News Briefs

Study finds nearly 30% spike in male teen suicide following Netflix release of ‘13 Reasons Why’

June 7, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Denver, Colo., Jun 7, 2019 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- When the Netflix series ‘13 Reasons Why’, which features teen suicide, first aired in 2017, mental health professionals expressed concerns that the show could have a contagion effect, triggering an increase in suicides among teens inspired by the show.

A new study suggests these fears were not unfounded. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, United States youth ages 10-17 had a 28.9% increase in suicide rates in young males in the month (April 2017) following the debut of the show.

“The number of deaths by suicide recorded in April 2017 was greater than the number seen in any single month during the five-year period examined by the researchers,” the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reported. Increases in suicide rates among youth were also found in the month leading up to the shows release, and through December 2017, nine months after its release.

“The findings highlight the necessity of using best practices when portraying suicide in popular entertainment and in the media,” NIMH stated in a press release on the study.

The study was conducted by multiple researchers from several different universities, hospitals, and the NIMH, which also funded the study. The study found that the increase in suicides was statistically significant among young males. The increase in suicides among young females in association with the show was not statistically significant.

For the study, researchers analyzed death rates due to suicide based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s web-based Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research.

Researchers found the increase in suicide rates even after adjusting for otherwise expected suicide rates during that time period, based on ongoing suicide trends. They also found that suicide rates did not increase during the studied time period for people ages 18-64.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people between the ages of 10 and 24, according to the CDC. Studies show that publicized suicides may also trigger a ripple effect of additional suicides within communities.

“The results of this study should raise awareness that young people are particularly vulnerable to the media,” one author of the study, Lisa Horowitz, Ph.D., M.P.H., a clinical scientist in the NIMH Intramural Research Program, said in a statement. “All disciplines, including the media, need to take good care to be constructive and thoughtful about topics that intersect with public health crises.”

The Netflix series “13 Reasons Why,” developed by Brian Yorkey, is based on a young adult novel with the same title by author Jay Asher. The series examines the suicide of 17 year-old Hannah Baker, who made 13 cassette tapes prior to her death. Each tape is addressed to a different person at her school, and details how and why they contributed to her desire to take her own life. It also graphically depicts Baker’s suicide in a scene in which she slits her wrists and lets her blood spill into her bathtub at home.

Mental health experts and other critics have raised concerns that the show portrays suicide as an act of revenge and a power play, rather than as an irreversible tragedy.

“There was a kind of romanticization, and at the core of the story was this idea that you can kill yourself and be dead and yet not really be dead,” Don Mordecai, Kaiser Permanente’s national leader for mental health, told Business Insider. “Because, of course, (Baker) continues to be a character – she’s in scenes, and she’s still there in many ways.”

The creators of the Netflix original series insisted in a follow-up video that 13 Reasons was meant to be helpful – to bring up important conversations about serious topics like suicide, bullying and assault, and to get viewers talking about solutions to suicidal thoughts. The second season of the show includes a disclaimer, telling teenagers to watch the show with a trusted adult and to seek help if they experience suicidal thoughts.

But even prior to this recent study, the show faced much backlash from mental health experts, who said it failed to follow several of the “Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide,” a list of guidelines for media outlets developed by suicide prevention experts and journalists. Experts advise against sensational headlines or depicting the method of suicide, which studies have shown can lead to suicide contagion, or “copycat” suicides.

Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, a U.S. non-profit suicide prevention group, said at the show’s release that it may do “more harm than good.”

A Florida schools superintendent warned parents in April 2017 that the show was inspiring an increase in self-harming and suicidal threats among elementary and middle school students, according to the Washington Post.

A survey published in November 2018 also found that of 87 suicidal teenagers aged 13 to 17 who were taken to the emergency department, 43 of them said that they had watched at least one episode of “13 Reasons Why”. Of those who had seen the show, 21 reported that they believe it had increased their risk for suicide.

In the press release for the NIMH study, the authors concluded that the findings “should serve as a reminder to be mindful of the possible unintended impacts of the portrayal of suicide, and as a call to the entertainment industry and the media to use best practices when engaging with this topic.”

 

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Holy See confirms changes to Italian liturgical translation of Our Father, Gloria

June 7, 2019 CNA Daily News 2

Vatican City, Jun 7, 2019 / 02:36 pm (CNA).- The Apostolic See has confirmed the translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal prepared by the Italian bishops’ conference. The translation has garnered attention for its changes to the Our Father, as well as the Gloria.

