Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican secretary for relations with states. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 7, 2024 / 11:47 am (CNA).
“More than 365 million Christians, approximately 1 in 7, face high levels of persecution for their faith,” Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Vatican secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, said at a conference on religious freedom held in Rome this week.
The conference, titled “Religious Freedom and Integral Human Development: A New Global Platform,” was jointly organized by the Sovereign Order of Malta, the Atlantic Council, and several universities, including the Pontifical Urban University of Rome and the University of Notre Dame.
In his speech, Gallagher said attacks on churches and Christian properties “increased significantly in 2023, with more Christians than ever before reporting violent attacks.”
The prelate went on to describe his concern that “according to some estimates, almost 4.9 billion people live in countries with serious or very serious violations of religious freedom.”
The Vatican diplomat underscored that religious freedom, “although not the only aspect of human rights, is probably the most fundamental,” adding that “the violation of the right to religious freedom has the effect of undermining not only one right but also the entire category of human rights,” he added.
“Religious freedom plays a decisive role in achieving integral human development,” Gallagher continued. For this reason, he added, “the state should exercise a detached neutrality and grant religious groups and all individuals an equal right to the public manifestation of their religious convictions.”
Gallagaher spoke as part of the conference’s opening panel analyzing the global crisis of religious freedom. The conference attracted participants from some 19 countries and included the participation of the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Pope Francis waves to pilgrims during his March 28, 2018 general audience in St. Peter’s Square. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
Vatican City, Jun 6, 2021 / 05:30 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Sunday urged the Norbertines to always keep their hearts open to others in a message marking the 900th anniversary of the foundation of the Abbey of Prémontré.
In the message dated June 6, the pope traced the life of St. Norbert of Xanten, who founded the Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, in northern France in the 12th century.
He said: “From the beginning, the Premonstratensians have shown great commitment to people outside the community, welcoming them willingly. Thus, new communities which followed Norbert’s lifestyle were born rapidly. Several existing communities asked to be affiliated with Prémontré.”
“Dear sons and daughters of St. Norbert, always keep this open heart, which also opens the doors of your house, to welcome those looking for a spiritual counselor, those who ask for material help, those who wish to share your prayer.”
The pope’s message, released in Italian by the Vatican and in English on the order’s website, was addressed to Fr. Jozef Wouters, Abbot General of the Premonstratensian Canons Regular, which is marking the 900th anniversary with a jubilee.
The pope offered a detailed account of St. Norbert’s life, from his birth around 1075, in the German town of Xanten, to his death in 1134.
He described the saint as “one of the most zealous architects of the Gregorian reform,” referring to the reform movement inspired by Pope Gregory VII, who reigned in 1073-85.
The pope recalled that as a young man Norbert questioned the Church’s alignment with worldly powers and decided to reject courtly life.
“Ordained a deacon and a priest on the same day, he abandoned the refined apparel of a courtier and put on the habit of a penitent,” he wrote.
After encountering a community of reformed canons regular who based their life on the Rule of St. Augustine, Norbert began to preach penance and conversion while leading a life of prayer and mortification.
The pope said that he celebrated the Eucharist often, possibly daily, an uncommon practice at the time.
“The communities of your order have accepted this inheritance and, for nine centuries, have carried out their mission in the spirit of the Rule of St. Augustine, in faithfulness to the meditation and preaching of the Gospel, drawing on the Eucharistic Mystery, source and summit of the life of the Church,” the pope said.
Norbert then opted for an itinerant life, traveling across Europe on foot with only one garment, a cloak, and a stick.
“Norbert’s biographies tell how he healed the sick along the way, chased away evil spirits, and managed to placate ancient feuds between noble families,” the pope wrote.
“These reconciliations brought peace to the regions where the population suffered greatly from the continuous local wars. For this, Norbert is considered an apostle of peace. He did the work of God, acting in the name of Christ’s charity.”
“The ancient authors insist that Norbert always gathered in prayer before setting out to mediate and to foster reconciliations and restore peace and that he was always faithful to celebrate the Eucharist to meet the Lord whose work he desired to undertake.”
While journeying to meet with Pope Callixtus II, Norbert encountered Bartholomew, bishop of Laon, who encouraged him to settle in his diocese. Norbert chose to form a community in the valley of Prémontré.
“Since many of them, like himself, were canons, all made canonical profession according to the Rule of St. Augustine, on Christmas Day 1121, the date that marks the foundation of the community of Prémontré,” Pope Francis wrote.
He said that the community aspired to emulate the early Church described in the Acts of the Apostles.
Addressing the order’s approximately 1,300 current members present in 25 countries, he said: “Your founder lived in many and different environments, but in every circumstance he let himself be guided by the Gospel: whether as an itinerant preacher, superior of a community or bishop, he continued to listen to God and his brothers, and was able to discern the way to be followed in the various circumstances of life, without losing sight of its fundamental inspiration.”
Pope Francis gives the Urbi et Orbi blessing on Easter 2022 / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Vatican City, Apr 17, 2022 / 04:30 am (CNA).
