Pope Francis speaks to pilgrims gathered in the arena in Verona, Italy, on May 18, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, May 18, 2024 / 09:40 am (CNA).

Pope Francis? one-day pastoral visit to the northern Italian city of Verona on Saturday centered on a message of peace, offering an alternative to the current social paradigm. While the city is home to just over 250,000 residents, the pope?s message was global in scope.

?Peace will never be the result of mistrust, of walls, of weapons pointed at each other,? the pope said at the end of his address at the ?Justice and Peace They Shall Kiss? meeting held at the Verona Arena.

?Everyone will reap what they sow,? he said, quoting from St. Paul?s Letter to the Galatians. ?Let?s not sow death, destruction, fear. Let?s sow hope! 

?This is what you are doing too, in this arena of peace. Don?t stop. Don?t be discouraged. Do not become spectators of the so-called ?inevitable? war.??

The apex of the event came when the pope embraced Maoz Inon, an Israeli whose parents were killed in Hamas? Oct. 7, 2023, attack, and Aziz Sarah, a Palestinian, whose brother was killed in the war.

Calling them ?brothers,? Francis proceeded to hug each, calling the embrace ?a project for the future.? This was met by a thunderous standing vocation but followed by a moment of silence for the victims of the war. 

The Holy Father arrived in Verona by helicopter at 8 a.m. at the Bentegodi Stadium and was greeted by the bishop of Verona, Domenico Pompili, the president of the Veneto Region Luca Zaia, as well as the prefect and mayor of the city. 

The first encounter of the day was in the Romanesque Basilica of San Zeno, where the pope addressed priests and consecrated religious. Speaking on the importance of their vocation, Francis reminded them that it is predicated upon ?the audacity of testimony? and ?the joy of an active faith in charity, the resourcefulness of a Church that knows how to grasp the signs of our time and respond to the needs of those who struggle most.?

?At the origin of consecrated life and priestly life,? the pontiff added, ?there is not us, our gifts or some special merit, but there is the surprising call of the Lord, his merciful gaze that bent over us and chose us to this ministry, although we are no better than others, we are sinners like others.? 

After the address, Pope Francis made his way into the adjacent piazza, brimming with over 5,000 people, where he was warmly greeted by children and young people. 

In a brief question-and-answer exchange with three different children, the Holy Father highlighted the importance of the day?s overarching theme of peace. 

?There are many wars, many wars, both in Ukraine and in the Holy Land, in Africa, in Myanmar... Many, many wars,? the pope said. 

?Does Jesus preach war or peace?? the pope asked the children. Answering in a booming and unified voice, they shouted: ?Peace!?

After his address to the young people, Pope Francis arrived at Verona?s first-century Roman amphitheater after 10 a.m and was greeted with a standing ovation by the over 10,000 spectators in attendance.

Much like the arena itself, the event was rich in symbolism, reflecting the overarching themes of justice, peace, and social inclusion.

Pope Francis took his place at the center of the stage and sat in a high-back wooden armchair ? constructed by inmates ? responding to a series of questions on ecology, migration, and just economic development, all of which were subsumed under the urgent call for peace.

Responding to a question, fielded by an Afghani woman, on how to make peace work, the pope warned against a culture ?marked by individualism,? as this runs the risk of ?making the dimension of the community disappear.?

?The dimension of the community disappears, the dimension of the vital bonds that support us and make us advance. And it inevitably also produces consequences on the way in which authority is understood.?

?And this,? the pontiff continued, ?is perhaps the root of dictatorships.? 

The Holy Father proceeded to the next event, a meeting with the inmates at Verona?s Montorio prison where he expressed his closeness and reminded them: ?God forgives everything and he always forgives.? 

The pope also addressed the conditions of the prison, one of the most overcrowded in Italy, and expressed his ?pain? that some inmates have committed suicide. 

?Life is always worth living, always,? the pope declared. 

?Our existence,? he continued, ?is a unique gift for us and for others, for everyone, and above all for God, who never abandons us, and who actually knows how to listen, rejoice, and cry with us, and always forgive.? 

A view of the crowd and nearby waterfront at the opening Mass for World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal on Aug. 1, 2023. / Credit: Arlindo Homem/JMJ Lisboa 2023

ACI Prensa Staff, May 18, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Jimena, the young woman who regained her sight after receiving Communion at a Mass during World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, Portugal, in August 2023, told ACI Prensa, CNA?s Spanish-language news partner, about how she experienced that moment, her return home, and the details of a special meeting she had with Pope Francis during a pilgrimage she made with her family to Rome to thank the Virgin for that ?miracle.?

For two and a half years, Jimena suffered from a loss of sight due to a myopia problem that left her with a 95% vision loss.

She traveled to Lisbon from Madrid with a group from Opus Dei. During the days prior, relatives and acquaintances of the young woman organized a novena to pray to Our Lady of the Snows, whose feast day is commemorated Aug. 5, the same day she recovered her sight.

Time seemed to stop in that Madrid cafeteria where Jimena and her father spoke with ACI Prensa. With the simplicity of a 17-year-old girl and an expression full of light and hope, Jimena remembered in detail what she felt on that day last year when she was cured.

?I cried from a sense of peace?

?When we came back from Communion I sat down in the pew and then all the nervousness I had felt suddenly disappeared. I had been shaking with nervousness, and when we got down on our knees after taking Communion, I closed my eyes, and I felt a lot of peace, and then I stopped shaking.?

After receiving the body of Christ in a church in Évora de Alcobaça, a town north of Lisbon, the young woman said she felt the need to cry, but it was not a normal cry: ?I began to cry from a sense of peace, it had never happened to me before; I didn?t know that you could cry for feeling at peace.?

?I was like super peaceful, as if inside I already knew what had happened, without opening my eyes. And then I opened them, I dried my tears, and I could see the altar, the tabernacle perfectly...?

?God?s plans are much bigger than ours?

She also recalled recognizing her friends, who began to celebrate with her over what had happened. ?When the Mass was over, for thanksgiving, I went up to read the prayer of the Virgin of the Snows to give thanks.?

From that moment on, Jimena has been grateful every day for the ?miracle? that made her understand ?that you have to let yourself fall a little into the arms of God, because his plans are much bigger than ours. It?s more about trusting than trying to take our life of faith wherever we want.?

?Our Mother doesn?t leave things halfway?

Her father recalled that just prior to the healing, Jimena was going to undergo emergency surgery in the operating room. ?She prayed a lot to the Virgin that night, and the next day the convergence in her eye was cured,? so there was no need to operate, he said.

For her father, this first healing of his daughter had been a sign: ?If you have a previous healing from the Virgin, then your faith is sustained by that. That is to say, Our Mother doesn?t leave things halfway, and she was not going to abandon us at that time.?

After some time after that ?sign,? during a walk on the Rincón de la Victoria beach in Málaga, Spain, on the way to stop and pray before an image of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel that is among the rocks, father and daughter decided to abandon themselves completely to the Virgin.

?It was on that walk on the beach where we remembered a very important thing, which I believe is essential in this entire process, and that is to let God act, not to put God in our plans, but to be part of his. So, you change the way you pray. It?s not about praying for God to do what you want, but about praying to understand what God wants you to do.?

Jimena?s father explained that it was then ?when we understood that we had to put together a novena for Aug. 5.?

The doctors? opinion after ?the miracle?

Upon returning from Portugal, Jimena visited the doctor who had followed her case in recent years and who due to her illness she didn?t know by face. ?I couldn?t explain it to her, I was very emotional. And then a doctor also said that no matter at what point I might have been cured, it would never have been instantaneous,? the young woman related.

?Yes,? her father said, ?she basically told us that she had no logical explanation; that within the medical possibilities, Jimena could have been cured little by little by the time she was 40 or 45 years old. So there was that possibility, but of course, at 16 years of age and so suddenly there are no previous cases ? there are none.?

The young woman?s father said it was a very nice appointment with the doctor and that ?all the nurses were excited to see her and gave her hugs. They did all the tests again and the condition was completely gone.?

Pope Francis encouraged pilgrimage to St. Mary Major

Upon returning from World Youth Day, Jimena wrote a letter to Pope Francis to tell him about her experience.

The Holy Father did not take long to respond and encouraged her and her family to make a pilgrimage to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, also known as St. Mary of the Snows, one of the most important basilicas in Rome dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows and for which the pontiff has a special love.

What Pope Francis did not know is that providentially the family had already planned ? a year ago ? a trip to Rome to spend the end of the year there.

?I got the tickets in January of last year, months before Jimena had been cured. We assumed that we would go to Rome with Jimena being blind, but look?? her father said, becoming emotional.

A special meeting with Pope Francis

During their trip to the Eternal City, which became a pilgrimage in gratitude to the Virgin, the family had a private meeting with the Holy Father and also participated in the Mass he offered on Jan. 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

Jimena?s father recalled that everyone was ?captivated? by Pope Francis, who received them for more than an hour in the Vatican?s St. Martha House with his typical closeness and familiarity.

Jimena?s father told ACI Prensa that the pope gave them a lot of advice and encouraged them ?to put down all of Jimena?s testimony in writing and to contact our bishop in Madrid.? 

Following the pontiff?s advice, they are currently working on writing up Jimena?s testimony and are awaiting a response from the archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo Cano, whom they tried to contact a few months ago.

Regarding the doctors? reaction, he said the Holy Father ?stressed that this type of medical comment is admitted as valid in their process for miracles and so on. Because, as he told him, it?s very difficult for a doctor to manage to pronounce the word ?miracle? with all of their scientific knowledge.?

Jimena and the Virgin Mary

Jimena, who during this time has shared her testimony to small groups in Madrid, said she now has ?a great deal of devotion? to Our Lady of the Snows but confesses that she has always had a bond with the Virgin Mary: ?I feel her close every day.?

She also said that she has ?a special affection for her, because in the end, in everything that has happened to me, I have always relied a lot on the Virgin, especially because it seemed easier for me to hold on to the rosary.?

?The Virgin, in the end, since she is an intercessor, that relationship that she has as a mother with us seemed easier to me. I see her as the mother that she is and that she appears, not physically, but she has little signs or things in which she shows us all that she is already here.?

Her father emphasized that Jimena has been able to understand that ?she is not the protagonist of all this, but that she had a gift far above other people and that it is her responsibility to be generous and give it. But the protagonist in the end is the Virgin.?

?Since the miracle of Aug. 5 last year, they ask us to join novenas for healing people, and we join them all. But we do it anonymously, because I think it would be bad for people to think that Jimena has power. Another thing is that Jimena may have an extraordinary faith and a very great interior life, but that belongs to her private life,? her father noted.

He emphasized that ?it?s a mistake to think that, suddenly, someone has power because they have received a gift. They are two very different things, and mixing them is a mistake. I believe that one of the beautiful things, which is also a grace of the Virgin, is being able to share her experience in personal and in-person testimonies so that other people come closer to the Lord. And that?s it. And the rest is pure superstition.?

The young woman?s father noted that there are many miracles in the Gospel whose recipients are people whose name is never known. Also, he stressed that today there are many miracles and that ?Jimena?s has been more notable because the Virgin wanted it.?

?You have to leave it to her. She [the Virgin Mary] is the one who takes us to all corners [of the world]. It?s impossible for us to have planned with a large publicity budget to get to where this story has reached,? he pointed out.

?The Eucharist is a much greater miracle?

For Jimena, ?the Eucharist, in the end, is a much bigger miracle because it seems like it is hidden because it does not have ? what do I know ? lightning bolts falling from the sky or anything, but in the end it is God, who is the one who has allowed me to recover my sight and for us to all be here, the one who who comes down from heaven to put that in a piece of bread and that we receive it.?

?It seems to me that it is the moment in which we are closest to heaven here on earth, because in the end we are in union with God. So, I try to go to Mass whenever I can.?

A ?new normal?

Jimena said with a smile that, before recovering her sight, she ?had a list of books that I wanted read to me. The return to normal life has been a new normal in which I have done many things,? she said.

The young woman added that in a few days she will make a pilgrimage again to Rome with the group of her friends who were with her during World Youth Day.

