HQuality/Shutterstock.
London, England, May 24, 2023 / 10:00 am (CNA).
Catholic bishops in the U.K. have joined forces with other faith leaders to oppose legislation that would introduce “assisted dying” as part of end-of-life care.While the Ca… […]
Members of an Italian pro-life and pro-family organization marched in the “Demonstration for Life” May 20, 2023, with a banner saying “There’s life in the mother’s womb. Let’s care for it. #stopabortion” / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, May 20, 2023 / 12:48 pm (CNA).
Thousands of individuals, families, and young people braved the cool, rainy weather to march in Italy’s national “Demonstration for Life” in Rome on Saturday afternoon.
The walk May 20 started at Rome’s Piazza della Repubblica, close to the central Termini train station, and slowly wound its way past the Basilica of St. Mary Major, down the thoroughfare of Merulana Street, to the square in front of the Basilica of St. John Lateran. The route was about 1.2 miles.
Formerly called the “March for Life,” the name was changed last year when new leadership took over the event.
The president of the organizing group, Massimo Gandolfini, told EWTN News earlier this month that the demonstration is not associated with a specific political party.
“We do politics with a capital ‘P’,” the neurosurgeon and adoptive father of seven said. “That is, defense of life, defense of the natural family, defense of the educational freedom of parents. This is our politics…”
He said the goals of the organization include establishing a national day for unborn life and a government fund to help pregnant women in difficulty. They also hope to cultivate more recognition of the beauty of motherhood in the culture.
Gandolfini added that the organizers are opposed to the legalization in Italy of euthanasia, assisted suicide, and surrogacy.
“We are strongly opposed to all of these because first of all there is the right of the child,” he said.
The event concluded with speakers and a rally outside the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
Heidi Crowter speaks outside the High Court in London England, July 6, 2021. / Don’t Screen Us Out via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0).
London, England, May 20, 2023 / 06:00 am (CNA).
An English woman with Down syndrome is taking her fight against the U…. […]
Illustration of eight-cell embryo. / Shutterstock
Denver, Colo., May 11, 2023 / 14:50 pm (CNA).
Catholic ethicists greeted the news that the first U.K. baby has been born after being conceived via a “three-parent” embryo modification technique … […]
Migrants in Greece. / Ververidis Vasilis via www.shutterstock.com.
Denver, Colo., May 11, 2023 / 13:10 pm (CNA).
In his message for the 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, released May 11, Pope Francis recognized the migratory flows of ou… […]
S.O.S. Calvaires, a French lay group, restores a crucifix in France. The group says it aims to restore the artistic and religious heritage of France. / Credit: S.O.S. Calvaires/Facebook
Angers, France, May 9, 2023 / 06:00 am (CNA).
A lay Cathol… […]
St. Titus Brandsma / Credit: Congerdesign on Pixabay / St. Titus Brandsma Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons
ACI Prensa Staff, May 6, 2023 / 11:00 am (CNA).
World Press Freedom Day was celebrated May 3 and the courage to get the truth out has so… […]
Arundel Castle in Sussex has been the seat of the Duke of Norfolk’s ancestors for 850 years. / Miles Sabin from Brighton, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
London, England, May 4, 2023 / 09:00 am (CNA).
The Earl Marshal of England is little known and rarely seen, but he oversees the world’s biggest spectacles. Queen Elizabeth’s funeral last year is reported to have attracted more than 4 billion viewers, making it perhaps the most-watched event in history. This was the finest moment for the current Earl Marshall, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, more formally known as His Grace the Most Noble Duke of Norfolk.
The 18th Duke spent 20 years planning the late queen’s funeral but has had far less time to arrange the coronation of the United Kingdom’s new monarch, King Charles III, which will take place Saturday, May 6. Despite making the news for dangerous driving and his recent divorce and remarriage, Fitzalan-Howard will try to be as inconspicuous as possible at the coronation, just as he was at the queen’s recent funeral, which will be difficult for a man wearing the most extravagant uniform outside the military or the Church of England.
Since 1484 the Earl Marshal has supervised royal events through the College of Arms with assistance from quaintly named characters such as Garter King of Arms and Rouge Dragon Pursuivant. The payment these heralds receive is appropriately medieval.
Although it is often stated that the Dukes of Norfolk have held this position since 1672, the first Earl Marshal of the Howard family was John, 1st Duke of Norfolk, in 1483. A few other families have also had a turn, especially during the tumultuous Tudor era. The most peculiar choice was Henry VIII, made Earl Marshal by his father at the age of 3.
It’s not surprising that there is confusion bordering on bewilderment about this post. The Howard family has held different titles going back more than seven centuries. On occasion these have been stripped from them — most notably during the reign of Elizabeth I. The unrelentingly Catholic head of the family had his dukedom removed, along with all his income. It would have been little consolation at the time, but Philip Howard was eventually made a saint, canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970.
Philip Howard, who should have been the 5th Duke of Norfolk, died at the Tower of London in 1595, accused of being a Catholic and a Jesuit conspirator. Philip’s father, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, was beheaded at the same location despite denying being a Catholic before the axe came down. Similar fates befell the 4th Duke’s father and grandfather. It became a tradition among the Howards to suffer for being Catholic.