The newly-approved Messale Romano will translate the penultimate line of the Our Father (ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem) (lead us not into temptation) as “non abbandonarci alla tentazione” (do not abandon us to temptation). The existing version had translated it as “non ci indurre in tentazione” (lead us not into temptation).

In the Gloria, the line “in térra pax homínibus bónae voluntátis” (on earth peace to people of good will) will be translated “pace in terra agli uomini, amati dal Signore” (peace on earth to men, loved by the Lord). It was translated “pace in terra agli uomini di buona volontà” (peace on earth to men of good will).

The Italian bishops’ conference had approved the new edition of the Messale Romano during their November 2018 general assembly. The Apostolic See’s confirmation of the text was communicated during the conference’s meeting last month.

News reports in English may have given the impression that Pope Francis had changed the Our Father for the whole of the Church, rather than his see having confirmed a change made by the bishops of Italy.

The new Italian text is a translation of the third edition of the Missale Romanum, the Latin typical edition which was issued in 2002. The existing Messale Romano was a translation of the second edition of the Missale Romanum, which had been promulgated in 1975.

The English translation of the third edition of the Missale Romanum was issued in 2011.

A spokesman for the English and Welsh bishops has said that the International Commission on English in the Liturgy “is not currently considering the Lord’s Prayer,” and that “there are no plans at present for [the Our Father] to change in English,” but that “I am sure there will be some consultation with the English-speaking nations.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish bishops said there were “no plans” to adopt the changes, while Bishop Francis Duffy of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, liturgy chair for the Irish bishops, said that “In consultation with bishops from other English-speaking countries, the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference will give close attention to the reported change to the Lord’s Prayer. The bishops will look at the implications for both the Irish and English translations of this much loved and universal prayer.”

The change in the Italian translation was many years in the making. The revised version of the Our Father had been published in a version of the Bible approved by the Italian bishops’ conference in 2002, and published in 2008.

The French bishops’ conference made a similar change to its translation of the Our Father. In 2017 it adopted a translation reading “ne nous laisse pas entrer en tentation” (do not let us fall into temptation), whereas the former translation had read “ne nous soumets pas à la tentation” (lead us not into temptation).

In January 2018, the German bishops’ conference chose against changing their translation of the Our Father to accord with the new trend. They noted “philosophical, exegetical, liturgical and, not least, ecumenical” reasons to leave the translation untouched, and added that the petition speaks of “the trust to be carried and redeemed by almighty God.”

Though the new Italian translation of the Our Father was not Pope Francis’ “change,” he has several times been publicly critical of the way the petition “ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem” is translated in some languages.

In an interview with Italian Catholic television network TV2000, Pope Francis lauded the French bishops’ decision, and he expressed concern that certain translations could give the impression it is God “who pushes me toward temptation to see how I fall.”

More recently, Francis commented that “the original Greek expression contained in the Gospels is difficult to render exactly, and all modern translations are somewhat limping.”

The Greek verb found in the Gospels, eisenenkēis, means to bring in, to lead in, to carry in, or to introduce.

In his collation on the Our Father, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that “Christ teaches us to pray, not that we may not be tempted, but that we may not be led into temptation. For it is when one overcomes temptation that one deserves the reward … Our Lord, therefore, teaches us to pray that we be not led into temptation, by giving our consent to it,” because “it is human to be tempted, but to give consent is devilish.”

“But does God lead one to evil, that he should pray: ‘Lead us not into temptation’? I reply that God is said to lead a person into evil by permitting him to the extent that, because of his many sins, He withdraws His grace from man, and as a result of this withdrawal man does fall into sin,” the Angelic Doctor wrote.

“God, however, directs man by the fervor of charity that he be not led into temptation. For charity even in its smallest degree is able to resist any kind of sin: ‘Many waters cannot quench charity.’ He also guides man by the light of his intellect in which he teaches him what he should do. For as the Philosopher says: ‘Every one who sins is ignorant.’ ‘I will give thee understanding and I will instruct thee.’ It was for this last that David prayed, saying: ‘Enlighten my eyes that I never sleep in death; lest at any time my enemy say: I have prevailed against him.’ We have this through the gift of understanding. Therefore, when we refuse to consent to temptation, we keep our hearts pure … And it follows from this petition that we are led up to the sight of God, and to it may God lead us all.”

