Pope Francis prays during Mass at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Dec 21, 2024 / 15:34 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Saturday expressed his shock at the deadly attack at a Christmas market in eastern Germany that claimed five lives, including that of a child, and left more than 200 injured.

In a telegram sent to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on behalf of the pontiff, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin conveyed the Holy Father?s ?spiritual closeness? to all those affected by the tragedy.

The pope ?prays for the deceased and entrusts the people to Christ, our hope, whose light may shine in the darkness,? the cardinal wrote, expressing gratitude to emergency responders helping victims in ?this difficult moment.?

According to officials, the attack left 205 victims in total, with four adults and a nine-year-old child dead. Authorities reported 41 people suffered serious or life-threatening injuries.

The suspect, identified as Taleb A., a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who had been granted asylum in Germany in 2016, drove a black rental car into crowds at a Christmas market in the heart of Magdeburg, a city of 240,000 people located about two hours west of Berlin.

While authorities are investigating the incident as an attack, Chief Public Prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said it remained unclear whether they deemed it an act of terrorism, local media reported.

The Diocese of Magdeburg announced that St. Sebastian?s Cathedral would be open Saturday for prayer and reflection. A memorial service was scheduled for Saturday evening at Magdeburg Cathedral.

Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg issued a statement immediately after the attack Friday evening: ?I think of those affected, their relatives, and the emergency services and include them in my prayers.?

The local bishop added, ?especially in these days and before a feast where the message of God?s love, human dignity, and the longing for a healed world particularly move us, such an act is all the more frightening and abysmal.?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visited the city to meet with local officials and pay their respects at the site of the attack.

The German Bishops? Conference president, Bishop Georg Bätzing, said the ?attack in Magdeburg leaves us speechless. The horror, grief, and sympathy are felt today by many people throughout Germany and worldwide.?

The suspect had previously worked as a psychotherapist and, according to German media reports, had been posting increasingly erratic messages on social media in recent months, including threats of bloodshed and ?war? against German authorities. In a 2019 interview, he had described himself as an ?ex-Muslim.?

According to a police spokesman, authorities had received a criminal complaint against the suspect a year ago. While a preventative intervention was planned at the time ? a measure intended to preemptively combat potential crimes ? this apparently never took place.

The attack occurred at a location that was not protected by concrete barriers, which have been installed at Christmas markets across Germany following several Islamist terror attacks at public events, including at a Berlin Christmas market in 2016 that killed 12 people.

Catholic actor David Henrie and his wife, Maria, with children during their mission trip to Guatemala with Cross Catholic Outreach. / Credit: Benjamin Rusnak

CNA Staff, Dec 21, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

Cross Catholic Outreach?s Box of Joy ministry has officially reached its 10th anniversary and marked the occasion with a trip by Catholic actor David Henrie to Guatemala to deliver boxes to children there.

Henrie, who serves as brand ambassador for the nonprofit, flew to Guatemala with his wife, Maria, to hand-deliver the ?Boxes of Joy? to children living in extreme poverty.

Founded in 2001, Cross Catholic Outreach is a Vatican-endorsed nonprofit that works to provide aid, such as food, medicine, and shelter, to those suffering from poverty in more than 90 countries. It has also recently been named by Forbes as one of America?s Top 100 charities, ranking at No. 42 on the list.

The organization?s Box of Joy ministry began in 2014. The boxes are given at Christmas to children in need, many of whom have never received a Christmas gift before. The boxes are filled with toys, clothing, school supplies, a rosary, and a booklet in the language of the children telling the story of Jesus.

Two years ago, Henrie ? best known for his role as Justin Russo in the Disney series ?Wizards of Waverly Place? ? teamed up with Cross Catholic Outreach and its Box of Joy ministry. 

?It had been on my heart to try to align with a Catholic charity, but I wanted to be very selective and find something that could appeal to my fanbase, because there?s millions of people who follow me and a lot of them have very diverse backgrounds and not necessarily the same faith, so I wanted to work with a charity whose mission is just universal and broadly appealing and authentically Catholic,? he told CNA in an interview.

He added that it has been a ?true honor? working specifically with the Box of Joy ministry and helping bring more awareness to that cause. 

From Nov. 19?22, Henrie and his wife visited the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima in Guatemala, which faces extreme poverty with many struggling to provide the basics of food and clean water to their families. Henrie called the experience a ?perspective check,? especially for his wife, who had never visited a developing country. He said the experience taught them lessons they are now implementing in their own home with their children, such as simplicity and humility.

The couple was very impressed with ?how much these people do with so little and also with how strong family values are in their community.?

Henrie recalled that when many of the kids received their gift, they would instantly turn to their sibling and give it to them. 

?It?s almost like they didn?t even think of themselves,? he said. ?Or if they got a piece of candy or something, they would turn to their sibling and give it to their sibling or they would come right back to me and go, ?Do you want to split this???

?That culture is just very beautiful and giving and charitable and you see it all over the place there.?

While there, the Henries met a mother and her children who had just been given a home by Cross Catholic Outreach. Prior to being given a home, the family only had one bed they slept on and when it rained they would pull a big plastic blanket over their bed to protect themselves from the rain. The family was filled with joy as they took Henrie around their 250-square-foot home made of a concrete floor, cinder blocks, and a tin roof. 

?They took us in their home that was just built and the joy in these people?s faces ? they were so grateful and they felt so wealthy,? he shared. ?And it was such a reality check for me and for my wife ? I think a lot of Americans root their happiness and achievements or success in tangible items. That?s not where happiness really is. This is the happiest family on earth and they?re happy that they just have a floor that rain doesn?t get in.?

Henrie added that the trip left an impact on him personally by making him think about ?where happiness is really rooted.?

?I saw it in these people and I saw it in what they had ? where is happiness rooted ? and it?s not rooted in material things, it?s rooted in ultimately your relationship with God and your character, your virtue ... It really isn?t dependent upon your external circumstances, it?s entirely dependent on your internal circumstances.?

Speaking to the importance of giving back, especially as Catholics, Henrie said: ?Well, if you take the Bible seriously, then there?s a lot of mention of helping the poor in the Bible.?

?I think one of the beautiful things about the Catholic faith is it is the most charitable organization on the planet and always has been since its inception,? he added. ?So, why is that? I think fundamentally it?s because Catholics recognize human dignity as something sacred and they see the human person as something infinitely valuable.?

He also highlighted the ?unicity? of the Catholic Church.

?One, holy, Catholic, apostolic ? unicity. We are all one,? he explained. ?So all of the members of the Church need to be healthy and we need to help those who aren?t to help the body function in a more powerful way and healthy way.?

Bassem Giacaman in his shop in Bethlehem in December 2024. The artisans in Bethlehem are almost all Christians. They primarily work with olive wood. Most of the businesses in Bethlehem are family businesses. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

Bethlehem, West Bank, Dec 21, 2024 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

Being an artisan in Bethlehem isn?t just a job. It?s an art, almost a calling, a treasure handed down from father to son, but one that is now at risk of being lost.

Younger generations are choosing other career paths, and after two years of war, fathers don?t see a future in the artisanal crafts for their children. They speak of it under their breath, as if unwilling to admit it. Some know they?re likely the last heirs of a centuries-old tradition.

?I am 54 years old. My biggest mistake was to invest all my money in my family business,? Jack Giacaman, a descendant of one of the most important artisan families in Bethlehem, told CNA. His shop faces Milk Grotto Street, the artisans? street, just a few steps from the sanctuary of the same name. ?I have two daughters. I tried to make them see the world from other perspectives, not to kill their future in this corner of the world.?

?They are not thinking about working in our family business,? Giacaman continued. ?And so also my cousin?s children: They moved to the medical field, they?re engineers, but they are not thinking about working in this business or staying in this country.?

Most of the businesses in Bethlehem are family businesses, and all of them are operating at a loss. 

?Families try to cover the losses from their private assets, but it is no longer affordable,? Giacaman explained. ?At the end, people are running away, they go abroad, and unfortunately among them there are many Christians.?

One of Giacaman?s brothers moved to the U.S., another went to Dubai. ?I grew up in a Catholic school, we were 55 students ? six were Muslims, 39 Christians, among which were eight girls. Who stayed in the country? The Muslim guys, two girls, and me. All the others moved abroad; their children don?t have any kind of connection with Bethlehem anymore.?

The only one who has gone the opposite route is his cousin Bassem Giacaman, who came a few years ago from New Zealand to manage the family business, which is next to Giacaman?s. 

In Bassem?s workshop, cobwebs cover two large statues, the wood is eaten by worms, and in the shop, the lights shine on products no one comes to buy. Despite everything, he said he wouldn?t go back.

?I came back to take care of the family business,? he explained. ?I don?t want to sell the workshop because here is our history ? my father?s, my grandfather?s, and others before me. Here is our history as Christians of Bethlehem.?

?We take it day by day,? he continued. ?We try to sell online, and in this way, we get by, but shipping costs keep going up. I?m not looking for donations; I just want to work and provide jobs for my workers.?

The artisans in Bethlehem are almost all Christians. They primarily work with olive wood. The logs stacked in their storage spaces, shaped by their hands and in their workshops, are transformed into crosses, Nativity scenes, Nativity figures, and Christmas decorations.

Today, many of those items are covered in dust on store shelves, workshop machinery sits idle most of the time, the workforce has been halved, and the remaining workers usually only work two or three days a week ? there simply isn?t enough work for everyone.

Those who can, try to sell online, surviving thanks to some orders from abroad, but rising taxes, tariffs, and increasingly restrictive laws make everything more complicated.

Next to the Basilica of the Nativity, Roni Tabash continues to run the family business, one of the best-known in the city. Next year it will be 100 years since the store has been selling handmade items crafted by local artisans. ?We provide employment for 25 families, over a hundred people,? he told CNA.

At the threshold of the shop?s entrance, Tabash looks at the empty streets around the Church of the Nativity. ?Last year, we hoped that after Christmas the war would be over, but it?s still not finished. It?s getting worse; pilgrims no longer come to Bethlehem. People are struggling and not buying. For us artisans, the situation is really difficult,? he shared.

His father, Victor, who is 80 years old, was also in the shop, having just returned home a few days ago after a long hospital stay. ?As soon as it was possible, he came to the shop; it?s his life,? Tabash said. ?This will be his 61st Christmas at the shop. I sometimes say that we don?t need to stay open every day, but he says we must open, for hope.?

Tabash will celebrate Christmas with his family. ?As Christians, we want to celebrate Christmas because, for us, Christmas is a light in the night. This is our faith, which is stronger than anything. But we hope for peace, because our future and that of our children is at risk.?

Under the arcade of Manger Square, the shutters of the souvenir shops are all down.

?I can still work in my workshop,? Robert Giacaman, a relative of Bassem and Jack, told CNA. ?We get some requests, but not like before. We try to give work to our employees. Many can no longer support their families or their children?s education... an entire generation is being lost.?

Robert took CNA through his workshop to explain how a Nativity scene is created. ?We buy the wood from the Ramallah area because the olive trees there are larger. After selecting the wood, we rough out the trunk with a saw and cut pieces to the size needed for the figure. We use a pantograph for the coarser work and routers for the details. Then there?s the sanding and polishing phase.?

An all-around artist ? he is also a painter and sculptor ? Robert brings artistic ideas into his craftsmanship. ?I always give my workers instructions: how to work, pay attention to the grain of the wood, and how to finish the pieces. I try to make them sensitive to this artistic side.?

He is also active in Christian associations, particularly with the Catholic Scouts of the Holy Land. This is why he experiences the preparation for Christmas with special intensity.

?We want to show Christians around the world that we live Christmas in any situation we find ourselves in,? he said. ?These past two years have been quite sad, but in our hearts, there is the joy of Christmas. We want to send a message of peace to the world, because peace must start from the city where Christ was born. I hope that this year, Christmas brings peace to the whole world.?

Pope Francis addresses cardinals and senior Vatican officials during his annual Christmas speech to the Roman Curia, Dec. 21, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Dec 21, 2024 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis delivered two Christmas messages at the Vatican on Saturday, warning against gossip?s ?destructive effects? while celebrating the importance of family life and humble service.

