Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas, and Rev. Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach of the Most Holy Trinity Monastery in Arlington, Texas. / Credit: Diocese of Fort Worth; Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity Discalced Carmelite Nuns

CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2024 / 18:45 pm (CNA).

After a string of controversies and disagreements with their local Fort Worth bishop, a group of Carmelite nuns in Arlington, Texas, announced on Saturday that they are associating with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a traditionalist group that is not in full communion with the Catholic Church and has a canonically irregular status.

After making a “unanimous decision,” the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas, said they have “completed the final steps necessary for our monastery to be associated with the Society of St. Pius X, who will henceforth assure our ongoing sacramental life and governance,” according to a Sept. 14 announcement on their website. 

Bishop Michael Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth had offered to reinstate sacramental life at the monastery if the sisters agreed to disassociate themselves from Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, a controversial figure whom the Catholic Church excommunicated this summer for schism following his refusal to submit to the pope or the communion of the Church. 

Olson also offered to provide a priest of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) — a group in communion with the Church that is dedicated to the Latin Mass — to offer sacraments for the sisters, provided they also acknowledge Mother Marie of the Incarnation, the prioress of the Carmel of the Most Holy Trinity, as their superior and recognize Olson as their bishop, and remove controversial content from the monastery website.  

Mother Marie is the president of the Association of Christ the King in the United States — an association of Carmelite monasteries that the Vatican tasked with overseeing the monastery in 2023 amid the feud.

Mother Marie of the Incarnation explained in a Sept. 7 statement released by the diocese that she “extended … Bishop Olson’s offer of a renewed sacramental life, according to their preferred liturgical form, but with deepest sorrow I report today that none of the sisters have made any response, either to me or to their bishop.”

Olson made the offer in a July 26 letter, which Mother Marie said she shared with the sisters the following day.

“Over the past six weeks since they received this offer, the nuns have given no indication that they desire the gift of the sacraments, nor have they shown openness to any dialogue with us,” Mother Marie wrote. “In addition to that, they have elected to maintain upon their website certain links and statements which manifest contempt for their bishop and which obscure their claim to being in union with Rome.”

Mother Marie asked the faithful of the Diocese of Fort Worth “to redouble your prayer and sacrifice for our beloved sisters of the Carmel of the Most Holy Trinity.”

In a statement released on Sept. 17, Olson called the nun’s rejection of leadership “scandalous,” saying it “is permeated with the odor of schism.”  

The monastery also announced that the nuns have reelected Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach as prioress for a three-year term. Olson had dismissed Gerlach from religious life after she was investigated for alleged sexual misconduct with a priest. 

“Sadly, the deliberate and contumacious actions of Mother Teresa Agnes and the other members of the community have taken them further down the path of disobedience to and disunity with the Church and with their own religious order that they began to embark on so many months ago,” Olson said. 

Olson has since clarified that “the attempted elections were illicit and invalid” because they did not follow ecclesiastical law and the constitutions of the Order of Discalced Carmelites.  

Olson has since instructed Catholics not attend the daily Latin Mass at the monastery or offer the nuns any financial support.

“As your bishop I must plead with you … for the good of your souls you do not participate in any sacraments that may be offered at the monastery as such participation will associate you with the scandalous disobedience and disunity of the members of the Arlington Carmel,” Olson said.

The sisters said in their statement that in the past few years they have found “much joy and spiritual renewal in the rediscovery of the riches of the immemorial liturgical tradition of the Church,” a reference to the Latin Mass, the Roman liturgy that was used prior to the New Order of the Mass promulgated by Vatican II.

“The motto of Pope St. Pius X was: To Restore All Things in Christ,” the statement continued. “Such is the case for our community as well, which has prayerfully, over a period of many years, sought to return to the fullness of our Catholic tradition and to restore all things in Christ, in both our liturgical life and in the way we live our Carmelite vocation.”

“We share an affinity with the Society of St. Pius X in its emphasis on training holy, dedicated priests, willing to sacrifice all for Christ, which coincides with our own vocation of prayer and sacrifice at the heart of the Church, pouring out our lives for the Church and especially for priests,” the nuns continued. 

The late French archbishop Marcel-François Lefebvre formed the SSPX in the 1970s to promote the Latin Mass, but in 1988, he illicitly ordained four bishops without the permission of Pope John Paul II, leading to his excommunication along with the four bishops. Pope Benedict XVI lifted this excommunication in 2009 in the hopes of eventually bringing SSPX back into full communion with the Church, though he explained in a letter that SSPX does not have canonical status and therefore “its ministers do not exercise legitimate ministries in the Church.”

