, and developing websites and resources to help pornography addicts.

But even though he’s Catholic, Fradd’s new anti-porn book, “The Porn Myth,” won’t quote the saints or the Bible or recommend a regimen of rosaries.

“I wanted to write a non-religious response to pro-pornography arguments,” Fradd said.

That’s not because he’s abandoned his beliefs, or thinks that faith has nothing to say about pornography.

“Whenever I get up to speak, people expect that I’m just going to use a bunch of moral arguments (against porn). And I have them, and I’m happy to use them, and I think ultimately that’s what we need to get to. But I think using science … is always the best way to introduce this issue to people.”

“In an increasingly secular culture, we need arguments based on scientific research, of which there’s been much,” he said. It’s why he cites numerous studies on each page of his book, and why he’s included 50 pages of additional appendixes citing additional research.

Fradd is careful to clarify in his book that it is not a book against sex or sexuality. What he does want to do is challenge the way many people have come to think about pornography, and question whether it leads to human flourishing.

“This book rests on one fundamental presupposition: if you want something to flourish, you need to use it in accordance with its nature,” Fradd wrote. “Don’t plant tomatoes in a dark closet and water them with soda and expect to have vibrant tomato plants. To do so would be to act contrary to the nature of tomatoes. Similarly, don’t rip sex out of its obvious relational context, turn it into a commodity, and then expect individuals, families and society to flourish.”

But why dedicate a whole book to the scientific effects of pornography?

Fradd said that the sheer volume of pornography consumption makes this an especially urgent book - and it’s at least two decades too late. According to one survey, about 63 percent of men and 21 percent of women ages 18-30 have reported that they view pornography several times a week - not to mention those viewing it slightly less often.

“If we have an iPhone we have a portable X-rated movie theater. And some studies suggest children as young as 8 are being exposed to it, so if I meet someone who’s 14, I know that they have looked at porn or are looking at it regularly,” Fradd said.

Fradd recalls in his book a study done by Melissa Farley, director of Prostitution Research and Education. When Farley’s team set out to do a study about men who buy sex, they had a difficult time finding men who don’t do so.

“The use of pornography, phone sex, lapdances, and other services has become so widespread that Farley’s team had to loosen their definition of a non-sex buyer in order to assemble a hundred-person control group for their research,” Fradd wrote.

Throughout the book, Fradd uses scientific research to debunk numerous and prevailing “myths” or arguments about pornography, including the ideas that pornography empowers women, that it isn’t addictive, and that it’s a healthy part of sexuality and relationships.

One of the most commonly believed myths is that pornography doesn’t hurt anyone, Fradd said. But he has found that pornography harms people personally, relationally, and societally.

On the personal level, a 2014 study from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin found that frequent pornography use in men was associated with decreased brain matter in certain areas of the brain.

The abstract explained that the association may not be causation, but correlation, “which means that if porn isn’t shrinking your brain, it would mean that people with small brains like porn more,” Fradd said.

“It’s not a feather in your cap, either way.”

As for whether or not pornography empowers women, Fradd said that while he agrees that a woman who consents to producing pornography is in some sense “better” than a woman who is forced or coerced, but not by much, because pornography is still being used by the consumer to treat another person as a means to an end.

“No matter the level of consent, it is a manly thing to treat a woman who has forgotten her dignity with dignity nonetheless,” Fradd wrote.

Fradd also quotes Rebecca Whisnant, a feminist theory professor, who once refuted the myth of porn as female empowerment in a talk:

“Feminism is about ending the subordination of women. Expanding women’s freedom of choice on a variety of fronts is an important part of that, but it is not the whole story. In fact, any meaningful liberation movement involves not only claiming the right to make choices, but also holding oneself accountable for the effects of those choices on oneself and on others,” she said in a 2007 talk.

These women are also perpetuating a system that robs women, as a group, of empowerment, Fradd said, such as women who are sex trafficked while participating in the porn industry. By some estimates, two million women and girls are held in sexual slavery at any given time.

It’s part of the reason why Fradd is donating all of the proceeds of “The Porn Myth” to Children of the Immaculate Heart, a non-profit corporation operating in San Diego, Calif, whose mission is to serve survivors of human trafficking.

Porn also disempowers the women whose relationships are destroyed by men caught up in pornography addictions, Fradd noted.

