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Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s nuncio to the United States, speaks to the U.S. bishops at their annual fall assembly in Baltimore on Nov. 14, 2023. / Credit: Screenshot of USCCB livestream

Baltimore, Md., Nov 14, 2023 / 16:40 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Catholic Church’s two major undertakings of the past year — a national Eucharistic revival and the Synod on Synodality — aren’t separate initiatives with distinct goals, rather “they belong together by their very nature, and they shed light on one another,” Pope Francis’ ambassador to the United States said Tuesday.

“Eucharistic revival and synodality go together. Or to put it another way, I believe that we will have true Eucharistic revival when we experience the Eucharist as the sacrament of Christ’s incarnation: as the Lord walking with us together on the way,” Cardinal Christophe Pierre said.

The French-born prelate, who has served as the Vatican’s nuncio or chief diplomat to the U.S. since 2016, spoke Nov. 14 at the U.S. bishops’ fall assembly in Baltimore.

The annual gathering comes as the bishops set their sights on two key events next year. The first is the National Eucharistic Congress taking place July 17–21 in Indianapolis, the culmination of a three-year campaign to revive Catholic devotion to the Eucharist, the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. The second comes in October when the Synod on Synodality, widely seen as the linchpin of Pope Francis’ papacy, concludes in Rome with its second and final assembly.

In some respects, each initiative resonates most with different segments of the worldwide Church. On the one hand, many Catholics seeking major changes in the Church’s teachings, governance, and pastoral approach have pinned their hopes on the outcome of the three-year-long synodal process. Other more traditional Catholics, on the other hand, alarmed by what they see as the growing secularization of society and the Church itself, view the ongoing synod with suspicion while applauding the Eucharistic revival as a long-overdue response to lapsed belief in a core tenet of the faith.

The Road to Emmaus

In his address to the bishops, Pierre sought to bridge the gap, drawing on Luke’s account of Jesus’ appearance to two “disappointed and discouraged” disciples on the road to Emmaus following his crucifixion and — still unknown to them — resurrection.

“The Emmaus story shows how the synodal process leads to an eye-opening encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist and how the Eucharist sends us on a mission characterized by synodality,” the nuncio proposed. 

“First, he joined them on the way. If we want people to know Christ, then we must encounter them where they are. That’s what Jesus did with the two disciples. He and the disciples were ‘together on the way,’ which is the meaning of synod,” he continued.

“Next, he listened to them, by inviting them to share their story: ‘What are you discussing?’”

“Commenting on this passage, Pope Francis said: ‘He asks and listens. Our God is not an intrusive God. Even though he knows the reason for the disappointment of those two men, he gives them time to be able to deeply fathom the bitterness which has overcome them,’” Pierre noted.

“One of the things that makes listening so hard is that, when we listen, we hear things we don’t want to hear. Contrary opinions. Troubling ideas. Even falsehoods,” Pierre said.

“Jesus had to put up with this from the two disciples. They said: ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?’” he said.

“Imagine: They think that he is the one who is ignorant, and they have a lesson for him! But notice: This was not yet the moment for him to rebuke them for their foolishness. They were still on a journey from unbelief to belief. He was there to accompany them on that journey, not to force its conclusion. So he keeps the conversation going with a question, ‘What sort of things?’” Pierre said.

“Yes, he knows what happened in Jerusalem better than they do — after all, he was the main character in the story! — but he is not there to tell them how much he knows. Rather, he is there to help them discover the truth.

“This manner of listening is essential for evangelization,” the cardinal emphasized. “We must have the courage to listen to people’s perspectives, even when those perspectives contain errors and misunderstandings. If we stay on the journey with people, the moment of enlightenment will come as a work of God’s grace.”

A call for unity

For the disciples bound for Emmaus, that moment arrives when they recognize the Lord at the breaking of the bread. This takes place, Pierre noted, after the key elements of synodality have taken place: “encountering, accompanying, listening,   discerning, and rejoicing at what the Holy Spirit reveals.”

“This Eucharistic encounter with Christ changed the direction of their lives. It was a mystery intended not only for their contemplation, but it moved them into mission,” he explained. “Filled with joy, they hurried back to join the other disciples. For the first time they were able to proclaim the Gospel: Jesus is alive!  They were bringing others to faith, just as the risen Christ had done for them.”

