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Rome Newsroom, Aug 4, 2024 / 13:50 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Sunday urged prayers for those suffering in the world due to political conflict, violence, and natural disasters, highlighting humanitarian crises in Venezuela, the Middle East, and Myanmar.

Protests and violence have erupted in cities across Venezuela after citizens headed to the polls one week ago to vote in the country's controversial presidential elections held on July 28.  

The Venezuelan government declared on Monday that President Nicolás Maduro won the election, however many opposition leaders and citizens continue to contest the results, alleging fraud and corruption against the country's leader and his party. 

"I express my concern for Venezuela, which is experiencing a critical situation. I appeal to all parties to seek the truth and to avoid all kinds of violence and I ask all those involved to have the good of the people at heart," the Holy Father said during his Angelus address Aug. 4 from his balcony in the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square.

Pope Francis also drew attention to escalating violence in the Middle East.

"I follow closely and with great concern with what is happening in the Middle East. I hope that the bloody and violent conflict will end soon. I pray for the victims but in particular for the innocent children," he said.  

The Holy Father expressed his particular closeness with the Druze, an Arab ethno-religious minority, who were targetedin a rocket attack in Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in late July.

"??I express my closeness to the Druze community in the Holy Land, and to the people in Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon," he said.

Pope Francis also addressed the ongoing turmoil in Lebanon. Aug. 4 marked four years since the deadly blast in the Port of Beirut killed more than 220 people and injured some 6,500 people in the capital of Lebanon in 2020. 

According to news site Aljazeera, the investigation into the actual cause of the blast has been stalled due to "legal and political wrangling," Authorities claim the explosion was triggered by a fire at a warehouse that stored ammonium nitrate fertilizer.  

"Today the people of Lebanon are suffering. I am thinking of the victims, and the families of victims, of the explosion in Beirut. I pray for justice and for the new beatified [Patriarch Estephan Douaihy] to intercede for this country," the pope said. 

In his prepared remarks for his Sunday address, Pope Francis stated his hope that the conflict in the Middle East "will not spread even further," as reports of renewed violence and retaliatory attacks between Israel and Hezbollah and Hamas operatives in the region.

"May we have the courage to pick up dialogue for a ceasefire in Gaza and for hostages to be released. May the people be helped with humanitarian aid," the pope implored.

"We must pursue a journey of peace and justice. Enough, brothers and sisters! Enough! Do not drown out the voice of the God of Peace but let it be heard in the Middle East and in the whole world! War is a defeat," he added.

Pope Francis also spoke about the plight of vulnerable populations in two Asian countries — India and Myanmar.

"Let us not forget Myanmar," he said. "I also express my closeness to the people of India — particularly in Kerala — who have been hit by torrential rains which have caused the loss of lives, numerous displaced people and extensive damage."

Pope Francis has addressed the plight of the stateless Rohingya community since he visited Myanmar in 2017, and has often asked those who attend his Sunday Angelus addresses to pray for the persecuted religious minority. 

Since the early 1980s, the Rohingya have been denied citizenship in Myanmar and forced to flee to neighboring countries, such as Bangladesh, to escape violence.

More than 150 people were killed and another 100 people injured last week in Kerala, India, due to the devastation caused by heavy rainfall and flooding. Rescue efforts are still underway as authorities search for those missing following wide-scale landslides in the Wayanad district. 

Last week's natural disaster is the worst to hit Kerala since the deadly floods of 2018.  

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CNA Staff, Aug 4, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

When Sister Pia Maria first set foot in the maximum-security prison that houses Texas' female death row inmates, she was understandably nervous. Not only was she entering what was arguably the most dangerous part of the prison, but she was also about to spend some quality time with a group of women who had committed hideous, unspeakable crimes. 

What would she say to them? Would she even make it out?

But when at last Sister Pia and her fellow nuns from the Sisters of Mary Morning Star actually came face-to-face with the condemned women, "all the barriers just dropped."

"It was like we were just immersed, and we were friends, and we were talking, and we were laughing, and we were just at peace," she recalled, speaking to CNA.

