Dublin, Ireland, May 15, 2018 / 05:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Less than two weeks before a historic vote on whether to allow increased access to abortion in Ireland, thousands of people gathered on Saturday for a final pro-life rally in the capital city o… […]
Washington D.C., May 15, 2018 / 12:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A bipartisan bill introduced in Congress last week would make it easier for Americans to receive tax deductions for charitable giving, regardless of whether they itemize on their tax returns.
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Mexico City, Mexico, May 14, 2018 / 07:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Emma Morosini has been called the “pilgrim grandmother.” Earlier this month, at the age of 94, she earned that nickname by concluding a 570-mile walking pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Her 40 day pilgrimage took Morosini from Monterrey, in northeastern Mexico, to Mexico City, where she prayed at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, before the tilma of Saint Juan Diego.
Emma Moronsini. 91 años. Camina hace 1 mes. Salió de Tucumán. Quiere llegar a la Basílica (Luján). Ya está en Córdoba pic.twitter.com/zwXJFnIRFw
— Sebastián Volterri (@SebaVolte) February 13, 2015
Morosini, a native of Italy who for more than 25 years has made pilgrimages to shrines around the world, arrived the afternoon of May 12 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, to pray for families, young people, and “world peace.”
The “pilgrim grandmother” has visited shrines in Portugal, Spain, Poland, Israel, Brazil and Argentina.
During this pilgrimage, Morosini began walking each day at 6:30 am, carrying a small suitcase and an umbrella, and wearing a reflective vest as a safety precaution.
For food, Morosini carried milk, juice, bread, and water, receiving along the way some donations of fruits and vegetables.
At various points on her way she was accompanied by medical and civil defense personnel or by Mexico’s Federal Police. She was often housed by municipal authorities along her route.
During a 2015 pilgrimage in Argentina, when she was 91, Morosini told reporters that she was praying for “peace in the world, for young people, for all these families that are divided. Many are separated, some live together but aren’t spouses, or they don’t have children. It’s very sad.”
The “pilgrim grandmother” was applauded by fellow pilgrims when she arrived at the the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Before entering the church, she woman knelt down, kissed the ground, made the sign of the cross and prayed silently for a few moments.
This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Oklahoma City, Okla., May 14, 2018 / 06:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- With the signing of a bill preserving the religious freedom of adoption agencies in Oklahoma, Gov. Mary Fallin drew praise from the state’s Catholic bishops on Friday.
“We are… […]
Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 14, 2018 / 05:01 pm (ACI Prensa).- As the Argentine congress debates legalizing abortion up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, the country’s bishops called for a special time of prayer for life, especially for the unborn child.
“Prayer has a transformational power which will aid the discernment of those who have the responsibility to make a decision of such magnitude,” the Argentine bishop’s conference stated.
The nation’s legislature is considering a bill that would give women legal access to abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. The current law in Argentina prohibits abortion, except when the mother’s life or health is determined to be in danger, or in cases of rape.
President Mauricio Macri has encouraged “responsible” debate over the topic, while remaining personally opposed to the legislation, according to the Associated Press. He has said he would not veto the bill if it is passed by congress.
The congress’ lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, is expected to vote on the bill in June.
The time of prayer began May 13 and will conclude June 3.
The bishops asked Catholics to “pray unceasingly” as individuals and in community in parishes, at Mass, as families, among friends, or at work.
The bishops’ call for prayer is part of the #ValeTodaVida (every life matters) campaign.
To support this effort, they sent each parish suggestions to encourage prayer, including the prayer for life composed by Saint John Paul II, which will be prayed at all church services during this time.
“Prayer inspired and animated by the Spirit will allow us to confess with our understanding and our hearts that Every Life Matters,” the bishop’s conference stated.
Finally, regarding the various pro-life marches, the bishops renewed their desire to accompany those who participate and encouraged them to exercise “the right to freedom of speech proper to a democracy.”
They also expressed their strong desire that “every public demonstration be an opportunity to bear witness respectfully to love for life.”
