Vatican City, Jun 12, 2015 / 10:39 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis told a group of airport chaplains that their call is to be a sign of unity and mercy for the many different faces and cultures that come through airports, including undocumented migra... Read more
Washington D.C., Jun 12, 2015 / 05:11 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The global Catholic population is growing – so quickly, in fact, that priest and parish numbers cannot keep up, says a new study on trends in the worldwide Church. And this poses a challenge: With an overall growth in the number of Catholics, especially in Africa and Asia, but not enough growth in the number of parishes and priests to supplement it, there are fewer opportunities for Catholics to receive the sacraments and participate in their parishes. “The Church still faces a global 21st century problem of keeping Catholics engaged with parish and sacramental life,” stated the study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University. The study “Global Catholicism” drew from Vatican statistics and other surveys since 1980 to detail where the Catholic Church has grown and shrunk at the parish level and to predict the demographics of the next few decades for the Church. This growth was examined at the parish level because parish life is ultimately the “brick and mortar” of the Church where Catholics receive the sacraments, associate with fellow Catholics, and participate the most in their faith, the study explained. It tallied the growth of Catholics, priests, religious, parishes, reception of sacraments, seminarians, and Catholic welfare institutions like hospitals and schools in five regions -- Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas. The overall finding of the report is that the Church is in the midst of a “dramatic realignment.” It is waning in its historical center of Europe, its growth is slowing in the Americas and Oceania, and it is booming in Asia and Africa. This forecasts a Catholic shift away from the traditional centers of Europe and the Americas and toward the “Global South,” the mostly-developing parts of the world that include Central and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Oceania, and much of the Far East. Dr. Mark Gray, a senior research associate with CARA, explained the implications of this shift to CNA in an interview. One problem highlighted by the study is that most of the world’s parishes are still in Europe and the Americas, where the Church is declining or stagnating in population. The developing world is seeing more Catholics, but not nearly enough parishes to serve them. “You've got all these beautiful parishes,” Gray said of Europe. “You can't pick them up and send them from one part of the world to another very easily. So in one place the Church is going to have to close parishes, and in another place it's going to have to build a bunch more, and it's going to have to figure out how to manage its clergy.” Another finding of the report is that Catholics are participating less in the Church as they grow older, as seen in sacramental participation rates. In every region, the number of infant baptisms per 1,000 Catholics is greater than the number of first Communions, which is greater than the number of confirmations, which is greater than the number of marriages conducted within the Church. While this may not be surprising in regions like Europe, which is seeing an overall decline of priests and religious, it is also the case throughout other regions where Church numbers are growing. The Americas have both a lower Mass attendance rate and fewer marriages per 1,000 Catholics than does Europe, despite the overall American Catholic population growing. Gray admitted that these findings have yet to be explained. Furthermore, the number of religious priests, brothers, and sisters all declined in the Americas since 1980, even though the number of Catholics and diocesan priests has risen there. And even in Africa, where the Church is growing the most, there is a steep decline in sacramental participation from baptisms to marriages – the marriage rate is actually as low in Africa as it is in the Americas. This might have to do with Africa’s population boom fast outpacing the growth of its parishes. The continent leads the world with more than 13,000 Catholics per parish. “In Africa, more than elsewhere, the Church needs to explore the possibility that some forego or delay sacramental activity due to a lack of access to a nearby parish,” the CARA report states. Asia, however, is setting the bar in sacramental participation. It leads all the other regions in rates of first communions, confirmations, and marriages. “Something's happening in Asia that is remarkable. It's bucking the trend of everywhere else,” Gray said. Catholic leaders should be paying attention to what’s happening there, he added. Excluding mainland China, for which the Vatican did not provide data, the Catholic population rose in Asia by 63 percent since 1980. Overall Mass attendance did not significantly decline, either, although some Asian countries reported a higher Mass attendance than others. The number of diocesan priests more than doubled on the continent since 1980, and the number of religious priests, brothers, and sisters each almost doubled in that time frame. What are the consequences of having too few priests, religious, and parishes to keep up with the overall growth of Catholics around the world? In some places, closings and consolidations will lead to “mega parishes.” Especially in Europe and North America, where this is already happening, the result could be a crisis of community where many Catholics experience “anonymity” amidst so many fellow parishioners, Gray explained. And these “anonymous” Catholics may be less inclined to participate in the life of their parish – donating less, participating in sacraments less and bringing fewer children to Church. This is particularly difficult for Europe and North