SSPX takes issue with the Second Vatican Council, according to its website, which reads: “[SSPX] is governed by the magisterium of the Church, which found its expression in the councils and teaching of the popes, and in light of which the Second Vatican Council and its subsequent popes must be judged, since what was true until 1965 cannot suddenly become wrong.”

Several Vatican statements in past years have cautioned Catholics against attending SSPX Masses except in serious circumstances, including 1995 and 1998 letters by Monsignor Camille Perl, then-secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. 

“The Masses they [SSPX] celebrate are also valid, but it is considered morally illicit for the faithful to participate in these Masses unless they are physically or morally impeded from participating in a Mass celebrated by a Catholic priest in good standing,” read the 1995 letter by Perl. 

A 1998 letter by Perl reiterates: “It is precisely because of this schismatic mentality that this pontifical commission has consistently discouraged the faithful from attending Masses celebrated under the aegis of the Society of St. Pius X.”

The nuns in April defied a Vatican decree by asking a judge for a restraining order against the parties that the Vatican had tasked with overseeing the monastery, an association of Carmelite monasteries and Olson. The April decree had entrusted the monastery to the Association of Christ the King in the U.S. and its president, Mother Marie. The Vatican instructed the nuns to accept Olson’s authority, as they made a statement earlier this year rejecting his authority.

The tensions with Olson followed investigations into the monastery. Olson investigated the Reverend Mother Superior Teresa Agnes Gerlach over alleged sexual misconduct with a priest and she was dismissed from religious life by the bishop. Gerlach allegedly admitted to inappropriate sexual conduct occurring via phone and video chats but later recanted the confession saying she was recovering from surgery and medically unfit at the time she was questioned.

The monastery filed a civil lawsuit in May 2023 against the bishop that was eventually dismissed by a judge. The bishop banned daily Mass and regular confessions at the monastery, which led to the nuns to issue a statement that appeared to reject his authority in governing the monastery. 

The Vatican’s letter required the monastery to accept Olson’s authority and thanked Olson for his service to the Church. In June 2023, the diocese released two photographs purported to show cannabis products inside the monastery. The monastery attorney denied the allegations, calling them “ridiculous.” 

“I invite the faithful of the Diocese of Fort Worth to join me in prayer and sacrifice for the nuns, for the restoration of order at the Arlington Carmel, and for the return to sober obedience and union with the Church by the members of the community,” Olson said in his Sept. 17 statement.

This story was updated Sept. 18, 2024, at 11:17 a.m. ET with information on the Sept. 17 statement from Bishop Olson.

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at Planned Parenthood in St. Paul, Minnesota, Thursday, March 14, 2024, and greets Dr. Sarah Taxler, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood North Central States. Standing with the vice president is Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. / Credit: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 17, 2024 / 18:15 pm (CNA).

A virtual campaign event designed to organize Catholic support for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential candidacy is set to take place on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 18. 

The “Catholics for Harris-Walz National Organizing Call,” which is open to the public, will be held Wednesday evening from 8 p.m. until 9 p.m. The campaign originally planned to hold the event prior to last month’s Democratic National Convention, but it was abruptly canceled. Organizers at the time cited a scheduling conflict as the reason for its cancellation.

“The call will be an opportunity to hear directly from the campaign about our vision, next steps, and how you can get involved and take part in this historic moment,” the event’s description reads. “We will be joined by special guests and community leaders to discuss the deciding role the Catholic vote will play in the upcoming election.”

A coalition of advocacy groups, including Catholics Vote Common Good, is organizing the call in tandem with the campaign. The group is part of the broader Vote Common Good nonprofit, which mobilizes various faith groups in support of progressive candidates.

Catholics Vote Common Good has already been organizing weekly phone banking on behalf of Harris’ presidential campaign.

The nonprofit, along with Catholic Democrats, has also relaunched the “Catholics4Kamala” website, which briefly went offline after the original event was canceled. The website does not directly address Harris’ strong support for abortion but instead states that “even on the life issue, there is an eerie silence among conservatives about the rise in abortion numbers nationally since the Dobbs decision reversing Roe v. Wade” on its “about” page.

