Chinese flags on barbed wired wall in Kashgar (Kashi), Xinjiang, China. Credit: Jonathan Densford/Shutterstock
Washington D.C., Jan 21, 2021 / 02:45 pm (CNA).- President Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of State agrees with his predecessor’s declaration that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is committing genocide against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang.
“That would be my judgment as well,” said Antony Blinken, President Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of State, when asked by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday if he agreed with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s genocide designation.
Blinken appeared before members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday for a hearing considering his nomination to Biden’s cabinet. He also said he was “very much in agreement” with the Trump administration’s view of the situation in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.
On January 19, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that he had “determined that the People’s Republic of China is committing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, China, targeting Uyghur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups.”
Pompeo stated, “[t]he People’s Republic of China and the CCP must be held to account.”
On Tuesday, Blinken said that the gravity and scope of the atrocities committed in Xinjiang against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and others has risen to the level of genocide.
“The forcing of men, women and children into concentration camps; trying to, in effect, re-educate them to be adherents to the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party, all of that speaks to an effort to commit genocide,” he said.
Xinjiang, a region in China’s northwest nearly three times the size of France, is home to 23 million Turkic people including Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Muslim minorities.
China has escalated its control over the region in recent decades, citing national security as the reason for its crackdowns on public assemblies and freedom of movement.
Beginning in 2017, China constructed a system of around 1,300 detention camps where up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities are estimated to have been imprisoned. Detainees have reportedly been subject to forced labor, indoctrination, beatings, and torture.
Uyghurs outside the camps are also subject to mass surveillance, including DNA sampling, facial recognition technology, and predictive policing platforms.
The largely-Muslim population has also been subject to repression of religious practice, such as men growing beards or women wearing veils; children have reportedly been separated from their families and forced to denounce Islam.
In addition, the AP reported in June that many Uyghur women were subject to forced abortions, sterilizations and implantations of IUDs as part of China’s coercive family planning limits of two children per family.
In August, two Asian cardinals joined 74 other religious leaders in a joint statement decrying the treatment of the Uyghurs as “one of the most egregious human tragedies since the Holocaust.”
Pompeo on Jan. 19 said he believes “this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uyghurs by the Chinese party-state.”
“The governing authorities of the second most economically, militarily, and politically powerful country on earth have made clear that they are engaged in the forced assimilation and eventual erasure of a vulnerable ethnic and religious minority group, even as they simultaneously assert their country as a global leader and attempt to remold the international system in their image,” he said.
If confirmed as secretary of state, Blinken said that he would look to possibly banning imports of products suspected to be made by Uyghurs in forced labor situations, and would also seek to ban exports to China that could be used to repress the Uyghur population and other ethnic minorities.
In August, Joe Biden’s campaign referred to the treatment of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang as “genocide.”
“The unspeakable oppression that Uighurs and other ethnic minorities have suffered at the hands of China’s authoritarian government is genocide and Joe Biden stands against it in the strongest terms,” said campaign spokesman Andrew Bates.
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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 20, 2020 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- Netflix has apologized after a poster advertising an upcoming film was accused of normalizing pedophilia. But one theologian told CNA that an apology for the image is not enough, and that the film itself sexualizes children.
The promotional material for the film provoked widespread criticism overnight on Aug. 19, with many claiming that the film’s promotional material appeared to sexualize children.
“We’re deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for Mignonnes/Cuties,” Netflix’s official Twitter account tweeted on Thursday, August 20.
“It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which premiered at Sundance. We’ve now updated the pictures and description,” said Netflix.
The film, whose original French title “Mignonnes” was translated to “Cuties” for its American release, was released on April 1, 2020 in France. It is set to premiere on Netflix on September 9.
The initial Netflix description of the film was “Amy, 11, becomes fascinated with a twerking dance crew. Hoping to join them, she starts to explore her femininity, defying her family’s traditions.”
The French-produced film features pre-teen girls involved in groups that perform sexualized dance routines.
Twerking is a style of sexually provocative dance involving thrusting hip movements and suggestive stances. The dance style has been banned at several American high schools.
The description has since been updated to “Eleven-year-old Amy starts to rebel against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew.”
The “free-spirited dance crew” in the film is the titular “Cuties.” In the film, Amy is a Senegalese Muslim who lives with her mother and younger brothers in Paris.
The original poster featured Amy, who is played by tween actress Fathia Youssouf, in a low squat position with her legs spread. She, and the other young actresses in the film, are pictured wearing dance costumes consisting of spandex “booty shorts” and cropped tops, and are all posed in a suggestive manner.
The poster for the film has since been changed to an image of Youssouf looking over her shoulder. The original poster that accompanied the French release of the film featured the preteen actresses fully clothed.
Dr. Chad Pecknold, a professor of theology at the Catholic University of America and the father of a six-year-old daughter, told CNA that he was disturbed by the initial advertisements for the film.
“I was utterly shocked to see young girls just a bit older than my daughter in sexually suggestive poses,” said Pecknold.