?An ecclesial community lives in joyful and fraternal harmony to the extent that its members walk in the way of humility, refusing to think and speak ill of one another,? the pope said in his annual Christmas address to the Roman Curia on Dec. 21.

The pope warned that gossip ?damages social bonds, poisons hearts, and leads nowhere,? as he addressed cardinals and senior Vatican officials. He urged them to practice self-accusation rather than accusation of others, drawing on the teachings of early Christian spiritual masters.

The Vatican announced late Saturday that due to inclement weather and cold symptoms that manifested in recent days, Pope Francis will lead the Sunday Angelus prayer from the chapel of Casa Santa Marta rather than the usual Apostolic Palace window, also in view of next week's commitments.

Before beginning his reflection on Dec. 21, the pontiff addressed the ongoing conflict in Gaza, deploring suffering and ?cruelty.?

Praying together during Christmas season

In a separate address to Vatican employees and their families, the pope compared Vatican City to ?a large beehive? bustling with activity in its streets, courtyards, corridors and offices. He thanked those working and unable to attend the gathering but made it possible.

The pope emphasized the theological virtue of humility, connecting it to the mystery of the Incarnation and particularly the Lord?s birth. He encouraged Vatican workers to see their daily tasks as participating in ?the hidden Nazareths of your particular tasks? that help bring humanity to Christ.

Speaking to employees and their families gathered in the Paul VI Hall, Francis stressed the importance of family life, particularly urging attention to grandparents. ?Do you visit your grandparents? Are your grandparents living in the family, or do they live in a retirement home without anyone visiting them?? the pope asked.

He encouraged families to pray together during the Christmas season, particularly before the Nativity scene. ?Without prayer one does not go forward, not even in the family,? Francis said. ?Teach your children to pray.?

The pope described the Roman Curia as a ?workshop? where various roles contribute to spreading God?s blessings throughout the world. He emphasized that humble service reflects ?the way of God Himself, who in Jesus condescends to share in our human condition.?

Former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro and 35 other people, including a Catholic priest, were charged by the country's Federal Police on Nov. 21, 2024, on suspicion of the crimes of violent abolition of the democratic rule of law. / Credit: Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom/Agência Brasil, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Brasilia, Brazil, Dec 21, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).

The Brazilian Commission for Justice and Peace and the National Council of the Laity of Brazil, both organs of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), are spearheading a petition calling on the authorities to ?hold all perpetrators of violence against the Democratic State of Law legally, rigorously, and exemplarily accountable, so that coup attempts against the Brazilian people are never articulated again in this country.?

The document rejects ?any initiative aimed at the impunity of the coup plotters? who allegedly planned, in 2022, to prevent the inauguration of then-president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 

The Dec. 15 document bears the signatures of pastoral commissions of several dioceses, grassroots ecclesial communities, religious orders, diocesan justice and peace commissions, lay organizations of environmentalists, feminists, professional associations, Workers? Party chapters, and the Socialism and Freedom Party (Psol). Altogether, the document has more than 400 signatories. 

The document begins by quoting an excerpt (No. 208) from Pope Francis? encyclical Fratelli Tutti. ?We need to learn how to unmask the various ways that the truth is manipulated, distorted, and concealed in public and private discourse. What we call ?truth? is not only the reporting of facts and events, such as we find in the daily papers. It is primarily the search for the solid foundations sustaining our decisions and our laws.?

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and 35 other people were charged by the Federal Police on Nov. 21 on suspicion of the crimes of violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d?état, and criminal organization.

According to the federal police, the goal of the coup plotters was to kill then-president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The action, called ?Green and Yellow Dagger,? would be carried out on Dec. 15, 2022, by military personnel trained in Special Forces.

For the CNBB bodies, ?Brazil cannot live passively with successive attempts at a coup against democracy by sectors of the military, business elites, and landowners, bankers, political reactionaries, business media and religious fundamentalists (such as some Catholic priests named in the Federal Police investigation and representatives of evangelical pastors who manipulate religion in association with the far right).?

The only Catholic priest among the 36 indicted by the Federal Police in their investigation is Father José Eduardo de Oliveira e Silva from the Diocese of Osasco. He is accused of participating in a meeting with two of the other accused. The priest has 435,000 followers on Instagram and YouTube videos with more than 7 million views.  

According to the document?s signatories, ?the participation of figures from the political, economic and religious elites in association with some of the high-ranking military personnel of the Armed Forces in coups in the past and present makes explicit the authoritarian relationship that sustains the power structures in our country.?

At the end of the note, they call on ?sectors of civil society, class entities that defend and fight for the Democratic Rule of Law ?, religious entities (such as the CNBB, churches, and traditions that do not align themselves with the far right), unions, social movements, and other living organizations to publicly demonstrate that in Brazil there is not, and will not be, room for those who attack democracy.?

?To those who call themselves Christians it is imperative to remember: True Christian ethics points out that omission and connivance are just as serious as the sin of the intentional act,? the document states.

This story was first published by ACI Digital, CNA?s Portuguese-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg in Germany. / Credit: Magdeburg Diocese

CNA Newsroom, Dec 21, 2024 / 07:30 am (CNA).

The president of the German Bishops? Conference and the local bishop of Magdeburg have expressed their shock and offered prayers after a car attack at a Christmas market in eastern Germany on Friday left five people dead and more than 200 injured.

The ?attack in Magdeburg leaves us speechless. The horror, grief, and sympathy are felt today by many people throughout Germany and worldwide,? Bishop Georg Bätzing said, CNA Deutsch reported.

?Our thoughts and prayers are in Magdeburg during these hours. As churches, we mourn with the relatives of the victims of this terrible attack and pray for the injured and the deceased, as well as for their relatives who now fear for their loved ones.?

Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg issued a statement immediately after the attack on Friday evening local time: ?I think of those affected, their relatives, and the emergency services and include them in my prayers.?

The local bishop added: ?Especially in these days and before a feast where the message of God?s love, human dignity, and the longing for a healed world particularly move us, such an act is all the more frightening and abysmal.?

Feige also emphasized that the attack presented ?a challenge for our society to counter any extremism even more decisively and to work even more for peaceful coexistence.?

In his joint statement with the Lutheran organization EKD, Bätzing expressed gratitude to the ?committed emergency services who have been caring for the injured since yesterday and are working under high pressure to clarify what happened, as well as to the emergency chaplains who are standing by the people in this moment and accompanying the traumatized.?

Suspect came from Saudi Arabia

The attack took place shortly after 7 p.m. on Friday when a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia drove a black rental car into crowds at a Christmas market in the heart of Magdeburg, a city of 240,000 people about two hours west of Berlin by car.

The suspect, identified as Taleb A., came to Germany in 2006 and had at one time worked as a psychotherapist, according to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. He had been granted indefinite leave to remain in Germany after applying for asylum, citing threats in his home country.

In a 2019 interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau, the suspect had described himself as an ?ex-Muslim.?

German media on Saturday reported that the man had acted increasingly erratically on social media in recent months, threatening bloodshed and ?war? on German authorities.

The Diocese of Magdeburg announced that St. Sebastian?s Cathedral would be open for prayer and reflection on Saturday. A memorial service will be held at Magdeburg Cathedral on Saturday at 7 p.m., local broadcaster MDR reported.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visited the city earlier in the day to meet with local officials and pay their respects at the site of the attack.

The Holy Door of St. Peter?s Basilica. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 21, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The rite of opening the Holy Doors of the main basilicas of Rome to inaugurate the 2025 Jubilee Year is perhaps one of the most solemn events of the Catholic Church, with centuries of tradition.

The pilgrimage to the Holy Doors of the papal basilicas in Rome is a central act of the jubilee. Passing through them during the holy year symbolizes entry into a new life in Christ and the beginning of a journey of conversion.

On Dec. 24 at 7 p.m. local time, Pope Francis will open the first and most important of them, that of St. Peter?s Basilica, beginning the Jubilee of Hope 2025, in which 30 million people are expected to participate. Later that evening he will celebrate Christmas Mass, the Nativity of Our Lord.

With this gesture, the faithful around the world are invited to experience a renewed encounter with the ?Lord Jesus, ?door? of salvation; with him, whom the Church has the mission to announce always, everywhere, and to everyone as ?our hope,?? says the bull of convocation of the Jubilee 2025.

On Dec. 26, the day after Christmas, Pope Francis will open the Holy Door in the Rebibbia prison in Our Father church.

In order to become a ?pilgrim of hope,? the pope will go to the Rebibbia prison to fulfill the recommendations contained in the bull Spes Non Confundit (?Hope Does Not Disappoint?) ?to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind.?

In particular, the bull mentions ?prisoners who, deprived of their freedom, daily feel the harshness of detention and its restrictions, lack of affection, and, in more than a few cases, lack of respect for their persons.?

On Sunday, Dec. 29, the Holy Door of Rome?s cathedral, St. John Lateran Basilica, will open, which on Nov. 9 celebrated the 1,700th anniversary of its dedication.

On Jan. 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Pope Francis will also open the Holy Door of St. Mary Major Basilica.

The last door to open will be that of the fourth main basilica of the Eternal City, St. Paul Outside the Walls, on Jan. 5.

These latter will close on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, while the jubilee will officially conclude on Jan. 6, 2026, with the closing of the Holy Door of St. Peter?s Basilica.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA?s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Exiled Bishop Rolando Álvarez speaks at a Mass in Seville, Spain, on Dec. 19, 2024. / Credit: Padre Erick Díaz

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 20, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

In his first public Mass, celebrated in Seville province, Spain, Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who has been living in exile in Rome since January, prayed for his ?beloved Nicaragua? and offered his pectoral cross to Our Lady of Sorrows.

?For me it is a pleasure, a joy, and above all a blessing to be celebrating among you this holy Eucharist in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows, in the memory of Our Lady of Hope, Our Expecting Lady, of sweet waiting, and I must also say, on the eve of the 100 years of the canonical foundation of my blessed and beloved Diocese of Matagalpa in Nicaragua,? the prelate said in his homily.

The Diocese of Matagalpa was founded on Dec. 19, 1924, during the pontificate of Pope Pius XI.

?We pray for you in this beautiful town of wonderful people and for our beloved Nicaragua,? added the bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí, as seen in a video by 100% Noticias Nicaragua.

In Our Lady of the Orchards Parish in the town of Puebla de Los Infantes in Seville province, the Nicaraguan bishop recalled in his homily some passages from Pope Francis? letter earlier this month to the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which is suffering tenacious persecution by the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and ?co-president,? Rosario Murillo.

?Don?t forget the loving providence of the Lord that accompanies us and is the only central guide, precisely in the most difficult moments when it becomes humanly impossible to understand what God wants from us, we are called not to forget his care and mercy,? the Holy Father said in the text read by Álvarez.

?Be certain that faith and hope perform miracles. Let us turn our gaze to the Immaculate Virgin: She is the shining witness of this trust; you have always experienced her eternal protection in all your needs and you have shown your gratitude with a very beautiful and spiritually rich religiosity,? the pontiff added in the cited text.

Álvarez also read a passage from the 2020 letter Patris Corde, which Pope Francis wrote for the Year of St. Joseph: ?In every situation, Joseph declared his own ?fiat,? like those of Mary at the Annunciation and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. ? The Gospel tells us that God always manages to save what is important, on the condition that we have the same creative courage as the carpenter of Nazareth, who knew how to transform a problem into an opportunity, always putting his trust in providence first.?

To conclude his homily, the bishop prayed that ?Mary, Our Lady of Hope, Our Lady of Sorrows, would keep us expectant for the imminent coming of her son. Amen.?

The pectoral cross for Our Lady of Sorrows

At the end of the Mass, Álvarez offered his pectoral cross, one of the distinctive symbols of the bishops of the Catholic Church, to Our Lady of Sorrows as represented by her image in the church.

?I want to make this gesture of love, leaving the Sorrowful Virgin my pectoral cross, and I would like all my faithful from Matagalpa, from the countryside, and the city to be able to contemplate this, telling them that from La Puebla de los Infantes I am praying for them,? the prelate said.

