St. Paul, Minn., Aug 22, 2018 / 04:56 pm (CNA).- More than 100 young adults in Saint Paul, Minnesota, gathered this week to pray for the healing of sexual abuse victims and for a purification of the Church in the face of recent scandals.
An estimated … […]
Chennai, India, Aug 22, 2018 / 03:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Record flash floods and landslides in the southwest state of Kerala in India have left hundreds dead and thousands more displaced after August rains late in the monsoon season broke three dams a… […]
Portsmouth, England, Aug 22, 2018 / 02:44 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Philip Egan of the Diocese of Portsmouth, in southern England, has written to the pope asking him to convene an extraordinary meeting of the Synod of Bishops in the wake of recent sc… […]
Dublin, Ireland, Aug 22, 2018 / 01:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- God’s plan for the family may sometimes feel countercultural, but it is nevertheless part of the Church’s “good news” for society and for the world, said Archbishop Eamo… […]
Washington D.C., Aug 22, 2018 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- A letter from Pope Francis on Amoris laetitia has been published in which the pope says the 2016 apostolic exhortation is “always in continuity” with the traditional teaching of the Church, a… […]
Pittsburgh, Pa., Aug 22, 2018 / 12:46 pm (CNA).- The Diocese of Pittsburgh has received about 50 new allegations of abuse, and a state abuse hotline has received more than 500 calls after the Aug. 14 release a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing a… […]
Dublin, Ireland, Aug 22, 2018 / 12:27 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In the face of attacks on the family, the Church should strive to imitate the Holy Family, which shines through the darkness, said Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay.
“In the midst of the… […]
Dublin, Ireland, Aug 22, 2018 / 11:30 am (CNA).- Participants in the World Meeting of Families have been invited to walk the “Dublin Camino,” a seven-church “Pilgrim Walk” throughout the city, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Dublin.
The event, which is running from Aug. 18-25, is aimed at making the themes of the World Meeting of Families accessible to everyone, even those not attending the pastoral congress or other large events.
Pilgrims can pick up a free “Pilgrim Walk Passport” at any of the seven churches along the route, each marked with a banner identifying them as an official stop along the way, and they can be visited any order.
Like those making the ancient Camino de Santiago de Compostela through Spain, pilgrims in Dublin receive a stamp at each of the different churches, and a final seal on the certificate page of their pilgrim passport, marking the completion of the journey.
“Your fully-stamped passport will serve as a life-long reminder of your participation in the IXth World Meeting of Families in Dublin,” said Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin in a letter printed in the passports.
“It will also record your pilgrim journey of prayer and reflection through the themes associated with each church for this event,” he said. An interactive map of the pilgrim walk is available on the official World Meeting of Families mobile app.
At each church, pilgrims are instructed to pray for a specific intention relating to the family, such as grandparents, parents, and children. Volunteers are present at each church to greet pilgrims, stamp passports, and provide information about the history of that particular church. Some of the parishes have items for sale in addition to pamphlets about upcoming events happening at the parish.
Six of the churches on the route are Roman Catholic, but one, St. Michan’s, located on Church Street, is a Church of Ireland parish – part of the Anglican Communion. A nearby Roman Catholic church on Halston Street, also named after St. Michan, is another stop on the pilgrimage.
Rev. Ross Styles, an Anglican minister on hand to welcome pilgrims, explained to CNA that the Anglican parish had been included on the pilgrim route because of its strong ecumenical ties with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dublin. The building had been a Catholic Church until the time of the Protestant Reformation.
The route was officially opened Saturday, August 18, by Archbishop Martin walking with the Anglican archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Michael Jackson, between the Anglican and Catholic churches of St. Michan’s.
When Dublin hosted the International Eucharistic Congress in 2012, a Church of Ireland parish was also involved in a similar event.
The inclusion of the Anglican St. Michan’s church is meant to signify the “family” of Christian communities, Styles said, adding that it “reinforces our close ecumenical links.” He said that the theme of St. Michan’s was “fostering the gift of forgiveness among families,” and pilgrims were asked to “pray for the family of Christian Churches,” and “our mutual need for forgiveness.”
Volunteers told CNA that the crowds visiting the churches was “very multicultural” and not limited to local parishioners and residents, though Dubliners have been visiting too, with many taking to social media to praise the city’s hidden gems.
“Just did the #WMOF2018 #Pilgrimwalk of seven churches and I didn’t realize how lovely some of them are….and I’m from Dublin!” tweeted Mary Kirk, a local resident.