“Ask the millions of women whose husbands habitually turn to porn. Do these women feel empowered by pornography?” Fradd asked.

Pornography use in marriage is one way that porn harms relationships. According to Fradd’s research, a survey of 350 divorce lawyers reported in 2003 that pornography was at least part of the problem in half of all divorce cases they saw.

Another commonly believed myth is that marriage will solve a porn addiction, which shows a misunderstanding of the psychology of addiction in the first place, Fradd explains.

But pornography can also damage the relationships of a single person looking for love.

A 2011 TED talk by psychologist Philip Zimbardo said that studies showed a “widespread fear of intimacy and social awkwardness among men,” and an inability to engage in face-to-face conversations with women, Fradd wrote.

“Why? Zimbardo says this is caused by disproportionate Internet use in general and excessive new access to pornography in particular. ‘Boys’ brains are being digitally rewired in a totally new way, for change, novelty, excitement.’”

And Zimbardo is not alone in his observations. As Fradd notes, neuroscientist William Struthers wrote in 2009 that “With repeated sexual acting out in the absence of a partner, a man will be bound and attached to the image and not a person.”

In other words, men can start preferring pixels to people. According to NoFap’s statistics in 2013, about half of their users had never had sex with a real person, meaning their only experience of sexual intimacy has been digital.

That reason alone has been why many people, men especially, have sought to kick their porn habits, Fradd said.

“I know agnostics or atheists who quit porn literally because they couldn’t have sex with people they were hooking up with. That’s why they quit porn. And these guys are fit, good-looking young men, who couldn’t get an erection around a young woman. But they realized if the woman left and they opened up their laptop they’d get an immediate erection.”

Studies have also shown that pornography addiction is driven by the increase in amounts, and varieties, of material readily available to anyone with access to the internet.

“People find themselves viewing more and more disturbing pornography, and the reason for this is because of a decrease in dopamine in the brain, which happens because of the addiction one has, and they end up seeking out more graphic, violent forms of pornogrpahy just to boost the dopamine enough to feel normal,” Fradd said.

“People don’t wake up when they’re 30 and decide to look at child porn or feces porn or something disgusting like that. These are big things that people spiral into, and the industry has to keep pushing the envelope because it’s addictive,” he added.

While the statistics of pornography can be disturbing and depressing, Fradd stressed that there was still hope. He devotes several chapters in the book to protecting children from pornography, dealing with pornograpy in marriage, and getting help for those addicted to pornography.

Fradd himself has spent years in ministry to those with pornography addictions, and helps run the site Integrity Restored, which offers numerous resources to help those struggling with addictions and those in ministry to them.

The most effective steps for someone to follow for someone addicted to porn?

“They should find a spiritual director, they should go to therapy, and they should find a 12 step group (like Sexaholics Anonymous),” Fradd said. “With those three things together, we’ve seen the most success.”

Often well-meaning Christians will relegate pornography addictions to the spiritual realm, telling people that they simply need to pray more, Fradd said. And while prayer isn’t a bad thing, it doesn’t address the psychological aspect of addiction.

“When people do things like put a picture of Mary on their laptop or pray more, it doesn’t actually usually work. It’s not a solely spiritual problem, so what we don’t need is a solely spiritual answer,” he said.

Just as you should encourage a clinically depressed person to seek counseling and therapy, you should also encourage someone experiencing addiction to seek professional help, he added.

Fradd said he’s also been encouraged by the number of celebrities who have recently spoken out against pornography, such as Pamela Anderson, British comedian Russell Brand, actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rashida Jones, and former NFL player and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” actor Terry Crews, to name a few.

Slowly, he said, society is catching up to the science that shows how harmful pornography can be.

“We’ve reached a tipping point in our culture such that everyone either struggles with porn and/or knows someone who does, and we all see the negative effects,” he said.

“So the porn industry’s cronies can tell us that pornography is healthy for well-rounded adults, but they now sound like the tobacco apologists sounded like in the 80s. In light of the evidence, their assertions seem increasingly ridiculous.”

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This pregnant woman found her faith in 1930s Spain – and died for it

by Blanca Ruiz (CNA/EWTN News) • March 30, 2017

(Alex Krisan via Shutterstock)

Madrid, Spain — A pregnant woman who found her faith in a Spanish prison, refused to give up the name of her Christian catechist to her persecutors, and died for lack of medical care was beatified on Saturday.

