New York City, N.Y., Mar 17, 2015 / 04:31 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In the United States, St. Patrick’s Day marks opportunity to not only celebrate the heroic saint but also the achievements of the large wave of Irish immigrants who helped shape the n... Read more
Krishnanagar, India, Mar 17, 2015 / 03:51 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After the “heinous” rape of an elderly nun in the Indian state of West Bengal over the weekend, protestors have rallied in opposition to violence against women, with one Hindu priest tearfully voicing sorrow for the vicious act. “He spoke about four or five sentences and then he broke down, he started crying. He said ‘(the) sisters have been doing so much good, and we have done such a wrong thing to her and degraded her,’” Bishop Joseph Gomes of Krishnagar (Krishnanagar), where the assault occurred, told Vatican Radio March 16. A school run by the Religious of Jesus and Mary located in Ranaghat, 22 miles south of Krishnanagar, was broken into during the early hours of Saturday morning. After tying the sisters’ hands and feet and placing them in the same room, one of the nuns – who was over 70 years-old – was taken to a separate room and raped by one of the intruders. Bishop Gomes has since spoken with the nun, who was being treated in a Kolkata hospital; he reports that she was “calm and cool,” and that she had placed herself in God’s hands. “She did not look disturbed, but as I was talking to her some tears had rolled down from her eyes,” he said, explaining that the religious sister harnessed no hatred for the man who committed the act. “She has already forgiven, she has forgiven that man … she doesn’t think about revenge, she only thanks God that she is still able to control herself and control her feelings. But she wants justice.” Along with hundreds of others, Bishop Gomes participated in a silent, candlelight procession held in his diocese Sunday to protest the gruesome act. Crowds gathered at the diocesan cathedral to hear a speech about the incident and how women are frequently victims of such degradation before processing in silence with a candle in hand. Not only Christians, but also Hindus and Muslims participated in the procession, the bishop noted, recalling how one Hindu priest stood next to him while they were walking. After returning to the cathedral to hear two more women speak about the need to defend women’s dignity, they asked the Hindu priest to say something, Bishop Gomes recalled. However, the man didn’t get far, as he broke down in tears after a few sentences. Since Saturday’s attack, thousands have raised their voices in urging India’s government to do more to protect the country’s Christian minority and to end violence against women. On Monday the Archdiocese of Calcutta (Kolkata) held a large rally in which participants gathered to protest the crime, and called for an end to the “rape culture”in India. While 10 men have already been apprehended for the attack, Archbishop Thomas D’Souza of Calcutta said during the rally that while the arrests are “a welcome start,” not much headway has been made. He urged the government to arrest all those involved in the attack – the rapist has yet to be identified – as soon as possible, and to “ascertain motives for such a heinous crime on a Christian minority institution involving the rape of an elderly nun in the convent.” A Catholic church under construction was also vandalized in Haryana over the weekend, and the cross was replaced with an idol of a Hindu god. On Tuesday Indian prime mininister Narendra Modi voiced concern for both events on Twitter. In the two tweets Modi sent, he expressed his “deep concern” for what happened in the West Bengal provinces, and asked “for immediate report on facts & action taken regarding the incidents in Haryana & West Bengal.” The Indian prime minister has repeatedly been criticized for his silence over the increase in minority persecution since his Bharatiya Janata Party came to power last May. Modi himself has strong ties to a radical Hindu nationalist organization, the RSS, whom many claim are responsible for the increase in attacks against religious buildings and persons, both Christian and Muslim. After repeated calls to speak out against minority persecution in India, Modi finally broke his silence after U.S. President Barack Obama called for religious tolerance in the closing speech for his recent visit, saying that India wouldn’t meet success if it was fraying at its religious seams. Read more
Denver, Colo., Mar 17, 2015 / 02:51 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A Catholic-owned company’s victory in its fight against a federal mandate to cover drugs and procedures that violate Catholic moral teaching shows the importance of putting God first, one o... Read more
Washington D.C., Mar 17, 2015 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Many know that Saint Patrick, bishop and missionary to Ireland, was once a slave – but few know of his heartfelt plea on behalf of girls and boys abducted into slavery. “The path... Read more
Rome, Italy, Mar 17, 2015 / 02:28 am (CNA).- Pope Francis is the subject of a new book by noted Vatican analyst and author John Allen, Jr. From the Pope’s Argentinian roots to his journey to the papacy and view to the future, “The Francis M... Read more
