null / Credit: Image created using OpenAI's DALL·E through ChatGPT

CNA Staff, Nov 21, 2024 / 15:50 pm (CNA).

Numerous news reports in recent days reported that a new artificially intelligent ?Jesus? has begun taking people?s confessions at a Catholic church in Switzerland. 

Claim: A holographic ?AI Jesus? has been created and deployed at a chapel in Switzerland specifically to hear confessions.

CNA finds: St. Peter?s Chapel in Lucerne, a historic parish church, recently installed ?an innovative project that explores the use of virtual characters based on generative artificial intelligence in a spiritual context? in collaboration with the Immersive Realities Research Lab at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

The AI program was reportedly trained with content from the New Testament, with the goal of allowing the ?Jesus? avatar to verbally respond, in one of 100 languages, to questions about the Bible from people entering the confessional. 

(Numerous reports described the ?Jesus? avatar as a ?hologram,? which is a 3D projection created with lasers; but a Deutsche Welle video of the installation in action showed that the artificial face of ?Jesus? merely appeared on a curved computer monitor behind the confessional screen.) 

The installation is titled ?Deus in Machina? (a Latin phrase meaning ?God in the machine? and a play on the more commonly used literary phrase ?Deus ex machina?). An announcement from the lab said the project, which is described as an ?art exhibit,? ?encourages thinking about the limits of technology in the context of religion.?

The breakdown: Despite being placed in the confessional booth, the parish notes on its website that the AI installation is intended for conversations, not confessions. Confession, also called penance or reconciliation, is one of the seven sacraments of the Church and can only be performed by a priest or bishop, and never in a virtual setting.

A theologian at the Swiss parish said the project is also intended to help to get religious people comfortable with AI and reportedly said he does see potential for AI to help with the pastoral work of priests, given that AI can be available any time, ?24 hours a day, so it has abilities that pastors don?t.?

Peter Kirchschläger, an expert in theological ethics, opined to Deutsche Welle in response to the theologian?s comments that ?we should be careful when it comes to faith, pastoral care, and the search for meaning in religion. This is an area in which we humans are actually vastly superior to machines. So we should do it ourselves.?

The Swiss art project is the latest in a series of attempts ? including an embrace of the technology at the Vatican itself ? to make AI work in service of the Catholic faith, which so far has yielded mixed results. 

CatéGPT, for example, an artificial intelligence chatbot designed by another Swiss, engineer Nicolas Torcheboeuf, aims to provide answers to questions about Catholic teaching by drawing on authoritative documents. Other similar AI-based services have gained popularity, such as the U.S.-based Magisterium AI. 

Less successful was an AI ?priest? created and unveiled earlier this year by the California-based apologetics apostolate Catholic Answers, which was criticized by some users for its video game-like priestly avatar. Moreover, at least one user managed to goad the priestly character into hearing their confession, prompting a statement from the apostolate in which it promised to replace the priest character with a lay character named ?Justin.?

The verdict: The ?AI Jesus? project exists, but it?s not intended to hear people?s confessions, or to replace a priest. Rather, it?s an art exhibit created by researchers at a local technical university in concert with theologians who say they want to raise questions about the use of technology in religious settings and to demonstrate the ability of AI to answer questions about the Bible. 

We rate this claim misleading.

St. John?s Cathedral in the Netherlands is lit up for Red Wednesday on Nov. 23, 2022. / Credit: Ldhank, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Nov 21, 2024 / 13:05 pm (CNA).

Catholic churches around the world were lit up in red on Wednesday as a display of solidarity with persecuted Christians.

Organized by the Christian aid group Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN), ?Red Week? has been taking place in honor of persecuted Christians every November since 2016.

Ed Clancy, director of outreach for Aid to the Church in Need, emphasized in an interview this week with ?EWTN News Nightly? the increasing persecution of Christians around the world documented in a recent ACN report.

Spurred in large part by the 2014 destruction of the ancient Christian community in Iraq by the so-called Islamic State, Red Wednesday aims to draw attention to this pressing issue by illuminating cathedrals, churches, and public buildings in red. 

Clancy told ?EWTN News Nightly? that the day of solidarity coincides with the period leading up to the feast of Christ the King, contrasting the commercial focus of Black Friday with a call to recognize and support persecuted Christians globally.

He noted that approximately 1 in 7 Christians globally face persecution. He identified regions such as Pakistan, Nigeria, the Sahel region of Africa, Egypt, and India as areas where Christian persecution is particularly severe and on the rise. 

He urged the faithful to support persecuted Christians through prayer and awareness-raising efforts like Red Wednesday.

This year more than 300 official Red Wednesday events were held in 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Austria, Ireland, Malta, the Philippines, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia.

Here?s a look at some of the church and government buildings that were lit up on Wednesday. 

Father Max Josef Metzger, a Catholic priest executed by the Nazi regime in 1944 for his peace activism and ecumenical work, was beatified Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Freiburg, Germany. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of Freiburg, Germany

CNA Newsroom, Nov 21, 2024 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

Father Max Josef Metzger, a Catholic priest executed by the Nazi regime in 1944 for his peace activism and ecumenical work, was beatified Sunday in Freiburg, Germany.

Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican?s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, presided over the beatification Mass at Freiburg Cathedral as the representative of Pope Francis, the diocese reported.

?His death is an eloquent testimony to what constitutes a martyr in the Christian understanding of faith,? he said, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA?s German-language news partner.

Metzger, who served as a military chaplain during World War I, became a passionate advocate for peace and reconciliation between nations after witnessing the horrors of war. In 1917, he developed an ?international religious peace program? that he submitted to Pope Benedict XV.

?Peace between peoples and nations became his great passion,? Koch said in his homily, noting that this led Metzger to found both the World Peace League of the White Cross and the Peace League of German Catholics in 1919.

The cardinal emphasized that Metzger?s twin commitments to peace and Christian unity were inseparable. As the Nazi regime gained power, Metzger became increasingly involved in ecumenical work, becoming a promoter of the Una Sancta movement for Christian unity in 1938.

?Metzger was convinced that the Church can only credibly advocate for peace in the world when Christians and Christian churches reconcile with each other,? Koch said.

Nazi persecution

The Nazi authorities viewed Metzger?s peace work and public criticism of the war as treason against their ideology. He was arrested multiple times. On Oct. 14, 1943, he was sentenced to death by the People?s Court and executed by guillotine on April 17, 1944, at Brandenburg-Görden Prison.

According to prison chaplain Peter Buchholz?s account, the executioner remarked that he had ?never seen a person go to their death with such radiant eyes as this Catholic priest.?

Koch connected Metzger?s martyrdom to today?s global challenges, noting that ?when we look into today?s world with the terrible wars in the Middle East, in Ukraine, and in many other places, such dark prospects should no longer appear otherworldly to us but rather very realistic and current.?

Legacy of peace

The beatification of Metzger was approved by the Vatican?s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in March, recognizing his unwavering commitment to peace and Christian charity.

Born in Schopfheim in Germany?s Black Forest region in 1887, Metzger served as a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Freiburg. His last resting place is in Meitingen near Augsburg, Bavaria, where he had established the headquarters of the Christ the King Society in 1928.

The ?beatification is a great honor for the Archdiocese of Freiburg,? Koch said. ?At the same time, it comes with the demand that we are called to witness to peace and unity in today?s world in following Jesus Christ.?

?In Jesus there is no contradiction between truth and charity,? notes professor Marta Rodríguez Díaz, who teaches in the philosophy department of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. / Credit: Courtesy of Marta Rodríguez Díaz

Madrid, Spain, Nov 21, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Marta Rodríguez Díaz, a Catholic expert on gender ideology, said that rather than fighting gender ideology, the mission of the Catholic Church is ?to seek to make light shine in the darkness? and to offer critical dialogue.

Rodríguez also pointed out that ?if the Church is not credible today in terms of gender, it is not for a lack of having much to say but because there is a lack of educators who know how to convey its message in a comprehensive and accurate way.?

Rodríguez was chosen by the Spanish Bishops? Conference to provide formation to diocesan delegates for family and life pastoral care regarding the challenge the gender ideology issue represents for the Catholic Church.

She holds a doctorate in philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University and is a professor in the philosophy department of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. She is also coordinator of the academic area of ??the Institute for Women?s Studies.

Rodríguez is also the academic director of the course on gender, sex, and education at the Francisco de Vitoria University in collaboration with the Regina Apostolorum and was part of the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.

She spoke recently with ACI Prensa, CNA?s Spanish-language news partner, about gender ideology, Catholic anthropology, and how it relates to the culture today.

ACI Prensa: How should the Church combat gender ideology?

Rodríguez: I don?t know if I like the word ?combat? ... I think that the mission of the Church is to be light and to seek to make light shine in the darkness. To be light means proposing the entire truth about the human being, to educate and also to warn and point out those ideas that contradict the dignity of the person or don?t help attain its fullness.

Personally, I would prefer to see us, as a Church, more dedicated to a dialogue capable of seriously addressing the ideologies of our time than to making total denunciations that only those who already think like us understand.

According to the data you offer, pastoral workers either have a vague understanding of the Catholic teaching on the subject or don?t know or understand it at all. What steps must be taken to reverse this situation?

Formation, formation, formation. It?s necessary to provide formation in Christian anthropology. My experience is that pastoral workers have insufficient knowledge of it and are not capable of proposing it in all its beauty and depth. In addition, it?s necessary to provide formation in moral theology so that they know how to discern the pastoral applications that are appropriate in each case, without in any way blurring the truth about the [human] person. It?s also necessary to provide formation in a pastoral style that knows how to connect with the postmodern world and to propose the perennial beauty of the Gospel in a language that is comprehensible to today?s world.

I think that if the Church is not credible today on gender issues, it?s not because it doesn?t have much to say but because there is a lack of formators who know how to convey its message in a comprehensive and accurate way.

There is a crisis in the family, in which the roles of men and women are confused. Is this a main cause of the confusion among young people on the issue of gender? What other elements push in this direction?

Definitely, the crisis of femininity and masculinity that we are experiencing has a very strong impact on young people. Without attractive role models, it is difficult to carry out the process of identifying with one?s own sex that is necessary in adolescence. In addition, there is the crisis of the family itself: many dysfunctional families, with absent fathers and mothers.

The media, social media, and movies certainly also have an influence, as they insist so clearly on one single message. In short, I think that today?s kids are bombarded by ideas that confuse them, and they have no solid points of reference to guide them.

You say that knowing things have not been done well up to now is ?liberating.? In what sense?

In the sense that it makes us see what depends on us and where we can improve our discourse to be more credible. Personally, I am very concerned when it?s said that the cause of all the confusion among young people is from social media, the news media, laws... because all that is true, but it?s also true that it doesn?t seem that it will change in the next few years.

But if, at the same time that we recognize the impact of all these external elements, we recognize that as a Church we have not always been up to the task; that we have not been able to propose the message with the depth and beauty that our times demanded ? then we have things that depend on us, and that allow us to hope that the landscape can, indeed, improve.

You list some risks in the educational field. What are you referring to by ?medical practices little proven from the scientific point of view??

[I?m referring] to hormonal treatments for children and adolescents. I?m not a doctor, but many doctors and psychologists have raised serious objections to this type of practice. In other countries they are backing off, but in Spain we are still carrying out experiments.

You state that ?it?s not necessary to declare war on the term ?gender?: It?s possible to take it up critically.? What part of that discourse is acceptable according to the magisterium of the Church?

The problem is not the term gender but the anthropology from which it draws. Amoris Laetitia No. 56 states that ?gender and sex can be distinguished, but they cannot be separated.? The same is said in Male and Female He Created Them in Nos. 6 and 11. And Dignitas Infinita again takes up this affirmation. I believe that the consolidated tendency of the magisterium in recent years has been to stop declaring war on the term and to engage in a critical dialogue with what I call ?gender theories.?

Gender is the development or cultural interpretation of sex. It?s fair to distinguish it from sex, but not to separate it from it.

What makes this era different from others in terms of cultural change and the distance between generations that makes dialogue on these issues so difficult?

I think the difficulty lies in what Pope Francis calls ?a change of era.? Culture is always in continuous change, but there are moments in history when a true change of era occurs. It?s a moment of rupture, where time ?changes its skin,? and a deeper adaptation of language, perspective, and vision is needed.

Veritatis Gaudium recognizes that ?we still lack the culture necessary to confront this crisis; we lack leadership capable of striking out on new paths.? It?s about learning to propose the beauty of Christ and of man in a postmodern world. This requires a new prophetic word. 

How can we balance welcoming those wounded by gender ideology as the good Samaritan would, with the proclamation of the anthropological truth of the creation of man and woman as the image of God and what follows from this affirmation?

In Jesus there is no contradiction between truth and charity. The same Jesus who proclaims the Sermon on the Mount and says that adultery begins in the heart raises up the adulterous woman.

Affirming that sex is a constitutive reality of the person and that it permeates body and soul does not contradict the recognition that identity in the psychological sense is bio-psycho-social and that the person has the task of integrating different elements: body, psyche, culture?

We can say that I am born a woman, but at the same time I have to become a woman. This process is not simple, and even less so today. I believe that we have to seriously take into consideration the experience of each person.