"There was a spiritual presence, and we were able to connect and bond on our first visit. It was just the grace of God — it was just amazing."

The Sisters of Mary Morning Star is a contemplative Catholic order of nuns located near Waco, about 40 minutes from the Patrick L. O'Daniel Unit prison in Gatesville, which houses the state's seven female death row inmates. A relatively young order that originated in Spain and has now spread to 25 convents worldwide, the sisters celebrated their order's 10th anniversary just last month, in July. 

For the past few years, the sisters have visited their friends on death row — the sisters call it "Light Row" — once a month, forging real friendships with the women and leading six out of the seven of them to embrace the Catholic faith. 

In addition, the inmates have committed to being "oblates," which means they are laypeople living outside the religious sisters' community but are nevertheless committed to supporting the community through prayer.

The tradition of oblates — a word that comes from the Latin for "offering" — originated with St. Benedict, who wanted to establish in his Rule a way for men and women outside of a religious order to be affiliated with their work and prayer. 

"They're laypeople who live in the world who want to be committed to our community," Sister Pia explained. 

"They have a connection to our community, like the third order of the Franciscans or the Carmelites … living the spirit of our community in the world, but as a layperson."

'Inspired by the example of conversion and faith'

Sister Pia said despite her initial hesitation and nervousness upon being given the opportunity to enter the prison, she said she is inspired by the example of conversion and faith in God shown by the imprisoned women, who view their incarcerated state as something akin to a monastic life. 

"I think we receive so much more from them than we give to them," Sister Pia said. 

"It's really rewarding when you go in and minister and receive so much from the individual that you go and minister to. It's really the light of Christ that you're receiving from the other."

Texas is one of the most prolific states in the entire country when it comes to the death penalty, having carried out nearly 600 state executions and six federal executions since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. According to the same group, Texas has executed more women — six — than any other state. 

None of the women on Texas' death row currently have scheduled execution dates, but Sister Pia said she and her fellow sisters have had to mentally prepare for and pray about the possibility that the state could choose at any time to end the life of any one of their friends. 

"It's something we've prayed about … we pray that we will be strong," she said. 

"It will be very difficult for us because we're close to them. We hope that it doesn't happen. We pray that there'd be a miracle, that their executions be stayed … but we leave it in the hands of God, that there be peace and grace that they receive when the time comes."

Deacon Ronnie Lastovica, the Diocese of Austin's pastoral care coordinator for the region where the prison is located, has ministered to the women of the Gatesville prison for over a decade. He was instrumental in coordinating the religious sisters' entry into prison ministry.

"I'm convinced it's the Eucharist that they're drawn to. And they, all on their own, desired to learn more about our faith," Lastovica told CNA, referring to the women on death row. 

Lastovica said women who have converted all individually chose to receive the sacraments and become Catholic. Two of them were baptized while on death row and received full sacraments, and the others were already baptized Christians and came into full communion with the Catholic Church. 

"You'll see that the ladies on death row, when they speak about the power of the Eucharist, what it's done for them … God is there. God is alive. In the very moment, you see, even for the worst of sinners, hope is restored. And there's no greater gift that can ever be given to a soul than the presence of Christ himself."

An observation and an invitation

A couple of years ago, Lastovica was reading about the new order of sisters coming to Waco. He was struck by how similar the womens' prison life was to religious life — living in cells, a structured day of work and rest, not interacting much with the outside world. He called the sisters' prioress and asked if they would consider visiting the women in prison. 

At first, he said, the prioress was hesitant because she wasn't sure that prison ministry fit with their order's contemplative charism. But the order decided to make an exception, in part because the women on death row are unable to come to them — so the sisters had to be the ones to make the first move. 

And it has worked out very well, Lastovica said — to the point where the Waco sisters received permission to continue visiting every month.  

"They all bring their own brokenness to this community of women who, on Light Row, are also broken, but yet they've been healed by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus has restored them to their dignity and their worth and their true identity that they are all precious daughters of God."

"They're teaching them the Liturgy of the Hours. They do Scripture studies. They've introduced them to all the practices that the sisters have which are doable in prison," Lastovica explained.

