When asked what Christians can do outside the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa responded: “Pray and support. Support the Christian community as much as they can.” / Credit: EWTN News

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 21, 2024 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has indicated that for now a two-state solution to end the war between Israel and Hamas in the Holy Land is “not realistic.”

“My impression is that no one wants a wider conflict, but no one is able to stop it,” Pizzaballa told EWTN’s Colm Flynn in an exclusive interview. “Now you need something new, creative, I don’t know what, but all the previous agreements, ideas, the prospective two-state solution, everything is not realistic now,” the cardinal explained.

Pizzaballa said the war between Israel and Hamas that has been underway since Oct. 7, 2023, is the worst period the people of the Holy Land have experienced in the last 35 years. 

“Not only for the violence … but the proportion, the impact, also the emotional impact on the population, Israelis and Palestinians, and now in Lebanon, which is enormous,” he added.

Following the Hamas incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel responded with a major military operation in Gaza, which has also involved Iran and Lebanon.

Over the past year, Pope Francis has frequently called for a cease-fire and an end to the war in the Holy Land, especially after praying the Angelus on Sundays. On Oct. 17, he received a former prime minister from Israel and three top former Palestinian ministers at the Vatican, to discuss the situation.

In his interview with Flynn, Pizzaballa expressed his concern about “the language of hatred” found everywhere. “This is terrible. And my concern is not so much about the war. Wars are not eternal; they finish, like all wars, but what will be after, the consequences will be terrible.”

The Church is the voice of the poor

Regarding the negotiations that must take place to achieve peace, the cardinal commented: “I don’t think the Church should enter these things. The Church is better to remain outside … because if you enter, you are not free. The strength of the Church is to be a voice, the voice of the poor.”

After indicating that “everyone has to do his job. I mean, politicians have to find a political perspective and religious leaders have to help people to find hope.” The patriarch of Jerusalem also made clear that “peace is an attitude. It’s not just an agreement.”

However, Pizzaballa continued, given the current situation “it’s not realistic to talk about peace. Now, what we have to first of all talk about is a cease-fire, to stop any kind of violence … to find also new leadership with vision, political vision, also religious leaders. And then you can think about a new perspective for the Middle East, not before.”

On the subject of hunger as a weapon of war, the cardinal regretted what is happening in Gaza and highlighted that the aid sent by international organizations is not enough to care for 2 million people.

When asked what Christians can do outside the Holy Land, Pizzaballa responded: “Pray and support. Support the Christian community as much as they can.” 

Message to Israelis and Palestinians

After emphasizing that violence is not a solution, the patriarch of Jerusalem insisted that “Palestinians and Israelis are called by God to live one close to another, not against the other. And they have to rediscover their call.” 

He further underscored that “the answer to the violence and to the evil is the cross.” He said “it is not impossible” to see God in the midst of all this because “the Gospel is not an idea or a narrative, it is life” and pointed to the need for everyone to “trust more in the power of grace of God.”

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

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance listens as Republican presidential nominee former president Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds on Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. / Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).

Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, at an Oct. 20 faith rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin, accused the Biden-Harris administration of persecuting Christians and Catholics in particular.

In his speech, Vance also spoke about religious liberty and the impact of inflation, illegal immigration, and drug addiction.

“There are a lot of Catholics … [who] I think rightfully feel abandoned by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ leadership, and they’re just looking for somebody to protect their rights and make this country an affordable and decent place to raise a family,” Vance said at the Sunday afternoon rally in the battleground state. 

“I think that’s true of a lot of Catholics,” Vance said. “It’s true of non-Catholics, too. But we cannot have an American government that is persecuting Christians for living their faith. We should be rewarding people and encouraging people to live their faith.”

Vance took Harris to task for her support for “suing Catholic nuns to force them to perform procedures that violate their conscience.” 

The allegation appears to be in reference to Harris’ 2019 support for the Do No Harm Act, which would have ended religious liberty exemptions for certain government mandates, including for health insurance coverage. It would have scaled back the protections in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act so the government could force religious employers to include coverage for abortion and transgender surgeries in their health insurance plans.