Annually, between 370,000 and 522,000 Argentine women receive illegal abortions, the country’s health ministry has estimated. Both procuring and performing abortions are criminal offenses in the country.
On March 25, around 150,000 people across Argentina marched for the “Day of the Unborn Child,” which honors the sanctity of all human life.
This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Melbourne, Australia, May 14, 2018 / 04:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- An Australian court will determine Wednesday whether to accept a request by prosecutors for a “super injunction” against all media reporting of upcoming trials against Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, on charges of historic sexual offenses.
If accepted, the proposed injunction request would do more than block the details of the trials from being made public; it would also prevent “any report of the whole or any part of these proceedings and any court documents associated with this proceeding.”
The injunction would apply to “all states and territories of Australia and on any website or other electronic or broadcast format accessible within Australia.”
Similar restrictions kept private the number and details of the charges against Pell during a month-long preliminary hearing, during which the majority of the charges against the cardinal were dismissed.
The 10 remaining charges are likely to be run as two separate trials, Pell’s defense lawyer Robert Richter has said. The cardinal returns to the County Court in Melbourne May 16 for a further hearing, which is expected to determine if there will be two trials, and their dates.
The typical motive for use of a gag order on media is to keep members of a jury from learning prejudicial information about a case, leading to bias; though it can also prevent judges and lawyers from being held accountable during a trial.
“The proposed order is a blanket ban and is the most extreme form of order that can be made,” said Jason Bosland, deputy director of the Centre for Media and Communications Law at Melbourne Law School, the New York Times reports.
“It prevents publication of all details to do with the case, including the fact that proceedings are on foot and, indeed, that a suppression order has been issued,” Bosland said. “You can’t even publish the judge’s name.”
Cardinal Pell will remain on a leave of absence from his Vatican position as he faces charges of “historic sexual offenses” in his home country of Australia, the Vatican announced May 1.
The Archdiocese of Sydney posted last week an article and advertisement to its diocesan news website, the Catholic Weekly, explaining how supporters of Pell may contribute to a legal fund set up on his behalf.
The article, published May 4, stressed that though the archdiocese assists with living expenses, it is not responsible for the cardinal’s legal costs, and that the fund was established separately and is not being run by the Archdiocese of Sydney.
The Catholic Weekly reported that since Pell took leave from his role as prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy almost 12 months ago, “many supporters wanted to contribute to his legal costs.”
The fund is being managed by a Melbourne legal firm.
Pell is accused of misconduct dating back decades, during his first years as a priest until he became the Archbishop of Melbourne. He has been accused of groping two boys at a swimming pool in the city of Ballarat during the 1970s, as well as assaulting two members of a choir at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne during the 1990s. More precise details about the charges were not made public.
The cardinal pleaded not guilty to the charges of historical sexual offense and surrendered his passport. The charge of “historical sexual offense” indicates that the alleged crimes happened decades ago. Australian law prohibits details of the charges from being publicly disclosed.
Pell was appointed Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy in 2014. He has been on leave of absence from this position since 2017, when he returned to Australia to face the accusations against him. Pell was the Archbishop of Sydney from 2001-2014, and Archbishop of Melbourne from 1996-2001. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Ballarat in 1966, and had been appointed an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne in 1987.
Pell was first accused of sexual misconduct in 2002, but no charges were filed at that time. In 2013, police in Australia began an investigation into him, before filing charges last year. Pell is reported to be the first cardinal to face a criminal trial for sexual misconduct.
Lawyers representing Pell insist that the charges against him are “impossible” and that he is innocent. Pell himself has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, saying that he finds sexual abuse to be abhorrent.
“I’m looking forward, finally, to having my day in court,” said Pell in June 2017. “I’m innocent of these charges. They are false.”
Rome, Italy, May 14, 2018 / 03:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis said Monday he is worried that youth are too enmeshed in a virtual world of cell phones and other technology, separated, in particular, from the real human contact experienced by perfo… […]
Washington D.C., May 14, 2018 / 02:52 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A report calling for access to contraception and abortion in the developing world is an example of ideological colonization and cultural arrogance, warned a family author and scholar.