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

Construction projects are underway in Rome as the city prepares for the 2025 Jubilee Year. / Credit: EWTN News

Rome Newsroom, May 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Construction projects are underway in Rome as the city prepares for the 2025 Jubilee Year (Dec. 24, 2024, to Jan. 6, 2026). According to the city?s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, the upcoming ?Jubilee of Hope? is expected to draw in an additional 30 million to 35 million tourists to Italy during the Catholic holy year.

?The jubilee is an extraordinary global event with a great spiritual significance for which the city of Rome must be ready,? Gualtieri told EWTN News Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser. ?We are working to make it more welcoming so that pilgrims can live the experience of the Jubilee in the best possible way.? 

The city of Rome?s online portal Roma Si Transforma currently lists approximately 358 planned projects in the Lazio region in which Rome is located. Each project is categorized as either a culture, innovation, inclusion, or sustainability intervention, with projects specifically funded for the jubilee including the 79.5-million-euro (about $86.4 million) Piazza Pia transformation and the 4-million-euro (about $4.3 million) Piazza Risorgimento redevelopment.

Next to Vatican City, the transformation of Piazza Pia into a more open and pedestrian-friendly square is close to halfway completed. It will connect Castel Sant?Angelo ? a historic structure originally built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian but later used as a papal fortress ? to St. Peter?s Square. 

?Piazza Pia will unite ? in a kind of embrace ? Castel Sant?Angelo, Via della Conciliazione, and St. Peter?s Square. Before, a highway passed through it, [but] I think it will become one of the most beautiful squares in the world,? Gualtieri said.

As the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums are two famous tourist attractions for visitors to Rome, Gualtieri explained that he has been closely collaborating with Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect for the Section of New Evangelization of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and other Holy See representatives to support the crowds of pilgrims wanting to see the art collections and religious masterpieces contained within the walls of Vatican City.

?We had to work hard to imagine how to make Piazza Risorgimento more beautiful and make the arrival [of visitors] from the subway to the Vatican Museums more accessible,? Gualtieri explained. ?[Archbishop] Fisichella is truly extraordinary in helping us always to find solutions. The whole Holy See is busy, starting with the Holy Father, [Cardinal Pietro] Parolin [Vatican secretary of state] and everyone else.?

The façade of the Basilica of St. John Lateran ? one of four main papal basilicas in Rome that will have Holy Doors opened by the pope and remain open throughout the jubilee year ? is under renovation in preparation for the millions of pilgrims expected to visit the city next year.

Besides the papal basilicas ? St. Peter?s Basilica, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls ? there are also 12 ?jubilee churches? in Rome to serve as places of gathering for pilgrims who wish to attend catechesis sessions on the year?s theme of ?hope? or to receive the sacraments in varying languages.

According to Gualtieri, several local parishes spread across the city are also being refurbished ahead of the jubilee year to support the Catholic communities already living within Rome.

The city of Rome has also considered specific sites for the calendar events of the jubilee year in Rome and the wider Lazio region, which have the capacity to host hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.

Tor Vergata will hold the Jubilee of the Youth and World Youth Day festival and overnight vigil in mid-2025, while Centocelle Park will be the location of several Mass celebrations for various groups including the sick and health care workers, artists, and even the armed forces.

Gualtieri also told EWTN that pilgrimage routes, including the ancient Via Francigena ? which extends from England to Italy ? would also undergo restoration work to improve usability, safety, and accessibility for pilgrims.  

On May 9, the feast of the Ascension, Pope Francis officially proclaimed the 2025 Jubilee Year through a papal bull at St. Peter?s Basilica in Vatican City, indicating further guidelines on the special year of pilgrimage and grace for Catholics worldwide. 

Through the announcement, the Holy Father invited ?pilgrims of hope? to ?travel the ancient and more modern routes in order to experience the jubilee year to the full? and ?above all by approaching the sacrament of reconciliation ? the essential starting point of any true journey of conversion.?

Pope Francis meets with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Vatican, Oct. 4, 2021. / Credit: Vatican Media

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 17, 2024 / 18:04 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis might be traveling to Turkey next year for the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, according to Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew in comments he made on Thursday.

Although the Holy See has not confirmed any travel plans, the ecumenical patriarch told a group of reporters that a committee is being established to organize a visit, according to the Orthodox Times. The referenced council took place in the ancient city of Nicaea in 325 A.D. in the former Roman Empire, which is now the present-day city of ?znik in Turkey. 

?His Holiness Pope Francis wishes for us to jointly celebrate this important anniversary,? Bartholomew said.

The Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical council in the Church. It is accepted by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Church, and other Christian communities that accept the validity of early church councils. It predates the Chalcedonian Schism ? which separated the Oriental Orthodox communion from Rome ? by more than 100 years and predates the Great Schism ? which separated the Eastern Orthodox Church from Rome ? by more than 700 years.

During the council, the bishops condemned the heresy of Arianism, which asserted that the Son was created by the Father. Arius, a priest who faced excommunication for propagating the heresy, did not accept that the Son was coeternal with the Father.

According to the council, Jesus Christ is ?begotten; not made? and is ?of the same substance with the Father.? It affirms that the Son is coeternal with the Father and condemns any heresies that assert ?the Son of God is created, or mutable, or subject to change? and heresies that assert ?there was a time when [Christ] was not [in existence].? 

The council was convened by Emperor Constantine the Great, who is venerated as a saint in some Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox traditions.

Representatives from the pro-life movement and their supporters gather to demonstrate in Parliament Square on May 15, 2024, in London. / Credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

CNA Staff, May 17, 2024 / 10:43 am (CNA).

A large number of pro-life people rallied May 15 outside the Houses of Parliament in London to protest a set of amendments that if passed would further liberalize the U.K.?s abortion laws, including one that critics say would allow abortions up to the point of birth.

As reported by the Catholic Herald, the rally in Westminster was coordinated by a variety of organizations such as Alliance Defending Freedom UK, Christian Concern, March for Life, Rachel?s Vineyard, and 40 Days for Life. Participants held signs and wore shirts with the phrase ?No to abortion up to birth.?

At issue are a number of proposed amendments to a Criminal Justice Bill under consideration in the U.K. Parliament, one of which would amend U.K. law such that ?no woman would be liable for a prison sentence as a result of seeking to end her own pregnancy.? The amendments were originally scheduled to be voted on Wednesday but are now scheduled for a vote on Tuesday, June 4.

According to the National Health Service (NHS), abortions in the U.K. can be carried out after 24 weeks only in very limited circumstances ? for example, if the mother's life is at risk or the child would be born with a severe disability.

In a May 8 statement, Bishop John Sherrington, lead bishop for life issues and auxiliary bishop of Westminster, expressed support for an amendment from member of Parliament Caroline Ansell that would reduce the gestational limit for abortions from 24 to 22 weeks. Another amendment, brought by member of Parliament Sir Liam Fox, represents a step toward ending the U.K.?s current laws that allow for babies with Down syndrome to be aborted up until birth. 

However, Sherrington said he is ?deeply alarmed? by two other amendments to the same bill. The amendment proposed by member of Parliament Dame Diana Johnson related to liability would remove any legal protection for unborn babies when a woman seeks to bring about her own abortion at any stage of pregnancy, he said.  

?A further danger presented by this amendment is that women could abort their own pregnancies at home through the use of abortion pills at any point in the pregnancy, which could seriously endanger a woman?s health and life. Moreover, the risks of coerced or forced abortion would only increase as the legal safeguards around abortion decrease,? he noted. 

The second amendment by member of Parliament Stella Creasy includes proposals to decriminalize abortion up to the 24th week for any party involved. 

?The Church recognizes the struggle and trauma which may lead some pregnant women to consider an abortion. Such difficult situations require pastoral and medical care for vulnerable women in their time of need. When cases of illegal abortions are prosecuted, it is for the judge to decide the appropriate balance of justice and mercy for all involved,? Sherrington said. 

?Our current legislation provides some level of protection for pregnant mothers and unborn babies by keeping abortion within the criminal law. Relaxing abortion legislation further would be a tragic mistake for both mother and child.?

?As Pope Francis has said: ?It is troubling to see how simple and convenient it has become for some to deny the existence of a human life as a solution to problems that can and must be solved for both the mother and her unborn child.? In England and Wales, both unborn child and pregnant mother deserve full protection under our laws, as some of the most vulnerable in our society,? the bishop concluded. 

This story was updated on May 17, 2024, at 3:15 p.m. ET with the information on the June 4 vote.

Philosophical-Theological University of Bressanone in Italy. / Credit: Ladislav Luppa / Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

CNA Newsroom, May 17, 2024 / 10:13 am (CNA).

In a significant reversal, the Vatican approved the appointment of a new dean at a seminary in Northern Italy almost one year after first blocking the appointment over the candidate?s published views on sexual morality.

The Philosophical-Theological College in Bressanone (PTH Brixen) announced ?with great joy? that Father Martin M. Lintner, OSM, has now been confirmed as dean and will take office on Sept. 1.

The appointment of Lintner, who teaches moral and spiritual theology at the seminary, faced opposition from the Vatican?s Dicastery for Culture and Education in mid-2023 over his published works on Catholic sexual morality, particularly his views on same-sex blessings. 

In an article published in 2020 by New Ways Ministry titled ?Theologian Suggests Papal Civil Union Support May Lead to Church Blessings,? Lintner is quoted as saying: ?A homosexual relationship does not lose its dignity due to the lack of fertility.? 

Lintner also contributed a chapter offering ?theological-ethical reflections on a blessing ceremony for same-sex couples? to a book titled ?The Benediction of Same-Sex Partnerships.?

Rome?s position on Lintner?s appointment was reversed after the Vatican?s controversial declaration Fiducia Supplicansapproved nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples in December 2023. 

On the news of his appointment, Lintner told German media that the appointment of a new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Victor Fernandez, had played a role. He also asserted that his case ? the reversal of such an appointment ? was setting a kind of ?precedent.?

Lintner also expressed relief over his victory: ?It is entirely in my interest to close this chapter, which has been stressful for everyone involved, and to concentrate on theological work again. I approach the new challenges as dean with joy and confidence,? reported CNA Deutsch, CNA?s German-language news partner.

Bishop Ivo Muser of Bolzano-Bressanone welcomed the Vatican?s decision, saying he wished the new dean a blessed start.

?I would also like to thank those responsible in the Vatican?s Dicastery for Education for all the personal and telephone conversations and for the decision that has now been made.?

The PTH Brixen, located in the Northern Italian region of South Tyrol (Alto Adige), is a significant institution in the predominantly German-speaking region offering courses in philosophy and theology. It is the academic training center of the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone for priests and deacons, pastoral assistants, teachers of religion, and other pastoral vocations.

Archbishop Bernard Bober of Ko?ice, chairman of the Slovak Bishops? Conference, expressed deep regret over the violent incident and condemned what authorities are now treating as an act of attempted murder. / Credit: Marek Mucha/Slovakian Bishops? Conference

CNA Newsroom, May 16, 2024 / 13:24 pm (CNA).

Following the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday, Slovakian bishops have called for peace and unity.

?We must actively work for peace,? Archbishop Bernard Bober of Ko?ice, chairman of the Slovak Bishops? Conference, said in a statement on May 15.

?It is important that we respect each other and strengthen the good in each of us,? he said, calling on the public to reject all forms of violence and promote the good in people instead.

Bober expressed his deep regret over the violent incident and condemned what authorities are now treating as an act of attempted murder.

The gunman was described as a ?lone wolf? who acted out of political hatred against Fico, Slovak news agency SITA reported. The attacker expressed his dissatisfaction with government policy in a video published online before the assassination attempt. He now faces attempted murder charges and life in prison.

On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak said Fico?s condition was still severe and that it was too early to tell if he would recover, Reuters reported.

Bober said in his statement: ?I wish the prime minister a speedy recovery and ask the faithful to pray for peace in our homeland and for all citizens of the Slovak Republic,? Bober said in his statement. 

Archbishop Stanislav Zvolensky of Bratislava posted a statement on social media expressing his prayer for Fico?s recovery and healing.

The statement stressed that Zvolensky was appalled by the tragic incident and announced that the archbishop would celebrate Mass at the country?s national shrine in ?a?tín.

The basilica in ?a?tín was built to honor the image of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, a figure so important to the people of Slovakia that Pope Pius XI declared her the country?s patroness in 1927.

The assassination attempt on 59-year-old Fico ? who was raised and has described himself as Catholic ? has shaken the Catholic-majority country visited by Pope Francis in 2021. 

