Washington D.C., Oct 26, 2017 / 02:57 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- President Donald Trump on Thursday declared the U.S. opioid crisis a public health emergency, calling federal government agencies to focus their resources on finding solutions to the growing pr… […]
Vatican City, Oct 26, 2017 / 12:53 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis conversed with astronauts orbiting earth on the International Space Station on Thursday, discussing questions as diverse as man’s place in the universe, the fragility of life and the planet, and international cooperation.
“Astronomy makes us contemplate the horizons of the universe and raises questions in us: Where did we come from? Where are we going?” the Pope said.
His first question to the astronauts: “What is your thought on man’s place in the universe?”
Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli responded, saying that man’s place in the universe is a “complex question,” especially for him since his specialties are in the technical realm.
However, he noted that being in space has helped him to realize that the more humanity learns, the more clearly we can see how much we still do not know.
“I would love for people like you, not just engineers, not just physicists, but people like you (Holy Father) – theologians, philosophers, poets, writers… – to come here in space, and this will surely happen in the future, I would love (for them) to come here to explore what it means to have a human being in space,” he said.
Pope Francis contacted NASA’s International Space Station via a satellite call from the Vatican on Oct. 26. Aboard the space station are a total of six astronauts, including three Americans, two Russians and one Italian, who have been orbiting the earth, about 220 miles away.
Three will return to earth in December of this year, and the other three in February 2018.
Josef Aschbacher, director of the earth observation programs (ESA), told journalists after the call that for the astronauts, speaking with the Pope was an “experience of a lifetime.”
He said the Pope’s questions were all “very interesting” because they have to do with “our life, as humanity.”
For example, Francis asked the team what motivated them to become astronauts, and what they enjoy about being in space.
“Traveling in space modifies so many things that are taken for granted in everyday life, for example the idea of ??up and down,” he said, also asking if there is anything about living in the space station that has surprised them.
American Randolph Bresnik said that what gives him the greatest joy in space is being able “to look outside and see God’s creation maybe a little bit from his perspective. People cannot come up here and see the indescribable beauty of our earth and not be touched in their souls.”
There’s an incredible peace and serenity to our planet when you see it in orbit, he said, and there are “no borders, no conflict, it’s just peaceful.”
He also said that from space you can see “the thinness of the atmosphere, and it makes you realize how fragile our existence here is.”
Pope Francis responded by saying that he loved that answer, how Bresnik had pointed out the earth’s fragility, how it’s a “passing moment,” the earth turning at a rate of 10 km per second.
The astronauts also spoke with Francis about their own diversity and how it is an asset in their work on the International Space Station.
“As we work here on the space station and in our international partnership, we hope that the example of what we can achieve together is an example for all the world and humanity,” Bresnik said.
Francis said that although our society is very individualistic, cooperation is essential in life, asking about examples of collaboration in their work.
The International Space Station is a great example of international collaboration, American Joseph Acaba replied, because the crew members are from different countries and cultures, and they work together, also communicating on a daily basis with control centers in the U.S., Russia, Japan, Canada, and nine different countries in Europe.
“It’s our diversity that makes us stronger,” Acaba said. “And I think we need to embrace who we are as individuals and respect those around us. And by working together we can do things much better than we can as individuals.”
The other astronauts on the call were American Mark T. Vande Hei, and Russians Aleksandr Misurkin and Sergey Ryazanskiy.
The encounter between the astronauts on the space station and the Pope was a fascinating intersection between religion and science, said Aschbacher, noting that science can assist in the search for God through its curiosity to better understand our world.
Science asks some of the same questions as religion, such as, “where we are from and where we are going and where do we live,” he said.
Roberto Battiston, president of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), added that “there is no doubt that science is a way of searching for the truth” and though religion and science may have different ways of searching, they still have the same goal.
Pope Francis’ call marks the second time a pope has contacted astronauts in space. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI became the first when he called the International Space Station via satellite link, speaking with 12 astronauts for about 20 minutes.