"The women get up in the morning, they do morning prayers, they go out to the garden, they work for two hours, they come back in. It's just a beautiful way of life that they're living."

Like Sister Pia, Lastovica was certainly apprehensive to enter a maximum-security prison for the first time decades ago. But he said even in the presence of violent offenders, "I've never felt threatened."

"They have a respect for God. Maybe they don't believe in God, but they respect people that come and represent God, and of course, in our tradition, Jesus Christ. And I've always carried the Lord with me. I always had the Eucharist with me," he said. 

"All we can do is our part, and encourage them to do their part, and trust God. God's going to do his … we just bring them the good practices of our tradition of a prayer life, sacramental life."

Lastovica's experience with prison ministry is further confirmation, he said, that God "comes looking for us," even those who seem to be the most sinful and broken.

"A lot of [the prisoners] don't feel like they're worthy; they just don't. And they've got to embrace the fact that they are worthy, that they're not defined by what they've done or what they haven't done or what people say about them or what they don't say about them. And so once they begin to embrace that … it changes them instantly."

"We're called to see Christ in each other. And that's a tall order. Some people are not willing to do that," he said, acknowledging how difficult and painful it can be for a person who is a victim of a crime or is affected by a crime to forgive the perpetrator. 

"None of us are beyond redemption. That's the good news," he said.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 3, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

"What would happen if we prayed more and complained less?" Pope Francis asked Aug. 2 on his official profile on X.

He then invited the faithful to ask the Lord for "the grace to know how to pray for one another."

The Holy Father posted this message as part of the Year of Prayer 2024, which he proposed as a preparation for the upcoming Jubilee of Hope 2025.

The pope inaugurated the current Year of Prayer on Jan. 21, and since then he has invited the faithful to place themselves before the presence of the Lord on numerous occasions, especially through the hashtag #YearofPrayer.

Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis has often reiterated the importance of avoiding complaining about others and "gossip," which he has referred to as "a plague on people's lives."

On the occasion of an Angelus prayer last September, he lamented that "the first thing that is usually created around those who make mistakes is gossip, in which everyone finds out about the mistake, with all the details, except the person affected. This is not right and does not please God," he affirmed.

"I never tire of repeating that gossip is a plague in the lives of people and communities, because it brings division, suffering, and scandal, and never helps [people] to improve and grow," the Holy Father reiterated.

On another occasion, he warned that gossip is a "deadly poison" and something "very bad" that destroys "human communion." 

"Never speak ill of one another. If you have a problem with a sister or brother, go and tell them face to face. And if you can't do it, swallow it, but don't go around spreading unrest that does harm and destroys," the Holy Father advised.

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

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 2, 2024 / 18:11 pm (CNA).

Here's a roundup of pro-life-related developments in the U.S. this week.  

Catholic pregnancy center sues California attorney general

Culture of Life Family Services (CLFS), a Catholic pregnancy center network with three locations in the San Diego area, is suing California Attorney General Rob Bonta for what the network is calling a "politically motivated" campaign to limit the free exercise of religion.

CLFS is a nonprofit staffed by a team of medical professionals who offer a range of services including pregnancy care and abortion pill reversal.

The network is hoping its suit, which was filed on Tuesday, can stop Bonta's efforts to ban pregnancy centers from promoting chemical abortion reversal treatments.

Chemical abortions currently account for over 60% of all U.S. abortions. The most common form of chemical abortion involves the ingesting of an abortion pill called mifepristone that works by cutting off the flow of nutrients to the unborn baby, essentially starving the baby to death. Abortion pill reversal works by administering progesterone, a chemical that can restore nutrient flow to the baby.

In 2023 Bonta launched a lawsuit against a group of pregnancy centers to stop them from promoting abortion pill reversal treatments. He claimed the treatments are ineffective and dangerous and that pregnancy centers' promotion of abortion pill reversal amounts to "fraudulent misrepresentation."

CLFS claims that the opposite is true and that Bonta's effort to stop religious nonprofits from promoting abortion pill reversal violates their free exercise of religion and free speech rights.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has also filed a similar lawsuit against pregnancy centers in her state.