The Howard family tells us much about British history, especially Catholic history. The Dukes of Norfolk have had demotions — promotions have been difficult as they have been at the top for so long anyway. Some aspired to be kings, while others have been successful statesmen, generals, poets, and cardinals. One was committed to an Italian insane asylum. Most clung to their Catholicism, while a few did not. Others merely talked about converting. Duke Henry, appointed by Charles II when the monarchy was restored after Cromwell’s republic, told the diarist John Evelyn that he “will go to Church and become Protestant” but couldn’t bring himself to do so. His son did instead.
It is the Howards’ abilities and persistence that helped rehabilitate Catholics as acceptable members of British society.
One small step was a concession the 12th Duke obtained in 1824, when he was no longer required to deny Transubstantiation — a vital element of Catholic belief. After that date, they could perform their duties as Earl Marshal without needing a deputy to stand in for them. Previously, Catholic dukes had to step aside at the last minute in case the Protestant public gaze should be upon them.
Some confusion remains to this day. The Dukes of Norfolk’s ancestral home is in Sussex, far from Norfolk. For 850 years they have owned the magnificent Arundel Castle, recently robbed for relics of Mary Queen of Scots. They also own 16,000 prime acres of Sussex. In contrast, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (better known as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle) own no land in that valuable county. Nor are they playing much of a part in the coronation. The Sussexes of Montecito do have a superior title though.
Part of the secret of the Dukes of Norfolk’s longevity has been keeping up with the times. When the present Duke was charged in court, he told the magistrate that he drives an elderly BMW because he likes “being simple and unpompous.” This is very different from the 16th Duke, who organized Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. When he led the England cricket team to Australia, he famously said: “Gentlemen, I wish this to be an entirely informal tour. You will merely address me as ‘Sir.’”
As is so often the case, the present 18th Duke of Norfolk is not a direct descendant of the 16th Duke. Descent in this family has often been confusing because of an absence of male heirs. If Norfolk had been in Scotland, things would have been different and a woman could have been the key organizer of King Charles III’s coronation. Since the Duke of Norfolk is not allowed to be a woman, there will probably never be a “Countess Marshal.”
Pope Francis spoke about the Christian roots of Hungary during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 3, 2023. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Vatican City, May 3, 2023 / 02:21 am (CNA).
Pope Francis said Wednesday that freedom is under threat in Europe, as people choose consumerism and individualism over building families and community.
Even today, “freedom is under threat,” he said May 3. “Above all with kid gloves, by a consumerism that anesthetizes, where one is content with a little material well-being and, forgetting the past, one ‘floats’ in a present made to the measure of the individual.”
“This is the dangerous persecution of modernity that advances consumerism,” he underlined.
“But when the only thing that counts is thinking about oneself and doing what one likes, the roots suffocate,” he warned. “This is a problem throughout Europe, where dedicating oneself to others, community feeling, the beauty of dreaming together and creating large families are in crisis. All of Europe is in crisis.”
Pope Francis spoke about Europe, its roots, and the problem of consumerism, during his weekly audience with the public.
Speaking about his visit to Budapest, Hungary, April 28-30, he asked those present at the audience to think about “the importance of preserving roots, because only by going deep will the branches grow upwards and bear fruit.”
He began his reflection on the three-day trip to Hungary’s capital city by recalling the European country’s Christian roots and the ways those were tested in the 20th century.
“Their faith, as we have heard from the Word of God, has been tested by fire,” he said, noting the atheist persecution in the 1900s, when “Christians were struck down violently, with bishops, priests, religious, and lay people killed or deprived of their freedom.”
“But while attempts were made to cut down the tree of faith, the roots remained intact,” he said, pointing out the steadfastness of the “hidden Church” in Hungary.
“In Hungary, this latest persecution, the Communist oppression was preceded by the Nazi oppression, with the tragic deportation of a large Jewish population,” the pope added.
“But in that atrocious genocide, many distinguished themselves by their resistance and their ability to protect the victims; and this was possible because the roots of living together were firm,” he said. “Thus the common bonds of faith and people helped the return of freedom.”
Quoting St. Pope John Paul II, Pope Francis also spoke about Hungary’s “many saints and heroes, surrounded by hosts of humble and hard-working people.”
He noted, in particular, the devotion of Hungary’s St. Stephen, to the Virgin Mary.
“I want to recall, at the beginning of the month of May, how very devoted the Hungarians are to the Holy Mother of God,” he said.
“Consecrated to her by the first king, St. Stephen, they used to address her without pronouncing her name, out of respect, calling her only by the titles of Queen,” Pope Francis said. “To the Queen of Hungary, therefore, we entrust that dear country; to the Queen of Peace, we entrust the building of bridges in the world; to the Queen of Heaven, whom we acclaim at this Easter time, we entrust our hearts that they may be rooted in the love of God.”
Cardinal Vincent Nichols celebrates a Pontifical Votive Mass of the Blessed Sacrament at Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane, London, Sept. 11, 2021. / Mazur/cbcew.org.uk.
London, England, May 3, 2023 / 12:30 pm (CNA).
The coronation of King Cha… […]
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