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Aboard the papal plane, Sep 13, 2024 / 13:50 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis said that American voters face the choice between "the lesser evil" in the U.S. presidential election during an in-flight press conference Friday on his return from his nearly two-week tour of Southeast Asia.

Speaking aboard the papal plane, a chartered Singapore Airlines flight, on Sept. 13, the pope encouraged Catholics to vote with their conscience.

"In political morality, in general they say that if you don't vote, it's not good, it's bad. You have to vote, and you have to choose the lesser evil," he said.

"What is the lesser evil? That woman, or that man?" he continued, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican opponent, former president Donald Trump. "I don't know. Each one, in his or her conscience, must think and do this."

In the first press conference that Pope Francis has had to face in nearly a year, the pope expressed his satisfaction with the Vatican's controversial diplomatic accord with communist China, and he firmly ruled out the possibility of attending the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. The pope was asked no questions about the alleged abuses and artwork of Father Marko Rupnik and he again underlined that abortion is "murder."

CBS News reporter Anna Matranga asked Francis what advice he would give to an American voter who has to decide between a candidate "who is in favor of abortion and another who wants to deport millions of migrants."

Pope Francis replied: "Both are anti-life — both the one who throws out migrants and the one who kills babies — both of them are against life."

Harris, a Democrat who has made abortion without legal restrictions the centerpiece of her presidential campaign, and Trump, who has called for the deportations of perhaps millions of immigrants who have entered the U.S. illegally in recent years, are locked in a tight contest with just 52 days to go before the Nov. 5 election.

The Holy Father's remarks about "the lesser evil" refers to the Church's long-standing teaching that when faced with a choice between candidates who aren't wholly aligned with the Church's position on fundamental "nonnegotiable" issues — such as the sanctity of life, marriage, and religious freedom — it is permissible to cast a vote against the candidate who would do the most harm.

Abortion is 'murder'

The pope went on to say that the science supports that life begins at conception, adding that although people may not like to use the word "kill" when discussing the topic, abortion is "murder."

"To have an abortion is to kill a human being," Francis said.

"The Church does not allow abortion because it is to kill, it is murder," he added. "It is murder. And this we have to be clear about."

In their updated voters guide, the U.S. bishops state: "The threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks our most vulnerable and voiceless brothers and sisters and destroys more than a million lives per year in our country alone."

Pope Francis also spoke strongly about the topic of immigration, recalling his visit to Mexico's border with the United States where he offered Mass near the Diocese of El Paso, saying that "to send migrants away" or to not give them welcome is "sinful."

"Sending migrants away, not letting them develop, not letting them have life, is a bad and nasty thing. Sending a baby away from its mother's breast is a murder because there is life. On these things, we must speak plainly," he said.

The pope's comments come three days after the first presidential debate between Trump and Harris in which both abortion and migration were significant topics of debate. The U.S. debate occurred as Pope Francis was nearly 10,000 miles away visiting the island nations of East Timor, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Singapore Sept. 2–13.

During the 45-minute in-flight press conference — which was briefly interrupted by strong turbulence on the papal plane — Pope Francis also responded to questions about clerical sex abuse, Vatican-China dialogue, the war in Gaza, the death penalty, and his upcoming travel plans.

Abuse is 'something demonic'

While Pope Francis was not asked about Rupnik during the in-flight press conference, the pope did speak at length about clerical sex abuse in response to a question from a French journalist about another recent clerical abuse scandal — that of Abbé Pierre, a Catholic priest and Capuchin friar who died in 2007 and was one of the Church of France's most beloved and iconic figures.

The late founder of the Emmaus Movement in France has been accused of sexual abuse and misconduct by at least seven victims — including one who was a minor at the time of her alleged assault. Like East Timor's Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, the island country's independence hero and Nobel Peace prize winner who has been sanctioned by the Vatican for sexually abusing young boys, Abbé Pierre was looked up to in his country. Pierre was part of the French Resistance in World War II and is remembered for helping Jews cross the French border into Switzerland.

Simon Leplatre, a journalist from Le Monde, asked Pope Francis what he would say "to the general population who find it hard to believe that a person who did so much [many] good deeds could also commit crimes," referencing both Belo and Abbé Pierre.