In the call, Benedict asked the astronauts questions about what it is like to view the earth from outer space and if it gave them a new perspective on the importance of promoting peace and caring for our planet’s resources.
Many of the assertions hitherto listed by theologians with a surfeit of restraint as merely, say, “sententia communis” might, upon closer investigation in light of […]
Hagatna, Guam, Oct 26, 2017 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Archdiocese of Agaña last week adopted a new policy on child protection, following a child sex abuse scandal which has implicated the former archbishop and other clerics.
The recently-installed Coadjutor Archbishop of Agaña, Michael Byrnes, adopted the children protection policy Oct. 18, along with a safe environment program and a policy for an independent review board.
These policies “will help to instigate a change of culture in our Archdiocese,” Byrnes wrote. “We must now exercise the will, the effort, and the expense to implement completely the provisions set forth. Safe environments for our children must become a reality in our midst.”
Archbishop Byrnes was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Agaña in October 2016 to replace Archbishop Anthony Apuron, who had been relieved of his pastoral and administrative authority in June 2016 after allegations surfaced that he had sexually abused minors. The Archdiocese of Agaña serves Catholics in Guam, a U.S. island territory in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
Apuron, who is a member of the Neocatechumenal Way, has also been acused of failing to implement strong policies on the handling of clerical sex abuse. He has denied all allegations against him.
Guam’s lawmakers retroactively eliminated the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits involving child sexual abuse in September 2016, and the Agaña archdiocese is now a defendant in 96 lawsuits concerning claims from 1955 to 1994. In addition to Apuron, 13 priests, a Catholic schoolteacher, a Catholic school janitor, and a Boy Scout leader have been accused of misconduct.
Byrnes had adopted the US bishops’ conference’s Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and its essential norms on dealing with allegations of sexual abuse of minors by clerics in February.
The new policies were recommended to Byrnes by an independent review board, and are meant to implement fully the broad policy statements of the US bishops’ conference norms and charter.
“The reason we felt we needed to develop a new policy, part of it was just the inadequacy of the prior policy … also when we decided to adopt the charter, it meant more than just a simple sexual abuse policy,” Byrnes said Oct. 24 at a press conference announcing the new policies.
The policies will require background checks and more rigorous prevention training.
Developed by Virtus Online, the training courses will be mandatory for an estimated 500 to 800 adults who work with children.
Vatican City, Oct 26, 2017 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In her own words, Bridget Brown is “a self-advocate, an inclusion advocate, an actress… and a young woman with Down syndrome.” She also loves her life and wants others to know that each and every person is precious.
“The world needs to know that I don’t ‘suffer’ from Down syndrome,” she wrote in a letter to Pope Francis. “I have a full and wonderful life, and I am filled with joy to be alive.”
“I absolutely love my life.”
Brown met Pope Francis Oct. 21 as part of a Vatican-sponsored conference dedicated to catechesis for those with intellectual disabilities.
Titled “Catechesis and Persons with Disabilities: A Necessary Engagement in the Daily Pastoral Life of the Church,” the conference took place Oct. 20-22 at the Pontifical Urbanianum University in Rome.
Brown told CNA Oct. 20 that she was very excited to meet the Pope with her parents. She was also looking forward to speaking with him about “the right to life of babies with Down syndrome.”
Tragically, children with Down syndrome are often aborted, she said, pointing to the example of an August article from CBS News declaring that Iceland is “eradicating Down syndrome” through abortion.
“People with Down syndrome are so precious,” she said. “I love babies, and I especially love babies with Down syndrome.”
In a letter to Pope Francis, she said that her heart breaks when she thinks that she might be part of the last generation of people with Down syndrome and that “the world will never again benefit from our gifts.”
Brown noted that people with disabilities are often the first to be killed during genocides, and observed that Adolph Hitler’s mass killings began with the murder of disabled children.
“It seems to me we are doing the same thing to children with disabilities today in our country,” she said.
Even though Brown finds this to be discouraging at times, she said she still has hope, praying for those who think people with disabilities don’t have the right to live.