Democratic lawmakers introduced the legislation to push back against the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic community of religious sisters who were suing the federal government over a mandate that their health insurance plan cover abortion. The sisters won at the Supreme Court.

“I think that’s ridiculous,” Vance continued. “I think we’re a big enough country where we can actually respect the right of people of faith to live according to their conscience and not try to force Kamala Harris’ progressive values down their throat.”

The Trump campaign has also been critical of Harris for scrutinizing judicial nominees for being members of the Knights of Columbus and for a leaked internal Richmond FBI memo that called for an investigation into a supposed link between so-called “radical traditionalist Catholics” and “the far-right white nationalist movement.” Trump also criticized Harris for skipping the Al Smith dinner, which raises money for Catholic charities and is traditionally attended by both major-party candidates.

“Kamala Harris is the candidate of anti-Christian and anti-Catholic bigotry,” Vance said. “She brags about it. That’s her policy record. Donald Trump is the candidate of defending your First Amendment right to practice your faith however you want to, because this is the United States of America, and we believe in religious liberty in this country.”

Vance also blamed Harris and President Joe Biden for the rising cost of living, resulting from high levels of inflation. He blamed government spending for the inflation, which he said harmed families and “made groceries unaffordable for American citizens.”

Additionally, Vance blamed Biden and Harris for the flood of migrants illegally entering the United States. He said their border policies have made Americans less safe and sparked a rise in fentanyl-laced drugs in the country.

On a personal note, Vance referred to his mother’s past struggle with opioid addiction, saying she “has been clean and sober for 10 years, and we’re proud of her.”

“That, to me, is the grace of God,” he said. “I know in this room, [many people] believe that God sometimes works in mysterious ways, but he does work every single day in the lives of citizens of this state and of this country. I’m living proof of it, my friends.”

“But while we pray to God for recovery and we fight every single day for those of our loved ones who are getting caught up in this stuff, wouldn’t it be nice to have a president of the United States who stopped this poison from coming into our country in the first place?” Vance added.

Hundreds of people turned out for Vance’s rally, which took place outside of Milwaukee, the state’s largest city. Several people held campaign signs that read “Catholics for Trump.” Vance is a convert to Catholicism and noted during the speech that he was “baptized for the first time in 2019” and “returned to my faith as a young man.”

“I know all of you are praying for me, and I know we got a lot of Catholics for Trump,” Vance said. “I see the signs here. Thank you, Catholics for Trump.”

While he was speaking, one attendee loudly yelled “Jesus is king,” to which Vance responded: “That’s right — Jesus is king” and received loud cheers and applause from the crowd. This appeared to be in reference to an incident that took place at a Harris rally two days earlier. Two college students say they were asked to leave a Harris rally after reportedly shouting, “Jesus is Lord.” A video circulating on social media, however, shows that someone in the audience also shouted “Liar! Liar!” before Harris told them they were “at the wrong rally.” 

“Whether you’re a person of [the] Christian faith or not, Donald Trump and I are going to fight for your right to live your values because that’s what the First Amendment protects,” Vance said.

According to a polling average from RealClearPolling, Trump and Harris are virtually tied in Wisconsin, a state with 10 Electoral College votes. In all seven battleground states with the tightest races, polls show Trump with very narrow leads, with Harris less than two percentage points behind in each — well within the margin of error.

Some recent polls show that Catholic voters are nearly evenly divided on the 2024 presidential election. According to a September Pew Research Center survey, about 52% of Catholics support Trump and 47% support Harris. A poll conducted by the National Catholic Reporter found that Catholics in the seven most tightly contested swing states preferred Trump 50% to Harris’ 45%.

Pro-life protestors hold signs outside the Missouri Supreme Court on Sept. 10, 2024, advocating against Amendment 3, which would dramatically expand abortion access in Missouri if passed in November. / Credit: Courtesy of Thomas More Society

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).

Three states have picked up a lawsuit previously dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its removal of safety restrictions on abortion drugs. 

In June 2023, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision saying the group of pro-life doctors and organizations who filed the original case lacked standing as they could not show they had been harmed by the abortion drug mifepristone’s widespread availability. 