In his reply, the pope said that the question "touched a very painful and very delicate point," adding that public sins are to be condemned, including "all kinds of abuse."

"Abuse is, in my judgment, something demonic," Pope Francis said. "Because every type of abuse destroys the dignity of the person. Every type of abuse seeks to destroy that which all of us are, the image of God."

During the pope's response, the papal plane was hit by strong turbulence, causing the captain of the aircraft to interrupt the press conference with a safety announcement.

"Your question caused turbulence!" Pope Francis remarked. "To conclude, the sexual abuse of children, of minors, is a crime. It is a shame."

Journalists who did not get the opportunity to ask a question during the in-flight press conference told CNA that they would have liked to confront the pope about Rupnik and other Catholics in positions of influence who have been accused of serious sexual offenses, including Luis Fernando Figari, the founder of the Sodalitium Vitae Christianae.

The pope responded to questions from 10 journalists — representing the countries visited and the different languages spoken in the press corps: Italian, Spanish, French, German, and English. Each language representative could only ask one question, and the English-speaking journalist chose to ask about the U.S. presidential election. In addition, a journalist from a Chinese-owned news outlet was allowed to ask the pope about the Holy See's dialogue with the Chinese government.

Vatican-China dialogue

In response to the question of whether the pope was satisfied with the results of the Holy See's provisional agreement with Beijing so far, Pope Francis said that in his view the results are good and there is goodwill in working on the appointment of bishops.

"I am happy with the dialogue with China," Francis said. "I have heard how things are going from the secretary of state, and I am happy."

Pope Francis expressed his admiration for China's long history and reaffirmed his strong desire to visit the country.

"China is a promise and a hope for the Church," the pope said.

The pope's comments on China come as the Vatican-China deal, first signed in 2018, is up for another two-year renewal at the end of this month.

The Vatican's dialogue with China has not always been smooth. The Vatican has admitted that China violated the terms of its provisional agreement on the consensual appointment of Catholic bishops in China via a joint China-Vatican commission by unilaterally appointing Catholic bishops in Shanghai and the "diocese of Jiangxi," a large diocese created by the Chinese government that is not recognized by the Vatican.

Human rights advocates have raised concerns over the Vatican's silence during the years of dialogue on the Chinese Communist Party's religious freedom violations, including the internment of Uyghur Muslims, and the imprisonment of democracy advocates, including Catholic Jimmy Lai, in Hong Kong.

Last month, the Chinese government officially recognized a formerly "underground" bishop in China, 95-year-old Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen, something the Vatican called "a positive fruit of the dialogue" with Beijing.

'Every day I call Gaza'

The press conference during the pope's 12-hour return flight to Rome was the first papal press conference since the start of the war in Gaza nearly one year ago. Responding to a question about the recent Israeli strike on a Gaza school that killed 18 people, including two staff members of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, the pope offered an assurance that "the Holy See is working."

"Every day I call Gaza, the parish in Gaza," Pope Francis revealed. "In the parish in the college there are 600 people, Christians and Muslims. They live as brothers. They tell me bad things, difficult things."

Lamenting the "bodies of killed children" in Gaza, the pope repeated his oft-repeated phrase that "war is always a defeat" even for the winner. The pope added that he was grateful for the King of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, lauding him for "trying to make peace."

Desire to visit Canary Islands

Pope Francis, who will turn 88 in December and frequently uses a wheelchair, appeared energetic and smiled often as he responded to journalists' questions aboard the plane. On the final day of the longest and one of the most arduous international trips of his pontificate, the 87-year-old pope was already ready to discuss future travels.

Pope Francis revealed that he is thinking of visiting the Canary Islands, an autonomous Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwestern Africa, especially because of its migrant population. The pope was asked to visit the Canary Islands by the Canary Islands' President Fernando Clavijo in an audience at the Vatican in January.

The pope definitively ruled out the possibility of visiting France for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral on Dec. 8. The cathedral is set to reopen on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a feast that the pope traditionally always celebrates with the city of Rome in the piazza at the foot of the Spanish Steps.

Pope Francis was less decisive about the possibility of a long-awaited trip to his native Argentina. He told Argentine journalist Elisabetta Pique that he would like to go to Argentina but "it is still not decided" because "there are a number of things to resolve first."