Utah Supreme Court upholds block on pro-life law

The Supreme Court of Utah upheld a block on a law protecting life at conception, keeping abortion legal until 18 weeks for the time being.

The 4-1 decision issued on Thursday by Utah's high court reaffirmed a lower court ruling, which keeps the state's "trigger law" from taking effect while the law works its way through the courts.

The trigger law only allows abortion in cases of rape, incest, fetal defect, or serious risk to the mother's health. The measure was set to take effect upon the overturn of Roe v. Wade, which occurred in 2022; however, it has remained blocked due to a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood and several other pro-abortion groups.

The Utah Supreme Court said that the lower court "did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that PPAU [Planned Parenthood] and its patients would be irreparably harmed without the injunction" and that it did not "act outside the bounds of its discretion when it concluded that the injunction would not be adverse to the public interest."

Man charged with assaulting elderly pro-life activists

Patrick Brice, 27, was arrested on July 1 and is being charged with assaulting two elderly pro-life activists outside a Planned Parenthood in Baltimore in May 2023.

According to the American Center for Law and Justice, the firm representing the assaulted pro-life activists, Brice is listed as 6 feet 5 inches tall and 200 pounds and is facing five violent assault charges related to his alleged assault.

The two pro-life activists, Dick Schaefer, then 84, and Mark Crosby, then 73, were offering pro-life sidewalk counseling outside the abortion clinic when the attack occurred.

In June 2023, the Baltimore Police Department released a video of the incident showing a large young man tackling Schaefer into a planter and then shoving Crosby onto the ground before hitting and kicking him in the face. The video shows the man walking away from the scene after the attack. 

According to the American Center for Law and Justice, the beating ensued after a debate about abortion between the pro-life activists and the man.

Brice is being charged with one count of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, and two counts of assault on elderly above 65.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 2, 2024 / 18:31 pm (CNA).

The Venezuelan government is facing increasing pressure to conduct a transparent recount of its July 28 presidential election.

According to the government-controlled National Electoral Council, President Nicolás Maduro secured another six-year term with 51% of the vote against opponent Edmundo González's 44%. 

However, many of those in opposition to Maduro have cited the fact that a detailed breakdown of the official results has not been provided. 

In a July 30 statement, the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference announced it was "uniting its voice" to worldwide demands for the verification of the election results while also urging people to "stand firm in hope."

In Venezuela, voters use electronic machines that print out a receipt showing which candidate they selected and deposit these receipts at ballot boxes before leaving the polls. After these polls close, each machine prints out a tally sheet showing how many votes the candidates received, with copies being given to both electoral authorities and party representatives stationed at polling sites.

Opponents to Maduro have claimed that they acquired 81% of Venezuela's voting machine receipts thus far, thanks to the efforts of its witnesses at the voting centers. According to this opposition, 67% of all votes from these machines went toward González, as opposed to the 30% that Maduro received.

María Corina Machado, a leading opponent of the Maduro government and campaign partner of González, told the Guardian this week that "[Maduro] should understand that he was defeated."

Various countries throughout the world have demanded that Venezuela conduct a fair recount of the ballots and publicize all available electoral records. As a result of their outcry, over the past week diplomats from Argentina, Panama, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and the Dominican Republic have been expelled from the country by Maduro's government.

On Aug. 1, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement recognizing González as the election's winner, citing "the overwhelming evidence" of González's victory, which has been "clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people."

Under Maduro's administration, Venezuela has been plagued by poverty, food shortage, and rising crime and mortality rates. According to USA for UNHCR, as many as 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2014 as a result of the turmoil.

The current Venezuelan government has also repeatedly come under fire for investigating and silencing opponents, including Catholic priests. In 2018, Maduro reportedly referred to several Catholic clerics who had spoken out against the country's turmoil as "devils in cassocks," stating the Catholic Church in Venezuela as being "full of evil, poison, hatred, perversion, and slander."

In response to the controversy over the election, Maduro has asked Venezuela's high court to conduct an audit of the presidential election. He has told reporters he is prepared to "throw myself before justice" and is "willing to be summoned, questioned, investigated," which drew criticism from opponents who claim that the court is too closely aligned with Maduro's government to conduct a fair review.