Christian anthropology is not a theoretical truth that we have to throw at people? If we believe that we are well made [by God], we know that the truth is within each of us and we can recognize it in the longings of our heart.

Perhaps the task of the Christian companion is to walk with people as Jesus did with the disciples [going to] Emmaus, helping them to enrich the grammar with which they interpret their story. If we believe that ?the truth makes us free,? then perhaps what we need to have is a lot of patience and love to accompany people to be more and more authentically themselves.

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

The historic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint-Omer, in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France, was ravaged by arson on the night of Sept. 2, 2024. / Credit: Courtesy of Father Sébastien Roussel

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 20, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A recently released report from a European watchdog group has found nearly 2,500 documented instances of hate crimes against Christians living in Europe. Approximately 1,000 of these attacks took place in France. 

According to the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) report, which drew on both police and civil society data, 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes and acts of discrimination and intolerance occurred across 35 European countries from 2023 to 2024.

Of these, 232 constituted personal attacks of harassment, threats, and physical assaults against Christians.

Most affected countries: France, England, and Germany

Nearly 1,000 of the anti-Christian hate crimes reported in Europe in 2023 took place in France, with 90% of the attacks waged against churches or cemeteries. The report also found there were about 84 personal attacks against individuals. 

Apart from physical assaults, the report cited data from the French Religious Heritage Observatory, which recorded eight confirmed cases of arson against churches in France in 2023 and 14 attacks in the first 10 months of 2024. Several reported cases were on account of ?Molotov cocktails,? a makeshift handheld firebomb.

Religious communities also reported incidents of harassment. Two nuns cited in the report, for example, announced in 2023 that they would be leaving the northwestern city of Nantes on account of ?constant hostility and insecurity.? The nuns reportedly experienced ?beatings, spitting, and insults.?

The United Kingdom followed close behind France, according to the report, with 702 reported anti-Christian hate crimes, a 15% increase since 2023.

The report also included as anti-Christian acts incidents of Christians being prosecuted for praying silently in the country?s so-called ?buffer zones,? such as the case of Adam Smith-Connor, who was convicted for praying in front of an abortion clinic.

The report stated that in Germany, the third most affected country, official government statistics reported 277 ?politically motivated hate crimes? against Christians in 2023, a 105% increase from the previous year when there were 103 reported attacks. 

OIDAC Europe independently estimated that ?at least 2,000 cases of property damage to Christian places of worship in 2023? took place. 

Motives and perpetrators of anti-Christian hate crimes

OIDAC Europe found that of the 69 documented cases where the motives and background of perpetrators could be accurately accounted for, 21 of them were provoked by a radical Islamist agenda, 14 were of a generally anti-religious nature, 13 were tied to far-left political motives, and 12 were ?linked to the war in Ukraine.?

The report also noted that numbers in this respect remained unchanged compared with 2022, ?except for cases with an Islamist background, which increased from 11 to 21.?

Pushed to the silent margins

In addition to overt attacks, the OIDAC report highlighted an increased phenomenon of discrimination in the workplace and public life, leading to a rise in self-censorship among those who practice their faith. 

According to a U.K.-based study from June cited in the report, 56% of 1,562 respondents stated they ?had experienced hostility and ridicule when discussing their religious beliefs,? an overall 61% rise among those under 35. In addition, 18% of those who participated in the study reported experiencing discrimination, particularly among those in younger age groups.

More than 280 participants in the same survey stated ?they felt that they had been disadvantaged because of their religion.?

?I was bullied at my workplace, made to feel less than, despite being very successful at my job in other settings, until I left,? one female respondent in her late 40s stated in the survey, while another respondent, a man in his mid- to late-50s, said: ?Any mention of faith in a CV precludes one from an interview. My yearly assessment was lowered because I spoke of Christ.?

The report explained that the majority of discrimination occurs due to the ?expression of religious beliefs about societal issues.? However, in the U.K., these instances have extended to private conversations and posts on private social media accounts, according to the report.

A case involving a mother of two children, Kristie Higgs, was cited in the report. Higgs was fired from her job as a pastoral assistant after sharing, in a private Facebook post, ?concerns about the promotion of transgenderism in sex education lessons at her son?s primary school.?

?I am not alone to be treated this way ? many of the others here to support me today have faced similar consequences,? Higgs stated after her hearing at the Court of Appeals in October.

?This is not just about me,? she added. ?It cannot be right that so many Christians are losing their jobs or facing discipline for sharing biblical truth, our Christian beliefs.?

Government interference with the Catholic Church

Two instances of government interference in Catholic religious autonomy were cited. 

One instance occurred in France, in which a secular civil court ?ruled against the Vatican?s internal canonical procedures? in a case regarding a French nun who was dismissed from her order. The Vatican sent a letter to the French embassy in response to the ruling, which it called ?a serious violation of the fundamental rights of religious freedom and freedom of association of the Catholic faithful.?

In Belgium, the report also noted, two bishops were convicted and ordered to pay financial compensation after they refused to admit a woman to a diaconate training program, despite human rights law, which protects the rights of religious institutions such as the Catholic Church, to decide on matters such as the ordination of clergy without state-level interference.

Recommendations

?As freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is a cornerstone for free and democratic societies, we hope that states will not compromise on the protection of these fundamental rights, and thus ensure an open and peaceful climate in our societies,? the report stated in its conclusion.

OIDAC?s report includes various recommendations to governments of European countries, human rights institutions, the European Union, members of the media, and other ?opinion leaders? as well as to Christian churches and individuals.

The watchdog organization?s recommendations include a call for safeguarding freedom of expression, more robust reporting on intolerance and discrimination against Christians, the abandonment of anti-Christian ?hate speech? in the public sphere, and for people of faith to engage in public-facing discourse as a means of ?dialogue between religion and secular society.?

Bishop José Ignacio Munilla was among the speakers featured at the 2024 Conference on Catholics and Public Life Nov. 15?17, 2024. / Credit: Courtesy of the Catholic Association of Propagandists (Advocates)

Madrid, Spain, Nov 19, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of Orihuela-Alicante, Spain, described socialism as an ideology that is an ?enemy of the cross? at the Conference on Catholics and Public Life organized by the Catholic Association of Propagandists (Advocates) this past weekend.

During his talk titled ?Thinking and Acting in Times of Uncertainty,? Munilla pointed out that ?we cannot confront this attack and this systematic imposition of a new society only with criticism and new political leadership, but rather a movement of converts is required. We will only get out of this crisis through a renewal of holiness.?

He also maintained that society needs a ?change of worldview in which we go from being enemies of the cross to being the people of the cross? because, he emphasized, ?without the cross there is no glory; it?s a great mistake to make a dichotomy between the cross and happiness; the cross leads us to glory, and glory is complete happiness.?

In this context, he described socialism as an ?ideology that is an enemy of the cross? whose sociological and political currents have become ?the grave of peoples, in which the ?nanny state? solves all the problems,? without appealing to the sacrifice and commitment of individuals.

As a result, an ?anthropological crisis is being created, raising it to the level of law and supreme precept, which seeks to rebel against the natural order, turning wounds into rights instead of accepting emotional wounds, the fruit of the disintegration of the family.?

The bishop added that ?we are trying to compensate for the inner emptiness of man with consumerism and materialism; fleeing from affective commitment and from opening up to the gift of life; and suffering is being treated as something incompatible with human dignity: This world suffers so much for not wanting to suffer, for escaping from the cross of Christ.?

Hadjadj: Facing uncertainty is a life-or-death challenge

For his part, French philosopher Fabrice Hadjadj addressed the general theme of the conference, ?Quo Vadis? Thinking and Acting in Times of Uncertainty,? appealing for each person to get involved: ?Where are you going? Not ?where is the world going,? since with this question one can be a spectator and can be content with complaining.?

Hadjadj pointed out that living in a time of uncertainty ?is not just any challenge? but rather a challenge that is configured as a question ?if not of honor, at least of life or death.? To do so, it is necessary ?to have a healed soul, to accept having a body bruised by martyrdom.?

At the same time, he pointed out that it is inevitable to experience ?the least confessable emotion: fear. Not so much the fear of dying, but the fear of living up to the challenge, the fear of maintaining our reputation for being alive.?

In postmodern Europe, this challenge is embodied in a continent, a society that ?despairs of what is human and tends today to constitutionalize abortion and euthanasia; to revise colonial history, lumping together the conqueror and the missionary.?

These are demands ?that many imagine to be linked to the affirmation of individual freedom and, in reality, they emanate from the death of aspiring. They correspond to the agitation of despair,? the philosopher pointed out.

Ayaan Hirsi: The less Christian presence, the greater the crisis

The conference also featured the participation of human rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who stressed that ?the less presence there is of Christianity in society,? the greater the social crisis in the West.

In her presentation, titled ?Free to Seek the Truth,? Hirsi explained that multiculturalism and globalization are ?two sides of the same coin.?

On the one hand, there is a ?retribalization of society, with the growth of identity groups ?who have no national loyalty to the country they call home.? On the other, there is the evaporation of a set of shared values, the fragmentation of society, and the ethnicization and racialization of all political issues.

Hirsi denounced the ?atrocious restrictions on freedom of expression, religion, and the resurgence of a [socially] acceptable and legitimate racism against whites and against Jews in Europe and in America in the name of intersectional social justice.?

She also warned of the proliferation of ?pseudo religions that present themselves as equal or superior to Christianity itself? as well as the appeal of ?ideas that challenge reality? such as ?the existence of multiple genders.?

These trends, in her opinion, create an increasing difficulty in teaching children the difference between good and evil. At the university, the search for truth is replaced ?by the development of narratives,? while ?the search for excellence through merit is branded as an enemy of diversity.?

?If this trend continues, it will mark the beginning of the downfall,? she emphasized.

Recovering a strong and reliable Christianity 

For Hirsi, ?we must recover a strong and reliable Christianity. Churches must stop adopting every new fad and revive the true message and teachings of Christ.?

She also called for ?resisting the ongoing demographic decline? in Europe by making it attractive for young people to marry and have a family. She also called for schools, universities, and the arts to recognize ?their role in promoting the Christian ethos that led to the formation of the institutions that make the West extraordinary.?

?None of these changes can be achieved if we do not organize, participate, and mobilize to achieve a strong majority that participates and acts. Only by recovering a sense of unity based on common values ??and not on differences will we be able to build stronger and more cohesive societies in these uncertain times,? she concluded.

Presence of young people at the conference

The 26th Conference on Catholics and Public Life sought to reach out to young people in particular, offering some specific opportunities, such as a roundtable with digital missionaries.

It was attended by 1,000 young people from different Spanish cities who heard testimonies and encouragement from three evangelizers on social media: Carlos Taracena, Carla Restoy, and Irene Alonso, among others.

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

Gilmour Street train station in Paisley, Scotland. / Credit: Lachlan1/Shutterstock

London, England, Nov 17, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The new president of the bishops of Scotland is taking the Church?s message to ?the streets? by joining in the evangelistic efforts of a Scottish railway mission. 

Bishop John Keenan, who was announced as the new leader of the Church in Scotland on Nov. 4, recently participated in the mission of Rail Pastors in Inverclyde, Scotland. He told CNA: ?It is the Church on the streets where the Spirit wants us to be and where we feel his unique presence in almost every encounter.?

Keenan defined the Rail Pastors? mission as ?creating a little bit of community and warmth? at train stations where he shared ?the joy of the Gospel,? using the phrase popularized by Pope Francis in his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. 

The Rail Pastors are familiar to many Scots, as they have been active in Scotland for a number of years and operate at train stations in Fife, Inverclyde, and Paisley. 

The group?s mission is ?to listen, care, and help travelers who otherwise might feel a little unsafe, or needing a helpful person to chat to.? Easily recognizable in bright sky-blue uniforms, Rail Pastors send people to relevant agencies for further support and are urged to be on the lookout for people contemplating suicide. 

One Friday evening last month, Keenan, who is also the bishop of Paisley, joined an ecumenical team of Rail Pastors as an observer on the trains and stations from Port Glasgow to Wemyss Bay, and then Paisley to Greenock in the west of Scotland. 

Reflecting on the mission, he said: ?Uniformed as Rail Pastors, they engaged passengers of all ages from teenagers to seniors creating a little bit of community and warmth on a dark and wet Scottish autumn night.? 

Mental health statistics among Scotland?s young people are concerning, with 1 in 6 young adults aged 18?34 having self-harmed. In addition, 76% of parents have reported that their child?s mental health deteriorated while waiting for professional mental health support.  

Keenan explained that he sees the Rail Pastors as offering ?a safe and reassuring presence to the young people who appreciate this pastoral care even while they are making merry.? He was able to reach out to some young people who were ?amazed? to see him operating as part of the Rail Pastors team.

?A group of teenage girls recognized me from my visit to their Catholic primary school, while they were preparing for the sacrament of confirmation, and we had a nice conversation,? the bishop recalled. ?Another asked me to pray for her mum. They were amazed to see me engaging with them in this role.?

He added: ?In the station bar, a young man recognized me and, as we got on the train and shared his journey home, he opened up about his faith and his parents? deep Catholic convictions. Our meeting made his day, and he got off the train renewed in faith and spirit.?  