Longest journey of his pontificate

Amid much skepticism as to how the elderly pope would be able to handle the ambitious international trip, Pope Francis completed his longest journey yet, flying a staggering 20,000 miles in total on seven flights to visit four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

On his final return flight to Rome, the pope slowly made his way down the aisle of the aircraft using a walking cane before being assisted to sit down on a small folding chair from which he thanked the journalists for accompanying him on the long journey.

Pope Francis said that he was impressed by the art and the traditional dances he encountered in Papua New Guinea and the skyscrapers and apparent lack of discrimination in the multicultural city-state of Singapore. The pope added that Singapore will soon host the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, which he said is a testament to how the city is an international destination that attracts different cultures.

As he spoke about his journey, it was clear that East Timor, a small, impoverished country established in 2002, made a strong impression on the pope. An estimated 600,000 people turned out for the papal Mass in East Timor — nearly half of the population of the island country that is 98% Catholic.

Pope Francis praised East Timor's "culture of life," commending the country's high birth rate and adding that wealthier countries, including Singapore, could learn from the small country that "children are the future."

"East Timor is a simple culture, very family-based, happy, a culture of life with many children," he said. The pope underlined that he hopes this aspect of Timorese culture can be protected from "ideas that come from outside," which can be like the saltwater crocodiles that have overrun some of the young country's pristine coral-reef beaches.

"Let me tell you one thing," Pope Francis added. "I fell in love with East Timor."

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Aboard the papal plane, Sep 13, 2024 / 14:28 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis definitively ruled out the possibility of visiting France for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral on his return flight on Friday from Southeast Asia.

Speaking during an in-flight press conference on the papal plane on Sept. 13, the pope resolutely stated: "I will not go to Paris!"

French President Emmanuel Macron invited Pope Francis to visit Paris for the long-awaited reopening of the historic cathedral, which is set to take place on Dec. 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

Pope Francis traditionally celebrates the Marian feast with the city of Rome in the piazza at the foot of the Spanish Steps.

In 2019 the world mourned the damage done to the medieval Paris cathedral by a fire that devastated the 315-foot-tall oak spire and timber roof of the eight-centuries-old cathedral.

Major religious and artistic treasures of the cathedral were removed as the fire began, including a relic of Christ's crown of thorns.

Authorities have not yet found any evidence that the blaze was not an accident, with an initial investigation conducted in the months after the fire concluding it may have been caused by an electrical malfunction. 

Almost immediately after the disaster, debate began as to whether the cathedral would be restored as it looked before the fire or if it would be updated with modern architectural designs and flourishes atop the ancient portion of the church. 

The French Parliament subsequently enacted a law mandating that the reconstruction must "preserve the historic, artistic, and architectural interest" of the original structure. 

The spire was not original to the 800-year-old structure, having been added during a 19th-century renovation. In 2020, President Emmanuel Macron of France announced, amid controversy over the possibility of a new and contemporary design, that the spire would be rebuilt as a replica of the one destroyed. 

Friends of Notre Dame de Paris, a nonprofit supporting the renovation, said the new spire is constructed of an oak framework covered with lead, just as the old one was. Construction of the cathedral originally began in 1160 and took nearly two centuries. While most work was done by 1260, it was finally completed in 1345. 

While the pope does not plan to visit Paris for the reopening, he did express his desire to travel to the Canary Islands, an autonomous Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwestern Africa, in part to visit its migrant population.

Pope Francis said that he would also like to go to his native Argentina, but "it is still not decided" because "there are a number of things to resolve first."

The 87-year-old pope spoke about his future travel wishes on the return from the longest trip of his pontificate to date — a nearly two-week tour of four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.

In the press conference, in which Pope Francis discussed the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the pope repeated his dream of visiting another country.

"I would like to visit China. It's a great country," he said.

The pope is scheduled to travel to Belgium and Luxembourg Sept. 26–29.

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CNA Staff, Sep 13, 2024 / 10:15 am (CNA).

A council of Knights of Columbus in Virginia has received a religious freedom award after it won a dispute earlier this year with the government over celebrating Mass at a federal cemetery.

The First Liberty Institute awarded the Knights of Columbus Council 694 its Philip B. Onderdonk Jr. Religious Liberty Award in recognition of the Petersburg council's successful challenge to a federal rule prohibiting Mass at Poplar Grove National Cemetery. The religious freedom group assisted the knights in their challenge.

