Indianapolis, Ind., Jul 22, 2024 / 17:52 pm (CNA).

The 10th National Eucharistic Congress concluded Sunday in Indianapolis with a clarion call for participants to share with others the love and joy of the Catholic faith that they just experienced. 

For the many parents who brought their young children to the historic July 17–21 gathering in Indianapolis, the congress was an inspiring confirmation that the Catholic Church is alive and well and that other families across the country are working hard to raise their kids in the faith. 

The McKenzie family — Brendan and Laura and their eight children — made the trip to the congress from Evansville, Indiana, a few hours south of Indianapolis on the Kentucky border. 

Brendan said for his older kids, he hopes that seeing the large numbers of priests and religious present at the congress will be something of a “normalizing” experience, helping to expose his children to those kinds of vocations as a possibility for their lives. 

For the younger of his children, Brendan said he appreciated the efforts made by organizers to engage with the children and make it a fun and memorable experience. 

“The musicians and the emcees did a great job interacting with the kids, getting them up and dancing and singing, which was good for the little kids,” Brendan said.  

“I think the speakers help infuse the faith and make it more real and personal for the kids. I think the environment has been very conducive, too — allowing kids to participate and not feel like they’re an annoyance. Even the speakers have been very good about welcoming the noise of the children, to put parents at ease.”

The congress featured numerous opportunities for Eucharistic adoration and Mass as well as workshops and educational sessions. 

Numerous families attended a family-focused session on Saturday presented by Damon and Melanie Owens, Catholic speakers from Philadelphia and parents of eight children. The Owenses said it was difficult early on in their marriage to find other families who shared their values. 

Damon and Melanie spoke about the “communal dimension of marriage” and the importance of Catholic couples with children seeking out other like-minded families to “do life with.” They encouraged the families in attendance to make building a community around themselves a priority.

“Marriage is not private — our family life is not meant to be private. It’s personal, but it’s not private,” Damon Owens said. “I want to encourage and exhort you to honor that, to reverence that, and also to lean into it, to do the hard work of drawing even closer to one another.”

Paolo and Jessica Laorden from Mishawaka, Indiana, near South Bend, attended the talk with their five children. The Laordens said the Owenses’ talk about the importance of finding like-minded families resonated with them, especially since their family dynamic is different from many of their peers — Jessica is a family physician, while Paolo is a stay-at-home dad to their five children.

The talk, as well as the experience of seeing so many other families at the Congress, reminded Jessica that “there isn’t a perfect Catholic family and that we’re meant to share what we have, to support each other and find support, to depend on other people instead of turning in,” she said. 

Treating the congress as their “family vacation” for the summer, Paolo said a highlight has been the opportunity to take their kids to say “good morning” and “good night” to Jesus each day of the conference at the adoration chapel.

“They have gone above and beyond to make the conference work for families … we were really nervous about how we were going to make this work,” Jessica added. 

Paolo said he and Jessica want to be intentional about continuing the practice of bringing their children to Eucharistic adoration when they return home. Many churches in their hometown offer adoration, and “we want to do it again, on a more regular basis … even if it’s just for a couple of minutes, or an hour.”

“We want to make sure that when we go home, we bring it all home with us and be the life for the area,” he said.

Frannie and Alec Moen made the four-hour drive from Wildwood, Missouri, to attend the Congress with their seven children. Frannie said that although everyone they met was helpful and friendly, the experience was challenging — it was a workout getting the kids and stroller from one place to another, and anxiety-inducing keeping the kids from getting lost in the crowds. 

“But we trusted that God had us there for a reason, and that he’d help us keep track of them. It felt a lot like a pilgrimage,” Frannie said. 

Seeing the diversity of the Church as well as the large numbers of priests and religious “made a huge impression” on her kids, especially during Saturday’s Eucharistic procession. Frannie also mentioned a special moment when one of her daughters, who has a “unique Catholic name, and sometimes feels self-conscious about it,” met a religious sister with the same name who gave her a special handmade rosary.   

“I’d say every five minutes, someone stopped to thank us for what we are doing and for bringing our family,” Frannie said. 

“We do feel a deeper intimacy with Jesus in the Eucharist after going. We go to him every day, and we feel like he saw our loneliness and discouragement in this world and drew us to a place where we could be restored and sent back on mission to raise these children in the faith. It is hard, but we were reminded that it is worth it … The Church is young!”

Peter and Naomi Atkinson, who came from Chicago with their two young children, said the organizers of the congress did a good job of making the event family-friendly. Although they weren’t able to make it to any of the evening sessions because of their children’s bedtime, Naomi said that overall the accommodations to help families — and especially mothers with small children — feel comfortable at the congress were “amazing.” She said the space provided for nursing mothers was especially appreciated. 