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Arson suspected in fire at Florida cathedral

June 6, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Tallahassee, Fla., Jun 6, 2019 / 07:34 pm (CNA).- The co-cathedral of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee was damaged by fire Wednesday, with several of the chairs in the sanctuary set ablaze using an accelerant. The church’s rector has said he … […]

Catholic veteran who took part in D-Day buried at Arlington National Cemetery

June 6, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Arlington, Va., Jun 6, 2019 / 05:01 pm (CNA).- Sgt. Carl Mann, Sr. died March 30 at the age of 96, almost a month after his son, Fr. Gordon Mann, died of leukemia at the age of 59.

Both of the Manns’ lives were changed forever on June 6, decades apart.

For the patriarch of the Mann family, his life-altering June 6 came in 1944, when he was part of the second wave of soldiers who stormed Omaha Beach as part of the D-Day invasion. Gordon’s was in 1992, when he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Evansville.

According to Miles and Carl Mann II, two of Carl Sr.’s sons, nobody realized the significance of the overlapped dates until they began planning their father’s burial at Arlington National Cemetery – which was also held June 6.

The brothers do not believe this happened by chance.

“It’s not a coincidence, I promise you,” Miles told CNA. “I’m not good enough to try to coordinate anything like this and put all these pieces together. But God’s perfect and that’s how it happens.”

Their father lived his life by a simple motto: “God, country, and family.”

While in the army, Mann would take time to pray and evangelize, even in the face of death and in the midst of bloodshed.

Mann would baptize soldiers in the middle of battle. Miles said he “was basically just the hands and feet of Jesus to do that.”

Carl II said that his father was willing and able to baptize on the battlefield as he knew that he was “spiritually ready” to die, and wanted to make sure others were as well.

“He just knew there was nothing in the world more important than (baptism),” said Miles. “Not even his own life.”

Some soldiers came to know Christ in their dying moments because of Mann’s battlefield prayers.

“His buddies would ask him was he was doing because they saw him kneeling down praying in the middle of the battle. And, a lot of those men didn’t know who Jesus was,” said Miles. They would ask Mann to teach them how to pray, and he would reply, “just listen.”

“He’d finish the prayer and then they would finish whatever skirmish or battle or event they were in the middle of. Some of them made it, some of them didn’t, but the ones that did not make it, they got to meet Jesus through him.”

Initially, Sgt. Mann was reluctant to discuss his military experience, and would often make jokes relating to his service.

“He would say, ‘Boy, I couldn’t wait to get off that (Omaha) beach. We were out of hotdogs and the ice cream was melting,’” said Miles. That all changed about a decade ago, after he was asked by a grandchild on which side of World War II he had fought.

Realizing that history was at risk of being forgotten, he began to open up more about his service, and shared his story at high schools and to his family. In addition to Normandy, Mann also served in the Battle of the Bulge and assisted in the liberation of two concentration camps. He was awarded three Purple Hearts and seven Bronze Stars, which enabled him to be buried at Arlington.

Sgt. Mann’s priorities of God, country, and family will leave a lasting legacy after his death.

“I think that I could give one perspective on it. It’s Dad’s statement was this: You know, my brother is him,” said Carl II, gesturing around.

“My brothers were willing to die for freedom. He said, ‘but there was only one who died for our sins.’ And that was his faith.”

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Biden faces Democratic criticism over support for Hyde Amendment

June 6, 2019 CNA Daily News 2

Washington D.C., Jun 6, 2019 / 04:33 pm (CNA).- Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is facing opposition within the Democratic Party after voicing his support for the Hyde Amendment, a federal policy prohibiting tax dollars from paying for elective abortions.

Biden’s presidential campaign this week reiterated his support for the Hyde Amendment to NBC News.

The move immediately drew strong criticism from abortion advocacy groups, as well as from other Democratic candidates.

“There’s no political or ideological excuse for Joe Biden’s support for the Hyde Amendment, which translates into discrimination against poor women and women of color plain and simple,” said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, in a June 5 statement.

Kelley Robinson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, was similarly critical.

“As abortion access is being restricted and pushed out of reach in states around the country, it is unacceptable for a candidate to support policies that further restrict abortion,” she said in a statement.

Biden, who has been vocal about his Catholic faith throughout his political career, has repeatedly said that he is personally opposed to abortion but supports its legality. In his 2007 book “Promises to Keep,” Biden described his position on abortion as “middle-of-the-road” and reiterated his opposition to both federal funding of abortions and partial-birth abortions.