The Knights' council has held an annual Memorial Day Mass at the Petersburg-area cemetery for decades, yet the National Park Service (NPS) had determined in 2023 that the observance was prohibited due to it being a religious service.

The Knights filed a challenge to the rule in May of this year, arguing that the prohibition violated the First Amendment as well as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The federal government ultimately backed down and allowed the council to hold the Mass.

First Liberty Institute senior counsel Roger Byron said in giving the award that the Knights' "commitment to its mission and the ideal of religious liberty was made clear once again this year when it stood firmly to keep their annual Memorial Day Mass at a national public cemetery in Virginia."

"In the face of an unconstitutional policy adopted by the National Park Service, the Knights refused to back down and stood up to defend the First Amendment," Byron said.

"We honor the Knights' commitment to our first freedom."

Prior to backing down and allowing the Mass, park service officials had said the Knights could hold the observance "outside the cemetery on a patch of grass near the parking lot," which the Knights' filing said was "unreasonable, unnecessary, and unconstitutional."

In their filing, the Knights said the Petersburg council "has hosted a Memorial Day Mass inside the Poplar Grove National Cemetery every year (with few exceptions)" for upwards of 60 years or more.

"[T]he location is important to us," the Knights told NPS when filing for the Mass permit.
"It's our religious belief that the memorial service needs to be inside the cemetery itself, not outside the cemetery somewhere. That's why we've always had it there every year since at least the 1960s or before."

The Onderdonk award has been given since 2015 to "a hero and protector of religious liberty," First Liberty Institute says on its website.

Instead of a trophy, the recipient "receives a Henry Repeating Arms Military Service Tribute Edition .22 caliber commemorative rifle, specially engraved for the award," the organization says.

The Knights were also recently in the news when former President Donald Trump sharply criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for her earlier aggressive questioning of judicial nominees who were members of the Knights of Columbus.

In 2018 Harris questioned three different nominees over their membership in the global Catholic organization. She said that the pro-life and pro-marriage views of the Knights conflicted with constitutional rights to abortion and same-sex marriage and questioned the nominees' suitability for office.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 13, 2024 / 10:45 am (CNA).

A political action committee that supports Vice President Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential candidacy launched a $15 million advertisement campaign in key battleground states that promotes the Democratic nominee's pro-abortion political agenda.

The campaign, launched by American Bridge 21st Century on Thursday, will air television, radio, and digital advertisements promoting Harris' support for abortion and criticizing former President Donald Trump. The advertisements will air in three important swing states: Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

"American Bridge's program to defeat Donald Trump has always been about three things: abortion, democracy, and freedom," Bradley Beychok, co-founder of American Bridge 21st Century, said in a statement.

"Voters in the Blue Wall states, especially women, will make or break this election," Beychok continued. "That's why American Bridge is putting their true stories about Trump's threats to reproductive rights [abortion] at the forefront of our paid media program, and why we're fighting to make sure that voters know how much is at stake this November."

One of the television advertisements airing in Michigan opens with a resident who works as a physician's assistant saying: "I think Kamala Harris understands the people I serve [because] she's not going to stop until reproductive rights [abortion] are restored."

"We know exactly where Trump stands on abortion," the physician's assistant continues. "When I heard him bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade, it gutted me."

The advertisement quotes the former president taking credit for the United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, which allowed states to pass restrictions on abortion. Trump has campaigned on the position that abortion policies should be set by states but has said he would not sign a federal law that prohibits abortion.

Harris has said she would support legislation to codify Roe v. Wade's abortion standards into federal law, which would prevent states from adopting pro-life laws that restrict abortion. In the Sept. 10 presidential debate, the vice president refused to say whether she supports late-term abortion. 

The advertisement alleges that Trump could restrict birth control and in vitro fertilization or sign a federal law that prohibits abortion. The former president has said he does not support federal restrictions on abortion or restrictions on birth control or in vitro fertilization.

This advertisement campaign builds on Harris' emphasis on abortion policy as a key element of her 2024 presidential campaign. The vice president has led the Biden-Harris administration's efforts to promote abortion and has consistently supported abortion as a senator and as the attorney general of California.