“Seeing the other families who brought their kids here is really encouraging — the fact that there are so many families who are in the same boat we are, and trying to make the same sacrifices to bring their kids up with a deep love of the faith,” Peter said. 

“As Catholics, we don’t believe individually. We believe as a community. I think it’s really important for our families to see the strength and diversity and the unity of the faith,” he continued. 

“I think it’s really important for parents to receive that with other parents, and it’s important for children to see their parents receiving that, and to see other children being formed in those communities as well.”

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 22, 2024 / 17:22 pm (CNA).

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law a bill that restricts sex-change surgeries on minors, along with a bill that restricts access to female athletic competitions in certain grades to only biological girls. 

“As the debate over [these bills] has played out in Concord and throughout the state, charged political statements have muddled the conversation and distracted from the two primary factors that any parent must consider: safety and fairness for their children,” Sununu said in a statement. 

“These two factors have been my primary consideration in reviewing these bills,” the governor added.

Sununu vetoed a third bill related to transgender policies. 

The vetoed legislation would have ended the state’s anti-discrimination protections for people who identify as transgender. This would have permitted public and private entities to restrict bathroom and locker room access based on biological sex rather than self-asserted gender identity.

Banning transgender surgery on minors

House Bill 619, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, prohibits doctors from performing “genital gender reassignment surgery” on anyone under the age of 18.

This includes a ban on internal and external gender transition surgeries. For boys, this ban includes removal of genitals and surgical interventions to make the genitals appear similar to a female. For girls, this ban includes the removal of ovaries or other surgeries that alter the genitals and make the genitals appear similar to a male.

“This bill focuses on protecting the health and safety of New Hampshire’s children and has earned bipartisan support,” Sununu said. “There is a reason that countries across the world — from Sweden to Norway, France, and the United Kingdom — have taken steps to pause these procedures and policies.”

However, New Hampshire’s restrictions do not go as far as many other Republican states. The law still allows other transgender surgeries, such as the removal of healthy breasts in girls and the addition of prosthetic breasts in boys to facilitate a sex change. The state will also continue to allow doctors to prescribe puberty-blocking drugs and hormone therapy to facilitate a sex change in minors.

The ban on genital surgery is enforced through licensing agencies. Minors or parents will also be permitted to sue doctors who perform banned surgery on minors. 

Protecting girls’ sports

House Bill 1205 ensures that only biological girls will be allowed to participate in female sports competitions in grades 5 through 12. The legislation does not affect lower grades or college sports.

The legislation requires that sports competitions for those grades be classified as either “male,” “female,” or “coed.” Only biological males can participate in “male” competitions, only biological females can participate in “female” competitions, and both can participate in “coed” competitions.

Per the legislation, a biological male who identifies as transgender could not participate in a sports competition reserved for girls.

“[This legislation] ensures fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions,” Sununu said. “With this widely supported step, New Hampshire joins nearly half of all U.S. states in taking this measure.”

Any student who is deprived of an athletic opportunity based on a violation of the law or who faces retaliation for reporting a violation will be allowed to sue the school for damages.

This bill goes into effect 30 days following the governor’s signature.

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 22, 2024 / 16:52 pm (CNA).

After being under various forms of house arrest since August 2022, the bishop of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, Rolando Álvarez, was sentenced to 26 years in prison on Feb. 10, 2023, charged with being a “traitor to the homeland” by the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega. In a deal with the Vatican, Álvarez was released from prison almost a year later and exiled to Rome on Jan. 14.

Now for the first time since Alvarez was exiled and while he is still the shepherd of his flock, one priest and seven deacons were ordained in his absence by the president of the Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference and bishop of Jinotega, Carlos Enrique Herrera, on July 20 in the Matagalpa cathedral.

According to Diocese Media-TV Merced, the television channel of the Diocese of Matagalpa, Herrera celebrated the Mass in St. Peter the Apostle Cathedral in Matagalpa, where he ordained Juan José Orozco Jarquín to the priesthood.

The prelate also ordained to the diaconate Aníbal Hernaldo Vallejos Vallejos, Byron Antonio Flores Mejía, Celestino Eliécer Martínez Martínez, Ervin Andrés Aguirre Corea, Juan Dionisio Jarquín Díaz, Roberto Clemente Manzanares González, and Saúl Antonio Martínez Obregón.

According to the Nicaraguan newspaper Mosaico, this is the first ordination since Álvarez was exiled to Rome.