“Emilia is a martyr of suffering, because she died some 10 days after giving birth for lack of medical attention, clutching her rosary. She had a chance to apostatize, to betray the one who taught her the faith, but she did not. She’s an example,” Historian Martin Ibarra told CNA.

On March 25, Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect for the Causes of Saints, beatified Emilia Fernandez and 114 other martyrs of religious persecution during the Spanish Civil War, which lasted from 1936-1939.

Emilia became the first Romani – or Gypsy – woman to be beatified by the Catholic Church.

“Emilia’s life up to 24 years of age was normal for an Andalusian Gypsy woman at the beginning of the century,” Ibarra said. “She devoted herself to her family, her work as a basket maker. She was a hard working woman, a Gypsy and honest.”

She and her husband, Juan Cortes and were imprisoned for trying to prevent Juan from being conscripted into the war.

Although Emilia was pregnant when she went to prison, she did not receive any additional care. Officials assigned her the same insufficient food ration as the rest of the female prisoners.

Emilia “carried her pregnancy in the prison under terrible conditions, and suffered a lot from hunger,” Ibarra said.

It was in prison where she discovered her faith.

“Even though she had been baptized, she never set foot in a church. It was especially through the rosary that her catechist Dolores del Olmo taught her,” Ibarra recounted.

“Every afternoon the female prisoners prayed, even though it was forbidden. Emilia wanted to know more about her faith and she asked Dolores del Olmo to explain it to her. There she realized that she belonged to the Church, and she learned the ‘Our Father,’ the ‘Hail Mary’ and the ‘Glory Be.’”

The warden for the women’s prison, Dolores Salmerón, knew that Emilia and the other prisoners were praying. She offered the woman more food and offered to release her and her husband on one condition: she must reveal the name of whoever taught her to pray.

Emilia refused to betray her catechist and so she was punished with solitary confinement.

A few months later, Emilia gave birth. “Between the cries and sobs, her catechist was saying prayers which Emilia repeated, although she could not continue because of the pain,” Ibarra added.

Dolores del Olmo, her catechist, baptized Emilia’s newborn daughter with the name Angeles. The new mother died 10 days later.

Ibarra is the author of the book “Emilia, the Basket Maker, Martyr of the Rosary,” which tells of her life and death. He said that Emilia’s devotion to the rosary led her to love Jesus Christ more.

“She fulfilled her maternity, risking her life and in fact she died for lack of medical attention,” the historian said. “She died from her sufferings, for being faithful to her faith, for bringing a life into the world and did not give in to her jailer’s desire that she apostatize.”

For Ibarra, Emilia’s beatification shows the vitality of the Church.

“She is a call to hope and responsibility, who teaches us with her life that God is at our side, even in difficulties,” he said. “Emilia went to prison hardly knowing the faith and when she died, she did so as a friend of God. That is beautiful.”

She was beatified in a group of martyrs from Almeria, Spain. They include cathedral dean Father Jose Alvarez-Benavides y de la Torre and 114 companion martyrs: 95 priests, 20 laymen and two women, including Emilia.

Emilia is the first Romani woman to be beatified. The first male Gypsy blessed, Ceferino Giménez Malla, known as El Pelé, was beatified by Saint John Paul II in 1997. He died in the religious persecution of the Spanish Civil War for protecting a priest. Before his persecutors shot him, he held a rosary in his hand and cried out “Long live Christ the King!”

Iberra characterized both Emelia and Ceferino as “martyrs of the rosary” because both of them refused to stop praying it.

“This demonstrates that the Virgin leads us to God. For those two martyrs, she was the Gate of Heaven,” he said.

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Priest visits church destroyed by ISIS: This is from the devil

CNA/EWTN News • March 31, 2017

(Elena Dijour via Shutterstock)

Mosul, Iraq — The desolation of a burned Iraqi church left Argentine-born missionary Father Luis Montes with the firm conviction that Satan is at the root of the attacks, and Christians must pray for the conversion of ISIS.

“The one who is behind everything is the devil, behind ISIS and the rest of the jihadist groups, and behind the people who support them, some by a similar fanaticism and others for various interests,” the priest said upon visiting the heavily damaged Church of Saint George in Bartella, recently freed from the Islamic State group.

