Washington D.C., Oct 11, 2016 / 06:06 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As states around the country consider legalizing physician-assisted suicide, “death with dignity” looks markedly different for patients under the care of the Little Sisters of the P... Read more
Homs, Syria, Apr 1, 2015 / 02:01 am (Aid to the Church in Need).- In the wake of the Syrian regime’s taking full control of the ancient Christian city of Homs almost a year ago, a measure of normality has returned for local residents – incl... Read more
Denver, Colo., Apr 1, 2015 / 12:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The archbishop of Denver lamented the law’s failure to protect all human life after it was announced that no murder charge would be filed in connection with a baby who died after being cut out of her mother’s womb. “When the unborn child of a pregnant woman is murdered, a homicide has been committed,” Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila stressed in a March 27 archdiocese press release. He called for elected officials to enact laws that recognize that unborn children can be victims of violent crimes. The archbishop’s comments came in response to Colorado police reports that Dynel Lane will not be charged with murder. Police said that Lane stabbed Michelle Wilkins, a 7-month pregnant woman who was answering a Craigslist ad for baby clothes last week. Cut out of her mother’s stomach, the baby died as a result of the attack, reports said. Wilkins spent five days in intensive care, but survived. Boulder District Attorney Stanley Garnett announced on March 27 that Lane would not be charged for murder counts, but could face up to 100 years in prison with eight other felony charges. He said that he had talked to Wilkins’ family, who told him that the baby girl was to be named Aurora. “Colorado law sadly does not recognize the unborn child as a person capable of having a crime, such as homicide, perpetrated against it,” reflected Archbishop Aquila. Without proof that the baby was alive and breathing outside her mother’s womb during the attack, Colorado would not allow for homicide charges against the unborn child. Calling the failure to charge Lane for murder a “travesty of justice,” Archbishop Aquila said the laws of the state, which do not protect unborn children from homicide, are an inadequate reflection of reality. Garnett acknowledged that “a lot of people” wanted Lane to be charged with homicide, according to reports from the Washington Post. She faces other charges of first-degree attempted murder with two sentence enhancements, two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, and first degree unlawful termination of pregnancy. Voicing his sorrow and prayers, Archbishop Aquila pointed to St. John Paul II's Gospel of Life, saying that the laws of Colorado should reflect this reality. “There can be no true democracy without a recognition of every person's dignity and without respect for his or her rights. Nor can there be true peace unless life is defended and promoted,” he quoted. The archbishop asked the faithful and all people of good will to pray for the Wilkins family as they suffer the loss of their unborn child. “I pray that God's comfort will fill the hearts of Michelle and her family as they mourn the loss of Aurora and that the inadequate law of Colorado will change,” he said. Read more
New York City, N.Y., Mar 31, 2015 / 07:58 pm (CNA).- Indiana’s passage of a Religious Freedom Restoration Act last week has created havoc and been met with loud opposition from gay rights activists. But a poll this month found that most Americans... Read more
Indianapolis, Ind., Mar 31, 2015 / 05:35 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Does the widespread reaction to Indiana religious freedom law mean there is growing intolerance for religious viewpoints? Two prominent essays in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Tim... Read more
Vatican City, Mar 31, 2015 / 11:48 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Tuesday's appointment of Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi as prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, together with Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki's commission as a member of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, signals that Vatican financial reform continues and that curial reform will need time to become effective. Cardinal Versaldi, 71, has served as president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See since 2011, and was transferred to the Congregation for Catholic Education March 31. The prefecture has lost many of its competences since the Secretariat for the Economy, the Council for the Economy, and the Office for the General Auditor were established with the February 2014 motu proprio Fidelis Dispensator et Prudens. Previously entrusted with oversight of the Vatican's balance sheets, the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs had seen most of its competences taken over by the Secretariat for the Economy. The secretariat issued a “financial policy management” handbook and started training Vatican employees so that they could conform to the new standards for balance sheets. On the other hand, the Council for the Economy took over the competences of financial address and programming entrusted to the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs. A source who works in Vatican finances told CNA March 31 that “the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs should be suppressed in May.” Cardinal Versaldi replaces Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, 75, who had served as prefect of the dicastery for 14 years and was appointed by St. John Paul II. The appointment confirms that the Congregation for Catholic Education will remain a key body in the ranks of the Roman Curia, despite speculation about a new “super-Congregation” comprised of the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Catholic Education – an option that is not seemingly being considered anymore. On the other hand, Cardinal Versaldi’s promotion leaves the field open to carry forward the financial reform. Another Vatican body going toward a financial reform is the Administration for the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. In October 2013, a reform of APSA's statute assimilated the functions of the consultors to those of the members of an advisory board, the first step of a reform that is intended to make of APSA a sort of Vatican central bank. APSA’s ordinary section was transferred to the Secretariat for the Economy in July, while the extraordinary section will be responsible of maintaining relationships with all the main central banks, in order to – a July 9 Holy See press office bulletin reads – “continue guaranteeing the Holy See’s liquidity and financial stability.” However, the appointment of Cardinal Woelki as APSA member is meaningful, as the Archbishop of Cologne’s views are quite far from those of Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Muniche and Freising, who serves as Coordinator of the Council for the Economy and a member of the Council of Cardinals. Cardinal Woelki comes as well from the wealthy and influential Church in Germany, and his appointment is likely intended to balance Cardinal Marx’ views. Read more