“By what moral right do Westerners send the message that the world would be a better place with fewer Africans in it?” said Mary Eberstadt, senior research fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute.
“Such campaigns are going to look as ugly in history’s rearview mirror as the twentieth-century eugenics movement does today,” she told CNA.
Eberstadt was responding to the newly-released Guttmacher-Lancet Commission report, which declared a need for universal access to contraception and birth control within the next 12 years, particularly in the developing world.
The Commission believes that these goals are “consistent with,” yet broader than, the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The findings were published last week in the medical journal The Lancet.
They discussed “sexual and reproductive health and rights” (SRHR), a term defined by the report to mean gender-based violence, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, abortion, contraception, infertility, reproductive cancers, and maternal and newborn health.
In addition to the developing world, populations that were identified as having “distinct needs” in this area included adolescents, sex workers, intravenous drug users, immigrants, and refugees.
Failure to embrace the goals outlined by the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission’s agenda have harmed women and put lives at risk, the report claims.
“There is compelling evidence that countries or governments that do not prioritise SRHR have disproportionately poor health indicators. For example, those countries with restrictive abortion laws contributed most to the global burden of 25 million unsafe abortions.”
There is an “urgent need to change the narrative” on these issues, said one of the included commentaries in the report, particularly highlighting the poorer parts of Africa and in southeast Asia.
The Commission found that the cost of promoting abortion and contraception to the developing world would come out to about nine dollars per person, per year, which they claim will “save lives.”
However, Eberstadt objected to the idea that Westerners have the moral standing to promote contraception and abortion in developing nations.
She warned that the rhetoric of the report will not age gracefully and will one day be likened to eugenics campaigns.
“The spectacle of pale elites from increasingly barren societies trying to reduce the fertility of darker people in other societies is intrinsically grotesque,” she said.
Muenster, Germany, May 14, 2018 / 02:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The unresolved debate over a proposal to allow Protestant spouses of Catholics to receive communion in German dioceses under some limited circumstances has gathered steam after the country’s president waded into the debate at the major national Catholic conference in the town of Münster.
The planned proposal has been championed by Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, president of the German bishops’ conference, who announced in February that the conference would publish a pastoral handout for married couples that allows Protestant spouses of Catholics “in individual cases” and “under certain conditions” to receive Holy Communion, provided they “affirm the Catholic faith in the Eucharist”.
Subsequently, seven German bishops, led by Cardinal Rainer Woelki of Cologne, ask the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for clarification, asking whether the question of Holy Communion for Protestant spouses in interdenominational marriages can be decided on the level of a national bishops’ conference, or if rather, “a decision of the Universal Church” is required in the matter.
Speaking in an interview with EWTN this week, Cardinal Woelki reaffirmed his position, calling for all parties to “consider and recognize that the Eucharist is ordered to the unity of the creed”.
The Katholikentag event drew several tens of thousands of Catholics from German-speaking Europe to Münster May 9-11, and saw not only politicians and Cardinals Marx and Woelki restating and clarifying their respective positions, but provided a stage to Germany’s president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, saying, in the keynote speech that opened the event: “Let us seek ways of expressing the common Christian faith by sharing in the Last Supper and Communion. I am sure: Thousands of Christians in interdenominational marriages are hoping for this”.
Similarly, Cardinal Marx stated that he hoped there soon would be a solution to the Communion debate, declaring May 9: “When someone is hungry and has faith, they must have access to the Eucharist. That must be our passion, and I will not let up on this.”
A peculiarly polemical form of this “hunger” caused something of a public scandal shortly after, when an official panel discussion played host to one celebrity’s demand to be “handed that wafer [the Most Blessed Sacrament]” since he pays for it with his Church tax.
Speaking on stage with Cardinal Woelki, the comedian and TV personality Eckart von Hirschhausen sharply criticised the Catholic Church’s teaching – to applause from the predominantly Catholic audience – saying, “I don’t see the point of a public debate about wafers” since climate change, on his view, was a “far more serious” issue.