American Bridge 21st Century intends to spend about $140 million on advertising campaigns to support Harris' candidacy. The political action committee's funders include billionaires Michael Moritz and Reid Hoffman, according to OpenSecrets.

Polls are showing tight races in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. According to averages compiled by RealClearPolling, Harris is ahead by less than two percentage points in Wisconsin and by less than one percentage point in Michigan. The polls show Harris and Trump virtually tied in Pennsylvania.

In Pennsylvania, both mail-in and in-person early voting begins on Sept. 16. In Michigan, mail-in early voting begins on Sept. 26 and in-person early voting starts on Oct. 16. In Wisconsin, mail-in early voting begins on Sept. 19 and in-person early voting starts on Oct. 22.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 13, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

During Tuesday night's presidential debate with former President Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris refused to say whether she opposes late-term abortions and denied that they happen in the United States.

However, more than a dozen states, in fact, allow on-demand abortions after the point of viability, and nine of those states permit abortions throughout the entirety of pregnancy.

What's more, studies from pro-abortion groups and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that thousands of abortions happen late into pregnancy every year.

"Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion," the vice president claimed. "That is not happening — it's insulting to the women of America."

During the debate, Trump said Harris' vow to codify Roe v. Wade into national law would legalize late-term abortion. The now-defunct landmark Supreme Court ruling forced states to permit abortion at least until the point of fetal viability, at which point the unborn child could survive outside the womb. The exact moment of fetal viability is different for every pregnancy, but this usually occurs in the 23rd or the 24th week.

Trump said Harris would support abortion in "the seventh month, the eighth month, [and] the ninth month," to which Harris retorted: "That's not true."

When asked by ABC debate moderator Linsey Davis whether she would support any restrictions on abortion, Harris ducked the question and said she supports what she called the "protections" of Roe v. Wade. Harris used the word "protections" in reference to making abortion legal, not to to mean protecting the unborn.

Although ABC's debate moderators — Davis and David Muir — intervened to "fact check" Trump on several of his arguments, neither of them corrected Harris to inform viewers where late-term abortions are legal and occur in the United States.

However, Roe v. Wade did not prohibit states from allowing abortion much later into pregnancy, some of which do permit abortion in the seventh, eighth, and ninth months.

In nine states and Washington, D.C., abortion is legal for the entirety of pregnancy, until the moment of birth, for any reason. In one state, elective abortion is legal through the second trimester, which concludes at the end of the 27th week of pregnancy. In another four states, abortion is legal through the 24th week of pregnancy, regardless of whether the unborn child has already reached viability.

States where on-demand late-term abortion is legal

The most permissive abortion laws are in Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. A woman can procure a legal abortion through the ninth month of pregnancy, until the moment of birth, for any reason. 

Minnesota, the home state of Harris' running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, has some of the most permissive pro-abortion laws in the country. Walz signed legislation in January 2023 that declared abortion "a fundamental right" and prohibited local governments from taking any action that interferes with that legal right. This provided even stronger protections for Minnesota's laws on abortion, which permit the procedure until the moment of birth.

Virginia allows elective abortion through the second trimester of pregnancy, which ends in the 27th week. This is three or four weeks after the unborn child could survive outside the womb.

In four other states — Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and New Hampshire — abortion is legal in the 24th week of pregnancy, regardless of whether the unborn child is viable. About a dozen states allow abortion up until the point of viability, which is often determined by the physician, who may be an abortionist. More than 20 states restrict abortion earlier than viability.

How often does late-term abortion happen?

State laws vary on what data abortion clinics must record and report to the government. Most states provide some data to the federal government, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not offer a comprehensive breakdown of the exact gestational ages of preborn children at the time of an abortion.

However, the CDC does report its estimates of how many abortions occur in the 21st week of pregnancy or later. In 2019, the CDC estimated about 4,882 abortions were performed at least 21 weeks or later into pregnancy. The data is incomplete because it excludes the nine states that permit abortions at that stage of pregnancy and the District of Columbia.

The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, which provides estimates through voluntary surveys, reported that about 0.9% of abortions were conducted in the 21st week or later in 2023. The report estimated more than 1 million total abortions, which would mean that more than 9,000 abortions occurred in the 21st week or later.

