Strasbourg, France, Nov 24, 2014 / 11:27 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Ahead of Pope Francis’ Nov. 25 address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, pro-life leaders are emphasizing the danger of a mentality that fails to respect life across th... Read more
Washington D.C., Nov 24, 2014 / 10:47 am (CNA).- A new website informing Americans whether or not their health plans cover abortion is up and running, with advocates saying it provides the transparency in the health care law that the government failed ... Read more
Vatican City, Nov 24, 2014 / 05:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Robert Sarah has been appointed as Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments -- a decision that sets a decisive tone for Curial reform. The cardinal's first steps have been announced to the heads of the Vatican's dicasteries during their meeting with the Pope this morning. Until now Cardinal Sarah has served as president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, and will take over the post of Prefect of a congregation whose ranks have been profoundly changed since the previous prefect, Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, was appointed archbishop of Valencia, Spain on Aug. 28. Fr. Anthony Ward and Msgr. Miguel Anguel Ferrer, the two undersecretaries of the Congregation, were released with immediate effect Nov. 5, and replaced by Fr. Corrado Maggioni, who was promoted to the post of ‘unique undersecretary’ on Nov. 13. This round of appointments came as a surprise, as Fr. Ward had been an appreciated official of the Congregation's English section for more than 15 years. For his part, Msgr. Ferrer was a personal pick of Cardinal Canizares, with whom he shared a particular sensitivity for the traditional Latin Mass. Msgr. Maggioni, on the other hand, is a disciple of Archbishop Piero Marini, formerly the papal Master of Ceremonies of John Paul II, who is known for being enthusiastic for innovative forms of the liturgy. With his taste and experience, Cardinal Sarah is called to re-balance the Congregation for Divine Worship. The cardinal thus leaves the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which will likely be dissolved into a bigger Congregation. Cardinal Sarah went to a private audience with Pope Francis Nov. 13. According to Vatican sources, the cardinal was requested to give his perspective on the possible enrolling of his dicastery into a larger structure, and he gave the Pope his suggestions. He was also asked if he was available for this new post. The placement of Cardinal Sarah is the first of a series of major appointments. The Secretariat of State's new "Foreign minister," British Archbishop Paul Gallagher, was appointed last week. It is expected that a new Substitute for General Affairs will also soon be chosen, thus replacing Archbishop Angelo Becciu, who has held the position as third-in-command since Benedict XVI's reign. If the archbishop were to be moved, it would be another signal of Pope Francis' aim to shape the Secretariat of State with people chosen directly by the current Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Read more
Jos, Nigeria, Nov 23, 2014 / 04:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Boko Haram's expansion has meant murders, forced conversion, and forcible expulsion from homes, causing Catholics in Nigeria to pray and to reach out to help and console the militant Islamist group’s victims. “Brothers and sisters, there is no better time to storm the heavens with prayers and petitions than now,” Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos said during a national prayer pilgrimage Nov. 13-14. Thousands of people have recently lost their homes and their loved ones due to Boko Haram, he said. “Our darling innocent school girls from Chibok are still being held over six months since their abduction. Only God knows the psychological and physical trauma they are going through,” the archbishop said, referring to the more than two hundred schoolgirls who were taken by Boko Haram from their school in the northeastern Nigerian town in April. The radical Islamist group Boko Haram began its deadly insurgency in 2009, killing over 4,000 people in 2014 alone, according to Human Rights Watch. “There are still ongoing terrorist activities that are not only causing the loss of lives and so much havoc but are enjoying territorial expansion,” the archbishop continued. “Bombings and slaughter of innocent Nigerians, especially in the northeast, have become regular.” He said active security solutions have not been found. He questioned whether leading Nigerians were serious about bringing “sanity and order” to the country, rather than “using the unfortunate situation as a political weapon.” Boko Haram has been threatening to cross into Cameroon, which shares a 300-mile border with Nigeria. The Nigerian government’s inability to contain the group has drawn heavy criticism. The emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi, an influential Muslim leader, has called on Nigerians to arm themselves for protection against Boko Haram. “These terrorists slaughter our boys and abduct our girls to force them into slavery,” he said, according to BBC News. Boko Haram took the town of Chibok on Nov. 13, and the Nigerian army retook the town three days later. Archbishop