Since he, as a Protestant spouse to a Catholic, pays Church tax and thus considered himself “a major sponsor”, the Church had “better happily hand out a wafer for it, or give me back my money!”, demanded von Hirschhausen, to an applauding crowd.
The crowd’s mood notwithstanding, Cardinal Woelki politely but firmly disagreed. “As a Catholic, I would never speak of a wafer. Using this concept alone demonstrates that we have a very different understanding” of what the Archbishop of Cologne then reminded the audience “is the Most Blessed Sacrament”, in which “Catholics encounter Christ Himself”.
With CNA’s German edition, CNA Deutsch, covering the diatribe, Catholics on social media quickly reacted with outrage to Hirschhausen’s pronouncements, triggering an apology on the following day, which in turn was widely discussed.
In an interview with EWTN’s German edition, Cardinal Woelki noted “he ecclesiological import of the Eucharist: “The Eucharist constitutes the ecclesial community of the Church. The Eucharist and the Church’s community are very, very close to one another.”
“Now, of course I understand that this constitutes a certain challenge, and that people may experience it as a form of suffering, in particular in the case of interdenominational marriages, that they may not be able to receive the Eucharist together.”
At the same time, the Archbishop of Cologne said, “it is of vital importance for us to recognize that whoever says ‘yes’ to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, acknowledging that Christ is indeed really present, thereby naturally also says ‘yes’ to the Papacy, and the hierarchical structure of the Church, and the veneration of the saints and much, much more”.
Any solution found in Germany could also not constitute some form of exceptionalism, but would have to be fully compatible with the universal Church, Woelki told EWTN’s Christina Link-Blumrath, again making an ecclesiological point: “As the Catholic Church, we also have to point out that we are a part and parcel of the universal Church. There can be no German exceptionalism.”
Just before these latest developments, on May 3, seven German bishops attended an inconclusive meeting at the Vatican to discuss prospective guidelines allowing non-Catholic spouses of Catholics to receive the Eucharist in certain “limited circumstances”, with the Vatican sending the Germans back, saying Pope Francis wants the bishops to come to an agreement among themselves.
Rudolf Gehrig contributed to this report.
Vatican City, May 14, 2018 / 01:55 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Speaking on the eve of a 3-day meeting with Pope Francis about a massive clerical abuse scandal, several Chilean prelates said they are ready to listen, and to work toward eradicating sexual abuse in the Church.
In a May 14 press conference ahead of their May 15-17 meeting with Pope Francis, two leading Chilean bishops said clerical sexual abuse is “unacceptable” and “intolerable,” and is something they are committed to eradicating.
The bishops said their attitude going into meetings with the pope this week is one of “pain and shame,” and that their main goals are to listen to what Francis has to say and to find a way forward which brings both healing and reparation for victims, as well as stricter prevention measures.
In comments to the media, Bishop Fernando Ramos, auxiliary bishop of Santiago, said he and his fellow prelates feel pain because “there are victims, people, who have suffered these abuses and this causes us great pain.”
They also feel shame, he said, “because these abuses happened in ecclesial environments, the environments where these types of abuse must never happen again.”
Ramos spoke alongside Bishop Juan Ignacio González of San Bernardo at a news conference ahead of a 3-day meeting between Pope Francis and 34 Chilean prelates this week, 30 of whom are still in office.
Pope Francis summoned the bishops to Rome last month following an in-depth investigation into abuse cover-up by Church hierarchy in Chile conducted by Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna earlier this year, which resulted in a whopping 2,300 page report on the investigation’s conclusions.
The investigation was centered around Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, who was appointed to the diocese in 2015 and who has been accused by Cruz and several others of covering up Karadima’s abuses, and of participating in acts of abuse.
Allegations were also made against three other bishops – Andrés Arteaga, Tomislav Koljatic and Horacio Valenzuela – who Karadima’s victims accuse of also covering the abuser’s crimes.
While on the ground Scicluna interviewed some 64 people, many of whom were victims or potential victims, but the scale of the investigation went beyond Barros. It is said to be much more extensive, including details from other cases, such as the Marist Brothers, who are currently under canonical investigation after allegations of sexual abuse by some of the members surfaced in August 2017.