“I believe in the sacred dignity of all people. And most people I know with disabilities can lead full and productive lives, just like me,” she said.
The right to life of people with disabilities should never be disregarded, Brown told CNA. “God said…that we have a purpose, no matter who we are. It’s not right to exclude or kill anybody, because we are part of the human race.”
Quoting Meister Eckhart, a medieval Dominican theologian, she said, “If the only prayer I say in my life is ‘thank you,’ that would be enough.”
Brown, who spoke at the conference Oct. 21, noted that she attended to help promote inclusion in parishes, hoping they will open their doors “to allow people with disabilities to be included in the Church.”
She hopes people walk away from the conference with a deeper realization that “people with disabilities have a purpose.”
More than that, she wants to move the conversation about people with disabilities beyond inclusion.
It’s about more than just the right to survive, she said, but about being able “to dwell in the possibilities, to have fun and full, exciting lives,” just like anyone else.
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Santiago, Chile, Oct 26, 2017 / 12:04 am (ACI Prensa).- A life of crime and drug addiction landed Khristian Briones, 39, in prison for ten years. During that time, he paid his debt to society, and he set out on a path of faith and conversion that began with praying the rosary.
Briones was raised by his grandparents in Chile. They lived in poverty. Alcoholism, domestic violence and drug addiction were a regular part of his home life. Lacking opportunities, and hungry all the time, he began to admire criminals who robbed food trucks and distributed the food to the people of his neighborhood.
Briones spent his childhood and adolescence in juvenile detention centers, where he became “acculturated in crime.” He stole, gambled, and tried drugs. “I became more and more addicted and violent,” Briones told ACI Prensa.
Despite their life of crime, many criminals in Chile have a superstitious devotion to Our Lady of Montserrat, whom they consider their patroness. They believe she will protect them as they commit their crimes or that she will get them released from prison.
Like others, Briones prayed to Our Lady of Montserrat for protection during his life of crime. Many nights in prison he asked God and Our Lady to spare him from death. Nevertheless, he made enemies in prison, and he ended his sentence with 20 stab wounds, two gunshot wounds and one third of his body burned.
While serving his sentence, Briones spent five years in the Rosary Workshop program run by the Paternitas Foundation, which is dedicated to the rehabilitation, job training and transition back into society for convicts. His prison workshop constructed made 3500 wood rosaries per month, earning some money the prisoners sent back to their families.
Briones told ACI Prensa that “the rosary is a light in the darkness of the prison,” since it helps “the guys to get closer to God. Most of them believe in God, in Our Lady of Montserrat, but their faith is misguided. That’s where I was; I was Catholic in my own way.”
During his time in prison, Briones did not learn to pray the rosary or understand its value. But when he got out of prison, he went to the Paternitas Foundation and worked as a cleaning assistant, began to give motivational talks, study social work, and eventually he became an instructor at the Rosary Workshop.
It was at this time, he said, that he began to love Our Lady and understand the mystery of faith. He began to sell rosaries on buses; he shared “his job” with eight other convicts who also were getting out of prison, as a way to start supporting themselves.
Eventually, Briones spiraled into depression and fell back into drug addiction. He turned away from God and quit praying. But one day he gave someone a cigarette, and the recipient offered simple words of thanks. The words “God bless you” set Briones back on the path of faith.
“I cried, I prayed and I clung to the rosary, I started practicing my faith again,” he said. “Prayer is very powerful.”
In this reencounter with Jesus, Briones began promoting a prayer campaign, “A Million Rosaries for the Pope, the Faith, Life and the Family” in Chile “to get the people in ‘pope mode’ so we can give him a good reception and so his message reaches the hearts of Chileans” during his January 15-18 visit next year.
“Thanks to working on this campaign I’m understanding my Church more. I’ve gotten to know parishes and priests. I’m preparing to receive Confirmation and I want to get married and have children. I never thought about that before.”