?And I am making this gesture of love for them, for the Lord, for the Church, for the Most Holy Virgin. I hope that the Brotherhood of Our Lady will keep this pectoral cross in her hands, in a place where you believe it is appropriate, on this date that is memorable for us, very memorable,? he emphasized.

Who is Bishop Rolando Álvarez?

Beginning on Aug. 4, 2022, Álvarez was confined to his residence by Nicaraguan riot police. He was accompanied by several priests, seminarians, and a layman.

Two weeks later, when they had almost run out of food, the police broke into the house and abducted Álvarez, taking him to Managua, the country?s capital.

In the midst of a controversial trial, the dictatorship sentenced him on Feb. 10, 2023, to 26 years and four months in prison, accusing him of being a ?traitor to the country.? He was held in La Modelo prison where political prisoners are sent.

One day before being sentenced, Álvarez had refused the chance to board a plane carrying more than 200 political prisoners to be deported to the United States.

The bishop was finally deported to Rome on Jan. 14 through Vatican mediation, along with the bishop of Siuna, Isidoro Mora, other priests, and seminarians.

By decision of Pope Francis, Álvarez was one of the members of the Synod of Synodality held in October in the Vatican.

More detailed information on the life and struggles of the bishop can be found here.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA?s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Vandalism at a Heartbeat of Miami pregnancy center in Hialeah, Florida, July 3, 2022. / Credit: Heartbeat of Miami

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).

A Florida woman was convicted on Thursday for conspiracy targeting pro-life pregnancy resource centers, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday. 

Gabriella Oropesa was convicted ?for her role in a conspiracy to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate employees of pro-life pregnancy help centers in the free exercise of the right to provide and seek to provide reproductive health services,? read the Dec. 20 DOJ press release. 

Oropesa was convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which has been used in the past to allegedly target pro-life activists for blocking clinic entrances. The FACE Act prohibits ?violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.? 

Many pro-life activists have been sentenced under the FACE Act in recent years, including several elderly people, a young mother, and a Catholic priest. House Republican lawmakers discussed repealing the FACE Act earlier this week after hearing testimony alleging the law has been weaponized against pro-life protesters.

Oropesa and three co-conspirators had vandalized pregnancy health centers that provided alternatives to abortion with threatening messages. Caleb Freestone, Amber Stewart-Smith, and Annarella Rivera previously pleaded guilty for their involvement.

The four had vandalized a series of pro-life pregnancy help centers in Florida, spray-painting threatening messages such as ?If abortions aren?t safe than niether [sic] are you,? ?YOUR TIME IS UP!!?, ?WE?RE COMING for U,? and ?We are everywhere.? 

?The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act is clear: No one should have to face threats and intimidation just for doing their job,? Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department?s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. 

?The Justice Department will continue to ensure access to the full spectrum of reproductive health services afforded to the public, whether those services include abortion or counseling on alternatives to abortion,? Clarke continued. 

U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida reiterated that reproductive health clinic access is protected by federal law.  

?Federal law protects providers who render reproductive health care and those who seek their services,? Handberg said in a statement. ?Threats of violence against pregnancy resource centers or those exercising their rights to care will not be tolerated.?

A sentence hearing is scheduled for March 19, 2025. Oropesa will face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy charge, according to the DOJ. 

The case involved investigation from the FBI?s Tampa field office as well as local police departments.  

At one pregnancy center in Hialeah, Florida, Heartbeat of Miami, the vandalism resulted in thousands of dollars in damages. The Archdiocese of Miami?s Hollywood pregnancy center and the South Broward Pregnancy Help Center, located just north of Miami, were also targeted. At South Broward, the words ?Jane?s revenge? and an anarchist symbol were also graffitied on the property.

French artist Claire Tabouret poses following a press conference after winning with The Atelier Simon-Marq, the selection to create new stained-glass windows in six chapels of the south aisle of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris on Dec. 18, 2024. / Credit: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 20, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

Designs for six new stained-glass windows at Notre Dame have been revealed for the first time, two weeks after the historic cathedral reopened following a devastating fire in April 2019.

The windows in six chapels on the southern side of the cathedral will be replaced with new windows designed by modern French painter Claire Tabouret. According to a report from RTE, the French state is paying $4 million to install the windows, which will be made by French stained-glass maker Simon-Marq.

The original windows, created in the 19th century by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, had escaped the fire without damage. Several historic preservation groups have protested President Emmanuel Macron?s decision to replace them, including Sites et Monuments and Tribune de l?art, whose site manager launched a petition against the new windows that has garnered 244,833 signatures.

Born in France in 1981, Tabouret graduated from École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 2006. Her paintings and sculptures have been featured in museums across the globe in France, Hong Kong, and Venice. She has also collaborated with luxury designers such as Dior. Tabouret currently lives and works in Los Angeles, according to her website. 

Tabouret?s turquoise, pink, yellow, and red windows feature images of people from various cultural backgrounds celebrating Pentecost. 

In response to debates surrounding modernist updates to the historic Catholic cathedral, Tabouret stated during a press conference at the cathedral: ?I?ve read about different opinions of people because I want to understand their arguments and also to take an approach that is open and two-way.? 

?I find it a fascinating debate,? she said. ?We need to remain in movement, we need to be confident in our era and show confidence in contemporary artists.? 

The doors of the newly restored Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral were officially reopened to the public during a ceremony on Dec. 7, just over five years after a blaze ravaged the iconic structure?s roof, frame, and spire.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai of Antioch were among the 170 bishops from France and around the world who attended the ceremony, which featured a message from Pope Francis, who did not travel for the occasion.

The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Friday blessed the Nativity scene at the historic French landmark church ahead of the first Christmas celebrations since its restoration. 

?You know, for the past 10 days, we?ve been feeling very joyful,? stated Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas during the ceremony. ?My greatest joy is to see people happy because they have a cathedral again, not only because they see these stones again but also because it?s a place for prayer that they got back.?

The windows are expected to be installed in 2026. 

Police and ambulances stand next to a Christmas market where a car crashed into a crowd injuring between 60 and 80 people, according to a spokesman for the local rescue service, on Dec. 20, 2024, in Magdeburg, eastern Germany. / Credit: NEWS5/NEWS5/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2024 / 15:55 pm (CNA).

A car driven by a Saudi Arabian immigrant rammed into a crowd at a Christmas market Friday evening in the central German city of Magdeburg, killing at least two people, according to media reports.

Police in Magdeburg, a city of 240,000 about two hours west of Berlin by car, have not yet released official details about whether the incident was a terrorist attack. The regional governor, Reiner Haseloff, told the media that the suspect is a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian citizen who has worked in Germany as a doctor since 2006.

German news sources reported that the driver of the car was taken into custody. AFP News Agency, citing emergency services, said that between 60 to 80 people were injured.

Magdeburg Police said on social media simply that ?extensive police operations are currently taking place? at the market and ?further reports will be made.?

Magdeburg is known as the city where St. Norbert ? whose legacy lives on through the worldwide Norbertine (or Premonstratensian) order ? served as archbishop until his death in 1134. 

A German official had in November called for ?vigilance? at Christmas markets this year amid a heightened security situation more broadly, though no concrete threats were identified at that time. Germany?s BfV domestic security agency said Christmas markets could be targeted due to their ?symbolism? related to ?Christian values? and as an ?embodiment of Western culture and way of life.?

The incident in Magdeburg took place almost exactly eight years after more than a dozen people were killed when a truck driven by an Islamic extremist rammed into crowds at a Berlin Christmas market. That attacker fled and was later killed in a shootout with police in Italy.

In November 2023, two teenagers, aged 15 and 16, were arrested in Germany on suspicion of terrorism. They reportedly sympathized with the Islamic State and were believed to have planned a Christmas market attack using a vehicle, CNA Deutsch, CNA?s German-language news partner, reported earlier this year.

And in April, German authorities reported the arrest of four suspects allegedly planning terror attacks to target Christians attending church services and police stations with knives and Molotov cocktails.

This story was updated Dec. 20, 2024, at 5:35 p.m. ET with information about the driver of the car.

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Dec. 20,2024 that he has chosen CatholicVote president, Brian Burch, to be his ambassador to the Holy See. / Credit: Photo courtesy of CRC Advisors

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 20, 2024 / 15:05 pm (CNA).

President-elect Donald Trump selected CatholicVote president and co-founder Brian Burch to serve as the United States ambassador to the Holy See, he announced on Truth Social Friday afternoon.

?Brian is a devout Catholic, a father of nine, and president of CatholicVote,? Trump wrote in the Dec. 20 post. ?He has received numerous awards and demonstrated exceptional leadership, helping build one of the largest Catholic advocacy groups in the country.?

CatholicVote is a political advocacy group that endorsed Trump in January and ran advertisements in support the president-elect during his campaign. According to CatholicVote, the organization spent over $10 million on the 2024 elections.

Some of CatholicVote?s ads, running in key swing states, accused Vice President Kamala Harris of supporting taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for minors.

?[Burch] represented me well during the last election, having garnered more Catholic votes than any presidential candidate in history!? Trump wrote. ?Brian loves his Church and the United States ? he will make us all proud. Congratulations to Brian, his wife, Sara, and their incredible family!?

According to a Washington Post exit poll, Trump won the Catholic vote by a 15-point margin this year ? a 10-point swing in his favor from the previous election. Exit polls also showed Trump winning the majority of Catholic voters in vital swing states.

Burch wrote in a post on X that he is ?deeply honored and humbled to have been nominated? for the position.

?The Catholic Church is the largest and most important religious institution in the world, and its relationship to the United States is of vital importance,? he wrote. ?I am committed to working with leaders inside the Vatican and the new administration to promote the dignity of all people and the common good.?

Burch wrote that he looks forward to ?the opportunity to continue to serve my country and the Church.? He thanked his colleagues and his family, including his father, ?who passed to eternal life this past June, who taught me to love the Church and the blessings and responsibilities of being a citizen of the U.S.?

?To God be the glory,? Burch wrote.

Burch, who lives in the Chicago suburbs, is a graduate of the University of Dallas, a private Catholic school. In 2020, he wrote a book called ?A New Catholic Moment: Donald Trump and the Politics of the Common Good.? 

According to his biography on CatholicVote, Burch has received the Cardinal O?Connor Defender of the Faith Award from Legatus International and the St. Thomas More Award for Catholic Citizenship by Catholic Citizens of Illinois.

As ambassador, Burch will represent the United States in diplomatic relations with the Holy See. The United States first established formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1984, under the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

During Trump?s first term, he selected Callista Gingrich ? the president of Gingrich Productions, wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and a Catholic ? to serve as ambassador. She stepped down in 2021. President Joe Biden selected former Sen. Joe Donnelly, who is Catholic, as ambassador to the Holy See during his term. He stepped down earlier this year.

Pope Francis with Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago on Sept. 2, 2015. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Dec 20, 2024 / 14:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis has appointed five new auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Chicago and assigned each bishop-elect a titular see in the Middle East and North Africa region, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, announced Dec. 20.

Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich expressed his gratitude to the Holy Father on Friday for the appointments of bishops-elect Father Timothy J. O?Malley, Father Lawrence J. Sullivan, Father José Maria Garcia Maldonado, Father Robert Fedek, and Father John S. Siemianowski.

?These fine archdiocesan priests reflect the people of this particular Church and the many talents of our local presbyterate,? Cupich shared in a Dec. 20 news release.

?Each has a solid and notable record of pastoral service rooted in their shared fidelity to the Gospel and their generosity in using their unique gifts for the good of the Church and society,? he added.

While each of the five bishops-elect will ?remain in their present assignments for the time being,? according to the Archdiocese of Chicago release, the Vatican?s announcement states Pope Francis has also assigned each a titular see outside of the U.S.

To titular sees in Algeria, the Holy Father appointed O?Malley, parish priest of Most Blessed Trinity in Waukegan, Illinois, to the see of Numida; Sullivan, parish priest of Christ the King in Chicago, to the see of Lambhua; Maldonado, parish priest of San José Sanchez del Rio in Chicago, to the see of Fallaba; and Siemianowski, parish priest of St. Juliana in Chicago, to the see of Gratianopolis.