Harris supports codifying the abortion standards set in Roe v. Wade, which would prevent states from passing laws that protect unborn life prior to fetal viability. In the Sept. 12 debate with former president Donald Trump, Harris refused to say whether she supports late-term abortion in the seventh, eighth, and ninth months of pregnancy.

More than 9,000 late-term abortions are performed in the United States annually after the 21st week of pregnancy.

The website states that a Harris presidency “looks forward to the promise of an America that embraces and celebrates our diversity among people of many races, beliefs, and genders — an America that is caring and uplifting for all, seeks to provide the opportunity for everyone to achieve their God-given potential, and brings joy back to our politics.”

“Catholics are coming together to support the Harris-Walz ticket because of the threat that a second Trump presidency poses to reverse the progress against global warming, to explode the deficit with more tax cuts, to transform the Justice Department into an instrument for vindictiveness, to abandon Ukraine in its fight for sovereignty, and to hamstring our economy through a massive race-centered deportation operation,” the website adds. 

Harris has advocated other positions that are contrary to Catholic teaching, such as gender ideology. As a senator, Harris also pointedly scrutinized judicial nominees for their membership in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization.

The Trump-Vance campaign launched its Catholics for Trump coalition earlier this month, which emphasizes the defense of religious liberty, traditional values, and the sanctity of human life as priorities.

A Pew poll released last week showed that a slim majority of Catholics supported Trump over Harris with the former president receiving 52% support and the vice president getting 47%. An EWTN News/RealClear poll earlier this month showed Harris with a slight lead among Catholics at 50% of the vote compared with Trump’s 43%.

Pope Francis speaks to Archbishop William Seng Chye Goh (left) after he elevated him to cardinal during a consistory to create 20 new cardinals on Aug. 27, 2022, at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Alberto Pizzoli

Caracas, Venezuela, Sep 17, 2024 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

“I believe his visit has revived the faith of our people. His visit has caused many of our Catholics to work together,” said Cardinal William Goh, archbishop of Singapore, in an interview with Vatican News about Pope Francis’ recent visit to the country.

“It’s a very rare occasion when all Catholics come together to work side by side. All of them have been very enthusiastic and have felt that it is a great privilege to be part of this entire organizing committee, to plan and work for the success of the papal visit,” he added.

For the cardinal, the papal trip will inspire the intention to “build ourselves as one Church,” to unite around the figure of the bishop of Rome, and to further promote the message of the Gospel among those who need it most.

It is precisely the quest to bring the good news to all humanity that prompted the pope to visit Asia, Goh explained. An effort to make the Catholic Church “truly a sacrament of the mercy and compassion of Jesus toward others.”

“I think that these types of messages, such as reaching out to the marginalized, to the poor, to those who suffer, to the vulnerable, and respecting other religions, the dignity of life, the protection of the family, and young people, respecting young people and encouraging young people to be bold, without forgetting the elderly either, all these messages that the Holy Father constantly speaks about resonate throughout the world, even for us Singaporeans,” the cardinal reflected.

Furthermore, he said the country’s Catholics are grateful because the pope “has rejuvenated” their faith, which in the long term will imply “a more dynamic and lively desire” for fraternity and to lead others to Jesus.

Importance of the papal trip for all of Asia

“The visit of the Holy Father, not only to Asia, but to the countries with a Catholic majority, has been very important for non-Catholics, so that the world understands the beauty of the Catholic faith,” Goh emphasized.

Likewise, he said the Catholic Church is willing to welcome and respect nonbelievers and that the pope seeks to promote “the issue of dialogue, of mutual respect,” especially with Asian governments that distrust the Church. This is an attitude that, the cardinal commented, helps them understand that the Church’s only mission is to be “ambassadors of the mercy and love of Christ, and that we are here to help people grow” and seek the common good.

“We want peace, we want harmony, and we want people to work together and care about each other,” he said.

Finally, Goh indicated that Asia “has much to contribute to the universal Church” through popular piety that “has to be guided by the Church” to purify it, lead it to a greater knowledge of its faith, and finally facilitate that people fall in love with Jesus.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

null / Credit: Tati9/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 17, 2024 / 16:50 pm (CNA).

Senate Republicans blocked a bill on Tuesday that would have forced insurance companies to cover in vitro fertilization (IVF) and would have created an unrestricted right to the procedure — yet many in the party continue to support other efforts to expand IVF.