During the evening mission, Keenan also spoke to retired police officers, transport police officers, and rail safety officers. ?By midnight we had been six hours out and about as salt, leaven, and light and, where the occasion allowed, sharing the joy of the Gospel,? he said. 

Rail Pastors team leader Chris Jewell said the team was ?delighted? to be joined by the bishop. 

In Scotland, Keenan has emerged as a proponent of the new evangelization, which was championed by St. John Paul II and subsequent popes. Keenan is also well known for promoting the rosary and supporting Pope Francis? rosary ?marathon? for an end to the pandemic in 2021.

Ernest Board (1877-1934), ?Albertus Magnus Teaches in the Streets of Paris.? / Credit: Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0

National Catholic Register, Nov 15, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Albert the Great was considered the ?wonder and the miracle of his age? by his contemporaries. He was an assiduous Dominican whose accomplishments and gifts to the Church are difficult to exaggerate.

Born around 1206 and joining the Order of Preachers in 1223, Albert quickly became a master of almost every academic subject. Notwithstanding the standards of his own time, he became a pioneer of the natural sciences ? both empirical and philosophical. His teachings on nature and theology were revolutionary, and he captured the attention of a young and taciturn Dominican ? St. Thomas Aquinas.

While surpassing all his contemporaries in intellect and cogency, it was his own student who managed to shine brighter than he. If Albert blazed the path, then it was Aquinas who reached and held the summit. Then, tragically, when the quick flash of Aquinas? life was over, it was Albert who defended him and held him up as a beacon of light for the whole Church. St. Albert the Great was a teacher, a bishop, and a forerunner to some of the greatest theological gifts the Church has received.

After joining the Dominicans, Albert went to Paris in 1245 and successfully received his doctorate. He then began teaching in Paris and then in Cologne, Germany. It was during his time in Cologne that he noticed a young man named Thomas. The quiet student was nicknamed ?Dumb Ox? by his peers, because of his weight and the mistaken notion that his silence was due to an obtuse mind. In time, Albert realized the great acumen of the young man, and Albert took him on as a disciple.

God and nature

What drew Aquinas ? and the praise and condemnation of others ? to Albert was his exhaustive study of nature and God. Though it was over a millennium since the birth of Christ, the Church still struggled to define nature and its role in creation. In essence, different theological camps disagreed on how to communicate a supposedly autonomous nature ? with its own laws and movements ? and an omnipotent God.

If it snows, is God making it snow or are there self-moving natural causes for the snow? Though a simplistic example, the relationship between God and nature is a deciding point between theology and science or even faith and reason. Oftentimes, certain groups worried that granting nature independent causes would detract from God?s glory or resurrect pagan ideals.

At the center of many related controversies was the pagan philosopher Aristotle. The writings of Aristotle had come originally to Catholicism through Jewish and Islamic scholars, which detrimentally imported a good deal of erroneous commentary. The errors ? which ranged from a misunderstanding of Aristotle to thinking Aristotle was infallible ? colored the Catholic mind against the Greek philosopher on many counts. 

Albert?s indefatigable spirit strove to show that Aristotle?s account of nature could import a great service to the Church and her theology. Though he wrote an entire chapter titled ?The Errors of Aristotle,? Albert showed that the principles articulated in Aristotle?s natural philosophy could be harmoniously placed within the cosmos described by Scripture.

The Church and science

The first major gift Catholicism has inherited from the riches of St. Albert?s pursuit is the idea that the Church and science are not at war with one another. Though nature moves by its own laws, the Author of those laws is the same Author of holy Scripture ? this stance is a great affirmation of the belief in a harmony between faith and reason. 

The philosophical foundations for the Church discussing issues like evolution, the age of the earth, psychology, the origins of the universe, etc., all point back to the early erudition of St. Albert the Great. The concept of nature having its own causes, and that those causes could be studied via experiments, was so revolutionary that many could not decipher between scientific experiments and magic; thus, St. Albert was once accused of being a magician.

Scholasticism

The second achievement of St. Albert was Scholasticism and his pupil St. Thomas Aquinas. The Scholastic approach was unique in the sense that it centered itself on a true belief in the harmony of faith and reason, and in a well-ordered cosmos with one Divine Author. It was precisely this holistic gathering of all the sciences under one divine science that earned the scholastic St. Albert the title of ?universal doctor.?

It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance Scholasticism still holds within Holy Mother Church. Pope Leo XIII declared that ?it is the proper and singular gift of Scholastic theologians to bind together human knowledge and divine knowledge in the very closest bonds.? 

Pope Sixtus V confirmed that Scholasticism ?has an apt coherence of facts and causes, connected with one another; an order and arrangement, like soldiers drawn up in battle array ? by these the light is divided from darkness, and truth from falsehood. The lies of heretics, wrapped up in many wiles and fallacies, being stripped of their coverings, are bared and laid open.?

And while St. Albert must be remembered in his own right, we must acknowledge the magnificence of his student ? St. Thomas Aquinas. 

After Thomas? sudden death on the way to the Council of Lyons, St. Albert declared that the ?light of the Church? had gone out. Later, the Church bestowed upon St. Thomas the title of ?angelic doctor.? 

The Church only continued to esteem the scholar and his scholasticism: the ?chief and special glory? was having his ?Summa Theologiae? laid upon the altar as a source of inspiration at the Council of Trent. He was then declared the patron of all Catholic schools and universities by Pope Leo XIII.

Behind all the appropriate adulation for St. Thomas, his ?Summa? and all it represents is the genius and perseverance of St. Albert.

This article was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA?s sister news partner, on Nov. 15, 2011, and has been adapted by CNA.

Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark. / Credit: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

London, England, Nov 14, 2024 / 12:40 pm (CNA).

The bishops of England and Wales continue to urge Catholics to ?raise their voices? in opposition to an assisted suicide bill, the text of which was published earlier this week.

Late on Nov. 11, English Labour Member of Parliament Kim Leadbeater published her Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill before Parliament members vote on it Nov. 29. This means that members have less than three weeks to prepare to vote on a controversial issue.

Archbishop of Southwark John Wilson said: ?As followers of the Lord Jesus, we must be bold in our efforts to uphold, respect, and protect every human life from conception until natural death, because if we don?t stand up and value the dignity of human life, who will??

?The Catholic Church is clear: Every life is valuable ? regardless of a person?s physical or mental state,? he continued.

The archbishop?s words come as the contents of Leadbeater?s controversial bill showed that terminally ill adults who are expected to die within six months would legally be able to seek help to kill themselves provided they receive the approval of two doctors and a judge. 

However, Wilson is concerned that the new bill will communicate the message that the elderly and vulnerable are ?nothing but a burden to society.?

?People are being presented as a problem,? he said. ?As a burden. A statistic. Something we can deal with through ending their life. Where is the dignity in that? Where is the love in that??

Reacting to those who say ?life has no value,? he said: ?We need to raise our voices to say that is not true. We are stewards, not owners, of the life we have received. Life is not ours to dispose of.? 

Leadbeater insisted that her bill contains ?robust? safeguards, claiming that coercion would lead to 14 years in jail, but Wilson believes the pressure on sick and vulnerable people to opt for assisted suicide would be ?immeasurable.?

?The pressure this would put people under who are suffering illnesses or disabilities is immeasurable. It demeans humanity and deprives people of their right to life. This right is given by God and is for God alone to take.?

The archbishop challenged U.K. Catholics to contact their members of Parliament and pray for the defeat of the bill in obedience to their calling as disciples of Christ. 

Warning that the new bill represents ?a very real prospect of assisted suicide becoming law in the U.K.,? he said that ?as followers of Christ we must do all we can to support and protect the most vulnerable in our society.? 

Issuing a rally call for Catholics to take action, he said: ?Together let?s show that we will not stand idly by while the elderly and people with illnesses and disabilities are treated as if they are nothing but a burden to society or to their family. Let?s be clear that they are made in the image and likeness of God.?

Wilson pointed out that, under the new bill, ?assisted suicide ? will radically change how our health care practitioners care for us.?  

Catholic U.K. medic Dermot Kearney commented that ?most [doctors] still believe that the principle of doing no harm to patients is essential in the provision of authentic health care.? Rather than introducing the bill, Kearney told CNA that a better way of approaching end-of-life care would be ?to improve and expand the palliative care and hospice services that are already in existence but have been severely underfunded for so long.? 

Bishop Patrick McKinney of Nottingham backed up Archbishop Wilson?s words, with a focus on the social context of the bill?s introduction. 

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has confirmed his own opposition to the bill, has admitted the U.K. National Health Service is ?broken.? 

Palliative care services are also in crisis, while many elderly people have seen the government remove their winter fuel payment. 

Following the publication of the bill, McKinney shared his concerns, saying: ?Catholics can never support assisted suicide, but our societal context makes this bill even more alarming: An NHS at [its] breaking point, inadequate social care provision, access to palliative care is patchy and underfunded, [and] winter fuel payments withdrawn from many.?

The archbishop of Southwark urged U.K. Catholics to use the Right to Life UK website to contact their members of Parliament and express opposition to assisted suicide. 

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, called on Catholics in England and Wales to join him and his fellow bishops for a Holy Hour on Nov. 13 ?to pray for the dignity of human life? in the light of the upcoming vote on Leadbeater?s bill. 

?We pray passionately that we will not take a step in legislation that promotes a so-called ?right to die,?? Nichols said.

?That will quite likely become a duty to die and place pressure on doctors and medical staff to help take life rather than to care, protect, and heal,? he said.

Sister Clare Crockett. / Credit: Courtesy of Servants of the Home of the Mother

CNA Staff, Nov 14, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Sister Clare Crockett was a young religious sister who died in 2016 at the age of 33 in an earthquake in Ecuador that left hundreds dead. On Nov. 4, the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, her religious community, announced the beginning of her cause for beatification. 

But just who is Sister Clare Crockett? Here are seven things to know about the young sister who left a lasting impact on people around the world:

1. Crockett was born on Nov. 14, 1982, in Derry, Northern Ireland. She was a fun-loving teenager and quickly grabbed the attention of television producers. She voiced the character of Lucy in the children's series "Hi Lucy" on EWTN5. At the age of 15, she was hired to host a show on the British network Channel 4 and at 17 she caught the attention of Nickelodeon. By 18, she was living a life of partying and alcohol.

2. In 2000, a friend of Crockett invited her on a free trip to Spain. Thinking it was going to be a trip filled with parties and time spent on the beach, Crockett went. However, it ended up being a 10-day, Holy Week retreat run by the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, a community founded in 1982 with a focus on the Eucharist, Marian spirituality, and outreach to youth. It was here that Crockett experienced a life-changing conversion.

   It was Good Friday and Crockett began to witness the faithful approach Jesus on the cross, genuflect, and kiss his feet. Crockett had never seen anything like this before so she followed along. When it was her turn, she went up, kissed Jesus? feet, and left forever changed. 

   ?That simple event lasted only 10 seconds. To kiss the cross ? something that seemed so insignificant ? had such a strong impact on me,? she wrote in her personal testimony.  

   ?I do not know how to explain exactly what happened,? she added. ?I did not see the choirs of angels or a white dove come down from the ceiling and descend on me, but I had the certainty that the Lord was on the cross, for me.?

   ?And along with that conviction, I felt a great sorrow, similar to what I had experienced when I was little and prayed the Stations of the Cross. When I returned to my pew, I already had imprinted in me something that was not there before. I had to do something for him who had given his life for me.?

3. In 2001, just a year after her conversion, Crockett gave her life to God as a candidate in the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother. She took her first vows on Feb. 18, 2006, and her final vows on Sept. 8, 2010.

4. Crockett?s first assignment was at the community at Belmonte in Cuenca, Spain. There she served in a home for girls that came from families dealing with various difficult circumstances. 

5. In October 2012, Crockett received a new assignment that took her to Ecuador. Here she had several assignments taking her to different areas of the country evangelizing the youth. The sisters gave classes in schools in poor areas and hosted retreats and summer camps. They also tended to the poor, bringing them not only the word of God but also food baskets, medicine, and other material items and resources. 

6. Crockett is remembered by many as always carrying her guitar, which was her great companion in evangelization. She always sang, even to the point of losing her voice and despite heat, fatigue, and suffering from migraines. Sisters from her order also remember her great sense of humor and giving of herself completely to others. 

7. On April 16, 2016, a magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck the Ecuadorian province of Manabí, killing at least 600 people, including Crockett. Her story spread around the world, touching the lives of many, and on Nov. 4, her cause for beatification was officially announced.

The opening ceremony of Crockett?s cause will take place on Jan. 12, 2025, at the Cathedral of Alcalá de Henares in Spain. The postulator of the cause is Sister Kristen Gardner of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother.

York Minster, the seat of the archbishop of York, one of the two archbishops within the Church of England. / Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA

CNA Staff, Nov 13, 2024 / 15:05 pm (CNA).

Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Anglican Communion, resigned on Tuesday over his handling of a high-profile abuse case. 

A position with deep Catholic roots, the archbishop of Canterbury is considered ?first among equals? among Anglicans worldwide and has the important role of anointing the new British monarch during coronations. 