America, Gray noted, because historically these regions were well-staffed with parishes and priests, and were used to having smaller local parishes rather than larger mission parishes. Now, not only might the parishes be larger, but priests could be serving multiple parishes, leaving Catholics with fewer opportunities to associate with their parish priest. “People for the longest time expected they could go to their neighborhood parish whenever, knock on the door, and there would be a priest there. Especially when someone was really sick,” Gray said. Now this may not be the case. Europe will see a five percent decline in its Catholic population by 2050, the report predicted, but far more alarming is that the number of diocesan priests and vowed religious has already fallen by 40 percent there since 1980. The overall number of parishes has declined as well. Consequently, priests from other continents like Africa have already had to come minister to European and American Catholics. This puts a further strain on the African Church, where the significant growth in parishes, priests, and religious has still not kept up with the major Catholic population boom there. “While some African priests serve internationally in parishes throughout the world this may become more challenging in the coming decades with more pressing needs at home,” the report states. Of the regions covered in the report, Africa saw the largest increase of Catholics per parish since 1980, jumping from 8,193 Catholics per parish in 1980 to 13,050 in 2012. Although the number of priests and parishes in Africa have jumped by well over 100 percent in that time frame, the number of Catholics has skyrocketed by 238 percent, thereby increasing the gap between the numbers of Catholics and the number of priests and religious. The continent’s Catholic moment is a consequence of its population boom, the report said, as fertility rates in any given region are directly connected with the vibrancy of the Church in that area. Where the fertility rate is below the replacement level of 2.1 children per couple – such as in most of Europe – the Church is struggling. Where the fertility rate is highest above replacement rate – like in Sub-Saharan Africa where it is 5.15 – the Church is growing rapidly. And where the fertility rate is approaching replacement rate level – like in Latin America and the Caribbean where it fell from 4.2 in 1980 to 2.18 in 2012 – the Church’s growth is slowing down. Gray’s explanation for this is simple. Fewer births “means fewer baptisms, fewer first communions, fewer marriages, smaller populations eventually.” Read more
Rome, Italy, Jun 12, 2015 / 02:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The musical settings of Ennio Morricone are more likely to be heard at a movie theater than a church, but on June 10, the award-winning movie composer debuted a new Mass dedicated to the Jesuit Order and named for one of their own - Pope Francis. “My wife asked me for years for a Mass, but I did not ever decide to,” Morricone told Radio Vaticana in a June 10 interview. However, a request from the rector of the Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Gesu, the mother church of the Jesuit order, convinced him to write a Mass for the 200th anniversary of the restoration of the Jesuit order. “The thing that strikes me most about this task,” he explained, “is the fact that I wrote the music for the film ‘The Mission,’ which is the story of the Jesuits in South America, which after some years, in 1750, they were disbanded.” “In some way I have participated in their dissolution and now I participate in the celebration of the 200th anniversary of their restoration.” In addition to composing music for the award-winning film ‘The Mission’ – which won a place on AFI’s list of 25 Best Film Scores of all time – Morricone also wrote the score for “Karol: a Man Who Became Pope” in 2006. Among the other compositions that he has become known for: The Untouchables, Once Upon a Time in America, and more recently Django Unchained. Morricone has received numerous awards for his compositions, including a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2007, five other Oscar nominations, two Golden Globe Awards, three Grammy Awards, and dozens of others. His most recent project is dedicated to Pope Francis. He noted the significance of having the first Jesuit Pope: “It's amazing! I find in all of these coincidences what I would call almost miraculous.” The Mass was debuted during a June 10 performance at the Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Gesu in Rome. Morricone conducted members of the Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta and two choirs from the Accademia Santa Cecilia and the Rome Opera Theater. Commonly known as the Jesuits, the Society of Jesus was founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola and approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. However, the order was suppressed by Pope Clement XIV in 1773 after conflict with several Catholic states. After taking up refuge in non-Catholic countries, the order was restored by Pope Pius VII on June 7, 1814, which the Society of Jesus recognizes as an anniversary day. The composer commented that while his new Mass does subtly experiment, musically it is tied to the liturgy and to tradition. “I was faithful to the modality we have in Gregorian music,” he said, explaining his use of dissonance and polymodality in the piece, as well as an overall air of serenity. “The drama, perhaps, is located in the dynamism that there is in some moments.” Works such as this Mass are testament to the ability to adapt traditional music to modern musical language, Morricone said. “The greatness of the language of today together with the greatness of the tradition. For example, the two choirs and the use of the modality are in the tradition, which is still there. There are tradition and innovation.” Read more