If the Guttmacher Institute's reporting is correct, this would mean that, on average, between 24 and 25 abortions in the 21st week or later occur every day in the United States.

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Quito, Ecuador, Sep 12, 2024 / 17:10 pm (CNA).

"The Eucharist and the Transfiguration of the World" was the title of the presentation given by Bishop Andrew Cozzens at the International Eucharistic Congress being held in Quito, Ecuador.

"What is God's answer to the wounds of the world?" asked the bishop of Crookston, Minnesota, in his remarks.

"His response is to send his Son into our broken world," Cozzens continued. "The purpose of the Incarnation is for the Eucharist, so that he can offer his life for us, for the healing of our world."

Cozzens, who also chaired this year's U.S. National Eucharistic Congress, explained that Jesus Christ redeems the world through his paschal mystery.

"The paschal mystery is the greatest mystery we have because it transforms evil into good," Cozzens noted. 

Reflecting on the power of this work of redemption, Cozzens underscored that "there is nothing so evil, nothing so bad, that it cannot be taken by God and turned into something good."

The mystery of human suffering 

Regarding this aspect of man's life, Cozzens posed the question: "Why is it that Our Lord did not take away human suffering? Why not? He could have. Why through his death and resurrection did he not end suffering? Well, the reason must be he knew that suffering would be the place where we could learn to express the most love."

"And so Our Lord did not take away suffering. He entered into suffering, and he transformed suffering from within, and made it possible for suffering to become a force of love in the world. This is the power of redemption, and this is the mystery the Eucharist invites us to every day." 

In that sense, Cozzens pointed out, "the Eucharist wants to teach us how to transform, or we might even say transfigure suffering, so that our sufferings can become a place of glory."

Addressing the question of why God allows suffering, Cozzens continued: "It could only be so that greater love could come into the world, so that more glory could come. The more we begin to live a Eucharistic life, the more we understand the meaning and the value of our sufferings."

Cozzens also warned of the temptation, in the face of suffering, to "turn in on oneself." However, "what the Lord asks is in that moment that I would turn to him and I would see his suffering, and that I would turn to others and see their suffering. And then in my heart, I would make a simple prayer: 'Lord, I accept this suffering for those people I know who are suffering, for love of you or others.'"

Suffering and the Mass

Cozzens then highlighted that Jesus "invites us to pour out our sufferings to him and ultimately, "he wants to show us how he can use this suffering for good."

"What happens at the Mass is that I bring my suffering to the altar. And that suffering now is united to Christ's offering to the Father, and then has the power to pour out love on the whole of the world."

For this reason, Cozzens emphasized, "the Eucharist is the heart of the world because through the Mass, all the sufferings of our world are able to be offered to the Father, united with Jesus."

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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CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

Hurricane Francine made landfall in southern Louisiana on Wednesday evening as a Category 2 storm, bringing 100 mph winds in some areas and copious rainfall. Many parts of the state, already drenched with previous rains, remained flooded Thursday even as Francine moved out of the region heading north.

Low-lying areas near and to the east of where Francine made landfall faced storm surge of five to 10 feet, the Washington Post reported. At the peak of the storm, 450,000 people in Louisiana were without electricity, a figure that has dropped to around 350,000, per the AP.

Kim Burgo, vice president of disaster operations at Catholic Charities USA, told CNA on Thursday afternoon that the aid organization is helping to fund and coordinate relief efforts through local Catholic Charities agencies in the region. The hardest-hit diocese in southern Louisiana has been Houma-Thibodaux, as well as parts of the Dioceses of Baton Rouge and Lafayette and the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Burgo said the local Catholic Charities organizations in these areas are undertaking assessments to determine the needs of the affected populations, especially the poor whom they already serve on a regular basis. She said their primary concern is ensuring that people have access to necessary supplies and services — such as generators and food — to help them get by as power is restored and cleanup begins.

Each individual Catholic Charities agency in the region is accepting donations, as is Catholic Charities USA, which will distribute 100% of the donations to the affected areas.

"Each agency or each diocese will have their own criteria and different ways to help. And certainly, there are locations where people can drop off goods and items," Burgo said, noting that some parts of Louisiana were spared flooding and storm damage despite their proximity to damaged areas.

