Bielsko-Biala, Poland, Jan 25, 2018 / 03:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Over the weekend at the Polish ski resort of Wisla, cassocks could be spotted flying down the hills for the 21st annual Pope John Paul II Skiing Cup.
The competition, which awards the Jo… […]
Dublin, Ireland, Jan 24, 2018 / 11:08 pm (CNA).- An Irish priest and exorcist is asking the country’s bishops for more support after noticing a dramatic increase in demonic activity in the country.
In a recent interview with The Irish Catholic, Fr. Pat Collins said he has been overwhelmed with the number of requests for exorcisms from the faithful in Ireland. In an open letter, he has urged the Irish bishops to train more priests to deal with the demand.
“(I)t’s only in recent years that the demand has risen exponentially,” Collins told The Irish Catholic.
Collins’ comments are on par with those of other exorcists throughout the world, including the International Association of Exorcists (IAE), a group of 400 Catholic leaders and priests, which has reported a dramatic increase in demonic activity in recent years.
In 2014, the IAE said the levels of demonic activity throughout the world had reached what they considered a “pastoral emergency.”
Collins said that he was “baffled” that the bishops haven’t trained more exorcists for Ireland, and added that anyone who doesn’t see the need for more exorcists is “out of touch with reality.”
“What I’m finding out desperately, is people who in their own minds believe – rightly or wrongly – that they’re afflicted by an evil spirit,” Collins said.
“I think in many cases they wrongly think it, but when they turn to the Church, the Church doesn’t know what to do with them and they refer them on either to a psychologist or to somebody that they’ve heard of that is interested in this form of ministry, and they do fall between the cracks and often are not helped,” he added.
A spokesperson for the bishops’ conference at Maynooth told The Irish Catholic that each diocese is required to have a trained exorcist, who is able to discern the difference between signs of true demonic possession and signs of mental or psychological illness.
“Exorcisms are very rare and this office has not been made aware of any cases of ‘exorcism’ in Ireland in recent years,” the spokesperson said.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between demonic activity and mental illness. From paragraph 1673: “Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore, before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness.”
In April 2015, the Congregation for the Clergy and the Sacerdos Institute hosted a seminar at Rome’s Regina Apostolorum University, specifically aimed at training priests and lay people in spotting the differences between psychological problems and demonic possession.
The conference included interventions from a wide range of experts in the field of exorcism, including practicing exorcists, medical professionals, psychologists, lawyers, and theologians.
Recently updated rules of the Catholic rite of exorcism also state that a person who believes they are possessed must first rule out mental illness before seeking an exorcism. If the rite of exorcism is still needed, they may seek out a priest who has been trained and appointed as exorcist for his diocese by his bishop.
Collins noted that it often takes multiple meetings with a person seeking an exorcism to determine precisely what is afflicting them, but noted that whether it is true demonic activity or other problems, the requests have gone up dramatically in recent years.
Father Vincent Lampert, a Vatican-trained exorcist and a parish priest of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, has previously told CNA that the best defense against demonic possession is staying close to the sacraments.
In his open letter to the Irish bishops, Collins wrote: “…there has been increasing evidence of the malicious activity of the evil one.”
“I can’t judge from my own subjective experience because people see on the internet that I’m supposed to be an exorcist so I get an inordinate number of calls from people, and emails, all I can say is I have that reputation, but it’s only in recent years that the demand has risen exponentially,” he wrote.
Frankfurt, Germany, Jan 24, 2018 / 03:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A German bishop’s proposal that the Catholic Church could provide blessing ceremonies for gay couples, as well as divorced and civilly remarried couples, gained support at a Church conference in Frankfurt this weekend.
Earlier this month, Bishop Franz-Josef Bode suggested that the Church develop a ceremony for blessing same-sex unions during an interview with Neue Osnabrucker Zeitung.
“We need to think about how we can differentiate a relationship between two same-sex people,” said the bishop, who is deputy chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference: “Is not there so much that is positive, good and right that we have to be fairer?”
The bishop said that same-sex unions are a reality in the country. “We must therefore ask ourselves how we meet those who enter into this relationship and who are also partly involved in the Church,” he said.
“How do we accompany them pastorally and liturgically? How do we live up to them?”
On Jan. 20, Father Johannes Zu Eltz, the city-dean of the Catholic Church in Frankfurt and a senior official in the Diocese of Limburg, said that the Church should consider “theologically founded blessing ceremonies” for couples who do not meet the requirements for marriage in the Church.
The suggestion was made during the Frankfurt City Church Forum II, attended by 170 Church leaders. Such forums are used to discuss reforms that can be made within the local Church.
The proposed blessings would be for same-sex couples “as well as [divorced and] civilly remarried people as well as people who, in their own estimation, do not consider themselves sufficiently worthy of the marriage sacrament,” according to katholisch.de, the official website of the German Catholic bishops.