In recent years, Pope Francis has made ecumenical gestures toward the Anglican church, traveling with Welby and a Scottish Protestant leader to South Sudan in 2023 and allowing Welby to celebrate an Anglican liturgy earlier this year in Rome?s Basilica of St. Bartholomew as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Here?s what you need to know about the Church of England, the archbishop of Canterbury, and Anglicanism. 

What is the Church of England?

Simply put, the Church of England is the United Kingdom?s official church, with the British monarch serving as its supreme governor. 

King Charles III?s official title is ?Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England,? and since the 16th century each new monarch has sworn an oath to uphold the Protestant religion. 

Since the Synod of Whitby in 664, the Church of England has been divided into two provinces ? Canterbury and York ? each with its own archbishop, as well as numerous dioceses each with a bishop. Canterbury is currently vacant following Welby?s resignation; the current archbishop of York, whose cathedral is York Minster, is Stephen Cottrell. 

Like all Protestants, adherents to the Church of England hold the Bible in highest regard, though a variety of worship styles exist within the Church of England and in Anglicanism at large.

The 1662 Book of Common Prayer, still in use today, codified the liturgical practices and doctrines ? replacing the Catholic ones ? of the newly established church. It remains a ?permanent feature of the Church of England?s worship and a key source for its doctrine,? the church?s website says. 

How did the Church of England come about?

Amid the chaos wrought by the Protestant Reformation, the Church of England broke away from the Catholic Church under King Henry VIII, who in 1527, desiring a male heir, wanted to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon but failed to secure a papal annulment.

Parliament subsequently passed laws abolishing papal authority and declaring King Henry the head of the Church of England. St. Thomas More, a lawyer, author, and high-ranking member of the king?s cabinet, was martyred for opposing Henry?s plan, as was St. John Fisher, a Catholic cardinal, for similar reasons.

A time of brutal persecution for Catholics, the English Reformation, followed. Despite a brief return to papal submission under Queen Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I reversed this when she became queen in 1558.

The Reformation saw monasteries destroyed, Catholic churches including Westminster Abbey taken over, and the witness of such martyrs as St. Margaret Clitherow, who in 1586 was pressed to death upon sharp rocks after refusing to renounce her Catholic faith. 

Following the English Civil War of 1642?1651 and the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the constitutional position of the Church of England since 1689 establishes for the church ?a range of legal privileges and responsibilities, but with ever-increasing religious and civil rights being granted to other Christians, those of other faiths, and those of no faith at all,? the Church of England website says. 

The restoration of Catholicism?s legal status was not fully accomplished in Britain until the 19th century. 

Why Canterbury?

St. Augustine of Canterbury, whom Catholics honor on May 27, founded the See of Canterbury in the last years of the sixth century. He continued to preach the Catholic faith to the country?s Anglo-Saxon pagans during the late sixth and early seventh centuries, under the direction of Pope Gregory I (St. Gregory the Great). 

(He is not to be confused with St. Augustine of Hippo, who is a doctor of the Church, the son of St. Monica, and the author of the ?Confessions.?) 

Likely born in Rome to a noble family on an unknown date, Augustine joined the newly-founded Benedictine order, entering a community founded by the future Pope Gregory, who maintained a friendship with Augustine. Later on, in 595, Pope Gregory set about planning to re-evangelize England; the island?s Celtic inhabitants had accepted Christianity centuries before, but the country had been dominated by Anglo-Saxon invaders since the mid-fifth century. 

Pope Gregory chose a group of about 40 monks, including Augustine, to set sail for England in spring 597. After arriving they gained an audience with pagan King Ethelbert of Kent, who would later convert and become a saint after Augustine?s powerful and straightforward presentation of the Gospel message. He allowed the monks to settle in Canterbury and to evangelize. 

Augustine was later consecrated a bishop, and by Christmas 597, over 10,000 people were actively seeking baptism from the missionaries.

Augustine died in 604, and Canterbury remained the seat of English Catholicism for nearly 1,000 years, until the Reformation. 

What is the Anglican Communion?

Founded in 1867, the Anglican Communion is a collection of churches around the world that recognize the archbishop of Canterbury as ?first among equals? ? a spiritual leader and unifying figure but not a central authority like the pope. 

Each church is distinct and autonomous, but all share a history and beliefs with the Church of England. The Anglican Communion describes itself as ?a family of 42 autonomous and independent-yet-interdependent national, pan-national, and regional churches in communion with the See of Canterbury.? 

These churches include the U.S.-based Episcopal Church, which originally separated from the Church of England after the American Revolution. 

The Anglican Communion is governed by bishops who convene at various levels in regular meetings known as synods ? a familiar word to members of the Catholic Church, which also convenes synods, most recently the Synod on Synodality. 

In the Anglican Communion, synods take place at the diocesan level, where bishops, clergy, and laity discuss local administrative and pastoral matters; and at the provincial or national level, which see participants divided into a kind of bicameral structure: a House of Bishops and a House of Representatives composed of clergy and laity. Binding decisions are often made at these provincial or national synods via vote. 

Finally, the highest level of meeting is that of the Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade convention that provides an opportunity for Anglican leaders ? specifically bishops ? to discuss the major issues facing the church and the world. It?s a consultative meeting, led by the archbishop of Canterbury, but the assembled body has no legislative power. 

Collectively, the Anglican Communion represents the third-largest branch of established Christianity in the world after the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, with an estimated 110 million members worldwide. 

The Anglican Communion has been in tension in recent years over LGBT issues, especially since 2003, when the Episcopal Church voted to ordain as a bishop V. Gene Robinson, a gay man in a same-sex relationship. Such moves have drawn sharp criticism from Anglican communities elsewhere, particularly in Africa.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the primate of all England and leader of the Anglican Communion, announced his resignation on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, saying he takes ?personal and institutional responsibility? for the mishandling of a number of high-profile abuse cases in the Anglican Church since taking the reigns in 2013. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

CNA Staff, Nov 12, 2024 / 13:45 pm (CNA).

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby announced his resignation on Tuesday, saying he takes ?personal and institutional responsibility? for the mishandling of a number of high-profile abuse cases in the Anglican Church since taking the reins in 2013.

?I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church. As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse,? Welby, who was chosen as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in 2012, said in a statement.

Though not accused of abuse himself, Welby was criticized for his response to a number of abuse cases within the church he led. Calls for Welby?s resignation reached a fever pitch in recent days, led by victims of a notorious Anglican serial sexual abuser, John Smyth. 

A prominent attorney who volunteered at Christian summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s, the deceased Smyth was later found to have committed physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological coercion against over 100 boys and young men across multiple countries.  

A highly anticipated 253-page Nov. 7 report written by independent reviewer Keith Makin offered a stinging indictment of Welby?s handling of the Smyth case. 

According to the report, Smyth crossed paths with Welby during the time Smyth was perpetrating his abuse. Welby insisted the two were never close, despite the two exchanging Christmas cards for a time and Welby making minor donations to Smyth?s missions in Zimbabwe. 

Other church officials were reportedly made aware of Smyth?s abuse as early as 1982. In 2013, after taking office as archbishop, Welby was verbally informed of Smyth?s abuse but said he mistakenly believed that police and local authorities had been informed and chose to take no further action, the report says.

The report also faults the Church of England itself for failing to prioritize safeguarding despite having formal safeguarding policies, saying those policies? implementation was inconsistent and often inadequate.

?Welby suggests that he would have definitely been ?more active? had he known of the seriousness of the offenses in 2013. The evidence contained in this review suggests enough was known to have raised concerns upon being informed in 2013,? the report states.

?Our opinion ? is that Justin Welby held a personal and moral responsibility to pursue this further, whatever the policies at play at the time required.?

Following the release of a 2017 documentary that publicly revealed Smyth?s abuse, Welby issued a statement and gave interviews expressing his concern for the victims, who felt Welby?s response was delayed and did not prioritize their needs. He eventually met with some victims in 2021 and issued a public apology on behalf of the church.

Welby, in his statement, said the calls for his resignation in recent days following the publication of the Makin report ?renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England.?

He asked for prayers for his wife, Caroline, and their six children.

?I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honored to serve. I pray that this decision points us back towards the love that Jesus Christ has for every one of us,? he concluded.

Further contextualizing Welby?s resignation is a reckoning in recent years over child abuse in the U.K., with a 2022 independent inquiry uncovering consistent and widespread failures across various institutions, including the Church of England, to adequately protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

That report faulted the church for repeatedly prioritizing its reputation over the well-being of children and a tendency to minimize the seriousness of the offenses, and noted that safeguarding arrangements within the church were severely under-resourced until 2015, when resources were significantly increased under Welby?s leadership.

As head of the Church of England, Welby weathered considerable resistance from conservative Anglican leaders after he presided over the Church of England?s governing body in early 2023 voting to bless same-sex couples.

The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA), which claims to represent as much as 75% of the world?s Anglicans, issued a statement at the time accusing the Church of England of breaking communion with the provinces who remain faithful to a biblical view of marriage as being between one man and one woman. Debates over same-sex marriage had simmered within Anglicanism for decades, and the Anglican Communion was significantly fractured in 2003 when the U.S.-based Episcopal Church voted to ordain a gay man in a same-sex relationship.

During his tenure, Welby participated in several ecumenical meetings and activities with Pope Francis.

During summer 2023, the pope traveled with Welby and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields, on a ?pilgrimage of peace? to South Sudan. Meeting with roughly 2,500 South Sudanese refugees on Feb. 4, 2023, the Protestant leaders joined Pope Francis for a final blessing on the participants. They later appeared together at an ecumenical prayer service that attracted about 50,000 people.

In January, Welby celebrated an Anglican liturgy in the Catholic Basilica of St. Bartholomew, located on Tiber Island in Rome?s Tiber River, as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Welby also celebrated an ecumenical second vespers with Pope Francis for the solemnity of the Conversion of St. Paul at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

Bishop-elect Philip Moger from the Archdiocese of Southwark was due to be installed Nov. 9, 2024, but suddenly announced the ?delay? to his installation just days before it was due to take place. / Credit: ©Mazur/cbcew.org.uk

Plymouth, England, Nov 12, 2024 / 12:25 pm (CNA).

For the second time in less than a year, the installation of a bishop has been deferred in the Diocese of Plymouth, England.

Bishop-elect Philip Moger from the Archdiocese of Southwark, England, was due to be installed Nov. 9 but suddenly announced a ?delay? to his installation just days before it was due to take place.

?In the very last few days, concerns have been raised of a personal nature to which I must attend immediately. This will take a little time,? he wrote.

?I have therefore agreed with all directly concerned to delay my installation as the new bishop of Plymouth until these processes have been completed.

?I sincerely regret this delay and offer my apologies to all who are disappointed and inconvenienced. However, it is important that everything is properly in place and due process observed.?

A parishioner from the Diocese of Plymouth who did not want to be identified by name told CNA that she knew nothing about the reasons for the delay.

?None of us know the answer to what the delay is and why they had to pull out last Saturday, but we very much hold Plymouth in our prayers,? she said.

The parishioner expressed hope that the installation will still take place, pointing out that ?the positive side we have to look at is that this is a postponement? rather than a cancellation, which happened earlier this year.

Canon Christopher Whitehead was due to be installed as the Bishop of Plymouth on Feb. 22, but a statement from the Diocese of Plymouth suddenly announced on Feb. 1 that is was canceled, explaining that ?a canonical process? had been started and that Whitehead had stepped back from active ministry. 

When this canonical process concluded in March, the bishops? conference offered no explanation as to the reason for the cancellation of his episcopal ordination. It was then announced that Whitehead would return to parish ministry in his home Diocese of Clifton, leaving the Diocese of Plymouth without a bishop. 

The diocese then entered a period of uncertainty, with a spokesperson announcing that the diocese would ?continue to wait for an official announcement from the Holy See as to who will be appointed as the next bishop of Plymouth.?

When it was announced that Pope Francis had appointed Philip Moger as Plymouth?s new bishop in September, there was great joy expressed in the diocese, which had been without a bishop since June 2022.

Welcoming the appointment, Plymouth?s diocesan administrator, Canon Paul Cummins, said: ?The faith community of the southwest has been well-served by its predecessors, and we are confident that our bishop-elect will continue their legacy.? 

Cummins promised Moger ?a warm welcome? and the prayers of the diocese. Moger said he was ?very honored to be asked by Pope Francis to be the 10th bishop of this great Diocese of Plymouth,? which he called a ?beautiful part of the Lord?s vineyard.?

Numerous school children and clergy had written special welcome prayers and created welcome cards in anticipation of Moger?s installation before the sudden and unexplained announcement. There is now, once again, a feeling of uncertainty in the diocese, although the welcome prayers and messages remain on the diocesan website.  

Parishioners said they hope the situation with Whitehead will not be repeated and that Moger?s ordination will take place at a later date. The parishioner who asked CNA for privacy said: ?We are very much looking forward to welcoming Bishop Philip,? adding that they are ?very much praying? for him.

null / Credit: Sam Tanno/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 8, 2024 / 17:40 pm (CNA).

