Dublin, Ireland, Mar 5, 2018 / 01:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Ahead of the upcoming World Meeting of Families in Ireland this August, a government minister has warned that the event should not express “intolerance” of LGBT groups or same-sex co… […]
Paris, France, Mar 2, 2018 / 04:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A statue of St. John Paul II will be removed from public land in a small French city, after a 2017 court order ruled its cross must be removed.
The statue, nearly 25 feet tall, portrays Pope Sain… […]
Rome, Italy, Mar 2, 2018 / 10:31 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday, Pope Francis continued his surprise “Mercy Friday” initiative with a visit to a home that keeps children with their mothers, who might otherwise be separated because of imprisonment.
Called “Leda’s House,” the home allows women who might have otherwise been imprisoned or put under house arrest for minor crimes to be rehabilitated while continuing to care for their children with supervision.
Located in the EUR neighborhood of Rome, the houses opened just one year ago and is the first of its kind in Italy. It currently houses five young mothers, between 25 and 30 years old, and their children. Most come from Rome, though one is from elsewhere in Italy and another is from Egypt.
According to a Vatican press release March 2, the women, children, and staff of the home all greeted Pope Francis with amazement. He spent some time speaking with the women and children before giving the kids giant chocolate Easter eggs.
According to the Vatican, the gift was “welcomed with great joy by the children, who invited him to have a snack with them.”
Today, #PopeFrancis continued his surprise “Mercy Friday� initiative with a visit to a home that keeps children with their mothers, who might otherwise be separated because of imprisonment.
Read the full story here: https://t.co/1u9xV5Ydqg
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— Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) March 2, 2018
The women shared their appreciation of the opportunity to raise their children, despite the challenges. The Pope also left some gifts for the women, including a signed parchment to remember his visit.
During his visit, Francis was welcomed by Lillo Di Mauro, the head of the overseeing governmental department, along with the head of “Leda’s House,” who both highlighted the intense difficulties of children whose parents are imprisoned.
To avoid embarrassment, the children may make up stories about their incarcerated parents, they said, or they may become “aggressive and unmanageable,” although they are not bad children.
“The stay in the structure,” according to the Vatican’s press release, “allows mothers to accompany and take their children back to school, and to carry out activities useful for learning a profession, in view of future reintegration into the world of work and society.”
The women are able to continue living in a home environment and raising their children, while accompanied by staff and educators.
Pope Francis’ visit to “Leda’s House” 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 year, 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, Feb 27, 2018 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- Almost a year and a half after an August 2016 earthquake in the central area of the Italy, a tabernacle with 40 intact and consecrated hosts was found amid the rubble in Our Lady of the Assumption church in the town of Arquata.
According to the Italian daily Avvenire, inside the tabernacle “the ciborium was overturned but the lid was still on. And despite all the months that had gone by, the hosts were whole, without any alteration.”
The Bishop of Ascoli Piceno, Giovanni D’Ercole, told Avvenire what was discovered: “A fresh baked aroma was still noticeable, which is very moving. It is a sign of hope for everyone. It tells us that Jesus also suffered the earthquake like everyone else, but he has come out alive from among the rubble.”
Fr. Angelo Ciancotti of the Ascoli Piceno cathedral said that getting into the tabernacle was not simple: “The problem was opening it up, but my collection of tabernacle keys helped me.”
The priest opened the tabernacle with one of the keys in his extensive collection, and said that inside an overturned ciborium, “was the Body of Christ which for more than a year and a half remained intact, without any change in color, shape or scent.”
Fr. Ciancotti told Avvenire that “there was no bacteria or mold as happens with hosts after a few weeks. Even though they were more than a year and a half old, they seemed to have been made the day before.”
In his opinion “this prodigious and inexplicable discovery” is “a miracle, but above all a message for everyone: it is a sign that reminds us of the centrality of the Eucharist.”
“Jesus is telling us” with these intact hosts that “’I am in your midst. Trust in me.’” he concluded.
This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Shrewsbury, England, Feb 27, 2018 / 01:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In a recent pastoral letter, a British bishop has encouraged Catholics to make the “awesome reality” of the Eucharist a central focus of their life and prayer during Lent.
&ldq… […]
Munich, Germany, Feb 22, 2018 / 10:26 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Reinhard Marx has announced that the German bishops’ conference will 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”.
According to the press report of the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, the handout is primarily aimed at pastoral workers and is to be understood as a tool for pastoral situations, “to consider the concrete situation and come to a responsible decision about the possibility of the non-Catholic partner to receive Communion”.
The announcement was made “after intensive debate” at the conclusion of the general assembly of the German bishops’ conference, which was held Feb. 19 – 22 in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt, and attended by 62 members of the bishops’ conference under the leadership of conference chairman Cardinal Marx.