Over the past week, demonstrations and violence have also escalated throughout Venezuela. Masked assailants ransacked the headquarters of Venezuela's opposition party around 3 a.m. Friday. According to Machado, who has gone into hiding after Maduro's threats of arrest, the assailants stole valuable documents and equipment pertaining to the election results.

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CNA Newsroom, Aug 2, 2024 / 12:15 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller has vigorously refuted claims of financial impropriety during his tenure as prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, dismissing the allegations as "cheap tabloid literature."

The former prefect, who served from 2012 to 2017, insists that "not a single cent" was mishandled under his leadership, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner.

In an interview with the German Catholic weekly Die Tagespost, Müller addressed a recent report suggesting his term was not renewed due to financial mismanagement.

Citing several anonymous sources at the Vatican, the Pillar reported that allegedly large sums of cash were found in the dicastery offices and that over 200,000 euros intended for the dicastery's bank account were deposited into Müller's personal account. 

The report also claimed these discoveries were made during an investigation led by the late Cardinal George Pell's economic secretariat.

In response to these allegations, Müller said: "If people had realized, as Cardinal Pell did, that the dicastery did not lose a single cent in the end, they could have spared themselves the rehashing of a long-settled matter."

According to CNA Deutsch, the cardinal acknowledged that a staff member had "booked money back and forth between the individual accounts of the dicastery and, although not illegally, kept unusually large amounts of cash." 

However, Müller emphatically stated that this employee had not misappropriated "the slightest bit" of the dicastery's property.

The former prefect also addressed questions about replacing an antique conference table in the dicastery's offices. Müller explained that he had procured valuable new furniture for the dicastery through fundraising efforts during his tenure. As part of this process, he said, the old conference table was properly disposed of with the approval of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA).

"As prefect, I was able to acquire valuable new furniture for the dicastery through fundraising," Müller stated, emphasizing that all actions were taken with proper oversight and approval.

Speculations and successors

The allegations suddenly surfacing this week are not the first time Müller's departure has made headlines that the cardinal subsequently dismissed.

Pope Benedict XVI appointed the German prelate to lead the Church's highest doctrinal department in 2012. His five-year term ended without renewal in 2017 under Pope Francis.

At the time, media reports alleged the pope had asked the cardinal "five pointed questions" in a personal conversation — a claim Müller categorically dismissed.

Nonetheless, his departure from office was widely interpreted as a desire for new leadership in the Vatican's doctrinal office. 

Müller's successor, Jesuit Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, was succeeded in 2023 by the personal theologian and ghostwriter to Pope Francis, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández. 

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 2, 2024 / 14:21 pm (CNA).

After passing the House in January, a bill to further expand child tax credits and certain tax breaks for businesses failed to pass the Senate this week.

The measure, which included portions addressing child tax credits, business taxes, and international trade, would increase the IRS child tax credit from the current amount of $1,600 to $2,000 per child in 2025.

The bill needed 60 votes to pass, but after opposition from Republicans the final vote on Thursday was 48 in favor and 44 opposed, with eight not voting.

During debate on the Senate floor on Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell explained the GOP's reasoning for opposing the bill. He claimed that the measure still needs "serious revisions" and that its current language amounts to "cash welfare instead of relief for working taxpayers." 

McConnell accused Democrats of prematurely bringing the measure to a vote for political reasons.

Only three Republicans — Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, and Rick Scott of Florida — voted in favor of the bill. Meanwhile, independent Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Bernie Sanders of Vermont opposed the measure.

The U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has been a staunch advocate for the bill's passage. Ahead of the Thursday vote the USCCB sent a message encouraging the faithful to urge senators to vote in favor of the measure.

The bishops said the bill was "urgently needed" and would lift "millions of American families out of poverty." 

When it passed the House in January the bishops said it represented "meaningful progress" to "support the well-being of families struggling to meet their basic needs."

Archbishop Borys Gudziak, head of the Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia and chair of the bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said in January that the bill was "exactly the sort of policy supporting women, children, and families that Congress should prioritize."