The Holy Father assigned Fedek, personal secretary to Cupich in the Chicago Archdiocese, the titular see of Dardano in Turkey. The last titular bishop of Dardano was Bishop Nicolas Coëffeteau, OP, who held the seat over 400 years ago from 1617?1621.

All five bishops-elect attended Mundelein Seminary in Illinois before being assigned to parishes in the Chicago Archdiocese. 

The episcopal ordination of the five bishops-elect will take place at Chicago?s Holy Name Cathedral in early 2025.

Archpriest of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas blesses a Nativity scene in the recently reopened cathedral on Dec. 20, 2024, in Paris. / Credit: Kiran Ridley/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 20, 2024 / 14:05 pm (CNA).

The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has blessed the Nativity scene at the historic French landmark church ahead of the first Christmas celebrations since its restoration after a devastating 2019 fire.

?You know, for the past 10 days, we?ve been feeling very joyful,? said Notre Dame rector Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas during the ceremony. ?My greatest joy is to see people happy because they have a cathedral again, not only because they see these stones again but also because it?s a place for prayer that they got back.?

During the ceremonial blessing of the 17th-century-style creche, Dumas shook an olive branch soaked in holy water over the Nativity scene, while those of the faithful in attendance prayed and sang hymns. 

?I am the rector of a cathedral that had burnt down,? Dumas said, adding: ?and I am now the happy rector of a cathedral that has reopened to welcome all of those who will enter it: pilgrims, visitors, and believers.? 

Notre Dame Cathedral underwent five years of renovation after a fire in April 2019 broke out across its roof and spire, causing significant damage to the beloved cathedral and monument of French culture. 

The archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, celebrated the first Mass at the cathedral on Dec. 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The altar of the restored cathedral was consecrated during the liturgy, and celebrants wore vibrant chasubles designed by Jean-Charles Castelbajac, a 74-year-old designer who has dressed the likes of Madonna, Beyonce, Rihanna, and St. John Paul II. 

At the Mass, which was attended by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, some 170 bishops from the country and around the world concelebrated with Ulrich as well as one priest from each of the 106 parishes of the Archdiocese of Paris and one priest from each of the seven Eastern-rite Catholic churches.

Macron, initially scheduled to speak on the cathedral?s forecourt to respect the law of separation between the church and the state, wound up speaking inside the building due to inclement weather, as previously announced in a press release from the Archdiocese of Paris.

Expressing ?the gratitude of the French nation? to the cathedral?s rebuilders during his address, Macron asserted that Notre Dame ?tells us how much meaning and transcendence help us to live in this world.?

Pope Francis also sent his regards in a message read by the apostolic nuncio to France, Archbishop Celestino Migliore.

?May the rebirth of this admirable church be a prophetic sign of the renewal of the Church in France,? the pontiff said. ?I invite all the baptized who will joyfully enter this cathedral to feel a legitimate pride and reclaim their faith heritage.?

Christmas lights line a street in Rome, Italy, Dec. 17, 2024. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Dec 20, 2024 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

Rome during the Christmas season is a feast for the senses. Twinkling lights drape over the city?s cobblestone streets, towering Christmas trees adorn piazzas, and Nativity scenes beckon from churches and storefronts alike.

Against this dazzling backdrop, the first pilgrims for the Catholic Church?s 2025 Jubilee, which begins on Christmas Eve, have the unique opportunity to enjoy the Eternal City?s many Christmas traditions. 

Pope Francis will open five jubilee Holy Doors in the Christmas season between Dec. 24 and Jan. 6.

And 38-year-old Immaculate Atieno, a jubilee pilgrim from Nairobi, Kenya, is hoping to witness all of the solemn door openings with the pope.

?It?s worth it,? Atieno told CNA. ?This is a once-in-every-25-years thing to do. So why not give it your all??

Atieno brought with her a long list of prayer intentions from family and friends in Africa in addition to her desire to pray for the needs of the world as she receives her jubilee indulgence.

?We are at a time where the world really needs lots of prayers,? she explained. ?That is why we put forth our prayers, also praying for the intentions of the Holy Father in this time and remembering others.?

Jubilee pilgrims spending the Christmas season in Rome will also get to enjoy the Italian capital?s many culinary delights, including the ubiquitous Christmas bread, panettone.

Panettone, the egg-rich, butter-laden Italian bread speckled with candied fruit, is everywhere ? stacked in brightly wrapped boxes in grocery stores, showcased in bakery windows, and served in slices at cafes. Some bakeries have taken things up a notch, crafting edible Nativity scenes out of panettone and chocolate.

And while many Italian families will sit down to elaborate seafood feasts on Christmas Eve, pilgrims and locals alike enjoy wandering through the city?s streets, soaking in the holiday atmosphere.

A group of Catholic sisters from Indonesia took in the lights of Via del Corso and snapped photos at the Spanish Steps, where a modern Christmas tree sparkled against the historic landmark.

?Every store, every church has also prepared really wonderful decorations to welcome in Christmas,? Sister Angela of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary told CNA.

?I?m really excited to be welcoming the jubilee here. I?m also feeling so lucky because this year will be the opening of the holy doors.?

Her companion, Sister Tarcisia, shared that she is praying for all of the jubilee pilgrims who will be coming to Rome during the Christmas season as well as for people in the world to experience peace and justice.

This year, large Christmas trees are displayed in Rome?s Piazza di Popolo, the Spanish Steps, and St. Peter?s Square.

Pilgrims strolling through Piazza Navona can browse Rome?s small-scale Christmas market, where vendors sell Nativity figurines, ornaments, and Befana dolls ? Italy?s traditional Christmas witch. 

Over in St. Peter?s Square, visitors marvel at the Vatican?s grand Nativity scene, which this year features a replica of the lagoon of Grado, a picturesque Italian town on the Adriatic Sea.

Under Bernini?s colonnade, the Vatican?s ?100 Nativity Scenes? exhibit draws visitors with its international collection, including Nativities made from coral, pine cones, papier-mâché, and even pasta.

Nearby the Basilica of Sant?Andrea della Valle also showcases an array of Nativity scenes and the Basilica of Saints Cosma and Damiano features a monumental display of historic Neapolitan figurines.

At the Basilica of St. Mary Major, pilgrims can venerate a relic of Christ?s manger and pray at the site where St. Cajetan had a vision of the Virgin Mary handing him the infant Jesus. 

For those willing to venture beyond Rome, Assisi is illuminated during the Christmas season with light displays of Giotto?s famous frescoes, while the nearby town of Greccio is the site of the first Nativity scene created by St. Francis.

For Atieno, the spiritual aspect of the season is central to her pilgrimage. She said her favorite Christmas tradition is the great homilies that she looks forward to every Advent and Christmas. 

?It?s a time when we have to remember peace, joy, and prepare ourselves to welcome Our Lord,? she said.

Pope Francis, who celebrated his 88th birthday on Dec. 17, has a packed liturgical schedule for the first few weeks of the jubilee. 

On Christmas Eve, he will preside over the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter?s Basilica at 7 p.m. followed by the Christmas ?Mass during the Night.?

Pilgrims unable to secure tickets for the Christmas Eve Mass told CNA that they plan to gather in St. Peter?s Square, hoping to witness the historic opening of the Holy Door from outside.

The following day, Francis will deliver his ?urbi et orbi? blessing to the city and the world from the basilica?s central balcony.

The pope?s jubilee itinerary also includes opening the Holy Door at Rome?s Rebibbia prison on  the Dec. 26 feast of St. Stephen; at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran on the Dec. 29 feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; at St. Mary Major on the Jan. 1 solemnity of Mary, Mother of God; and at St. Paul Outside the Walls on Jan. 5.

Pope Francis asked pilgrims to spiritually prepare for Christmas in his last general audience before the start of the jubilee.

?Christmas is now here and I?d like to think that there is a Nativity scene in your homes,? the pope said. ?This important element of our spirituality and culture is a wonderful, wonderful way to remember Jesus who came to dwell among us.?

Praying alongside pilgrims crowded inside the Vatican hall, Pope Francis asked the ?Prince of Peace? for his grace and peace to fill the world.

Bishop Gregory Kelly. / Credit: Scott Wagner Photo LLC, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2024 / 12:45 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis has appointed a new bishop to lead the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, more than a year after the Holy See removed its Bishop Joseph Strickland amid questions over management of the diocese. 

Dallas Auxiliary Bishop J. Gregory Kelly will lead the Tyler Diocese, apostolic nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre said on Friday. 

He will take over diocesan leadership from Austin Bishop Joe Vásquez, who has served as apostolic administrator in Tyler since last year. 

Pope Francis relieved Strickland from the Tyler bishopric last November after an apostolic visitation concluded it was ?not feasible? for Strickland to remain in that position. Strickland had days earlier refused to submit his resignation voluntarily.

Strickland, 65, had served as bishop of Tyler since 2012. The widely popular though polarizing Texas bishop had faced criticism for his firebrand social media posts, including a tweet last year that suggested Pope Francis was ?undermining the deposit of faith.? 

?I am grateful for this new responsibility?

The Texas Catholic, the newspaper for the Diocese of Dallas, said on Friday that Kelly will be installed in Tyler on Feb. 24, 2025. 

?I am grateful for this new responsibility and will do my best to serve the priests, deacons, religious, and faithful of the Diocese of Tyler,? the paper quoted Kelly as saying. 

The bishop-elect was born on Feb. 15, 1956, in Le Mars, Iowa. He received a degree in philosophy from the University of Dallas while in priestly formation at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas. He later received a master of divinity from the university. 

He was ordained in the Dallas Diocese on May 15, 1982, by Bishop Thomas Tschoepe. He served in numerous roles throughout the diocese, including as pastor at multiple churches and as the chaplain at the University of Dallas. From 2008 to 2016 he served as the vicar of clergy for the Dallas Diocese.

In 2016 he was ordained an auxiliary bishop of the diocese, where he has served since. He also serves as the vicar general and moderator of the curia. 

His other responsibilities have included serving as the diocesan vocations director and as a member of the diocesan review board. He also served as apostolic administrator there from 2016?2017. 

Dallas Bishop Edward Burns said on Friday that the pope ?has chosen a loyal and committed bishop to serve in the Diocese of Tyler,? though he said that ?our beloved brother will be missed here in the Diocese of Dallas.?

?We acknowledge that Pope Francis has chosen a man who possesses the heart of the Good Shepherd and will serve the people of God in the Diocese of Tyler well,? Burns said. 

null / Credit: pim pic/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 20, 2024 / 12:15 pm (CNA).

Many women who undergo chemical abortions experience more pain than they were prepared for and more than 40% go through ?severe? pain, according to a peer-reviewed study of British women conducted by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS).

The study, published in the BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health online journal, notes that women who seek out chemical abortions are often advised that the pain from chemical abortions will be similar to ?period pain,? but the researchers note that the pain experienced can vary widely and be much more severe.

?Many felt unprepared for the level of pain they experienced,? the study notes, adding that in many cases, there is ?a lack of detailed, realistic anticipatory pain counseling.?

The survey found that 48.5% of respondents experienced more pain than they expected. About 92% of the women who underwent chemical abortions rated their pain level at least ?4? on a scale of 1 to 10, with 41.5% rating their pain as ?8? or higher, which designates ?severe? pain.

According to the study, some women told researchers that the pain described in consultations or information leaflets was ?washed over,? ?downplayed,? or ?sugarcoated.? 

?The pain was intense and constant, in my lower back,? one of the women explained. ?It hurt so much that it made me throw up several times. I felt shaky and faint at points.?

?Pain was so much stronger than period pain,? another woman described. ?It was like having contractions in labor. I?ve given birth three times and the pain really wasn?t too much different from that pain, the cramping contraction pain.?

Another woman surveyed told researchers ?the pain was really a lot worse than I expected, perhaps because it was compared to bad period pain and my periods have always been fairly pain-free.?