Vatican City, Jun 11, 2015 / 05:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholics who have divorced and remarried need help for the “difficult climb” of conversion and spiritual growth, not a change in Church practice on the reception of Holy Communion, a ... Read more
Vatican City, Jun 11, 2015 / 01:35 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After revealing that the topic of consumerism will be a key theme in his upcoming encyclical, Pope Francis today delivered a speech condemning food waste and the indifference of states when confronted with the topic of hunger. “Statistics on waste are very concerning: a third of food products end up under this heading,” the Pope told members of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in a June 11 audience. “It is unsettling to know that a good portion of agricultural products end up used for other purposes, maybe good, but that are not immediate needs of the hungry,” he said. Francis’ comments were addressed to participants of the organization’s annual conference, being held in Rome June 6-13. Just five days earlier, the Pope told journalists on board his June 6 return flight from Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina that the themes of relativism and consumerism would be areas of focus in his upcoming encyclical on human ecology, to be published next Thursday, June 18. In response to a question on the overuse of computers and technology, the Pope lamented that “empty programs, without words, for example those that are relativist, hedonistic, consumeristic,” are frequently encouraged. “We know that consumerism is a cancer of society and relativism is a cancer of society and of this I’ll speak in the coming encyclical that will come out within the month,” he said. In his speech to members of the FAO, Pope Francis said that the reduction of waste worldwide “is essential,” and called on individuals to make small changes in their daily lives in order to reduce the amount of resources they consume. “Let us make a more decisive commitment to change lifestyles, and perhaps we will need fewer resources,” he said, explaining that sobriety “is not opposed to development,” but has instead become “a condition” for it. The Pope also lamented that there seems to be “a general resignation, disinterest or even the absence of many, even states” on the topic of hunger. “Sometimes the feeling is that hunger is an unpopular topic, an unsolvable problem, which doesn't find solutions within a legislative or presidential mandate and therefore does not ensure approval,” he said. The Pope called on world leaders to develop a new vocabulary based on the “policy of the other,” which fosters solidarity among nations. “Our tendency to ‘desert’ in front of difficult issues is human,” Francis noted, explaining that it is an attitude many prefer to take, “even though we don't miss a meeting, a conference or the preparation for a document.” “Instead we must respond to the imperative that access to the necessary food is a right for all. Human rights do not allow exclusions!” he said. The Pope also brought up the topic of climate change, saying that it is related to the “forced displacement of peoples and to the many humanitarian tragedies” currently being experienced due to a lack of resources, beginning with water. “It is not enough to say that a fight for water exists without acting to create sustainable consumption of this good-resource and eliminating waste,” he said, and told the organization they can play a key role in ensuring there will be enough water for basic human and agricultural needs in the future. He also spoke of the need to ensure “more healthy environmental conditions,” but said this must be done without “excluding someone.” An increased awareness across the globe on the type of nutrition needed, which varies depending on latitude, would serve all countries well, Francis continued. However, he noted that both the quality and quantity of nutrition are weighed down by a sense of insecurity due to the climate, an increase in demand and by price uncertainty. “Climate change rightly worries us, but we cannot forget financial speculation,” the Pope said, explaining that the state of the market influences world hunger for better or for worse. According to FAO studies, the price of food products has fluctuated since 2008, first doubled and then stabilized, “but always with values higher than the previous period,” the Pope noted. “Prices so volatile prevent the poorest from making progress or from counting on a minimum nutrition,” he said, explaining that the causes for this “are many.” Food security is something that must be achieved even if people are in different geographical locations, economic situations or food cultures, the Pope said. He called on the global community to overcome differences and unite their efforts, observing the current disconnect as nutrition for some countries “means eliminating fats and promoting exercise” and for others means “worrying that they have at least one meal a day.” Pope Francis concluded by assuring the organization that the Church is walking beside them with full knowledge “that the earth's resources are limited and their sustainable use absolutely urgent for agricultural and food development.” “Because of this, the Church is committed to promoting a shift in attitude necessary for the good of future generations.” Read more
St. Louis, Mo., Jun 11, 2015 / 10:37 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Bring your mitre and your bowling ball if you plan on coming to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families this fall, Archbishop Charles Chaput told 250 of his brother bishops June 10 at the... Read more