After a group of Israeli soccer fans were beaten and taunted for being Jewish by groups of young men after a game in Amsterdam, an Austrian bishop condemned the violence, saying it evokes, referring to Kristallnacht, ?the darkest and most shameful days of our own history.?

Following a soccer match Thursday night between a Dutch and an Israeli team, at least 10 young men on scooters sought out Israeli fans, verbally and physically assaulting them with punches and kicks, and then quickly fled the scene.

?They shouted ?Jewish, Jewish, IDF, IDF,?? a 24-year-old victim told the BBC. The IDF, Israel Defense Forces, is the nation?s military. Another victim said the assailants shouted ?Palestine? while pummeling him.

Amsterdam?s mayor, Femke Halsema, characterized the violence as an ?eruption of antisemitism,? while Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof called the attacks ?unacceptable? and vowed to hold perpetrators accountable. 

Archbishop Franz Lackner of Salzburg, president of the Austrian bishops? conference, described the event in a Nov. 8 interview as a ?deeply alarming sign.? 

He noted that the incident in Amsterdam happened just days prior to the annual commemorations of Kristallnacht, the brutal pogroms that the Nazis perpetrated against Jews in Germany, the annexed country of Austria, and other Nazi-controlled areas. Throughout Nov. 9?10, 1938, the Nazis vandalized and destroyed hundreds of Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues, and homes.

Lackner called for prayers for peace in Israel and Palestine. He added that any ideology, including religious or political opinion, that permits or justifies violence against Jews has no place in society. 

?We must stand up against this,? he said. 

Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the incident on social media as an ?antisemitic pogrom.? The Dutch king, Willem-Alexander, reportedly called Herzog to apologize for the incident. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?s government swiftly arranged special flights to evacuate Jewish people from Amsterdam on Friday and Saturday. 

St. Paul VI?s 1965 encyclical Nostrae Aetate made clear the Church?s condemnation of hatred and violence against Jews and Judaism, decrying all ?hatred, persecutions, displays of antisemitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone? (Nostra Aetate, 4). 

The U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League has been tracking a sharp rise in the number of antisemitic attacks and incidents since Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. According to that group, antisemitic incidents surged by more than 350% in the first 100 days after the invasion. 

The majority of those incidents, according to the group?s data, involved either ?verbal or written harassment? or ?rallies? involving antisemitic rhetoric and ?expressions of support for terrorism against the state of Israel and/or anti-Zionism.? Dozens of instances of assault and hundreds of reports of vandalism were also recorded.

For their part, the Catholic bishops of the United States have condemned in recent years what they call a ?reemergence of antisemitism in new forms.? In a statement released before the start of the current Israel-Hamas conflict, the bishops called on Christians to join them in opposing acts of antisemitism and reminding the faithful of Christianity?s shared heritage with Judaism.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols at the Red Mass at Westminster Cathedral, London, England, Oct. 1, 2021. / Credit: Diocese of Westminster via Flickr

London, England, Nov 8, 2024 / 15:25 pm (CNA).

Catholics across England and Wales are urged to unite in prayer the evening of Nov. 13 following a plea from their cardinal to oppose the proposal to legalize assisted suicide.

In a video message released Friday, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster, announced that during their usual November plenary meeting, the bishops of England and Wales will hold a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament and encouraged Catholics to join them in prayer.

In his video statement, Nichols said: ?On Wednesday the 13th of November, in the evening, your bishop ? all the bishops of England and Wales ? will kneel before the Blessed Sacrament praying for our country.?

?Now we are praying on that day together because we are quickly approaching the presentation in Parliament and a vote on a bill that might introduce assisted dying,? he continued. ?? Now we want to pray about this because it is a move towards really diminishing the importance of every person, really saying that my life is not a gift from God.?

The latest bill, which would legalize assisted dying for the terminally ill, has been introduced in the House of Commons and will be debated and likely voted on Nov. 29.

The bill was initiated by Kim Leadbeater, Labour member of Parliament for Spen Valley.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has expressed his personal support for a change in the law on assisted suicide, which currently states that aiding and abetting suicide can result in a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

When members of Parliament vote on Nov. 29, it will be the first time they have voted on similar legislation since 2015, when assisted suicide was defeated by 330 votes to 118. 

In his statement, Nichols said: ?We pray passionately that we will not take a step in legislation that promotes a so-called ?right to die.? That will quite likely become a duty to die and place pressure on doctors and medical staff to help take life rather than to care, protect, and heal.?

Alongside the cardinal?s message, the Catholic Bishops? Conference of England and Wales has also released a booklet for Catholics to use during their Holy Hour, which includes a reflection written by the cardinal, similar to his video message.

The reflection concludes by asking for prayers for the palliative care community in England and Wales, arguing that society should invest in resources for them rather than resorting to such legislation. 

Nichols concludes: ?This is an important moment in our history. Please write to your MP [member of Parliament] to make your voice heard. Many have not yet made up their minds how to vote. May God bless us all, bless our countries, and bless those who make our laws with the courage to embrace and uphold a culture of life.?

Cardinal Reinhard Marx speaks at a press conference in Munich, Germany, Jan. 27, 2022. / Credit: Screenshot from erzbistum-muenchen.de

CNA Newsroom, Nov 8, 2024 / 12:25 pm (CNA).

A day after Donald Trump won reelection to the U.S. presidency and Germany?s coalition government collapsed, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich sought to calm fears about political instability in Europe?s largest economy.

?No civil war is threatening us,? Marx said Thursday during the closing press conference of the Bavarian bishops? fall assembly in Munich.

?Rather, we can make a new beginning in an orderly way,? the cardinal said, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA?s German-language news partner.

?I believe we underestimate in our country what it means to have functioning institutions that can also deal with difficult situations,? Marx added.

The current chairman of the German Bishops? Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, also weighed in on the situation, urging the need for social cohesion and solidarity.

The prelate stressed the importance of the art of political compromise in navigating the current situation ? and said he trusted politics to achieve this, according to Domradio.

Marc Frings, secretary-general of the lay group Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), said in an interview that Germany was entering ?a phase of massive uncertainty,? pointing to the fact that early termination of governments is an exception rather than the rule in German politics.

Germans to go to the polls in new year

The comments came after Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Wednesday, leading to the withdrawal of all ministers from Lindner?s Free Democratic Party (FDP) from the governing coalition.

Deutsche Welle reported that the move ended the three-party alliance between Scholz?s Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens, and the FDP, which has been mired in controversies.

According to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, deep disagreements over financial policy triggered the government?s collapse, particularly the dispute over constitutional debt limits, with Scholz and the Greens favoring higher social and climate spending.

Speaking to reporters in Budapest, where he joined EU leaders for their first meeting since the coalition?s collapse, Scholz advocated for a calm approach to scheduling new elections.

?We should discuss the possible date with as little agitation as possible,? Deutsche Welle quoted the chancellor as saying.

?It would be good if the democratic parties in the Bundestag now reach a consensus on which laws can still be passed in the chamber this year.?

The chancellor announced he would seek a vote of confidence in Parliament in January, potentially leading to new elections in March.

Opposition leader Friedrich Merz and others have called for a much earlier vote.

According to recent polls, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leads with 34% support while the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) has risen to 18%. The SPD currently polls at 16%, the Greens at 12%, and the FDP at 5%.

The building of the Constitutional Court of Spain. / Credit: K3T0, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Madrid, Spain, Nov 7, 2024 / 12:55 pm (CNA).

Spain?s Constitutional Court (TC, by its Spanish acronym) has ruled that by refusing to admit a woman, a male Catholic brotherhood violated the legal precept of nondiscrimination on the basis of her sex and her right to association.

In 2008, María Teresita Laborda Sanz requested to join the Pontifical, Royal, and Venerable Slavery of the Most Holy Christ of La Laguna, a public association of the faithful founded in 1545.

Article 1 of the statutes of the brotherhood states that it is ?a religious association of gentlemen, established to promote among its members a more perfect Christian life, the exercise of works of evangelical piety, and the increase of devotion and veneration of the holy image of Our Crucified Lord,? which is why the application was denied.

In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that Laborda had not suffered any discrimination because ?the purposes of [the brotherhood] being religious, it did not hold a dominant position in the economic, professional, or labor spheres, so no harm could be caused to the appellant, who could create a new religious association with the same purposes.?

The Constitutional Court now considers that the content of the Article 1 of the brotherhood?s statutes ?isn?t protected by the religious autonomy of said association to the extent that the prohibition of women from being part of the association is not based on any reason of a religious or moral nature,? a Nov. 4 statement from the TC explains.

?The requirements of religious freedom and the principle of religious neutrality not being in question? derived from Article 16 of the Spanish Constitution, the court considers that ?although a private association has the right to freely choose whom it associates with (Article 22), this right cannot constitute discrimination based on gender when the association holds a ?privileged? or ?dominant? position in the economic, cultural, social, or professional field,? as the Supreme Court held.

However, the Constitutional Court maintained that ?although the activities carried out, from which the appellant is excluded, are acts of religious worship and are not related to any economic, professional, or work-related matters, this does not exclude the possibility that these acts may also have a social or cultural impact, given that culture and religion, being different elements, are not watertight compartments, and a large number of religious [public events] in Spain are part of the history and social culture of our country.?

The TC concluded that the plaintiff ?has no possibility of carrying out the same activity of veneration of said image in another brotherhood or confraternity of the municipality.? The ruling of the six judges of the Second Chamber of the Constitutional Court was not unanimous.

Expert: Ruling is ?bad news?

Rafael Palomino, a professor of ecclesiastical law of the state at the Complutense University of Madrid, criticized the ruling of the TC in a comment published on his professional profile on LinkedIn, calling it ?bad news.?

To the argument of the TC that considers the plaintiff has had her rights violated because ?she does not have the possibility of exercising the same activity of veneration of said image in another brotherhood or confraternity of the municipality,? Palomino responded: ?What do you mean she cannot carry out the same religious activity? Let the appellant set up another brotherhood, another association, another religion if she wants! This is beginning to be the inverse of the law presided over by a banana republic constitutional judiciary.?

Consulted by ACI Prensa, the Diocese of Tenerife declined to comment on the ruling.

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

The Little Sisters, Disciples of the Lamb, at their garden of Damascus roses. The roses are used for aroma in skin care and cosmetic products. / Credit: Community of the Little Sisters, Disciples of the Lamb

CNA Staff, Nov 7, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

As the U.S. Church celebrates National Vocation Awareness Week Nov. 3?9, a prioress of a contemplative community in France remembers how it took years for the Church to recognize the religious vocations of women with Down syndrome. Now, almost 40 years later, Mother Line says the Little Sisters, Disciples of the Lamb community is thriving, welcoming religious sisters with Down syndrome and able sisters alike. 

?God speaks to the hearts of all,? Mother Line told CNA. 

The community is based in Le Blanc in the Indre region of France, where it has been since 1995. The Little Sisters reside in a priory in the French countryside and live a life of prayer and work. It is the first community in the Catholic Church to invite women with Down syndrome to join religious life. 

The community was founded in 1985. Sister Veronique, who has Down syndrome, had been turned away by several religious communities but continued to feel called to religious life. Then she encountered Mother Line, who remembers that before she became a religious, she ?was looking for a religious vocation with ?the little ones.?? 

The two women began their community in a small village in Touraine, becoming an established religious institute of contemplative life in 1999 and ultimately moving to Le Blanc. Today, there are nine sisters and one American postulant in the order. The community also includes women who do not have Down syndrome who help to support all the sisters. 

The community members focus on ?prayer and work? by balancing their contemplative lives of prayer with daily work on a farm, where they make many all-natural products. 

The community?s charism is ?a life given to the smallest and the poorest,? and the sisters look to St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and St. Benedict for spiritual guidance. 

?Our spiritual guides are St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus ? do all the little things through love ? and St. Benedict: ?Ora et labora,? pray and work,? Mother Line explained. ?Work gives balance to the Little Sisters.?

A day in the life of the community includes daily Mass and prayers coupled with work activities. The sisters keep busy cultivating gardens, weaving scarves and bags, and crafting herbal teas. They have a bee farm and produce honey as well as make pottery. They launched their newest product this year ? a line of skin care and cosmetics. 

?We have developed a cultivation of medicinal plants and manufactured high-end cosmetics,? Mother Line said. ?One hundred percent natural, shipped throughout Europe and maybe America one day.?

The sisters launched their skin care, which includes balms and serums, on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes earlier this year with the tagline ?The drop of love for your skin.? While it does not entirely support their mission, selling a variety of products on their website helps the monastery be more self-sufficient. It also helps create balance of work and prayer for the sisters. 

?It?s important for Little Sisters with Down syndrome to help them grow in something that fulfills them: Nature and prayer provide the right balance,? Mother Line said.

The sisters distill roses with a culture of 700 Damascus rosebushes and other aromatic plants, she said. A neighbor of the priory sold a field to the sisters when he retired, enabling the Little Sisters to plant a field of Damascus rosebushes. The rare type of rose serves as an aroma in their mists and skin care products. 

?Our brand is called Still?Amoris, which means ?the drop of love,?? Mother Line said. ?This allows Little Sisters to spread the love that people with Down syndrome bring to the world and reminds the world that this is the most important love.? 