Couples seeking such a blessing would need to meet certain criteria, according the priest’s proposal, such as “a state marriage in the registry office.” This would include same-sex couples, since Germany legalized same-sex marriage last year.
The ceremonies would also be made “different” than the marriage liturgy, the priest added, omitting things such as the exchanges of rings or vows, in order to avoid confusion with the marriage sacrament.
Rather, Zu Eltz said the proposed blessing ceremonies would be done “in respect of a binding partnership,” asking God’s blessing “for a successful future of something that already exists,” according to a report from the Diocese of Limburg.
The priest added that these blessings would fulfill a “primitive human need for ‘salvation, protection, happiness and fulfillment of his life’ linked to the request for God’s blessing.”
According to the bishops’ website, Bishop Felix Glenn of Münster forbade a “planned blessing for a homosexual couple” last year, in order to avoid confusion.
The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is the lifelong union of a man and a woman.
Regarding those with same-sex attraction, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that: “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.” (CCC 2358-2359).
This recent proposal is not the first time that German clergy have suggested the Church bless same-sex unions or couples in irregular situations. In 2015, ahead of the Synod on the Family, Bishop Bode told German news agency KNA that while he understood that the Church could not consider these unions as marriages, the Church should consider the strengths as well as the weaknesses of such unions and perhaps provide a private blessing.
Bode was one of three German bishops elected by the German Church to attend the Synod on the Family in October 2015.
Following the publication of the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Bode and other German prelates have been outspoken in their desire for the Church to change its practices regarding same-sex couples as well as divorced and remarried couples.
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, Jan 23, 2018 / 01:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis encouraged global delegates at the 2018 World Economic Forum to promote economic models that create the proper conditions for the human person to thrive.
“The re… […]
Bruges, Belgium, Jan 23, 2018 / 12:00 am (CNA).- Ivo Poppe, a 61-year old Catholic deacon in Belgium, went on trial this week under the suspicion of killing at least ten people, including multiple family members.
In 2014, Poppe was arrested after tell… […]
Paris, France, Jan 22, 2018 / 04:51 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Heavy rains did not deter huge crowds from gathering in the streets of Paris for the city’s March for Life on Sunday.
Organizers estimated that about 40,000 people showed up for the march, which had as its theme, “From darkness to light.”
Despite the heavy rain, the marchers completed the entire route. The march lasted about four hours, starting from Porte Dauphine and ending in the Trocadero esplanade, in downtown Paris.
A minute of silence was held during the march for those who have lost their lives to abortion.
More than 200,000 abortions are performed each year in France, according to government statistics.
March for Life spokesman Emil Dupont told CNA’s Spanish-language sister agency ACI Prensa that “it is important to break the silence and speak about the consequences of abortion, which no one want to say anything about. So we’ve got to do it.”
“It is very important to work together for life,” he stressed.
Ana del Pino, the European coordinator of the OneOfUs Federation, agreed, emphasizing the need for unity and cooperation among all the European pro-life groups “to present a common front in defense of motherhood, the family and life.”
In addition to protection for the unborn, this year the March for Life placed special emphasis on end-of-life issues.
Although active assisted suicide is illegal in France, a bill passed in January 2016 allows for “terminal sedation.” For those who are determined to be near death, the law permits “heavy and continuous sedation,” administered until the patient dies either from the illness or starvation.
In addition to the tens of thousands of French who took to the streets to demonstrate for life, several pro-life groups from Holland, Spain, Germany, Italy and Portugal also joined in the march.
Pablo Siegrist from the Jerome Lejeune Foundation in Spain told ACI Prensa that his group participated in this demonstration in France because the laws on surrogate motherhood, abortion and euthanasia have “a clear crisscross effect between countries, and that’s why we believe we have a much more encompassing goal to offer, which is to defend everyone’s life.
“We believe that life is a treasure regardless of the physical or mental abilities a person may have and that everyone has a lot of contribute. We stand up for everyone, no matter what their situation is,” Siegrist stressed.
Alvaro Ortega, president of the Spanish +Life Foundation, one of the numerous groups of young people attending the March for Life, said the reason they came was because “we believe it is absolutely necessary to defend the most innocent and defenseless which is the child who has been conceived but not yet born.”
Ortega also stressed the importance of an international presence in demonstrations such as this one because issues like abortion and euthanasia “come from an agenda organized on the international level, and so the response has to also be international.”
Warsaw, Poland, Jan 15, 2018 / 12:46 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Lawmakers in Poland proposed pro-life legislation last week that would outlaw abortions performed because of a congenital disorder or deformity in the unborn child.
Members of parliament shot down a “Save Women” bill Jan. 10 that would have liberalized abortion access, allowing abortion through the first trimester of pregnancy and opening access to emergency contraception.
Instead, the country’s lawmakers promoted the “Stop Abortion” bill that would ban abortion for pregnancies in which the baby had received a congenital disorder diagnosis or deformity.