Catholic Charities of Acadiana (CCA), which serves the Diocese of Lafayette, is already soliciting volunteers to help with relief efforts. The group says it needs volunteers who can do damage assessments, roof tarping, muck out and cleanup, debris removal and chainsawing, and in-kind donations management. The group also encouraged people of goodwill to donate to its disaster relief fund.

Burgo said CCA has begun assembling and distributing supplies, assisting the National Guard by unloading trucks filled with essential items like tarps and anti-mold products.

Meanwhile, in Houma-Thibodaux, a big focus is on distributing meals to people in need, especially for those still without power. The lack of electricity is especially impactful for low-income households as it disrupts the functioning of medical equipment and impedes food preservation, among other issues. 

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans is also mobilized to help the community, but weather conditions were so bad that the agency said on social media that its offices would be closed until Friday, Sept. 13. Officially, 7.33 inches of rain fell at New Orleans International Airport on Wednesday, making it the second-wettest September day on record, the Washington Post reported. 

Burgo emphasized that Catholic Charities serve as a long-term presence in the community, providing support not just in times of disaster but also during peaceful periods. She encouraged people in need of assistance or those willing to offer help to reach out to their local Catholic Charities office or visit the national website.

"We're not an organization that just goes in and does some work and then leaves. We're there in both the times of sunshine and the times of disaster events," she said.

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CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2024 / 18:20 pm (CNA).

A state judge nixed North Dakota's protections for unborn babies on Thursday, saying that the state constitution creates a right to abortion before the unborn baby is viable outside the womb, which is usually defined at 22 or 23 weeks of pregnancy. 

North Dakota District Judge Bruce Romanick's 24-page order making abortion legal up to the point of fetal viability is set to go into effect in 14 days. 

The ruling overturned the law that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed in April 2023, which allowed abortion only in certain cases, such as pregnancies caused by rape or incest, within the first six weeks of pregnancy, and cases of serious health risk for the mother.

The Red River Women's Clinic filed the original lawsuit in 2022 against a 2007 "trigger law" that went into effect after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That law was later overturned by the state Supreme Court. The clinic has since relocated a few miles from Fargo, North Dakota, to Moorehead, Minnesota.

Romanick was ruling on the state's request to dismiss the 2022 lawsuit. The state had argued that a trial wouldn't make a difference as the clinic had since moved out of state.

Romanick ruled that the state's abortion restrictions were unconstitutional because "pregnant women in North Dakota have a fundamental right to choose abortion before viability" under the state constitution, which protects "life, liberty, safety, and happiness" for individuals "including women."

North Dakota Right to Life said in a statement Thursday that it is "deeply disappointed" by the ruling, arguing that the judge used "poor methodology" to go against "the standard legal process."

"This ruling was made in response to the state's request to dismiss the lawsuit, yet instead of either dismissing the case or setting a court hearing date, the judge unilaterally issued a ruling that dismantles critical protections for the unborn and vulnerable women across our state," the statement read.

"The judge's poor methodology and decision to bypass the standard legal process reflect a troubling disregard for the legal protections that were put in place to ensure informed consent and promote the safety of North Dakotans," the statement continued. 

The judge also ruled that the restrictions were void because of their "vagueness." He argued that the law violated due process because it was not clear enough to physicians which abortions they could perform legally and could have "a profound chilling effect on the willingness of physicians to perform abortions."

"All North Dakota citizens, including women, have the right to make fundamental, appropriate, and informed medical decisions in consultation with a physician and to receive their chosen medical care … Such a choice is a fundamental one, central to personal autonomy and self-determination," the court document reads.

"Unborn human life, pre-viability, is not a sufficient justification to interfere with a woman's fundamental rights," the judge continued. "Criminalizing pre-viability abortions is not necessary to promote the state's interest in women's health and protecting unborn human life."

North Dakota Right to Life argued that the ruling was dangerous for both women and unborn children.

"We firmly believe that this ruling does a grave disservice to our state and will lead to harmful consequences for women, minors, and unborn children alike," the statement read.

The group argued that the decision "opens North Dakota to unrestricted abortion access — eliminating necessary safeguards such as waiting periods, parental consent for minors, and critical health and safety standards."

"In doing so, the judge's decision directly undermines the well-being of women and young girls, putting their health at risk and disregarding the will of the people in North Dakota," the statement continued.

