Articles by CNA Daily News

Washington D.C., Apr 2, 2020 / 11:55 pm (CNA).- An expert research professor on vaccines at the Catholic University of America is working with the university to make his patents available royalty-free to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Veniga… […]

Denver, Colo., Apr 2, 2020 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- What does a traveling evangelist do when a global pandemic keeps him at home? He goes online!

One Catholic evangelist said that lessons he’s learning about online evangelization during the coronavirus pandemic could make some Catholic ministries far more effective than they once were.

Chris Stefanick, who hosts EWTN’s “Real Life Catholic,” also travels the country, speaking to more than 80,000 people each year. His travels are the way he spreads the Word of God, and the way he makes a living.

Stefanick told CNA that preaching during the pandemic has meant a slew of personal and practical challenges. But he said those challenges could compel the Church to develop and refine effective use of technology for evangelization.

“This is not a time for the Church to slow down its ministry. It’s time to aggressively pivot and quickly pivot. This hasn’t changed what we do at that core,” Stefanick said.

In the past, even the recent past, Stefanick said, his evangelization work has focused mostly on events at which he speaks about how the Gospel, and the Church, have transformed his life and the lives of others.

His ministry has “able to leverage my gift for speaking with 40 parishes a year and that makes an impact,” he said.

But those events, however effective they are, have impact limited by attendance.

“Taking that same thing and doing it digitally,” Stefanick explained, broadens the reach of his ministry.

“If this succeeds, we can work with hundreds and hundreds of parishes. Whereas the events were limited by how many places I can get to.”

The pandemic will “make us more effective because this will strengthen the whole digital component of our ministry. So instead of being 75% about events, 25% digital, now it’s 100% digital. By the time we are out of this, we [will] strengthen that component,” he said.

Stefanick pointed to “I AM,” a virtual coaching program that was released by his ministry, Real Life Catholic, on Ash Wednesday. He said the initiative aims to help users replace negative self-thoughts with positive reflections on the Word of God. Drawing from struggles in his own life, he said, “I AM” is a program that is relevant to everyone, even non-Catholics.

“We have a 30-day coaching program and it’s [one] of the most effective ministr[ies] we’ve ever done, based on the responses of people [and] how it’s hitting their hearts. It’s a program about helping people rewire how they talk to themselves and replace self-talk with the uplifting Word of God,” he said.

“I’ve been with the Lord for a long time and I wrote some of this out of personal experience of the things that I struggle with negative self-talk.”

The coronavirus lockdown has changed Stefanick’s daily work schedule and brought about some own personal concerns, including worries about finances and the fragility of society. He said, though, it is also a blessing to spend so much time with family. 

“I can perceive the good for me in that I haven’t been home this much in 10 years and it’s the Sabbath that’s made me relook at life. We’ll never get this chance again. God willing. We will never get the chance again to pause on so many of our activities,” he said.

“So it led to a lot of reflection, self-correction, repentance, prayer, silence and family time. Doing things like taking walks with kids, things I never did before that I regret not having done. Very simple things that you lose track of when life is going 300 miles an hour.”

Stefanick said the pandemic is also an opportunity to trust in the Lord.

“It also forces a real look, not theoretical, but a very real [look] at life and death,” he said. “We’re delusional in the Western world. We forget … how fragile the whole system is that insulates us from our need, from death, from everything,” Stefanick said.

“I found myself in moments of fear when going to the grocery store and seeing everything [going] totally nuts, “ he said. “[It’s ] forced me to come back to, ‘Lord, you are really my provider and whatever happens to me, your only motive is love.’ And that’s where my peace comes from. Not [from] having enough to pay bills and enough stuff out there to get what I need.”

Stefanick said the pandemic requires a different kind of courage than many people might have expected, adding that members of the Church are all called to a sort of monastic lifestyle at the moment. He said it would be potentially hazardous for people to break the quarantine, and should focus on an important work of mercy – prayer.

He pointed to a challenge from Pope Francis, who has offered a plenary indulgence to people suffering from COVID-19 and their caretakers, including healthcare workers, along with their benefactors in prayer.