Pope Francis had previous defended Barros, saying he had received no evidence of the bishop’s guilt, and called accusations against him “calumny” during a trip to Chile in January.
However, after receiving Scicluna’s report, Francis issued his major “mea culpa” and asked to meet the bishops and more outspoken survivors in person.
The pope’s meeting with Chilean bishops will begin Tuesday, May 15 in the early afternoon as a group, and will continue over the next two days. During the discussion, Francis will focus on Scicluna’s report and is expected to share his own personal conclusions.
Pope Francis is expected to meet with the bishops as a whole, however, no Masses are planned and it is unknown whether or not he has scheduled private meetings with individual prelates.
In his comments to media, Ramos said a main goal of the encounter, apart from listening to the pope, is to discern “ways – long, medium or short – to restore reconciliation and justice.”
“This path of discernment, of listening, gives us great hope that these meetings with the pope will give us the strength and greatest availability to change and renew our Church,” he said.
Focusing on the need to make reparations, Gonzalez said that this must happen at an ecclesial level, but “the victims come first.”
Neither Ramos nor Gonzalez commented on the possibility on the culpability of certain bishops or the possibility that some would be removed from office or sanctioned, including Cardinal Javier Errazuriz – archbishop emeritus of Santiago and one of the pope’s nine cardinal advisors. This decision, the prelates said, rests with the pope.
“It doesn’t depend on us…each one has to discern with the pope,” Gonzalez said, adding that “it’s not my job to know what path another should take.
“It’s possible that the Pope has more information than us, because many people go straight to the Holy See,” he said, adding that the Church in Chile is doing what they can and have made significant progress in terms of education and formation compared to even the recent past.
Errazuriz was recently accused of a cover-up by three survivors of clerical sexual abuse from Chile – Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Andres Murillo – after holding individual meetings with Pope Francis at the Vatican earlier this month.
Last week Errazuriz released a statement saying he would not be present for the meeting with Pope Francis due to “personal reasons.” However, according to sources close to the situation, he landed in Rome after receiving a call from the pope himself.
When asked whether they felt they could trust the pope’s judgment given his previous comments to victims and his staunch defense of Barros, Gonzalez said the pope’s apology was “impressive,” and shows how a leader should act.
According to Ramos, the bishops themselves, like the pope, will also ask for forgiveness. “To ask for forgiveness is a moral imperative for us,” he said, voicing his hope that they will receive a forgiveness that allows for healing and reparation to take place. “This is our greatest desire.”
Going forward, Ramos said the meeting is a moment of pain and of shame for all bishops in Chile, and for the victims who endured abuse at the hands of priests. However, it can also be a moment of renewal for the Church, he said, noting that the Church isn’t made up of just bishops, priests and religious.
The Church, he said, is composed of “the People of God,” and while it might be a complicated time for Chile, it is also an opportunity “to evangelize” and to go forward.
Part of going forward, the bishops said, is doing an “auto-critique” of ways they can improve in terms of formation, prevention, healing and reimbursement.
Prevention, Gonzalez said, “has a lot to do with the formation of our priests,” and a task of the bishops must be “to form priests from when they enter seminary until they go forward.
This training in abuse prevention is not something that was done in the past but now it is essential for seminaries, he said, explaining that he is ashamed by what has happened, “but I have a lot of hope in the future.”
However, Ramos stressed that finding the right way forward is not something that can happen in one 3-day meeting with the pope, but it will take longer. Using the words of Francis himself, he said it is a “synodal process” that everyone has to work on together with the guidance of the pope.
Referring to a letter written by Benedict XVI to Irish bishops in 2010 after the country’s massive abuse crisis was uncovered, Gonzalez said Chilean prelates have all read the document, which is “a precious and beautiful text full of guidelines that we will follow or all following.”
However, the what is needed now “is to listen to Peter, to listen to the Pope…conclusions will come, new paths will come out,” he said, “the pope gives us light” indicating path to be taken.
© Catholic World Report