Washington D.C., Apr 28, 2017 / 03:23 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday, President Donald Trump announced his intention to appoint prominent pro-life legislative activist Charmaine Yoest as the new assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Yoest served for years as president and CEO of Americans United for Life, a pro-life law organization that works to coordinate and support the advance of pro-life legislation, particularly at the state level. She is currently a senior fellow at American Values in Washington, D.C.
With a Ph.D. in American Government from the University of Virginia, Yoest also served as project director of a national study on paid parental leave in academia. She worked in the White House under Ronald Reagan in the Office of Presidential Personnel.
In taking the position at Health and Human Service, Yoest will replace Kevin Griffis, who was recently named the new vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood.
During his campaign for president, Trump made several promises to run a pro-life administration. He pledged to nominate pro-life Supreme Court justices; sign into law a ban on late-term abortions; defund Planned Parenthood and reallocate funding to community health centers that do not perform abortions; and make permanent a ban taxpayer funding of abortion.
Upon entering office, he reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which states that foreign non-governmental organizations may not receive federal funding if they perform or promote abortions as a method of family planning.
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U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada), who is a strong supporter of legalized abortion, speaks in a campaign ad with a statue of Jesus and a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the background. / Screenshot from Twitter video
“Roadmap to Reality: Carlo Acutis and Our Digital Age” is a new documentary film exploring the life of Carlo Acutis that will be coming to theaters in the spring of 2025. / Credit: Castletown Media
CNA Staff, Nov 23, 2024 / 10:00 am (CNA).
Castletown Media, the production company behind the new film “Roadmap to Reality: Carlo Acutis and Our Digital Age,” has announced that the National Eucharistic Congress Inc. and the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame have become official partners for the upcoming documentary exploring the life of the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint.
“The National Eucharistic Congress is passionate about reigniting devotion to the Eucharist in this country, and when we shared the project with them they were thrilled insofar as how this film really resonates with that mission,” the director of the new Acutis film and founder of Castletown Media, Tim Moriarty, told CNA in an interview.
In a press release, Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, chair of the National Eucharistic Revival who appears in the film, said: “Soon-to-be St. Carlo Acutis is a modern apostle who can inspire young people to discover the incredible gift of the Eucharist. Carlo is the model for the kind of Eucharistic missionary we, as bishops, hope every Catholic will become.”
Tim Moriarty, director of the upcoming film “Roadmap to Reality: Carlo Acutis and Our Digital Age,” interviews Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, chair of the National Eucharistic Revival, during the making of the new documentary. Credit: Courtesy of Castletown Media
Meanwhile, the McGrath Institute, known for its work partnering with Catholics parishes, dioceses, and schools to offer resources and materials to address pastoral challenges, will be offering its expertise to the film’s production by developing educational materials for parishes and schools based on themes found in the documentary.
Moriarty explained that they began speaking with the McGrath Institute when they began to cover the issue of technology and the impact it’s having on young people while making the film. They interviewed several members of the McGrath team and realized that together they could “do more good.”
As partners, the McGrath Institute will specifically be creating material for youth preparing for their first Communion by helping them “understand what the Eucharist is at a time in their lives where screen addiction becomes increasingly problematic,” Moriarty explained.
Carlo Acutis “was online to lead people offline,” says Tim Moriarty, director of the new film “Roadmap to Reality: Carlo Acutis and Our Digital Age.” Credit: Courtesy of Castletown Media
On Nov. 20, Pope Francis announced the canonization date of Blessed Carlo Acutis, which will take place on April 27, 2025, during the Church’s Jubilee of Teenagers. Moriarty called this announcement “providential” as the film will be in theaters in time for the canonization.
“Roadmap to Reality” explores the life of Carlo Acutis and the lessons he offers young people regarding the challenges of the digital world. The documentary blends live action, animation, and documentary-style interviews with Acutis’ family, friends, tech experts, and scholars to tackle urgent questions about artificial intelligence and the technological world we live in.
“One of the themes in the film is that he [Acutis] was online to lead people offline,” Moriarty shared. “He was online to lead people back to the Eucharist, back to real encounters, and he’s a great model for us.”
A behind-the-scenes look at an interview with Antonia Salzano Acutis, Carlo Acutis’ mother, during the filming of “Roadmap to Reality: Carlo Acutis and our Digital Age.” Credit: Castletown Media
“I think what Carlo did in his life was to show us that yes, we have to be engaging online, sharing the Gospel online, but we have to do it in a way where we don’t lose touch with the incarnational reality, which is fully present to us in the Eucharist, which is that real substantial presence. I think there’s something in that that is very powerful and for me has been really moving and healing the more I try to follow Carlo’s example,” Moriarty concluded.
CNA Staff, May 13, 2020 / 10:30 am (CNA).- Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., has spoken out against the “murderous attack” which caused the death of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia. The archbishop said the killing was a reminder … […]
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