The prayers and appeals from Slovakian prelates come at a critical time for the country ? and wider Europe: The assassination attempt on Fico represents the first public assassination attempt on a European politician in more than 20 years.

The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, told journalists in an initial reaction on May 15 that he was ?truly concerned about what has happened.? Parolin pointed to an apparent increase in politically motivated violence.

Slovakia?s President-elect, Peter Pellegrini, called on political parties to tone down their campaigning before next month?s European Parliament elections, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA?s German-language news partner.

Easter Vigil at the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz (Holy Cross) in Austria. / Credit: Stift Heiligenkreuz

ACI Prensa Staff, May 15, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz (Holy Cross) in Austria is the oldest in the world, dating back almost 1,000 years, and currently has more than 100 monks living there. It has never had ?interruptions? in its history and is now an oasis of the Catholic Church in Europe, with love for God and others at the center of its work and with the beloved Pope Benedict XVI as an ?ally.?

Heiligenkreuz is located about 18 miles from Vienna, the capital of Austria. The monks, explained the Italian newspaper Avvenire, have an average age of 49, which means they are ?young? in current Church terms, especially in Europe where there has been a precipitous decline in vocations.

Four or five men each year join the historic abbey, founded in 1135, almost a thousand years ago, making it the oldest Cistercian abbey in the world.

Among the abbey?s current 103 monks, there are 11 with temporary vows and six novices, all led by Abbot Maximilian Heim.

?The most important thing is love for God and others. In a Benedictine monastery [the Cistercians follow the rule of St. Benedict]; this is fulfilled with the triad ?ora, lege et labora,? that is, pray, read, and work,? the abbot explained.

For the superior of the abbey, it?s also important to ?honor the commandment of Jesus ?that they may all be one?: unity within the community without egalitarianism and with the necessary freedom for each individual, as well as unity with the Church in practice, which means unity within the order, as well as with the pope and the diocesan bishop.?

Rescuing other monasteries in Europe

On Nov. 21, 2021, the last two Benedictine nuns at the Sabiona monastery in the town of Chiusa in the Italian province of Bolzano left after 335 years of the order?s presence there.

The bishop of Bolzano-Bressanone, Ivo Muser, and Abbess Maria Ancilla Hohenegger lamented what had happened and expressed their wish that the monastery located in the Italian region would continue to be a place of pilgrimage and a center of contemplative life. However, that was only possible some time later, thanks to the Heiligenkreuz Abbey.

After numerous consultations, the conventual chapter of Heiligenkreuz Abbey decided on March 14 to take over the Sabiona monastery with the aim of creating a ?spiritual center? on the so-called ?holy mountain,? as the place where it is located is known, explained Father Johannes Paul Chavanne to CNA Deutsch, CNA?s German-language news partner.

The monks who will go to the Sabiona monastery will do their pastoral work there but will continue to belong to the Heiligenkreuz Abbey.

Another monastery that received help from Heiligenkreuz Abbey was a Cistercian monastery located in the German Diocese of Görlitzer on the border with Poland.

In 2018, the bishop of Görlitz, Wolfgang Ipolt, asked for help for the Cistercian monastery of Neuzelle and succeeded in getting the Heiligenkreuz Abbey to send six of its monks there in September of that year.

With their presence it was possible to bring back contemplative life to the region after 200 years, as CNA Deutsch reported at the time.

Pope Benedict XVI and Heiligenkreuz Abbey

Next to Heiligenkreuz Abbey is the Benedict XVI School of Theology, which was recognized as a pontifical institution in 2007. Renowned academics such as Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz, one of the greatest experts on the work of the theologian Romano Guardini and of St. Edith Stein, and the canonist Alfred Hierold, former rector of the University of Bamberg, teach there.

The school currently has 342 students from 39 countries such as Germany, Austria, India, Italy, Nigeria, the United States, and Vietnam.

Heim, the abbot of Heiligenkreuz and a member of Pope Benedict XVI?s circle of former students, received the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Foundation Prize in 2011.

?In addition to being a monk and theologian, he treats topics concerning faith and theology through conferences and the publication of a series of books: Both initiatives are called ?Auditorium,?? Cardinal Camillo Ruini explained at the time.

On Sept. 9, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the monks of Heiligenkreuz, reminding them that they lived in ?the oldest Cistercian monastery in the world that has continued to be active without interruption. I wanted to come to this place rich in history, to draw attention to the fundamental directive of St. Benedict, according to whose rule the Cistercians also live.?

Benedict XVI?s secretary and Cardinal Koch

In April, a conference titled ?Beauty, Demands, and the Crisis of the Priesthood? was held at the abbey, in which Archbishop Georg Gänswein, former secretary of Pope Benedict XVI, participated as well as Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

According to CNA Deutsch, the cardinal spoke about the importance of the Eucharist for the Church, also for the first Christians, while Gänswein highlighted the need to promote ?a solid theology of the priesthood that can withstand the misunderstandings of the modern world.?

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

Bishop Georg Bätzing addresses journalists on Sept. 28, 2023. / Credit: Martin Rothweiler/EWTN Germany

CNA Newsroom, May 14, 2024 / 09:32 am (CNA).

The German Bishops? Conference president has called Germany ? a nation whose very history is entangled with the Catholic Church ? a ?mission country.?

In an interview with the Society of the Divine Word?s German-language magazine, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg said: ?We live in a missionary country when we realize that less than half of Germany?s citizens still belong to the Christian denominations.?

According to CNA Deutsch, CNA?s German-language news partner, Bätzing said evangelization had been a central theme ?since [Pope] John Paul II and also for [Pope] Francis.?

The German prelate continued: ?But the other half are not simply faithless or don?t ask any questions, and in this respect, I believe we need to do much more.? 

?We should get in touch with these people, talk to them without being intrusive. These times of a mission with a negative tone are over, but speaking and answering questions about the hope that fills us, as the letter to the Hebrews says, is part of Christianity.?

Bätzing has led the Diocese of Limburg since 2016 and the German Bishops? Conference since 2020. In 2016, more than 630,000 Catholics resided in Limburg. By 2022, this number had dropped to fewer than 540,000. 

The Catholic population in Germany, a nation of about 83 million people, has significantly decreased.

In 2020, there were approximately 22.19 million Catholics. However, by 2022, this number had dropped to about 20.94 million.

Researchers paint a stark picture of the future: In 2019, a project of scientists at the University of Freiburg predicted that the number of Christians paying church tax in Germany would halve by 2060.

Three years later, in 2022, more than half a million baptized Catholics left the Church, figures released by the German Bishops? Conference confirmed. 

At the time, Bätzing stated on his diocese?s website that the ?alarming? figures underscored the need for continued ?cultural change? and the implementation of the German Synodal Way resolutions.

However, the German Synodal Way, which has advocated for significant changes to traditional Church teachings since 2019, has not stemmed the dramatic decline in Catholic numbers. 

A 2021 report by CNA Deutsch noted that 1 in 3 Catholics in Germany were considering leaving the Church. The reasons for leaving varied, with older people citing the Church?s handling of the abuse crisis and younger people pointing to the obligation of paying church tax, according to one earlier study.

The German Bishops? Conference currently stipulates that leaving the Church results in automatic excommunication, a regulation that has sparked controversy among theologians and canon lawyers.

In June 2019, Pope Francis addressed a 28-page letter to German Catholics, urging them to focus on evangelization amid a ?growing erosion and deterioration of faith.? He warned against relying solely on internal strengths, stating: ?Every time an ecclesial community has tried to get out of its problems alone, relying solely on its own strengths, methods, and intelligence, it has ended up multiplying and nurturing the evils it wanted to overcome.?

The Synodal Way initially struggled to embrace this call. In September 2021, a motion to emphasize evangelization was narrowly passed but was initially rejected due to misinterpreting abstention votes. Bätzing later confirmed the proposal had been accepted, acknowledging the procedural error.

One year later, in September 2022, Bätzing said the shortest definition of religion was ?interruption? and that some forms of continuity people seek from religion are ?frankly suspect.?

Candlelight procession at Fátima, Portugal on May 12, 2024. / Credit: Screenshot/EWTN

ACI Digital, May 13, 2024 / 16:18 pm (CNA).

During the May 13 Mass that he offered on the feast day of Our Lady of Fátima at the shrine dedicated to her in Portugal, Cardinal Juan José Omella said the Virgin Mary asks of us today the same that she asked of the three visionaries 107 years ago, in 1917. 

The prelate is archbishop of Barcelona and former president of the Spanish Bishops? Conference.

?What does Mary tell us today? The same thing she says in the Gospel, the same thing ? prayer and sacrifice ? she said to the little shepherds Francisco and Jacinta, 107 years ago, here in the Cova de Iría,? the cardinal said.

The archbishop also stressed that as Christians we must not lose ?the virtue of prayer, of heart-to-heart dialogue with the Lord, personally and communally,? offering prayers such as the rosary and the Lord?s Prayer, ?praying for the world, for the salvation of us all.?

?The second thing that Our Lady has asked of us and asks us today is to pray for peace? in a world racked by war in places like ?Ukraine, Russia, the Holy Land, Africa, the Americas, Asia. How many countries need and appeal for peace!?

Omella also prayed for unity and fraternity in the Church because ?a Church divided, some against others, is not close to the pope, to Jesus Christ, to all brothers. If we are not united, we will not be able to help and forgive each other, we will not evangelize.?

The archbishop of Barcelona noted on X on May 13 that ?about 100,000 people are gathered today on the esplanade of this shrine? and that ?a similar number of Ukrainian and Russian brothers have lost their lives because of the war. We pray for peace in Ukraine and for all the deceased so that, their sins forgiven, they may attain the glory of life in heaven with God and their brothers.?

?Happy feast day of the Virgin of Fátima!? he concluded. 

Attendance at the shrine 

According to the Fátima Shrine, on the evening of Sunday, May 12, about 250,000 pilgrims participated in the prayers and the traditional candlelight procession.

There were 186 groups of international pilgrims from 34 countries.

The rector of the Fátima Shrine, Father Carlos Cabecinhas, said at a May 12 press conference that there was an increase of 26.5% in pilgrims compared with 2023. In the first four months of the year, a total of 1,023,680 pilgrims participated in 304 events at the Cova da Iría.

Besides Portugal, the 10 countries from which the largest number of pilgrims came were Spain, Poland, Italy, the United States, Brazil, South Korea, the Philippines, Mexico, Croatia, and Ukraine.

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

Monument of the Guardian Angel of Portugal apparition to the three little shepherd children of Fatima. / Daniel Ibanez / CNA.

National Catholic Register, May 13, 2024 / 14:09 pm (CNA).

May 13 is the optional memorial of Our Lady of Fátima, arguably the most prominent approved apparition of the 20th century. It became famous the world over, particularly for its three-part ?secret.?

Here are nine things to know about this Marian apparition.

1) What happened at Fátima, Portugal?

A young shepherd girl, Lucia dos Santos, said she experienced supernatural visitations as early as 1915, two years before the famous appearances of Our Lady of Fátima.

In 1917, she and two of her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, were working as shepherds tending their families? flocks. On May 13, 1917, the three children saw an apparition of a lady from heaven. She told them, among other things, that she would return once a month for six months.

At her third appearance, on July 13, Lucia was shown the secret of Fátima. She reportedly turned pale and cried out with fear, calling Our Lady by name. There was a thunderclap, and the vision ended.

The children again saw the Virgin on Sept. 13.

In the sixth and final appearance, on Oct. 13, a dramatic outward sign was given to those gathered to witness the event. After the clouds of a rainstorm parted, numerous witnesses ? some as far as 40 miles away ? reported seeing the sun dance, spin, and send out colored rays of light.

2) What happened after the main apparitions?

As World War I raged across Europe, an epidemic of Spanish flu swept the globe. It erupted in America and was spread by soldiers being sent to distant lands. This epidemic killed an estimated 20 million people.

Among them were Francisco and Jacinta, who contracted the illness in 1918 and died in 1919 and 1920, respectively. Lucia entered the convent.

On June 13, 1929, at the convent chapel in Tuy, Spain, Lucia had another mystical experience in which she saw the Trinity and the Blessed Virgin. Mary told her:

?The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father in union with all the bishops of the world to make the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means? (S. Zimdars-Schwartz, ?Encountering Mary,? 197).