The new proposal, if passed, could eliminate the majority of abortions legally performed in Poland. According to Deutsche Welle, around 1,100 legal abortions took place in 2016. Of these abortions, 1,042 took place because the child was deformed.
“We have come to parliament today because we don’t want hospitals turning into abattoirs,” said Kaja Godek of the Life and Family Foundation, who introduced the bill to parliament, according to The Guardian.
Abortion in Poland is legal in Poland only in cases of rape or incest, if the mother’s health is threatened, or if the baby has received a fatal diagnosis or deformity.
The “Stop Abortion” bill began taking shape late in 2017; it was originally met with threats from the European Parliament, which said it would take legal action if legislators promoted the new restrictions.
However, Poland’s bishops’ conference dismissed the pressure of EU sanctions, and gave their full support for the abortion restriction bill.
“The Polish bishops’ conference underlines that the right to life is fundamental to every human being, so we should all protect this right for defenseless children,” said Fr. Pawel Rytel-Andrianik, a spokesman for the bishops’ conference, according to the Catholic Herald.
“Nobody can take this right away, nor can external or internal pressure change the scientifically proven fact that human life begins at the moment of conception,” he continued.
A crowd of approximately 2,000 met on the steps of the Polish parliament in Warsaw on Saturday to protest the abortion restriction bill. Many of the protestors held signs saying, “My mind, my body, my choice,” and “Women will die without abortions.”
“The women whose rights and freedoms are being violated today have been left to face this problem alone,” stated Anna Karaszewska of the Let’s Save Women 2017 group, according to Deutsche Welle.
The Law and Justice party (PiS), which has been in power since 2015, has introduced multiple pro-life bills over the past few years. The PiS has also effectively cut off public funding for in-vitro fertilization and required a prescription for the morning-after pill.
PiS party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski supported the “Stop Abortion” bill, saying that all babies – deformed or not – have the right to life.
“We will strive to ensure that even in pregnancies which are very difficult, when a child is sure to die, strongly deformed, women end up giving birth so that the child can be baptized, buried, and have a name,” Kaczynski said, according to The Guardian.
The BBC reported in 2016 that it is estimated there may be 10,000 abortions performed illegally in Poland every year.
A 2016 bill to ban all abortions in Poland was defeated.
Rome, Italy, Jan 5, 2018 / 10:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In yet another “Mercy Friday” outing, Pope Francis this afternoon traveled to the outskirts of Rome to visit sick children receiving care at a campus of the Vatican’s Bambino Gesu hospital, offering comfort to patients and their parents.
According to a Jan. 5 Vatican communique, the Pope made the visit around 3 p.m., heading to the Palidoro campus of Bambino Gesu children’s hospital, which sits about 20 miles west of Rome.
Francis made his way through different wings of the hospital, greeting the children who are receiving care and their parents, who are helping their children through “these tiresome and painful trials.”
Bambino Gesù, colloquially known as the “Pope’s hospital,” is among most important pediatric hospitals in the world. Founded in 1869 by the Duchess Arabella Salviati, the hospital was donated to Pius XI in 1924, with the aim of giving it a more stable future.
The Palidoro campus was established in 1978 under Bl. Paul VI, who entrusted Bambino Gesu with the activities of the “Pontificia Opera di Assistenza” clinic in Palidoro, which specialized in care for polio patients and until that year had been separate from the hospital.
The campus is also currently home to a special exhibit titled “Caro Papa, ti regalo un disegno,” meaning, “Dear Pope, I’ll give you a drawing.”
Promoted by both Bambino Gesu and the Jesuit newspaper “La Civilta’ Cattolica,” the exhibit consists of a series of drawings given to the Pope by children throughout the world either through the mail, or in person during audiences or trips abroad.
The drawings were given to La Civilta’ Cattolica, which partnered with Bambino Gesu to launch a campaign using the images as a means of supporting and welcoming the children who come to hospital from all over the world.
Promoted largely through social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, the campaign promises each person who makes a donation, no matter how much, a digital copy of the drawings given to Pope Francis by the children, and which has been certified by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Parolin inaugurated the exhibit featuring the original drawings at the Palidoro campus, which is managing campaign and fundraising efforts.
Pope Francis’ visit to the hospital is a continuation of his “Mercy Friday” custom which he began during the Jubilee of Mercy, in 2016.
Originally planned once per month for the duration of the jubilee, the Pope has continued these visits as a means of practicing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. He has met with refugees, children, women freed from sex trafficking, and the terminally ill, among others.
Rome, Italy, Jan 2, 2018 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- After rummaging through supermarket dumpsters, 79-year-old Marta loads 90 pounds of edible food onto her bicycle every day. Three times a week she loads her car, and delivers the food to poor families i… […]
Southampton, England, Jan 2, 2018 / 12:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A Catholic deacon in the United Kingdom has been awarded the British Empire Medal for his work serving seafarers and rescuing trafficking victims over the last eight years.
“I was ab… […]
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