Kaigama said parishes in the Maiduguri diocese have been closed, with the people “scattered and killed.” Thousands have been displaced from their homes in the Diocese of Yola. “They have sought refuge and turned to the Church for consolation and support.” Father Gideon Obasogie, communications director of the Diocese of Maiduguri, said that Boko Haram’s expansion in Nigeria has resulted in the forcible conversion of many Catholics, while thousands more fled their homes. “A good number of our youth are forcefully conscripted, while the aged, women and children are converted to Islam. A lot of Nigerians are trapped and are forced to practice strict sharia law,” the priest said in a Nov. 19 report made available to Aid to the Church in Need. Fr. Obasogie said this is the case in at least six communities along the federal road that links Maiduguri and Yola, in the state of Adamawa. “All of these captured towns by our estimation are no longer part of the Nigerian entity because no one can go in, but those who would luckily escape have got stories to tell,” Fr. Obasogie said. “The terrorists have declared all the captured towns as Islamic Caliphate. The people trapped are forced to accept and practice the strict doctrines the militants are out to propagate.” Boko Haram overran the predominantly Christian community of Mubi Oct. 29, forcing over 50,000 people to flee. The Nigerian army said it recaptured Mubi last week, but the damage has been done. According to Fr. Obasogie, over 2,500 Catholics have been killed in the diocese, and another 100,000 Catholics forced to flee. The diocese is now working to care for all internally displaced people regardless of their religious beliefs. He said 50 churches and parish rectories have been razed. Dozens of churches and schools have been deserted, as have two convents. Despite all the horrors of war, Archbishop Kaigama thanked God for his mercy and faithfulness. “We may not have received everything we prayed for, but by his grace most of us are still alive and we have remained one people and one nation. Today, gauging the general despair and disillusionment in the land, we converge here again to cry on to the Lord for enduring peace and for God to stir strongly in the hearts of Nigerians the spirit to transcend narrow ethnic, religious, and political boundaries so as to always pursue the common good.” He also reminded Nigerians to do good and avoid “religious externalism devoid of godliness,” as when people wish harm to their neighbor or “engage in bitter, hostile, antagonistic political, religious or ethnic struggles that lead to loss of lives and the destruction of property.” Read more
Vatican City, Nov 23, 2014 / 09:48 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On the Feast of Christ the King, during the canonization Mass of six new saints, Pope Francis said that Jesus Christ’s kingdom comes through his works of mercy--works that Christians must im... Read more
Vatican City, Nov 23, 2014 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his ad limina address to the bishops of Zambia on Monday, Pope Francis urged them to continue to build upon the efforts of missionaries to the country, a quarter of whose people are Catholic, and who are nearly all Christian. “Looking back to the beginnings of the Church in Zambia, it is well known that the rich deposit of faith brought by missionary religious from lands overflowing with growth prompted your forebears to respond with their own works of charity, whose effects are felt throughout your country today,” the Pope said Nov. 17 at the Vatican. “Despite the sometimes painful meeting of ancient ways with the new hope that Christ the Lord brings to all cultures, the word of faith took deep root, multiplying a hundredfold, and a new Zambian society transformed by Christian values emerged. It is at once evident how plentiful the spiritual harvest in your vast land already is – blessed with Catholic-run clinics, hospitals and schools, many parishes alive and growing across Zambia, a wide diversity of lay ministries, and substantial numbers of vocations to the priesthood.” A southern African nation, Zambia was colonized in the 19th century; it is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. It has 11 dioceses, and has been relatively untroubled by war since its independence. Pope Francis noted that today, “Zambians continue to seek a happy and fulfilling future in the Church and in society, despite great challenges which militate against stability in social and ecclesial life, in particular for families. When family life is endangered, then the life of faith is also put at risk. As you yourselves have recounted, many – especially the poor in their struggle for survival – are led astray by empty promises in false teachings that seem to offer quick relief in times of desperation.” He urged that the bishops support the family, “for it is here that the Church’s well-being in Zambia must grow and be fostered. I ask you, with your priests, to form strong Christian families, who – by your catechizing – will know, understand and love the truths of the faith more deeply, and thus be protected from those currents which may tempt them to fall away.” “Affirm Catholic couples in their desire for fidelity in conjugal life and in their yearning to provide a stable spiritual home for their children, helping them to nurture