Two years ago, Mother Line called on American women to consider a vocation with the Little Sisters ? both women with Down syndrome and those without. She told CNA that Americans have a different outlook on those with Down syndrome than Europeans do. 

?They are considered as human beings [in America],? Mother Line said. ?In Europe, most people with Down syndrome go to live in institutions. It is right that in the United States, people with Down syndrome stay in their family.?

The prioress highlighted the prevalence of abortion in Europe where the number of children born with Down syndrome has declined by 11% over past decades as prenatal scans became more popular. Doctors advise abortion when prenatal scans indicate Down syndrome.

?In Europe and France, abortion is omnipresent. Especially in children with Down syndrome ? they no longer have the right to live in France and Europe,? Mother Line said.

The U.S. has a similar problem. One in every 700 children born have Down syndrome in the U.S., but according to the National Institutes of Health, between 67% and 85% of unborn children with Down syndrome are aborted.

?What a shame that the medical team says that it will be a burden for the family while the child with Down syndrome unites the whole family: They have a gift for this because they bring love,? she continued.

Mother Line said she believes children with Down syndrome ?have a message to say to the world.?

?We are sure that God will never abandon the little ones,? she said.

Giorgia Meloni, prime minister of Italy; Viktor Orbán, prime minister of Hungary; and French President Emmanuel Macron were among European leaders who offered congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump on his victory Nov. 6, 2024. / Credit: Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images

Rome Newsroom, Nov 6, 2024 / 12:15 pm (CNA).

European leaders expressed readiness to work with Donald Trump following his historic reelection, emphasizing transatlantic cooperation and shared values while acknowledging challenges ahead.

Trump secured 277 electoral votes and a popular vote margin of 5 million to defeat Democratic challenger Vice President Kamala Harris, becoming the first U.S. president in nearly 130 years to win a nonconsecutive term.

In her congratulatory message, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen affirmed the importance of EU-U.S. relations.

?The EU and the U.S. are more than just allies. We are bound by a true partnership between our people, uniting 800 million citizens,? von der Leyen wrote on X, calling for work on ?a strong transatlantic agenda.?

French President Emmanuel Macron offered congratulations in three languages ? French, English, and German ? emphasizing a commitment to cooperation ?with your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.?

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described Italy and the United States as ?sister nations? connected by ?an unshakeable alliance, common values, and historic friendship.?

?It is a strategic bond that I am certain we will strengthen even further,? Meloni added.

The reactions came as Trump declared victory early Wednesday morning in Florida, promising to ?deliver the strong, safe, and prosperous America that our children deserve.?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized Germany?s role as a ?reliable transatlantic partner,? particularly regarding what he described as Russia?s threat to security in the Euro-Atlantic region. ?Germany and the USA are bound by a partnership and friendship that has grown over decades,? Scholz wrote on X. ?We are better off together. Together we can achieve much more than on our own.?

The chancellor also called for closer European unity, noting he would work with French President Emmanuel Macron to coordinate with other EU leaders in upcoming meetings in Budapest.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has maintained closer ties with Trump than many European leaders, was among the first to congratulate the president-elect, calling it ?the biggest comeback in U.S. political history? and a ?much-needed victory for the world!?

Several European leaders highlighted shared democratic values and mutual interests, even as analysts note potential tensions over issues like NATO funding and climate policy that marked Trump?s first term.

NATO chief Mark Rutte wrote on X that he had congratulated Trump on his win, adding that his leadership is ?key? to keeping the NATO alliance strong.

?I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through #NATO,? he said.

Ukraine and Israel?s leaders also signaled their desire to continue close alliances with the U.S., as Trump returns to the White House after making promises to end the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East through an ?America First? approach.

In a statement on X congratulating Trump on his presidential win, Israel?s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump?s reelection offers ?a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.?

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, pointed to a September meeting with Trump at which they discussed ?the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership, the Victory Plan, and ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine.?

?I appreciate President Trump?s commitment to the ?peace through strength? approach in global affairs,? Zelenskyy said, adding that they ?rely on continued strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States.?

The president-elect selected Catholic convert and Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate. During the campaign, Trump actively courted Catholic voters, launching a ?Catholics for Trump? coalition emphasizing religious liberty, traditional values, and pro-life positions.

Interior of St. George Martyr Parish in Paiporta in Valencia province, Spain, in the aftermath of recent flooding in Spain. / Credit: Courtesy of St. George Martyr Parish

Madrid, Spain, Nov 5, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

?We?re not dead because a neighbor came looking for her mother [and warned us] while we were adoring the Blessed Sacrament,? Father Gustavo Riveira, pastor of St. George Martyr Parish in Paiporta in Valencia province, Spain, this week told ACI Prensa, CNA?s Spanish-language news partner. The town of Paiporta is considered to be ?ground zero? of the tragedy caused by the recent floods in Spain.

On the afternoon of Oct. 29, between 40 and 50 people had prayed the rosary at 6 p.m. and, a half hour later, the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament had begun when they were warned of imminent flash flooding.

?We are not dead because a neighbor came looking for her mother. If she hadn?t, we wouldn?t have lived to tell the story,? emphasized the Argentine priest, who criticized that citizens were not informed ahead of time: ?Nobody warned us of anything.?

The parish was flooded but, using buckets, about 60 young people managed to remove the remaining water after the flash flood had receded, according to the parish priest.

Riveira described the Dantesque scene, where the streets and houses are still full of mud, with ruined cars piled up and belongings destroyed by the flowing water.

?We have mountains of mud, reeds. People have taken furniture outside to clean their houses. There is immense devastation, which goes well beyond the mud and the mire,? he explained.

A few days after the floods, at least they no longer lack food or water, but parish Caritas hasn?t been able to resume its normal activities, he said. ?We had to throw away everything we had, because everything was covered with mud. We had nothing left.?

They haven?t been able to properly store the aid they have received, thanks to the generosity of thousands of Spaniards, because Caritas? facilities haven?t yet been able to be cleaned.

Thus, what is functioning is what the priest calls ?hand-to-hand solidarity, which is not so structured? but reflects the exceptional work carried out on numerous occasions by parishioners who have also lost everything in the floods.

?They?ve shown great solidarity, truly exemplary. People have come to the fore that we?ve never seen before to this extent. This is very beautiful and opens the heart,? Riveira commented.

Looking to the future, the priest expressed the need to restore calm: ?We must remain calm in order to start over. The law of life is to always be starting over. Woe to us the day we give up on starting over and looking to tomorrow with eyes of hope.?

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

Activist Marguerite Stern poses for a picture in an artist squat in Paris on Sept. 6, 2019. / Credit: LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

National Catholic Register, Nov 5, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

The intellectual evolution of emblematic radical feminist Marguerite Stern, spectacular in more ways than one, is a mystery to many commentators. 

In February 2013, she burst, topless, into the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to celebrate, along with other feminist activists, the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and howl her hatred of the Church. 

Less than a decade later, Stern has become a leading figure in the fight against the excesses of the so-called ?woke movements,? in particular transgender ideology. 

In recent years, this struggle has led her to distance herself from many of her former radical allies and to question, one by one, the progressive dogmas that once served as her moral compass. 

This intellectual journey led her to offer, in a video published on YouTube on Oct. 31, the eve of All Saints? Day, her ?sincere apologies? to Catholics hurt by her frequent public provocations when she was a Femen activist between 2012 and 2015, ?notably during a campaign in favor of gay marriage.?

How to explain such a turnaround? 

For Stern, the awakening began five years ago, when she became convinced that transgenderism, which ?does not create but destroys,? represented a civilizational threat, which ?comes from death drive and self-hatred.?

It was a comparable impulse that she felt animated her when she attacked the Catholic religion, which has forged the ?history, architecture, and customs? of her native France. 

?Rejecting that, going into Notre-Dame de Paris screaming,? she continued, ?was a way of damaging a part of France, which is to say a part of myself. At 22, I didn?t realize it.? 

Brought up in the Catholic faith, this avowed atheist retains an instinctive love for her country?s religious heritage. Indeed, she revealed that she has never stopped loving Notre Dame. ?I remember that the day after the fire [in 2019], I went to cry in a church. But sometimes we love badly.?

?Fight to preserve rites?

Noting that her opposition to transgenderism has made her patriotic, and then socially conservative, because her only deep connection is with her country, Stern said she is convinced that France must remain Catholic. And to this end, its religious rites must continue to be kept alive.

?Rites bring us together. They soothe, sometimes repair, and regulate our emotions; they anchor us in the present by reminding us of what has gone before,? she continued.

?And then there?s something else: There?s what?s beyond us. The steeples that tower over us and dress our soundscapes. The majesty of the buildings. The wonder of entering a church. The beauty. And the faith of believers. I?m sorry I trampled on that.?

This respect for the country?s Catholic traditions is all the more important to her as the ideologies she fights against are all corollaries of transhumanism, where humans, like demiurges, become their own creators. 

?Without believing in God, on certain points I ultimately come to the same conclusions as Catholics,? she claimed; hence her conviction that blasphemy, while a protected right in France under the nation?s 1905 law on the separation of church and state, is ?not always moral.?

?It?s fashionable these days to denigrate Catholics and make them out to be old-France idiots, insufficiently hip to deserve the status of human beings,? Stern concluded. ?In the past, I have used this climate to act immorally, while helping to reinforce it. I sincerely apologize for that.?

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

Delegates at the 2024 Synod on Synodality participate in roundtable meetings on Oct. 10, 2024, in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

CNA Deutsch, Nov 4, 2024 / 16:50 pm (CNA).

Four German bishops, resisting the move of turning the German Synodal Way into a permanent council, have expressed their gratitude for the Synod on Synodality, which concluded Oct. 27 in Rome.

The statement by Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and Bishops Gregor Maria Hanke, OSB, of Eichstätt; Stefan Oster, SDB, of Passau; and Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg stated: ?[We] are willing to embark on the path initiated in the Roman synod with their fellow bishops and with as many other participants from as many Church groups as possible.?

They continued: ?[It is] with great gratitude that we stand behind the final document of the 16th World Synod of Bishops, which Pope Francis has confirmed and released for publication.? Oster himself was a participant in the Synod on Synodality, in which many people who are not bishops were also entitled to vote for the first time.

The final document of the 16th World Synod of Bishops, which Pope Francis has confirmed and released for publication, is ?supported with great gratitude,? the four bishops said. Oster himself was a participant in the synod in Rome.

?In a special way, the bishops appreciate the clear emphasis on the work of the Spirit as the protagonist of a synodal and missionary Church,? said the statement issued Monday morning. ?Four of the five main headings of the document speak of ?conversion? to which the Holy Spirit calls ? of conversion in the heart of every baptized person, of conversion in relationships, in processes, and in commitments.?

?The essential goal of a synodal Church is also strongly emphasized: the mission and the formation of missionary disciples who go together to proclaim the Gospel and invite people into friendship with Christ,? the bishops said in their statement.

Many of the proposals formulated in the final document confirmed and released by the pope are ?already structurally possible in Germany, especially through the numerous bodies of consultation and co-determination that already exist.? The task, the German bishops said, is to ?contribute to their spiritual deepening, to the improvement of participation, and to a stronger focus on mission.?

There is ?hope that the continuation of the Synodal Way in Germany can also be a path of conversion,? Woelki, Hanke, Oster, and Voderholzer explained. 

?[We] experienced the meetings in Frankfurt as contradicting what the Synod of Bishops in Rome consistently practiced in a ?safe space? (Pope Francis) ? a setting where spiritual discernment, mutual trust, listening, and a focus on missionary discipleship could flourish. In [our] view, these essential elements were largely absent in Frankfurt.?

?Instead ? according to [our] impression and that of many others ? there was a parliamentary-like process of pure majority procurement and not of spiritual discernment, as the final document urges us to do,? the bishops said. ?In this way, a large majority in the chamber with a liberal attitude to Church policy issues wanted to push through their issues under massive, public pressure. In doing so, however, it has caused quite a few irritations and injuries among the entire people of God.?

?The Frankfurt Assembly?s exclusive identification of four main topics as those that would structurally favor abuse hardly holds up according to current knowledge,? the four bishops pointed out. ?Moreover, two of the four topics (celibacy and sexual morality) were not addressed in the final document of the World Synod of Bishops. On the question of the possible participation of women in sacramental ordination, there is no new state of affairs after the World Synod of Bishops. And the question of power, the negative effects of which have been massively denounced by Pope Francis under the heading of ?clericalism,? is answered in the final document with a comprehensive draft of a common, spiritual path for the Church.?

The four bishops concluded that, in their view, ?the goals of the German Synodal Way and the global Church process of the Synod [on Synodality] do not go hand in hand in terms of content.?

Woelki, Hanke, Oster, and Voderholzer chose not to participate in the synodal committee after the conclusion of the plenary meetings of the Synodal Way, which is to lead to a synodal council within the next few years. Such a synodal council as a body for joint consultation and decision-making by bishops and laity has already been rejected by Vatican authorities.

The Synodal Way ? ?Synodaler Weg,? sometimes translated as Synodal Path ? is not a synod but a highly controversial event designed to create ?pressure? on the Church, as one founder has admitted. 