Under the proposal, employers — including religious employers — would have been forced to provide health insurance plans that cover IVF. The bill would have banned states from passing laws that limit the destruction of human embryonic life caused by the IVF industry. It would have also prevented states from limiting IVF to married couples.

The Senate fell several votes short of the three-fifths majority needed to end debate on the bill Tuesday afternoon after only two Republicans — Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins — joined Democrats on the procedural vote.

“The partisan Democrat bill … deliberately overturns the conscience protections of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said in opposition to the bill prior to the vote.

“It is unfortunate that Democrats have abandoned what used to be a bipartisan commitment to religious liberty and they are now more than willing to overturn religious liberty protections,” Cruz said. 

The legislation, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, would have required that all individual and group health insurance plans that offer childbirth coverage also provide coverage for IVF. The bill did not include any exemptions for insurance plans provided by employers who have religious or other moral objections to IVF, such as the Catholic Church.

IVF is a fertility treatment opposed by the Catholic Church in which doctors fuse sperm and eggs to create human embryos and implant them in the mother’s womb, which deviates from the natural procreative process. To maximize efficiency, doctors create excess human embryos and routinely destroy undesired embryos.

More than 1 million human embryos are either killed or indefinitely frozen every year in the United States by the IVF industry.

The proposed law would have prevented states from putting restrictions on the destruction of human embryonic life. It would have also banned states from restricting the number of eggs doctors could retrieve from the woman, from preventing the fertilization of multiple human eggs, or from limiting the number of human embryos created to be frozen for future use.

Only one state — Louisiana — prohibits the destruction of human embryonic life. However, the state law does not prevent doctors from transporting embryos to another state where they can be killed.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray said during the floor debate that the destruction of human embryos is “a common necessary part of the IVF process.”

“Talk to the experts who provide this care,” Murray said. “Talk to the families who are seeking it and that question looms large in their minds. What are we supposed to do if our state says these [human] embryos are living, breathing people?”

The proposed legislation would have also prohibited states from limiting IVF access to couples who are married. It would have required that the procedure be available to single people and to homosexuals. Under the bill, states would not be allowed to ensure that the children who are ultimately born through IVF grow up in a home with both a mother and a father.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has come out strongly against the legislation, saying that the solution to infertility “can never be a medical process that involves the creation of countless preborn children and results in most of them being frozen or discarded and destroyed.”

Republicans seek IVF expansion in other ways

Although Republican senators blocked the IVF insurance mandate, lawmakers within the party urged Democrats to consider legislation that would grant national protections to IVF without any mandates on employers.

Republican Sen. Katie Britt and Cruz encouraged lawmakers to adopt their bill, which would have stripped Medicaid funding from states if they prohibit IVF. There are no states that prohibit IVF.

The proposal does not impose any mandates on employers or health insurance companies and would not prevent states from regulating IVF.

“IVF helps aspiring parents to start families, to grow their families,” Britt asserted on the Senate floor. 

Cruz said he is “an unequivocal supporter of protecting IVF,” which he argued “has given so many parents struggling with infertility the gift of finally holding a child — a baby in their arms.”

Democrats objected to the legislation. Murray said the “bill does nothing to meaningfully protect IVF” because it does not prevent states from approving the regulations that are prohibited in the Democrats’ bill.

Even though the destruction of human embryonic life is integral to the IVF process, many of the Republicans who embrace the procedure still refer to themselves as pro-life.

Credit: SynthEx/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).

A bipartisan group of 42 state attorneys general recently called for the U.S. surgeon general to add a health warning to algorithm-driven social media sites, citing the potential psychological harm that such sites can have on children and teenagers. 

“As state attorneys general, we sometimes disagree about important issues, but all of us share an abiding concern for the safety of the kids in our jurisdictions — and algorithm-driven social media platforms threaten that safety,” the coalition of attorneys general wrote in a Sept. 9 letter to congressional leaders. 

The attorneys general cited growing bodies of research that link young people’s use of these platforms to psychological harm, including depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts in kids and teens. They also noted how platforms feature “enticing algorithmic recommendations, infinite scrolling, and a constant stream of notifications, which are designed to keep kids relentlessly engaged on the platforms, even at the expense of taking breaks, engaging in other activities, or sleeping.”

State attorneys general have taken action in recent years to hold the largest social media platforms accountable. In 2023, the attorneys general of 45 states and the District of Columbia filed a series of lawsuits against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, alleging that the company “deployed harmful and manipulative product features designed to push young users’ engagement with the Instagram platform to dangerous levels, all while representing to the public that its products are safe.”