Vatican City, Mar 17, 2015 / 12:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During his address to the bishops from Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday, Pope Francis urged them to foster reconciliation and peaceful coexistence in their country, which has been marked by ethno-religious tensions. “The society in which you live has a multicultural and multi-ethnic dimension. And you have been entrusted the task of being fathers to all, in spite of material limits and the crisis within which you work,” he said March 16. “May your heart always be large enough to accommodate all, just as the heart of Christ is able to receive in itself – with divine love – every human being.” He began by looking forward to his visit to Sarajevo, the nation's capital, which is scheduled for June 6, saying he will “enjoy with your people how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.” Pope Francis' words focused on emigration; he said that “I have prayed for … all those constrained to seek refuge abroad from war, unemployment, and a lack of prospects.” Riots broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina in February 2014 over unemployment – the rate is between 40 and 50 percent, with unemployment rates among young people at nearly 75 percent. Moreover, following its independence upon the break-up of Yugoslavia, the country was embroiled in the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995 in which genocide and ethnic cleansing took place. The resulting emigration “evokes the difficulty of return for many of your co-citizens, the scarcity of sources of work, the instability of families, the emotional and social laceration of entire communities, the practical precariousness of many parishes, and the still fresh memories of conflict, both at a personal and community level, in which wounded hearts are still painful,” Pope Francis reflected. “I therefore encourage you to spare no energies in supporting the weak, helping – in all ways possible – those who have a legitimate and honest desire to remain in the land of their birth, bring succour to the spiritual hunger of those who believe in the indelible values, born of the Gospel, that throughout the centuries have nurtured the life of your communities.” Bosnia and Herzegovina is effectively divided among its major ethnic groups: Muslim Bosniaks constitute some 48 percent of the population; Orthodox Serbs 37 percent; and Catholic Croats 15 percent. In this fractured land, Pope Francis reminded the bishops that “every Christian community knows that it is called upon to open itself up and to irradiate the light of the Gospel; it cannot stay closed within its traditions … it must come out of its 'enclosure', firm in faith, supported by prayer and encouraged by pastors, to live and announce the new life of which it is a depository, that of Christ, Saviour of all men.” He encouraged “initiatives that can extend the presence of the Church beyond liturgical parameters, assuming with imagination every other action that may affect society, bringing with it the fresh spirit of the Gospel. Every person needs, even without knowing it, to encounter the Lord Jesus.” Reflecting again on emigration, Pope Francis told the bishops to “seek to promote a solid social pastoral ministry in relation to the faithful, especially the young, to ensure that consciences are formed, willing to remain in their own territories as agents and key actors in the reconstruction and the growth of your country, from which they cannot expect only to receive.” In this ministry, he noted the importance of the Church's social teaching, saying it is “a way of overcoming the residue of old materialism that still persists in the mentality and behaviour of some sectors of the society in which you live.” Noting their pastoral, ecumenical, and interreligious ministry, Pope Francis reminded the bishops they are fathers to all, while admonishing them that “this does not absolve you of the need to give open and frank testimony of your belonging to Christ.” In this respect he urged the bishops to learn from their priests, religious, and laity, and then encouraged them to foster good relations between secular and religious priests. “In this year dedicated to Consecrated Life, we must show that all charisms and ministries are destined to the glory of God and the salvation of all men, taking care to ensure that these are effectively orientated towards the edification of the Kingdom of God and not contaminated by partial aims; that they are carried out in a regime of human and fraternal communion, bearing each other's burdens with a spirit of service.” Pope Francis concluded by exhorting the bishops to communion: “I am aware that historical events make Bosnia and Herzegovina different in many areas. And yet you are a single body: you are Catholic bishops in communion with the Successor of Peter, in a frontier location. One word alone emerges spontaneously from my heart: you are in communion. Although at times imperfect, such communion is to be pursued vigorously at all levels, setting individual peculiarities aside.” “It is necessary to act on the basis of your belonging to the same Apostolic College; other considerations are of secondary importance and are to be analyzed in the light of the catholicity of your faith and of your ministry.” Read more