“I have faith that God does exist and Our Lady is with us, and she can change you. Our Lady kept me from dying, she’s helped me move forward, to prepare myself as a person and as a professional, to bear witness. God is working on me to become a better Christian, he’s working on me, transforming a clay vessel into a new vessel,” he reflected.
Briones wants to share a message of hope with people who are in prison and to do it through “a rosary workshop about four times a week with catechesis and Mass included.”
He also wants to begin a prisoners’ rehabilitation and reintegration foundation. Briones is certain that “with prayer the goal can be reached.”
For now, he is continuing his motivational talks in schools so students can “become aware and make a difference in society. And if they happen to fall, they can get back up on their feet,” he said.
Also during this time, Briones is taking advantage of spreading the “Million Rosaries” campaign. He says he knows that Pope Francis’ visit will be good for the country and especially for the female inmates at the Women’s Penitentiary Center in Santiago, the prison the pontiff will visit.
“It will be a blessing for the prison to receive this visit of hope, love and joy that the pope himself represents; he’s very charismatic, close to us, always smiling. That will do a lot of good. It will do all of us good because he invites us to go out, to be close to others. With his Franciscan spirit he calls us to go out and evangelize, and to be a Church that goes out” to the peripheries, he said.
This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Beijing, China, Oct 25, 2017 / 05:27 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- President Xi Jinping of China announced this week that he wants to tighten Beijing’s strict government controls on religion in the communist country.
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Rome, Italy, Oct 25, 2017 / 04:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- There’s a demon that specializes in attacking the family, said exorcist César Truqui, a priest who participated in a 2015 course on exorcism held in Rome.
Fr. Truqui warned that everything that is harming the family, including divorce, pleases the devil.
Speaking to the Italian weekly Tempi in 2015, the priest said that there is “a demon who specializes in the attack on the family, also cited in the story of Tobias, called ‘Asmodeus.’”
In the Old Testament book, the demon is known to have killed seven of Sarah’s husbands and was chained in the desert by Saint Raphael. The demon “is present” in many exorcisms, Fr. Truqui said.
The priest recalled encountering the demon “in exorcisms by Father Gabriele Amorth and Father Francisco Bamonte, whom I assisted.” The recently-deceased Fr. Amorth was a renowned exorcist in Rome who has performed an estimated 70,000 exorcisms over the course of 29 years. Carrying out an exorcism can require multiple sessions and each time the rite is administered it is counted as one instance.
“I remember a young couple, very united, who wanted to get married, however, the woman had to undergo an exorcism to be set free,” Fr. Truqi said.
During the exorcism “the demon was furious and threatened Fr. Amorth in order to prevent the marriage, otherwise he would kill the young woman. Obviously, it was a threat from the Liar which in fact did not happen.”
In that regard, the priest added that the devil also seeks to attack the family through ideologies and lifestyles, as well as individualistic thinking and the spread of divorce.
“They think ‘if I don’t like my husband anymore, I would be better off divorcing’ but they forget about the consequences to the children and society,” he said. “This mentality that works against the family pleases the devil – he knows that a man who is alone without any points of reference is manipulable and unstable.”
“Even today, and I’m more than 50 years old, just thinking that my mother and father love each other forever, I find comfort and courage. In contrast, the children of separated parents are more fragile and wavering,” he said.
In 2014, Pope Francis gave an address to the Charismatic Renewal, in which he pointed out that the devil seeks to destroy families because that is where Jesus grows, in the midst of the love of the spouses and in the lives of their children.
“He grows in the love of the spouses, he grows in the lives of the children. And that’s why the enemy attacks the family so much. The devil does not love the family. He seeks to destroy it, he wants to eliminate love there,” he warned at Rome’s Olympic stadium before 52,000 people.
On that day Francis reminded that “families are these domestic churches. The spouses are sinners, like everyone, but they want to progress in the faith, in their fruitfulness, in the children and their children’s faith.”
And so he asked the Lord to “bless the family, make it strong, in this crisis in which the devil wants to destroy it.”
This article was originally published May 26, 2016.
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