The press release declares that its premise is that “in individual cases, the spiritual hunger for receiving Communion together in interdenominational marriages can be so strong that it could jeopardise the marriage and the faith of the spouse”. The statement goes on to say that this applies all the more to spouses who “already want to live out their marriage very consciously” as a Christian couple.
The central message of the handout is “that everyone in a marriage that binds denominations,” after a “mature examination in a spiritual conversation with their priest or another person charged with pastoral care, that has come to a decision of conscience to affirm the Faith of the Catholic Church as well as thereby concluding a ‘grave spiritual need’ as well as fulfilling the desire to receive the Eucharist may approach the Lord’s table and receive Communion.”
Cardinal Marx’ statement emphasises: “We are talking about decisions in individual cases that require a careful spiritual discernment.”
The handout is expected to be published in a few weeks’ time.
The Code of Canon Law states that in the danger of death or if “some other grave necessity urges it,” Catholic ministers licitly administer penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick to Protestants “who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who seek such on their own accord, provided that they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly disposed.”
The bishops’ announcement follows a discussion of such a proposal at a previous general assembly held in the spring of 2017.
According to Archbishop Ludwig Schick of Bamberg in a report in the German diocesan newspaper “Tag des Herrn” from March 2017, Schick is quoted as saying that the bishops were seeking “a responsible decision” on the question of non-Catholic partners in interdenominational marriages in individual cases by pastoral means.
On Dec. 31 2016, the website of the Lutheran ecclesial community in Germany reported that Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabrück was hoping for a recognition of what was already the case, namely, that in many places, Protestants went to Communion with their Catholic spouses. “We have to give a foundation to what often already is in place in practice”, the website quotes Bode from an interview with the Lutheran press agency EPD.
Bode, who also attended the 2014-2015 Synods of Bishops on the family, was elected vice-chairman to the German bishops’ conference Sept. 26, 2017.
Liverpool, England, Feb 20, 2018 / 04:49 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A British court ruled Tuesday that physicians can stop providing life support, against his parents’ wishes, to Alfie Evans, a 21-month old boy who has an unknown neurological degenerative condition.
Evans is in a “semi-vegetative state” and on life support at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, where doctors have said further efforts are futile and went to court to argue that continuing treatment, as his parents wish, is not in Evans’ best interest.
Justice Anthony Hayden of the High Court ruled Feb. 20 that “Alfie’s need now is for good quality palliative care … He requires peace, quiet, and stability, so that he may conclude his life as he has lived it.”
“I am satisfied that continued ventilatory support is no longer in Alfie’s interests. This decision I appreciate will be devastating news to Alfie’s parents. I hope they will take time to read this judgement again.”
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital has said it always tries to agree with patients on plans for care: “Our aim is always to try and reach an agreement with parents about the most appropriate care plan for their child. Unfortunately there are sometimes rare situations such as this where agreement cannot be reached and the treating team believe that continued active treatment is not in a child’s best interests.”
The hospital may withdraw Evans’ ventilation on Friday.
Alfie’s parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, are considering appealing the decision.
His doctors have described his condition as untreatable, but his parents are requesting their son’s transfer to the Vatican-linked Bambino Gesu Pediatric Hospital in Rome for further diagnosis and possible treatment.
Evans’ case echoes that of Charlie Gard, a terminally ill English infant who died in July 2017 after being taken off life support against his parents’ wishes. Gard was 11 months old, and had been at the center of a months-long legal debate regarding parental rights and human life.
Doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital treating Gard also went to court to take him off of life support, saying his parent’s decision to maintain treatment was not in his interest.
Though Gard’s parents raised more than $1.6 million for his treatment and had offers from hospitals in Europe and the US to give him experimental treatments, a High Court judge ordered that he be taken off life support.
Discussing Gard’s situation with CNA in June 2017, Dr. Melissa Moschella, a Catholic University of America philosophy professor, said: “It seems to me completely wrongheaded that the state should be stepping in here when the decision that the parents are making is really aimed at the best interests of the child.”
“It’s not crazy, it’s not abusive, it’s not neglectful. It’s the decision of parents who want to, however they can, to give their very sick child a chance for life.”
She said such a decision “should be completely within the prerogative of the parent,” citing the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. According to Moschella, that declaration “clearly indicates that the parents, not the state will have primarily responsibility.”
Dublin, Ireland, Feb 20, 2018 / 02:16 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As the Republic of Ireland prepares to vote in a referendum that could liberalize the country’s abortion laws, a recent poll has shown dwindling support for a change in the constitution.
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Reykjavik, Iceland, Feb 19, 2018 / 03:23 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- An Icelandic bill that would bar circumcision for non-medical reasons has given rise to opposition from various religious groups, including Christians as well as Jews and Muslims.