“But my moral revulsion at what can only be the normalization of pedophilia only increased when I realized the producers claim to be criticizing the sexualization of children by, in fact, sexualizing children,” he added.
The director of the film, Maimouna Doucouré, said that she was inspired to make Cuties after noticing that some “very young girls” had hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
“There were no particular reasons [for the number of followers], besides the fact that they had posted sexy or at least revealing pictures: that is what had brought them this ‘fame,’” she said in an interview in August with CineEuropa.
“Today, the sexier and the more objectified a woman is, the more value she has in the eyes of social media. And when you’re 11, you don’t really understand all these mechanisms, but you tend to mimic, to do the same thing as others in order to get a similar result,” she said.
She told CineEuropa that it is “urgent” that this matter be discussed, and that she thinks “a debate be had on the subject.”
Pecknold disagrees that “Cuties” is the proper way to conduct a discussion on anything.
“This is a rationale that only Jeffrey Epstein could love,” he told CNA.
Pope Francis meets with the United States bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23, 2015. / Credit: L’Osservatore Romano
CNA Staff, Apr 22, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88, visited the United States just once, nearly 10 years ago, in September 2015.
Despite the brevity of the visit, he accomplished a lot: Attracting hundreds of thousands of participants, he canonized a new saint (St. Junípero Serra), became the first pope to ever address a joint session of Congress, and galvanized the U.S. Catholic community with his presence and his speeches on the East Coast.
Washington, D.C.
Pope Francis began his tour of North America with several days in Cuba. Landing in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 22, 2015, Pope Francis met with President Barack Obama first thing the next morning. The meeting came amid a time of concerns for many American Catholics regarding politics, including the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate and the recent legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide, via the June 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.
Pope Francis is greeted by President Barack Obama on Sept. 22, 2015. Credit: Somodevilla/Getty Images
During the presidential meeting, Francis praised Obama’s commitment to inclusivity and noted that American Catholics have contributed greatly to building a tolerant and inclusive society while also stressing that religious liberty “remains one of America’s most precious possessions.” He also encouraged commitment to addressing the “urgent” issue of climate change, building on his expansive 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’.
Pope Francis says Mass for clergy and religious in Philadelphia’s Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Sept. 26, 2015. Credit: L’Osservatore Romano.
While in D.C., that same day, the pope addressed bishops and priests at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle and later celebrated Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. At the latter Mass, he celebrated the first canonization on American soil by declaring Junípero Serra, who founded missions along present-day California, a saint.
“He was the embodiment of ‘a Church which goes forth,’ a Church which sets out to bring everywhere the reconciling tenderness of God,” the pope said.
Crowds gather for the Mass canonizing St. Junipero Serra at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23, 2015. Credit: Alan Holdren/CNA
On the same day, Francis made an unscheduled stop to visit with the Little Sisters of the Poor in Washington, D.C., to support the sisters as they awaited word on whether or not the Supreme Court will hear their case against the federal contraception mandate. (The sisters are still fighting aspects of the mandate, even after more than 14 years in court.)
Pope Francis greets Sister Marie Mathilde, 102 years old, at the Jeanne Jugan Residence in Washington, D.C., Sept. 23, 2015. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Little Sisters of the Poor
Francis addressed a joint session of Congress the next day, Sept. 24, making him the first pope to ever to do so. During his lengthy speech, he condemned the arms trade and the death penalty — statements that reportedly made some lawmakers in the room squirm.
Francis went on to assert that the family was being threatened like never before and praised American figures, including Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., for their tireless efforts to defend freedom and moral values. He also touched on respect for human life and the environment in the well-received speech.
Pope Francis speaks to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24, 2015. Credit: L’Osservatore Romano
The pope also visited St. Patrick Parish and met with people experiencing homelessness at Catholic Charities, addressing people who minister to the poor. He offered St. Joseph as their patron and model, because, he said, St. Joseph grappled with injustice and suffering in his care for Mary and Jesus.
“The Son of God came into this world as a homeless person,” the pope said. “The Son of God knew what it was to start life without a roof over his head.”
“We can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever, for lack of housing. There are many unjust situations, but we know that God is suffering with us, experiencing them at our side. He does not abandon us.”
Controversially, while in D.C. Pope Francis met with Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk who had become a cultural lightning rod for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses. The pope reportedly told her to “stay strong,” offering rosaries to Davis and her husband. The Vatican later clarified that Francis met with Davis and her husband as part of a large group invited by the nunciature, with the Vatican spokesperson adding that the pope “did not enter into the details” of her situation.
New York City
After flying to New York City the evening of Sept. 24 and praying vespers at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, Francis addressed the United Nations General Assembly the next day, Sept. 25, the fifth time a pope had addressed the body.
The pontiff issued a call to the countries of the world to reject what he called “ideological colonization” — the “imposition of anomalous models and lifestyles which are alien to people’s identity and, in the end, irresponsible.”