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CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

A recently ordained priest in Chicago is denying accusations from Illinois state officials that he molested a child during a recent penance service that allegedly took place at a youth retreat.

A letter from Chicago archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich to St. Josaphat Parish, posted this month to the Archdiocese of Chicago's website, said the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) "has opened an investigation into allegations they termed child exploitation and child molestation" allegedly committed by Father Martin Nyberg.

The incident allegedly occurred during a "public penance service," according to the archbishop. Nyberg has served as an associate pastor at St. Josaphat in the city's Sheffield neighborhood since July of this year, the prelate said.

The 28-year-old priest "strenuously denies the allegations," Cupich wrote, though the archdiocese "reported the allegations to civil authorities and offered assistance to the accusers" in accordance with archdiocesan policy.

"I asked Father Nyberg to step aside from ministry until civil authorities have completed their investigations and our Independent Review Board has presented its recommendations to me," Cupich wrote. 

"Father Nyberg agreed to cooperate fully with this process, and we will provide him with pastoral assistance as he awaits its outcome."

The archbishop sent a similar letter to members of St. Paul of the Cross Parish, where Nyberg served as a deacon from 2023 to 2024.

The Archdiocese of Chicago did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday regarding the timeline of the independent review board's investigation as well as a query about the nature of the "public penance service."

But CBS News Chicago reported that the alleged incident reportedly took place at an "eighth-grade confirmation retreat" in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in late August.

Students allegedly "said they were asked inappropriate sexual questions at the aforementioned confession service during the two-day overnight retreat," while some said they were "touched inappropriately by Nyberg." 

DCFS spokeswoman Heather Tarczan, meanwhile, told CNA on Thursday that the department's investigation "just started and we are working with local law enforcement."

"At this time, we cannot say exactly how long it will take," she said.

According to the Chicago Catholic, Nyberg was born in Chicago and attended The Catholic University of America and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.

He was ordained on May 18 of this year and celebrated his first Mass at St. Edward Parish in Chicago.

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Lima Newsroom, Sep 12, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The prelate of Opus Dei, Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz, renewed his request for prayer for the new statutes of "the Work," as its members call this institution of the Catholic Church, and encouraged them to share "the fire of the Lord" with others.

"As I have already told you, in the upcoming days there will be a new meeting of the experts who are studying the possible changes to the statutes of the Work. Let us continue to accompany this work with our prayer," Ocáriz said in a message shared Sept. 11 on the organization's website.

In July 2022, Pope Francis ordered a reform of Opus Dei, which has as its center the drafting of new statutes, a work the prelature is carrying out in coordination with the Vatican in a climate of dialogue and trust, as previously noted by Ocáriz.

'Bringing the fire of the Lord to all souls'

In today's text, Opus Dei's leader offers a reflection on one of the seven words that Jesus spoke when he was on the cross — "I thirst" (Jn 19:28) — in anticipation of the Sept. 14 feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Ocáriz posed some questions: "Do I have that same thirst? Do I share in the fire that burns in his heart? Am I consumed by zeal for souls wherever I am? Do I fearlessly strive to enkindle the people I meet, through my prayer and atonement, through my sincere friendship?"

"We can remember, with St. Josemaría, that our mission is to bring to all souls — in the midst of the world — the fire of the Lord that we harbor in our hearts," the text continued, recalling what the founder of Opus Dei said at the beginning of his well-known book "The Way." 

"To shine forth, wipe out, set aflame. Phrases that will become an ever-increasing reality in our lives to the extent that we contemplate the wounded heart of Jesus and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are set aflame by that same fire," Ocáriz continued, exhorting members to illuminate "intellects with clear doctrine, to erase the filth of sin with our own expiation, to enkindle hearts with love."

"The holy cross speaks to all of us. Let us not be afraid of love, of giving life in abundance, even if it seems that we are losing our lives, because that is not the case. Let us not be afraid to make Christ known through our lives, whom so many souls are seeking thirstily, often without knowing it," the prelate counseled.

After encouraging Opus Dei members to walk alongside the Virgin Mary, the prelate of Opus Dei finally encouraged his readers that the experience of suffering "may enkindle in us ever more strongly the light of faith, the assurance of hope, and the fire of charity, and along with them, joy. Yes, also joy in the cross."

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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