Fr. Montes said that these forces are in reality attacking Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the human race. “But since they cannot harm him, they attack his churches, his faithful, in memory of him,” he said.

“It really shakes you up to see a sacred place burned, vandalized, desecrated,” he said on his Facebook page March 24. “You’re left speechless seeing what you already knew from photos and testimonies. It makes your blood run cold.”

“To see the floors, the walls, the ceilings full of soot, the pews thrown any which way, statues broken, scattered, trampled, the sacred books reduced to ashes, you perceive in a very powerful way the hatred that caused this, the hatred that can be summed up in a sentence: the rejection of Christ and his Cross.”

He stressed that “the same hatred that attacks the temples of Christ, attacks the living temples which are the Christians.”

Fr. Montes acknowledged that the Islamic State group “attacks everyone who does not think like they do,” but he said Christians are persecuted because Christ was the first one persecuted.

Seeing a destroyed church brings sadness, pain, and anger, but also “a holy pride, because they are persecuting us for belonging to Christ,” the priest reflected. “Jesus told us that when this happens, let us rejoice, because our reward will be great in Heaven.”

The priest’s March 23 visit to Bartella and Qaraqosh came at the invitation of Archbishop Alberto Ortega, apostolic nuncio to Iraq and Jordan. The traditionally Christian towns were seized by the Islamic State group two years ago and only recently freed by Iraqi military troops.

Father Montes is a missionary of the Institute of the Incarnate Word. He has been on mission in Iraq for more than five years. Those who doubt that Christians are persecuted should visit these towns, he said.

Despite the great pain left in the wake of ISIS, the priest said he also found grace.

“It was a deep joy which led me to pick up some keepsakes of that place: a stone, a cover of a burned missal, a piece of some destroyed statue, all symbols of the grace that God grants us for being persecuted for his Son.”

“So much destruction must move us to pray for the persecutors,” Fr. Montes said, calling them “the foolish followers of the greatest loser in history.”

“The devil makes noise and instills fear but he is the great failure,” he explained. “When he succeeded in killing the Son of God, he lost the power he had, and now, when evil seems to be more victorious, in reality it is when it most defeats itself, because God ordains everything for the good of his chosen ones.”

The priest urged the faithful “to pray for those who follow the devil, so they may convert and live, because God is capable of calling them to Himself and awaits our prayers to give us the glory of being partakers in his victory.”

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Movie review: ‘The Zookeeper’s Wife’

by Carl Kozlowski • March 31, 2017

It might seem impossible for a movie to find a fresh angle to portray about World War II after countless films about the conflict, but “The Zookeeper’s Wife” manages to do just that. Detailing the remarkable true story of Jan and Antonina Zabinski, a couple who saved more than 300 Jews from certain Nazi slaughter by hiding them in their residence at the Warsaw Zoo, “Wife” manages to blend high drama, atmospheric tension and strong performances to craft a tale that is both riveting and emotionally dynamic.

The film stars Jessica Chastain as title character Antonina, a young mother living an idyllic life as she helps tend the animals at the zoo alongside her husband Jan (Johan Heldenbergh) while also raising her son Ryszard. Their life abruptly changes when the Nazi invasion rains bombs upon the zoo, creating surreal havoc as all manner of exotic animals are set loose upon the surrounding city.

As the forces take over the city, the Nazis plan to use the zoo’s expansive property as a staging and storage area, leaving the Zalinskis frightened and confused about how best to handle the situation. Meanwhile, as the invaders round up the city’s Jews and herd them into the ghettos, a Jewish friend manages to sneak out and beg for shelter.

They agree to hide her in their basement, warning her to only move or make noise at night and establishing a signal system: Antonina will play her piano when the coast is clear as the occupying officers leave their residence each night, and also whenever a Nazi is near. That constant threat is exemplified by the presence of Lutz Heck (Daniel Bruhl), the head of the Berlin Zoo who enlists Antonina to help him carry out a bizarre eugenics program aiming to revive extinct German species by blending their DNA with that of cattle brought onto the zoo grounds.

Soon the Zalinskis devise a plan to save as many Jews as possible by starting a pig farm to feed the Nazi troops, with Jan sneaking refugees into his truck under the garbage when he embarks on runs to pick up food waste to feed the swine. They hide them in the basement while devising means to sneak them out of the city, as Lutz adds strain to their marriage by gradually making advances on Antonina that she has to resist carefully in order to prevent from incurring his wrath and endangering the operation.