New Orleans, La., Jun 11, 2015 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pro-life advocates welcomed a federal appellate court’s Tuesday decision upholding a Texas law that increased safety regulations for abortion clinics and abortionists. “Texas women and their preborn children will no longer be subjected to the grotesque reality inside Texas abortion facilities,” Emily Horne, senior legislative associate with Texas Right to Life, said June 9. Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, who defended the law against legal challenges, also praised the ruling. “Abortion practitioners should have no right to operate their businesses from sub-standard facilities and with doctors who lack admitting privileges at a hospital,” he said. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the law to be applied across most of Texas. It recognized as legitimate the legislature’s stated purpose for the law. In the court’s words, the law aimed “to provide the highest quality of care to women seeking abortions and to protect the health and welfare of women seeking abortion.” Because some abortion clinics cannot afford upgrades to meet the stronger safety standards, the law could mean that as many as 13 clinics will close. That would leave eight abortion providers in the state, the New York Times reports. The law requires all abortion clinics to follow ambulatory surgical facility standards for their building, equipment, and staffing. Some backers of the law cited the case of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who in 2013 was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter as a result of negligent practices. The grand jury report in the case said that surgical facility standards for Gosnell’s clinic, like wider hallways for paramedic access, could have saved the life of one young woman who died. The federal appellate court largely upheld the 2013 Texas law’s requirement that doctors who perform abortions have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion clinic. On this point the court allowed an exemption for a doctor who performs abortions in McAllen, Texas, on the grounds that in this case the requirement would create an unconstitutional burden on women seeking abortions there. The same Texas law bans abortions after 20 weeks, on the ground that an unborn baby at that age can feel pain. This provision has not faced legal challenge. In March 2014 a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned a lower federal court's decision that blocked provisions of the law. The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked parts of the Texas law in October 2014 pending the decision of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Abortion clinic owners and their lawyers said they would appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court; they argue the regulations unnecessary and infringe on constitutionally protected rights. Texas abortion clinics and doctors asked the 5th Circuit Appeals Court on Wednesday to stay its ruling, pending an appeal to the Supreme Court. Nancy Northup, the president and chief executive of the Center for Reproductive Rights, told the New York Times the law could “devastate access to reproductive health care.” Read more
Washington D.C., Jun 11, 2015 / 03:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Abortion rates have declined by 12 percent nationwide since 2010, and pro-life groups say changing attitudes among the younger generation could be the cause. “We’re seeing the at... Read more
Vatican City, Jun 11, 2015 / 12:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday, the Holy See and the United States signed a joint agreement to promote the prevention of tax evasion at the international level. In the first accord of its kind between the U.S. and the Holy See, the two States agreed to share tax information per the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). One high-ranking Vatican official said that with the agreement, the friendships and cooperation between the two has reached “an even higher level.” “Signing the present agreement is thus a further step in the Holy See’s long-term strategy to ensure and promote legality, transparency and ethical behavior in the economic and financial fields,” said the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher. According to a June 10 joint press release, the archbishop spoke of the Holy See's commitment over the past five years to promote “transparency and legality in the financial sector,” all the while keeping man's economic and social life in sight. The prelate made these remarks to U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Kenneth F. Hackett, with whom he signed the agreement on Wednesday. The aim of the measure is to improve international tax compliance and the exchange of tax information between the Holy See and the U.S. “Every person has in fact the duty to contribute, in charity and justice, to the common good, according to his own abilities and the needs of others, by promoting and assisting the public institutions dedicated to bettering the conditions of human life,” said Archbishop Gallagher. As part of the agreement, the Holy See will be required to report the fiscal activities of American citizens who have Vatican bank accounts to the U.S. Treasury. FATCA is a 2010 U.S. Federal law which requires American citizens living abroad to report their assets yearly to the U.S. Treasury department. “We welcome the Holy See’s commitment to intensifying our cooperation to promote global financial transparency through improving international tax compliance,” said Ambassador Hackett at the signing ceremony. The. U.S. is the 63rd country to enter into such an agreement with the Holy See. The agreement comes amid widespread curial reforms being pushed forward by Pope Francis. In 2014, the pontiff called for the establishment of the Secretariat for the Economy, a dicastery which oversees financial activities throughout the Vatican and the Holy See. Read more
St. Louis, Mo., Jun 10, 2015 / 04:18 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- With Pope Francis’ encyclical on ecology and the environment to be released next week, the U.S. bishops are reflecting on possible themes of the upcoming document. “We can be sure... Read more
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