While Biden’s views on abortion have shifted over time, he has generally presented himself as pro-choice. Throughout his time in the Senate, he opposed numerous pro-life Supreme Court appointments. Last month, he released a video opposing new state-level pro-life legislation and saying he would support federal protections for abortion. He has recently reiterated that he thinks Roe v. Wade is “the law of the land.”

Biden’s stance on the Hyde Amendment, however, puts him at odds with other major Democratic hopefuls, including Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren.

The Hyde Amendment was introduced in 1976 by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.). It is not a law, but rather has been passed as a rider to budget legislation every year.

A policy that has been supported by members of both parties, it prohibits federal tax dollars from paying for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or when it is deemed necessary to save the life of the mother.

The Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, has estimated that more than 2 million unborn lives have been saved as a result of the policy.

Various efforts to repeal the Hyde Amendment over the years have failed.

Biden enjoys a strong lead in the polls over more than two dozen other Democratic presidential hopefuls. While many of the other prominent candidates have moved in an increasingly progressive direction with their policy proposals, Biden has remained more moderate on topics such as the environment and health care. The former vice president argues that in order to beat President Donald Trump in the upcoming election, the Democratic Party will need to appeal to mainstream voters, including moderate independents and dissatisfied Republicans.

A survey by the Harvard School of Public Health found that the majority of Americans oppose taxpayer money being used for elective abortions.

However, the Democratic Party in 2016 included in its national platform a statement of support for repealing the Hyde Amendment, as well as opposition to state and federal restrictions on abortion.

Several other Democratic presidential contenders shot back at Biden and reiterated their own stance in favor of removing the Hyde Amendment.

“There is #NoMiddleGround on women’s rights. Abortion is a constitutional right. Under my Medicare for All plan, we will repeal the Hyde Amendment,” said U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Twitter.

“No woman’s access to reproductive health care should be based on how much money she has,” said U.S. Senator Kamala Harris. “We must repeal the Hyde Amendment.”

“No matter your income or where you live, every woman should have access to health care including abortion,” said former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke.

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Cuban archdiocese opens home for the elderly

June 6, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Camagüey, Cuba, Jun 6, 2019 / 04:18 pm (CNA).- The Archdiocese of  Camagüey inaugurated the Archbishop Adolfo Home for the Elderly to serve the city’s seniors last month.

During the May 25 event, Archbishop Wilfredo Pino Estevez of Camagüey said the initiative shows how the Cuban state and Church can cooperate.

“I believe that the Public Health System and the Church have set an example of how we can work together to achieve a common good. And that is something we must continue to maintain,” the prelate said. He also encouraged the initiative “to be multiplied in other areas in which the Cuban Church and the state could work together.”

“In the end, we are all at the service of one and the same Cuban people,” he said.

The prelate highlighted the presence of the Camillian Sisters who will serve the elderly.

The home bears the name of Archbishop Adolfo Rodríguez Herrera, who led the diocese for 40 years. The facility took 13 years to build and constitutes a great achievement for the Church in Cuba.

The prelate also recalled the letter that Archbishop Rodriguez wrote 18 years ago addressed to a Cuban official about the project: “I wish to take the opportunity to reiterate to you that the Church does not seek to compete nor to overshadow other institutions of this kind. For centuries (and in Cuba for 500 years), the Church, by a mandate from Jesus Christ, has raised up the first schools, hospitals, leprosariums, and asylums, when there was no one to compete with nor to eclipse. Experience, also in Camagüey, before and now, shows that a school, a hospital, an asylum… does not compete, rather it stimulates, establishes a healthy emulation that benefits everyone. A Home for the Elderly, is not a productive business but an under appreciated service for a very difficult stage in life which is old age.”

Archbishop Pino commented: “All of us who knew him will never forget the saintly bishop who taught us, in word and deed  to always trust in the Lord, a conviction that made him a serene and positive being even in the dark and difficult hours of our history!”

He likewise recognized the support of “so many people and institutions, inside and outside the country, who, with their financial contributions according to their means, made this construction possible.” He also thanked the lay people, deacons, priests, sisters and others others who got involved and helped the project go forward.

“Thanks for the example you gave us in reminding us that this work does not belong to one group but of all of you!”

Also present at the dedication was the Bishop Domingo Oropesa Lorente of Cienfuegos, whom Pino also thanked for the efforts he made benefiting this great work.

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