The dual tensions of saving the otherwise helpless refugees while keeping their personal relationship intact are handled subtle by ever-tightening tension by director Niki Caro (“Whale Rider”). Particularly impressive are the ways in which she reveals the anarchy wrought by random animals running through Warsaw after the bombing, and the subtle shifts in how the Jews are treated as they slide inexorably from being forced into ghettos to being trapped on the trains to the concentration camps over the course of a few years.

Although she was Oscar-nominated for her turn as a key player in the assassination of Osama bin Laden in “Zero Dark Thirty,” Chastain has her most sympathetic and varied role since her 2011 breakthrough in “The Help.” She provides real heart to the story as she and her equally solid costar Heldenbergh show the emotional impact of war on a very intimate level, while also conveying the strength of true heroism.

There are a couple of downsides to the film, as Bruhl’s Lutz conveys a bit too much smugness in his villainy as the movie progresses and the film’s subtlety at some points might leave some viewers wishing for more direct action. However, this fits a film that strives to achieve its tension through psychological forces more than from the fury of battle.

“Wife” has no foul language but the subject matter obviously lends itself to some disturbing moments, particularly a scene where the Nazis force two Jewish women to kneel and be executed with shots to the head, which are left implied with quick cuts. There is also a brief bed scene in which Antonina’s bare breast and edge of her nipple is shown while lying next to her husband, and a brief intense foreplay scene with the couple. But these are in the context of marriage, so it shouldn’t be an issue for teen and adult viewers, and the movie shows the power of marriage amid great turmoil.

Blending highly personal drama with the emotional trauma of the Holocaust, “The Zookeeper’s Wife” excels in reminding that there were plenty of everyday human heroes in the Nazi resistance that were as valuable as the contributions of the warriors who ultimately vanquished the threat. As such, it’s a stirring reminder for our troubled times to keep our eyes and hearts open to those who need refuge today.

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’s 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 • APRIL 2, 2017

Fifth Sunday of Lent

First Reading (Ez 37:12-14; NRSVCE)

Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm (Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; NRSVCE)

R: (7) For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

Lord, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive

to the voice of my supplications!

R: For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with you,

so that you may be revered.

R: For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in his word I hope;

my soul waits for the Lord

more than those who watch for the morning.

R: For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.

O Israel, hope in the Lord!

For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with him is great power to redeem.

It is he who will redeem Israel

from all its iniquities.

R: For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.

Second Reading (Rom 8:8-11; NRSVCE)

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Gospel Reading (Jn 11:1-45; NRSVCE)

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

MONDAY • APRIL 3, 2017

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

First Reading (Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62; NRSVCE)

There was a man living in Babylon whose name was Joakim. He married the daughter of Hilkiah, named Susanna, a very beautiful woman and one who feared the Lord. Her parents were righteous, and had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses. Joakim was very rich, and had a fine garden adjoining his house; the Jews used to come to him because he was the most honored of them all.

That year two elders from the people were appointed as judges. Concerning them the Lord had said: “Wickedness came forth from Babylon, from elders who were judges, who were supposed to govern the people.” These men were frequently at Joakim’s house, and all who had a case to be tried came to them there.

When the people left at noon, Susanna would go into her husband’s garden to walk. Every day the two elders used to see her, going in and walking about, and they began to lust for her. They suppressed their consciences and turned away their eyes from looking to Heaven or remembering their duty to administer justice.

Once, while they were watching for an opportune day, she went in as before with only two maids, and wished to bathe in the garden, for it was a hot day. No one was there except the two elders, who had hidden themselves and were watching her. She said to her maids, “Bring me olive oil and ointments, and shut the garden doors so that I can bathe.”

When the maids had gone out, the two elders got up and ran to her. They said, “Look, the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us. We are burning with desire for you; so give your consent, and lie with us. If you refuse, we will testify against you that a young man was with you, and this was why you sent your maids away.”

Susanna groaned and said, “I am completely trapped. For if I do this, it will mean death for me; if I do not, I cannot escape your hands. I choose not to do it; I will fall into your hands, rather than sin in the sight of the Lord.”

Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and the two elders shouted against her. And one of them ran and opened the garden doors. When the people in the house heard the shouting in the garden, they rushed in at the side door to see what had happened to her. And when the elders told their story, the servants felt very much ashamed, for nothing like this had ever been said about Susanna.

The next day, when the people gathered at the house of her husband Joakim, the two elders came, full of their wicked plot to have Susanna put to death. In the presence of the people they said, “Send for Susanna daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of Joakim.” So they sent for her. And she came with her parents, her children, and all her relatives. Those who were with her and all who saw her were weeping.

Then the two elders stood up before the people and laid their hands on her head. Through her tears she looked up toward Heaven, for her heart trusted in the Lord. The elders said, “While we were walking in the garden alone, this woman came in with two maids, shut the garden doors, and dismissed the maids. Then a young man, who was hiding there, came to her and lay with her. We were in a corner of the garden, and when we saw this wickedness we ran to them. Although we saw them embracing, we could not hold the man, because he was stronger than we, and he opened the doors and got away. We did, however, seize this woman and asked who the young man was, but she would not tell us. These things we testify.”

Because they were elders of the people and judges, the assembly believed them and condemned her to death.

Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said, “O eternal God, you know what is secret and are aware of all things before they come to be; you know that these men have given false evidence against me. And now I am to die, though I have done none of the wicked things that they have charged against me!”

The Lord heard her cry. Just as she was being led off to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young lad named Daniel, and he shouted with a loud voice, “I want no part in shedding this woman’s blood!”

All the people turned to him and asked, “What is this you are saying?” Taking his stand among them he said, “Are you such fools, O Israelites, as to condemn a daughter of Israel without examination and without learning the facts? Return to court, for these men have given false evidence against her.”

So all the people hurried back. And the rest of the elders said to him, “Come, sit among us and inform us, for God has given you the standing of an elder.” Daniel said to them, “Separate them far from each other, and I will examine them.”

When they were separated from each other, he summoned one of them and said to him, “You old relic of wicked days, your sins have now come home, which you have committed in the past, pronouncing unjust judgments, condemning the innocent and acquitting the guilty, though the Lord said, ‘You shall not put an innocent and righteous person to death.’ Now then, if you really saw this woman, tell me this: Under what tree did you see them being intimate with each other?” He answered, “Under a mastic tree.” And Daniel said, “Very well! This lie has cost you your head, for the angel of God has received the sentence from God and will immediately cut you in two.”

Then, putting him to one side, he ordered them to bring the other. And he said to him, “You offspring of Canaan and not of Judah, beauty has beguiled you and lust has perverted your heart. This is how you have been treating the daughters of Israel, and they were intimate with you through fear; but a daughter of Judah would not tolerate your wickedness. Now then, tell me: Under what tree did you catch them being intimate with each other?” He answered, “Under an evergreen oak.” Daniel said to him, “Very well! This lie has cost you also your head, for the angel of God is waiting with his sword to split you in two, so as to destroy you both.”

Then the whole assembly raised a great shout and blessed God, who saves those who hope in him. And they took action against the two elders, because out of their own mouths Daniel had convicted them of bearing false witness; they did to them as they had wickedly planned to do to their neighbor. Acting in accordance with the law of Moses, they put them to death. Thus innocent blood was spared that day.

Responsorial Psalm (Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6; NRSVCE)

R: (4ab) Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters;

he restores my soul.

R: Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me.

He leads me in right paths

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I fear no evil;

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff —

they comfort me.

R: Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

R: Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

my whole life long.

R: Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me.

Gospel Reading (Jn 8:1-11; NRSVCE)

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”

TUESDAY • APRIL 4, 2017

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

First Reading (Nm 21:4-9; NRSVCE)

From Mount Hor the Israelites set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

Responsorial Psalm (Ps 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21; NRSVCE)

R: (2) Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you.

Hear my prayer, O Lord;

let my cry come to you.

Do not hide your face from me

in the day of my distress.

Incline your ear to me;

answer me speedily in the day when I call.

R: Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you.

The nations will fear the name of the Lord,

and all the kings of the earth your glory.

For the Lord will build up Zion;

he will appear in his glory.

He will regard the prayer of the destitute,

and will not despise their prayer.

R: Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you.

Let this be recorded for a generation to come,

so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:

that he looked down from his holy height,

from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,

to hear the groans of the prisoners,

to set free those who were doomed to die.

R: Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you.