In addition, some states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Utah, have commenced litigation against TikTok for violating their state’s consumer protection laws, they noted.

“[A] surgeon general’s warning on social media platforms, though not sufficient to address the full scope of the problem, would be one consequential step toward mitigating the risk of harm to youth. A warning would not only highlight the inherent risks that social media platforms presently pose for young people but also complement other efforts to spur attention, research, and investment into the oversight of social media platforms,” the attorneys general wrote. 

“This problem will not solve itself and the social media platforms have demonstrated an unwillingness to fix the problem on their own. Therefore, we urge Congress to act by requiring warnings on algorithm-driven social media platforms, as recommended by the surgeon general.”

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has on several occasions signaled a willingness to highlight the health risks posed by social media, issuing in 2023 a 25-page advisory regarding social media usage evidence for its negative effects. 

“Children are exposed to harmful content on social media, ranging from violent and sexual content to bullying and harassment. And for too many children, social media use is compromising their sleep and valuable in-person time with family and friends,” Murthy wrote in that advisory.

“We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis — one that we must urgently address.”

In July, the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to advance extensive regulations that its supporters say will protect the safety and privacy of children on the internet. Under the bill, the government would impose a “duty of care” on social media platforms, meaning social media companies could be held legally liable if they are negligent in their efforts to prevent children from accessing harmful material.

Bullying and harassment, as well as sexual and violent material, are listed as harmful material covered by the legislation, known as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). The legislation would also require platforms to work to prevent children from accessing material that could contribute to anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and various other harm.

More than 300 years old, the feast of Our Lord and the Virgin of the Miracle is one of the most popular in Argentina. / Credit: Archdiocese of Salta, Argentina

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sep 17, 2024 / 15:55 pm (CNA).

More than 650,000 pilgrims gathered this past weekend in the city of Salta, in the Argentine province of the same name, to celebrate the Feast of Our Lord and the Virgin of the Miracle.

Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge García Cuerva presided at the feast’s Sunday Mass, beginning his homily by saying: “Words ... are never enough, if what has to be said overflows the soul.”

“It is very difficult to put into words what is felt” at the “Feast of the Miracle,” said the archbishop, who over four days walked more than 105 miles to Salta.

“In the cross of the Lord of the Miracle we find strength to continue on the path of life, because alongside everyday people we recognize that we are all fragile, we recognize that no one can go it alone, we recognize our vulnerability and the need we have for the Lord of the Miracle,” he said.

Upon seeing the pilgrims look at the images of the Lord and the Virgin of the Miracle, García Cuerva noted: “There was a communion of vision in a profound silence.”

Speaking of the Lord, he said, “we want to allow ourselves to be seen by his gaze of mercy, which heals the wounds of the soul, as so many servants healed our feet during the pilgrimage of these days.”

“We want to allow ourselves to be looked at by your bright gaze, like that of all of us who come to your feet, moved to the point of tears, because crying is good for us, because we make tears and cleanse our eyes and thus, we look at the future with greater hope and we see a horizon ahead of us as Argentines,” he said.

Salta Archbishop Mario Cargnello also spoke at the event, saying: “Lord of the Miracle, thank you for drawing us to you to renew, also this year, the pact of love with you!”

“Here you have us, Lord! We bring our pains, our worries, the poverty of many Argentines. With us come our sins, our infidelities, but also our hopes that are based on your constant and always renewed fidelity,“ he declared.

With this pact “we open our hearts to his Spirit so that he makes us capable of being free like Jesus,“ he explained and specified: “We are truly free to the extent that we do good.“

To fully experience this freedom in society, the archbishop of Salta called for a focus on efforts to fight against the “destructive tsunami” that is “violence, the scourge of drugs, social inequality with its consequences of growing poverty, the culture of death, the loss of a quality education.“

“It is the state’s job to create and sustain conditions so that people and institutions develop their full capacity to fulfill themselves along with others, but each citizen is also asked to do his part,“ he indicated. 

“Let us not be afraid to lose some of our comfort in favor of the poorest. Let us avoid ostentation, which causes more pain to those burdened by poverty,” he added, while underscoring that “the miracle is the most eloquent testimony of the transforming power of faith.”