In his Urbi et Orbi blessing on Easter 2022, Pope Francis lamented an “Easter of War” as he prayed for peace in Ukraine… […]
Paula Scanlan, a women’s sports activist and former teammate of trans-identifying athlete Lia Thomas on the University of Pennsylvania women’s swim team, speaks to a crowd about her story. Originally only speaking out anonymously, Scanlan has since gone public about the emotional impact of having to share a locker room with a biological male had on her as a sexual assault survivor. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Independent Women’s Forum
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 19, 2024 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
The Biden administration’s expansion of Title IX regulations to offer protection of transgender individuals in women’s sports, educational programs, and school bathrooms has been blocked in half of the states in the country.
The new rule is currently blocked in 26 states as a coalition of states and conservative groups are fighting the rule in court.
Yet, for many of the country’s most populous states — such as California, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania — the rule took effect on Aug. 1. This means that the measure is impacting Americans in many of the country’s largest population centers.
Christiana Kiefer, senior counsel at one of these groups, the Alliance Defending Freedom, told CNA that “the Biden-Harris administration’s radical attempt to redefine sex in Title IX turns back the clock on women’s opportunities, erodes student privacy, and threatens women’s sports.”
“Policies that deny biological truth create real victims — particularly impacting the dignity and safety of women and girls,” Kiefer said. “We are hopeful that the courts will ultimately rule to protect privacy and safety, free speech, and fairness in sports.”
What is the new rule?
In April, the Biden Department of Education redefined the prohibition on sex discrimination in education, enshrined in the 1972 Title IX provisions, to include discrimination based on a person’s “gender identity.”
The new guidelines prohibit any policy and practice that “prevents a person from participating in an education program or activity consistent with their gender identity.” Schools that do not comply risk having their federal funding cut off.
According to May Mailman, director of the Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC), the rule means that any male can now assert that he has been discriminated against based on gender identity and claim a right to use a women’s space.
As IWLC director, Mailman said she has seen the personal impact that forcing schools to allow biological men into women’s sports and private spaces has had on young women. Ultimately, she believes the new rule amounts to “the elimination of women’s spaces.”
“You have Paula Scanlan, who’s an IWF [Independent Women’s Forum] ambassador, she was forced to undress before a fully intact male 18 times a week. And she suffered through it, but how many women would do it? Certainly not all. So, women are going to remove themselves from circumstances that require them to be naked or to do really private activities like urinating in front of males,” Mailman explained.
Scanlan is a women’s sports activist and former teammate of trans-identifying athlete Lia Thomas on the University of Pennsylvania women’s swim team. Originally only speaking out anonymously, Scanlan has since gone public about the emotional impact of having to share a locker room with a biological male had on her as a sexual assault survivor.
“That is the opposite of what Title IX was created to do, which is to give women opportunities. So, what you’re going to see is Title IX actually being flipped on its head. Women are going to remove themselves from educational programs like sports because it requires such indecency.”
Where is the rule in effect?
A slate of Republican-led states has challenged the rule in court, many arguing that it violates their state laws. As a result, the Biden administration’s changes are currently blocked in 26 states.
The Independent Women’s Forum has published an interactive map showing which states have successfully blocked the rule and in which states it is currently active. The map also shows which states have pending litigation on the rule. Credit: Image courtesy of Independent Women’s Forum.
The Biden Title IX changes are currently blocked in most of the South and Midwest, including Texas, Florida, and Ohio. Because of a Kansas lawsuit that was joined by several other states and conservative organizations, the rule has been blocked in over 3,800 individual schools across the country.
However, the blocks in these states are only considered “preliminary injunctions,” meaning they are temporary, pending further review in the courts. Because of this, the rule could eventually take effect in any of the 26 states where it is currently blocked.
The Biden administration’s Title IX change has already taken effect in 24 states, primarily in Western and Northeastern coastal states, as well as the Great Lakes region.
“It seems like half the country, but it’s actually more than half the country because if you think about population, this is California, this is New York, so for a huge portion of the population, they are now under the Biden regime, where male and female spaces are no longer protected in education programs,” Mailman said.
“In those schools, the Biden administration can absolutely go after a school if it does not police pronouns, if it has male and female locker rooms, if it has male and female bathrooms, if it has male and female scholarships … it affects all education programs that accept federal money.”
What’s next?
On Friday the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously denied the Biden administration’s request to partially enforce the new rule in several states where it has been blocked. Mailman explained in a video posted to social media that while the decision does not change much right now it does signal the Supreme Court may agree that Biden’s changes to Title IX are unconstitutional.
Ultimately, Mailman believes the fate of this rule depends in large part on the presidential election. If elected to the White House, Mailman said that a Kamala Harris administration is “absolutely going to take it further.”
“Judges are something that the president has a huge say in because they nominate them. You can’t be a judge if you don’t have the president,” she said. “So, the types of judges that Kamala Harris is going to put on the courts are the types of judges who are going to say that absolutely, Title IX is some gender identity law, even though it’s not.”
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