The states of Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho argue in the new lawsuit, filed in the same Texas federal court as the original case, that “women should have the in-person care of a doctor when taking high-risk drugs.”

Since the FDA rolled back its regulations, the states wrote in the filing, abortion drugs have been “flooding states like Missouri and Idaho [where abortion is otherwise regulated] and sending women in these states to the emergency room.”

The plaintiffs describe the FDA’s move to deregulate the drug as “reckless,” noting that the FDA’s own label estimates that about 1 in 25 women who take mifepristone “will visit the emergency room.” Though side effects of the drug include severe bleeding, life-threatening infections, and ruptured ectopic pregnancies, abortion providers are no longer required to report nonfatal complications.

“This elimination was based on past data collected under the originally approved safety standards, not the new deregulated regime,” the states pointed out, calling the deregulation “unreasonable.”

The original FDA requirements for the drug upon its approval in 2000 limited use to 49 days of pregnancy, required three in-person visits, and could only be administered by certified health care providers at a clinic or health care center. In 2016, the gestational limit was extended to 70 days and the number of in-person consultations reduced to a singular visit.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the FDA dropped its consultation requirement altogether and further authorized all certified health care professionals to be able to distribute the drug. Telehealth providers were initially given the temporary ability to distribute the drug via mail that same year. The Biden administration eventually solidified the practice as a norm in 2023. 

Although most of the country requires parental consent for the drug to be prescribed, 18 states — including California, Colorado, Maryland, and Illinois — do not require parental consent for minors to access mifepristone. 

The states also claim in the filing that the FDA “ignored the potential impacts that the removal of commonsense safeguards would have on adolescent girls” and that the administration purposefully categorized pregnancy as a “disease” to avoid having to complete otherwise necessary safety assessments among pediatric patients to approve the deregulations. 

The new filing calls for the drug to be prohibited among patients under the age of 18. 

“The FDA has acted unlawfully,” the states concluded in the amended complaint. “Now, the state plaintiffs ask the court to protect women by holding unlawful, staying the effective date of, setting aside, and vacating the FDA’s actions to eviscerate crucial safeguards for those who undergo this dangerous drug regimen.”

“Don’t mess with my children,” reads a sign carried by a participant in one of some 30 marches on Oct. 19, 2024, in Colombia to protest the country’s health department memorandom that sanctions sex changes for minors. / Credit: Eduardo Berdejo/ACI Prensa

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 21, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).

Thousands of Colombians took to the streets in some 30 of the country’s cities over the weekend to demand the repeal of External Memorandum 115 of the national government’s Superintendency of Health (Supersalud) that sanctions sex changes for minors.

Sponsored by several organizations that defend life and the family, including Unidos por la Vida (United for Life) and Unión Familia (Family Union), the marches saw wide participation by the country’s citizens, including families, religious leaders, and health professionals.

In addition to Bogotá, there were demonstrations in Cali, Medellín, Barranquilla, Cartagena, and Santa Marta, among other cities. 

The demonstration in Bogotá, the country’s capital, started from National Park and headed to Bolívar Plaza.

Family Union stated on Instagram that “more than 30 cities have raised their voices to say ‘not with children’” in reference to the memorandum Supersalud published on Sept. 21 that provides “general instructions for inspection, oversight, and control to guarantee the right to health of trans people in Colombia.”

Section H is dedicated to “trans children and adolescents who are in the process of development” and states that the objective is for minors to have “healthy development and support in the affirmation of identity and/or gender expression in these stages of the life cycle.”

In support of its action, the Supersalud document cited in footnote 26 rulings by the Constitutional Court backing sex changes for minors.

Although at the beginning a small group of trans activists in Bogotá tried to stop the demonstration in the country’s capital city, marchers continued their course toward the city’s historic downtown with signs demanding respect for the integral well-being of minors, including the march’s slogan, “Don’t mess with children.”

The slogan was directed especially at Superintendent of Health Luis Carlos Leal, who was appointed to that position by President Gustavo Petro.

In declarations made prior to the demonstration, the president of United for Life, Jesús Magaña, charged that Leal “has issued this memorandum to promote hormone therapy and sex changes, according to his ideology.”