The pandemic will lead to more death in the upcoming weeks and those in the hospitals need to know that prayers are being offered for them, Stefanick said..

“What’s being asked of us during this time is withdrawal, silence, and the life of a Carthusian monk …  not the life of an evangelist missionary. So that’s a different kind of heroism and it’s no less difficult. Frankly. I think it would be easier for me if I knew I could go out and help people and risk my life going to Mass,” he said.

“We really have to pray for the world right now … We should be praying a lot for people who are facing death. It’s going to be a lot of bad news in the month ahead. A lot of people are gonna lose their lives and they need prayers.”

[…]

Washington D.C., Apr 2, 2020 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has disputed Planned Parenthood’s claim that the state targeted abortion clinics in an order prohibiting non-essential medical procedures during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Interview an interview that will air Thursday on EWTN Pro-Life Weekly, Paxton said that the abortion provider was itself demanding special treatment in a legal challenge to the executive issued last month by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Abbott issued the executive order (GA 09) on March 22, halting non-essential surgeries and medical procedures during the coronavirus pandemic, in order to free up resources and medical personnel to treat COVID patients.

Abbott clarified that the order would apply to “any type of abortion that is not medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother.”

“What they are actually asking to be singled out,” Paxton said Thursday. “[They want] to be treated better than everybody else during this crisis, so they could be doing elective abortions, when those resources could otherwise be used to save somebody’s life.” 

Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups filed litigation over the executive order, claiming Abbott singled out the procedure. A federal district court initially blocked the order, but the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on that ruling March 31, permitting Abbott’s order to go into effect.

In a statement Tuesday, Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, called Abbott’s order “heartless,” adding, “No other form of health care is being targeted this way — only abortion.”

During the interview on EWTN Pro-Life Weekly, Paxton argued that the Texas order does not single out abortion clinics, but is “a ban on elective procedures which also includes abortion.”

“It includes orthopedic surgeries, it includes dental procedures, it includes dermatological procedures, it includes all kinds of elective procedures, they are not being singled out, they are just being treated like everybody else,” Paxton said.

Paxton argued that any type of nonessential medical procedure “had to be stopped” in an effort to conserve personal protective equipment for health care professionals battling the coronavirus pandemic. 

“We’re trying to conserve those because there’s a shortage of them, and conserve resources like hospital beds, and even the focus of doctors’ time,” Paxton said.

Paxton argued that through its lawsuit, Planned Parenthood is asking for special treatment.

“We didn’t want anybody treated any differently but apparently Planned Parenthood and the abortion providers felt like they should be given an exception to how other people and how other providers are being treated,” he said.

The order, Paxton said, “applies to everyone.”

The full interview with Paxton will air Thursday at 10:00 PM EST on EWTN.

Texas Attorney General @KenPaxtonTX explains how Governor Greg Abbot’s order was designed to conserve medical supplies during the #coronavirus pandemic. He also discusses the ongoing legal battle with @PPact.
Watch the full interview tonight. #prolife pic.twitter.com/lzTeao1gH3

— EWTN Pro-Life Weekly (@EWTNProLife) April 2, 2020

Kate Scanlon is a producer for EWTN Pro-Life Weekly.

[…]

Washington D.C., Apr 2, 2020 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- While sports around the country have seen their seasons suspended due to COVID-19, spatula baseball season is in full swing at one of the L’Arche community houses in Washington, D.C.

Faced with quarantines and stay-at-home orders, the four houses of L’Arche Greater Washington, D.C. (GWDC) were forced to adjust to a whole host of changes to keep the members of the community safe. 

But, according to Luke Smith, executive director and community leader of L’Arche Greater Washington, the changes have meant that the L’Arche homes are doing what they do best: embracing creativity. 

“We’re very creative as a community,” Smith said, noting that there are many artists within the organization. “We’re intentional communities, so we’re intentional about how we share our gifts–and we’re full of gifts–and so, and we’ve taken time to kind of lean into our creative energies.” 