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer voted no on the measure, which according to Senate rules leaves him the ability to bring it up for another vote in the near future.

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CNA Staff, Aug 2, 2024 / 15:05 pm (CNA).

The California Catholic Conference (CCC) urged government officials this week to "shepherd" the homeless population into mental health and housing programs, with the state's bishops issuing the call as Gov. Gavin Newsom orders officials to clear homeless encampments throughout the state.

"The greatest travesty would be for those whose camps are removed to be then left in this hot climate without shelters or to become incarcerated because of their forced transiency," the bishops' executive committee said in a July 29 statement.

A 2023 annual federal report estimates that more than 181,000 people were homeless in California, making up 28% of all people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. Newsom's executive order to clear encampments, issued last week, followed a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ruled cities can arrest or fine homeless individuals for camping in public spaces.

"The continuing human tragedy of the homeless epidemic in California does not have an easy solution," the bishops said in their statement this week. 

"The Catholic Church in California has been a staunch advocate and resource for unhoused populations, providing both emergency shelter and pathways to permanent housing." 

The bishops emphasized that homeless people must be "treated with respect in keeping with their human dignity."

"It is a tragedy that people live in roadside encampments," the bishops stated. "It is a tragedy that mental health and substance abuse needs are not met."  

The CCC highlighted recent legislative action in the state designed to help homeless people.

The bishops said they urged "in the strongest terms" the "dignified and respectful removal of homeless encampments and concurrently desire that the unhoused who are being displaced are shepherded into the mental health or housing programs that Gov. Newsom has championed and that the voters approved with the passage of [Proposition] 1 in March."

Passed in March of this year, Proposition 1 includes a $6.4 billion bond measure designed to transform the California mental health system and tackle homelessness by funding 10,000 treatment and housing beds as well as drug addiction treatment. 

Newsom has argued that the measure should allow an enhanced state response to homelessness. "Local governments now have the tools they need to address the decades-long issue of homelessness," he said in a post on X last week.

"Today we've invested over $1 billion in encampment resolution grants, not only to clean up sites … but to address the underlying issues in the first place," the governor said in a video posted on X announcing the executive order this week. 

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Toronto, Canada, Aug 1, 2024 / 17:16 pm (CNA).

In response to the concerns for the rising numbers of incarcerated Canadians asking to end their lives by medical assistance in dying (MAID), Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto has brought together two organizations that serve the marginalized of society in a unique collaboration to provide end-of-life care for prisoners.

With a contribution of $15,000, Catholic Charities has provided the financial groundwork for Dismas and Journey Home to work together to meet the need for hospice care for prisoners. 

Opened in 2018, Journey Home Hospice is a palliative care facility in downtown Toronto that provides a home for the homeless in the last days of life. The Fellowship of Dismas is a network of small groups in southern Ontario that accompanies former prisoners as they take steps to reintegrate into the community.

Father Matt Durham, director of Hospice Palliative Care and Community Development for the Saint Elizabeth Foundation, reported the new program is off to a good start.

"We had our first patient transition into Journey Home Hospice through this program and it's been seamless," Durham said."The volunteers from Dismas were able to visit the patient in the hospice and continue journeying with them as they moved towards end-of-life." 

While most of their rights are forfeit, Canadian prisoners retain a right that is unique in the world: They have the right to die. 

For those involved in prison ministry, offering quality end-of-life care for prisoners with terminal illnesses is understood as not only a work of mercy but also as a small step toward providing an alternative to MAID. 

Deacon Paul Bar, president of the charity that supports the Dismas Fellowship, told The Catholic Register that "one of the major reasons people say they choose MAID is because they don't want to be a burden or they don't want to be alone."

"The halfway houses and the prisons don't have the facilities to handle this kind of specialized palliative care and accompaniment. I think the concern is that prisoners would look at MAID as being a pretty viable alternative to dying alone in prison or on the streets."

With an aging prison population, the number of prisoners requesting MAID continues to go up. According to Correctional Service Canada, there have been 40 requests and 11 MAID procedures carried out since euthanasia was legalized in 2016. Almost half of both requests and procedures took place in the past two years.