The ‘Feast of the Miracle’

The origin of this feast dates back to 1582, the year of the founding of Salta, when Fray Francisco de Victoria, who was carrying out his pastoral mission in America, promised that upon returning to Europe he would send an image of Christ to the main church of the town. It arrived 10 years later.

In 1692, an earthquake caused the disappearance of the city of Esteco. An aftershock affected the capital of Salta, which was about 93 miles away, generating panic among the residents, who approached the temple that was destroyed.

Father José Carrión, priest of the Society of Jesus, took the crucified Christ out into the street in what is remembered as the first procession. After this and other manifestations of faith, the earthquakes eventually stopped.

More than 300 years old, the Feast of Our Lord and the Virgin of the Miracle is one of the most popular in Argentina and is an opportunity for the faithful to renew their pact of faith with the patron saints of Salta.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

A sign hangs above a Planned Parenthood clinic on May 18, 2018, in Chicago. / Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2024 / 15:20 pm (CNA).

A study by the pro-life group Students for Life of America (SFLA) has identified dozens of U.S. Christian colleges and universities, including multiple Catholic institutions, maintaining “some type of relationship” with the abortion industry, including the abortion giant Planned Parenthood. 

SFLA’s Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement said in its 2024 Christian Schools Project report that of the 732 Christian schools it investigated, more than 80 were found to have some sort of connection with Planned Parenthood or another abortion provider.

Those connections included “an internship opportunity that recommended or credited work at Planned Parenthood or another local abortion vendor” as well as linking to Planned Parenthood as a “health resource,” a “class resource,” or a “volunteer opportunity.”

The report counted each factor as an “infraction,” assigning grades to the schools based on the number of infractions given to each one. Nearly 30%, or 24, received a “F” rating with four or more infractions, while 15 schools received a “D” rating for three infractions, 20 received “C” for two infractions, and 24 received a “B” grade for one infraction. 

Schools were awarded an “A” grade if they had no infractions, while institutions received an A+ rating if they also offered proof of “a relationship with a local, life-affirming pregnancy help center.”

Three Catholic institutions — Boston College, Santa Clara University in California, and St. Elizabeth University in New Jersey — received “F” ratings in the report. St. John Fisher University in New York and University of Detroit Mercy in Michigan, meanwhile, received “D” ratings. 

Among the infractions identified by the report include University of Detroit Mercy listing Planned Parenthood as among “research guides” for students studying “women’s and gender studies.” 

Santa Clara University, meanwhile, suggests on its website that its health center will make referrals to Planned Parenthood, while the school last year hosted a symposium examining what it described as “anti-abortion and anti-trans laws.”

Overall, 17 Catholic institutions were found to have some connection with Planned Parenthood or to otherwise promote the abortion provider or other abortion resources. 

None of the Catholic schools on the list responded to queries from CNA regarding the report’s findings.

The Institute for Pro-Life Advancement said that U.S. Christian schools’ support for abortion has “increased annually by 10% since 2022” in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s repeal by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The institute noted that a dozen schools “removed ties to the abortion industry after initial contact with researchers in 2024.”

The study has been run since 2021, during which “54 total connections [with the abortion industry] have been severed,” the report said.

Encouragingly, in the most recent report, “Christian schools earning an ‘A+’ grade by supporting their local pregnancy help center increased by 32%.”

Bishop James Conley of Lincoln carries the Eucharist through Nebraska. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2024 / 14:45 pm (CNA).

Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, recently urged Catholics to think about how they could “walk with,” pray for, and share the Catholic faith with one person over the next year as part of the ongoing National Eucharistic Revival.

In a Sept. 13 column, Conley encouraged Catholics to learn about the resources provided by the U.S. bishops as part of the program “Walk with One,” which offers practical steps to help people share the Catholic faith with one person in their life at a time. 

The “Walk with One” program is part of the current phase of the multiyear National Eucharistic Revival, the Year of Mission. The Eucharistic Revival, which began in 2021, aims to deepen and spread devotion to the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ.

“Right now, there is someone in your life whom Jesus longs to call to himself. Who is that person? Who is that one person you know who would be much happier and content in life if he or she only knew and loved Jesus in the Eucharist?” Conley wrote. 

“Obviously, not everyone is called to spread the Gospel in foreign lands, or even to go door-to-door in his or her own community. But I think the Lord is asking each of us to step out of our comfort zone and evangelize one-to-one. Who is that one person for you? Who is that one person you can see yourself walking with over the next six months, year, or more?”