On Oct. 13, 1930, the bishop of Leiria (now Leiria-Fátima) proclaimed the apparitions at Fátima authentic and worthy of assent.

3) How was the ?secret? of Fátima written down?

Between 1935 and 1941, on the orders of her superiors, Sister Lucia wrote four memoirs of the Fátima events. In the third of these, she recorded the first two parts of the secret, explaining that there was a third part she was not yet permitted by heaven to reveal. 

In the ?Fourth Memoir,? she added a sentence to the end of the second part of the secret:

?In Portugal, the dogma of the faith will always be preserved, etc.?

This sentence has been the basis for much speculation that the third part of the secret concerned a great apostasy. 

Sister Lucia also noted that in writing the secret in the ?Fourth Memoir?:

?With the exception of that part of the secret which I am not permitted to reveal at present, I shall say everything. I shall not knowingly omit anything, though I suppose I may forget just a few small details of minor importance.?

Upon the publication of the ?Third and Fourth Memoirs,? the world became aware of the secret of Fátima and its three parts, including Our Lady?s request that Russia be consecrated (entrusted) to her Immaculate Heart by the pope and the bishops of the world.

On Oct. 31, 1942, Pius XII consecrated not only Russia but also the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. What was missing, though, was the involvement of the world?s bishops.

In 1943, the bishop of Leiria ordered Sister Lucia to put the third secret of Fátima in writing. She did not feel at liberty to do so until 1944. It was then placed in a wax-sealed envelope on which Sister Lucia wrote that it should not be opened until 1960.

4) What happened to the ?third secret? afterward?

The secret remained with the bishop of Leiria until 1957, when it was requested (along with photocopies of Sister Lucia?s other writings) by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. According to Cardinal TarcisioBertone the secret was read by both Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI (see ?The Message of Fátima? [MF], ?Introduction?).

?John Paul II, for his part, asked for the envelope containing the third part of the ?secret? following the assassination attempt on 13 May 1981? (ibid.).

He read it sometime between July 18 and Aug. 11.

It is significant that John Paul II did not read the secret until after the assassination attempt was made on his life. He notes in ?Crossing the Threshold of Hope? (1994):

?And thus we come to May 13, 1981, when I was wounded by gunshots fired in St. Peter?s Square. At first, I did not pay attention to the fact that the assassination attempt had occurred on the exact anniversary of the day Mary appeared to the three children at Fátima in Portugal and spoke to them the words that now, at the end of this century, seem to be close to their fulfillment? (221).

After reading the secret, the Holy Father realized the connection between the assassination attempt and Fátima. He has since consistently attributed his survival of the gunshot wound to the intercession of Our Lady of Fátima.

?It was a mother?s hand that guided the bullet?s path,? he said, ?and in his throes the pope halted at the threshold of death? (?Meditation from the Policlinico Gemelli to the Italian Bishops,? May 13, 1994).

5) Did John Paul II consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary?

As had Pius XII, John Paul II decided to consecrate not only Russia but also the entire world to her Immaculate Heart. After he read the third part of the secret, he decided to journey to Fátima on May 13, 1982, and there performed the Act of Entrustment.

This act, however, did not appear to satisfy the requested consecration, and so, ?on 25 March 1984 in St. Peter?s Square, while recalling the fiat uttered by Mary at the Annunciation, the Holy Father, in spiritual union with the bishops of the world, who had been ?convoked? beforehand, entrusted all men and women and all peoples to the Immaculate Heart of Mary? (Bertone, MF).

?Sister Lucia personally confirmed that this solemn and universal act of consecration corresponded to what Our Lady wished (?Yes it has been done just as Our Lady asked, on 25 March 1984?: Letter of 8 November 1989). Hence any further discussion or request is without basis? (Bertone, MF).

6) Is Fátima related to the fall of Russian communism?

After it became public that there was a secret of Fátima and that it mentioned Russia, many pondered Fátima in the light of Russian communism.

1917 was a year of turmoil for Russia. Besides fighting in World War I, the country experienced two civil wars known as the February Revolution and the October Revolution. The former led to the creation of a provisional government that proved unstable. On Oct. 24?25, less than two weeks after the final appearance of Our Lady of Fátima, the second revolution resulted in the creation of the Soviet government.

In the ensuing years, Russia expanded its sphere of influence, exporting communist ideology and revolution to other lands and martyring Christians wherever it spread. Once Pope John Paul II?s 1984 consecration took place, first the Soviet bloc and then the USSR itself crumbled from a variety of social, political, and economic factors.

As the pope himself noted:

?And what are we to say of the three children from Fatima who suddenly, on the eve of the outbreak of the October Revolution, heard: ?Russia will convert? and ?In the end, my [Immaculate] Heart will triumph? ... ? They could not have invented those predictions. They did not know enough about history or geography, much less the social movements and ideological developments. And nevertheless it happened just as they had said? (CTH, 131; emphasis in original).

Though he did not reveal the third part of the secret until the year 2000, six years earlier John Paul II hinted at its contents. Immediately after he meditated on the fall of communism in connection with Fátima, he went on to write:

?Perhaps this is also why the pope was called from a ?faraway country,? perhaps this is why it was necessary for the assassination attempt to be made in St. Peter?s Square precisely on May 13, 1981, the anniversary of the first apparition at Fátima ? so that all could become more transparent and comprehensible, so that the voice of God which speaks in human history through the ?signs of the times? could be more easily heard and understood? (CHT, 131-132).

By the year 2000, the Holy Father felt able to reveal the final part of Fátima?s secret, since ?the events to which the third part of the ?secret? of Fátima refers now seem part of the past? (Sodano, MF, ?Announcement?).

The pontiff selected the beatification of Francisco and Jacinta on May 13, 2000, in Portugal as the occasion to announce this fact.

7) What is the essence of Fátima?s three-part ?secret??

Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, pointed out that the key to the apparition of Fátima is its call to repentance and conversion (MF, ?Theological Commentary?).

All three parts of the secret serve to motivate the individual to repentance, and they do so in a dramatic way.

8) What is the first part of the secret?

The first part of the secret ? the vision of hell ? is the most important, for it reveals to individuals the tragic consequences of failure to repent and what awaits them in the invisible world if they are not converted.

9) What is the second part of the secret?

In the second part, Mary says:

?You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.?

Ratzinger explains:

?According to Matthew 5:8, the ?immaculate heart? [of Mary] is a heart which, with God?s grace, has come to perfect interior unity and therefore ?sees God.? To be ?devoted? to the Immaculate Heart of Mary means therefore to embrace this attitude of heart, which makes the fiat ? ?your will be done? ? the defining center of one?s whole life. It might be objected that we should not place a human being between ourselves and Christ. But then we remember that Paul did not hesitate to say to his communities: ?imitate me? (1 Corinthians 4:16; Philippians 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2 Thessalonians 3:7, 9)? (op. cit.).

After explaining the vision of hell, Mary spoke of a war that ?will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI.?

This latter war, of course, was World War II, which Sister Lucia reckoned as having been occasioned by the annexation of Austria by Germany during the reign of Pius XI (J. de Marchi, ?Temoignages sur les apparitions de Fatima,? 346).

Our Lady also mentioned that this would happen after a night of the ?unknown light.? Sister Lucia understood this to refer to Jan. 25, 1938, when Europe was witness to a spectacular nighttime display of light in the sky. In her third memoir she wrote:

?Your Excellency is not unaware that, a few years ago, God manifested that sign, which astronomers chose to call an aurora borealis. ... God made use of this to make me understand that his justice was about to strike the guilty nations.?

Our Lady added:

?If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.?

Much has been made of the statement ?Russia will be converted.?

Many people have assumed this meant the Russian people as a whole would become Catholic. But the language of the text does not require this.

The Portuguese word ?converterá? doesn?t necessarily mean converted to the Catholic faith. It can mean simply that Russia will stop its warlike behavior, and thus ?there will be peace.?

This interpretation seems to be the one understood by John Paul II in a passage cited above from ?Crossing the Threshold of Hope.?

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA?s sister news parter, on May 13, 2020, and has been adapted by CNA.

Crowds looking at the Miracle of the Sun, occurring during the Our Lady of Fatima apparitions in 1917. / Credit: Public domain

Fatima, Portugal, May 13, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Oct. 13, 1917, marked the last Marian apparition in Fátima and the day on which thousands of people bore witness to the miracle of the dancing sun ? a miracle that shattered the prevalent belief at the time that God was no longer relevant.

Dr. Marco Daniel Duarte, a theologian and director of the Fátima Shrine museums, shared with CNA the impact that the miracle of the sun made during those days in Portugal.

If one were to open philosophy books during that period, he or she would likely read something akin to the concept conceived by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who boldly asserted in the late 1800s that ?God is dead.?

Also, in 1917 Portugal, the majority of the world was embroiled in war. As World War I raged throughout Europe, Portugal found itself unable to maintain its initial neutrality and joined forces with the Allies. More than 220,000 Portuguese civilians died during the war, thousands due to food shortages and thousands more from the Spanish flu.

A few years before, a revolution had led to the establishment of the First Portuguese Republic in 1910 and a new liberal constitution was drafted under the influence of Freemasonry, which sought to suppress the faith from public life. Catholic churches and schools were seized by the government, and the wearing of clerics in public, the ringing of church bells, and the celebration of public religious festivals were banned. Between 1911 and 1916, nearly 2,000 priests, monks, and nuns were killed by anti-Christian groups.

This was the backdrop against which, in 1917, a lady believed to be the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children ? Lucia dos Santos, 10, and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, 9 and 7 ? in a field in Fátima, Portugal, bringing with her requests for the recitation of the rosary, for sacrifices on behalf of sinners, and a secret regarding the fate of the world.

To prove that the apparitions were true, the lady promised the children that during the last of her six appearances, she would provide a sign so people would believe in the apparitions and in her message. What happened on that day ? Oct. 13, 1917 ? has come to be known as the ?Miracle of the Sun,? or ?the day the sun danced.?

According to various accounts, a crowd of some 70,000 people ? believers and skeptics alike ?gathered to see the miracle that was promised: The rainy sky cleared up, the clouds dispersed, and the ground, which had been wet and muddy from the rain, dried up. A transparent veil came over the sun, making it easy to look at, and multicolored lights were strewn across the landscape. The sun then began to spin, twirling in the sky, and at one point appeared to veer toward the earth before jumping back to its place in the sky.

The stunning event was a direct and very convincing contradiction to the atheistic regimes at the time, which is evidenced by the fact that the first newspaper to report on the miracle on a full front page was an anti-Catholic, Masonic newspaper in Lisbon called O Seculo.

The miracle of the sun was understood by the people to be ?the seal, the guarantee, that in fact those three children were telling the truth,? Duarte said.

Even today, ?Fátima makes people change their perception of God,? since ?one of the most important messages of the apparitions is that even if someone has separated from God, God is present in human history and doesn?t abandon humanity.?

This article was originally published on CNA on Oct. 12, 2017, and has been updated.

Lego announced on May 7, 2024, a set of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, joining the ranks of LEGO?s models of world-famous monuments including the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramid of Giza. / Credit: LEGO Group

CNA Staff, May 11, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In 2019 the world mourned the damage done to the medieval Catholic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris by a fire that devastated the 315-foot-tall spire and roof of the 861-year-old monument. A restoration is in progress, though it has been delayed by COVID-19 and leadership changes. 

Visitors should be able to visit Notre Dame by the end of 2024, but for eager pilgrims and tourists who can?t wait, the smaller-sized LEGO set may do in the meantime. 

LEGO announced on May 7 a LEGO set of Notre-Dame de Paris, joining the ranks of LEGO?s models of world-famous monuments including the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Released alongside a LEGO set of the Mona Lisa as part of the LEGO Architecture Collection, the LEGO Notre-Dame has been called ?one of the theme?s most ambitious sets to date? by LEGO news and review site BrickFanatics.

The building process is based on the historically accurate order that Notre Dame was built, up until the 2019 fire. About a foot tall, 8 inches wide, and more than a foot deep, the highly detailed set is made up of 4,383 pieces and is priced at about $230, available for preorder on the company?s website. The building features intricate plastic imitations of the historic cathedral?s flying buttresses, columns, pillars, and even 12 small ?nanofigures? representing the 12 apostles on the roof. One nanofigure faces inward, representing the cathedral?s architect, Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc.