?Pain was so severe, and yet everything I read or heard, and what little there was about the pain on the internet was [that] it was slight cramping, like a bad period ? [which] couldn?t be further from the truth,? she continued. 

?? The amount of pain you could go through is completely played down. ? I understand they probably don?t want to scare many women, but I?d rather know how bad the pain can get.?

The researchers wrote in the study that ?setting realistic expectations? about pain levels is needed for women to support ?informed? decisions.

?Benchmarking against period pain has long been used as a way to describe the pain associated with medical abortion, despite the wide variability of period pain experienced,? Hannah McCulloch, the lead author of the study, said in a statement.

?For many respondents, using period pain as a reference point for what to expect was not helpful for managing expectations, or in line with their experiences,? she added.

Nearly 1,600 women who underwent chemical abortions in England and Wales responded to the survey. Chemical abortions are prescribed for British women up to 10 weeks? gestation, which is the same standard approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.

At 10 weeks? gestation, an unborn child has a fetal heartbeat, early brain activity, and partially developed eyes, lips, and nostrils. The abortion pill mifepristone kills the child by blocking the hormone progesterone, which cuts off the supply of oxygen and nutrients. A second pill, misoprostol, expels the child?s body from the mother, essentially inducing labor.

Pro-life pregnancy resource centers often offer abortion pill reversal (APR) medicine, which is meant to reverse the effects of mifepristone by increasing progesterone levels.

Nigerian Christian mother of five Rhoda Jatau was acquitted of blasphemy charges after a two-and-a-half-year legal battle. / Credit: Photo courtesy of ADF International

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 20, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A Nigerian Christian mother of five has been fully acquitted of ?blasphemy? charges after a two-and-a-half-year legal battle. 

A judge in the northeast Bauchi state in Nigeria has granted Rhoda Jatau, 47, full acquittal of blasphemy charges, according to a Dec. 19 press release from her legal team at ADF International. Bauchi practices a form of Sharia law, under which blasphemy is a crime punishable by execution. 

?We are thankful to God for Rhoda?s full acquittal and an end to the ordeal she has endured for far too long,? stated Sean Nelson, legal counsel for ADF International, in the release. ?No person should be punished for peaceful expression, and we are grateful that Rhoda Jatau has been fully acquitted. But Rhoda should never have been arrested in the first place.?

?We will continue to seek justice for Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria who are unjustly imprisoned and plagued by the draconian blasphemy laws,? he added.  

A Nigerian ADF lawyer who represented Jatau and is remaining anonymous responded to the news, stating: ?After a two-and-a-half-year ordeal, including 19 long months in prison, we are happy that Rhoda finally has been acquitted of any wrongdoing. We thank all who have been praying for Rhoda, and we ask for your continued prayers as Nigerians continue to push back against persecution.? 

Jatau was arrested by Nigerian authorities on May 20, 2022, after forwarding a video to her colleagues at work of a Muslim denouncing the mob killing of Nigerian Christian college student Deborah Emmanuel Yakabu. 

According to local news source Light Bearer News, when news of Jatau?s actions reached the public many immediately called for her death. One Muslim group posted her photo online and called her ?the one God has cursed.? 

During the riots that ensued, 15 Christians were seriously injured, and several buildings were burned down, according to Light Bearer News. 

The young woman?s killing had taken place eight days before Jatau?s arrest, when a mob of Islamist students dragged Yakabu from a safe room where she had been hiding, stoned her to death, and set her body on fire. She was reportedly accused of committing blasphemy after she posted on social media that Jesus had helped her pass her exams. 

Initially denied bail, Jatau spent 19 months in prison after her colleagues at the Primary Healthcare Board of the town of Warj reported her for the post she had sent them. She was ?detained incommunicado? until December 2023. 

During Jatau?s trial, a Bauchi state judge had denied her lawyers? attempts to have the charges dismissed, citing a lack of evidence to back up the prosecution?s claims. News of the acquittal follows international backlash and appeals from ADF International and other religious freedom activists. United Nations experts had also sent a joint letter to the Nigerian government on Jatau?s behalf, condemning the country?s blasphemy laws. 

Pope Francis meets with U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday, June 14, 2024, after a session at the G7 summit, which is being held June 13?15 in the southern Italian region of Puglia. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2024 / 19:45 pm (CNA).

U.S. President Joe Biden accepted an invitation to visit Pope Francis next month and discuss efforts to advance peace, the White House announced on Thursday. 

Biden, the country?s second Catholic president, is set to travel to Rome from Jan. 9?12 at Pope Francis? invitation. His audience with Pope Francis is set for Jan. 10 and will focus on efforts to advance peace around the world.

The trip announcement came following a Thursday telephone conversation between Pope Francis and Biden, during which the two leaders discussed ?efforts to advance peace around the world during the holiday season,? according to a Dec. 19 statement from the White House. 

?The president thanked the pope for his continued advocacy to alleviate global suffering, including his work to advance human rights and protect religious freedoms,? the statement read. ?President Biden also graciously accepted His Holiness Pope Francis? invitation to visit the Vatican next month.?

Biden is also set to meet with Italy?s president, Sergio Mattarella, and Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni during his visit. The White House noted that Biden will thank Meloni for her leadership of the G7 over the past year. The G7 Summit is an annual meeting of government leaders from the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy.

Overseas visits this late in a U.S. presidency are rare. The most recent overseas visit in the last month of a president?s term was more than 30 years ago, when outgoing president George H.W. Bush visited Moscow to sign a nuclear treaty and Paris for talks with the French president about the Bosnian war. 

Biden last met with Pope Francis in June of this year where the two discussed foreign policy in Israel, Gaza, and the Ukraine as well as climate change. During a private audience at the G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy, the two leaders ?emphasized the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire and a hostage deal? in Gaza and the need to ?address the critical humanitarian crisis,? according to the White House. 

At the time, Biden also thanked Pope Francis for the Vatican?s work to address the humanitarian concerns in Ukraine and for his efforts to address climate change.

The two have consistently discussed the Israel-Hamas war since October 2023, when they spoke over the phone about preventing escalation and working toward peace in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in which Hamas killed more than 1,200 men, women, and children. 

Biden previously met with Pope Francis in October 2021 for about 75 minutes to discuss poverty, climate change, and other issues. That was Biden?s first in-person meeting with the pontiff as president, but the two leaders also spoke on the phone shortly after the presidential election. Biden had met Pope Francis three times before becoming president. 

Pope Francis has criticized Biden in the past for his promotion of legal abortion as a Catholic, calling it an ?incoherence? in a 2022 interview. Pope Francis said: ?Let [Biden] talk to his pastor about that incoherence.? 

The Holy Father also recently called for an end to production and use of anti-personnel explosives in November, just a week after Biden approved Ukraine?s use of American land mines in the Russia-Ukraine war. 

During the past four years of Biden?s administration, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has been consistently at odds with the Biden administration over issues related to abortion and gender ideology.

An FBI agent stands outside the Houck residence in Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 23, 2022. Mark Houck was arrested that day and charged with assaulting a Planned Parenthood escort outside an Philadelphia abortion clinic on Oct. 13, 2021. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Houck family

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 19, 2024 / 17:35 pm (CNA).

House Republican lawmakers discussed repealing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act on Wednesday after hearing testimony alleging the law has been weaponized against pro-life protesters.

The FACE Act, which has been federal law for 30 years, imposes harsher prison sentences for people who obstruct access to abortion clinics or pro-life pregnancy resource centers. However, under President Joe Biden?s Department of Justice (DOJ), the law has almost exclusively been used to convict pro-life demonstrators.

Rep. Chip Roy introduced legislation to repeal the FACE Act in 2023, but the bill failed to make it out of the Judiciary Committee. If a repeal effort were to pass the House, it would need to overcome the filibuster in the Senate by garnering support from seven Democrats in the upcoming session. The effort has not gotten support from any Democratic lawmakers.

On Wednesday, Dec. 18, lawmakers heard testimony about the alleged targeting of pro-life activists in a House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government hearing.

Unequal enforcement against pro-life advocates

Roy, who chairs the subcommittee, noted during the hearing that the Biden DOJ brought 25 FACE Act cases against more than 50 offenders.

Only two of those cases were against pro-abortion activists who vandalized pro-life pregnancy resource centers despite the numerous attacks following the Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade. The remainder have been invoked against pro-life demonstrators. 

More than a dozen pro-life activists, several of whom are elderly and in poor health, are either in prison or awaiting sentencing for FACE Act violations. 

Lauren Handy, 31, who was given the longest sentence, is serving four years and nine months in prison. Other activists serving at least two years include 75-year-old Paulette Harlow and 74-year-old Jean Marshall. The oldest activist convicted under Biden?s tenure is 89-year-old Eva Edl, who is a survivor of a communist concentration camp in the former Yugoslavia and is currently awaiting sentencing.  

?Unequal application of the law is not truly law,? Roy said. ?It is tyranny imposed on those who didn?t have the power by those who do have it. That?s contrary to everything we believe as Americans.?

Paul Vaughn, who was convicted of violating the FACE Act for his role in a March 2021 protest at an abortion clinic in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, testified at the hearing that he peacefully prayed but never personally blocked anyone from entering the clinic. Others at the demonstration engaged in a nonviolent sit-in in front of the clinic doors and were also convicted. 

?I did nothing that was outside my constitutionally protected free speech and religious freedom,? Vaughn said. ?I did nothing that day that I?ve not done many times since [the FACE Act] was passed in 1994. I did not sit in, I broke no laws, federal or local, and I was not arrested the day of the event.? 

Although local police did not arrest him, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided his home in October 2022 to arrest him under FACE Act charges, nearly a year and a half later. 

?My house was assaulted, my wife and children were terrorized, and I was kidnapped at gunpoint by four armed men,? he said. ?I had just sent three of my children to the car so I could take them to school when the house began to shake from a loud banging near the front door. I heard men shouting on my porch, ?Open up, FBI!??

?I opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, staring down the barrels of both a pistol and an automatic weapon pointed at my head,? he added.

Vaughn did not get prison time but was given three years of supervised release. He testified that for him, ?all this process is [still] a punishment.? 

?There are those who are in jail today while we are discussing this abuse, some of them for over a year at this point,? Vaughn said. 

Republicans and Democrats disagree

During the hearing, Roy reiterated his call to repeal the FACE Act and urged President-elect Donald Trump to pardon or commute the sentences of pro-life activists convicted under the law ? something that Trump has said he intends to do. 

Rep. Dan Bishop, one of the Republican members of the committee, said during the hearing that ?it just seems to me troubling.? 

?You got guns drawn and pointed at a man?s head and [you have] his children ? stopped at the side,? Bishop said, adding that ?we?re in an environment where we?re always talking about [how] police officers should deescalate [situations].? 

Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman said the ?abuse of the FACE Act is an attempt to criminalize the free thought and the ability for people to ? peacefully protest.?

?It?s a sad day in America when someone who is praying ? [to] be arrested years later for that behavior,? she added.

Republican Rep. Tom McClintock added that the FACE Act is ?being administered by people with political biases? and questioned whether there was a way to prevent weaponization without repealing the entirety of the law. 

Democrats, however, disagreed that the law has been weaponized and stressed that lawmakers should keep the FACE Act rules in place. 

?[Republicans] are really just giving themselves another opportunity to signal their support to the extremists plotting to criminalize or block access to abortion across the country,? Democratic Rep. Mary Scanlon said.

Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler said: ?Republicans have found no ? zero ? credible or direct evidence that supports their specious claims regarding what they alleged is the Department of Justice?s uneven enforcement of the FACE Act.?

?Anti-abortion extremists continue to use violence, threats, and disruption to curb access to abortion,? Nadler said. ?So Republicans want to repeal the law that explicitly protects patients, providers, and facilities that provide reproductive health services from these ongoing threats.?

FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland have denied that the FBI or DOJ have been targeting pro-life activists with FACE Act prosecutions.

null / Credit: RasyidArt/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 19, 2024 / 15:55 pm (CNA).

A school district in Ohio must pay a teacher a $450,000 settlement after it forced her to resign for refusing to participate in the ?social transition? of minor students.