Conley encouraged Catholics to go to the Eucharistic Revival website and download the “Simple Guide,” which includes four steps: “identify, intercede, connect, invite.”

The steps are as follows:

1) Identify: Prayerfully ask God, “Who is that one person you want me to walk with?”

2) Intercede: As soon as you discern who it is, pray like crazy for that person.

3) Connect: Look for ways to walk, hang out, get coffee with this person — and then listen to this person. Let that person tell you his or her joys, hopes, and struggles, and share yours, too.

4) Invite: Follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and invite the person to something Catholic (adoration, Bible study, Mass, confession, a talk, to pray the rosary, to listen to a podcast, read a book, or watch a powerful movie, etc.). Then talk about it.

“If you’re already down that road ‘walking with one,’ and need the next step, most parishes are just starting up OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) classes; invite that person to attend, and go with them. You can even attend without them, to better understand the faith yourself,” Conley encouraged. 

Reflecting on the National Eucharistic Congress, the milestone Catholic event that attracted more than 50,000 people to Indianapolis in July, Conley said the “public display of faith, love, devotion, joy, and reverence” shown to Jesus in the Eucharist “will continue to bear fruit for decades to come.”

“We know that we have been given an amazing gift in the holy Eucharist. Do we allow ourselves to be amazed at such a wondrous gift? We all — myself included — need to pray for an increase in Eucharistic amazement,” the bishop wrote. 

“Whenever we receive a truly awesome gift, we naturally want to share it with others. We want to tell others about the gift. We want them to enjoy the gift, too.”

Conley noted that in his homily for the conclusion of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis on July 21, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle preached that “the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a gift and the fulfillment of his mission.”

“The cardinal began his homily by saying, ‘Jesus is sent to be given by the Father to others, sent to be a gift. He is not sent just to wander around and enjoy himself. He is sent to be given.’ In other words, Jesus fulfills his mission from the Father to save the world from sin by giving his life on the cross, while, at the same time, he gives himself to the world in the holy Eucharist, so that he can remain with us on earth until the end of the world. But he remains with us, to be given away,” Conley wrote.

Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, archbishop of Marseille, France, as the Holy See’s special envoy for the Quebec Archdiocese’s jubilee celebrations to take place Sept. 20–22, 2024. / Credit: Laurent Coust/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Rome Newsroom, Sep 17, 2024 / 14:05 pm (CNA).

To mark the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the Archdiocese of Quebec in Canada, Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, archbishop of Marseille, France, as the Holy See’s special envoy for the archdiocese’s jubilee celebrations to take place Sept. 20–22. 

Last year, the Quebec Archdiocese opened a special jubilee year — Dec. 8, 2023, to Dec. 8, 2024 — to mark the historic occasion of the local Church’s founding and growth over the centuries. Throughout the holy year, a variety of events and conferences have been organized by the archdiocese for jubilee pilgrims. 

Over the Sept. 20–22 weekend, Catholics are invited to participate in the celebration of a solemn Mass and other spiritual and cultural programs to celebrate the Church’s historic milestone in the country.

Among the weekend events, family activities at Quebec’s Notre-Dame-de-Québec Cathedral Basilica and in Montreal’s historic square Place d’Youville have been included in the archdiocese’s artistic itinerary. French faith-based music group Glorious will also be performing at the concert hall Le Capitole.

In a letter to Aveline, the pope asked the French prelate to give “words of spiritual encouragement” and impart his papal blessing to the Quebecois Catholic faithful participating in this weekend’s solemn Mass and jubilee festivities in the French Canadian province.

“With the providential grace of God, the archdiocese has welcomed gradual growth, both artistic and spiritual, over the decades,” reads the Sept. 17 letter of the pope. “Due thanks must be paid for the impulse and energy of the faithful with whom it arose and is still thriving.”

In 1674, Quebec became the first Catholic diocese in Canada after it was elevated from an apostolic vicariate of the Church’s missions to New France in the mid-17th century. 

Now, more than three centuries after the founding of the archdiocese, approximately 1 million out of a total population of 1.3 million people in the eastern Canadian province are Catholic. 

In the same letter to Aveline, the Holy Father also encouraged Catholics in Quebec to approach their special jubilee — a holy year of recollection, repentance, indulgence, conversion, and grace — with an attitude of conversion toward God.