“Protecting the health of children is a legitimate goal of every society, but in this case this concern is instrumentalized, without any scientific basis, to stigmatise certain religious communities. This is extremely worrying,” commented Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, who is president of the Catholic Church in the European Union.
Circumcision is a religious ritual in both Judaism and Islam. Jewish boys are circumcised eight days after birth, while Muslim practices vary widely.
The proposed bill states that “Anyone who…causes damage to the body or health of a child or a woman by…removing sexual organs shall be imprisoned for up to 6 years.”
Female genital mutilation has been banned in Iceland since 2005.
The bill was introduced by Silja Dogg Gunnarsdóttir of the Progressive Party of Iceland, who said, “We are talking about children’s rights, not about freedom of belief. Everyone has the right to believe in what they want, but the rights of children come above the right to believe.”
The health risks and benefits of circumcision have been a topic of debate for several years in some European countries, although none have banned the practice outright.
Iceland, which has a population of around 334,000, has a small Muslim population of less than 1,500, , and an even smaller Jewish population of fewer than 250.
Agnes Sigurðardóttir, the Lutheran Bishop of Iceland, has warned that “the danger that arises, if this bill becomes law, is that Judaism and Islam will become criminalised religions. We must avoid all such forms of extremism.”
Yair Melchior, chief rabbi of Denmark, and and Yoav Melchior, rabbi of Oslo, have commented that “There is no country in the world now that bans circumcision. This sets a dangerous precedent that may affect other countries.”
Ahmad Seddeeq, an imam at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Iceland, said that circumcision “is something that touches our religion and I believe that this is… a contravention [of] religious freedom.”
Douglas, Isle of Man, Feb 19, 2018 / 02:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Amid efforts to legalize abortion on the Isle of Man, critics of a new abortion bill have spoken out in defense of human life, saying the proposal would introduce a number of dangers.
“Every abortion is an act of desperation,” stated Monsignor John Devine, Dean of the Catholic Church on the Isle of Man, in a letter to the island’s Chief Minister Howard Quayle, according to IOM Today.
“The Catholic Church wishes to be supportive of those who find themselves contemplating an abortion, whatever decision they take,” Devine continued, noting his overall concern with the new abortion bill on the island.
He noted his concern that the bill cites “’serious social grounds’ or ‘impairments like to limit either the length or quality of the child’s life’ as justification for a late abortion.”
“The former could be cited if an unplanned pregnancy was considered to be inconvenient,” the priest wrote. “The latter is already being used in the UK to abort children diagnosed with Down’s syndrome or even cleft palate, a condition routinely corrected surgically at a later date.”
The Abortion Reform Bill, which would allow elective abortion up to 14 weeks and up to 24 weeks if medical reasons were presented, was in the clauses stage at the House of Keys last week and has passed the first two initial readings.
Abortion policy on the the Isle of Man, a crown dependency located between England and Northern Ireland, is currently governed by the Termination of Pregnancy Act 1995, which allows abortion only in cases where the mother’s life is endangered or if the baby has a low survival rate.
Since 2011, about 40 abortions have been performed under the island’s current law.
Devine noted his concern with the proposed abortion provision, saying that “premature babies delivered at 24 weeks can now survive.”
Devine additionally distanced the Catholic Church from some ongoing reform protests around the island, which have included graphic images and “explicit material,” saying these demonstrations do not represent the Church.
Other critics of the reform, including Lord Brennan QC, said the bill would introduce other discrepancies that would include “profound consequences.”
Brennan’s first concern was the bill’s allowance for only one doctor to approve an abortion. This, he said, could open the door to certain abuses within the practice, and recommended that abortion should remain the decision of two physicians.
If the abortion bill passes, Brennan also said that other provisions need to be set in place that would protect against sex-selective abortions and abortions where the baby has a deformity or disability.
Jasvinder Sanghera, founder of the charitable organization Karma Nirvana, also advocated for more protections against sex-selective abortions on the island, noting that the new legislative provision could further endanger women in abusive situations.
“I think the failure to address sex selection and coercive abortion is a problem which I believe has to be addressed through amendments, because that in itself will send out a very direct, clear message,” Sanghere said, according to IOM Today.
Some other pro-life advocates said they have experienced discrimination amid the introduction of the abortion bill.
Sue Richardson was attending the second reading of the abortion reform bill when she was asked to remove her pro-life logo sweatshirt before entering the chamber.
“There were a lot of ladies and men dressed in red, the Handmaids colour, which is all right,” Richardson recalled, according to IOM Today.
“But when I reached security I was asked if I could take my sweatshirt with the LIFE logo off,” she continued, noting that security had been informed to not allow pro-life logos through.
Richardson noted her concern with the bias, saying that other attendees were allowed to showcase their stance on the issue.
According to the Humanity and Equality in Abortion Campaign, if the abortion reform bill is passed on the Isle of Man, it will represent the most permissive abortion legislation on all of the British Isles.
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