The polarizing process, which cost several million dollars, not only aims to establish a permanent synodal council: Delegates also passed several resolutions to change Church practices based on transgender ideology and have called for the priestly ordination of women, same-sex blessings, as well as changes to Church teaching on sexual acts.

This article was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA?s German-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA. 

Archbishop Adrian Józef Galbas. / Credit: episkopat.pl

CNA Newsroom, Nov 4, 2024 / 09:05 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Adrian Józef Galbas as the new metropolitan archbishop of Warsaw, Poland, accepting the resignation of Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, who will turn 75 in February.

The appointment was announced Monday by the apostolic nunciature in Poland.

Galbas, 56, has served as metropolitan archbishop of Katowice since May 2023. A member of the Pallottine Fathers, he previously served as auxiliary bishop of E?k and obtained his doctorate in spiritual theology from Cardinal Stefan Wyszy?ski University in Warsaw in 2012.

Within the Polish Bishops? Conference, Galbas serves as chairman of the Council for the Lay Apostolate and is a member of the conference?s permanent council.

Born in Bytom, Poland, in 1968, he made his perpetual vows with the Pallottines in 1993 and was ordained a priest in 1994. Before becoming a bishop, he served as provincial superior of the Pallottines? Annunciation Province from 2011 to 2019.

Pope Francis named him auxiliary bishop of E?k in December 2019 and appointed him coadjutor archbishop of Katowice in December 2021. He became metropolitan archbishop of Katowice in May 2023.

The Archdiocese of Warsaw, established in 1798, serves as the primary see of Poland and encompasses the capital city of Warsaw.

Nycz led the archdiocese since 2007.

"When you play with spirits, with elements of esotericism or occultism you are opening doors to the Evil One," warned Father Javier Ortega, a priest of the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares in Spain. / Credit: Shutterstock

Madrid, Spain, Oct 30, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

Father Javier Ortega, a priest of the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares in Spain, said that costumes of demons, witches, and the dead that are usually worn for Halloween are not recommended because ?you are in some way tempting the devil.?

In a recent interview published by the diocese on its website, Ortega asked parents to not allow their children to participate in these celebrations and, if they do, ?to dress up as saints or in costumes of beautiful and lovely things.?

Don?t let them ?dress up as demons, dress up as witches, or dress up as dead people,? he said, ?because in some way you are opening doors, you are in some way tempting the devil? In other words, it?s not something neutral.?

The priest also pointed out that behind the pagan festival of Halloween ?there is the influence of evil.? In fact, he said that this is ?the biggest day? for satanists. It?s a celebration that ?has nothing to do, of course, with what the Christian faith is? and in which, he lamented, ?we are being a bit complicit.?

?When you play with fire you can get burned, that?s clear; it?s not that you always get burned, but you can get burned. When you play with spirits, with elements of esotericism or occultism you are opening doors to the evil one,? he warned.

The priest also warned that the evil one ?also makes use of ignorance and naïveté? and, although children are often unaware of this background, ?in some way they are participating in a festival that has nothing good to do with it.?

?If you drink poison, even if you don?t know it, you are poisoning yourself,? he added.

Ortega also pointed out the danger behind esoteric or other types of practices such as Ouija, Reiki, New Age, or ?yoga at certain levels? because, he added, ?deep down you are invoking the evil one, you are pressing your luck.?

Cultivate beauty to combat Halloween

The priest reminded that ?beauty will save the world? and that it?s very important to educate children in beauty: ?We must care for children?s imagination, so that they have beautiful and lovely things in their imagination.?

He thus recommended that there shouldn?t be ?ugly pictures? in the children?s rooms but images of the Virgin, the guardian angel, and ?that children be blessed every night, that they hear words of blessing, words from heaven, words of hope.?

?We live in a world that is very harmful to children, where there are ugly things and things that truly attack purity of heart, the innocence of children? So we must fight against this with all our might,? he said.

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

Spain has suffered what is considered the third worst natural disaster in the country?s recent history. / Credit: Courtesy of Caritas Spain

Madrid, Spain, Oct 30, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

Torrential rains have inundated southern and eastern Spain, leaving at least 66 people dead. In response, the Catholic Church has expressed its pain and condolences over the tragedy and Caritas has launched a special campaign.

The flash flooding is considered the third largest natural disaster in Spain?s contemporary history, which has primarily hit the territories of the Archdiocese of Valencia and the Dioceses of Cuenca and Albacete.

Only the 1996 flood in the town of Biescas in the Pyrenees, with 89 deaths, and the 1957 flooding of the Turia River, in which between an estimated 80 and 100 lives were lost, exceed the death toll confirmed to date.

The archbishop of Valencia, Enrique Benavent, celebrated a Eucharist on Wednesday morning in the Basilica of the Our Lady of the Abandoned, the city?s patroness. During the homily, the prelate pointed out that ?those most affected are those we must keep closest to our hearts, just as those who suffer the most are those who are closest to a mother?s heart.?

Benavent also asked ?everyone to pray before the Blessed Virgin Mary, first of all, for those who have lost their lives in this great tragedy? and asked that their families and all those who have been affected be remembered.

Hundreds of people were forced to sleep outdoors after being caught in the great torrents of water while traveling in their private vehicles yesterday afternoon. The homes of many others were flooded and their vehicles swept away in the midst of a powerful storm that at times was like a hurricane.

The Archdiocese of Valencia, which had made its facilities and resources available to citizens on Tuesday afternoon, found it was unable to meet all the needs it wanted to.

?The parishes have also been affected, but to the extent of our possibilities we must keep in mind all those who suffer, that they feel in us a helping hand, a brotherly hand, who knows how to feel compassion for them and who knows how to be attentive to their needs,? Benavent explained.

Regarding those who have temporarily been left without a roof over their heads, the archbishop expressed his hope that ?they may find in the Church, in Christians, a helping hand from brothers and a helping hand from friends. In this way we will also show that we are children of the Virgin of the Abandoned.?

Caritas Spain mobilizes emergency campaign

Area diocesan Caritas have contacted the Archdiocese of Valencia to offer their services, as confirmed to ACI Prensa, CNA?s Spanish-language news partner, by Marisa Villaroig, head of Caritas in the Diocese of Segorbe-Castellón.

?We have put ourselves at their disposal. We are waiting for the damage to be assessed? to determine the specific needs, she indicated.

?We are a little heavy hearted,? confessed Villaroig, who said she is personally going to take in some people from Valencia in her home.

Caritas Spain has announced the launch of a campaign to respond to the emergency situation in which the Valencia and Albacete branches, present in the hardest-hit areas, have a special role, despite the fact that they have also been affected.

Condolences and support from different dioceses

Since early in the morning, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and dioceses have publicly expressed their sorrow for the lost lives, their dismay over the material disasters and their readiness to work on material and spiritual recovery.

The archbishop of Valladolid and president of the Spanish Bishops? Conference, Luis Argüello, expressed on X his concern and invoked the Virgin of the Abandoned to ?comfort and support everyone? and promised help from the conference.

Both Argüello and the conference?s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, have written letters to the archbishop of Valencia and the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Albacete, Monsignor Julián Ros, to express ?their pain and closeness.?

The archbishop of Barcelona, ??Cardinal Juan José Omella, said he was ?shocked by the tragic images coming to us from Valencia and Albacete? and pledged his prayers ?for the victims, their families, and all those affected.?

?Experiences like this remind us of the fragility of our human condition and open us to the hope of eternal life in heaven,? the cardinal said.

The archbishop of Granada, José María Gil Tamayo, also expressed his condolences, as did the archbishop of Seville, José Ángel Saiz Meneses.

The bishop of León, Luis Ángel de las Heras, and the bishop of Getafe, Ginés García, among others, also expressed their condolences.

On an institutional level, the Dioceses of Vitoria, Ávila and Mondoñedo-Ferrol, as well as the Archdiocese of Madrid, have also expressed their grief.

The Spanish government has declared three days of official mourning for the tragedy.

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

Father Ivan Levystky (left) and Father Bohdan Geleta (right) were held for more than a year after being captured by the Russians in Berdyansk and released on June 28, 2024. / Credit: Donetsk Bishop's Exarchy

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 29, 2024 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

More than two and a half years after the Russian invasion, the Church in Ukraine has lost more than half of the parishes in the occupied regions, said Maksym Ryabukha, the new Greek Catholic bishop of the Donetsk exarchate.

Speaking to the Italian daily Avvenire, the 44-year-old prelate said ?the situation is increasingly worrying? since the war began in February 2022.

?We have already lost more than half of the parishes. And with the advancing Russian army, dozens of other churches have been evacuated,? added Ryabukha, whose diocese is partly under Moscow?s control, divided by over 300 miles of trenches.

According to the Italian media, in the churches of Pokrovsk, Mirnohrad, and Kostiantynivka ? areas taken by Russian forces ? there are no more remaining liturgical furnishings, pews, or adornments.

The new bishop of the Donetsk exarchate said the priests ?stay close to the population and visit the refugees who have left their homes.? In his case, he said he is now ?a bishop in a time of pain, drama, injustice, and helplessness? as he sees his Church suffering.

Ryabukha said that in the Russian-occupied areas, ?those who openly call themselves Catholics disappear: Some are shot, others are imprisoned. There is no right to freely profess the faith. Our faithful keep saying: ?We?re holding up, but it?s like being locked up in a prison.??

Among the painful experiences, the prelate recalled the imprisonment of his priests Bohdan Geleta and Ivan Levitskyi, who were held for more than a year after being captured by the Russians in Berdyansk.

Both were released in June, and Ryabukha said their stories ?show how the power of prayer is a vital support in the midst of atrocities.?

?Our two priests felt the closeness of the Church that allowed them to hold up under the evil, the torture, the inhumanity they experienced in Russian cells. And it?s with prayer that I also can be close to the communities that they prevent me from visiting. Every day I ask the Lord to protect them,? he said.

The bishop, who regularly visits Ukrainian soldiers, said that many of them, before the war, ?were simple fathers or even former Salesian students. They put aside their plans to defend the country.?

?We know that the war will end. But we all want this to happen as soon as possible and with peace in the name of justice,? he added.

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

Archbishop Mark O?Toole of the Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia. / Credit: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

London, England, Oct 28, 2024 / 11:15 am (CNA).

A leading archbishop from Wales said he is ?pleased? that the Welsh assembly has rejected a motion to legalize assisted suicide, highlighting support for the ?most vulnerable.? 

The motion in the Welsh Parliament, known as the Senedd, proposed a new law to legalize assisted dying in Wales and England, but it was defeated 26-19 on Oct. 23. First Minister Eluned Morgan and Health Secretary Jeremy Miles were among those to vote against the motion. 

Welcoming the outcome, Archbishop Mark O?Toole of Cardiff-Menevia said: ?Support of the most vulnerable in our society, so clearly threatened by the proposed law, is good to see. I was very pleased to see that the majority in the Senedd voted against a motion which encouraged assisted suicide legislation.?

Catholic minister Delyth Jewell, deputy leader of Plaid Cymru, also spoke out against the motion, saying: ?My fear with this motion, my terror, is not so much with how it will begin but how it will end.?

Jewell shared that an assisted-dying law would leave disabled and vulnerable people with ?no choice but to end their life,? saying: ?For many disabled people or people who are not close to their family, people who are worried, anxious, and lonely, it would leave them to feeling they have no choice but to end their life.?

The result comes prior to a vote on Kim Leadbeater?s assisted suicide bill Nov. 29, which proposes to legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales. While the Senedd does not have power to introduce the legislation, the vote was symbolic and viewed as a guide on how Wales will vote in the Leadbeater bill. 

The rejection of the Welsh motion is seen as significant because it shows the Welsh Assembly, including its leader, rejects an assisted suicide regime on Wales.

O?Toole urged Catholics to not rest on their laurels but to take an active part in speaking out against the Leadbeater bill. 

?I continue to encourage all Catholics to write to their MPs [members of Parliament] to express their concerns about the proposed law currently before the U.K. Parliament and to encourage them not to vote for it,? he said.

The archbishop?s comments came as Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth delivered a stark warning that legalizing assisted dying in England and Wales would be like welcoming Adolph Hitler?s Nazi ?ideology.?

In a pastoral letter titled ?Thou Shalt Not Kill,? addressed to parishioners in the Diocese of Portsmouth, Egan wrote: ?To permit killing is wrong. It would be a shift of historic significance. It would be to capitulate to the very ideology Britain fought against in the Second World War.?

Egan was referring to Hitler?s promotion of the rights of the strong to dominate the weak by any means necessary during the Second World War ? including violence and murder ? and founded an ideology that led to the murder of millions.

Egan underlined the consequences of legalizing assisted suicide. ??Thou shalt not kill? is an instinctive principle written into every human heart,? he wrote.

?If we yield to [assisted dying] and permit killing, we will cross a line from which there is no return. Like using nuclear weapons, once deployed, it?s too late; there?s only escalation.?

He continued: ?It would darken the atmosphere of medical wards that care for the elderly, and it would inexorably lead to euthanasia, the right to make another person die, when difficult cases need to be decided by consultants and relatives, or lawyers and the courts.?

Meanwhile, U.K. pro-life groups were quick to welcome the landmark decision in Wales. 