Notre-Dame itself took 182years to build, and the set follows that model, split into four time periods: 1163 to 1182, 1182 to 1200, 1200 to 1225, and 1225 to 1786; though it should only take builders about eight hours total to complete. 

?In designing the LEGO Architecture Notre-Dame de Paris, we tried to bring it to life by not only capturing its outward appearance, but the way and the stages in which the original was built,? said set designer Rok ?galin Kobe in the LEGO press release. ?We wanted LEGO fans to retrace the architectural journey and evolution of this landmark during its construction, to encourage a deeper appreciation for its real-life counterpart.?

This is not the first LEGO creation to imitate historic Catholic buildings. 

Father Bob Simon, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Philadelphia, built a 500,000-piece replica of the Vatican several years ago. The work of art spanned 14 feet by 6 feet and was featured in the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia when Pope Francis visited the city in 2015. 

?I?m thrilled LEGO is doing this set,? Simon told CNA in an email. ?While one of their earliest sets was a church, they?ve had a long-standing policy on not offering sets depicting churches or other religious edifices.?

Simon also built a 300,000-piece replica of the main building of the University of Notre Dame, his alma mater, in 2023 at the request of Notre Dame?s associate vice president for storytelling and engagement, Jim Small.

?I found building my models of the Vatican and the main building at Notre Dame University to be a contemplative experience that enabled me to reflect on beauty and the faith vision of the architects and builders,? he added. ?I believe this set will do just that for many of those who will build this impressive and beautiful set.?

The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen in Billund, Denmark, and was named for two Danish words, ?Leg Godt,? which means ?play well.? The family-owned company now sells products in more than 120 countries worldwide.

This story was updated on May 13, 2024, at 10:40 a.m. ET to include the quotes from Father Bob Simon.

Virgin Mary by Sassoferrato. / Credit: Public domain

ACI Prensa Staff, May 10, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

Along with other saints, every May 10 the Church honors St. John of Avila, the patron saint of the Spanish clergy. This renowned founder of schools and centers of formation and study recorded in one of his writings what he considered to be the best gift we can give to our heavenly mother, the Virgin Mary.

St. John of Avila?s recommendation appears today in a section of the website of the Spanish Bishops? Conference. In the text, St. John of Avila asks himself: ?What shall I do for the virgin? God has given me many good things through her.?

The answer to the question, the saint says, is found in the Gospel account of the wedding feast at Cana. 

There, the Virgin pointed out to her Son that the wine had run out. When Jesus responds, ?What concern is that to you and me? My hour is not yet come,? it seems that nothing is going to happen. Nonetheless, the Mother of God immediately proceeds to tell the servants: ?Do whatever he tells you.?

St. John of Avila says the Virgin?s words are tantamount to a brief and powerful sermon. With those few words, he says, she preached ?as much as Isaiah, St. Paul, St. Luke, and all the prophets and apostles.?

?Listen to what I want to tell you; perhaps from the mouth of the Mother it will be imprinted on your hearts: Do whatever my Son tells you, (Jn 2:5). And so the greatest service you can do for her is to do what her Son commands,? St. John of Avila said.

The beloved saint then provides examples of things that can be done for love of the Virgin, such as forgiving an injury, giving up an inappropriate love, keeping quiet and remaining silent, or: ?whatever pains me the most to do or to stop doing, offer it for the Virgin.?

The saint also points out that just loving the Virgin but not imitating her is of little benefit.

?Let us imitate her in humility and in the other virtues, for she is the model from whom we must obtain the virtues, and in so doing, we shall obtain grace and then glory,? he concludes.

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

Archbishop Luc Terlinden attends a hearing session of the special commission investigating abuse in Church and other situations of power at the Flemish Parliament on Jan. 26, 2024, in Brussels. / Credit: ERIC LALMAND/Belga/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Newsroom, May 10, 2024 / 10:45 am (CNA).

The archbishop of Brussels has apologized to abuse survivors and expressed deep regret over the inclusion of reportedly three perpetrators of sexual abuse on an electoral list for the council of priests. 

?This is a grave mistake on our part, and I extend my deepest apologies to the victims. I acknowledge the mistake and offer my sincerest regret,? Archbishop Luc Terlinden of Mechelen-Brussels said in a press release published May 8.

?I have initiated a thorough investigation and will take appropriate action. In the event that priests known to the archdiocese for abuse are elected to the current Flemish Brabant and Mechelen priests? council, they will be unable to serve on the council,? Terlinden added.

The council of priests is an advisory body that provides a bishop with guidance and support on ecclesiastical matters and church governance. 

Father Rik Devillé, a vocal advocate for victims of clerical sexual abuse, called for the archbishop?s resignation, local media reported. 

?Archbishop Terlinden and Bishop Koen Vanhoutte, who oversee this archdiocese, are directly responsible for appointing priests. You don?t sign a document without knowing its contents,? Devillé said, according to VRT.

?Recently, a minister of justice resigned due to an employee?s error. If Archbishop Terlinden adheres to the same standards, he should also resign.?

The Church in Belgium is grappling with a profound fallout from public outrage over the handling of sexual abuse scandals.

According to the 2023 annual report, the number of Catholics requesting their names be removed from the baptismal register was 1.270.

Several prominent Catholics have publicly said they would ?de-register? their baptisms to distance themselves from the Church ? a move that is supported by the Belgian Data Protection Authority but clashes with the Catholic view of this sacrament as an indelible seal.

The question of how this can be resolved is open and the subject of a legal tug-of-war between authorities and the Church. 

Irrespective of the outcome, as Belgium?s bishops have acknowledged, the number of applications are expected to rise after a documentary series on the topic titled ?Godvergeten? ? ?Godforsaken? ? aired in September 2023.

In March, Pope Francis laicized the bishop emeritus of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, many years after the former prelate admitted to repeatedly sexually abusing his nephews.

A previous archbishop of Brussels, the late Cardinal Godfried Danneels, reportedly called on a victim of Vangheluwe?s abuse to remain silent.

The current archbishop, Terlinden, was appointed by Pope Francis just last year. His immediate predecessor was Cardinal Jozef De Kesel, who, in September 2022, made headlines by pushing for the introduction of a liturgy for blessing homosexual unions.

Pope Francis greets a young girl at a conference on Friday, May 10, 2024, on the state of birth rates in Italy and the wider West at the Auditorium della Conciliazione in Rome. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, May 10, 2024 / 10:00 am (CNA).

When Pope Francis took to the stage on Friday to speak at a conference on the state of birth rates in Italy and the wider West, he did not equivocate.

?The problem of our world is not the children that are born ? it is selfishness, consumerism, and individualism, which make people full, lonely, and unhappy,? the pope said to the audience gathered in the Auditorium della Conciliazione in Rome.

This year?s edition of ?Stati Generali della Natalità,? or ?General State of the Birth Rate,? is based on the theme ?More Young People, More Future.? It is the fourth edition of the gathering, which was launched back in 2021 as a joint project with then-Italian premier Mario Draghi and Gigi De Palo, the president of the Forum of Family Associations.

Italy, like many countries in Western Europe, has been facing an acute demographic crisis in recent years. Births in Italy dropped to a historic low in 2023. Italy?s national statistics bureau recorded 379,000 births last year, a 3.6% decline from 2022 and a 34.2% drop from 2008.

Arriving shortly after 9 a.m., Pope Francis took his seat at center stage, flanked by sitting children on both sides, and delivered a speech that, while cautionary and at times striking a dire tone, was also rooted in hope, with the Holy Father arguing that it is ?important to meet and work together to promote birth rates with realism, foresight, and courage.?

?The number of births is the first indicator of a people?s hope. Without children and young people, a country loses its desire for the future,? the pope said.

?Unfortunately,? the pope continued, ?if we were to rely on this data, we would be forced to say that Italy is progressively losing its hope for the future, like the rest of Europe.?

?The Old Continent is increasingly transforming into an old, tired, and resigned continent, so committed to exorcizing loneliness and anxieties that it is no longer able to enjoy, in the civilization of the gift, the true beauty of life,? Francis continued.

The Holy Father sharply rebuked population alarmism pushed by some theories such as Malthusianism, which posits that unchecked birth rates will quickly exhaust agricultural resources, leading to famine and war. The pope called those theories ?long out of date.?

Striking a very different tone, he said: ?Human life is not a problem, it is a gift.?

The pope did touch upon the effects of climate change, suggesting that it is not the effect of population growth but rather a consequence of prevailing economic models and consumer attitudes, or ?rampant materialism,? which ?attacks the existence of people and society at the root.?

?The problem is not how many there are in the world but what world we are building,? Francis added. ?It is not children, but selfishness, which creates injustices and structures of sin, to the point of intertwining unhealthy interdependencies between social, economic, and political systems.? 

The pope also appealed for change on an institutional level, imploring governments to spearhead pro-family initiatives so that mothers are not in the position ?to choose between work and caring for her children? and so younger couples are not faced with ?the burden of job insecurity and the inability to buy a house.? 

In line with this broader reflection of the importance of the family, Pope Francis underscored the importance of valuing the elderly, calling the ostracization of the elderly ?cultural suicide.?

?The future is made by the young and the old together, courage and memory, together,? the pontiff continued. 

Despite the exigent demands to reverse the negative trends, the pope ended his speech striking a more optimistic tone, encouraging young people to not ?give up? and to ?have faith.? 

?I know that for many of you the future may appear disturbing, and that between birth rates, wars, pandemics, and climate change it is not easy to keep hope alive. But don?t give up, have faith, because tomorrow is not something inevitable: We build it together, and in this ?together? first of all we find the Lord.?

Kariye, the former Byzantine Church of St. Savior in Chora in Istanbul in 2020. / Credit: Nathalie Ritzmann

ACI MENA, May 9, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Kariye, the former Byzantine Church of St. Savior in Chora, located in the Fatih district of Istanbul and converted back into a mosque by presidential decree on Aug. 21, 2020, was reopened for Muslim worship on May 6 after extensive restorations. The structure is famous for its outstanding Byzantine mosaics and frescoes.

The opening ceremony at the mosque, organized by the General Directorate of Foundations, was held the day after Orthodox Easter, on May 6. The reopening of the Kariye mosque was part of a massive inauguration of 201 restored structures and works ? including 33 in Istanbul.

President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an attended the ceremony via video conference, which was led by Safi Arpagu?, the mufti of Istanbul. After the speech, the president of Turkey requested the ribbon to be cut, declaring ?Ya Allah, Bismillah? (Oh Allah (God), in the name of Allah (God)). Many citizens present for the event entered the mosque and prayed after the official part of the ceremony. 

Originally built as a church in the sixth century during the reign of Justinian, the current structure dates from the late 11th century and has undergone various transformations and restorations since. Chora houses unique examples of Byzantine and Christian art with its world-renowned mosaics and frescoes created between 1315 and 1321 at the request of the statesman Theodore Metochites. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the site attracted between 8,000 and 9,000 visitors daily, drawn to its extraordinary heritage and as a testament to Constantinople?s prestigious past.

From 536 to 1511, it served as a church, then it was first converted into a mosque in 1511 by the order of Atik Ali Pa?a, the grand vizier of Sultan Beyaz?t II. It remained a mosque until 1948 when it became the Kariye Museum for 72 years.

Following the decision to reconvert Kariye into a mosque, the site underwent restoration work for nearly four years. The delicate mosaics and paintings have been covered with curtains in the areas designated for worship. According to an article published on the Diyanet?s website ? the Directorate of Religious Affairs, an official state institution established in 1924 ? two foreign tourists who visited the mosque appreciated the still visible mosaics. It has yet to be confirmed how the images have been treated in different parts of the building and what may be different with the latest restoration

In a video broadcast on the Diyanet?s television channel, the mention of ?the Kariye Mosque, which is a memory of conquest like Hagia Sophia,? highlights the significance attributed to this new transformation. 

Furthermore, following the model of Hagia Sophia, those who come for prayer and those who come for visits are segregated. It has not yet been confirmed whether tourists will be required to pay a significant fee to visit as is now the case to visit Hagia Sophia. 

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

Servant of God Nino Baglieri. / Credit: ANS/Salesians

ACI Prensa Staff, May 8, 2024 / 17:53 pm (CNA).