Concluding his address, Pierre called for unity among the bishops, coupled with an outlook that is open to “new surprises” the Holy Spirit might reveal along the Church’s synodal journey.

“We may have had fears or anxieties about this synod, especially if we were focusing on a particular ‘agenda’ or ‘idea,’ whether negative or positive. But this is not what synodality is about,” the nuncio said.

“Instead, it is about the way in which we are called to be the Church of God, for the sake of evangelizing today’s world, which is in such desperate need of the Gospel of hope and of peace.”

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Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, speaks at a press conference on the debt limit and the Freedom Caucus’s plan for spending reduction at the U.S. Capitol on March 28, 2023, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 22, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Four congressmen in the conservative House Freedom Caucus voiced “strong objections” to a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plan to expand its coverage of in vitro fertilization (IVF) to unmarried veterans, including those in same-sex relationships.

Under the previous rules, the VA only covered IVF treatments for married couples who produce their own eggs and sperm for the fertility treatment. The new policy will allow donor eggs and sperm and cover treatments for unmarried people who require such donations to create an embryo.

The lawmakers, led by Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, expressed their dissent in a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough on March 20. He was joined by Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Virginia; Rep. Mary Miller, R-Illinois; and Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Oklahoma. 

“An IVF embryo is the earliest stage of life that exists outside of the womb,” Rosendale said in a statement accompanying the letter.

“Through this expansion, a surplus of embryos will be created, which are likely to result in abandoned or cruelly discarded human life,” Rosendale said. “Accompanying that, legislation has been introduced previously to expand IVF at the VA, meaning the legality of this decision is questionable at best.”

IVF is a fertility treatment in which doctors extract eggs from the woman and fertilize the eggs with sperm to create human embryos in a laboratory without a sexual act. Clinics create a surplus of embryos to maximize the likelihood that the mother can bring one healthy baby to term — the remaining embryos are often discarded, which ends a human life, or frozen indefinitely. 

The letter from the lawmakers notes that expanding IVF “creates a plethora of ethical concerns and questions” and calls the treatment “morally dubious.” Because most human embryos are either destroyed or abandoned, the signatories conclude it “should not be subsidized by the American taxpayer.”

Rosendale and his three colleagues also requested information from the VA pertaining to what the department does with surplus embryos, how many are destroyed or frozen, how much the IVF expansion and embryo storage will cost taxpayers, and what specific law grants them the authority to take this action.

Rather than expanding IVF, the lawmakers suggested the VA provide reimbursements for adoption efforts instead. 

“There are around 400,000 children in foster care nationwide, and approximately 117,000 are waiting to be adopted,” the letter adds. “The VA also provides fertility and infertility care to help veterans who struggle with infertility. It would make more sense to use the funds that the expansion of IVF will cost to bolster adoption efforts at the VA.”

Under its current policies, the VA can provide up to $2,000 for adoption expenses, but only if the veteran has a service-connected disability that causes infertility. The law does not allow coverage for surrogacy. 

Access to IVF became a major political issue after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created through IVF are covered under the state’s “Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.” After several clinics stopped providing IVF, Republicans and Democrats in the state quickly passed legislation to grant clinics immunity in the deaths of human embryos, which was signed by Gov. Kay Ivey, who claims to be pro-life.

A large number of Republicans, including lawmakers who are outspoken on other pro-life issues, distanced themselves from the ruling and embraced IVF despite the destruction to human life that is integral to the industry. Few have spoken out against the process. 

The Catholic Church opposes IVF because it separates the marriage act from procreation and destroys embryonic human life. Acknowledging the advances in science available today to those seeking help having children, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops warns Catholics on its website of the ethical issues involved.

“The many techniques now used to overcome infertility also have profound moral implications, and couples should be aware of these before making decisions about their use,” the guidance reads.

[…]

Washington D.C., Sep 3, 2018 / 04:49 pm (CNA).- At a time when labor unions are weak, Catholics still have a place in the labor movement, said a priest who emphasized the Church’s historic efforts to teach the rights of labor and train workers to… […]