Attorneys representing Ohio teacher Vivian Geraghty at the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) announced news of the substantial settlement in a Dec. 18 press release, stating that the Jackson Local School District would pay damages and attorney fees for violating Geraghty?s freedom of speech. 

ADF had filed suit against the district in December 2022 over the dispute. 

?No school official can force a teacher to set her religious beliefs aside in order to keep her job,? stated ADF Legal Counsel Logan Spena in the release following news of the settlement.

?The school tried to force Vivian to accept and repeat the school?s viewpoint on issues that go to the foundation of morality and human identity, like what makes us male or female, by ordering her to personally participate in the social transition of her students,? Spena said.

?The First Amendment prohibits that abuse of power, and Jackson Local School District officials have learned that comes at a steep cost,? she added. ?Vivian resisted this unconstitutional demand and explained that her Christian faith made her unable to participate in her students? social transition, and she has received just vindication for taking this stand.?

Geraghty was working as an English teacher at Jackson Memorial Middle School in the northeast Ohio city of Massillon when two students approached her asking that she use pronouns and names that were inconsistent with their biological sex in order to facilitate ?social transition.? 

Because of her firmly held Christian beliefs, Geraghty attempted to reach a solution with the school?s administration. However, the principal and the district?s curriculum director told her ?she would be required to put her beliefs aside as a public servant? and that her refusal would ?not work in a district like Jackson.?  

When she refused to affirm the students? ?gender identity,? the district curriculum director ?handed Geraghty a laptop and ordered her to draft her letter of resignation in the adjoining room for immediate submission,? according to ADF.

ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom, also condemned the district?s violation of Geraghty?s religious beliefs in an ADF press release at the time of the filing.

Geraghty wished to ?avoid using her voice to validate ideas that violate her faith and jeopardize her students? well-being,? Langhofer said at the time. 

?Increasing evidence suggests that this approach may lead adolescents to unnecessarily pursue dangerous medical interventions like puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, or life-altering surgeries,? he pointed out. 

?Vivian treated every student with equality and respect, and it was unlawful for school officials to terminate her employment.? 

The payout comes several months after a similar ADF victory in which a school board in Virginia agreed to pay a teacher more than half a million dollars after he was fired for refusing to use a student?s transgender pronouns.

Pope Francis blesses small mobile medical unit being donated to Ukraine. / Credit: Dicastery for the Service of Charity

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 19, 2024 / 15:25 pm (CNA).

?Martyred? Ukraine has occupied a special place in Pope Francis? heart since the Russian army invaded the country in February 2022.

The pontiff has regularly called for prayer for the Ukrainian people and appealed for peace. But not only that, the Holy Father has also made concrete gestures of solidarity with the victims of the conflict.

The latest is a special gift as Christmas draws near: a vehicle converted into a small mobile hospital to care for the inhabitants of this country devastated by war.

The person in charge of delivering the vehicle where the injured can be operated on will be the pope?s almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajweski.

In addition, the Holy Father is sending six ultrasound machines that will be donated to destroyed and bombed hospitals.

During his trip to Ukraine, Krajewski will visit several communities to meet the suffering people, to bring them hope and the closeness of Pope Francis.

The cardinal has already visited the most affected areas on at least eight occasions at the request of the Holy Father.

In June, he brought the third ambulance donated by the pope to Ukraine. On that occasion, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity visited the district of Zboriv ??in the Ternopil region.

He also brought with him a large quantity of essential medicines from the Vatican Pharmacy and the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Pharmacy.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA?s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The faithful adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament at Adoration Sodality Day at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament

National Catholic Register, Dec 19, 2024 / 14:55 pm (CNA).

On Dec. 19, 1999, the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama, was officially opened and consecrated. The opening Mass was celebrated by the Diocese of Birmingham?s bishop at the time, Bishop David Foley. Opening at the same time was Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. Then came the next awe-inspiring moment. 

?One vivid memory that I have is of the moment when the shield in front of the monstrance came down for the first time,? recalled Franciscan Father Joseph Mary Wolfe, chaplain and chapel dean for EWTN. ?The monstrance presented for the first time the newly consecrated Sacred Host from the dedication Mass for adoration. The choir and orchestra that Mother Angelica had arranged for began to sing the ?Hallelujah Chorus? from Handel?s ?Messiah? and adoration began ? forever changing the atmosphere of the temple, the monastery, and the surrounding area, because of the profound presence of the Eucharistic Lord who is loved and adored there.?

Father Joseph Mary was present from the start. He shared how various potential locations weren?t ?quite right.? 

But then Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation saw the countryside acreage about 50 miles north of EWTN?s headquarters in Irondale. 

?I got out of the car and I knew. I felt the Lord?s presence so strongly. I knew this is where he wanted us,? the foundress of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration detailed in her biography.

?When Mother saw the property in Hanceville, she knew this was the place,? Father Joseph Mary said. ?One of the things that confirmed the location was the fact that the land was purchased for the very first time by the first owner of the land on Aug. 2, which is the feast of Our Lady of the Angels, which is the name of the monastery. When they first began excavations of the land, they discovered white clay in the area where the temple now is.? Since clay in Alabama is red, ?they saw this as another confirmation.?

Then came a direction straight from the Lord himself, Father Joseph Mary explained.

?Her experience with the child Jesus at the Shrine of Divino Niño in Bogotá, Colombia, gave her the impetus from the child Jesus himself: ?Build me a temple, and I will help those who help you.? The genuineness of Mother Angelica?s experience is confirmed by the fact that the shrine exists and the benefactors? businesses all prospered, as they later related to Mother Angelica.?

Brother Bernard Mary of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word, who was also present at the beginning of the shrine, told the National Catholic Register, CNA?s sister news partner, that the shrine ?has fulfilled Mother Angelica?s vision by becoming a place of pilgrimage for the laity, priests, and religious with a special emphasis on rekindling Eucharistic devotion.? He added that ?another aspect that may be overlooked is how it has transformed the lives of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration. When they were in Irondale, they eventually became surrounded by EWTN facilities.?

?It was impossible for them not to be affected by the noise and busyness of the network,? he said. ?In Hanceville, they are able to return to their contemplative vocation in the midst of an idyllic pastoral setting. That was certainly one of Mother Angelica?s intentions when she moved the community.?

The shrine materializes

The monastery-farm project, breaking ground in 1996, blossomed into ?a monumental complex of European-style architecture in rural Alabama.?

Brother Bernard explained that five anonymous families financed everything because they ?wanted to give the best of the best to Our Lord. No expense was spared.?

The design of both the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady of the Angels Monastery is Romanesque-Gothic architecture inspired by great 13th-century Franciscan churches and monasteries, especially in Assisi and Umbria.

Inside the shrine, the altar, sanctuary floor, and intricately designed temple floor are of exquisite marbles from Italy, Macedonia, Spain, Brazil, South Africa, Finland, and Turkey.

The beautifully designed and colorful stained-glass windows were made by famed glassmakers in Munich, Germany. The 55-feet-high, gold-leafed, hand-carved reredos of cedar from Paraguay becomes the throne for the nearly-eight-foot monstrance where Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament is worshipped in perpetual adoration and solemn exposition.

The statue of El Divino Niño in the shrine replicates the one Mother saw in Colombia. In the huge piazza, the centerpiece is another statue of the divine child Jesus.

Commenting on the completed shrine, Mother Angelica said at the time: ?I never in my wildest dreams thought it would be so beautiful. At every turn he would change it. It got bigger and bigger, and more and more beautiful. In every possible way he intercepted our ideas and we could see what he wanted. He designed it; he built it; he paid for it.?

Countless blessings

Seeds for vocations were planted at the shrine, too, such as for Father Patrick Mary of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word. In 2000, home after his first semester away at college, he drove with his parents and seven siblings from Florida to northern Alabama. The family decided to attend the Christmas midnight Mass at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

?I was an unsuspecting pilgrim walking across the piazza toward the shrine for Mass that night,? Father Patrick Mary recalled to the Register. ?I had no idea that I was about to have a religious experience that would change the direction of my life. Although I had been going to Mass regularly on Sundays, I was quite lukewarm and mediocre interiorly, and the priesthood was not something on my mind.?

?A number of things struck me at the Mass ? the beauty of the church, the reverence that I witnessed, and the use of Latin and of incense,? he vividly recalled. ?The Gregorian chant and polyphony sung by the nuns was also very edifying and inspiring and was quite a contrast to the heavy-metal music which I had immersed myself in the previous few years. It was in the midst of all this at the Mass, that a clear and peaceful desire to be a priest was put on my heart. And it never went away. This led to my discernment of the priesthood and the religious life and to entering the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word.?

Looking back on the shrine?s silver jubilee, Father Patrick Mary said: ?I?m grateful to God for the many graces given me at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament and for the graces that continue to be poured out on pilgrims who come from all over, seeking a place of prayer, of peace, and of spiritual refreshment. For 25 years our God has been adored there in the Blessed Sacrament, day in and day out, by the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration and by pilgrims from all over. It is a most fitting place to give thanks to the Lord, whose goodness and love endure forever.?

In these past 25 years, the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament has likely brought about countless conversions.

Brother Leo Mary easily recalls how many people came into the Church 25 years ago. 

?About 80 people came into the Church just at the beginning, when that shrine was being built,? he told the Register. ?Bishops said they had a lot coming into the Catholic Church just because of them going to see the shrine. They would ask what drew these people to the faith, and a lot of it was EWTN and also the shrine, so that?s powerful.?

The visitors never stopped. Then, like today, ?it was all about the Eucharist,? Brother Leo Mary said. Since he gives tours of the shrine and works with the pilgrims, he finds that so many ?come to the shrine when they see signs for it on well-traveled roads. We get a lot of people come through that are non-Catholics, all of the denominations, and God loves them. ? They stop by, and it?s beautiful to see how God is working on all these beautiful people.?

?Everything is about the Eucharist,? he underscored. ?When you go into the main church, everything is pointing to the monstrance, everything points to Jesus in the Eucharist, and it?s very powerful in that sense. They learn about the faith and see the beauty.?

?Mother Angelica always wanted people to come to know Jesus,? Brother Leo Mary added. The Blessed Sacrament Shrine is ?all about pointing you to Jesus and how much he loves you. That?s what she wanted.?

The shrine grows

Along the way, the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady of the Angels Monastery dedicated another addition on Dec. 8, 2013 ? the new John Paul II Eucharistic Center. Cardinal Raymond Burke celebrated the dedication Mass. At that time, he told the Register: ?Mother Angelica, in her profoundly rich and courageous love of the Catholic faith and in her desire to bring the Catholic faith to all, rightly founded a shrine dedicated the mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist.

He added that ?all of us in the Church should have a particular appreciation for the inspiration of Mother Angelica in establishing a shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.?

How does Father Joseph Mary see Mother?s vision has worked out for the shrine over these 25 years? 

?This is just the beginning,? he said. ?It has benefitted so many souls already and sparked vocations, including our own Father Patrick?s vocation. I believe greater things are yet to come.? 

A Prayer for the Silver Jubilee 

This prayer was composed for this silver anniversary by Poor Clare Sister Mary Michael, one of the original sisters of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration to come from Ohio to Alabama with Mother Angelica:

?Dearest Jesus, at this time when our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for the infinite love you show us in your incarnation, we?re also thankful for this beautiful shrine and monastery that you inspired Mother Angelica to build; a temple where you would always be loved and adored in the Most Blessed Sacrament. This beautiful chapel is a place where everyone can spend quiet time with you, the God of love, in adoration and intimate conversation.

?Our hearts have always been filled with love and gratitude for all our friends and benefactors who made this shrine possible and help keep it going. They are daily remembered in our prayers. Bless each one of them, Jesus; keep them safe and reward them with the greatest gift you can give to anyone ? the gift of yourself.?

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA?s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

The U.S. bishops designated the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., as a special pilgrimage site for the 2025 Jubilee Year on Dec. 17, 2024.  / Credit: Victoria Lipov/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2024 / 14:25 pm (CNA).