Vatican City, Mar 16, 2015 / 05:35 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A Vatican official says there will be no papal endorsement for an LGBT activist video whose backers want it to reach Pope Francis. Father Gil Martinez, C.S.P., a member of the development team for the video “LGBT Catholics: Owning our Faith,” intended to present the video to Pope Francis in a private audience after morning Mass on March 17, according to the website of the St. Philip Neri Parish and Northwest Paulist Center in the Portland, Ore. The video contains the personal reflections from self-identified LGBT Catholics, several of whom reject Church teaching. An official with the Holy See Press Office told CNA March 16 that the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household had not announced any public events for Pope Francis on March 17. This means that “no public or official meetings are scheduled.” “The Pope can, however, meet whomever he wants, but this cannot mean in any sense an official endorsement, since every audience is intended to be kept private,” the official said. Such meetings are made public “only if some of the people involved speak out about it.” The press release for the video said it is dedicated to “achieving the full acceptance of LGBT persons in the Catholic Church.” It said that the video evokes “the need for change” and will “reach thousands, including Pope Francis, many bishops and other prominent Vatican clergy.” The St. Philip Neri Parish website said that Fr. Mark-David Janus, C.S.P., would also present Cardinal Walter Kasper’s newest book from Paulist Press, “Pope Francis’ Revolution of Tenderness and Love.” The “Owning our Faith” video is produced and directed by Michael Tomae, a parishioner of New York City’s St. Paul the Apostle Church. Fr. Martinez is pastor of the parish, which shares a mailing address with the “Owning our Faith” project. Tomae is part of the parish’s Out@StPaul LGBT ministry, which is promoting the video on its website. The “Owning our Faith” video includes interviewees who reject Catholic teaching on sexual morality and marriage. Matt Putorti, a lawyer from New York City, criticized Catholic teaching in the video, claiming that the Church is telling gay people that “they need to be celibate” and “cannot live fully.” Putorti said it is “inherently” discriminatory to say, “You can be gay, but you can't live that life.” Interviewee Matt Vidal, a lawyer from New York City in a same-sex civil marriage, said that leaving the Church would mean that “it's never going to change.” “So we have to continue living here, being an example and encouraging other people to be that example because that's what's going to change the Church.” Another interviewee, Matteo Williamson, co-chairs the transgender caucus of the dissenting Catholic group Dignity USA, which aims to change Catholic teaching on homosexuality. Williamson, who identifies as a transgender man, said this transition was “immensely spiritual to me.” The “Owning Our Faith” website recommends a list of parishes on the website of New Ways Ministry, another Catholic dissenting group. In 2011, the U.S. Catholic bishops reiterated that the organization is not allowed to identify as Catholic and said that it puts forward positions that do not conform to Catholic teaching. New Ways Ministry claimed to have received VIP seating at the Feb. 18, 2015 papal audience. However, CNA sources at the Vatican explained that rather than being granted special seats, no requests for the seats were rejected and that the group identified itself only as “a group of lay people accompanied by a Sister of Loretto.” The group is also promoting the “Owning our Faith” video on its website. New Ways Ministry and Dignity USA are part of the Equally Blessed Coalition. The Arcus Foundation, a wealthy LGBT activist organization, has given the coalition hundreds of thousands of dollars through Dignity USA. In 2012, the coalition attacked the U.S. bishops and the Knights of Columbus for defending civil marriage as a union of one man and one woman. In 2014, the Arcus Foundation made a $200,000 grant to the coalition “to support pro-LGBT faith advocates to influence and counter the narrative of the Catholic Church and its ultra-conservative affiliates.” Catholic teaching rejects all unjust discrimination against homosexual persons while also recognizes homosexual activity as immoral and teaches that marriage is a union only of one man and one woman. Read more
Boston, Mass., Mar 16, 2015 / 01:58 pm (CNA).- The Massachusetts Knights of Columbus withdrew from the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Boston on Sunday, saying that their motives for participating in the parade - which this year included a gay activist group - have been misrepresented. The Knights asked people to pray during the march in honor of St. Patrick, who was famous for bringing Christianity to pagan Ireland. A statement released by the Knights said that they had intended to march in the parade “as a Catholic witness, to honor this great Catholic saint, and in gratitude for the contributions of Irish Americans to our country.” The organization said that it had wanted to run a float with both pro-life signs and other posters encouraging participation in charitable activities. However, a source close to the situation told CNA that the Knights were ambushed by a campaign that smeared their motives and created confusion. C.J. Doyle, executive director of Boston’s “Catholic Action League,” alleged that the Knights were acting “treacherously” and that their actions were actually “helping (the activist group) spread their message.” Doyle said that the Knights were colluding to give cover to the parade’s organizers and Boston’s mayor for the parade’s inclusion of a homosexual advocacy group. He pointed to the fact that the mayor’s hometown of Dorchester was also the town in which the Massachusetts leader of the Knights of Columbus resided. But CNA’s source said that the allegations were false and that the Knights had not been contacted about the situation or asked for clarification. “The fact is that Doyle and his group created a scandal,” the source said. “The Knights were marching in defense of the faith, and did not want to leave the parade because they wanted someone in the parade to continue to stand for Church teaching. They believed that pulling out of this parade would abandon it entirely to non-Catholic elements, and that this would not be helpful to the evangelization of the people of Boston.” “But in the end, Doyle and his group generated so much misinformation and so many attacks that the good the Knights were trying to do was literally overwhelmed by his claims.” Doyle had encouraged his followers to contact the Knights and complain, and according to one source, many did, with profanity-laced phone calls and social media posts. “The lack of charity by these people who called themselves Catholics was stunning,” someone who knew several of the Knights receiving the calls told CNA. “And it didn't help that groups like MassResistance and the Michael Voris' Church Militant picked these allegations and ran them uncritically.” In response, the Massachusetts Knights’ state council released a statement saying that “certain groups have chosen to misrepresent our reason for marching, insisting that we were participating in the parade to support another group or for political reasons. Such allegations are complete fabrications and have no basis in reality whatsoever.” “Because the parade has become politicized and divisive, and because of the misrepresentation of our motive for participating, we will not be marching in this year’s parade. Instead we invite Catholics to join us in prayer to celebrate St. Patrick during the hours of the parade.” The statement also said, “The Massachusetts State Council of the Knights of Columbus had planned to march in the 2015 parade … in the belief that the St. Patrick’s Day Parade would be an occasion for unity and celebration in the city of Boston. We deeply regret that some have decided to use this occasion to further the narrow objectives of certain special interests, which has subjected this occasion to undeserved division and controversy.” One Catholic official in New England suggested that the effect of this campaign could be chilling for any Catholic group trying to evangelize in a public forum. “What is now clear to Catholics in Boston is that if your strategy for spreading the faith differs from someone like Doyle’s, they will attack you personally, will unleash their angry and uncharitable followers, and won’t let the facts get in the way of their agenda.” Read more
Lahore, Pakistan, Mar 16, 2015 / 12:58 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Christians in Pakistan are grieving the loss of 15 people who were killed in suicide bomb attacks on two churches in Lahore on Sunday, and are protesting the lack of security provided by the government to the nation's tiny Christian minority. Within minutes of each other, suicide bombers blew themselves up March 15 outside St. John's, a Catholic parish, and Christ Church, a Protestant church, in Lahore's Youhanabad neighborhood, a Christian hub. More than 70 were wounded in the attacks, responsibility for which was claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Pakistani Taliban group. A police spokesman has said that two policemen guarding the churches were among those killed. "The bombing targeting innocent people who were praying; it was a cruel act and despicable attack,” Asif Nazir, a local catechist, told CNA March 15. “At the moment people are praying for peace and are seeking support to help the injured victims, and are desperately seeking blood donors to save more lives,” he added. Following the attack, protesters blocked roads and burned tires in protest over a lack of protections afforded the Christian population – which is fewer than two percent of Pakistan's population. A mob also beat to death, and then burned, two persons suspected to have been involved in the attacks. The bishops of Pakistan have urged the faithful to be calm, and pray that peace prevails. Christians across the country have participated in protests over being targeted in the country, which is 97 percent Muslim. Christian schools across Pakistan are closed today, observing a day of mourning. Pakistan's government has announced a compensation of 500,000 Pakistani rupees ($4,920) for the family of each victim, and 75,000 rupees ($740) for each of those injured. Prime minister Nawaz Sharif has condemned the bombings, issuing a statement directing “provincial governments to ensure the security of (the) public and their properties.” Both churches had police provided for security, but Christians in Pakistan maintain that not enough is done to protect them from such attacks. Parishioners of St. John's told Zari Jalil of Dawn, a Karachi-based publication, that three policemen were supposed to have been providing security, but two of them were in a nearby shop watching a