The newspaper also confirmed that the Diocese of Matagalpa has lost 25 of the 60 priests it had in 2020, most of whom have been arrested or exiled by the dictatorship of Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.

‘Propagate the kingdom of Christ throughout the earth’

In his homily, in which he did not mention Álvarez, the bishop of Jinotega highlighted that “it is always a cause of joy for us as a Church that God continues to bless us with these brothers who have freely decided to give themselves to the Lord.”

“We cannot help but feel great sadness because we must recognize that, although there are people who want to hear good things, there is a lack of those who are dedicated to announcing the good news and bearing witness,” the prelate noted.

“The Church was born with this purpose: to spread the kingdom of Christ throughout the earth, for the glory of God the Father, and thus make all men participants in the saving redemption and through this, order the entire universe toward Christ,” he emphasized.

Just mentioning Álvarez or asking for prayers for him during his long ordeal could result in being arrested by the dictatorship, which happened in December 2023 to the bishop of Siuna, Isidoro Mora, who was also exiled to Rome in January of this year.

Who is Álvarez?

Rolando Álvarez, the bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí, is a well-known defender of human rights and critic of the Nicaraguan dictatorship, which since 2018 has intensified its persecution of the Catholic Church in the country.

The cancellation of the legal status and the expropriation of the assets of Radio María Nicaragua on July 9 was the latest attack perpetrated by the regime.

Beginning Aug. 4, 2022, the regime’s riot police prevented Álvarez from leaving his residence along with some priests, seminarians, and a layman.

Two weeks later, when they had almost run out of food, the police broke into the house and abducted him to Managua, where he was placed under house arrest.

On Feb. 9, 2023, in a deal with the U.S. State Department, 222 political prisoners including priests and seminarians were deported by the Ortega regime to the United States. Álvarez could have been on the plane bound for freedom but refused.

According to Felix Maradiaga, one of the released political prisoners, the bishop refused because “he couldn’t leave his people behind. Because he had to give an example, a sacrificial witness” to the 37 political prisoners still incarcerated. Maradiaga said that the bishop stated at that time: “I’m not going to leave until all the prisoners are free.”

After a swift sham trial, the dictatorship sentenced the bishop the next day to 26 years in jail, sending him to the La Modelo prison, where political prisoners of the dictatorship are held.

After Vatican mediation, he was finally deported to Rome in January. According to José Antonio Canales, the bishop of Danlí in Honduras, who had an opportunity to make contact with Álvarez when he was in Rome, the Nicaraguan prelate “is very animated, full of hope and optimism.”

Since arriving in Rome in January, Álvarez has made no public statements. However, according to Canales this silence has not been imposed on him but rather “is his personal decision to have time for himself, to reflect on his life, but everything is fine.” 

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

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 22, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

A coalition of 18 state attorneys general is throwing its support behind a lawsuit from a former Indiana high school teacher who lost his job because he would not use pronouns for students that were inconsistent with their sex. 

The Republican coalition, co-led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, filed an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit on Wednesday that asks the judges to rule that the teacher’s religious liberty was violated. 

An amicus brief, also known as a “friend of the court” brief, is a document filed by parties that have an interest in the outcome of the litigation but are not parties in the lawsuit.

Former music teacher John Kluge, who taught orchestra at the Brownsburg Community School Corporation just northwest of Indianapolis, was given the option of resigning or being fired from his job over the pronoun dispute, according to his lawsuit.

In 2017, the school district adopted a policy that forces teachers to use pronouns and names that reflect a student’s self-asserted gender identity, even if they are inconsistent with the student’s sex.

Kluge requested a religious accommodation that would allow him to avoid using any pronouns in reference to students, simply calling them by their last names, so he could avoid using pronouns that are inconsistent with a student’s biological sex.

The school district initially granted Kluge — a Christian — his requested accommodation and he taught for another year, according to the lawsuit. After receiving complaints from a few students and teachers, the school district revoked his accommodation, according to the lawsuit, and then “forced Mr. Kluge to resign or be fired.”

In the amicus brief, the attorneys general wrote that the school district “squandered an opportunity to showcase to students respect for people with different religious beliefs and practices” by forcing Kluge’s resignation. 

“Discriminating against teachers with religious convictions raises serious concerns as to the values taught to students and whether students are truly free to discover, learn, and grow in their own thought processes and beliefs,” the attorneys general added. “Schools should strive to teach respect for all religions instead of uniformity of thought.”

In a statement, Rokita said that Kluge’s compromise to avoid pronoun use altogether would allow him “to treat everyone equally and respectfully while also staying faithful to his own religious convictions.” 