The U.S. bishops on Tuesday designated the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., as a special pilgrimage site for the 2025 Jubilee Year. 

A jubilee is a special holy year of grace and pilgrimage that happens at least once every 25 years. The pope can call for extraordinary jubilee years, such as the 2016 Year of Mercy, more often. During the jubilee, Catholics are encouraged to make a pilgrimage to Rome. For pilgrims who can?t travel to Rome, the bishops are expected to designate important local shrines and pilgrimage sites as special sites for the jubilee, according to the USCCB. 

?Visiting the basilica is a powerful way to take advantage of the grace of the jubilee and to be filled with the hope that flows from the embrace of our Mother,? Archbishop Timothy Broglio, archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the USCCB, said in a statement shared with CNA. 

One grace that ?pilgrims of hope? on the jubilee may obtain is the ?jubilee indulgence.? This grace is granted by the Holy Father to anyone who travels to any sacred jubilee site, whether in Rome, the Holy Land, or a locally designated sacred site.  

Monsignor Walter Rossi, rector of the National Shrine, shared his gratitude ?for the privilege of designating Mary?s shrine as a special place of pilgrimage for the holy year.?

?This honor will provide a moment of grace for all ?pilgrims of hope? during the jubilee year and will be especially beneficial to those who are unable to travel to Rome to pass through the Holy Doors and obtain the jubilee indulgence,? Rossi said in a statement shared with CNA. 

The National Shrine is the largest Roman Catholic church in North America and is dedicated to the patroness of the United States ? the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Immaculate Conception. 

A spokesperson for the U.S. bishops told CNA that the National Shrine is the only special place of pilgrimage designated by the U.S. bishops ? but diocesan bishops may designate their own cathedrals and basilicas.   

?While the USCCB hasn?t given this distinction to other sites in the United States, you will see in the guidance published by the Holy See that various sacred places such as diocesan cathedrals and minor basilicas may be given the special designation by the local bishop to allow the faithful to obtain the jubilee indulgence,? Chieko Noguchi, executive director of public affairs for the USCCB, told CNA. 

Bishops around the U.S. are beginning to designate special places of pilgrimage within their dioceses. 

In Michigan, for instance, the archbishop of Detroit designated 12 local pilgrimage sites. Archbishop Allen Vigneron noted that certain pilgrimage sites would be available for the faithful to receive graces. These 12 pilgrimage sites include the Basilica of Sainte Anne de Detroit, the Blessed Solanus Casey Center, and the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica. 

In the Archdiocese of Miami, Archbishop Thomas Wenski designated five churches as jubilee pilgrimage sites, including the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity and St. Mary Star of the Sea Basilica. 

In the Archdiocese of Denver, Archbishop Samuel Aquila established nine jubilee pilgrimage sites including the Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden and the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

In Pennsylvania, Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia designated 10 sites, including the National Shrine of St. John Neumann as well as the Blessed Carlo Acutis Shrine and Center for Eucharistic Encounter.

A mom and her baby whom the St. Raymond?s Society helped. / Credit: Courtesy of St Raymond?s Society

CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2024 / 13:55 pm (CNA).

Here?s a roundup of recent pro-life, pro-family, and abortion-related updates.  

Missouri?s maternity home program saves money

A pro-family tax credit program in Missouri saves taxpayers nearly $600,000 a year while supporting mothers, a report found. The St. Raymond?s Society maternity home report found that the program, which offers tax credits for donations to pro-life maternity homes, saved hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars by limiting public spending on other programs, such as homelessness.

?Pregnant women and new mothers are highly vulnerable to the financial impacts of these precarious circumstances,? the report noted. ?Early intervention to address poverty is important as studies show the longer one is in poverty, the less likely they are to exit poverty.?

Maternity homes do more than just house women ? they often provide coaching and mentoring services as well as financial and emotional support. The program?s long-term impact means that women are less likely to fall into poverty and more likely to receive higher levels of education. This decreases their need for future public resources in the long term, the report found. 

In addition, these services help the child long-term by providing essential prenatal services that help prevent health issues. The report found that by supporting women during pregnancy, Missouri saves about $28,700 per person seeking maternity services, totaling almost $600,000 in savings. Missouri?s policy also gives donors to maternity homes a 70% return to use on their taxes.  

Housing for pregnant women and mothers

A prominent research institute released a report on Dec. 12 encouraging the U.S. government to do more to support pregnant and parenting women facing housing challenges. The Charlotte Lozier Institute urged the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ? which currently allocates $70 billion to housing programs ? to extend support to pregnant and parenting women in need of housing aid. 

The report highlighted the housing crisis and its effect on expecting mothers. Housing instability increases risks for a mother and her unborn child ? including poverty, health complications, and even adverse birth outcomes, the report noted. In addition, housing instability and poverty are key reasons that women cite for having abortions. 

The Lozier Institute encouraged HUD to amend definitions in its programs to include pregnant and parenting women in need ? and to place them at the front of the line. These changes, the report noted, would allow expecting mothers priority access to housing assistance programs. Current policy generally focuses on youth pregnancy, but the report noted that programs should be expanded to include better support for pregnant and parenting mothers of varying ages.

Canadian city to restrict pro-life flyers with abortion images

A city in British Columbia, Canada, is set to restrict flyers containing graphic images of aborted fetuses. The New Westminster council on Monday unanimously supported the bylaw, which applies to graphic images of aborted fetuses but not to graphic images in general. The bylaw will require mailed materials with graphic images of victims of abortion to be delivered in an opaque envelope with a content warning as well as the name and address of the sender. Advocates of the bylaw argued that the flyers could be harmful to receivers? mental health. 

If approved, the bylaw would make New Westminster the first city in British Columbia to restrict abortion images, though other cities in Canada have made similar bylaws restricting pro-life materials with graphic images of what abortion does to a fetus. Abortion is legal in Canada and publicly funded through all nine months of pregnancy. The government of British Columbia?s website states that in the province, every person has a medical right to abortion. 

Kansas abortions skyrocket in 2023

A Kansas report found that abortions spiked 58% in 2023, with nonresidents representing three-quarters of Kansas abortions. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reported an increase from 12,319 abortions in 2022 to 19,467 in 2023. The number of nonresidents having abortions in Kansas nearly doubled from 8,475 in 2022 to 15,111 in 2023. Kansas became an ?abortion destination? following abortion restrictions in neighboring states, with abortions in Kansas rising since the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Before the overturn, there were 7,849 abortions reported by the KDHE in 2021.

While the Kansas Supreme Court in 2019 ruled that the state?s Bill of Rights contained a right to self-determination, which included a state right to have abortions, several states surrounding Kansas limit abortion, including Missouri and Oklahoma. Missouri?s current pro-life law, which allows abortions only in medical emergencies, is being challenged in court after the state voted to enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution. 

Father Lawrence Hecker pleaded guilty this week to kidnapping and raping a teenage boy in the 1970s, heading off a long-delayed trial that launched with an indictment last year.  / Credit: New Orleans Police Department

CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2024 / 11:25 am (CNA).

A Louisiana priest who pleaded guilty to raping a teenage boy decades ago will spend the rest of his life in prison, a criminal court ruled this week. 

Lawrence Hecker was handed the life sentence in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court on Wednesday. The sentence was given by Judge Nandi Campbell ?without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension.? Campbell was reportedly weeping for Hecker?s victim as she ordered the life sentence. 

?He admitted to some very horrible crimes,? Hecker?s lawyer Bobby Hjortsberg told media after the sentencing. 

?He took responsibility for that and I believe that sparing the victims from having to go through the anguish of a trial should give them some closure and allow them to walk away from this knowing they got justice,? Hjortsberg added.

Hecker had pleaded guilty earlier this month to the kidnapping and raping of his teenage victim in the 1970s. The last-minute plea headed off a long-delayed trial that launched with an indictment last year. 

In September of last year, the 93-year-old priest was indicted on charges of aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, an aggravated crime against nature, and theft. The sex abuse crimes are alleged to have occurred between Jan. 1, 1975, and Dec. 31, 1976.

The trial was repeatedly delayed this year amid Hecker?s ill health and uncertainty over his mental competency to stand trial. Orleans Parish First Assistant District Attorney Ned McGowan had promised to ?roll him in on a gurney? to try him.

District Attorney Jason Williams told media on Wednesday that he would request Hecker serve his sentence at Louisiana State Penitentiary, known popularly as Angola. Hjortsberg, meanwhile, said the convicted rapist will likely serve his sentence at a medical facility.

In a statement provided to CNA, New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond said: ?Today, it is our hope and prayer that the survivors of abuse perpetrated by Lawrence Hecker have some closure and some sense of peace in his sentencing.?

?On behalf of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, we offer our sincere and heartfelt apologies to the survivors for the pain Hecker has caused them to endure for decades,? the archbishop said, telling survivors the archdiocese ?commend[s] your bravery? for coming forward.

?Our prayers are with all survivors,? the prelate said, adding that when the archdiocese has concluded its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, he will ?meet with those survivors who wish to do so.?

The Archdiocese of New Orleans lists Hecker as among the priests who ?are alive and have been accused of sexually abusing a minor, which led to their removal from ministry.?

The archdiocesan website says it received allegations against Hecker in 1996 and removed him from ministry in 2002. 

The archdiocese says the ?time frame? of Hecker?s abuse spans the late 1960s and the early 1970s. The priest had in 1999 reportedly confessed to abusing multiple teenage boys during those years.

?Roadmap to Reality: Carlo Acutis and Our Digital Age? is a new documentary film exploring the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis and the lessons he offers young people regarding the challenges of the digital world that will be coming to theaters in the spring of 2025. / Credit: Castletown Media

CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2024 / 10:55 am (CNA).

An online presentation Tuesday sponsored by the National Eucharistic Revival explored the question of how Catholics can use technology for good, inspired by the life of soon-to-be-saint Carlo Acutis. 

Acutis, a young Italian who died in 2006, is due to be canonized during the Catholic Church?s 2025 Jubilee Year. He is known for his skillful use of technology to spread his Catholic faith, particularly his creation of a still-extant website cataloging Eucharistic miracles.

Born in 1991, Carlo?s mother remembers the young whiz kid proudly describing himself as a ?computer scientist? well before he got his first computer as a gift around the year 2000. He is often described as the Catholic Church?s first ?tech-savvy? saint.

Tim Moriarty, director of the new film ?Roadmap to Reality: Carlo Acutis and Our Digital Age? and co-host of the Dec. 17 webinar, highlighted statistics that suggest the average teen spends half of his or her waking hours looking at screens, and the troubling evidence of mental health issues and suicidal ideation linked to excessive digital engagement. 

He described Acutis as a ?digital missionary? who masterfully used the internet as a tool in his pursuit of holiness while the Eucharist kept him anchored to reality ? unlike so many of his peers who, Moriarty argued, fell into the distractions, vices, and prideful pursuits that the burgeoning internet had to offer.

In the face of such challenges posed by imprudent use of technology, ?in a world losing itself to screens,? Moriarty called Acutis ?absolutely a saint for our times ... the saint we need.?

Acutis? deep devotion to Christ in the Eucharist, which informed his prudent use of technology, is an example for people today, he said.

?[Acutis was] online to get people offline,? Moriarty said, explaining that Acutis sought to encourage people to have a tangible encounter with God in the sacraments, as Acutis himself so often did in Eucharistic adoration and at Mass.

Brett Robinson, associate professor of practice at Notre Dame?s McGrath Institute and the co-host of the webinar, called for a critical examination of Catholics? relationship with technology, urging them to try to use technology intentionally and focus on cultivating meaningful relationships outside of the digital sphere.

He asserted that Catholics would do well to take an approach to technology more like the Amish ? a group that contrary to popular belief does not reject technology, he added ? and ask in the face of technological advancements not ?What can this do for me?? but rather ?What will this do for my community??

Because society has become so dependent on technology, many people believe there is no choice but to accept the ?collateral damage? of a teen mental health crisis driven largely by social media, the scourge of pornography, and a decay of public discourse online, Robinson argued. 

An ?atomized? approach to life and a lack of ?formation? in virtue has led to the misuse of technology and many of the problems of modern society, he asserted.