“In this year dedicated to the foundation of the remarkable cathedral church, all participants will be exhorted that, just as all created things are directed to their Founder [Jesus Christ], they should of their own accord direct themselves to him, the first truth and the highest good,” the pope said in his letter.

Throughout the special jubilee year, Canadian Catholics have the opportunity to undertake a pilgrimage that begins in La Malbaie and ends at the Holy Door of the basilica in Quebec City.

A reliquary containing relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis at the Church of Sant’Angela Merici in Rome, Oct. 11, 2021. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Sep 17, 2024 / 12:52 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis in his youth message released on Tuesday encouraged young people to imitate Blessed Carlo Acutis in prioritizing “the great gift of the Eucharist.”

“As Blessed Carlo Acutis said, the Eucharist is the highway to heaven,” the pope wrote in his message for diocesan World Youth Days published on Sept. 17.

Pope Francis pointed to how Blessed Carlo made praying before the Eucharist “his most important daily appointment,” which gave him the strength to persevere in his journey of faith.

“I encourage all of you to rediscover the great gift of the Eucharist!” the pope said.

Pope Francis highlighted the witness of Acutis, whom he will soon canonize as the first millennial saint. 

The Italian computer-coding teenager who died of cancer in 2006 is known for his great devotion to the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Carlo attended daily Mass as an elementary and high school student at his neighborhood parish, describing his life goal as “to be always united with Jesus.”

Pope Francis approved the second miracle attributed to Acutis’ intercession in the spring, paving the way for his canonization during the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year.

Local World Youth Days

Pope Francis’ message was released ahead of the next diocesan World Youth Day, to be celebrated on Nov. 24, the solemnity of Christ the King, in Catholic dioceses across the world.

The Catholic Church has celebrated World Youth Day annually in local dioceses since the event was established by St. John Paul II in 1985.

In his message, Pope Francis said “the precious gift of the Eucharist” is the food that “God gives us to sustain us on our way” in the pilgrimage of life. 

Pope Francis invited young people to discover “a deeper kind of rest, the repose of the soul,” which is “found in Christ alone.” 

“Realize that all your inner weariness can find repose in the Lord, who says to you: ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest,’” the pope said.

“When the weariness of the journey weighs you down, come back to Jesus, learn to rest in him and abide with him, for ‘those who hope in the Lord ... will run and not be weary (Is 40:31).’”

Hope for a weary world

Pope Francis acknowledged the profound challenges facing today’s generation and called for renewed hope and perseverance in the face of adversity. 

“Today, we too live in times marked by dramatic situations that generate despair and prevent us from looking to the future with serenity,” the pope said. He highlighted how young people in some parts of the world pay a high price when faced with the tragedy of war, social injustices, and inequalities.

The pope also pointed to the temptation to despair when faced with uncertainty about the future, saying that young people today who live without hope can be “prisoners of boredom, depression, and even be drawn to risk-taking and destructive behaviors.”

“For this reason, dear young people, I would like the message of hope to come to you,” he said. “Today too, the Lord is opening a highway before you.”

“The Christian life in particular is a pilgrimage toward God, our salvation and the fullness of every good thing,” he said. “Our goals, achievements, and successes along the way, if they remain only material, will, after an initial moment of satisfaction, still leave us hungry, longing for something  greater.” 

“They cannot completely satisfy our soul, because we were created by One who is infinite; as a result, we have an innate desire for transcendence.’”

The pope cautioned against the dangers of complacency and inaction. He said: “The solution to tiredness, oddly enough, is not to stand still and rest. It is to set out and become pilgrims of hope.”

The theme for this year’s World Youth Day is “Those Who Hope in the Lord Will Run and Not Be Weary,” taken from Isaiah 40:31 in the Bible. The pope said he wanted the theme to connect it with the theme for the 2025 Jubilee, “Pilgrims of Hope.”

Pope Francis said: “Those who visit St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome cross the great square surrounded by the colonnade built by the celebrated architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The entire colonnade appears as two open arms, an image of the Church, our mother, who embraces all her children.”

“In this coming Holy Year of Hope, I invite all of you to experience the embrace of our merciful God, to experience his pardon and the forgiveness of all our ‘interior debts,’ as in the biblical tradition of the jubilee years.”

“I entrust your journey to the Virgin Mary, so that, following her example, you may be able to look forward with patience and confidence to the fulfillment of all your hopes, even now, as you persevere in your journey as pilgrims of hope and of love,” he said.