“Kicking this teacher to the curb sends students the wrong messages about America’s heritage of respecting religion,” Rokita added. “And, at a time when teachers are in short supply, this kind of intolerance of faith among faculty members is sure to push additional good teachers out of the classroom.”

Rory Gray, who serves as senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom — the legal group representing Kluge — told CNA that “public schools can’t force teachers to abandon their religious beliefs.” 

“Mr. Kluge went out of his way to treat all his students with respect and care,” Gray said. “Yet the Brownsburg school district violated Title VII by censoring and punishing him for his religious beliefs. The 7th Circuit should … protect the religious convictions of employees, especially for teachers in our public schools.”

A spokesperson for the school district did not respond to a request for comment from CNA.

The school district has argued that the requested accommodation provides the district with an “undue burden” that jeopardizes the enforcement of its policies. 

The district has also argued that refusing to use a student’s preferred pronoun and name could violate Title IX’s prohibition on sex discrimination — a question that is currently before several courts.

In 2021, a Virginia teacher was fired after he criticized a proposed Loudoun County Public School Board policy that would require teachers to use a student’s preferred pronoun and name. The school board ultimately adopted the policy but reached a settlement with physical education teacher Byron “Tanner” Cross that gave him his job back.

VATICAN NEWS (CNS) -- In order to be compassionate and respond best to the needs of others, it is necessary to take time out to relax and not be anxious about getting things done, Pope Francis said.

It is also a "social injustice" when working parents hardly see their children because of long hours away from home, he said, before praying the Angelus in St. Peter's Square July 21. "In families, fathers and mothers should have time to share with their children, to let love grow within their family and in order not to fall into the dictatorship of doing."

The pope reflected on the day's Gospel reading from St. Mark (6:30-34) about Jesus telling the apostles to rest after their return from their mission of preaching and healing. However, when Jesus saw the vast crowd that had gathered, "his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things," the verse says.

The pope said, "On the one hand, there is an invitation to rest, and on the other, Jesus' compassion for the crowd." Resting and being compassionate "may seem like two incompatible things, while they actually go together."

"Only if we learn how to rest can we have compassion. Indeed, it is only possible to have a compassionate gaze, which knows how to respond to the needs of others, if our heart is not consumed by the anxiety of doing, if we know how to stop and how to receive the grace of God, in the silence of adoration," he said. 

There is a danger that "can threaten us when, for instance, our enthusiasm in carrying out our mission or our work, as well as the roles and tasks entrusted to us, make us fall victim to a kind of activism which is overly concerned with things to do and with results, and this is a bad thing," he said.

"It then happens that we become agitated and lose sight of what is essential. We risk exhausting our energies and falling into bodily and spiritual fatigue," the pope said.

A person's life, society in general and even the church in its pastoral work may often be "held prisoner by haste," he said. "Brothers and sisters, let us beware of the dictatorship of doing!"

This can also happen out of necessity in families, he added, when one or both parents have to earn a living and sacrifice time that could have been spent with the family, for example, having to leave before the kids are awake and getting home after they are asleep.

"This is a social injustice," he said. "Let us think about what we can do to help people who are forced to live in this way."

Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to ask themselves: "Am I able to stop during my day? Am I capable of taking a moment to be with myself and with the Lord, or am I always in a hurry, in a constant hurry for things to do?"

He asked the faithful to find an "inner" place of rest even in the midst of a busy day and to be compassionate towards others.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With world peace under serious threat, Pope Francis called on all nations to observe the Olympic truce and cease all conflicts for the traditional period before, during and after the Olympic Games in Paris.

May God help "enlighten the consciences of those in power to the grave responsibilities incumbent upon them, may he grant peacemakers success in their endeavors," the pope said in a written message to Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris.

The Vatican published the letter July 19, seven days before the opening of the Summer Games and the customary start of the observance of the Olympic truce. The archbishop celebrated Mass in Paris at the Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine July 19 to mark the official start of the Olympic truce.

The Olympic truce tradition, originating in Greece in the 8th-century B.C., asked that all wars and conflict be suspended during the games and seven days before and after the games as a way to make sure participants could travel to and from the venue safely. 

The International Olympic Committee revived the tradition in 1992 and it works with the United Nations to pass a symbolic U.N. resolution before each Games inviting U.N. member states to observe a truce to encourage the Olympic spirit of peace.

In his letter, the pope said the Olympic Games can be "an exceptional meeting place between peoples, even the most hostile. The five interlinked rings represent the spirit of fraternity that should characterize the Olympic event and sporting competition in general."