Right to Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said: ?This vote shows that the Welsh Parliament clearly rejects the imposition of assisted suicide on Wales from Westminster, with fewer than a third of Senedd members voting in favor.?

?Legalizing assisted suicide presents an acute threat to vulnerable people, especially in the context of an overstretched health care system,? Robinson continued. ?The U.K. must prioritize properly funded, high-quality palliative care for those at the end of their life, not assisted suicide.?

St. John Capistrano and St. Bernardine of Siena. Museum of Fine Arts of Granada. Painting, oil on canvas, by Alonso Cano (1653-1657) for an altarpiece of the disappeared Franciscan convent of San Antonio and San Diego, Granada. / Credit: Jl FilpoC, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Oct 23, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Oct. 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the life of St. John of Capistrano, a Franciscan priest whose life included a political career, extensive missionary journeys, efforts to reunite separated Eastern Christians with Rome, and a historically important turn at military leadership.

Invoked as a patron of military chaplains, St. John of Capistrano was praised by St. John Paul II ? whose feast day was yesterday, Oct. 22 ? in a 2002 general audience for his ?glorious evangelical witness? and as a priest who ?gave himself with great generosity for the salvation of souls.?

Born in Italy in 1385, John lost his father ? a French or possibly German knight who had settled in Capistrano ? at a young age. John?s mother took care to have him educated, and after learning Latin he went on to study both civil law and Church law in Perugia. An outstanding student, he soon became a prominent public figure and was appointed governor of the city at age 26.

John showed high standards of integrity in his civic career, and in 1416 he labored to end a war that had erupted between Perugia and the prominent House of Malatesta. But when the nobles had John imprisoned, he began to question his life?s direction. Encountering St. Francis of Assisi in a dream, he resolved to embrace poverty, chastity, and obedience with the Franciscans.

Abandoning his possessions and social status, John joined the religious order in October 1416. He found a mentor in St. Bernardine of Siena, known for his bold preaching and his method of prayer focused on the invocation of the name of Jesus. Taking after his teacher in these respects, John began preaching as a deacon in 1420 and was ordained a priest in 1425.

John successfully defended his mentor from a charge of heresy made against his way of devotion, though he found less success in his efforts to resolve internal controversy among the followers of St. Francis. A succession of popes entrusted important matters to John, including the effort to reunite Eastern and Western Christendom at the Ecumenical Council of Florence.

Drawing immense crowds in his missionary travels throughout Italy, John also found success as a preacher in Central Europe, where he opposed the Hussites? error regarding the nature and administration of the Eucharist. After Constantinople fell to Turkish invaders in 1453, Pope Nicholas V sent John on a mission to rally other European leaders in defense of their lands.

Nicholas? successor Pope Callixtus III was even more eager to see the Christian world defend itself against the invading forces. When Sultan Mehmet II sought to extend his territorial gains into Serbia and Hungary, John joined the celebrated general Janos Hunyadi in his defense of Belgrade. The priest personally led a section of the army in its historic victory on Aug. 6, 1456.

Neither John nor the general, however, would survive long past the battle.

Weakened by the campaign against the Turks, Hunyadi became sick and died soon after the victory at Belgrade. John survived to preach Hunyadi?s funeral sermon, but his own extraordinary life came to an end after a painful illness on Oct. 23, 1456. St. John of Capistrano was canonized in 1724.

This story was first published on Oct. 21, 2012, and has been updated.

Belén Perales is now host of the YouTube channel ?El Rosario de las 11? (?The Rosary at 11 p.m.?), where she streams praying the Holy Rosary every night and shares conversion stories. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Belén Perales

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 22, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

Belén Perales, a 60-year-old Spanish woman, lived for 35 years as an atheist, turning away from the Catholic faith in her teens after a series of traumatic experiences.

However, her life changed dramatically on a visit to the tomb of St. John Paul II in the Vatican, where, according to her, she had a profound revelation that brought her back home.

A life marked by pain and rebellion

Perales was born into a Catholic family, the eldest of four siblings, but from a young age she felt a baseless but deep sense of abandonment. ?I always had a feeling that nobody loved me,? she confessed in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA?s Spanish-language news partner.

Constant moving from one city to another due to her father?s work fueled her insecurities, creating a deep emotional wound. ?I developed a kind of wound of [feeling] abandoned,? she recalled, and although moving around made her more adaptable, it also fueled her resentment.

Her faith began to falter in her teens after being abused during a stay at a boarding school. This episode marked a breaking point in her relationship with God and her mother. ?I left school very angry at the world ... that summer I stopped believing in God,? Perales recounted. From that moment on, she began to distance herself from the Church and the faith she had known as a child.

Tumultuous trajectory

For the next 35 years, Perales lived in the midst of confusion, searching for peace in failed relationships and professional success that she could never find. She married several times and suffered deception and abuse in her relationships.

?My first husband scammed me... when I went to get a divorce, it turned out that I wasn?t even married; he was a professional scammer who had deceived me,? she recalled with resignation.

?After what happened with that man, my first husband, I went from bad to worse. I met the father of my oldest daughter; in short, it was a very tortuous relationship. It was seven very hard years. I had a terrible time. I managed to get out of that house with my daughter and we started from scratch again. I was ruined again,? she recalled.

In 1996, when the internet was just taking off, she bought a kit and decided to set up her own online business. She began selling through that platform and, to her surprise, the project was a huge success. From that moment on, she began to generate significant income thanks to her entrepreneurial initiative in the digital world. 

Despite having a successful career in business, her personal life was still a mess. ?I went on to other boyfriends... I got married again, but it went wrong just the same.?

?I went to live with another person who had addictions that I didn?t know about; he was a psychiatrist and a drug addict. Then I got married again, in the Church this time. And it went wrong just the same because that person had problems, and so did I. I had two daughters, my two little daughters with that person. So I was left alone with my daughters, the two little ones,? she said.

During these years, her life was marked by hopelessness and she lived completely far from faith. ?I was an atheist; I didn?t believe in God, nothing, zero,? she stated categorically.

Sudden, unexpected reencounter with God

Everything changed in the summer of 2012 during a trip to Rome with her daughters. Although her initial intention was to visit the Roman Colosseum, her daughter Gabriela insisted on visiting the Vatican.

?I wanted to go to the Colosseum, but my daughter wanted to go to the Vatican. In the end, I gave in,? she said. What happened inside St. Peter?s Basilica changed her life forever.

?When we entered the Vatican, I was angry. I thought: ?What are we doing here? How horrible!?? While taking photos of her daughters, Perales began to feel something inexplicable: ?Suddenly, I began to feel something physical, not spiritual. Something that suddenly entered... and I automatically realized that God exists, and that if I died, I would go to hell.?

The impact was so great that she began to cry uncontrollably. ?My eyes were pouring out tears as if they were two open faucets,? she recalled.

In front of the tomb of St. John Paul II, she felt that she was outside the Church, separated from her ?mother,? as she calls the Catholic Church, and that she had rejected God for all those years. ?I felt the pain of being outside the Church, realizing that God existed and that I had rejected him.?

?I felt ... that he wasn?t a lie, and that I had rejected him. My soul was dirty, full of sins. My sins were running through my mind,? she said.

When she saw the tomb of St. John Paul II, she suddenly said: ?Girls, let?s pray.? Then she knelt on the third pew on the left as her tears continued to fall. ?My youngest daughter took out tissues and wiped my face. I wanted to pray, but I couldn?t even remember the Lord?s Prayer, because I hadn?t prayed for 35 years. I was 48 years old and hadn?t prayed since I was 13,? she explained to ACI Prensa.

When she left the place, Perales thought to herself: ?I?ve gone crazy. This is the result of being alone with my daughters and tired.?

Return home

After that experience, she returned to Madrid, but the process of returning to the faith was not easy. She still felt estranged from the Church and thought she could not be accepted again.

?I was still stubborn, thinking that I couldn?t return to the Church, that I was excommunicated,? she related. For a year, she attended Mass on Sundays, but she didn?t dare go to confession. ?I thought: ?I better not go to confession, because they?re going to throw me out of here.??

Finally, one day, she felt an inner call. ?I heard God telling me from within: ?What are you waiting for??? That was the sign she needed to take the step. ?I went down to the parish, left my daughters in a pew, and went into the first confessional I saw.?

There she found a young priest who welcomed her with joy. ?I told him: ?Look, my name is Belén, I have done everything except steal and kill.? And he answered me: ?Hallelujah, today there is a celebration in heaven.??

The priest had with him a picture of the prodigal son and explained to her: ?Right now God is embracing you.?

That confession was the beginning of her reconciliation with God and with the Catholic Church. ?I didn?t know the mercy of God. When I returned to the Church, it was like an embrace that I had never felt before,? she shared.

A life of evangelization

Since then, Perales has dedicated her life to evangelizing and sharing her story with those around her. ?I told Jesus: ?From now on, I am your marketing department. Wherever I go, I will take you with me.??

And so she has. Over the years, she has taken several friends to the confessional and handed out rosaries to those she meets along the way.

?My wounds have been healed by adoration and sacraments. I am a fan of confession,? she said with a smile.

In addition, Perales founded the channel ?El Rosario de las 11? (?The Rosary at 11 p.m.?) on YouTube, with which she streams praying the holy rosary every night and shares conversion stories, like hers. As she told ACI Prensa, ?the channel has borne many fruits, from endless conversions to [guys] who have decided to go to seminary to become priests, vocations... in short, a bit of everything."

What surprises her most, although she realizes that it shouldn?t, is the number of miracles and conversions that have occurred thanks to the channel. Reflecting on this fact, she quoted Jesus: ?Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.? For Perales, these events are proof that Jesus is still alive today.

Expressing her full commitment to the project, she said she has promised the Virgin and Jesus that she will be running the channel ?until the last day of her life, or until my strength fails me.?

?I want to please my mother, the Virgin, who asks us to pray the rosary. I am obeying. Also, many people on the internet don?t know God, but if they did, they would fall in love with Jesus as I have,? she commented.

?YouTube allows people, even without looking for God, to meet him in an unexpected way. I am excited to know that my videos can reach those who are far away, those who most need this message of hope and love that Jesus gives us,? she said.

Today, Perales lives a life full of faith, grateful for having found God again after so many years of darkness. ?Jesus rescued me when I least expected it, and now I want everyone to know that he is there, waiting for us,? she concluded.

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

Operators work on Lilith, the ?guardian of darkness,? built for the Hellfest metal festival in Toulouse, southwestern France, on Oct. 15, 2024. ?Lilith? is one of the characters in the urban opera of the French company La Machine titled ?The Guardian of the Temple Opus II: The Portal of Darkness,? which will be presented on Oct. 25?27, 2024, in Toulouse. / Credit: LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

The archbishop of Toulouse has consecrated the southwest French city to the Sacred Heart of Jesus ahead of a controversial street performance featuring ?satanic? imagery that is set to take place next weekend. 

?If we want to conquer with Christ,? Archbishop Guy de Kerimel reflected during his homily for the Oct. 16 consecration Mass, ?if we want the heart of Jesus to reign over the city and the [arch]diocese of Toulouse, we must fight the roots of evil and sin in our own heart, seek, with the grace of God, humility, flee indifference, renounce violence, work for justice, be artisans of peace, seek purity of heart, be servants of mercy, accept to suffer contradiction.?

The archbishop?s decision to consecrate the city and archdiocese comes ahead of the operatic city-funded production ?La porte des Ténèbres,? translated as ?The Gate of Darkness,? which is the second installment of a similar performance that took place in 2018. 

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, he emphasized to those gathered for the consecration, ?is the most eloquent revelation of the victory of the divine love manifested by Jesus, son of God and son of man, dead for our sins and risen from the dead for our salvation.?

Because of Christ?s passion, the archbishop said, ?love is not dead,? and Christians can have ?hearts open to testify to hope? amid darkness. 

?The consecration of the city and the [arch]diocese to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is therefore for us an invitation to conversion to show, in our wounded world, something of the new world, born of the pierced heart of Jesus,? he stated. ?How are Christian communities, with all people of goodwill, witnesses and actors of the victory of love in the world today?? 

Produced by François Delarozière, a French artist and director of the street theater company La Machine, this year?s performance sparked controversy when it was revealed that the immersive citywide opera would include ?satanic? imagery. A towering mechanical depiction of Lilith, a demonic figure in Judaism, will be on display, along with Satan?s cross, Lucifer?s sigil, and the sign of the beast ? which are set to represent the ?three prodigious signs? that Lilith will gather during the performance to open the gates of hell. 

For the past several months, advertisements for the performance ? on social media and plastered to the windows of trams throughout the city ? have featured the statue of Lilith along with images of burning churches, a demonic red figure with a calf?s head, and numerous walking skeletons. 

The towering mechanical likeness of the demonic half-woman was originally constructed for an international metal music festival called ?Hellfest? in Brittany this past summer. 

Delarozière in an interview with AFP news denied assertions that the performance contains satanic elements, stating that the story is really ?about love, death, life, and the afterlife, with the great myths that have spanned the centuries.? 

?We all have the right to say what we want and what we think,? he added, ?but we don?t have the right to censor or forbid.?