Robinson similarly presented Acutis as a model for navigating this digital landscape, emphasizing a balance between embracing technology?s benefits and maintaining a grounded spirituality ? particularly within devotion to the Eucharist ? as well as human connection.

Robinson closed by offering several pieces of advice for a better relationship with technology that he compiled from his students at Notre Dame; slow down and take moments of rest, reflection, and silence; go outside and spend time in nature to escape digital noise and find peace; be present and prioritize human connection, rituals, and habits; set boundaries and use technology intentionally; and seek meaning, defining yourself by your values and passions rather than your achievements.

Above all, he said, Christians are called to ?contextualize? the world, helping those they encounter to understand the bigger picture.

?Something is being revealed in all this [technological] change; something?s being revealed about what it means to be human. And that?s actually a really good thing for the Church, but it?s up for us to discern,? Robinson said.

The moment a man tries to steal a consecrated host in Honduras. / Credit: Facebook Canal 16 Ocatepeque/Screenshot

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 19, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A priest prevented a man from taking off with an unconsumed consecrated host after approaching to receive Communion during the Mass for the second anniversary of the St. Lucy shrine in the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán in Honduras.

Father Nery Adalberto Gómez Pérez, parish priest of St. Mark the Evangelist in Ocotepeque, was invited last Friday, Dec. 13, the saint?s feast day, to celebrate Mass at the St. Lucy shrine, where a large crowd of faithful had gathered.

At Communion time during Mass, among the faithful was a man with a mustache, taller than average and wearing a white T-shirt and a baseball cap.

Waiting his turn, he stood before the priest, who pronounced the words ?the body of Christ? without getting a response from the man who would later be confirmed as the desecrator.

The sequence, which can be seen beginning at 1:06:11 on the Facebook page of Channel 16 in Ocotepeque, shows how the man makes an unusual gesture, moving his mouth forward to take the host from the priest?s hand instead of waiting for the priest to place it on his tongue.

With the Eucharist between his teeth and half sticking out of his mouth, the desecrator stands for a moment without knowing what to do and looks at the priest with a nervous smile.

Without consuming the host, the man turns around to return to his place in the pews, but the priest immediately realizes what had happened. First he points at him with his hand, but then he has to pause distributing Communion to follow the man to his place and get him to give back the unconsumed host.

After reserving the profaned Eucharist, the priest resumed distributing Communion and concluding the Mass without any major incidents.

The Eucharist, ?the greatest treasure of the Church?

At the end of the liturgical celebration, Gómez took the opportunity to catechize on the importance of the Eucharist and the responsibility of all Catholics to safeguard it.

The priest stressed that the Eucharist ?is the greatest treasure of the Church? and, given that priests, religious, and laypeople are part of the Church, he reminded the faithful that ?we must all be zealous for this treasure.?

?That is why at the moment of Communion, instead of being distracted,? the celebrant continued, ?something that we all must do, if the Eucharist is our treasure, is to be vigilant that no one does something wrong.?

?This time it was my turn today. But it?s not just my problem. It?s also everyone?s problem. Everyone must be vigilant,? he insisted.

He also pointed out that, in these situations, the layperson has ?the authority as a Christian? to demand of a desecrator: ?Give me the consecrated host, please. Give it to me. Because if you are not going to honor it, give it to me, and I will honor it,? and then give it to a priest.

Before concluding, Gómez recalled that the Eucharist is ?the presence of God among us, real and alive. If not, this is a theater.?

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA?s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

A confirmation Mass is held at St. Mary Parish on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Franklin, Massachusetts. / Credit: St. Mary Parish

CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2024 / 05:15 am (CNA).

The Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, announced it would be lowering its confirmation age just days after the Diocese of Salt Lake City shared it would adjust its process for youth converts to ensure thorough catechesis.

These decisions indicate a growing desire to strengthen the formation of youth in the Catholic faith.

Tim Glemkowski, who heads Amazing Parish, a ministry designed to support Catholic pastors and help parishes flourish, spoke to the challenges of remaining Catholic that young adults face in the culture today.

?The pressures of the culture are away from, not toward, religious belief and practice,? Glemkowski told CNA. ?It is fair to say that our culture, broadly speaking, does not lend itself to preconditions.?

As the Church strives to address how to properly form youth in such a culture, in recent years many dioceses have lowered the confirmation age from high school to middle school or even younger, including the Archdiocese of Seattle to seventh grade; the Boston Archdiocese to eighth grade; and the Archdiocese of Denver to third grade before young people have received Communion. 

Requiring confirmation before Communion is known as ?the restored order? ? a celebration of the sacraments of initiation as the Church originally instructed them to be dispensed: baptism, confirmation, and then first Communion. The U.S. bishops allow reception of confirmation for youth between ages 7 and 17. 

According to a study by St. Mary?s Press and the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University (CARA), the median age of those who left the Church was 13 years old. The study found that many former Catholics who reported leaving usually between ages 10 and 20 said they had questions about the faith as children but never discussed their doubts or questions with their parents or Church leaders.

?We need to ensure that youth learn how to pray with their heart, have their questions about the faith answered in robust ways, and have many opportunities to hear the Gospel and respond to God by handing over their life to him,? Glemkowski said. 

?Young saints should show us that holiness and heroic mission is possible for young people; we should not underestimate what kids are capable of.?

Addressing a hostile culture 

The Diocese of Baton Rouge recently lowered the confirmation age to seventh grade, citing the challenges that face youth today.

?Our children are experiencing a culture which, at times, is hostile to our faith,? Bishop Michael Duca of Baton Rouge wrote in a Dec. 8 letter. 

?Through social media of all forms, young people are confronted at a surprisingly younger age with challenges to their Catholic faith and morals,? Duca explained. ?Given this new reality, I believe it is time to lower the age of confirmation to give our children the full grace of the sacrament of confirmation at an earlier age to meet these challenges. 

Duca announced the diocese would begin a transition plan to lower the age from 10th to seventh grade gradually. 

?This gift of the Spirit is given to all of us in a special way in the sacrament of confirmation that fully initiates us into the Church and fills us with these gifts and the enthusiasm to take on the mission of Christ to renew the world,? he wrote. 

?Many older Catholics remember that the age of confirmation was younger when we were confirmed,? Duca continued. ?After the Second Vatican Council, in many places, the age was raised to high school since many leaders felt that the sacrament would be better understood at an older age. This practice has worked well, but times have changed.?  

Strengthening formation 

The Diocese of Salt Lake City is also developing its catechetical program for youth converts who are too old for infant baptism, citing a need to strengthen catechesis within the diocese. 

The diocese announced last month that children above the age of 7 who are joining the Catholic Church will not receive all three sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil after the diocese temporarily paused the standard practice. 

After baptism, children joining the Church in the diocese are to attend a faith formation class at their age level rather than receive several sacraments at once, according to the diocesan announcement. The pause is temporary as the diocese develops its faith formation plans.

The Church considers children older than 7 to be at the ?age of reason? and able to make some decisions of faith for themselves, so unbaptized youth are usually enrolled in the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) adapted for children, a yearlong preparation program for becoming Catholic. 

The Church broadly requires that for sacramental initiation after the age of reason, recipients should receive the three sacraments of initiation at the same time, except with grave reason. 

However, the Diocese of Salt Lake City cites ?many challenges and our limited ability to overcome them in a missionary diocese? as the reason for the temporary moratorium on OCIA for children.  

Through the moratorium, the diocese hopes to ensure that catechesis is adequate and that children understand the sacraments they are participating in; the diocese is also looking to develop its programs in order to enable unbaptized children to fully assimilate into the faith, according to the announcement. 

This pause will end after the diocese develops a ?comprehensive faith formation plan,? according to Lorena Needham, director of the Office of Worship for the diocese.

Needham noted that OCIA generally comes with many challenges across dioceses. 

?There is still a classroom-school-year mentality in which both catechumen and directors try to work within a timeline of one year or less instead of allowing each person to discern their journey (along with the discernment of the initiation catechist),? Needham told CNA. 

Both the parents and the child must consent to joining the Church ? but children ?cannot adequately give [consent] if they do not know and understand what the sacraments of initiation are,? she noted in the diocesan announcement in Intermountain Catholic. 

?There is little training in the seminaries on the OCIA ? often it is just an optional class,? she noted, adding that other groups such as LTP, TeamInitiation, and the Association for Catechumenal Ministry offer ongoing training.

To remedy this situation, the Diocese of Salt Lake City hopes to place a greater emphasis on training for Christian initiation.

?Some bishops have taken Christian initiation to heart and made it a focus for the professional development of their priests and central to their pastoral plans,? Needham observed.

The biggest change under the temporary moratorium mandates that youth baptized above the age of 7 will receive sacraments one at a time rather than all at once. This will entail attending first Communion and confirmation classes within their age groups.

Under the moratorium, the requirements for obtaining baptism for youth over age 7 are unchanged. The current pastoral directives of the diocese require a parent interview at least 60 days before the baptism as well as discernment of the parents? readiness to help the child live a Christian life. In addition, parents must be registered in the parish or live within its boundaries, and the parish must provide baptismal preparation for the child, parents, and godparents.

?The hope for our youth, our families, and indeed for all of us in this diocese is that we have the best possible opportunities to learn and live our faith, regardless of when the Holy Spirit moves us or our parents to take the next step of faith,? Needham said in the announcement.

null / Credit: sfam_photo/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2024 / 04:44 am (CNA).

The Canadian government is actively soliciting citizen input for a proposal to legalize ?advance requests? in which citizens can prearrange to be euthanized at a time when they are unable to consent to the procedure. 

The country?s federal government is inviting citizens to ?share [their] thoughts? from December into February, soliciting input from ?patients, health care providers,? Indigenous citizens, and ?persons with lived experiences.? 

The move toward potentially allowing ?advance requests? comes after the provincial government of Quebec implemented its own policy earlier this year. In that province, ?advance requests? for medical aid in dying (MAID) may be made by individuals who have ?been diagnosed with a serious and incurable illness leading to incapacity? such as Alzheimer?s disease.

The request ?must be made while the person is still capable of consenting to care,? the Quebec government said, acknowledging that the lethal procedure will be carried out ?when they become incapable of [consenting].?

The Canadian federal government describes advance requests as a ?complex and serious topic.? The results of the country?s ?national conversation? on the matter will be published in a report next year, the government said. 

The ?conversation,? the government said, will help to ensure the country?s euthanasia program ?reflects the evolving needs of people in Canada,? ?protects those who may be vulnerable,? and ?supports autonomy and freedom of choice.?

Alex Schadenberg, the executive director of the Ontario-based Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC), wrote on Wednesday that ?euthanasia by advance request is technically euthanasia without consent,? insofar as it is administered to individuals who cannot consent at the time.

?Once a person becomes incompetent, they are not legally able to change their mind, meaning that some other person will have the right to decide when the person dies, even if that person is happy with life,? he pointed out. 

The EPC is urging readers to use the group?s guide for completing the national consultation, one that argues in favor of the sanctity of life and which puts forth ?strong opposition? to the country?s euthanasia law and its expansion. 

Euthanasia ?was originally legalized in Canada under the guise of being limited to mentally competent adults, who are capable of consenting and who freely ?choose,?? the group says on its blog. 

?Euthanasia by advanced request undermines these principles,? it says. 

Activists in Canada have regularly pushed to expand MAID since the law was first implemented in 2016. 

A group of pro-euthanasia advocates sued the federal government in August to allow physician-assisted suicide for those suffering from mental illness. 

The government earlier in the year paused a planned expansion of the MAID program that would have included the mentally ill, although it said it would consider the policy again in three years? time in order to allow provinces to ?prepare their health care systems? for the expansion.

Health Canada?s fifth annual medical assistance in dying (MAID) report, released last week, revealed that MAID accounted for nearly 1 in 20 deaths in the country last year.

Government statistics indicated that 15,343 people were euthanized by medical officials in Canada in 2023, out of a total of just under 20,000 requests. 

Those numbers represent ?an increase of 15.8%? over 2022, the report says.