"I therefore hope that the Paris Olympics will be an unmissable opportunity for all those who come from around the world to discover and appreciate each other, to break down prejudices, to foster esteem where there is contempt and mistrust, and friendship where there is hatred. The Olympic Games are, by their very nature, about peace, not war," he wrote.

"It was in this spirit that antiquity wisely instituted a truce during the Games, and that modern times regularly attempt to revive this happy tradition," the pope wrote.

"In these troubled times, when world peace is under serious threat, it is my fervent wish that everyone will take this truce to heart, in the hope of resolving conflicts and restoring harmony," he wrote.

Pope Francis also sent his support and blessings to all athletes, spectators and the people of Paris, including the many Catholics who "are preparing to open wide the doors of their churches, schools and homes." 

"I hope that the organization of these Games will provide the people of France with a wonderful opportunity for fraternal harmony, enabling us to transcend differences and opposition and strengthen the unity of the nation," he wrote.

The Olympic Games begin July 26 and run until Aug. 11, followed by the Paralympic Games, which will take place from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.

Some 10,500 athletes from around the world are set to compete in the Olympics and as many as 4,400 in the Paralympics. Thirty-seven athletes from 11 countries of origin are expected to represent the Refugee Olympic Team at the Summer Games and eight athletes from six countries will compete in the Refugee Paralympic Team.

The Paris Summer Games will mark the first time there is the same number of women and men competing in events since the modern Summer Olympics began in Athens in 1896 and where all the athletes were men.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope Francis was once asked if a girl could ever grow up to become a deacon or join the clergy of the Catholic Church, he responded with a clear "no." 

Nonetheless, conversations about the role of women in the church and their ministerial functions are still being held at the highest levels of the Vatican. 

Months before he rejected the possibility of women deacons during a May interview with "60 Minutes" on CBS, the pope invited a Salesian sister, a consecrated virgin and a woman Anglican bishop into a discussion on women in the church with his Council of Cardinals, commonly known as the C9. 

It was the second meeting of the council, an international group of cardinal advisors to the pope, dedicated to discussing the role of women in the church. The pope and his council have held a total of four meetings with women experts -- in December, February, April and June --  to continue conversations on the role of women in the church. 

While information on the meetings is typically limited to a list of discussed topics distributed by the Vatican, talks from the December council meeting were published February in a book, titled "Smaschilizzare La Chiesa?" ("De-masculinize the Church?), and the speeches of the three women and responses of two cardinals from the February session were published in a book -- "Donne E Ministri Nella Chiesa Sinodale" ("Women and Ministries in the Synodal Church") -- released July 11.

In its foreword, Pope Francis wrote that the participation of the three theologians at the C9 meeting fell in line with the synodal process, which is "a process of discernment (that) starts in reality and experience."

He said that just as the modern age has been marked by a draw toward "clear and refined" ideas, "the Church too has sometimes fallen into the trap of considering loyalty to ideas to be more important than attention to reality," and listening to the joys and suffering of women in the church "is certainly a way to open us up to reality." 

Insisting on the need to speak openly and frankly about the possibility of admitting women to the diaconate, Salesian Sister Linda Pocher, a professor of Christology and Mariology at Rome's Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences "Auxilium," explained in her speech that the justifications for reserving ordained ministry to men "are weak, and it is important to recognize and be aware of it." 

Biblically, she noted that the calling of the 12 apostles cannot be equated with the institution of priestly or episcopal orders as they are understood today. Theological justifications for excluding women from holy orders were founded on the idea that women were incapable of holding positions in the public sphere by their nature -- an idea, she said, that became "unacceptable" after the feminist movements of the 20th century lifted women into previously inaccessible positions. 

Additionally, Sister Pocher said that papal rejections of admitting women to ordained ministry cannot be used as a justification for maintaining the practice since there are numerous historical instances of popes altering positions held by their predecessors.

In his response to the speeches, however, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley of Boston said that "in the continuous and unchanging tradition of the church, priestly ordination is reserved for men," adding that church leadership should find ways to open more ministries to women since male-only ordained ministry "will not change." 

The cardinal said that the practice of only ordaining men to the priesthood "absolutely does not mean that men are in some way superior to women," and while women must be able to fully contribute to the church "we cannot allow ourselves to make mistakes acting hastily or without a full consideration of the possible consequences of these changes." 

He added that a greater development of the priestly dimension in the life of all baptized people is needed and that women need to occupy more leadership positions in the Vatican, in archdioceses, dioceses and parishes around the world. 