Chaplain Juliane Martin, director of spiritual care at a group of Toronto transitional homes for former federal prison inmates, was one of the team that accompanied the first patient referred by Dismas to Journey Home. Martin stressed the need for Christian organizations to offer real alternatives to prisoners at the end of their life.

"The idea of coming out leads them to question what they are coming out to. They don't have family members that are waiting for them — either because their family has passed away or they're completely disenfranchised from their family and friends," Martin said. "I think what ends up happening is they stay in prison longer than they should, and then there aren't options for them. I think some people might choose MAID because they really believe that's the best choice."

Martin said she doesn't argue for or against MAID with her clientele.

"I think it is like whenever you're trying to talk to somebody who has suicidal ideation. You don't just focus on why they shouldn't. You talk about why they should live."

Martin said that providing quality palliative care with spiritual accompaniment for prisoners is a way to answer the "why" question.

"One individual that I journeyed with had not spoken to his brother in a very, very long time, and his brother was able to be at his bedside when he passed. I was able to be there too, and I am still in contact with the family. That wouldn't have happened if he hadn't gotten out."

For both Martin and Bar, there is a Gospel imperative that is laid on all Christians to care for the sick and visit the imprisoned.

"We're all called to love our neighbor, to serve our neighbor even when it's extremely uncomfortable, even when it's easy to judge," Bar said.

"There is hope to be had, but it's really hard to foster hope behind the prison walls," Martin said.

Both said they are thankful for the work of Journey Home, for the new collaboration with Friends of Dismas, and for the message of hope it provides.

This article was first published by The Catholic Register, from Canadian Catholic News, and is reprinted here with permission.

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CNA Staff, Aug 1, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

A new study on student debt by a major Catholic research group, released today, sheds light on the challenges debt poses to prospective Catholic priests and religious as well as to U.S. dioceses and religious institutes. 

The researchers found that a discerning person's student debt can be a barrier to entry, as some candidates choose on their own not to continue with a vocation because of their debt, and in less frequent cases, a religious institute or diocese may ask the person to delay or rescind their candidacy due to high levels of student debt. 

The study, conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University and commissioned by the Labouré Society, was designed to measure the impact of educational debt on the men and women who inquire about and apply to religious life or seminary. In addition, the study looked at the policies and practices of religious institutes and dioceses regarding vocational inquirers and candidates with student debt. 

John Flanagan, executive director of the Labouré Society, noted that canon law requires those entering religious life to be free from debts that they are unable to pay. He said among other things, the Labouré Society, which provides financial and spiritual support to those wishing to enter vocations, has observed those wishing to enter the priesthood or religious life waiting until later in life when they have finally paid off their debts. 

"It's hard to pay a debt when you take a vow of poverty," Flanagan told EWTN News Nightly anchor Tracy Sabol. "For those entering into diocesan life, yes, they get a stipend, but for many that [debt] burden can be more than they can pay on that priestly stipend."

Labouré says it has helped more than 400 individuals raise $11 million to help with their student debt over the past 20 years. Flanagan said the group has done this by seeking to invite other people into the vocations of those struggling with debt. 

"It's really about evangelization and invitation. We work with the aspirants to be able to help them share their story and invite people into it," he said.

The study consisted of surveys mailed to 196 diocesan vocations directors and the vocation directors of 742 religious institutes of men and women. Among those responding, 185 major superiors and two diocesan vocation directors reported that the survey did not apply to them as they have not had candidates in the last five years. Ultimately, 42% of the diocesan vocations directors and 37% of religious institutes contacted were able to participate. 

"The Labouré Society aims to use insight from this report to continue tailoring its program serving religious communities and dioceses nationwide," the organization says. 

Dioceses and archdioceses

The average number of priests among responding dioceses was 111, with an average of 18 seminarians in formation. Responding dioceses also said they are in contact with 306 serious discerners — about 35 per diocese — for the priesthood.