Pope Francis’ historic address to the U.N. in New York City on Sept. 25, 2015. Credit: Alan Holdren/CNA
Like his predecessor, Benedict XVI, Pope Francis made a solemn visit with other religious leaders to Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 attacks, later on Sept. 25. He met with families of first responders, saying at the site museum that acts of destruction always have “a face, a concrete story, names.” He offered a “prayer of remembrance” for all those killed that day, along with a prayer for the survivors and those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones.
Pope Francis speaks during an interreligious prayer service at Ground Zero, Sept. 25, 2015. Credit: Addie Mena/CNA
Later that day, after visiting Our Lady, Queen of the Angels School in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, Francis celebrated Mass at Madison Square Garden. He encouraged people to remember those in the city who are often forgotten, including “foreigners, the children who go without schooling, those deprived of medical insurance, the homeless, the forgotten elderly.”
Madison Square Garden prepares for the papal Mass, Sept. 25, 2015. Credit: Alan Holdren/CNA
“Knowing that Jesus still walks our streets, that he is part of the lives of his people, that he is involved with us in one vast history of salvation, fills us with hope. A hope which liberates us from the forces pushing us to isolation and lack of concern for the lives of others, for the life of our city,” the pope said.
“A hope which frees us from empty ‘connections,’ from abstract analyses, or sensationalist routines. A hope which is unafraid of involvement, which acts as a leaven wherever we happen to live and work. A hope which makes us see, even in the midst of smog, the presence of God as he continues to walk the streets of our city.”
Philadelphia
Pope Francis’ visit included an appearance at the 2015 World Meeting of Families (WMF) in Philadelphia, an event that focuses on celebrating the gift of the family.
Pope Francis at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia on Sept. 26, 2015. Credit: L’Osservatore Romano
After flying to the “City of Brotherly Love” the morning of Sept. 26, Pope Francis took part in a Mass for clergy and religious at Philadelphia’s Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. In his homily address, the pope challenged the clergy and religious to inspire new vocations.
He called for women to take on a greater role in the Church, highlighting the example of St. Katharine Drexel — a Philadelphia native — and he reminded the priests and religious present of their role in ministering to families, couples preparing for marriage, and young people.
He later addressed a crowd of some 50,000 people at Independence Mall, the site of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, for a religious freedom rally with Hispanic and other immigrants.
Speaking to thousands of families gathered on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia that night, a visibly moved Pope Francis ditched his prepared remarks and instead gave an impromptu reflection on the beauty and dire importance of family life. He voiced his thanks at “the presence of all of you — who are a real witness that it’s worth being a family!” A society “is strong, solid, and edified on beauty, goodness, and truth,” he added.
Pope Francis addresses the Festival of Families in Philadelphia on Sept. 26, 2015. Credit: EWTN
On Sept. 27, the next day, Francis had an unscripted meeting with five abuse survivors — three women and two men — all of whom had been abused in childhood either by members of the clergy, family members, or educators. He promised accountability for perpetrators and expressed sorrow for the victims’ suffering.
In the face of such heinous acts as sexual abuse, “God cries,” he said, adding that “the criminal sins of the abuse of minors can’t be kept in silence any longer … I promise, with the vigilance of the Church, to protect minors and I promise [that] all of those responsible will be held accountable.”
He told a gathering of international bishops afterward that the survivors’ stories of suffering “have aggravated my heart” and said that crimes of abuse must never be kept in silence.
Later that morning, Francis visited a Philadelphia correctional facility, saying at the meeting with a group of 100 inmates and their families that every person is marked and bruised by life, but Jesus washes away our sins and invites us to live a full life.
Pope Francis embraces a man at Curran-Fromhold Correction Facility in Philadelphia on Sept. 27, 2015. Credit: EWTN
Reflecting on the trip, the Holy Father said it was “particularly moving for me to canonize St. Junípero Serra, who reminds us all of our call to be missionary disciples.”
He added that he was touched “to stand with my brothers and sisters of other religions at Ground Zero, that place which speaks so powerfully of the mystery of evil. Yet we know with certainty that evil never has the last word, and that, in God’s merciful plan, love and peace triumph over all.”
Furthermore, he promised his prayers for the U.S. people, saying: “This land has been blessed with tremendous gifts and opportunities. I pray that you may all be good and generous stewards of the human and material resources entrusted to you.”
“I thank the Lord that I was able to witness the faith of God’s people in this country, as manifested in our moments of prayer together and evidenced in so many works of charity.”
Concluding, he asked those present: “Do not let your enthusiasm for Jesus, his Church, our families, and the broader family of society run dry.”
“May our days together bear fruit that will last, generosity and care for others that will endure!” he said. “Just as we have received so much from God — gifts freely given us, and not of our own making — so let us freely give to others in return.”
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 8, 2022 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
An abortion clinic outside Washington, D.C., is preparing to open its doors to women seeking abortions into the third trimester of pregnancy.The co-owner identifi… […]
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