Gary, Ind., Aug 22, 2018 / 11:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Monday morning’s assault of a priest of the Ruthenian Eparchy of Parma is being investigated as a hate crime, a police official has told the Chicago Tribune.
A statement attributed to the eparchial chancery said Fr. Basil Hutsko “was attacked and knocked unconscious” in the altar server’s sacristy at his parish after celebrating the Divine Liturgy.
Fr. Hutsko, 64, is pastor of St. Michael parish in Merrillville, Ind., immediately south of Gary.
The priest was choked and his head slammed to the ground, making him lose consciousness.
According to the statement, the attacker said, “This is for all the kids” as he assaulted the priest Aug. 20.
“All clergy are now targets and need to be vigilant. However it must also be clear that Fr. Hutsko was a random target. He is NOT guilty of any sex abuse,” read the statement, which was signed by Fr. Thomas J. Loya, who is pastor of Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church in Homer Glen, Ill.
Jeff Rice, spokesman for the Merrillville police, said the local force alerted the FBI because “it is considered a hate crime” given the attacker’s words, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The attack comes in the wake of the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report on clerical sex abuse of minors which discussed abuse of more than 1,000 minors by some 300 priests in the mid-Atlantic state.
Fr. Hutsko was attended to by medics at St. Michael’s, and was then examined at a nearby hospital. Rice said that the priest was “definitely bruised and banged up.”
Fr. Steven Koplinka of St. Nicholas Byzantine parish in Munster, Ind., told the Chicago Tribune that the priest was “attacked from the back and he didn’t see who it was.”
“It’s just like they’re targeting the wrong guys, you know?” Fr. Koplinka said. “The rest of us try our best to be good priests and unfortunately this happened.”
Depending on the circumstances, in addition to a civil crime, the attacker could have committed a delict under canon law.
If the attacker were a Latin Catholic, he could have violated CIC 1370.3, which says that “A person who uses physical force against a cleric or religious out of contempt for the faith, the Church, ecclesiastical power, or the ministry is to be punished with a just penalty.”
Were the attacker an Eastern Catholic, he would be subject to CCEO 1445.2, which says one who uses physical force against a cleric “is to be punished with an appropriate penalty.”
Vatican City, Aug 22, 2018 / 05:11 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The lives of the saints are attractive because they demonstrate the radical and authentic relationship with Christ each person is called to, Pope Francis said Wednesday.
“Why are the saints so able to touch the heart?” he asked at the general audience Aug. 22. “Because in the saints we see what our heart deeply desires: authenticity, true relationships, radicalism.”
This example can also be found in those “saints next door,” he noted, such as parents who teach their children to live “coherent, simple, honest, and generous” lives.
Continuing his reflection on the Ten Commandments, Pope Francis spoke about respecting the name of the Lord. He also pointed out a deeper meaning of the commandment, which is the hypocrisy of “using” God’s name while not having a real relationship with him.
“One may ask: is it possible to take upon oneself the name of God hypocritically, as a formality, in a vacuum? The answer is unfortunately positive: yes, it is possible. One can live a false relationship with God,” he said.
Francis drew a comparison to the “doctors of the law” in the Bible, who spoke about God but did not do his will or did not have a relationship with him.
In Exodus, the expression “in vain” is used, meaning emptily or “uselessly,” he explained. This is a characteristic of hypocrisy or lying – using words or the name of God “without truth.”
Thus, the commandment to not use the name of the Lord in vain, is also an invitation “to a relationship with God without hypocrisy, to a relationship in which we entrust ourselves to him with all that we are,” he stated. “This is Christianity that touches hearts.”
He said if Christians all strive to take God’s name upon themselves “without falsehood… the Church’s proclamation is heard more and is more credible.” If the Word of God is spoken in unity with Christ, then it will not be “praying like a parrot,” but “praying with the heart, loving the Lord.”
“If our concrete life manifests the name of God, we see how beautiful baptism is and what a great gift the Eucharist is!” he said. “What a sublime union there is between our body and the Body of Christ, He in us and we in Him!”
Because Christ, through his suffering and death on the cross, has taken the sins of the world, each person’s names are “on the shoulders of Christ,” he said, encouraging Christians to take God’s name upon themselves.
“Anyone can invoke the holy name of the Lord, who is faithful and merciful love, in whatever situation he finds himself,” he concluded. “God will never say ‘no’ to a heart that sincerely invokes it.”
© Catholic World Report