He also said that it’s “a very clear project of President Petro, through his superintendent of health.”

“They don’t care about destroying the family, destroying children; they don’t care about respecting the rights of parents because they want to do it to minors,” the pro-family leader told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

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

Interior of the parish church in the Cuxtitali sector of the city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas in the Mexican state of Chiapas. / Credit: Leogeograph, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 21, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

Father Marcelo Pérez of the Mexican Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas was murdered on Saturday, Oct. 19, by unknown assailants. The priest was shot dead after he had finished celebrating Mass and was on his way in his car to continue his pastoral duties.

According to the news site El Heraldo de Chiapas, the crime occurred after the priest had finished celebrating the Eucharist at the church located in the Cuxtitali neighborhood and was heading to the church in the Guadalupe neighborhood when some men riding a motorcycle reportedly shot him.

The murder was condemned by the Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM by its Spanish acronym) in an Oct. 20 statement, which said the act “not only deprives the community of a dedicated pastor but also silences a prophetic voice that tirelessly fought for peace with truth and justice in the region of Chiapas.”

“Father Marcelo Pérez was a living example of priestly commitment to the most needy and vulnerable in society. His pastoral work, characterized by his closeness to the people and his constant support for those who needed it most, leaves a legacy of love and service that will endure in the hearts of all those he touched with his ministry,” the CEM wrote.

In its statement, the CEM also expressed its “solidarity and spiritual closeness” to the bishop of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Rodrigo Aguilar Martínez, and to the local Catholic community.

The statement also demands that authorities carry out “an exhaustive and transparent investigation that leads to solving this crime and justice for Father Marcelo Pérez,” the implementation of “effective measures to guarantee the safety of priests and pastoral workers,” and the redoubling of “efforts to combat the violence and impunity that afflict the region of Chiapas” and the country in general.

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

Cardinal Joseph Zen arrives at a court for his trial in Hong Kong on Sept. 26, 2022. / Credit: PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images

Vatican City, Oct 21, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).

A new report sheds light on the repression faced by 10 Catholic bishops in China who have resisted the Chinese Communist Party’s attempt to exert control over religious matters since the 2018 China-Vatican agreement on the appointment of bishops. 

The report, authored by Nina Shea for the Hudson Institute, documents the harrowing experiences of Vatican-approved bishops who have suffered detention without due process, surveillance, police investigations, and banishments from their dioceses for refusal to submit to the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA), a state-managed group controlled by the CCP’s United Front Work Department. 

“This report shows that religious repression of the Catholic Church in China has intensified since the 2018 China-Vatican agreement on the appointment of bishops,” Shea said.

“Beijing targeted these 10 bishops after they opposed the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, which requires its members to pledge independence from the Holy See,” she added.

The Hudson Institute published the report days before the expected Vatican announcement of whether the Holy See will renew its provisional agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops. 

The provisional agreement was first signed in 2018 and then renewed in 2020 and 2022. The most recent two-year renewal signed in 2022 expires this week on Oct. 22. 

News that a new coadjutor bishop of Beijing is expected to be installed on Oct. 25 in agreement with the Holy See suggests that the Sino-Vatican agreement is likely to be renewed.

The report also outlines steps that U.S. policymakers can take to advocate for the release of detained Catholic bishops in China.

Here is a look at the 10 Chinese Catholic bishops featured in the report: 

Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin

Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin, 66, of the Mindong Diocese in Fujian province has faced multiple detentions over 30 years, including one in 2019, during which he was placed under surveillance of two guards and subjected to coercive “tactics of persuasion.” After the signing of the Sino-Vatican agreement in 2018, he was asked to step down as the principal bishop of Mindong to allow the government-appointed Bishop Zhan Silu to take his place. Although Guo agreed to serve as an auxiliary bishop, he continued to face relentless pressure to register with the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, including by cutting off electricity and water to his residence and then evicting him in January 2020. He resigned in October 2020 at the age of 62.