the life of virtue in the family,” he exhorted. The bishops, he said, are to be close to young people so as to help them find their vocation, whether it is in marriage or “the celibate vocations to the sacred priesthood or religious life .. encourage young Catholics by living lives of virtue to experience the liberating gift of chastity as adults.” “In a special way invite those who have grown lukewarm and feel lost to return to the full practice of the faith. As pastors of the flock, do not forget to seek out the weakest members of Zambian society, among whom are the materially poor and those afflicted with AIDS.” The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the nation is around 13 percent, and the adjusted per capita GDP is $1,700. “Despite all that the Church in Zambia faces,” Pope Francis said, “it is a time not to be discouraged but rather to offer the true freedom which only the Lord can give, sustained by the sacraments.” “I encourage you to remain sensitive as shepherds to the spiritual and human needs of your closest coworkers: never tire of being kind and firm fathers to your priests, helping them resist materialism and the standards of the world, while recognizing their just needs. Continue also to promote the treasure of religious life in your Dioceses, so that outstanding examples may be brought forth of Zambian men and women seeking to love the Lord with undivided hearts.” The Pope noted the Oct. 28 death of Zambia's president, Michael Sata, and invited the bishops to “continue working with your political leaders for the common good, deepening your prophetic witness in defence of the poor in order to uplift the lives of the weak.” “In all things, cooperate with the graces of the Holy Spirit, in unity of belief and purpose,” he concluded. “The Lord of the harvest is preparing to send the rains he promises in due season; for you are cultivating his fields until he returns at harvest time. Until then, knowing well how much your work demands personal sacrifice, patience and love, draw on the faith and sacrifice of the Apostles to whose threshold you have come, in order to return strengthened to the Church in Zambia.” Read more
Vatican City, Nov 22, 2014 / 05:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Two new Indian Catholic saints to be canonized by Pope Francis on Sunday were known for their deep spiritual life and their intercession in helping families, say two Catholics who find deep inspir... Read more
Vatican City, Nov 22, 2014 / 04:50 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- An international conference held this week at the Vatican is looking to bring “a message of hope and joy” to persons with autism and their families. “The Person with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Animating Hope” gathered an array of experts to look at autism from a variety of perspectives, from the psychological and familial, to the pastoral and religious. This “animation of hope,” said Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers in his opening remarks on Nov. 20 to the three day gathering, “is truly the message that the Church, in her concern for the sick and the suffering, wishes to bring to persons who fall within the autism spectrum and their families.” It is “a message of hope and joy amid the difficulties, the limits, the frustrations, to the sufferings brought about by these obstacles,” he said. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, manifesting within the first three years of life, which is characterized by impaired social interaction, as well as verbal and non-verbal communication. Emphasizing the Holy Father's particular concern for the suffering and the sick, the archbishop said he offers the faithful a “very profound teaching about suffering, illness, welcoming the sick, the right Christian attitude toward those who suffer.” The conference, which has gathered participants from 57 countries, concluded Nov. 22 with an audience with Pope Francis. Co-founders of Autism Speaks, and grandparents of a child with autism, Bob and Suzanne Wright, are among the 650 participants taking part in the conference. In an interview with CNA, Bob stressed the importance of early detection of autism, ideally before two years of age. With early diagnosis, the child can receive the necessary occupational, behavioral, and speech therapy to improve the chances of their matriculation through school. Wright also spoke about the need to mobilize awareness in the community. “You have to go out and energize people in the community, inform politicians, elected officials, fire and police people,” to help them understand the signs and effects of autism, he said. In this way, it can be “treated as a difficult problem,” but not one which results in people with autism being shunned or ignored. CNA also spoke with Therese Prudlo, a wife and mother of three children, the second of whom has autism. “Having a child with autism is like having any other child,” she told CNA in a Nov. 21 phone interview: just “more intense.” Although 13 years old and taller than his mother, Eamon “still has all those childlike loves of wanting to be hugged, and cuddled, just like he’s little.” Despite the challenges, Therese said she felt blessed by his easy-going, happy personality. “He loves a good joke. He’s always ready to laugh at himself and at us.” “He definitely