The diocesan phase of the cause of beatification of the Servant of God Nino Baglieri has been closed in Modica, a town in southern Sicily. Overcoming his bitterness due to his quadriplegic condition, Baglieri gave himself to the mission of evangelizing through the means available to him. 

The closing of the diocesan phase, according to the Salesian News Agency, took place on Sunday, May 5, in Mother of St. Peter church, where a solemn Eucharist was celebrated by Salvatore Rumeo, the bishop of Noto. In his homily, the prelate related that on May 5, 1951, Baglieri received baptism, ?becoming a Christian.?

Regarding the servant of God, he emphasized that ?prayer for Nino was everything: Despite his suffering, like a light that shines and burns, he managed to infect others with the meaning of true prayer.?

Addressing the servant of God in prayer, Rumeo said: ?We are grateful to you for your evangelical teaching, because in your life we see the movement of God?s grace that continues to speak to us about holiness.?

The diocesan phase concluded with the sealing of eight packets containing all the information and testimonies compiled about the life and work of Baglieri. Also present were the ninth successor of Don Bosco, Father Pascual Chávez, and the Salesian postulator, Father Pierluigi Cameroni.

All documentation now goes to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican for analysis.

Who was Nino Baglieri?

According to the Salesians, Baglieri was born in Modica in 1951. In his youth he worked as a bricklayer until on May 6, 1968, the feast of St. Dominic Savio, at the age of 17, he fell from a scaffold and became completely paralyzed. He then spent many dark years full of bitterness, only able to move his head.

The Salesian Bulletin Don Bosco in Central America indicates that it was suggested to his mother that she have her son euthanized with ?a simple injection? to end his suffering, but she responded: ?As long as I live I will take care of him.?

On Good Friday 1978, some members of a group called Renewal in the Spirit came to his house to pray for him. As he felt a warmth flooding his body, ?a new force entered me and something old came out. I accepted my cross and said yes to the Lord,? he said, knowing that there would be no physical healing but rather a spiritual one. Baglieri then began a process of conversion, accepting his cross and reading the Bible.

He learned to write using his mouth and began to write his memoirs as well as letters that he sent to people in various parts of the world.

?Thanks to a stick, he dials telephone numbers and comes into direct contact with many sick people, and his calm and convincing words console them,? the Salesians related.

Nino joined the Salesian Cooperators but then decided to be part of the Volunteers with Don Bosco, consecrated laymen who profess vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity, living their Salesian mission in their homes, work, and the everyday things of this world.

Baglieri was characterized by proclaiming with his life testimony joy and hope in the Lord. After suffering for a long time, which he bore with a smile, he died on March 2, 2007.

According to his wish, he was buried wearing sneakers because, as he said: ?On my last journey to God I will be able to run to him.?

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

Pope Benedict XVI on April 21, 2007, in Vigevano, Italy. / Credit: miqu77/Shutterstock

CNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 11:07 am (CNA).

The man arrested for the theft of a pectoral cross bequeathed by the late Pope Benedict XVI to a parish in his native Bavaria is now facing time behind bars.

According to CNA Deutsch, CNA?s German-language news partner, the Traunstein district court on Monday sentenced a 53-year-old Czech citizen to two years and six months in prison.

The perpetrator, whom authorities described as a serial thief with a history of crimes across several European countries, left traces at the crime scene that led to his identification and arrest.

However, local media reported that the cross is still missing, and the verdict may yet be appealed.

The court heard from the accused?s lawyer that his client had stolen the pectoral cross because he felt it was ?worth stealing? and selling on due to its appearance: The cross, measuring approximately 5.9 inches in length, is crafted from gold-plated silver and adorned with a gemstone. 

Despite the judge interrupting the trial twice to give the defendant and his lawyer time to call an associate to whom he allegedly had given the cross ?for safekeeping,? all attempts to contact the associate were unsuccessful ? leaving the cross? whereabouts still unknown.

Before the verdict was announced, the defendant personally addressed the court, saying he knew that the list of his previous convictions was so long that he did not appear credible. Nevertheless, he promised that the cross would come back to Traunstein, Bavarian state media reported. 

The value of the cross to the Catholic Church is ?not quantifiable,? the police said at the time of the theft. 

Former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was born in the small Bavarian community of Marktl am Inn. When Joseph was 2 years old, his father moved the family to Traunstein, where he studied at the seminary.

The late pontiff celebrated his first Mass as a newly ordained priest at St. Oswald?s in 1951. After the renovation in 2020, the cross was exhibited in the now-broken display case.

Thousands of pro-life activists participate in the Ireland March for Life on May 6, 2024, marching from St. Stephen?s Green in central Dublin to the Irish Parliament. / Credit: Courtesy of Pro Life Campaign

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Thousands of pro-life activists participated in the Ireland March for Life on Monday, marching from St. Stephen?s Green in central Dublin to the Irish Parliament.

The Irish Catholic, a Dublin-based news source, reported that thousands of pro-lifers attended the march. Video of the event posted online shows large crowds of pro-life activists, many of whom appear high school and college age, holding balloons, banners, and signs with pro-life messages. 

The crowds appear joyful with many marchers smiling and cheering. 

Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, head of the Irish Episcopal Conference, participated in the march along with several other Catholic leaders. He called the event ?uplifting and positive? in ?contrast to the dismal, negative messages of aggression, violence, and death that threaten to overwhelm us at times.? 

Ahead of Ireland?s elections, speakers urged march attendees to ?think pro-life? this year. 

This comes just days after Ireland passed a ?Safe Access Zones? bill that mandated 100-meter (about 300 feet) zones around abortion provider entrances and exits in which ?certain conduct aimed at impeding access or influencing decisions in relation to termination of pregnancy services will be prohibited.? 

Eilís Mulroy, one of the march organizers and speakers, urged Irish citizens to prioritize voting for pro-life candidates and parties amid abortion rates he said are currently ?soaring? and having a ?devastating? effect on Irish society.

Abortion became legal in Ireland in 2018 and is currently allowed until 12 weeks of pregnancy. Before 2018, Ireland?s eighth amendment allowed abortions only in cases in which the mother?s life was in danger.

A commission set up to review legislation introduced after the 2018 referendum passed is considering eliminating a three-day waiting period, removing criminal penalties for medical professionals performing abortions, and changing the legal definition of fatal fetal anomalies.

According to Irish news source Offaly Independent, Ireland saw an all-time high of 9,218 abortions in 2023. This is up from 8,876 abortions in 2022 and approximately 7,000 abortions each year from 2019 through 2021. In total, there have been approximately 38,018 babies killed by abortion in Ireland since the procedure was legalized in 2018. 

Shortly before the march, Martin and several other bishops and priests celebrated a Mass at nearby Newman University Church. 

Bishop Kevin Doran of the Diocese of Elphin, chairman of the Irish bishops? Council for Life, gave the homily in which he said: ?We are called ? in whatever we do or whatever we say ? to be witnesses to the love of God made present in Jesus Christ. For us, that inevitably means bearing witness to the inherent value of every human life.?

Alluding to the Safe Access Zones law, Doran added that ?nothing ? no law, no public policy, and no peer pressure from neighbors or colleagues can remove our right and indeed our responsibility to advocate publicly for those who are most vulnerable, especially at the beginning and at the end of life.?

In 2023 there were more than 275,000 child pornography websites on the internet, with approximately 11,000 photos generated by AI in just one month. / Credit: Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

ACI Prensa Staff, May 7, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).

?What dangers does artificial intelligence (AI) present for the safety of children in digital environments?? was the topic addressed by a conference organized by the S.O.S Il Telefono Azzurro Foundation and the Italian Embassy at the Holy See as part of the National Day against Pedophilia and Child Pornography, which is observed in Italy every May 5.

According to its website, Il Telefono Azzuro (?The Blue Telephone?) ?offers a hotline service, managed by 114 Children?s Emergency, through which it is possible to report illicit or potentially harmful content for children and adolescents.?

Disturbing statistics were reported at the event: In 2023 there were more than 275,000 child pornography websites on the internet with approximately 11,000 photos generated by AI in just one month. However, these figures could be even higher, Vatican News noted, given that this new phenomenon ?is difficult to quantify concretely.?

The conference, titled ?The Dignity of Children in the Digital World,? was held at the Borromeo Palace in Rome. Ernesto Caffo, president of Telefono Azzurro, noted that children and adolescents are increasingly exposed to platforms that contain tools ?that can lead to risky behavior.?

For Caffo, this represents a new and important challenge, because it impacts all the control mechanisms that have been implemented in recent years. Although new technologies can be wonderful tools, any weak points can also ?be a source of increasing risks for new generations,? he said.

This serious situation, said the president of the Italian foundation ? whose mission is to protect children and adolescents from any abuse and violence ? must be addressed at the highest international level, such as at the next G7 summit, in order to present proposals on the issue.

Caffo also highlighted the important role of Pope Francis, who can contribute to the effort by addressing the issue of ?the dignity of the person as a key element to which we all must be committed.?

Cardinal Seán O?Malley, archbishop of Boston and president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, pointed out during his talk that technological advances require and demand ?a balance between technological progress and human values.? 

O?Malley emphasized that Pope Francis has stated on several occasions that ?technology must serve to improve human life, and not the other way around.?

?The Church?s commitment to new technologies, particularly AI, is rooted in its mission to protect people, in line with the Gospel,? the cardinal said.

He further added that the Catholic Church is ?actively contributing to the global conversation on the responsible use of AI, in line with human values and ethical standards.?

Carla Garlatti, who heads an Italian government agency for the protection of children and adolescents, said it is possible to promote initiatives and tools to control the access of children and adolescents to platforms with inappropriate content.

However, jurist Guido Scorza stated that controls are ?difficult to apply at this time? because young people tend to use content designed for older persons.

Lastly, Father Hans Zollner, dean of the Pontifical Gregorian University?s Institute of Anthropology, warned of the risk of smartphones, which ?make us [believe] we have everything under control, but that?s not the case.?

Zollner also reiterated Pope Francis? call for ?creating and adopting an international treaty on AI,? a crucial issue for the future of humanity.

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

Naples Archbishop Domenico Battaglia kisses the reliquary containing the blood of St. Januarius on May 4, 2024. / Credit: Chiesa di Napoli

ACI Prensa Staff, May 6, 2024 / 16:48 pm (CNA).

The miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius, bishop, martyr, and patron saint of Naples, Italy, was repeated in St. Clare Basilica on May 4.

The Archdiocese of Naples reported on its website that on May 4 at 6:38 p.m. local time, the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius occurred once again. 

St. Januarius was martyred in the year 305, during the fierce persecution unleashed by the Roman emperor Diocletian.

The miraculous liquefaction occurred during the Mass offered by the archbishop of Naples, Domenico Battaglia, with Abbot Vincenzo De Gregorio participating and the mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, in attendance.

When the miracle is repeated, a white cloth is waved to indicate to the people that the miraculous sign has taken place. On this occasion, De Gregorio gave the sign.

?It?s not an oracle?

Challenging the belief that when the blood does not liquefy some misfortune might occur, Battaglia told those present at the Mass that ?this blood is the sign of a dream of salvation, of hope, of trust. It is not an oracle to consult but a compass to follow because it is always well oriented toward Christ, the origin and goal of our journey, our history and the history of the world.?

?The hagiographic sources and records of Bishop Januarius? martyrdom tell us how he, without any fear, put the good of his brothers before his own safety, going to visit a brother imprisoned because of his faith in Christ,? Battaglia continued.

The prelate then prayed to the martyr: ?Help us to walk along the paths of time and history, with our gaze fixed on the Lord whom you have loved and served, and may we always be with feet ready to go to our brothers and sisters who are in physical, interior, or social prisons.?

?May we be like you, who despite the danger and persecution, for the love of God and the brethren, were not afraid to set out and risk your life to spread the bread of the Word that restores the brothers imprisoned because of the Gospel and the violence of men,? he also prayed.

Still addressing the patron saint of Naples, the archbishop continued: ?Witness of fruitful blood, pray with us and help us to pray without tiring so that in this your city innocent blood will not be shed again, so that in our Europe, in the Holy Land and the world, fratricidal conflicts cease? and may Jesus Christ ?defeat all violence, wipe away the tears of pain and disarm with forgiveness all desire for revenge.?

The liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius

The miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of the martyred bishop St. Januarius usually occurs three times a year.

The first occasion is the day commemorating the transfer of his remains to Naples, the Saturday before the first Sunday in May; and the second is his liturgical feast day, Sept. 19.

The third occasion is Dec. 16, when devotees thank him for his intercession to lessen the effects of the eruption of the Mount Vesuvius volcano, which occurred in 1631.

Who is St. Januarius?

St. Januarius was the bishop of Benevento in the Campania region, an Italian diocese adjacent to Naples, where he was born in 272.

During the persecution of the Church by the Roman emperor Diocletian, known as the ?Great Persecution? (303?313), Januarius was taken prisoner along with a group of other Christians and subjected to terrible tortures.

The bishop and his friends refused to renounce their faith and worship the pagan gods. Despite the cruelties they were subjected to, none of them gave in and all were sentenced to death.

They tried to burn them alive in a furnace, but the fire did not harm them. They were then thrown to the lions, but the animals did not come near them. So the Romans decided to behead them all. On Sept. 19, 305, St. Januarius and his friends were executed near Pozzuoli.

Every Sept. 19, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Januarius, bishop and martyr.

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

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa gives the homily at a Mass in which he took possession of his titular church, St. Onuphrius, in Rome on May 1, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, May 3, 2024 / 12:21 pm (CNA).

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem delivered an impassioned lecture on Thursday at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome detailing the process of peace in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, noting that it is an integral part of the Church?s universal mission and one that must not be conflated with overtly temporal or political aims. 

?Peace needs the testimony of clear and strong gestures on the part of all believers, but it also needs to be announced and defended by equally clear words. We cannot remain silent in the face of injustices or invite people to live peacefully and disengage,? Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa remarked during his ?lectio magistralis? on Thursday at the pontifical university.

?The preferential option for the poor and the weak, however, does not make us a political party,? he added.

The hourlong lecture, titled ?Characteristics and Criteria for a Pastoral Care of Peace,? was the latest installment in the university?s ongoing series of studies in peace sciences and international cooperation launched by the school?s Pontifical Pastoral Institute Redemptor Hominis.

The cardinal stressed that the Israel-Hamas conflict is not just an issue for the local Church but also an issue for the universal Church. 

?What I tend to say is that conflict is not a temporary and secondary issue in the life of our Church,? the cardinal continued; rather, he said, it ?is now an integral and constitutive part of our identity as a Church.?

Pizzaballa underlined that ?talking about peace, therefore, is not talking about an abstract topic but of a deep wound in the life of the Christian that causes suffering and tiredness, a lot of tiredness, and deeply touches the human and spiritual life of all of us.?

Stressing the universality of the conflict, he added it ?involves the life of everyone in our diocese and is therefore an integral part of the life of the Church, of its pastoral care.?

The day before the lecture, Pizzaballa took possession of his titular church in Rome, St. Onuphrius, where he spoke on the historic, symbolic, and theological links between the Church in the Holy Land and Rome, again expressing the importance of the Holy Land for the universal Church.

?The Church of Jerusalem is the mother Church of the Church, where the roots of the entire universal Church lie, and it is a place that still retains a local and universal character today,? he said during his May 1 homily.

In his lecture on Thursday, Pizzaballa made overtures to the historical roots of the conflict in order to stress the ?plurirelgious? and ?pluricultural? nature of the Holy Land and to open a reflection on the importance of narrative in the process of peace. 

?These problems of memory cannot be solved by reading one?s own history,? he said. ?Intercultural conflicts will not be overcome if we do not reread different readings of the strong religious and cultural histories.?

While arguing that ?peace is not the exclusive responsibility of the pastor,? he noted that religious leaders must work to ?create contexts in which communities can express themselves.?

?Today, especially in the Holy Land, everyone has their own little story to tell,? he added. 

Pizzaballa stressed the importance of dialogue as a critical underpinning of the peace process, noting that through the promotion of ?continuous dialogue? and ?mutual listening? that ?a serious pastoral care in peace is born and developed.? 

The cardinal also noted religious leaders must work to promote both ?a new culture of legality? as well as to ?become a living and prophetic voice of justice, human rights, and peace.? 

While acknowledging that there has always been ?a close relationship? between ecclesial and civic leaders, playing a delicate role in the ?function[ing] in the life of national communities,? Pizzaballa warned that the Church?s call for peace must exist ?without entering into logics of competition and division? in order to offer ?credible witnesses.?

Oviedo Archbishop Jesús Sanz Montes accused the government of focusing "in a biased and manipulative way on the problem of pedophilia as something attributable only to the Catholic Church." / Credit: Archdiocese of Oviedo

ACI Prensa Staff, May 2, 2024 / 18:50 pm (CNA).

?They have done it again. It is a kind of obsessive mantra every time they need a smokescreen to distract from the real problems we have and to which they so clumsily and insidiously apply their tortuous governance.?

That is how the archbishop of Oviedo, Jesús Sanz Montes, began a letter released this week titled ?The Accusing Rattle? in which he responds to the socialist government?s announcement of an exclusive plan to address sexual and power abuses committed within the Catholic Church.

In the opinion of the prelate, the country?s executive ?has tried to focus in a biased and manipulative way on the problem of pedophilia as something attributable only to the Catholic Church, which represents an exclusive and improper singling out and leaves unprotected the majority of those who have suffered this terrible scourge.?

The Franciscan archbishop encouraged people to denounce ?the deceitful, biased, or false information and to humbly say how much good we do as a Christian community,? while at the same time acknowledging errors, asking for forgiveness, and accompanying victims.

The archbishop said Christians are called to defend abuse victims, ?assuming our responsibility in what concerns us, but urging that the entire society also adopt appropriate measures, starting with government leaders,? he added.

Sanz criticized the executive for falsifying ?the identity of the human person? and destroying ?anthropology in its masculine and feminine identity.? 

He added that the government propagates a version of feminism that not only fails to eradicate unjust sexist violence against women but ?actually exacerbates it? along with ?a perverse pornographic and obscene manipulation that confuses and harms children and young people based on gender ideology.?

If such policies are maintained, the archbishop predicts, ?the society thus poisoned and confused will be more manipulable by those who, from their narcissistic and fallacious amorality, seek to perpetuate themselves in power.?

The prelate has described as ?clear? the statement from the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) in which it rejected the government?s plan and denounced that the plan ?parts from a condemnatory judgment of the entire Church, carried out without any type of legal guarantee, a public and discriminatory accusation by the state.?

Sanz emphasized that ?we must not allow ourselves to be identified with this false story that disfigures the true work of the Church? and, turning the tables on the subject, asked: ?Which institution of those affected by this crime has taken the matter seriously? Which ones have created offices of shelter and support, have preventively educated their members, and have actively collaborated with the prosecutor?s office??

?The arbitrary imputation is unacceptable?

The prelate reminded the faithful that the problem of the sexual abuse of minors in Spain is one in which Catholic clergy and religious account for a miniscule 0.2% part. That figure comes from a study by the Anar Foundation, specialized in the protection of children, which details that between 2008 and 2009, 0.2% of the more than 6,000 reported cases of abuse can be attributed to priests and religious.

According to the cited foundation that works on the prevention of child abuse, parents represented the largest number of aggressors, totaling 23.3%. Companions occupied second place among perpetrators against minors, with 8.7%, while friends represent 5.7% and partners, boyfriends, or girlfriends represent 5.6%.

The archbishop of Oviedo concluded by rejecting as unacceptable ?the arbitrary accusation that only focuses on us, having such a low criminal percentage, with a whole series of legal, fiscal, economic, and social measures,? adding: ?What do those who continue in this foul play want to cover up or distract from? ?Cui prodest?? said Seneca [?Who benefits??].?

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

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa gives the homily at a Mass in which he took possession of his titular church, St. Onuphrius, in Rome on May 1, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/ACI Prensa

ACI Prensa Staff, May 1, 2024 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem, finally took possession on May 1 of his assigned titular church in Rome after having postponed the ceremony due to the war in the Holy Land.

Part of the process of becoming a cardinal is being assigned a titular church in Rome known as his ?title? or ?deaconry? in accordance with his role in assisting the pope, the bishop of Rome.

The ceremony at St. Onuphrius, the titular church of the papal order of the Holy Sepulchre, was scheduled for April 15 when the conflict in the Middle East worsened with the Iranian attack on Israel.

On the night of April 13, the Israeli army reported that Iran launched dozens of missiles and drones from its territory, most of which were intercepted outside Israeli territory by the country?s air defense systems.

Consequently, the patriarch, who had planned to travel to Rome, had to cancel the trip at the last minute and reschedule the ceremony.

Pizzaballa was created a cardinal by Pope Francis at the Sept. 30, 2023, consistory along with 21 other cardinals.

In his May 1 homily, which he gave at St. Onuphrius Church in Rome, the Italian cardinal noted that the Church of Jerusalem is ?the mother Church? in which ?the roots of the universal Church? are found.

He also said that it is the ?central heart? of the life of the Church, although this universality ?is not complete without Peter.?

Along these lines, the prelate stated that being made a cardinal ?is not a coincidence? and that united with Peter, and Rome united with Jerusalem, ?they complete this picture with their roots in the Holy Land.?

?Being a cardinal is not only a title or an honor, it is also a responsibility,? the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem remarked.

He also reflected on true joy, which is born ?from the deep, serene, and conscious? union with the Lord.

?We are going through the most difficult moments in our history?

Referring to the war ravaging the Holy Land, the cardinal lamented: ?We are going through the most difficult moments in our recent history? and stressed that the impact of this conflict on the population ?is enormous, more than any other war or conflict.?

The cardinal added that ?we would like the United States to resolve the problem, as well as the peace negotiations,? although he regretted that at the moment ?nothing is happening.?

The patriarch explained that conflict ?is not the way in which the kingdom of God grows? but rather ?it grows in community, peacefully.?

?The kingdom of God is not a miracle but the seed in the earth that grows and bears fruit, which is born from the heart of God?s love,? he said. For the cardinal, the kingdom of God ?can also be experienced within war.?

Pizzaballa said that ?the Lamb of God is the light that illuminates the city of Jerusalem? and that ?we are called to be able to see the reality of the world through the paschal light of Christ, who died out of love and was raised by the power of the Holy Spirit.?

Finally, he urged ?seeking ways of reconciliation? and that the words ?truth, justice, and forgiveness? never be separated from one another.

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

Elevation of the chalice at a Traditional Latin Mass. / Credit: Wikimedia JoeJ10/CC BY-SA 4.0

CNA Newsroom, Apr 30, 2024 / 11:45 am (CNA).

At the pinnacle of his professional sports career, one French athlete announced his intention to quit volleyball to embrace monastic life at a famous French abbey. 

Ludovic Duée, captain of the Saint-Nazaire volleyball team and recently crowned French champion, shared a deeply personal decision with local media: He has chosen to retire from the sport that brought him fame and success and embark on a new path at the Abbey of Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse.

Duée, 32, confirmed his life-changing move to Ouest-France following his team?s championship victory on April 28.

?This is a decision that stems from the depths of my soul,? Duée said. 

Coming from a practicing Catholic family, he described ? according to Catholic newspaper LaCroix ? his religious practice as minimal until his encounter with the canons regular of Lagrasse during the COVID-19 pandemic: The monks ?were very welcoming and answered all my questions.?

The profound impact of meeting and communicating with the Canons Regular of the Mother of God led Duée to a personal revelation.

?I discovered that God loved me and that he only wanted one thing, for me to love him back,? he said, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA?s German-language news partner. The transformative experience has set him on a new path to reciprocating that love. 

The Abbey of Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse in the south of France has its origins in the seventh century. Today the monastery, which lies about 400 miles from Paris, is renowned for its adherence to the Traditional Latin Mass.

What is more, this monastery melds liturgical richness with a deep engagement with the local community: The canons are actively engaged in their diocese, contributing to social outreach programs, participating in sports, and providing spiritual and practical support to migrants at the village asylum center.

For now, Duée will live and learn among the canons without yet taking vows: ?During the next few months, I will live and breathe the canon regular life. I will experience everything from the inside out to gain a deeper understanding of the community and determine if this is the long-term fit for me, and for them.?