Bishop Augustine Cui Tai

Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, 74, of the Xuanhua Diocese in the province of Hebei has been subjected to repeated detention, house arrest, and forced labor over the past 31 years. He has been detained four times since the 2018 China-Vatican agreement and has not been seen since he was taken into police custody in April 2021. His diocese has repeatedly called for his release from detention but to no avail.

Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo

Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo, 90, of the Zhengding Diocese in Hebei has a long history of persecution, having been detained multiple times since 1963. His most recent detention began in August 2020 as the China-Vatican agreement was on the verge of renewal for the first time. His “crime” was having allowed in his church the singing of hymns without government permission, according to the report. Jia remains in detention since his 2020 arrest and the Chinese government has acknowledged that he suffers from illness largely developed from his times in detention. Police also dismantled the bishop’s orphanage for disabled children that he operated with the help of Catholic nuns for over 30 years.

Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin

After publicly declaring his refusal to cooperate with the CPCA at his episcopal ordination in 2012, Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin, 56, of the Diocese of Shanghai was detained and isolated at a seminary and has remained under house arrest ever since under constant surveillance, restrictions, and detention. The China-Vatican agreement did not improve his situation.

Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin

Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin, 61, of the Wenzhou Diocese in Zhejiang has been arrested at least six times since the 2018 agreement. His most recent detention occurred in January without due process, and he remains imprisoned today. Authorities have repeatedly pressured him to join the CPCA, but he has consistently refused.

Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen

At 95 years old, Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen, 95, of the Tianjin Diocese has been under house arrest for over 15 years. He is confined to his parish church compound and occasionally allowed out to perform religious duties. In 2024, the Vatican reported that China officially recognized him as a bishop, though his age and ongoing restrictions now make it difficult for him to fulfill his ministry.

Bishop James Su Zhimin

Bishop James Su Zhimin, 92, of the Diocese of Baoding in Hebei has been in continuous secret detention for over 27 years, having been arrested in 1997 while leading a religious procession to a Marian shrine. His location remains undisclosed, and he is one of the longest-detained Catholic leaders in China. The bishop’s nephew told UCA News in 2020 “it is feared that Bishop Su is no longer alive.”

Bishop Joseph Xing Wenzhi

Bishop Joseph Xing Wenzhi, 61, of the Shanghai Diocese disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 2011. The CCP claimed he had resigned from his post, but no further information has been provided. The Vatican has expressed hope for a resolution to his case, but his fate remains unclear.

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun

A vocal critic of the CCP, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, 92, of Hong Kong has faced ongoing pressure since China’s imposition of the national security law in Hong Kong. He was arrested in 2022 on charges of “colluding with foreign forces” and was released on bail hours later. Zen was convicted for failing to register a fund that helped pay for the legal fees and medical treatments of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters and forced to pay a fine.

Bishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu

Bishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu, 66, of the Xinxiang Diocese in Henan was long prevented from entering his diocese and then was arrested in May 2021, while recovering from a cancer surgery, and continues to be held without trial. Authorities also raided and shut down his seminary, labeling it illegal. In March 2023, Asia News confirmed that the bishop remained detained by the local police.

“Rushing to ask for the ordination of deaconesses is not today the most important response to promote women,” Cardinal Víctor Fernández, the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said Oct. 21, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Oct 21, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Víctor Fernández on Monday reaffirmed Pope Francis’ position against women’s access to the diaconate, an issue that will continue to be evaluated by a specialized commission while the Synod on Synodality continues to reflect on the role of women in the Church outside of ordained ministry.

During his speech at the general congregation on Oct. 21, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith recalled that for the Holy Father the question of the female diaconate “is not ripe,” and for this reason he specifically asked the members of the synod not to get sidetracked on this possibility now.

However, the cardinal indicated that those who “are convinced that it is necessary to go deeper” into this question can send their considerations to the commission established by the Holy Father in 2020 to further study the subject. The commission is chaired by Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi.

In a similar way to what he said at the beginning of the synod, Fernández emphasized that “rushing to ask for the ordination of deaconesses is not today the most important response to promote women.”

However, he underscored that the pontiff “is very concerned” about the role of women in the Church and therefore called for further reflection “without concentrating on holy orders.”