Anglican Bishop Jo Bailey Wells, deputy secretary-general of the Anglican Communion, recounted in her presentation the path toward and following the 1978 Lambeth Conference which gave each Anglican church the authority to decide whether to ordain women. As part of the theological rationale for the decision she cited the idea that God created all of humanity with the capacity to lead and govern whereas women's subordination to men only comes after humanity's fall from God's grace. 

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg responded to the reality of Anglican ordained ministry by saying it is "not entirely adaptable to Catholic ordained ministry."

"In the Catholic Church we have a unity of doctrine and a unity of the episcopal college, in communion with the bishop of Rome, which represented the universal Church," he said, noting the division that arises between Anglican parishes that recognize women as ordained ministers and those that do not -- particularly in recognizing the authority of women bishops. 

He also said that ordaining women could hinder the warming relations between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Yet, "Do these doubts mean the ordination of women should be completely excluded?" the cardinal asked. "I am not sure," he said, but added that it seems unlikely the church could answer such a question now or in the near future. 

Cardinal Hollerich, who is also relator general of the Synod of Bishops on synodality, asked whether the synodal path being taken by the church to recognize the baptismal dignity of its members and in which "ordained ministry becomes true service" could already "reduce the frustration of many women."

The synod on synodality, which will hold its second assembly at the Vatican in October, will not address the question of admitting women to diaconal ministry, but the working document for the assembly affirmed that "theological reflection should continue" on the matter and noted that a dedicated body is studying the question. 

Cardinal Mario Grech, who is secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops but not a member of the C9, said at a news conference July 9 that it is "not a contradiction" for the pope to reject the possibility of women deacons while advancing theological study on the issue. 

"According to the information that we have today, it is a 'no'" on expanding the diaconate to women, he said, "but at the same time the Holy Father has said that reflection, deeper theological study, should continue."
 

WASHINGTON - In June, the bishops on the subcommittees that oversee the various national collections met to review and award grants that support pastoral care, evangelization, and social ministry. The bishops awarded 453 grants totaling over $10.5 million that will be put to use here in the United States and in three global regions, all made possible through the generosity of U.S. Catholics.

The grants are supported through the following collections:

• The Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe
• The Collection for the Church in Latin America
• The Bishops’ Emergency Disaster Fund
• The Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa
• The Catholic Home Missions Appeal

“These collections are a powerful way of following Jesus’ commands to seek the lost sheep and to care for ‘the least of these,’” said Bishop James S. Wall of Gallup, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on National Collections. “They are one way in which Catholics in dioceses across the United States can show solidarity and act together to provide tangible love and assistance to our neighbors in need, in this nation and around the world.”

Participating dioceses take these collections on designated dates, and #iGiveCatholicTogether also accepts funds for the individual programs. Three of the collections mentioned underwrite international ministry, while the other two have both domestic and international reach. The Catholic Home Missions Appeal assists dioceses and eparchies of the United States and its territories that are too poor or too small to provide ministry without outside help. The Bishops’ Emergency Disaster Fund allows dioceses to take special collections after major crises such as hurricanes and tornadoes and directs those gifts to the designated responses of Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities USA, and to repair and rebuild Church properties in dioceses struck by disasters.

The national collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe helps to rebuild the Church and restore the faith in this region after decades under communist rule. Grants from the collection will assist children and teens impacted by war in Ukraine through a day camp and a weeklong summer camp in the Diocese of Lutsk. Open to youths of all faiths, the camps are a ministry of St. John Paul II Parish in Rivne. With the support of a $15,000 grant from the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, these camps help young people build spiritual and emotional resilience through prayer, worship, sports, music, art and cultural activities. At camp they can relax for a time and experience joy, freed from the immediate threat of bombs. This program is just one of 241 grants totaling more than $5.8 million approved by the subcommittee for ministries in over 25 countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

The national collection for the Church in Latin America awarded 163 grants totaling more than $3.2 million, which includes assistance to two dioceses with long term recovery from disasters. One of the dioceses has also received assistance through the Bishops Emergency Disaster Fund, which provided nearly $233,000 to complete the reconstruction of two churches in Havana, Cuba, that were heavily damaged by a devastating tornado in 2019. More than $28,000 was provided to finish rebuilding a Catholic radio station and related buildings of the Dominican Priests and Brothers in the Dominican Republic that were destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017. The bulk of the grants for the Church in Latin America, more than $2.9 million, financed pastoral projects, such as training leaders for culturally sensitive evangelization of the Indigenous Garifuna people of Honduras. This outreach focuses on communicating the Gospel within the Garifuna worldview, connecting with their ancestral values and emphasizing dialogue, listening, environmental stewardship and conflict resolution.