cricket match at the time of the attack. Each of the churches have security gates to prevent attackers entering the buildings themselves, so as to minimize casualties. One of the victims of the attack on St. John's was Zaid Yousuf, known as Goga. His brother, Riaz Fazal, told Dawn that when the bombers approached, “three boys asked them to identify themselves. They shot two of the boys point blank. But Goga intercepted them, and pushed them back, and in that time, a terrorist blew himself up.” Nazir told CNA that “today's attack is one of the worst on the community since the last attack carried out on All Saint’s Church in Peshawar’s Kohati Gate area in 2013.” The Sept. 22, 2013 attack on All Saints in Peshawar killed more than 80 and wounded at least 120 as they left a service. And on Nov. 4, 2014, a Christian couple living 40 miles from Lahore were killed by a mob after they were accused of desecrating the Quran. Pakistan has adopted blasphemy laws which impose strict punishment on those who desecrate the Quran or who defame or insult Muhammad, and accusation of blasphemy against Islam fall disproportionately on the Christian and Hindu minorities, though they are also said to be often used to settle personal scores. Pope Francis lamented the attacks following his Angelus address on Sunday, saying, “our brothers shed their blood solely because they are Christians.” He implored God “for the gift of peace and harmony for that country, and that this persecution against Christians – which the world tries to hide – will end, and that there will be peace.” Read more
Rome, Italy, Mar 16, 2015 / 07:11 am (CNA).- Creators of the luxury Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana sparked global controversy over the weekend after coming out in defense of marriage, saying that children have the right to a mother and a father. “The family is not a fad,” said co-founder of the fashion empire, Stefano Gabbana, in an interview with the Italian Magazine Panorama. “In it there is a supernatural sense of belonging.” Sharing this view with his business and former romantic partner, Domenico Dolce told the magazine: “We didn't invent the family ourselves.” Dolce and Gabbana, who are openly gay, went on to say children have the right to be raised by a mother and a father, and condemned the use of artificial means of conception, such as In-vitro fertilization. The Italian-born fashion duo also spoke out against the use of surrogate mothers by gay couples who are seeking to have a child, referring to practice as “wombs for rent.” Dolce referred to those conceived through artificial means as “chemical children: synthetic children. Uterus' for rent, semen chosen from a catalog. And later you go and explain to these children who the mother is.” To procreate should be an “act of love,” Dolce continued, adding that psychologists today are not ready to come face to face with the effects of “these experiments.” “We, a gay couple, say no to gay adoptions. Enough chemical children and wombs for rent. Children should have a mother and a father,” the pair told the magazine. Published Mar. 12, the remarks spurred public outcry from the gay community and it supporters, prompting musician Elton John and other public figures to boycott the fashion designers. In response, Dolce & Gabbana released a statement Sunday saying they meant no offense with their remarks. This is not the first time the pair has expressed their opposition to gay marriage, having made their position known during a 2013 interview with the Telegraph. “I don't believe in gay marriage,” said Dolce, who told the U.K. newspaper he was a practicing Catholic. Dolce and Gabbana are not the first openly gay public figures to express opposition to gay marriage or parenthood. In a 2012 interview with the Sunday Times, British actor Rupert Everett is quoted as saying he “can't think of anything worse than being brought up by two gay dads.” It's not unheard of for European men and women living homosexual lifestyles to openly oppose same-sex marriage. Recent legislation in France to legalize gay marriage sparked massive protests throughout the country, with many gay men and women joining the debate to defend traditional marriage. During Friday's interview, Dolce and Gabbana – who, until 2005, had been romantically involved with one another – were asked if they had wanted to be parents. “Yes, I would do it immediately,” Gabbana responded, with Dolce adding that, because he is gay, he could not have fathered a child with his partner. “You can’t have everything in life,” he said. “It’s also beautiful to be deprived of something. Life has a natural course; there are things that cannot be modified. The family is one of them.” During Friday's interview, Dolce said that the issue of family “not a question of religion or social status, there are no two ways about it: you are born and there is a father and a mother. Or at least there should be.” The luxury industry fashion house was founded by the two designers in 1985. Dolce was born in Palermo in 1958, and from the time he was seven years old worked in his father's tailor shop sewing pants. Gabbana, meanwhile, was born in Milan in 1962, who once had a job cleaning bathrooms in the city as he helped his mother, who was a caretaker. When it comes to the traditional family, Dolce and Gabbana said, it is “a trend that doesn't pass.” Read more
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