teaches me, probably in a more intense way than my other children do, those virtues that you need to cultivate as a mom: being hopeful, having faith that things will turn out okay, having the charity of love, learning patience.” In addressing the faith formation of a child with autism, Therese said the regularity inherent in the Catholic tradition is crucial. “For a person with autism, they love things that don’t change very often,” she said. “That regularity of being able to take Eamon to Mass, and teach him his prayers, just that little bit of constant repetition, he has learned that love for those things.” Therese said they have been fortunate to receive welcome and sensitivity when they bring Eamon to Mass, with some parishes even offering education options for children with autism. Although Eamon is not yet ready to receive Confirmation and First Communion, there are programs available to help him work toward receiving these Sacraments. “He loves the little booklets ... teaching him the Mass in that simple form that is very healing for autistic children.” There are those who might say children like Eamon should stay home from Mass, and never be taught their faith because they “will never understand.” “But he does understand,” Therese said. “He understands that we love to go (to Mass), and he understands that he feels comfortable going. And there’s a regularity to going … for a person with autism, (repetition) is exactly what they need. They find comfort in that repetition of our faith.” Read more
Vatican City, Nov 22, 2014 / 11:36 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has said autistic disorders are nothing to be ashamed of, as he encouraged everyone to build solidarity to ensure that autistic persons are not isolated. “Everyone should be ... Read more
Brussels, Belgium, Nov 22, 2014 / 06:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Awaiting the Pope's visit to Strasbourg next week, an official of the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe says she hopes Francis will insist on family issues, as they are crucial to fulfilling Europe's dream of peace. “If you want peace, then defend the family,” Maria Hildingsson, secretary general of federation which works for political representation of family interests from a Catholic perspective, told CNA Nov. 20. Founded in 1997, FAFCE works with both the European Union and the Council of Europe, and is the only independent organization clearly registered in the EU as Catholic; it represents organizations from 15 nations. Pope Francis will travel to Strasbourg Nov. 25, there addressing the local seat of European Parliament and the Council of Europe. The European Parliament includes members of parliament from the 28 states of the European Union, while the Council of Europe is the organization for the defence of human rights in Europe, and has 47 members. Based on her experience of years of advocacy in the two international bodies, Hildingsson has found a split between them. “The split is about issues of human sexuality. The EU is very active in promoting the 'gender’ ideology agenda, without finding much resistance; while in the Council of Europe the EU states find a lot of resistence on these issue by countries outside the EU, especially the eastern countries which have introduced laws to counter propaganda on homosexuality,” Hildingsson said. She lamented that “the family is almost forgotten among the official issues of the European Union. The Euro 2020 strategy is about work – and we know you cannot raise a family without economic support – but it is not based on a family perspective, it is rather about improving the competiveness of European countries. The family is thus put aside.” Hildingsson explained that in fact “the vast majority of European children live with a father and a mother,” but on the other hand “this sense of economic sense of insecurity puts at risk the capacity to establish stable relationships.” FAFCE has been working to affect public opinion in Europe by organizing conferences, petitions, and campaigns. On the occasion of the European elections, it launched a manifesto in order to identify politicians with family friendly policies, and it also led a campaign to decry the 'Estrela report'. Drafted by the Portuguese member of parliament Edite Estrela, the report put reproductive health on a par with human rights. Though it was non-binding, it could have paved the way to push this agenda on all the countries of European Union. The report did was not approved, with the EU ruling that sexual issues must be discussed at a national level. It is believed that this decision was due in part to the international campaign led by FAFCE involving several citizen and family assocations. This is why Hildingsson stresses it is “important that in his speech Pope Francis insist on subsidiarity, of the respect of the heritage and culture of each country.” And then, she suggested, “the Pope could emphasize that if you want to build peace, you cannot manage it without the family. We must respect the profound anthropological difference of man and woman. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the original French version, speaks about a family composed by one woman and one man.”Will Pope Francis' visit to Europe's parliament bolster family issues? Read more
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