The national collection for the Church in Africa awarded 48 grants from the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa totaling $1,399,100 to bishops’ conferences in Africa to support pastoral activities of the conferences, member dioceses, and religious communities across the continent. With a grant of $21,100, the Daughters of Mary Immaculate, an order of women religious, will be able to launch a far-reaching re-evangelization campaign among 12,500 Christian families and their children in the Archdiocese of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. The sisters are training 20 lay evangelists, equipping them with bicycles to reach beyond their immediate communities, and preparing them to teach others to also become evangelists. Their campaign includes many creative kinds of outreach, including a Christian band and street theater.

Through a special grant of $146,000, the Catholic Home Missions Appeal is enabling 19 home mission dioceses and Eastern Catholic eparchies to host the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage as it traverses four paths across the nation on its way to Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress. To accommodate the pilgrims, many parishes are hosting picnics and fiestas for hundreds of people, as well as feeding and housing the perpetual pilgrims who are making the journey to Indianapolis. These perpetual pilgrims are a small group of young adults who are traveling one of the four routes in its entirety, from May through July through countless communities across the nation. This grant helps ease the financial burden on mission dioceses and eparchies, and their parishes, so they can provide hospitality, as well as extra security, rental equipment, gasoline for diocesan vehicles, insurance riders, and other pilgrimage-related expenses.

“The value of all of these grants is far more than financial,” Bishop Wall said. “Each of them represents the love that followers of Jesus have for one another – especially those who are poor or marginalized. Lives and hearts are transformed forever as the Holy Spirit works through the ministry that these grants provide.”

For more information on the work of USCCB National Collections, please visit: https://www.usccb.org/committees/national-collections.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Political discourse in the United States has devolved into people shouting at and not listening to each other, showing a need to promote respectful dialogue despite political differences, said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In an interview with Vatican News, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services said, "One thing that all of us can do is to remember and to promote the dignity of the human person."

"Even if someone disagrees with me, he or she is still created in the image and likeness of God. And therefore, has a dignity that I have to recognize and that I have to respect," he said in the interview posted online July 16.

If people were more aware of their common-held dignity, he said, "then we might be able to discuss as rational human beings, the problems and the disagreements that we have, and perhaps come to some solutions."

"But it's tragic that political discourse in this country has reached a point where people just shout at each other, and there's no space to listen to the other. And I think that's something that Pope Francis has urged us constantly to recognize, this basic human dignity and to respect it in every way that we can," he said.

"This tragic event is really a call to action to all of us to measure our discourse and to move forward in pathways of peace and reconciliation and (for) an honest assessment of whatever political differences there are and however we can work together to find solutions," he said. 

The archbishop was asked to comment on the recent assassination attempt of former U.S. President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13. Gunfire killed one attendee, Corey Comperatore, and injured three others including Trump, whose right ear was grazed by a bullet. The suspected gunman was killed and his possible motives were still under investigation.

In his interview with Vatican News, Archbishop Broglio expressed his sympathy and condolences to the Comperatore family and his "promise of a prayer" for the repose of the deceased man's soul. "And also to those who were wounded, including former President Trump, a message of consolation and the assurance of my prayers, and (I) assure the prayers of all of the faithful of the United States."

He said his initial reaction to the event was "one of horror that violence would take place in what is supposed to be a democratic society, that we're not able to talk to one another." That someone was able to make an attempt on Trump's life, he added, is "certainly very, very tragic."

When asked, as president of the U.S. Bishops' Conference, what bishops could do to foster peaceful dialogue or coexistence, he said, "I think all of us in our dioceses can certainly promote the importance of dialogue, the importance of respect for the other."

The commitment to protect human life, he said, "is based on this notion that the human person is worthy of our respect from the moment of conception until the moment of death. And I think we have to be constant in that."

Archbishop Broglio noted the importance of the National Eucharistic Congress being held July 17-21 in Indianapolis, Indiana, saying, "I think that will be a great opportunity for us to promote dialogue and reconciliation."

"In Jesus Christ, we find our salvation, and we also find a way forward. Obviously in the person of Christ, we find a code of conduct and I think the more we do to promote that, the better off our society will be," he said. "We can't do it all by ourselves, but we can certainly lay a foundation and urge those that we're responsible for to promote this dignity and this dialogue."

ROME (CNS) -- The Catholic News Service team in Rome won 12 awards from the Catholic Media Association, which were announced during the 2024 Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Incorporated in 1911, the Catholic Media Association is an organization of publishers and media professionals for a total of about 355 member organizations, which include 890 media professionals.