Other forms of women’s participation in the Church

Fernández referred once again to the reflections led by group 5, charged during the synod with exploring, among other things, “the question of the necessary participation of women in the life and leadership of the Church.”

He pointed out that this group has analyzed different forms such as the lay ministry of catechists in communities without priests, an option that emerged after Querida Amazonia and was not widely accepted.

The prelate recalled that Pope Francis has pointed out that priestly power, linked to the sacraments, “is not necessarily expressed as power or authority, and that there are forms of authority that do not require holy orders.”

Continuing his reflection, he renewed his invitation to send to the dicastery “testimonies of women who are truly community leaders or who perform important functions of authority.”

“I ask especially the women members of this synod to help collect, explain, and send to the dicastery various proposals, which we can hear in their context, on possible paths for the participation of women in the leadership of the Church,” he added.

Likewise, after the “misunderstanding” that was caused by his absence from a meeting of synod delegates in which they interacted with the Vatican study group on this issue, the cardinal confirmed that there will be a new meeting on Thursday, Oct. 24, at 4:30 p.m. local time where he will listen to ideas and proposals.

He also expressed his hope that concrete steps can be taken to understand that “there is nothing in the nature of women that prevents them from occupying very important positions in the guidance of the Churches. What truly comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped.”

Draft of final document already in hands of synod members

Paolo Ruffini, secretary-general of the General Secretariat of the Synod, reported during today’s press conference that the draft of the final document was delivered this morning to the members of the synod.

The document, which will be presented to Pope Francis, is being prepared by a commission made up of a president, three secretaries, seven members representing each continent, and three members appointed by the pope.

Present at the briefing at the Holy See Press Office, cardinal-designate Father Timothy Radcliffe, OP, urged against seeking “headlines” in this document, as he “this would be a mistake.” He also noted that “the synod is a profound renewal of the Church” and a “new way” of imagining it.

For her part, Sister Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod, stated that the synod also represents a “new way of articulating the primacy” of the Petrine ministry.

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

An aerial view of flood damage wrought by Hurricane Helene along the Swannanoa River on Oct. 3, 2024, in Asheville, North Carolina. / Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Oct 21, 2024 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

Weeks after deadly Hurricane Helene dumped record rainfall on western North Carolina, the Diocese of Charlotte is encouraging parishes to band together to create “sister” partnerships for mutual material aid and spiritual support over the next six months.

Bishop Michael Martin noted in an Oct. 10 email to the diocese’s 160 priests that parishes need to be ready to help each other and the community even if they themselves did not suffer serious damage.

“While some of the immediate needs have been cared for, our longer-term walking with the people affected … remains an important ministry of our local Church,” the bishop said as reported by the local Catholic News Herald.

Parishes that are partnered with a “sister” can hold second collections to help offset lost operating revenue in their sister parish, offer monthly Holy Hours to pray for their sister parish, and check in with the parish regularly about the need for pastoral help or volunteers, the bishop noted.

Parishes can sign up for the program and the diocesan chancery will pair up parishes based on their resources and level of need.

Helene made landfall in late September in Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend region, bringing a nine-foot storm surge to some areas and knocking out power for millions.

Weakening into a tropical storm over land, it wrought deadly flooding and damaging winds inland in Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas.

The city of Asheville, North Carolina, a gateway to the Smoky Mountains about 125 miles west of Charlotte, was especially hard-hit along with hundreds of smaller communities. Nearly 100 people have died in North Carolina as a result of the storm.

Martin told CNA earlier this month that he and diocesan staff took a trip to several of the harder-hit areas in the Charlotte Diocese to survey the destruction and offer aid to stricken residents, including in the towns of Hendersonville and Swannanoa. 

The diocese has been heavily involved in relief efforts, with the diocese’s first truckload of supplies from Charlotte arriving in Hendersonville 48 hours after the storm. 

The diocese has since, as of Oct. 17, delivered 48 box trucks and 16 pickups and trailer loads of supplies to the communities of Asheville, Boone, Brevard, Hendersonville, Linville, Swannanoa, and Waynesville.