Erbil, Iraq, Mar 31, 2015 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The woman was just 19 years old when she was captured by militants from the Islamic State. Caring for her young son and pregnant with her second child, she was separated from her husband and told that she would be forced to marry a member of ISIS. Her harrowing story is not unique, but the fact that she escaped places her in the minority of those who face the similar terror of life as an ISIS captive. The woman's name, and that of the village where she is staying with her two children, cannot be revealed for security reasons. CNA met her during a trip to Iraq with a papal delegation led by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum March 26-29. On the wooden door of the room where the woman speaks with the pontifical delegation, a phrase in English is embossed: “God is Lord.” The woman holds her son in the hands, while her mother-in-law is taking care of the younger child, who is now four months. Her brother-in-law sits on her right. She sometimes takes a deep breath, and sometimes holds back her tears, as if she is living once more what happened. But she agreed to tell her story, because she wants everyone to know what happened. In early August, Islamic State forces attacked Mahmur camp, a U.N.-run refugee camp home to some 12,000 Turkish refugees who fled in the early 1990s during the height of Turkey's conflict with Kurdish separatists. Mahmur is located in the vicinity of Erbil, and the residents there had established a school system and local government. The attack was one of several similar military attacks in the region, part of ISIS’ major Northern Iraq offensive in the summer of 2014. The woman said that she was taken by Islamic State militants on Aug. 5. “As we had been aware that the ISIS forces were coming, we managed to escape,” the woman told CNA. “But those who had no opportunity to use a car moved more slowly, remained behind, and were then captured by the ISIS forces.” She and her family were among some 3,100 people captured by the Islamic State. Of them, approximately 600 managed to escape while about 2,500 remained in the hands of Islamic State forces. The woman recounted that “they divided into groups of male and female.” “I was thus separated from my husband, and I have had no news of him ever since.” After three days, Islamic State militants selected the married women and brought them into separate houses, where they stayed alone under the control of guards. “After a couple of weeks of captivity, I was told by one of the guards that if I did not marry one of the ISIS members, they would have separate me from my child,” the woman recounted. “That very night I managed to escape.” During the night of Aug. 28, the three guards watching her fell asleep, and she took advantage of the situation to get out of the house. “I walked for four hours with my child, and myself pregnant. Then I was helped by an Arab family, who took me to the Peshmerga checkpoint, and I was then able to get to a refugee camp,” she said. She then rejoined her brother-in-law and mother-in-law, who now all live together in the Dohuk governorate. The woman’s brother-in-law told CNA: “We will always be grateful to the Peshmerga forces for helping us, but now we cannot trust anyone else. We would only trust an international force, sent to Iraq to end the war and bring finally peace.” Read more
San Antonio, Texas, Mar 31, 2015 / 02:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Family detention centers across the U.S. are filling up with children and young mothers who are seeking shelter from violence, abuse, and persecution in their Central American home countries - and U.S. bishops are not pleased with the policy. The Church has stood against the policy of detention centers for women and children fleeing violence, saying that they are contrary to social teaching and the dignity of the human person. Controversy over the practice of immigrant detention has sparked exasperation among Catholic bishops and Lutheran leaders who say family detention centers are shameful and place heavy burdens on families, while staining the moral character of American society. "Why do we feel compelled to place in detention such vulnerable individuals - traumatized young mothers and children fleeing persecution in their home countries?" stated Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio in a March 27 statement following his visit to the detention center for immigrant families located in Dilly, Texas. Archbishop Garcia-Siller was not alone in his indignation at the detention facilities - he was joined by Bishop Eusebio Elizondo Almaguer, auxiliary bishop of Seattle and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration, and Bishop James Tamayo of Laredo. Other Christian leaders, including Michael Rinehart and H. Julian Gordy, both bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, united with the Catholic bishops in their stance opposing the detention of families fleeing violence and domestic abuse, imploring goverment officials to end the practice. As of last summer, multiple detention centers have opened across the U.S. as a result of approximately 60,000 migrant families fleeing Central America and seeking aslyum across the border - many of whom have viable international protection claims or have fled extreme violence, death threats, rape, and persecution. Although there were only about 100 spots for detention in the entire U.S. in 2014, that number has jumped to thousands over the period of one year. The Department of Homeland Security has detained these families at facilities in New Mexico, Texas, and Pennsylvania. The bishops are afraid that the use of detention centers could turn into a means for migrant deterrance, which would make the immigration policy violative of international law, according to the USCCB. Last month, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered a preliminary injunction that halted the government's policy of detaining families solely for detterence purposes. The case was made on the behaf of families who are fleeing the credible fear of persecution and would have the possibility of granted asylum. The family detention network is costly, employing around $2 billion taxpayer dollars per year. "The detention of families serves no purpose and undermines due process. It especially harms children, who experience emotional and psychological harm from detention," stated Bishop Elizondo, saying the detention method marks a low point in American immigration policy. Looking for other alternatives for families seeking asylum, Bishop Tamayo stated there are humane ways to deal with the buildup of immigrant families who are entering the United States. "The government should consider placing these families in humane alternatives to detention, where they could live in the community and access needed services, including legal representation," he urged, saying the Church is ready to help in this effort. Perhaps the most telling consequence of detention centers for families could be what the policy says about the moral character of society, suggested Archbishop Garcia-Siller. "A great nation such as ours need not incarcerate the most vulnerable in the name of deterrence," the San Antonio bishop said. "The moral character of a society is judged by how it treats the most vulnerable in our midst. Our nation's family detention policy is shameful and I impore or elected officials to end it." Read more
Mexico City, Mexico, Mar 31, 2015 / 12:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- More than 120,000 people have signed a petition asking the Mexican Supreme Judicial Court of the Nation to reaffirm that “abortion is not a right.” The petition campaign was ... Read more
Westminster, England, Mar 30, 2015 / 04:54 pm (CNA).- In an unusual move, nearly 500 British priests signed an open letter urging the fathers of the upcoming Synod on the Family to issue a “clear and firm” proclamation of Church teaching on... Read more
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