Catholic News Service has been providing complete, in-depth coverage of the popes and the Vatican for more than 70 years. Its six-person team is made up of three full-time reporters, one photographer, one multimedia journalist and one administrative assistant.

CNS took home four first-place awards with the following comments from the judges:

-- Cindy Wooden, Carol Glatz, Robert Duncan, Paul Haring and Justin McLellan: Best In-Depth News/Special Reporting by a National Newspaper or Wire Service for "Pope Francis' 10th anniversary."  

"This extraordinary team effort exploring various aspects of Pope Francis’ 10th  anniversary combines thought-provoking interviews, memorable writing and significant context to provide a comprehensive picture of what the pope has accomplished and what lies ahead."

Click through to see the stories and photos in this winning series:

10 years as pope: Pushing the church to bring the Gospel to the world

Pope from 'ends of the earth' brings new style to Rome

Pope brings Latin American Catholic experience to the universal church

Pastoral and practical: Francis seeks healing, hardline against abuse

Pope's anniversary sees Curia reform complete, financial reform ongoing

Around the world in 10 years: Pope's 40 trips reflect his priorities

-- Carol Glatz: First place for Best Coverage, Ecumenical and Interfaith Issues for the following series of stories on the Vatican archives and Catholic-Jewish relations.

"Excellent analysis and writing about an important issue."

Click through to see the stories and photos in this series:

Silent no more: Vatican archives give voice to wartime tragedy

Despite prejudices, many Catholics helped rescue Jews in Nazi-occupied Italy

Study, not blame or shame, needed with pope's wartime record, scholar says

-- Lola Gomez: First place for Best Photograph, Immigration/Migration for "Pope Francis prays at migrants monument." 

"A stunning image of contrasts. The Pope and his light-colored vestments stand out against the dark statue. Seemingly deep in prayer, the image captures the Pope with a look of concern among the sullen faces of those that make up the statue."

 

-- Lola Gomez: First place for Best Photograph, Scenic, Still-life or Weather Photo for "Sunrise at Fatima, Portugal."

"Astonishing image with the shrine perfectly framed by the columns and using the colorful sky as the contrasting backdrop. Top-notch photo."
 

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CNS took home a second-place award with the following comment from the judges:

-- Lola Gomez, Justin McLellan and Robert Duncan: Best Multimedia Package for Seasonal for "Pope celebrates feast of the Immaculate Conception."

"Nice work taking audience to a place they may not be able to travel."

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CNS took home two third-place awards:

-- Robert Duncan: Best Video, Catechesis for "WYD pilgrims experience God’s mercy."

-- Cindy Wooden, Lola Gomez and Robert Duncan: Third place for Best Coverage, Papal Trips for "Pope Francis visits Mongolia." With the following comment from the judges:

"This is a great set of articles that allows the reader to experience the full papal visit, day to day. The detail in the stories helps to give the reader a feel for the impact of the papal visit and the hope for the future for a still-nascent mission in an exotic part of the world with diverse and numerous religious challenges. These articles help the reader to understand the importance of ecumenicism."

Click through to see the stories and more photos in this winning series on Mongolia:

Message from 'heart of Asia': Pope's words go beyond Mongolian borders

Pope, Mongolian religious leaders vow to promote harmony, shun violence

Pope encourages little Mongolian flock in faith, unity, witness

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CNS also won five honorable mention awards:

-- Lola Gomez: Best Photograph, Holy Days/Liturgical Seasons for "Children bring flowers to baby Jesus at papal Mass."

 

-- Carol Glatz, Lola Gomez and Robert Duncan: Honorable mention for Best Coverage, Papal Trips for "Pope Francis' trip to Marseille."

Click through to see the stories and more photos in this series on Marseille and migration:

Message in Marseille: Welcoming the 'stranger' is a global mandate

People have a duty to save migrants in danger of drowning, pope says

Pope laments closing ports to migrants, fueling fears with false alarm

-- Justin McLellan, Lola Gomez and Robert Duncan: Honorable mention for Best Coverage, Papal Trips for "Papal trip to World Youth Day in Lisbon."

Click through to see the stories, videos and more photos in this series on World Youth Day in Lisbon:

Pope to young people at WYD: God calls your authentic, not virtual, self

Awaken the 'weary' church by becoming 'restless,' pope says in Portugal

Don't be afraid to change the world, pope tells youths at WYD closing Mass

 

-- Robert Duncan: Honorable mention for Best Video, Feature for "Vatican Nativity scene highlights St. Francis, Holy Land."

-- Carol Glatz, Lola Gomez and Robert Duncan: Honorable mention for Best Multimedia Packages, News for "Pope encourages children to work for peace."