L’Arche GWDC is part of L’Arche International, “a worldwide federation of people, with and without intellectual disabilities, working together for a world where all belong.” L’Arche communities consist of “core members,” who have intellectual disabilities, and “assistants,” who generally do not have intellectual disabilities, and who live in community with core members. There are 14 “core members” in the Washington area.
Part of L’Arche’s “leaning in” to creativity involves devising new ways to pass the time. One home is having community members give “TED Talks” each night about topics they are interested in, and residents at another home invented “spatula baseball”–a game that has proven to be quite popular. 

Unlike traditional baseball, which uses a bat and a ball, “spatula baseball” is designed to be played indoors–Smith said it is typically played in the kitchen and living room–and uses a spatula in place of the bat and a paper ball instead of a baseball. Once batters hit the ball, they proceed to walk around the bases. 

Smith said that while community members are flexing their creative muscles at this time, others have tried to stick to a routine, even though they can no longer attend day programs or go to work due to the coronavirus. 

“People are still getting up to have breakfast as they would do normally, still getting dressed to go to work,” he said. “Charles, who’s a member of the community, is still wearing a tie every day, as he would do normally.” 

The core members understand why they cannot go to their jobs or programs and, Smith said, they have learned on the news about the coronavirus and why it is important to practice social distancing and handwashing. Being part of an international federation means that L’Arche GWDC can see how the homes abroad were dealing with the virus.

“We know that other members in other communities are experiencing this too,” he said. “So that reality of ‘we are doing this together, not just as a national population of people here in the U.S., but also as people of L’Arche across the world,’ has helped to set the tone.”

Even though Washington and Virginia are both under some variation of stay-at-home directives, the world of L’Arche’s community continues, albeit with modifications, said Smith. This Tuesday’s prayer service, which is normally held in-person, will instead be done via Zoom. 

He added that there has been an “unintended benefit” of a new reliance on technology–being able to reconnect with past community members. 

“Technology is a wonderful way of ensuring that we remain an intentional community, where we continue those mutual relationships or we are able to flourish–even in the midst of this,” said Smith.

Smith said that other measures, such as new screening procedures and temperature checks for any guests to the homes, as well as changes to who is permitted to go grocery shopping and when, are to ensure the health of the core members and assistants, many of whom are considered to be medically vulnerable. 

“People with intellectual disabilities are often the most impacted by this,” said Smith. “And we have people in our community who are no longer at work. They are people with intellectual disabilities who are no longer receiving a paycheck and they are no longer engaged in, what is being meaningful and is meaningful for them.” 

Smith also raised concerns about the potential quality of medical care that the core members would receive if they were to fall ill as extra motivation to introduce additional safety steps. He noted several states have been accused of issuing disaster preparedness plans that, should the situation arise, could prioritize giving care to people without intellectual disabilities if there were a shortage of ventilators. 

“I am particularly mindful of that, in light of some personal experiences in  my own community here in DC, where we’ve had issues in the past in terms of communicating the dignity of someone with their medical provider or the medical system,” said Smith. 

Smith praised the “great work” of the assistants of L’Arche GWDC, as they have made “sacrifices in limiting what they are doing, to make sure that our homes are safe and healthy and protected.”

An obstacle facing L’Arche GWDC is the cancelation of their fundraising breakfast, as well as the challenges they face in obtaining common household supplies, which typically sell out very quickly. Smith said the communities have a wish list where people could support them financially if they wish. 

As the DC-area concludes its third week of coronavirus-related restrictions, Smith told CNA that he has been careful to work to maintain a strong sense of community and cooperation within the homes. 

“One of the things that we practice every day at the L’Arche community is the reality of forgiveness and celebration are daily parts of our reality,” he said. 

“I’ve been sharing with the community that we need to be gentle with ourselves and gentle with others and that it’s okay to be frustrated with the coronavirus, but we don’t need to be frustrated with each other.” He said his community has “really leaned in” to this mentality.

“We’ve been able to lean into each other, and ask each other for support, and ask each other for space and time,” he added. 

Smith told CNA that he hopes the L’Arche community is able to be a sign of hope and community for not only each other, but also for other members of the greater DC area–particularly those who have been impacted in one way or another by the coronavirus. 

“We are praying with you,” said Smith. “We are thinking of ways we can support you. L’Arche wants to give, too; we as a community want to be supportive.”

[…]