Following the Rule of St. Augustine, the devout Frenchman has embarked on a spiritual journey that may ultimately lead to taking the vows of a novice: After years of personal and theological development, the end goal is to make a permanent commitment as a priest and canon regular.

Father David Waller will become the first bishop Ordinary of the Ordinariate. / Credit: Courtesy photo / Bishop's Conference of England and Wales

National Catholic Register, Apr 29, 2024 / 18:45 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has announced a new leader of the ordinariate in Great Britain.

Father David Waller, 62, a parish priest and vicar general of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, will replace Monsignor Keith Newton, 72, who is retiring after serving over 13 years as the ordinary of the ecclesiastical structure for former Anglicans.

In a statement, Newton called the Vatican?s April 29 announcement ?momentous? given that Waller, who is a celibate, will become the first bishop ordinary of the ordinariate. 

As someone who was already married as an Anglican clergyman before entering the Church through the ordinariate, Newton was not allowed episcopal consecration.

Established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 through his 2009 apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, the ordinariate is an ecclesiastical structure for Anglicans wishing to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church while retaining their distinctive Anglican patrimony.  

With today?s announcement, the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham becomes the first of three in the world ? the others being in the U.S./Canada and Australia ? to have had an influence in choosing its leader. 

In keeping with the Anglican emphasis on consultation and in accordance with the Anglicanorum Coetibus, members of the ordinariate?s governing council, made up of ordinariate priests, were able to choose Waller as one of three names they recommended to the Holy See. 

Newton said he believed allowing this faculty, one that is usually left to the apostolic nuncio, ?showed the Holy See?s confidence in the ordinariate in the U.K.? 

A former Anglican vicar who served as a pastor, part-time hospital chaplain, and a member of the governing body of the Church of England, Waller was among the first Anglican clergy to be received into the Church following the establishment of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in 2011. 

He was then ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood, has served in two parishes, and was elected chairman of the ordinariate?s governing council. For the past four years he has worked with Newton as vicar general. 

In a statement, Waller said it was ?both humbling and a great honor? to have been appointed ordinary. ?The past 13 years have been a time of grace and blessing as small and vulnerable communities have grown in confidence, rejoicing to be a full yet distinct part of the Catholic Church,? he added. 

Already well known to members of the ordinariate, he said he was looking forward to serving them in his new role, adding that experience over these past years has taught him ?there is nothing to be feared in responding to the Lord and that Jesus does great things with us despite our inadequacies.?

Newton said in a statement that he was ?delighted? with Waller?s appointment, adding that he has been ?unwaveringly loyal? to the ordinariate and a ?great support? to him as vicar general. 

Waller has been ?totally been involved in life of the ordinariate and understands it all, and is a good administrator,? Newton told the National Catholic Register, CNA?s sister news partner. 

No coercion to step down

Newton stressed that he had chosen to retire while he is still active. 

?I?ve not been forced out in any way, and nobody has told me to retire; it?s totally my own decision,? he said. ?It?s a time to pass it on to new hands,? he continued, adding that he and his wife, Gill, ?want to enjoy a bit of retirement together.? 

Other prominent priests of the ordinariate also welcomed the news of Waller?s appointment. Father Ed Tomlinson, priest in charge of St. Anselm?s Ordinariate Parish Church in Pembury, Tunbridge Wells, told the Register he was ?delighted the ordinariate will have a bishop? and that he wished ?Father David the best.? 

Father Benedict Kiely, an ordinariate priest of the same parish who also runs the charity Nasarean.org for persecuted Christians, said: ?I will always remain grateful to Msgr. Keith for making the defense of persecuted Christians an important part of the ordinariate, and I?m sure Bishop David will continue that support.?

Newton said the date and place of Waller?s episcopal ordination have yet to be confirmed but that he expected it to take place ?towards the end of June.? 

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA?s sister news partner, and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.

French authorities determined that "there does not appear that there is any infraction sufficiently characterized to justify any criminal procedure" against Father Matthieu Raffray. / Credit: Father Matthieu Raffray YouTube Channel / Screenshot

ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 29, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

French priest Matthieu Raffray disclosed that the Paris prosecutor?s office has dismissed a case initiated against him for stating that homosexual relations are a sin and for calling homosexuality a ?weakness.?

In a legal document addressed to the priest and shared by him April 26, it stated that ?on March 19, the interministerial delegation for the fight against racism, anti-Semitism, and anti-LGBT hatred went to the Paris prosecutor?s office? regarding ?two posts made on your X (Twitter) and Instagram accounts? in January and March.

The priest of the Institute of the Good Shepherd ? created in 2006 in Rome for ?the defense and dissemination of Catholic tradition in all its forms,? according to the website of this society of apostolic life ? had posted in late January a comment on X about ?conversion therapies.?

?The LGBT Corner? had asked in a Jan. 28 mocking post on X whether ?a person can get conversion therapy for 10 euros in France. That?s what Father LeCoq implies whom I contacted to help my son suffering from ?homophile tendencies.? He directed me to the retreat ?Be a Man? to be held again in Annecy.?

In response Raffray wrote: ?Every spiritual retreat is conversion therapy. Since the beginnings of Catholicism, Christians have withdrawn from the world to find themselves before the Lord in order to become better? and criticized the ?gross ignorance? and modus operandi of the LGBT lobby.

On March 15, the priest posted a video on Instagram in which he encouraged the faithful to fight against their weaknesses.

In a March Instagram video, Raffray encouraged the faithful to fight against their weaknesses, among others homosexuality, and commented that each person has his or her own weapons with which to fight, but the devil convinces people that the fight ?is too hard? and therefore it?s useless to resist.

The legal notice stated that ?after a careful examination of the comments? of the priest ?it does not appear that there is any infraction sufficiently characterized to justify any criminal procedure against him.?

?Therefore,? the document concluded, ?this process is being dismissed.?

Raffray pointed out that ?the comments I made do not fall within the scope of the law.?

?I pray for my enemies and I thank everyone who has supported me,? he added.

Who is Father Matthieu Raffray?

Raffray is a well-known French priest who has a growing apostolate on the internet and social media aimed especially at young French-speaking people.

He has more than 60,000 followers on Instagram, more than 22,000 on YouTube, and more than 21,000 on X.

He is a pro-life and pro-family advocate and has published French-language books such as ?Myths and Lies of Progressivism? (2020) and more recently ?The Greatest of Combats,? with which he seeks to answer the fundamental and existential questions of life.

Raffray, 45, was born in 1979 and is one of nine children. He studied mathematics before being ordained a priest in 2009.

He holds a doctorate in philosophy and teaches at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.

According to the publication European Conservative, he rose to fame in 2020 after an interview with French YouTuber Baptiste Marchais in which he defended the return to a ?virile Catholicism? and patriotic sentiment among the Catholic faithful. 

What does the Catholic Church teach about homosexuality?

Catholic teaching on homosexuality is summarized in Nos. 2357, 2358, and 2359 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The Church teaches that men and women with same-sex attraction ?must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.?

The catechism notes that homosexual inclination is ?objectively disordered? and constitutes for those who experience it ?a trial.?

Based on sacred Scripture, the catechism states that ?homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered? and ?they do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity.? Consequently, ?under no circumstances can they be approved.?

?Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection,? the catechism explains.

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

President Joe Biden speaks during the White House Correspondents dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., on April 27, 2024. / Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 29, 2024 / 16:52 pm (CNA).

U.S. president Joe Biden has come under fire for making the sign of the cross during a rally criticizing measures that restrict abortion.

Among his critics are José Ignacio Munilla, the bishop of Orihuela-Alicante in Spain, who called Biden?s gesture a ?sacrilege.?

Biden went to Tampa, Florida, on April 23 for a campaign stop one week before a law restricting abortion in the state from 15 to six weeks of gestation was due to go into effect.

While a Biden supporter on stage criticized Florida governor and former Republican candidate for president Ron DeSantis for signing the bill, Biden made the sign of the cross.

On his weekday radio program on Radio María España, Munilla said that making the sign of the cross in support of abortion constitutes a ?sacrilegious? gesture and ?the desecration of the sign of the cross.?

?Invoking Jesus Christ in support of abortion? has drawn strong criticism ?in many pro-life and Catholic circles,? the bishop pointed out.

Crossing oneself, Munilla said, is meant to be used as a sign ?in which we remember that Jesus gave his life for us, he gave his life for all the innocents, he gave his life to restore innocence and to make us saints.? 

To use the sign of the cross as Biden did, however, is to ?invoke the cross in a sacrilegious manner.?

Referring to the incident, the Spanish prelate warned of the risk that a Catholic might publicly show his faith by crossing himself while at the same time twisting its meaning ?in a sacrilegious manner.?

Munilla questions moral stature of Biden, Trump

In addition to commenting on the incident, the prelate also offered a critical analysis of the two contenders for president of the United States, Biden and former president Donald Trump.

?In a nation like the United States, shouldn?t there be [candidates] from both the Democratic Party as well as the Republican Party with enough moral stature to properly represent their parties to the electorate?? he asked. In his opinion, both Biden and Trump lack that moral stature.

?Consider what Biden represents with his deteriorating condition, even psychologically, to run for president again with this absolute desecration of his own (purportedly Catholic) values, having made the cause of abortion, the spread of abortion throughout the world, almost his highest value,? Munilla said, commenting on the incumbent president.

Regarding Trump, Munilla noted that ?although he has defended the pro-life cause ? not totally, but in fact in a forceful way ? he is involved in many [court] cases in which his moral stature has undoubtedly been seriously affected.?

Munilla prayed that the Lord ?would raise up vocations to public life so that there are truly young people who, with a life of integrity consistent with their values, have as their only watchword, as the only driving force of their entering into political life, the desire to serve the common good.?

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

Landscape view of Sacrofano, Italy, north of Rome. / Credit: Dmitry Taranets/Shutterstock

Rome Newsroom, Apr 29, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

The World Meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod opened on Monday to discuss ?how to be a synodal local Church in mission,? allowing priests from around the world to discuss questions raised during the ongoing synod and share their personal pastoral experiences. 

The four-day meeting, which is taking place from April 29 to May 2 at the Fraterna Domus retreat house in Sacrofano, Italy, just north of Rome, is attended by about 300 priests from around the globe and is divided into several sessions, taking cues from different themes and questions raised in the synod?s synthesis report. 

?The parish priest is a man of the people and for the people. Like Jesus, he is open to the crowd, constantly open to the crowd, to help each and every one understand that they are a letter from Christ,? said Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the General Secretariat of the Synod, in opening the event on Monday morning. 

Monday?s discussion was based on the theme ?The Face of the Synodal Church,? while Tuesday?s discussion will focus on ?All Disciples, All Missionaries.? On Wednesday participants will come together to study ?Teaching Ties, Building Communities.?

In reflecting on the overall scope of the Synod on Synodality, which will reconvene in October for its second and final assembly, Grech told participants on Monday that at the center of this process is an understanding, and sharing, of personal narratives. 

?Our stories are human stories, but human stories in which God, Jesus, is present,? the cardinal remarked. 

?Sometimes we need others to help us see God?s presence in our stories. This is our mission, this is the mission entrusted to us, to you, my dear brothers,? he said. 

Grech told the clergy gathered that ?being synodal does not simply mean walking together, but rather walking with God, or better to say, God walking with us.? 

?Synodality is about God, before being about the Church,? he continued.  

The World Meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod was first announced in February and is jointly organized by the Dicastery for the Clergy and by the General Secretariat of the Synod in response to the first synod assembly?s synthesis report, which identified a need to ?develop ways for a more active involvement of deacons, priests, and bishops in the synodal process during the coming year.?

?There is no synod without a bishop, but allow me to say today there is no synod without a parish priest,? Grech said to participants on Monday. ?That is the reason why we felt the need to make this meeting, and so that we can enrich our preparation in view of the next session for the synod of bishops.?

This week?s meeting will culminate with an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday, followed by Mass, celebrated by Grech, in St. Peter?s Basilica. 

According to Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín, undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod, another purpose of the meeting is to ?provide materials that will be used in the drafting of the Instrumentum Laboris [working document] for the synod?s second session, together with the summaries of the consultation coordinated by the bishops? conferences and the results of the theological-canonical study carried out by five working groups formed by the General Secretariat of the Synod.?