Monsignor Patrick Winslow, vicar general and chancellor of the Charlotte Diocese, recently consulted with pastors who lived through Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana to get advice on how to transition from addressing immediate to long-term needs. 

Donors from “all 50 states and six countries” have donated some $3.8 million as of Oct. 17 to response-and-recovery efforts led by the diocese’s parishes, schools, central administration, and its Catholic Charities agency, the diocese said. 

People can learn how to pray for North Carolina’s recovery and donate financially by visiting this page.

Operators work on Lilith, the “guardian of darkness,” built for the Hellfest metal festival in Toulouse, southwestern France, on Oct. 15, 2024. “Lilith” is one of the characters in the urban opera of the French company La Machine titled “The Guardian of the Temple Opus II: The Portal of Darkness,” which will be presented on Oct. 25–27, 2024, in Toulouse. / Credit: LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

The archbishop of Toulouse has consecrated the southwest French city to the Sacred Heart of Jesus ahead of a controversial street performance featuring “satanic” imagery that is set to take place next weekend. 

“If we want to conquer with Christ,” Archbishop Guy de Kerimel reflected during his homily for the Oct. 16 consecration Mass, “if we want the heart of Jesus to reign over the city and the [arch]diocese of Toulouse, we must fight the roots of evil and sin in our own heart, seek, with the grace of God, humility, flee indifference, renounce violence, work for justice, be artisans of peace, seek purity of heart, be servants of mercy, accept to suffer contradiction.”

The archbishop’s decision to consecrate the city and archdiocese comes ahead of the operatic city-funded production “La porte des Ténèbres,” translated as “The Gate of Darkness,” which is the second installment of a similar performance that took place in 2018. 

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, he emphasized to those gathered for the consecration, “is the most eloquent revelation of the victory of the divine love manifested by Jesus, son of God and son of man, dead for our sins and risen from the dead for our salvation.”

Because of Christ’s passion, the archbishop said, “love is not dead,” and Christians can have “hearts open to testify to hope” amid darkness. 

“The consecration of the city and the [arch]diocese to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is therefore for us an invitation to conversion to show, in our wounded world, something of the new world, born of the pierced heart of Jesus,” he stated. “How are Christian communities, with all people of goodwill, witnesses and actors of the victory of love in the world today?” 

Produced by François Delarozière, a French artist and director of the street theater company La Machine, this year’s performance sparked controversy when it was revealed that the immersive citywide opera would include “satanic” imagery. A towering mechanical depiction of Lilith, a demonic figure in Judaism, will be on display, along with Satan’s cross, Lucifer’s sigil, and the sign of the beast — which are set to represent the “three prodigious signs” that Lilith will gather during the performance to open the gates of hell. 

For the past several months, advertisements for the performance — on social media and plastered to the windows of trams throughout the city — have featured the statue of Lilith along with images of burning churches, a demonic red figure with a calf’s head, and numerous walking skeletons. 

The towering mechanical likeness of the demonic half-woman was originally constructed for an international metal music festival called “Hellfest” in Brittany this past summer. 

Delarozière in an interview with AFP news denied assertions that the performance contains satanic elements, stating that the story is really “about love, death, life, and the afterlife, with the great myths that have spanned the centuries.” 

“We all have the right to say what we want and what we think,” he added, “but we don’t have the right to censor or forbid.”

Our Lady of Pompei Chapel, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. / Credit: John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

National Catholic Register, Oct 21, 2024 / 14:20 pm (CNA).

Beginning on Sunday, Oct. 27, the Eternal World Television Network (EWTN) will launch a nine-day novena in anticipation of the U.S. election on Nov. 5. Catholics and all people of goodwill are invited to join in the “Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation” to pray for the country and all government officials. (Editor’s note: EWTN is the parent company of CNA.)

“As Catholics, we turn instinctively to our Blessed Mother in times of need,” said EWTN Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Michael Warsaw.

“In this present moment, when there is so much division and unrest in our country, and when many of the values that formed our nation seem to be at risk, we again need to turn to our Blessed Mother,” Warsaw said. “We need to pray for her intercession, that leaders and all who seek public office will follow the path of truth, guarantee religious liberty, and ensure that all human life is valued and protected, most especially the unborn.”

The Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation concentrates on some central truths and Mary’s unique role in salvation. Each day turns to different times and roles in the Gospel and rosary — days dedicated to themes such as “The Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God Day,” “The Divine Motherhood of Mary,” “The Wedding Feast of Cana Day,” “Mary at Calvary Day,” “The Mystery of Easter Day,” and the “Assumption Into Heaven.”

Even in the earliest times of Christianity, the faithful turned to Mary for her intercession in their times of persecution and great need, as did the Catholics who lived in the new republic of the United States.

In 1792, Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore, the nation’s first Catholic bishop, chose the Blessed Mother as “patroness of the United States,” and he entrusted the new United States of America to her maternal care. On May 13, 1846, 54 years later — on the same month and day she would appear years later at Fátima — the nation’s bishops named Mary under the title of “The Immaculate Conception” as the patroness of the United States.

Once again, the bishops solemnly entrusted the U.S. to the Blessed Mother in 1959, when the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was dedicated in Washington, D.C. 

America’s first president, George Washington, strongly reminded citizens of the need for heavenly help. In his farewell address, he told the nation: “[T]he propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which heaven itself has ordained.”

Many victories throughout history have been credited to the prayers of the Blessed Mother, such as the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the Victory of Muret in 1213, the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, the defeat of Soviet Communism in Austria in 1955, the defeat of dictatorship in the Philippines in 1986, and more. 

From those earliest of times of Roman persecutions, Christians would pray the simple yet very powerful “Sub Tuum Praesidium”: “We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our prayers in our necessities, but ever deliver us from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin.”

The Mother of God for the Nation novena’s introduction reminds the faithful that “in times of crisis, Catholics turn instinctively to the Mother of God to heal our wounds. Now we can all do our part in this national effort by praying the Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation. In this powerful supplication, our voices speak as one asking Mary’s intercession to unite us as one nation under God.” 

Each day of the Mother of God for the Nation novena there is a short Scripture reading related to the day’s theme, a reflection, and a prayer. The novena will be broadcast on EWTN in the morning and evening (see the times listed below). To follow along, and for those who cannot watch at those times, EWTN has a free novena eBook and will send each day’s prayers of the novena directly by email. Requesting it is simple and quick. (See below.) 

If possible, during the novena people are also encouraged to do as many of the following five acts as they can (fully explained in the free novena booklet): 1) Attend Mass and receive holy Communion each day of the novena. 2) Go to confession; receive the sacrament of penance. 3) Read Scripture and pray the rosary each day. 4) Make a donation or do something practical to help the poor. 5) Encourage as many people as possible to make the novena. 

The novena booklet reminds those who join the novena that prayer testifies to the Church’s faith that “Jesus Christ is God and Mary is the mother of God and the mother of Christ’s disciples (John 19:25–27). Her maternal relationship to Christ and to all the members of his body is the foundation of Christians’ confidence in her ability to help her children on earth who face any danger.” 

“Here is a wonderful secret of prayer: Christ wants us to go humbly to his mother in search of his help,” the introduction in the novena booklet states. “This is precisely what we are doing in ‘Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation.’”

Join in prayer

If you would like to receive the Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation, please click here. 

The free eBook is available in English and in Spanish. The printed booklet is only available to ship to homes in the U.S., one per household. For a digital version for everyone who prefers one and those outside the U.S., please click “Send me an eBook.”

Make sure to watch the “Novena to the Mother of God for the Nation” on EWTN TV beginning Oct. 27. Check the broadcast times below. Join us and unite with others in prayer to the Blessed Mother.

Schedule on EWTN: 

(Times shown are Eastern time; adjust for other time zones.) 

• Sunday, Oct. 27, at 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. 

• Monday through Thursday, Oct. 28–Oct. 31, at 9 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. 

• Friday, Nov. 1, at 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. 

• Saturday, Nov. 2, at 9 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. 

• Sunday, Nov. 3, at 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. 

• Monday, Nov. 4, at 9 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register on Oct. 21, 2024, and has been adapted by CNA.