Gospel Reading (Jn 8:21-30; NRSVCE)

Jesus said to the Pharisees, “I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” Then the Jews said, “Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come?’” He said to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.” They said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Why do I speak to you at all? I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” They did not understand that he was speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.” As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

WEDNESDAY • APRIL 5, 2017

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

First Reading (Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95; NRSVCE)

Nebuchadnezzar said, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.

Hearing them sing, and amazed at seeing them alive, King Nebuchadnezzar rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” He replied, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.” Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.”

Responsorial Psalm (Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56; NRSVCE)

R: (52b) Glory and praise for ever.

“Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our ancestors,

and to be praised and highly exalted forever;

And blessed is your glorious, holy name,

and to be highly praised and highly exalted forever.”

R: Glory and praise for ever.

“Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,

and to be extolled and highly glorified forever.”

R: Glory and praise for ever.

“Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne on the cherubim,

and to be praised and highly exalted forever.”

R: Glory and praise for ever.

“Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,

and to be extolled and highly exalted forever.”

R: Glory and praise for ever.

“Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,

and to be sung and glorified forever.”

R: Glory and praise for ever.

Gospel Reading (Jn 8:31-42; NRSVCE)

Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free?’”

Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.”

They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”

THURSDAY • APRIL 6, 2017

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

First Reading (Gn 17:3-9; NRSVCE)

Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God.”

God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.”

Responsorial Psalm (Ps 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; NRSVCE)

R: (8a) The Lord is mindful of his covenant forever.

Seek the Lord and his strength;

seek his presence continually.

Remember the wonderful works he has done,

his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered.

R: The Lord is mindful of his covenant forever.

O offspring of his servant Abraham,

children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

He is the Lord our God;

his judgments are in all the earth.

R: The Lord is mindful of his covenant forever.

He is mindful of his covenant forever,

of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,

the covenant that he made with Abraham,

his sworn promise to Isaac.

R: The Lord is mindful of his covenant forever.

Gospel Reading (Jn 8:51-59; NRSVCE)

Jesus said to the Jews, “Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’ though you do not know him. But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

FRIDAY • APRIL 7, 2017

Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

First Reading (Jer 20:10-13; NRSVCE)

I hear many whispering:

“Terror is all around!

Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”

All my close friends

are watching for me to stumble.

“Perhaps he can be enticed,

and we can prevail against him,

and take our revenge on him.”

But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior;

therefore my persecutors will stumble,

and they will not prevail.

They will be greatly shamed,

for they will not succeed.

Their eternal dishonor

will never be forgotten.

O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous,

you see the heart and the mind;

let me see your retribution upon them,

for to you I have committed my cause.

Sing to the Lord;

praise the Lord!

For he has delivered the life of the needy

from the hands of evildoers.

Responsorial Psalm (Ps 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7; NRSVCE)

R: (see 7) In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.

R: In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

My God, my rock in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

so I shall be saved from my enemies.

R: In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

The cords of death encompassed me;

the torrents of perdition assailed me;

the cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

R: In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

In my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

R: In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

Gospel Reading (Jn 10:31-42; NRSVCE)

The Jews took up rocks to stone Jesus. He replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods?’ If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ — and the scripture cannot be annulled — can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son?’ If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands.

He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. Many came to him, and they were saying, “John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.

SATURDAY • APRIL 8, 2017

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent

First Reading (Ez 37:21-28; NRSVCE)

Thus says the Lord God: I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from every quarter, and bring them to their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms. They shall never again defile themselves with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all the apostasies into which they have fallen, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes. They shall live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your ancestors lived; they and their children and their children’s children shall live there forever; and my servant David shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations shall know that I the Lord sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is among them forevermore.

Responsorial Psalm (Jer 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13; NRSVCE)

R: (see 10d) The Lord will keep us as a shepherd a flock.

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,

and declare it in the coastlands far away;

say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him,

and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.”

R: The Lord will keep us as a shepherd a flock.

For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,

and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.

They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,

and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,

over the grain, the wine, and the oil,

and over the young of the flock and the herd.

R: The Lord will keep us as a shepherd a flock.

Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,

and the young men and the old shall be merry.

I will turn their mourning into joy,

I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

R: The Lord will keep us as a shepherd a flock.

Gospel Reading (Jn 11:45-56; NRSVCE)

Many of the Jews, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?”