Overall, of those serious inquirers, nearly a quarter have student debt. That figure was not necessarily evenly distributed, however, as 4% of responding dioceses reported that more than three-quarters of their serious inquiries have student debt. A similar percentage of formal applicants to dioceses brought student debt with them.

Nine responding dioceses reported that 23 serious inquirers did not enter seminary because of their student debt, which accounts for 3% of the total number of serious inquirers with educational debt. In addition, a total of 17 responding dioceses asked 26 serious inquirers with educational debt to delay their application until they paid or reduced the debt. 

Just two responding dioceses — among 56 responding — reported a total of two formal applicants who were turned away because of their educational debt.

Large dioceses were more likely than small dioceses to report that their serious inquirers were carrying debt. However, the average amount of debt brought to small dioceses far eclipsed the average amount brought to large dioceses. The average debt carried by a candidate for the priesthood at time of acceptance is $68,333 for small dioceses, $23,286 for medium dioceses, and $21,864 for large dioceses, the study found. 

In terms of the policies governing the assumption of a seminarian's student debt, more than half of responding dioceses said they have a written policy or accepted practices on educational debt. The most common way that dioceses handle educational debt is to ask candidates to defer their loans, with 85% saying they ask their candidates to do so. Half of responding dioceses said they take on candidates' debt and pay it off over time. 

More than 3 in 5 responding dioceses (63%) that assume educational debt do so after priestly ordination, while an additional 12% do so only after the candidate has entered his theology studies. Smaller dioceses are more likely to take on a candidate's debt at the college seminary level than are large dioceses. 

In terms of the most common ways of paying off the student debt, nearly 4 in 10 responding dioceses or their candidates have received funds from individual donors or patrons of the diocese, followed by the Knights of Columbus Fund for Vocations.

Nearly a fifth of dioceses said that the diocese has experienced financial strain due to the student debt of candidates or members.

Religious institutes of men and women

Responding institutes had an average of eight formal applicants since the beginning of 2018 — an average of 10 for each institute of men and seven for each institute of women. The number of applications ranged from 87 to zero, and half of all responding institutes reported having no more than six applicants since Jan. 1, 2018.

At least a fifth of religious institutes that responded said they have noticed an upward trend in the amount of student debt their inquirers are carrying, the study found. Those that responded said that on average, 1 in 4 serious inquirers in the past four years have brought student debt with them — more than $45,000 on average. Men brought with them an average of $39,685 in debt, and women brought an average of $48,555.

Among those who make a formal application, about 21% have student debt, with a $23,000 average.

Nearly half of institutes take on their applicants' debt — a reported total of $2 million in the past five years — with religious institutes of women more likely than those of men to take it on. Most institutes have a limit to how much of a candidate's debt they will take on, with an average of $30,000 for men and $10,000 for women.

Of those institutes that take on their candidates' debt, a majority assume the debt and pay it off over time. Nearly half of institutes ask candidates who leave to reimburse the institute for student debt payments they've made. In addition, about half of those institutes take on the debt during a person's candidacy, postulancy, or during novitiate, and half wait until a person's temporary or perpetual profession. Some institutes only pay the interest on a candidate's loans rather than the principal.

Eighteen responding institutes say they turned away 28 serious inquirers because of their educational debt, which accounts for 2% of the total number of serious inquirers with educational debt. A larger number of institutes reported asking candidates to delay their application until they paid or reduced the educational debt.

"This is higher than other students' educational borrowing habits," the study reads.

"In the 2020-2021 academic year, 37% of undergraduate students attending a public, four-year institution took out student loans averaging $7,500. In that same year, 53% of undergraduate students at private, not-for-profit institutions (including Roman Catholic colleges and universities) took out student loans averaging $8,800."

This heavy burden of debt has caused a dampening effect on religious institutes. About 1 in 5 report that at least some serious inquirers have not pursued the application process because of their educational debt, a number slightly lower among formal applicants. One in 10 institutes have experienced financial strain due to the educational debt of candidates or members.

In terms of policies to address the issue of student debt, more than two-thirds of responding religious institutes have a written policy or an accepted practice on educational debt. Many make use of funds from the Knights of Columbus and the Labouré Society to help them pay off the debts.

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